91Èȱ¬

I had the thrill of opening an exhibition at the in Sunderland this week (Thursday, 21 July 2011). The fact is I had a vested interest as one of our films is an exhibit.

Capt. Mark Page

His songs and those of many other old seamen from the days of sail languished in an old trunk and eventually ended up in the US Library of Congress.

When I heard about them I set about tracing Capt. Page's living descendants to have him sing to them from beyond the grave. The story went global and even sparked interest from other documentary makers.

That was that, I thought, but the National Glass Centre asked if the now legendary mariner could be a part of their new exhibition called .

It's a great mix of old and new. From contemporary art that evokes the sea, to artefacts from the true Sunderland maritime legend .

You'll even see the marrying of history and world leading research. Down the centuries British ships traversed the high seas and kept a note of the weather, details that are who is looking into signs of global warming using readings that predate official records.

What an eclectic mix of things to see, but a great idea to put it at the heart of what was once the world's biggest shipbuilding town.

It's free and runs until the end of October so do go along if you get the chance and don't forget to see our film if you missed it first time round..

It's a story we've been following longer than most.

Today it seems the final chapter is being written in the saga of Darlington based care homes provider .

We revealed a terrible lack of care of some elderly residents on Inside Out, only to be inundated with calls and emails from people who told similar tales of inadequacies in the care of their relatives in Southern Cross homes.

We were even contacted by worried members of staff.

We put it to the company that their squeezed financial position was part of the problem. Something it denied.

Now Southern Cross' cash problems have finally led to its demise. It has been keen to assure those 31,000 residents in its care that they needn't worry and that new providers will come in to run the homes.

Christopher Fisher, the chairman of the group came on the radio this morning to offer that guarantee. Worried relatives must be wanting to see the promise of continuity of care in writing. As I write this morning (08:50 BST, Monday 11 July 2011) the Southern Cross website has absolutely no mention of the company's demise.

Things must have moved as quickly as the closure of the News of the World.

A newspaper title going under may be big news - but the future care of thousands of vulnerable elderly citizens is surely the biggest story of the moment.

Can you believe it?

The Metro Centre has been going for 25 years. A quarter of a century of shoppers walking up and down all those malls.

If you add that all together we must have joined forces to walk to the moon and back by now.

Not that we'd all be fit as fiddles, because chances are we'd have made a few stops in the food court.

The idea of combining mass shopping, all under one roof with a dedicated eating complex, a massive cinema and even a covered funfair was revolutionary. I remember it well. I had just joined the 91Èȱ¬ and was returning to my native Tyneside, just as it opened its doors.

John Hall in front of the Metro Centre whilst under construction

was the developer who can claim some credit for giving Gateshead a more prominent place on the map. I seem to recall Newcastle was a little bit sniffy about it all at the time.

Some even rather pointedly referred to it as "Europe's largest out of town car park". Well, the free parking and the building of the Western By-Pass did the trick. People flocked there from all over the north.

This was the American dream transplanted onto some disused industrial land on the outskirts of Gateshead. It's down to some pretty strong passion and belief that such a whacky project even got beyond the drawing board.

Original layout plans for the Metro Centre

Since then other British cities have followed the model.

Sheffield has , Kent has and the West Midlands has .

But we were first!

I'm making a programme about the Metro Centre so if you have any memories, whacky or interesting stories, love it or hate it, or maybe you were involved with the construction of it, do get in touch. You can email me at chrisjackson@bbc.co.uk