Archives for October 2010

 

In the next Inside Out we've an amazing story of just how people can take control of their lives and get results. We trace the story of Kath Carter, pictured above, and Rae Oram who have been shown how to empower themselves USA style.

 

Mary Gonzales used to work with Barack Obama before he became President in bringing what's called community organising to the poorer districts of Chicago.

Earlier this year she came to Thornaby to spread the word. As you'll see in the show on Monday October 25 at 7.30pm on BBC1.

It led to some incredible results in which two local women ended up taking on a multi-million pound business and getting the MD on board to help change an industry.

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The new series of Inside Out returns Monday October 18 with an investigation into charity fundraisers.

If someone comes knocking at your door asking you to sign up to a regular donation, just how much do you know about them? Our story reveals how a third-party company acts on behalf of the British Red Cross - but we found some serious concerns about how those sent to your door to collect your bank details are vetted.

Our reporter "Natalie" went undercover at the Newcastle based Coulson Organisation which is part of the Cobra Group. Her credentials were never checked - she never even provided any ID. You can read her own account of her time undercover and watch the programme on a separate webpage.

During her time with the Coulson Organisation other fundraisers told Natalie how they dodged rail fares and even drove illegally.

When our reporter was recruited it was not made clear that she would not be an employee but would instead be self-employed and rely on commissions from the amount of people she signed up as donors.

Former fundraisers complained to Inside Out that the very long hours and poor returns meant they were working for well below the minimum wage.

In a statement the Cobra Group and the Coulson Organisation told us they do not condone fare dodging or illegal driving and will investigate our allegations and take appropriate action.

Cobra maintain that performance related pay is widely used in the sector and guarantees a return on invetment for the charity.

If you've had any experiences with doorstep charity fundraisers do let me know. You can email me here.

Jonny Simpson, the lad from Penrith who decided to turn his life around.

From an incredibly lightweight youngster with Cystic Fibrosis he's turned into a winning bodybuilder.

You can read more about him on his own website.

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Could anyone imagine a bunch of Geordies taalkin' aboot Ashington in front of a Broadway audience?

Well it's happened. Proof positive that a group of Northumberland miners have sunk their teeth firmly into the core of the Big Apple.

You can see for yourself in the remarkable tale of the Pitmen Painters - A Brush with Broadway at 19:30 on 11 October 2010.

That in itself was noteworthy but then a book written about their experience was picked up by North East playwright Lee Hall who is most famous for writing the screenplay of Billy Elliot. 

He was smitten and then turned the tale of the Northumbrian working men's foray into the arts into a play at the Live Theatre in Newcastle. From there it went to the National Theatre in London.

Samuel Friedman Theatre

Amazingly the original North East cast has just opened the play on Broadway.

It's a rare accolade for a British crew to be allowed to tread the American stage and a real gamble if the US audience doesn't like what it sees.

The unit that produces Inside Out here in Newcastle makes lots of other one-off programmes while we are off-air over the Summer.

It gave us the a chance to go behind the scenes and  follow the North East actors, Lee Hall and the Live Theatre Company as they embarked on a journey to conquer New York and its famously fierce critics.

It's a great watch. If you miss the show be sure to catch it on the iPlayer.

Inside Out itself returns on October 18 2010.

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Stephen Fry - host of QI

I have always revered the wit and astoundingly vast brain of Stephen Fry. On the BBC TV comedy quiz show QI he displays the extraordinary range of his expert understanding on the most obscure of subjects.

He does occasionally admit that he has little helpers who rummage around in the oft unswept nooks and crannies of the human library of knowledge to dust down a factual gem or two on his behalf. Even so you cannot fail to be impressed.

But suddenly my idolatry of this man was shaken. On reading the latest instalment of his autobiography, 'The Fry Chronicles', I  spotted his use of a word in the English language that I feel must be exposed as erroneous.

I better say right away I am standing firmly on the pedestal of pedantry but I thought a man as well versed in the use of words as Mr. Fry might be standing shoulder to shoulder with me on this one. Yet, it appears not to be so.

As in QI where in each series a letter of the alphabet is chosen to select a topic, all the sections in this book are a C word. But one stood out as I devoured his writing. My bête noir of our vocabulary - celibacy.

He recounts how he once wanted to write about celibacy, noting that:

"a life without sex...offered numerous benefits. The celibate life allowed productivity..."

The problem is that is not the proper meaning. To abstain from sex is chastity. According to the online Oxford English Dictionary the definition is:

 The state of living unmarried. [f. L. cælibtus in same sense, f. cælebs, cælib-em unmarried, single: . (Cælebs, and its noun of state cælibtus, are the only cognate words found in Latin).] 

Theological tracts by the Vatican still uphold this traditional definition of the word. The earliest priests had wives and they were commanded to abstain from sex, something that is rather delightfully called 'clerical continence'. Later of course Catholic clergy were expected not to marry in the first place. You can see how easily chastity and celibacy came to be interchangeable in conversation.

Bah Tish Humbug! What is all the fuss about I hear you cry. Actually I can happily argue against myself on this one. I do believe the English language is a living thing and meanings do change.

Stephen Fry would be happy to be called 'gay' whether in the 1930's sense or that of the 1980's. I suppose my point is we should at least know what the words originally meant. 'Wicked' to a teenager of today is anything but sinful.

I of course revere Stephen as much as ever.

If I dare not mock a fellow Englishman, nay a national treasure no less, at least I can laugh at the mangling of our language by those for whom it is not the native tongue. So in the style of QI I leave you with this little morsel from a notice board in a hotel with a sunnier clime than ours...

If you wish breakfast, lift the telephone and our waitress will arrive. This will be enough to bring up your food.

Thank you and goodnight. 

Normal service will be resumed in the form of Inside Out which returns to your screens on October 18 2010.

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