91Èȱ¬

You would be hard pushed to find a bigger .

The Weardale journalist has a home bursting with royal memorabilia. This picture above is just a fraction of her collection which tops 5,000 different items.

As you'll see in our latest episode (28 February 2011 19:30GMT 91Èȱ¬1) her royal memorabilia collection is so big that .

All of this started quite by accident back in 1977 during the . Anita was 21 that year and lots of friends and family thought a royal souvenir would make a great present.

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That sparked an interest in royal memorabilia and so her collecting habit began.

Now she's so well known in the area that people give her any royal bits and bobs they've found along the way.

There are some pretty weird items, like the Charles and Diana slippers, pictured right.

I'm not sure if you can get the dressing gown to match but who knows?

There does seem to be a fine line between tasteless tat and something of real value when it comes to these keepsakes of royal events.

I thought I had no royal memorabilia in my house at all until I remembered that as a kid I received a specially minted 50 pence piece to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

I still have it in its plastic presentation pouch somewhere in the loft. I also recall going to the end of our street as drove past as part of her tour of Britain that same year.

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It seems no-one can resist getting in on the act when the Royal Family sets a date for a great event.

What street party to mark would have been complete without a pack of meat-flavoured crisps?

When archaeologists of the future dig up our old rubbish tips to learn how we lived, they will remark how we lauded our first family with potato-based snackery.

Who knows what extraordinary mementoes will appear as Kate Middleton and Prince William approach their nuptials?

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As usual the market sees a demand and fills it. Maybe it's only in the 21st Century that any anti-establishment feelings can be so openly displayed without causing an outrage.

I'm not sure if the sick bag will make a welcome addition to Anita's collection. As for me - I'm just wondering what a commemorative 50 pence piece from 1977 is worth in today's money.

• A decade after the Great Heck rail disaster we follow the train driver's son determined to follow in his dad's tracks.


• The daily grind of our rush hour. Will a new Tyne Tunnel really ease congestion on our roads? Check out our special webpages on the subject.

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In go the crushed eggshells and the torn up cardboard box they came in. Add to that some carrot trimmings, shredded paper and old tea bags. Stir and leave for several months.

Not a Masterchef recipe, but a typical moment in the life of my compost bin.

Eventually it will transform itself into something useful to put round my bedding plants. It never looks as good as the garden centre compost, but I'm happy to have been the patient guardian of rotting rubbish that I once used to chuck out with the garbage.

That is the most obvious sign to the outside world that I am trying to go green. But maybe I'll have to think bigger than this.

In the latest episode of Inside Out (Monday, 21 February 2011 at 19:30 GMT on 91Èȱ¬1) conservationist contemplates what our lives will be like after the oil runs out.

You might like to know that with expert speakers arguing about whether we're prepared enough or are being misled about the scale of the problem.

But what about us as individuals? Few of us are yet seriously contemplating using an electric car.

My green credentials are limited. The dark winter nights are illuminated by eco-friendly light bulbs. I have had the cavity walls filled and the loft has been given a second coat of insulation. Thanks to the last government's scrappage scheme I've even got a more efficient boiler.

All in all though it's cost me a pretty penny to cut down on my carbon emissions. I'll get my money back in savings eventually, but my actual motivation is to try and do my bit.

Where I live, the colour green is for normal waste, blue for recyclables and the optional brown one is for garden waste. But whereas I have to take glass to the supermarket recycle point, my sister, who lives in a different council area, has hers collected from home.

And the list of anomalies goes on. Juice cartons have to go in the green bin unless I want a 10 mile round trip to a specialist recycle point. That's just not going to happen.

The only plastics allowed are bottle shaped ones - as long as I've taken the tops off first -meanwhile, loads of other plastic wrappings are banned.

For several years I've been painstakingly tearing out the plastic windows of envelopes only to discover while researching this blog that I can put the whole lot in the recycle bin after all.

I thought for quite a while that yoghurt pots could be recycled and was happily washing them out and putting them in the blue bin.

Wrong again. Aaargh!

But imagine the potential confusion for the residents of Newcastle under Lyme where the council is giving households nine different recycling bins.

and you'll find out what you've been doing right/wrong.

that is a little bureaucratic in style but does explain why some things can and seemingly similar things can't be recycled.

When I recently went to one of their household waste recovery centres, I have to say I was very impressed at how many different things can now be saved from going into landfill.

I had an old PC that sat in the garage for nigh on two years. My early attempts at getting it recycled were met only by a list of collection agencies way down South. I could have given it away via groups like , but I just never got round to it.

On my trip to the tip this month there was a whole skip devoted to electrical items and a container was filling up with old TV's and computer monitors. Whilst working on a different story I came across the where not only are your items found a new home, it raises money for the charity too.

Things are definitely improving, but solar panels on the roof and a wind generator to let me live free of the national grid are a way off yet. I'm an eco-follower not an eco-pioneer.

Anyway I have enough to think about once a week. Is it green or blue bin day tomorrow? Better just see which one the neighbours have out.

Let me know your praise or gripes about recycling. Simply add you comment to this blog.

• We look at some of the conditions people in private rented accommodation have to live with.
• Kirsten O'Brien visits which helps not just children but adults to realise their potential.

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When you travel East to West on a clear day you are suddenly presented with a glorious vista of Cumbria as you come over the top. The horizon spans from the Solway to the Lakes. It's magical.

However try as I might, I can't quite banish the flickering image of 2001 that lurks deep in the memory.

As a reporter on Look North I'd already seen first-hand the gruesome task of culling and burning livestock to try and eradicate the spread of .

I was driving to Keswick to take part in a special TV debate about the outbreak and how it was being handled by the government.

Instinctively I chose my favourite route. Yet nothing had prepared me for the view from Hartside during that crisis. I did actually weep.

1,904 feet above the surrounding landscape the scale of the slaughter was laid before me.

That day the air was eerily still, but the effect was chilling. The pyres had been lit on farms across the low lying fields. As far as the eye could see there were distinct columns of smoke drifting skywards.

It was as if I'd been taken back to medieval times. Some rampaging force had swept the county, pillaging each community and raising it to the ground as it went.

Having witnessed the emotions of farmers who'd had to stand helplessly by as their animals, many still healthy, were taken I knew that each plume of smoke represented terrible pain and heartache.

Seeing so many dark wisps hanging in the air brought home the sheer scale of what was happening below.

On Inside Out on Monday, 14 February 2011 we hear first-hand accounts of how the cost of that crisis is measured not just by numbers.

You can tot up the damage in pounds, pence and count the animals lost, but the lingering emotional scars don't appear on any spreadsheet.

Moira Linekar's story shows how even if you work through the emotions as best you can, ten years on it's still raw.

We've more video clips on a special Inside Out webpage.

If you would like to add your own account of how the Foot & Mouth crisis affected you then please do add it as a comment to this blog.

He paints the traditonal wagons used by travellers.

They've become something of a collectors item, not just amongst the gypsy community but celebs have taken the horse drawn carriages to their hearts as well.

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And we follow ex paratrooper Al Hodgson from Cumbria as .

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When you reach a century you normally get a nice message from the Queen. However with the the stars are queueing up to offer their congratulations.

is a former member of the People's and he says if he had not joined the amateur group he might have stayed an accountant all his life!

In the latest episode of Inside Out to be screened at 19:30 GMT on Monday, 07 February 2011 Kevin returns to the theatre he joined in 1971.

As you know I front the show, but I do also go behind the camera to produce some of the films.

Needless to say, on this particular project I had a great time working with the world-renowned TV sleuth and, for that matter, the entire gang at the theatre.

Kevin went backstage to meet the cast rehearsing Pygmalion by .

They're an amazing lot. Not only do they hold down day jobs, they take the theatre very seriously indeed.

In the film Kevin buys tickets from .

When she's not in the box office or on stage acting, she writes plays.

One of her recent works was staged by and is about to open on Tyneside.

You can catch .

Perhaps it all goes back to Shaw.

He was a big fan of the People's Theatre after seeing them put on a production of his work.

The theatre group began in 1911 as a fundraising effort by the Newcastle branch of the .

They were able to bring in cash whilst choosing plays to spread a left-wing message.

As Kevin discovers the socialist principles have long gone, but the group still puts on plays that commercial theatres won't.

Their next production is .Ìý

Theirs isÌýa fascinating 100 year old history. And that century old murder plot we mention in the film? Well, Kevin meets theatre historian who reveals that founding memberÌýNorman Veitch told his band of fledgling actors back in 1911: "If we are going to murder plays, then let's murder the best!"Ìý

As well as the birthday message video at the top of this blog post, I am including some bonus material that's not in the Inside Out film itself.

There's a longer chat with former youth theatre member ...

And a full length interview with actor Kevin Whately:

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When we last covered problems at we received our biggest ever response. That was in November 2010 when the company apologised after we highlighted four cases of poor care.

The emails and letters were not just from other families concerned about the way their elderly relatives were treated, but also from staff within Southern Cross.

In our follow up which is broadcast on Monday, 07 February 2011 at 7.30pm on 91Èȱ¬1, we highlight those concerns and examine the financial background to the Darlington based company.

Southern Cross expanded quickly after it bought care homes and then sold them on when property prices rose. It continues to run the homes, but is now paying rent.

After the collapse of the property market Southern Cross was left with huge rent bills and little cash in the bank. The share price fell from 605p in November 2007 to a recent low of just over 18p. On Friday, 04 February 2011 it stood at 22.5p.

Staff told us it was commonplace for broken equipment not to be replaced or fixed quickly enough.

Southern Cross has 37,000 residents in more than 750 homes making it the largest provider in the country.

Regional Director Phil Whitaker denied financial considerations were affecting care at its homes:

"You've alluded to some cases in your programme, short term issues that the senior team was not aware of; issues that were resolved very quickly when we were aware. You always appreciate it takes time to get parts, to do things, but we maintain our buildings. We invested over £8m in the fabric of our buildings in the North of England last year. All our key kit works and will continue to work."

If you want to comment on this story please email me directly chrisjackson@bbc.co.uk

Southern Cross says if staff, residents, relatives or friends have any concerns they are encouraged to report them. There is a special freephone helpline run by . The number is 0808 880 10310 and it is open from 09:00 to 19:00, Monday to Friday.

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turns real life detective on Inside Out to uncover a 100 year old murder plot.

The Northumberland actor returns to the to help it celebrate its centenary on the next episode of Inside Out. You can see it on 91Èȱ¬1 and 91Èȱ¬1 HD on Monday, 7 February 2011 at 19:30 GMT.

Kevin explores the history of the theatre he joined as an amateur back in 1971. It turns out the People's began as part of the emerging on Tyneside. They put on plays by the likes of to raise money and spread a left wing message.

As one of the founders said to his inexperienced cast:

"If we're going to murder plays, let's murder the best!"

The theatre group has turned many budding amateurs into professional performers over those 100 years.

In recent times, , of the and have all honed their skills at the former cinema on Newcastle's coast road.

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