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.
Newcastle were denied by a Liverpool penalty in the 99th minute at St James’ Park, denying Matthias Jaissle a winning start and leaving Alexander Isak with little to offer but a wink as he walked off the pitch. The 2-2 draw felt like two points dropped, not one gained, but it also showed enough to suggest Jaissle’s Newcastle are going to be hard to beat. Jaissle’s debut undone by a soft stoppage-time spot-kick Jaissle was appointed Newcastle head coach on 5 August 2026, according to the Premier League, and this was his first crack at Premier League football. He came…
The lunar eclipse in Pisces on Friday, 28 August is the week’s biggest event, and it lands with more weight than most. According to Moon Omens, the eclipse peaks at 12:14 AM EST at 4º51′ of Pisces, and it is, by their account, the final eclipse in Pisces for this entire cycle. With the Lunar North Node now in Aquarius, another eclipse in the sign of the Fish will not arrive until 2034. This one matters.Before that Friday moment arrives, the week opens with a shift in energy. Mercury, the planet of communication, moves from Leo into Virgo on Tuesday,…
The Joe Willock Besiktas transfer is gathering pace, with the Turkish club reportedly tabling a €20m (£17m) offer for the Newcastle United midfielder and now waiting on an answer from St James’ Park.Italian journalist Nicolo Schira has claimed that Besiktas have put the fee on the table and that Willock has agreed a four-year contract with the Super Lig club. Newcastle have yet to accept.Joe Willock Besiktas transfer: how the bid battle has developedNewcastle United knocked back an initial £10m approach from Besiktas back in July. The Magpies have been holding out for around £17m throughout weeks of negotiations, and…
The Saltwell Park play area is getting a full overhaul this autumn, with a towering 9-metre centrepiece and a raft of ground-level activities set to transform one of the North East’s best-known green spaces.Gateshead Council confirmed the investment earlier this week, sharing a CGI render of the finished design on social media. The new junior play area will be installed before the end of the year, giving families something concrete to look forward to as the school holidays wind down.What the new Saltwell Park play area will includeThe headline feature is a 9-metre tower designed, in the council’s own words,…
A Kevin Keegan St James tribute brought Newcastle United and Liverpool FC supporters together on Sunday, as both sets of fans marked the passing of the man who shaped the modern identity of the Magpies. The opening weekend of the season became something far more than a football match.Keegan died at the age of 75 roughly a month before the fixture. That the two clubs most associated with him should meet at St James’ Park on the first weekend of the campaign felt, as these things sometimes do, almost written.Former Players Join the Kevin Keegan St James TributeThe occasion drew…
Outer Banks season 6 is not happening. Season 5 is the end, and Netflix has made that official. But if you’re not ready to leave the Outer Banks world behind, there is something new in the pipeline, and it has a name.Why There Is No Outer Banks Season 6The show wrapped up its run with a season 5 finale that, by most accounts, left very little dangling. A hurricane. A birth. A flash-forward to a wedding. The treasure the Pogues have been chasing since season 1, finally in their hands. Co-creator Jonas Pate put it plainly in an interview with…
Seven people have died in the A66 South Bank crash that followed a police pursuit in the early hours of Saturday morning, with the collision involving a Volkswagen Passat travelling against the flow of traffic and a Cleveland Police vehicle. Belfast Telegraph reports that two of the seven people who died were police officers.The collision occurred at 3.39am on 22 August. The A66 remains closed in both directions between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston, with officers managing road closures at both junctions while a collision investigation is completed.What Happened on the A66 in South BankThe Independent Office for…
The free bus travel scheme for children in England wraps up on 31 August 2026, and from 1 September families will start feeling the difference in their pockets. The government confirmed the end date after a parliamentary question about a possible extension, shutting down hopes that the initiative might run beyond the summer.Throughout August, every child aged five to 15 in England has been able to jump on participating local buses at no cost, with no cap on journeys and no registration needed. It was a straightforward offer: get on, get out, no fuss. That all stops on Monday.The Free…
The Uniqlo Pocketable Parka has become one of the most talked-about lightweight layers of the season, and after a proper look at what it actually does, the hype makes sense. Priced at $50, it packs down into its own storage pouch, repels light rain, blocks UV rays, and comes in a burgundy colourway that fits squarely into the colour story dominating autumn 2026. What the Uniqlo Pocketable Parka actually delivers When you are out for a run along the Quayside or commuting to a gym session and the sky turns grey without warning, you want a layer that earns its…
Pulling off a girls brunch at home beats fighting weekend queues and paying over the odds for watered-down mimosas at a packed restaurant. Do it right and you get to control the food, the vibe and the pace. Here is how to make it land.Set the Scene Before Anyone ArrivesDecor does not need to be expensive to feel special. Fresh flowers, a few bud vases and some votive candles on the table shift the atmosphere fast. Framed photos of you and your friends work as both decoration and something guests can take home. Personalised place cards sort the seating question…