The Duke of Northumberland has stoked up the fierce debate over wind energy development in the North East by launching a withering attack on the impact of massive turbines on the region's unspoiled countryside.
In a personal intervention which will delight wind farm opponents, the Duke has branded turbines as "ugly, noisy and completely out of place in our beautiful, historic landscape".
He reveals he has rejected approaches to put turbines on land owned by his own Northumberland Estates business wing - and says the structures are divisive, unreliable and potentially damaging to the vital tourism industry.
Frustrated politicians are to renew demands for full dualling of the killer A1 through Northumberland - although the chances of major improvements in the next 10 years appear increasingly remote.
The long-running issue of upgrading the Morpeth to Berwick section of the road - described yesterday as an "absolute national scandal" by a senior councillor - has resurfaced following critical comments made last week by north Northumberland coroner Tony Brown.
Speaking after inquests into two accidents which claimed the lives of three drivers on single-lane stretches of the road, he said further preventable deaths were inevitable unless the 45-mile stretch was made continuous dual carriageway.
A driver was airlifted with serious injuries from a smash on the A1 in Northumberland just two days after a coroner predicted there would be more devastation on the route.
In the latest accident, a 64-year-old motorist was involved in a head-on crash, just south of Alnwick, and had to be cut free by firefighters yesterday morning.
Air Ambulance medics were able to stabilise the driver's condition at the scene, but wounds to his legs were described as "serious".
Two probation officers have been sacked after a woman was able to shirk the community service she was ordered to carry out for swindling her husband out of £25,000.
Caroline Kerr, pictured, formerly Temple, was spared jail and given a 150-hour community order after pleading guilty to two counts of forgery in February 2008.
She has now been brought back before the courts and given a conditional discharge after it emerged she had not carried out all of the required unpaid work, while two probation officers involved in her case have been dismissed.
The Duke of Northumberland has bought a piece of his ancestral heritage for £27,000 at auction.
The duke bought a rare mid 18th century plate, from a service other parts of which are on display at his Alnwick Castle home, at a sale at London auction house Bonhams.
Only a handful of pieces from the 'Hanbury Williams/Duke of Northumberland' service dated 1748-1750 remain on display at the castle.
Alnwick-based Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC) is to take The Last Snow Rider by Ann Coburn round village halls and small arts centres across the country this winter, beginning tonight.
The play will be at Alnwick Playhouse tonight and Glanton Memorial Hall on the 2nd January.
The cast includes NTC regulars Kim Evans and Gemma Clough and newcomers William Reay from Bellingham and Christopher Ranson.
Visit www.northumberlandtheatre.co.uk for a full list of performances. Phone 01665 510 785 for details of tonight's performance and ticket information.
Fresh fears were voiced yesterday over the perils facing motorists on the A1 in Northumberland following a head-on smash which claimed the lives of two drivers.
North Northumberland coroner Tony Brown said the A1 from Morpeth to Berwick was the "weakest link" in the road between London and Edinburgh because of its dangerous mixture of single and dual carriageway sections.
He predicted there will be more preventable deaths in the future unless the road is given a higher priority for upgrading and dualling.
In the Northern Alliance Premier Division Heddon entertained an Alnwick Town side which had just lost three league games on the trot. Alnwick won 2-1 as Heddon's misery continued.
Late in the first half, two goals by Kevin Elliott and Tony Brown set Alnwick up for the kill - and they held on for the points after Daniel Robinson got their hosts off the mark.
There is still no respite for Heddon, who are still seeking their first home win of the campaign and remain isolated at the bottom, equal on points with Newcastle University who have played six games less than the Bullocksteads outfit.
Pictured: Alnwick's Kevin Elliott on the ball- photo by Steve Miller
Northumberland Sport's Sport Unlimited programme proved a Heap of fun for starlet Marc Friar.
The 10-year-old from Alnwick's Lindisfarne Middle School was one of the dozens of youngsters involved in the summer-long initiative.
Friar's chosen sport was golf and he participated in a 10-week programme at Alnwick Golf Club, being subsequently entered into a county-wide prize draw for attending 100% of the sessions.
Below is a sneak preview of how tourism bosses believe Northumberland's identity could be portrayed in the future.
It follows an announcement from Northumberland Tourism that it plans to "present a new face to the world" in 2010.
As part of a re-focussing of advertising and promotion the travel chiefs are aiming to lure more big-spending holidaymakers to the area.
We want to publish your blog on one of our community websites. Find out more.
Keep up to date subscribe to our RSS feed
Living or working in Alnwick? We'd like to hear from you. Send your stories, pics and videos
Journal Extra, Northumberland's free weekly, is inside copies of The Journal across the county every Thursday, and can also be picked up from these locations around Alnwick »
"mayor of Alnwick Coun Eileen Blakey said "the appeal's failure was wonderful." So it's nice to see ..."
"hello my name is chris maynard and i am researching my family history , my great grandfather was n..."
"What a lovely photo!! I am just a bit biased, as I grew up at Low Newton, spent many happy hours run..."
" Hi, What a lovely story of Toby Jug and his adventures,sad as the ending is, at least Toby ha..."
"Sorry to hear about that Barbara and thanks for your kind words. We were looking forward to your p..."
"Hi, Is there any way i can contact Denis O'Connor directly to thank him for such a delightful read i..."
"A town full of empty shops like Alnwick really needs another 27,000 square feet of retail space...."
"The supplies business is a good one to be in because people will always need pens and pencils and th..."
"Try this site www.nomobilesignal.co.uk...."
"Great, apart from the fact that any number of Northumberland agencies could have been used to develo..."