Latest news with #ConlethMaenpaa
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
North East stories you may have missed this week
A emotional reunion after a pet parrot went missing, two brothers who got caught in a terrifying rip current tell their story and a council struggles to contact about 300 people who had previously reported damp and mould in their are five stories from the north east of England you may have missed this week. How brothers survived rip current surf terror On Saturday 17 May, two brothers got caught in a terrifying rip current at a popular surfing beach in north-east England. Euan, 21, and Andrew, 19, were among the dozens dotting the breaking blue waves at Longsands that hope sharing their experience will save more about what the brothers are advocating for here Council struggling to contact 296 mould-hit homes A council says it is struggling to contact close to 300 people who had previously reported damp and mould in their City Council inherited more than 1,800 reports from management organisation Your Homes Newcastle, which was abolished last the 491 outstanding cases it still had last month, the local authority said it had now attempted to contact each of the residents more about the council's pledge to deal with the backlog in damp and mould here Festival to go ahead after new organiser appointed Investors behind the Lindisfarne Festival in Northumberland have appointed its founder, Conleth Maenpaa, to ensure it goes ahead on the last weekend of decision came after original organiser Wannasee, which was behind numerous festivals in the region, announced it was speaking to liquidators and cancelling other news has been welcomed by ticketholders and businesses, with headliners at the Beal Farm event set to include Armand Van Halen, Doves and The more about the plans for the festival here Lost parrot home after frantic five-day search A pet parrot who only recently started to fly has been reunited with his owners following a frantic five-day an African Grey, who is about five months old, went missing from his home last Thursday, leaving Stephen and Christine Wilkinson Wilkinson said her husband, who has cancer, got her Burt as a companion and they quickly bonded, so it was "total and utter, consuming grief" when he out where Burt turned up here Sting's gift 'future-proofs' kids' access to arts An undisclosed amount of money donated by the singer-songwriter Sting will help sustain programmes for children for the foreseeable future, an arts boss has 73-year-old former Police frontman from Wallsend gifted money to the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead but asked that the amount stay chair of trustees Kirsty Lang said the gift was "significant" and would help fund programmes for young people at the venue and provide access to "world class contemporary art to inspire".Read more about how the money will help here Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Lindisfarne Festival to go ahead after new organiser appointed
An annual coastal music festival will go ahead despite uncertainty over its organisers, it has been behind the Lindisfarne Festival in Northumberland have appointed its founder, Conleth Maenpaa, to ensure it goes ahead on the last weekend of decision came after original organiser Wannasee, which was behind numerous festivals in the region, announced it was speaking to liquidators and cancelling other news has been welcomed by ticketholders and businesses, with headliners at the Beal Farm event set to include Armand Van Halen, Doves and The Waterboys. Mr Maenpaa, who organised the first eight Lindisfarne Festivals, told the BBC he was "absolutely gutted" when he heard the 10th anniversary of the event might not take place this summer as other events were being axed."Not just for the punters who have grown to love it but also for the hardworking staff and for the volunteers and all the traders and contractors who rely on this," he was approached by the festival's investors, who are also behind Hardwick Festival in Sedgefield, County Durham, to take it over after Wannasee, which ran Lindisfarne last year, started having issues."We can't let something like this go to waste," Mr Maenpaa said. "It's important to everybody and to the region as well'. Bernard Rostron, who has sold ethically sourced goods at his Priya stall since its first year, said the festival's cancellation would have had a big said: "The knock-on is on the people who work with us because they lose a wage, but there's another impact on the suppliers."His store room near Penrith in Cumbria is filled with handmade items of clothing and bags from suppliers in places like Kathmandu and Rajasthan, who rely on his Rostron said four of the festivals he attended last year were not happening in 2025 and there was uncertainty about another four. He said: "Business isn't what it used to be."In Kathmandu, for instance, for one of our jacket suppliers, we are his only European customer now which is quite frightening for him, so that hurts us given that we care so deeply about our supply chain." Avid festival-goer Kevin Cooper reckons he went to 150 gigs and events last year and he would be sorry to not be able to attend home in Burnopfield, County Durham, is testament to his passion for music, the walls lined with CDs, vinyls and gig posters."Pre-Covid there was an explosion of festivals and I think post-Covid there's been a winding down of a number of them," he said he was "very disappointed" when festivals were cancelled. "Things like this damage consumer confidence but I do worry about what it does to the music industry which, while I'm not part of it, is very much a part of my life." Mr Maenpaa said people could have confidence in Lindisfarne going said: "We've got a backer who is very capable of looking after everything. "We've got everything in place - there maybe a few alterations that we don't know about because we are jumping in at the last minute, but we will put everything on and we will have most of the old team back so everything will be absolutely brilliant and we'll make it the best festival we possibly can."Wannasee has been contacted for comment. Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
