A LIFE NOT WASTED
The Newton News has been overwhelmed by the expressions of admiration for Syd Howarth. Syd has been praised as one of the architects of the town, as a man of great charity, and as a kind and humble family man.
Above all, Syd believed that he had an obligation to work for the good of the community, and he spent his life being true to that belief. This explains the high esteem in which so many people held him, and the lasting effect he had upon the town.
But it also made his life a challenge to us because, now he is gone, it is for us to pick up that mantle, and to continue building a community based on generosity of spirit … the kind of community we all wish to live in.
COLOUR AND DIVERSITY
During ‘Santagate’, the Newton News spoke up for the Town Council, reminding readers of the difficulties of being a councillor, and of the need for councillors and residents to work together for the good of the town. In the last week, pleasingly, Newton Aycliffe has had cause to praise the Town Council – for the superb fireworks display, for the wonderful remembrance seats outside St Clare’s Church, and for the ‘There-but-Not-There’ Tommies at St Clare’s and Aycliffe Village.
Last Wednesday, however, the Town Council again found itself in the newspapers, when it declined to fly the Rainbow Flag to mark the day of Durham Pride. The councillors who voted for that decision had their reasons, and a flag has no feelings … but what became clear very quickly is that some of the LGBT community in the town felt snubbed by that decision.
The people of Newton Aycliffe are equal but not the same, and each group and individual contributes something unique to our society. The Newton News welcomes the diversity and colour which the LGBT community brings to our town, and – if you go to Durham Pride – you go with our blessing.
REMEMBERING, FOR BETTER FOR WORSE
This weekend, we remember the sacrifice of those who died in the wars which have brought us safe to this place. Each year, the sense of gratitude and respect seems to grow deeper.
However, this year, we are also celebrating the 70th anniversary of the first house in Newton Aycliffe – a town which owes its very existence to the Royal Ordnance Factory and World War Two.
It gives extra meaning to the words of the Remembrance ceremony which we will hear as we stand in the town centre on Remembrance Sunday: “When you go home, tell them of us and say; For your tomorrows, they gave their todays”.