Latest news with #TyneValley
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tyne Valley soapbox derby brings community together for a weekend of fun
Nine-year-old Luke Bridges won a division at the Tyne Valley soapbox derby on Saturday. But winning and losing wasn't all that important to him. Bridges has been taking part of the soapbox derby for nearly half his life, this year being his fourth year racing. "I get to bring home the gold," he said. "But it doesn't matter if you win or lose, just have a good time." The soapbox derby has been going on in Tyne Valley for 12 years. Pam MacKinnon, a volunteer at the derby, says the event raises money for various things in the community, including the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival. "It's 100 per cent volunteer," MacKinnon said. "It's pretty awesome that everybody can just show up and offer a hand and see all the excitement from the kids." The derby is set up in four divisions, A through D. Bridges won the D event. A fifth category, All-American Cars, sends the champion to Ohio next year for the world championship. Community impact MacKinnon said this event is good for the entire community. "It's just an awesome way to get together," MacKinnon said. "It requires a huge amount of volunteers, but being from Tyne Valley and part of a lot of volunteering here, we have a phenomenal base of volunteers in this community." There were roughly 55 participants ages seven to 20. No experience was required. For the division using the big cars, there are prizes for the top drivers.
CBC
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CBC
Tyne Valley soapbox derby brings community together for a weekend of fun
Nine-year-old Luke Bridges won a division at the Tyne Valley soapbox derby on Saturday. But winning and losing wasn't all that important to him. Bridges has been taking part of the soapbox derby for nearly half his life, this year being his fourth year racing. "I get to bring home the gold," he said. "But it doesn't matter if you win or lose, just have a good time." The soapbox derby has been going on in Tyne Valley for 12 years. Pam MacKinnon, a volunteer at the derby, says the event raises money for various things in the community, including the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival. "It's 100 per cent volunteer," MacKinnon said. "It's pretty awesome that everybody can just show up and offer a hand and see all the excitement from the kids." The derby is set up in four divisions, A through D. Bridges won the D event. A fifth category, All-American Cars, sends the champion to Ohio next year for the world championship. Community impact MacKinnon said this event is good for the entire community. "It's just an awesome way to get together," MacKinnon said. "It requires a huge amount of volunteers, but being from Tyne Valley and part of a lot of volunteering here, we have a phenomenal base of volunteers in this community." There were roughly 55 participants ages seven to 20. No experience was required. For the division using the big cars, there are prizes for the top drivers.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
How credible Labour candidates kept Reform at bay
The local election results in the north-east of England have been understandably portrayed as disastrous for the Labour party, which lost Durham county council (The Guardian view on Labour's drift and Tory collapse: Reform fills a vacuum they created, 6 May). Labour also lost seats in Northumberland, but there was one area of success. In the Tyne Valley, the Hexham constituency Labour party held one seat, gained another two (one from a Conservative, the other from a Socialist Independent) and came within a handful of votes of unseating two other Conservatives. Reform UK was much less successful than elsewhere, even in 'red wall' towns such as Prudhoe and Haltwhistle. The success was based on credible local candidates who exposed the poor record of the Conservative-run Northumberland county council for the past eight years. On the doorstep, there was much unhappiness with the Labour government and many voters were considering voting for Reform. We kept Reform at bay by listening to concerns, agreeing that we wanted a change of direction from the government and by promoting a positive vision of local Labour policies for Northumberland. We made a point of talking about the positive contribution of immigrants to our locality. The government needs to reset its political compass and not make the mistake of trying to mimic Reform. There is also the need for the Labour party to listen to members, particularly those who have run campaigns that have successfully defeated Reform at the ballot box this month. I look forward to hearing from Morgan HanleyChair, Prudhoe, Wylam and Stocksfield Labour party Your editorial writes of the first-past-the-post electoral system being 'designed' to keep out extremism. In fact it wasn't designed for anything and was simply the consequence of the introduction of equal electoral districts, each returning a single MP, in 1885. Since then, it has suited the purpose of the major parties to keep this 19th-century relic. But whether its retention is truly in the interests of Labour – which has held power for just 28 years in the last century – seems very SpencerHove, East Sussex Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
