BBC News
By Chris Robinson
image captionThe 12,000-tonne load will leave the Port of Tyne for Belgium on a vessel named Longwave
What is thought to be the last shipment of coal from the North East of England has left the River Tyne. Extracted in County Durham, the 12,000-tonne load, bound for Belgium, raises questions for those who once worked deep down the pits, and for the next generation looking to a cleaner future.
The fact that coal was still being exported from the Tyne came as something of a surprise to former colliery mechanic Billy Middleton.
Now aged 79, he started work when he was 15 at County Durham s Wheatley Hill Colliery, before moving on to Thornley and then nearby Easington.
The Conservatives continue to disregard evidence in their attempts to develop education policy. During the coalition government I worked relentlessly with the Liberal Democrats to push back this tide of ignorance. I helped to get Gove, Truss and Gibb removed from their roles and replaced with ministers who listened to evidence; we established the pupil premium; and we set up the Chartered College of Teaching to nurture professionalism and representation in teaching. But the tide came crashing in in 2015. Instead of listening to our schools, Mark Jenkinson MP has copied the actions of Michael Gove and sent them books. His comments last week about schools reopening were a wonderful opportunity for him to demonstrate some insight into the issues teachers are facing just now but he didn’t do that – presumably because he isn’t listening and he doesn’t know.