'Rainbow' by Heather Campion

It takes place at The Sage Gateshead from October 2-4 when 15 northern artists will have stands next to work from all over the world.

Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and following the initial success of the 2008 emerging artists’ section, this year will feature North East galleries Locus+, Vane, Globe and Northern Print.  They have selected work from emerging artists they believe have the potential to develop their careers in the arts.

Andy Balman, co-director of the Art Fair said: “This will be a great opportunity to catch these up and coming artists at an early and affordable stage of their career. This year’s section is bigger and better than the first one and we are trying to give emerging artists the coverage they deserve as often they just need the right level of exposure to move on to the next stage in their careers.  The emerging artists’ section provides a great opportunity for buyers to preview the work of artists before they become famous.”

Locus+ selected Iris Priest, Karl Nattress, Oliver Beck and Anne Vibeke Mou to showcase their works. Vane chose Hannah Campion, Helen Schell, Adam Hogarth and Sebastian Trend. Globe opted for Joseph Steele, Nick Kennedy, Daniel Jagger and Daniel Wilde and Northern Print chose Mikhak Mirmahmoudi, Cindy Robinson-Begg and Deborah Snell.

Vane chose four artists who it has worked with in different capacities over the past year: Hannah Campion approached Vane to assist her with a group show titled ‘Helicopter’ that she curated at St Ann’s Quay on the riverside in Newcastle earlier this year. Her work consists primarily of painting and drawing, but she has recently started to extend this into sculptural installation work.

Adam Hogarth and Sebastian Trend are both graduates of the Fine Art BA course at Northumbria University and have recently shown work at the gallery in the group show ‘Score’, which consisted of work by students, graduate fellows, graduate studio Northumbria artists and staff from the Fine Art department at Northumbria University. Hogarth works mainly in print, photography and video. Trend works in painting, print, photography and object-making and Helen Schell’s current work depicts rocketry and time machines in the form of large drawings and glass installations. She is working on a series of projects called ‘Escape Velocity’. She moved to Sunderland in 2006 to do an MA in Glass at Sunderland University.

Andy Balman added: “The NewcastleGateshead Art Fair will give an audience an opportunity to see and invest in works from fifteen artists at the very start of their careers; artists who could well be making an important contribution to the art world in the not-so-distant future.”

The NewcastleGateshead Art Fair will be a must for all visitors, art lovers and collectors along with those interested in browsing for their first investment.

The emerging artists will be located in the Northern Rock Foundation room in the Sage Gateshead. For further information visit www.ngartfair.com

Enquiries – 0191 241 2423 Box Office – 0191 443 4661. Opening times:

Friday October 2: 11am to 6pm
Saturday October 3: 11am to 5pm
Sunday October 4: 11am to 5pm

Tickets £5 advance booking weekend ticket £6 on the door weekend ticket

After numerous technical problems the British Steam Car team has carried out four successful runs ahead of its bid to break the century-old world land speed record for steam-powered vehicles.

The 25ft-long British Steam Car dubbed “the fastest kettle in the world”  and driven by test driver Don Wales has reached speeds of over 131mph at Edward’s Air Force Base, California.

This is faster than the current world record. However as the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) was not present, it runs were not officially recognized.

The FIA will set up the course on August 17 and official record attempts will be made from August 18 to August 22.

The current official FIA record is 127mph previously set by American, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steam car in 1906.

With support from Northumberland Business Service Ltd (NBSL), father and son partnership Ian and Matthew Brown have joined forces to create Flashlight Films, combining experience to develop their passion for film and start new careers in the industry.

The Haltwhistle based company provides high definition films and promotional videos for small to medium size businesses that wish to expand within a more competitive market. With high-quality DVDs, animated menus and enhanced features for audio CDs, they also produce videos for musicians looking to widen their appeal.

Through NBSL’s Enterprise Bridge Programme which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2007-13, the pair developed their business plan with in depth advice sessions to review all aspects of the company’s activities.

Recent films include one for Northumberland National Park about footpath restoration work on the Simonside Hills, a complex evaluation film for a Big Lottery funded volunteering project, and a promotional video for Haltwhistle Swimming & Leisure Centre.

“Flashlight Films is now a well equipped film company,” enthused Matthew, a university graduate in Film Production Technology. “

“As well as the promotional business films, it’s been exciting to produce music videos for up-and-coming bands Waterfront and the Little Comets. The Comets’ single, One night in October, was screened over 40 times on MTV2 and has received over 50,000 Youtube hits already. At one point it was ahead of Oasis at number three in the independent singles chart!

“More recently we have also produced a souvenir DVD for the South Tyneside Railway which operates England’s highest narrow gauge railway between Alston and Kirkhaugh. We already knew a thing or two about the line as we’ve been regular visitors over the years.”

The family partnership obtained excellent support from Sylvia Grainger at NBSL’s Business Advice Centre in Hexham, accessing valuable start up support and funding. Ian was also supported from the centre in undertaking his ILM Online Level 3 course in Starting Your Own Business.

Once the business was trading, Tynedale Council (before merging into Northumberland County Council) was able to support them with a match funding business expansion grant to enhance their equipment.

The Simonside Hills film involved significant preliminary research with Northumberland National Park. Ian and Matthew wrote the commentary before planning a detailed shot list for footage which was gleaned over three filming sessions. They were supported by a park ranger with a Land Rover to give them access to filming sites in the hills.

The commentary was then recorded on Flashlight’s portable sound studio at the National Park base in Rothbury. Editing included titles, captions, acknowledgments and background music written, recorded and performed by the talented duo. The final product was a boxed DVD with a fully designed corporate cover for the Park Authority.

“Having a well planned business from the start equipped us to deal with the unexpected things that naturally come along,” added Ian. “It’s been hard work to get up and running but very rewarding. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything!

“There will always be something we need so we are planning to purchase further additional equipment to take us forward and we have some exciting projects lined up, such as an interactive, promotional school DVD for parents.”

NBSL’s Enterprise Bridge Programme secured its ERDF investment, which supports innovation, enterprise and business support across the North East, through regional development agency One North East.

Ian’s previous work as a Deputy Head Teacher at a South Tynedale Middle School involved getting behind the camera to support the curriculum both for teacher training and for school information films. He orchestrated the recording of special events within the school and community and helped youngsters to plan, produce and make films.

Matthew’s passion for the industry has led him to produce and edit a wide range of screen offerings, including videos for bands and individuals, an information film about a secure training unit for violent teenagers and a dramatic piece about the modern social scene, the latter of which was shown at a film festival.

Examples of Flashlight’s work can be viewed at www.myspace.com/flashlightfilms and they can be contacted at flashlightfilms@aol.com.

NBSL has advice centres located on the high streets of Hexham, Morpeth, Blyth, Ashington, Alnwick and Berwick, helping budding entrepreneurs to set up in business. For further information, call 01670 813322 or visit www.nbsl.org.uk

Cuckoo pic courtesy of Nigel Blake

The revised red list now includes even more familiar countryside birds, including the cuckoo, lapwing and yellow wagtail, joining other widespread species such as the turtle dove, grey partridge, house sparrow and starling.

Alarmingly, red listed species now account for more than one-in-five (21 per cent) of all the UK’s bird species. This is a far higher proportion than compared to the last assessment in 2002, when 40 species (16 per cent) were red listed. Most species on the red list have suffered a recent halving of range or population in the UK, or have undergone a historical decline since 1800.

Amongst the species new to the red list is a suite of birds visiting the UK in summer, notably the cuckoo, wood warbler, and tree pipit. These birds, are widespread, but rapidly-declining, summer visitors to the UK.

‘Conservation works, but with a growing to-do list we have to strive even harder to retain the rich variety of wildlife’
Their addition to the red list is highlighting the concern that many long-distance migratory birds nesting in Europe and wintering in Africa are increasingly in trouble. Currently 21 of the birds on the red list are summer visitors to the UK, with the majority of these spending the winter in sub-Saharan Africa.

The continued decline of widespread farmland and woodland birds is a theme which has developed since the compilation of the last list in 2002. Lapwing, a formerly much-more widespread wading bird, and the hawfinch, a woodland bird largely confined to England, have both joined the red list in the latest assessment.

Three species of seabird join the red list for the first time. The Balearic shearwater – a smaller relative of the albatross – visits the UK from its Mediterranean breeding grounds regularly each autumn. This seabird, which is thought to face a higher risk of global extinction even than the giant panda – is the rarest bird to regularly occur in the UK.

Highlighting concerns about the fortunes of seabirds around the northern coasts of the British Isles, the Arctic skua has joined the red list straight from the 2002 green list: the only species to do so. The familiar herring gull also joins the red list as its population has more than halved in recent times.

For the first time two winter-visiting birds have joined the red list. The dunlin, a starling-sized wading bird, and the scaup – a duck – have been placed on the red list because of declines in wintering populations. The ongoing decline of the dunlin population has seen this wader slump to its lowest levels since recording began.

While a link to climate change has not been demonstrated, the addition of five species on the southern edge of their nesting range in Britain (Temminck’s stint, ruff, whimbrel, redwing and fieldfare) to the red list may provide some the evidence of range shifts. These species have only had a toehold in the UK in recent decades and now that appears to be slipping. (However, redwing and fieldfare are still plentiful visitors to the UK in winter).

Good news
However, the 2009 assessment does contain some good news. Six species (stone-curlew, woodlark, quail, Scottish crossbill, bullfinch and reed bunting) have been removed from the 2002 red list, largely because of a recovery in their numbers or range, or a better understanding of their populations. These species are now placed on the amber list.

The stone-curlew is a bird of farmland and open countryside. Virtually confined to Wessex and central East Anglia, the stone-curlew population has increased because of the fantastic efforts by landowners to improve the fortunes of this striking wading bird.

‘Conservation works, but with a growing to-do list we have to strive even harder to retain the rich variety of wildlife that our islands possess.’

Improvements in land management, especially of heathland, have also led to a dramatic increase in the UK population of the woodlark, a heathland bird. The bullfinch and the reed bunting have also been placed on the amber list following modest recoveries in their populations.

Martin Davison with Osprey Chicks

A team of experts from the Forestry Commission paid an early morning visit to the remote nest in 62,000-hectare (155,000-acre) Kielder Water & Forest Park to ring the youngsters and take down their vital statistics.

The historic mission involved tree climbing wildlife ranger Paul Pickett, from Kielder, who scaled a tree to reach the nest, built on an artificial platform erected last year. He carefully lowered the birds down to the ground in bags to enable rings to be fitted by ornithologist Martin Davison, aided by ecologist Tom Dearnley.

Placid throughout and with the mother circling overhead, the chicks weighed in at around 1700 grammes each, with their feathers now almost fully developed. Their wingspan was measured at three feet (that of fully grown male is five foot) and only a couple of weeks now separates them from their date with destiny when they take to the air for the first time. They were reported to be in excellent condition.

Elisabeth Rowark, Director of the Kielder Partnership, said: “Things have gone brilliantly so far and it’s incredibly reassuring to learn that the birds are in such fantastic health. Hopefully they will soon earn their wings and then visitors to Kielder Water & Forest Park can look forward to seeing them being taught to fish by mum and dad on northern Europe’s biggest man-made lake.”

“You probably have to go back to the early 1700s for the last ospreys to be born in Northumberland. They were also absent from England as a breeding bird for the entire 20th century. So to see three calmly sat on the grass without a care in the world was pretty mind-blowing. The ringing only took twenty minutes or so and the mother soon perched herself on a nearby branch when the chicks were put back on the nest. Their development has been rapid thanks to the exemplary care of the adult birds, who are almost certainly first time parents.”

Rings fitted to the chicks include one with a unique number on the left leg and another white coloured tag on the right with large letters indicating the birds identity. The colour denotes the birds were born in England and will help in identify them in future years using binoculars.

Kielder Water & Forest Park was recently voted the most tranquil place in England by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Gardening has never been so popular.

The number of people growing their own has gone through the roof this year and that’s meant even longer lists for those waiting to take on an allotment.

If you are lucky enough to have your own already, or are about to get one, a new offering from the National Trust, ‘Allotments – Inspiration and practical advice for would-be small holders,’ could be an invaluable assistant.

Nothing beats the self-satisfied glow that comes from growing your own food and cooking it for family and friends says author Jane Easto. And who would argue when you take take home the fruits of your own labours.

Fresh organic fruit and vegetables, and armfuls of fresh cut flowers, are a great advert for your allotment.

Her book guides you through allotment life, from how to find an allotment, how to plan one out, what to grow, crop rotation, how to store your harvest plus some of the best recipes so you enjoy the fruits of your labour.

With all the details on the cost of having an allotment, self-management, and protecting your allotment, this is the easiest guide to settling up, running and enjoying your own allotment.

And if you want to look after nature at the same time, ‘Creating and maintaining ponds for wildlife,’ by Chris McLaren will tell you how.

There is no better way of creating a wildlife haven in your garden or plot of land than with a pond. They provide homes for some of our most important indigenous wildlife: plants, insects, fish, amphibians, birds and even mammals. A limpid pool edged with rushes, the humming of damselflies, the croaks of frogs and the swooping flight of swallows will be a microsite of the best of the countryside.

Pond expert Chris McClaren introduces the reader to the world of ponds: how to create one, how to maintain one and how to introduce wildlife to this idyllic pool and help it thrive. Ponds come in all shapes and sizes, and with different purposes. For most gardens – and in the wider landscape – a new pond will almost certainly need to have visual appeal, be reasonably easy to maintain, be safe (especially where children are concerned) and hopefully attract a wide range of beneficial wildlife. This practical guide explores everything you need to know about creating and maintaining your own pond.

Both books are available now in hardback priced at £7.99.

Tree bee

Bumblebees and honeybees keep our countryside alive and beautiful, and ensure we can harvest our grain, seeds, fruit and nuts.

Without them it would be a very bleak world indeed.  Climate change, intensive farming practices and disease epidemics have made times tough for our native bee populations and they need all the help they can get to keep their numbers up.

Gardens can be excellent corridors between the hive and the flowering meadows and hedgerows that bees need to keep on buzzing and doing their valuable job.

Northumberland National Park has organised a Bee Friendly to Bees Day for gardeners of all ages to find out from the experts how to turn their gardens into luscious bee-friendly filling stations and shelters.

From 10am-4pm on Sunday July 5, at Chipchase Castle Nursery near Wark, bee specialist, Shaun Hackett, will be giving talks to help people to recognise different types of bee, understand what to do to help bee welfare and learn how make their gardens more bee friendly.

Entry is free and there will be lots of interest for both plant lovers and youngsters who love wildlife. There will also be a whole range of bees’ favourite food plants for sale to create a five star bee buffet in the garden and a bee trail for children.

Atlantic Puffin - Photo courtesy Wikipedia under GNU free documentation license.

Scientists at Newcastle University are using sophiticated tracking technology in an effort to understand a worrying decline in the numbers of puffins.
In the last five years the numbers of the sea birds, a popular resident along the north east coast, has plummeted around Britain.

In an effort to find out the reason, scientists from Newcastle University are working with National Trust wardens on Brownsman Island on the Farnes to tag and ring puffins.?? The tags, which are glued on to the birds feathers and fall off after several days, will help to map their movements to find out where they are going to fish, how they are getting there and what they are doing once they are there.

The team will then collect the tags a few days later and download the data. The information should provide clues to the kind of feeding grounds the birds have been to and therefore the threats they are exposed to.

Dr Richard Bevan, of Newcastle University where the data will be processed, said scientists will be able to work out why puffins are dying from seeing where the birds go in the winter.?? “Technological developments now mean that we’re getting closer to finding the pieces of the jigsaw to help solve the puffin puzzle.

“The new data will help explain what the puffins are doing when they’re on the Farne Islands and hopefully then help us to understand why numbers have declined so dramatically,” he said.

The tags are very much like the ‘Tom-Tom’ devices fitted in vehicles. They store data that can be downloaded when the tag is retrieved.”

David Steel, National Trust Head Warden on the Farne Islands, said puffins are breeding successfully so it was essential to find out what could be causing the death of the birds out at sea. ??”This has become the case of the disappearing puffins,” he said. “Young puffins are successfully fledging each year and it would seem that their staple food, the sand eel is in good supply, but they’re just not coming back to the islands. This research, including further counts, is designed to shed some light on what is happening.

“Further work will be carried out using time-depth recorders on the Farne Island puffins. These devices provide information on diving behaviour, such as how often they dive and how deep, and sea temperatures. It will also help in understanding how puffins might be affected by climate change and possible changes in sea temperatures.”

Osprey mum with chicks.

The Kielder Partnership has announced that the first ospreys to nest successfully in Northumberland for over two centuries have had three chicks.

The first image of the historic nest has been released, showing the female sitting proudly on the artificial nesting platform, erected on the estate by the Forestry Commission last year.

Also visible are the heads of three tiny chicks gazing out over the spectacular terrain of Kielder Water & Forest Park.

Martin Davison, Forestry Commission ornithologist, who is keeping tabs on the ground breaking osprey family, said: “We reckon these are first time parents, probably about four years old, but even so they are doing a smashing job,” he said. “A big cause of infant mortality amongst birds is lack of food, but the male has been out regularly swooping down on Kielder Water to bring the youngsters tasty fresh fish. We can’t take anything for granted, but each day that passes the chicks grow stronger.”

Chicks need at least one small fish every day to stay healthy, but as they develop, so too will their appetite. So far the female has steadfastly refused to budge from the nest, but she will hunt if the male struggles to find enough food.

During the first weekend of a special public osprey viewing area, over 250 nature lovers flocked to the Mounces Car Park, off the C200 near Leaplish Waterside Park. Volunteers from the RSPB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust treated people to views through powerful telescopes, able to pick out the distant osprey nest from the trees on the far side of Kielder Water. The viewing point is open daily and manned during weekends, but may also be staffed at other times during the week. For further information please go to www.visitkielder.com, or check times with the RSPB on 0191 2568200.

Duncan Hutt, Head of Land Management at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, added: “It’s great news to have ospreys breeding in Kielder Water & Forest Park and even better to find that they have had three chicks. All being well we will be able to watch all the birds hunting around the lake later in the summer.”

Kielder Water & Forest Park was recently voted the most tranquil place in England by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Years of research is allowing meal replacement diets to cut its critics down to size.

Back in the bad old days meal replacement programmes required dieters to exist on just 500 calories a day.

Now it’s all change thanks to ExanteDiet.com which combines tasty soups, shakes and bars with a healthy eating plan of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish.

Exante claims its extensive research quashes all previous concerns over the weight-loss technique.

“When we set up Exante, we knew we had to back it up with some serious research and science. We strived to overcome the bad publicity our competitors have received about health risks, price and long-term effect,” says Jackie Delahunty, diet expert and co-founder of Exante.

“We believe the minimum number of calories people could live on is 600 per day.”

Many Exante customers do stick to this regime. However, Exante usually recommends combining the nutritionally-complete soups, shakes and bars with healthy conventional food.

“By dieting in this way, the body adjusts over time to a lower calorie intake. Otherwise you’re more likely to simply put all the weight straight back on when you stop using the meal replacements,” says Delahunty.

“It also helps dieters to return to conventional food when they’ve reached their ideal weight. Long periods of abstaining from regular meals can mean that people are totally unprepared for the return to a conventional diet. That’s why the majority of people put the weight straight back on.”

“The combination of Exante meal replacements and healthy meals together with the fact that our products can be accessed so quickly from our website ensures that clients don’t pile all the pounds back on,” says Delahunty.

Exante products are the only meal replacements on the market which contain 100 per cent of the recommended daily nutrients the body needs whilst excluding harmful additives such as Aspartame, Trans Fats, Artificial Colours, Preservatives, MSG, Gluten and GM Products.

A week’s supply of Exante Diet products costs just £36.75 and is available for next day delivery from www.ExanteDiet.com.