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 right questions to get to know someone are not a checklist, they are a door-opener, and what you do after you ask matters just as much as the question itself. That is the view of Karen Vincent, LCSW, therapist and clinical director at Octave, who argues that a well-chosen question can ‘snap someone out of autopilot and make them reflect and want to connect.’The problem with tired openers like ‘So, tell me about yourself’ is their size. Too broad, too vague, too easy to blank on. Sharper, more specific questions give the other person something real to grab onto,…
Haute and Freddy’s new single ‘Touch Touch’ is out, and if their Lollapalooza debut of the track earlier this summer was any indication, Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp have found their most direct shot of pure escapism yet. The duo brought Cosmopolitan behind the scenes of the ‘Touch Touch’ music video to talk festival runs, whimsy, and why Lady Gaga keeps showing up in their dreams.Haute and Freddy Touch Touch: What the Song Is Actually AboutBuzz, who performs as Haute, traced the track back to a specific feeling. ‘It’s fun to surround yourself with strangers, not really knowing who you’re…
The tolyamory relationship dynamic has a name now, and it is making people uncomfortable in exactly the right way. Coined by Dan Savage, author of a well-known sex advice column, the term blends “tolerate” and “polyamory” to describe a situation where one or both partners in an ostensibly monogamous couple quietly turns a blind eye to the other’s outside sexual activity, without actively choosing or endorsing it.Where the Term Comes FromSavage introduced the concept on his podcast Savage Lovecast, which he has been running since 2006, with his sex-advice column stretching back to the early 1990s. The tolyamory relationship dynamic…
If neck-firming creams for tech neck are on your radar, you are not alone, and the problem runs deeper than vanity. Mayo Clinic Health System reports that neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability globally, with an annual prevalence rate exceeding 30%. Every time you drop your head to check your phone, you are loading the cervical spine and compressing the skin of your neck into repeated folds that, over time, become permanent lines. Why Tech Neck Is a Real Skin Problem The angle matters. Hanging your head at roughly 45 degrees to look at a screen causes…
Michelle Cameron MAFS update: the couple from Peacock’s Married at First Sight season 20 are now living in the Bay Area, have already signed their marriage papers a second time, and are actively looking into surrogacy as they plan for a family. From Decision Day to San Francisco: The Michelle Cameron MAFS Update You Need Michelle Le and Cameron Mitchell chose to stay together on Decision Day, and the reunion confirmed they are still married. But the where took a sharp turn. Portland and Seattle, the two cities the pair had discussed, were both ruled out. Instead, Cameron landed a…
Two assists on his second appearance: Amar Dedic’s Newcastle start could hardly have gone better. The right-back, who arrived from The Athletic reports cost around £30m from Benfica, set up Bazoumana Toure’s opener and Harvey Barnes’s winner as Newcastle came from behind to beat West Brom 3-2 in the second round of the Carabao Cup.Only signed last week, Dedic has already slotted into Matthias Jaissle’s system with a fluency that tells you exactly why the head coach wanted him. The pair worked together at RB Salzburg, and that shared footballing language is already translating onto the pitch without the luxury…
Your September 2026 horoscope dates are packed: planetary sign changes, a retrograde station, two major moons and an equinox all land before the month is out. Here is everything happening in the sky and what it means for you.The September 2026 Horoscope Dates That Set the ToneThe month opens with friction. On 1 September, Mars in Cancer squares Saturn in Aries. Expect frustration, a possible setback, or a moment where the consequences of past actions catch up. There is urgency pulling one way and caution pulling the other. Tread carefully, pick your fights, and hold your boundaries.Then comes 10 September,…
The Miley Cyrus August 25 tribute to Dolly Parton carries a weight that goes far beyond grief. August 25 (the date Dolly reportedly lost a private battle to cancer) is the same date Miley has described as one of the most personally significant in her entire career. According to KARK, Parton was 80 years old and died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, in Nashville, Tennessee. The loss follows a year in which the Parton family has already endured enormous grief: earlier this year, Dolly’s brother, Coy ‘Denver’ Parton, died at the age of 82, the fifth of her siblings to…
The Love Is Blind UK Season 3 couples have finally faced the altar, and the results are messier than anyone predicted. Four of the six engaged pairs made it down the aisle. Two did not. With the reunion landing on Netflix on Sunday, 30 August, here is a full rundown of where every couple stands, and what history tells us about their chances of lasting.Love Is Blind UK Season 3 Couples: Every Relationship Status ExplainedJack and Faye, Married (for now)Jack, 30, and Faye, 28, had one of the most turbulent rides of the season. They started strong, built a genuine…
Sean Neave Wolves loan is done. Newcastle United have confirmed the 19-year-old has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan for the 2026/27 season, ending weeks of speculation over where he would head to get regular senior football.The move caps a whirlwind final week of the summer window for a player who had made no secret of his desire to play week-in, week-out at first-team level. Right until the deal was done, Neave had been in contention for a spot in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup second round squad to face West Brom, with the club keeping his options open while the market moved…