Tag: sincerely the editor

Sincerely, The Editor: Our Top Stories 2015

By on 4th January 2016in Have Your Say

2015 was a big year for In & Around Online, and here’s why…

 

With the arrival of the New Year, now seems as good a time as any to take a look back over 2015.

We launched In & Around Online on 14th October, and we’ve already reached a massive audience of over 27,000 people. So what’s all the fuss about?

Here’s our 10 Top Stories of 2015:

Save The DLI Museum: So That His Name Be Not Forgotten
With the battle to keep the Durham Light Infantry Museum open still ongoing, Deryck Collins tells the story of his own connection to the men of the DLI.

Rent A Cop Episode Seven: Twitter Turns On Francis
The North East’s claim to fame in 2015 was the BBC Three series ‘Rent A Cop’, featuring Darlington superhero Francis Jones. Feelings towards the show were mixed, to say the least.

Win! Tickets To See T.Rextasy’s 40th Anniversary Tour
Our most popular competition was to win tickets to see the only officially endorsed T.Rex tribute band in the world. Haven’t entered? Entries are still open!

Help To Find This Missing Person: Graham McInness
When Stockton man Graham went missing in November, Andy Knowles called for help via In & Around. The message was spread by nearly 2,000 people, and he was found shortly after.

Gogglebox and X Factor Stars Heading To Metrocentre For Christmas
To get us in the Christmas spirit, TV stars lit up the Metrocentre to kick off the festive season. Thousands attended the event.

Sweet Tooth Delivery Enjoys The Sweet Taste Of Success
Young North East entrepreneur Kayley Smith took her cake business to new heights in 2015, with a strong of high profile awards and successes.

Durham Police Looking For Restorative Justice Volunteers
With the launch of the Durham Police restorative justice programme, Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg called for local support to bring closure to victims of crime.

8 North East Fireworks Displays To Visit This Year
With bonfire night set to go off with bang, we recommended the best fireworks displays the North East had to offer. Which did you attend?

Sunderland Student’s Design Goes Into Production For SAFC Ladies
One Sunderland youngster was proud to see her own design turned into a special promotional cup, courtesy of the SAFC Ladies team.

Review: Legally Blonde At Tyne Theatre & Opera House
West End Musical Theatre Company took to the stage in their musical production of Legally Blonde, and have big plans for 2016.

Here at In & Around, we couldn’t have asked for better support during our first few months. We may have only caught the tail end of 2015, but it was a fantastic year nonetheless, and we’re looking forward to an even better 2016.

We’ve got a lot lined up for this year, and we’re keen to continue turning In & Around into a platform for the North East to be heard. Don’t forget that you can send your thoughts, stories and news to us, and well publish them to a massive (and growing) audience. All contributions are welcome.

Thanks once again for all of your support, and we wish you a fantastic year.

Sincerely,
Alex Porritt
The Editor

Sincerely, The Editor: The Forgotten North East?

By on 16th October 2015in Have Your Say, In & Around, What's New?

Hi! My name’s Alex, and I’m the editor of In & Around Online.

This site went live on Wednesday, and before the week draws to a close, I’d just like to take a few minutes to reflect on what that means.

Each and every one of us has ‘something to say’, whether it be insight that we’d like to share, or an opinion to put out there, or something we’re proud of that we’d love to be able to shout about. I know from experience that it isn’t always easy to put some of those things into words, or to know how to go about sharing them.

In & Around Online is the platform to do just that.

Particularly in recent times, the North East can seem like the ‘forgotten’ region, but we want to change that. We want to give our region a voice, and we want you to be able to #HaveYourSay.

Getting to this point has been a lot of hard work, and I’d particularly like to thank everybody who has made a contribution so far. All of the people that I’ve spoken to since beginning this project have had so much insight and passion to share, and it’s a great feeling to finally be able to put that content out there for everybody to enjoy.

The likes of Dr Twist’s writeup of their fantastic traditional portrait business is a great read, as is Laura Tindall’s musings on Newcastle-based pianist Christopher Watson, and I’m especially privileged to be able to press the publish button on articles like Rebecca Scott’s explanation of why her involvement with the Alzheimer’s Society is so important.

Articles like these are a great reminder of the voices we have in the North East.

Having seen the first wave of content, I look forward to future contributions! Don’t forget, if you’d like to be a contributor yourself, visit the Write For Us page. Anybody at all can submit articles.

And so here’s to the future of In & Around! Ten years ago, we launched the magazine that would go on to become a Chester-le-Street institution, and this week we’ve set out on the second part of our journey. Are you coming with us?

Sincerely,
Alex Porritt
The Editor

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