After writing a couple of weeks ago about the biggest news story of the year happening in our backyard it seems worth mentioning that the other two biggest news stories of the year seem to be now be happening, well, in our backyard.

If Gordon Brown wasn't sick enough of the North-East with Northern Rock, he can now add the Revenue and Customs crisis and the phantom donations that seem to have been made in the name of just about everyone living between Berwick and Middlesbrough (I am exaggerating for very nearly comic effect).

Balls that claim to wash clothes without detergent – its time for me to get my eco-detective hat on.

This week, apart from the Government's latest tribulations, has seen much attention fixed on the Oxford Union debate where Nick Griffin, leader of the fascist BNP and David Irving, fantasist and pariah, were invited to talk. This may have been a brave or foolish decision, depending on one's point of view.

In the event, the business turned out to be something of a damp squib; the debate so truncated and harassed by protesters as to be largely without impact; whether this is a good or a bad thing again is highly subjective, according to perceptions.

After making himself a figure of hate in Liverpool and then Scotland, former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie seems keen to add the North-East to the list of places he can’t show his face.

In a typically “considered� column in The Sun this week, MacKenzie argued that the Northern Rock was only getting help from the Government so that Labour MPs in the region did not lose their seats.

“This wouldn’t happen if it was the Woking building society,� he squealed.

I was thinking about the battle of Flodden, fought on 9th September, 1513, after a wet and dismal summer (sounds familiar). I've forgotten why the sanguinary events of that particular day sprang to mind, perhaps I felt the need to apologise to someone for something and an apology to the Scots might have seemed, in liberal patois, 'appropriate'.

On the other hand they've got the Barnett Formula and don't seem to want to apologise to us, so perhaps one cancels the other out. I'll be leading a guided walk around the field in September 2008 but I suspect what jogged my memory was, in fact, talking about an entirely different fight - the Battle of Evesham in 1265

The new 9-Ball tour is now close to confirming the list of entrants. They advertised the tour as a first-come first-served situation where only the fast people would get a place in the maximum 96 strong tour.

Obviously there will be obvious reasons why certain places are guaranteed for certain players..

THIS year’s biggest news story has probably been the Northern Rock crisis and, as luck would have it, it’s happened on The Journal’s doorstep.

As a result, we have probably carried more column inches on the bank than most other newspapers, but our coverage has been markedly different to other media.

From the outset, we decided that while we had to look at what had caused Northern Rock’s problems as rigorously as anyone else, we also had a duty to the North-East to do what we could to campaign for the Rock’s survival.

Apologies for the long delay.

A home move, an arm injury and all sorts of things have stopped me playing recently.

But I'm back, and raring to go.

Tyne Bridge had an interesting practice on Thursday night.

The Squire was away at a rugby match and the Deputy Squire was in charge.

So we did the dances that don’t get done that often because the Squire doesn’t like them.

What will it take?
The environment agency put this question to 25 experts who came back with a list from the profound to the practical to the downright peculiar.
Interestingly, not one of them said it’s too late...