Author: Graeme Pallister
Graeme Pallister
Graeme Pallister spent fifteen years in operations management across the North East before he started writing about the businesses that kept the region running. He came up through logistics at a mid-sized haulage firm on the Team Valley, moved into procurement at an engineering outfit near the Tyne, and ended up running supply chain for a renewables contractor during the offshore wind build-out. He left the corporate side in 2021 and started covering North East business because most of the people writing about it had never seen the inside of a Gateshead warehouse at six in the morning. He writes about manufacturing, construction, logistics, and the firms between the Tyne and the Tees that rarely make the nationals but employ half the region. Graeme lives in Jesmond with his wife and two lurchers. He thinks the phrase "levelling up" should have been retired in 2022, and that anybody who describes Newcastle as "up and coming" has not been paying attention.
The Practical Magic 2 cast brings back most of the original 1998 line-up alongside a handful of new faces, and given that the sequel released nationwide on 5 September 2026, now is the time to get across who is playing who. Most returning actors reprise their original roles. The recast characters are relatively minor, replaced by names you will recognise. And yes, the significant additions are all men, because, as the story goes, most of the men in the first film did not make it out alive. The Owens Sisters and Their Daughters Nicole Kidman returns as Gillian Owens, Sally’s…
Newcastle city centre protests drew a large Northumbria Police presence on Saturday, with officers deploying legal orders to control demonstrators gathered near the Civic Centre and The Newbridge Hotel.Police were on the ground ahead of the planned action, with officers blocking access to certain areas and directing those taking part. Road sensors reported traffic delays around the Civic Centre as the demonstrations got under way, and a substantial police presence remained in place throughout the afternoon.What legal orders are in place for the Newcastle city centre protests?Northumbria Police confirmed two separate legal orders for the day. The first limits demonstrators…
The Nick Woltemade Juventus transfer saga took a fresh turn this week, with sources at the Turin club indicating a January sale conversation is not being ruled out, even as his loan move to Serie A only just got under way.Newcastle United sanctioned the loan on deadline day and have already netted a £3.5m loan fee for the Germany international. But according to Chronicle Live, the Magpies are leaving the dialogue open with the Italian club over a potential permanent deal, with Newcastle’s valuation of the player likely to hinge on the form he shows in the coming weeks.What a…
Lewis Hall’s Lewis Hall new contract at Newcastle United is signed, sealed and runs until the summer of 2031, according to Centre Devils, ending a summer of transfer speculation and seeing off reported interest from Manchester United.Hall put pen to paper on the five-year deal at St James’ Park on Friday morning. Newcastle had held firm throughout the window, insisting the 22-year-old was not for sale and telling Manchester United as much when the Red Devils made an enquiry about the former Chelsea defender.What the Lewis Hall new contract means for NewcastleFormer Magpies captain Kevin Nolan called it a ‘massive…
Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky have welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Rose Bean Polansky, born on 9 June in Los Angeles, according to Q99.7 Atlanta. The Lady Gaga baby girl Rose Bean news broke after Page Six and People both reported the couple had recently become parents, though at the time neither outlet had confirmed the baby’s name, sex or date of birth.Now those details are in. Ground News reports that Rose Bean Polansky was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Gaga and Polansky became engaged in 2024, per Q99.7 Atlanta, and have kept the…
The khaki trousers autumn trend has moved well beyond the street style pages and is now showing up in shopping data: posts featuring khaki trousers on the LTK platform are up by 500% this week alone, confirming this is the trouser silhouette to reach for as the season turns.If your jeans have been feeling like the wrong call lately, you’re not imagining it. The early autumn forecast sits in that awkward in-between zone: grey skies in the morning, temperatures pushing into the mid-twenties by lunchtime. Denim traps heat; summer dresses feel a stretch too casual for the office or a…
Christian Siriano crimped hair just made its runway comeback, and it looks nothing like the frizzy, over-processed version many of us remember from the early 2000s. At Siriano’s Christian Siriano Autumn/Winter 2026 show at New York Fashion Week, models walked out sporting what hairstylist Lacy Redway called the ‘enchanted crimp’: a glossy, texture-led style that updates a nostalgic look for 2026.This is not your childhood crimping iron moment. The finish here is sleek, almost architectural, pairing sharp ridges with a shine level Redway described as ‘leather-like’. If you want to try it yourself, the method and the products matter.What the…
The PC Tom Clough funeral drew hundreds to the streets of Kirkleatham on Thursday as police officers, soldiers, veterans and members of the public gathered to say goodbye to the Cleveland Police officer killed on duty in August.The ceremonial procession made its way down Plantation Road and into Kirkleatham Walled Gardens, led by four mounted police officers. Police motorbike riders and a Cleveland Police marked Audi with blue lights flashing followed behind. Standard bearers from forces across the country lowered their flags as the hearse passed. A lone piper began to play a lament, breaking the silence of the slow…
Newcastle United’s conversion rate has to sharpen fast, because the numbers behind a five-game unbeaten start are flashing an amber warning that results alone are masking.Ten goals in five matches sounds clinical. It isn’t, not entirely. The contrasts within that tally tell a different story, and Matthias Jaissle will know it better than anyone.The Raw Numbers Behind Newcastle United’s Conversion Rate ProblemAgainst Millwall in midweek, United had 14 shots in the first half alone and put just one on target. They did not score. Their winner came on the 21st attempt on goal across the night. That is not a…
The argyle sweater trend 2026 is not the quiet, school-uniform kind your grandad wore, it is louder, more playful, and it is showing up everywhere from the high street to the runway. If your knitwear drawer is full of plain cable knits that technically go with everything but excite you not at all, this is the season to fix that.Why the Argyle Sweater Trend 2026 Has Real Staying PowerThis is not a flash-in-the-pan revival. According to Editorialist, the argyle sweater was one of the standout trends for the Fall-Winter 2024/2025 season, with the diamond-print knit appearing in collections by Rabanne,…