:00:03. > :00:07.Hello, and welcome to the last Look North before Christmas. Coming up.
:00:07. > :00:11.Deck the halls. A welcome Christmas present for the campaign to keep
:00:11. > :00:18.the Zurbarans hanging here. Silent night. The aluminium line at Alcan
:00:18. > :00:22.remains out of action as bosses ponder its future. In the deep
:00:22. > :00:25.midwinter. After last year's big freeze, you're more likely to be
:00:25. > :00:31.turning the heating down on Sunday. And a miracle at Christmas. The
:00:31. > :00:34.little girl who defied the odds, and amazed medical experts. In
:00:34. > :00:38.sport, we look ahead to the busy festive programme, which could be
:00:38. > :00:48.make or break for so many teams. And we're reaching for the stars as
:00:48. > :00:51.
:00:52. > :00:55.one of the longest-running football fanzines hits a landmark edition.
:00:55. > :00:57.It's the Christmas news campaigners dreamed of. A collection of
:00:57. > :01:02.historic paintings that hold the key to regenerating part of our
:01:02. > :01:09.area are set to be saved after all. A �15 million deal to keep the
:01:09. > :01:13.Zurbarans in County Durham was in doubt. But now it's back on and set
:01:13. > :01:23.to bring a huge boost to our region for years to come. Peter Harris
:01:23. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:29.reports. 13 Spanish works of art. And why should we care if they stay
:01:29. > :01:35.here? It was feared they would be sold and with them gone, the future
:01:35. > :01:39.of historic Auckland Castle was in doubt. And then a saviour. At the
:01:39. > :01:46.time, Jonathan Ruffer have not seen them but offered to buy them for
:01:46. > :01:52.the region for �50 million. And the castle could become an art gallery.
:01:52. > :01:56.A brand new tourist attraction. Deal done. Not quite. In December
:01:56. > :02:01.it was announced that Jonathan Ruffer was in dispute with the
:02:01. > :02:05.Church Commissioners and The Deal was off and the future of the
:02:06. > :02:09.paintings and the castle was in doubt. But now good news with the
:02:09. > :02:13.Bishop of Durham saying that Jonathan Ruffer and the
:02:13. > :02:18.commissioners, who owned the paintings and the castle, have
:02:18. > :02:26.struck a deal. The biggest likelihood is that this turns into
:02:26. > :02:31.a really exciting centre for visitors as they begin their
:02:31. > :02:35.journey through County Durham and into Northumbria. It will be a
:02:35. > :02:40.boost to tourism if we can get it off the ground. What the painting
:02:40. > :02:44.safe, part of the Christian heritage of the region is protected
:02:44. > :02:49.and the castle could possibly be a prestigious gallery. To I would
:02:49. > :02:52.hope we could see pictures from the National Gallery or rather
:02:52. > :02:57.collections in Bishop Auckland because that would be a wonderful
:02:57. > :03:01.thing for the area. They are going into Christmas
:03:01. > :03:03.knowing that their jobs are going anyway, but it could be even worse.
:03:03. > :03:07.The Alcan aluminium smelter at Lynemouth in Northumberland was
:03:07. > :03:10.earmarked for closure by its owners last month. Then came a power cut
:03:10. > :03:18.at the plant, causing damage which might not be in the owners'
:03:18. > :03:24.interests to put right. Chris Stewart has the story.
:03:24. > :03:27.In it could not have happened at a worse time. Alcan had announced the
:03:27. > :03:32.plant would close and now it must decide whether it is worth spending
:03:32. > :03:42.money to get it working properly again for the time it has left.
:03:42. > :03:43.
:03:43. > :03:48.Aluminium is made in huge ovens. There are two at Alcan. After a few
:03:48. > :03:52.hours without power the aluminium inside solidify us and that has
:03:53. > :03:58.happened on all of one line and a quarter of the other. The aluminium
:03:58. > :04:01.would now have to be dug out, which is expensive. And the huge amount
:04:01. > :04:06.of electricity the plant uses means it would have to be restored
:04:06. > :04:12.gradually, which is also expensive. They have been two previous power
:04:12. > :04:16.cuts at the plant and both times the pots were dug out, but that was
:04:16. > :04:20.at a time when market prices for aluminium meant the owners would
:04:20. > :04:25.get their money back. But with the plant having a limited life anyway,
:04:25. > :04:34.its days of production might have gone. Decisions will be made in
:04:34. > :04:37.India. -- in the new year. A security guard has been injured
:04:37. > :04:40.in a robbery at a branch of Asda on Tyneside. Shoppers were locked
:04:40. > :04:42.inside the supermarket in Benton for around 25 minutes after a
:04:42. > :04:45.Tannoy announcement warning them they were being kept inside for
:04:45. > :04:48.their own safety. The robbers attacked a security van which was
:04:48. > :04:51.taking cash from the branch. 900 Sellafield workers are being
:04:51. > :04:55.transferred to Whitehaven, in a move that it is hoped will
:04:55. > :04:58.revitalise the Cumbrian town. The deal was signed this week, but it
:04:59. > :05:06.will be two years before the staff are housed in Albion Square, a new
:05:06. > :05:09.$20 million office complex. Across the North today, towns and
:05:09. > :05:19.cities were full of glassy-eyed men wandering around shops looking
:05:19. > :05:22.
:05:22. > :05:25.stressed and clueless. Christmas Day it surprises them every year.
:05:25. > :05:28.Not every man in the world leaves the Christmas shopping until the
:05:28. > :05:32.last minute, but it is probably fair to say many do. Why? Damian
:05:32. > :05:37.O'Neil tried to find out. Before you get indignant, some men
:05:37. > :05:41.do their shopping in good time. Some women to leave it to the last
:05:41. > :05:49.minute. The old stereotype of the last minute male shopper does hold
:05:49. > :05:57.water. I do not know, maybe it is the bottom of their priorities.
:05:57. > :06:01.Money -- women are more organised. Why are you shopping today? Why are
:06:01. > :06:09.you so useless at this? It is the way I am. Everything and the last
:06:09. > :06:14.minute. Women like doing it. It was one last thing. I am trying to see
:06:14. > :06:20.if I can pick up a late bargain. A everything is mainly down. One
:06:20. > :06:25.thing has not arrived. The internet let me down. You have done the rest
:06:25. > :06:29.of it? And I have most of it down. Just little bits for my daughter.
:06:29. > :06:36.Traditionally, do you leave it to the last minute? I am pretty
:06:36. > :06:40.organised. I'd do stuff on the last day. I am not a typical bloke.
:06:40. > :06:48.Waiting for the pay cheque to come in. That is the only reason,
:06:48. > :06:53.waiting for the money to come in. have to get my mum presence. Just
:06:53. > :07:03.my mum maiming. Do you feel useless leaving it to the last minute?
:07:03. > :07:08.what are you trying to say?! In is this a man thing? By think it is.
:07:08. > :07:14.Because Christmas is on Sunday, it means he men have another day
:07:14. > :07:17.tomorrow to do last minute shopping. -- un men. But if you leave it too
:07:17. > :07:21.late and by from the filling station, she will know about it and
:07:21. > :07:25.you might as well pack your bags now!
:07:25. > :07:31.Barring a miracle, it's not likely to be a white Christmas in any part
:07:31. > :07:41.of the North this year. Temperatures here on the big day
:07:41. > :07:44.are nudging towards as high as they have be that this time of year. And
:07:45. > :07:51.that's a very different story from the last two years, when it snowed
:07:51. > :07:55.and snowed around Christmas. Chris Storey reports.
:07:56. > :08:01.After a couple of cold Christmases, there is something going on down at
:08:01. > :08:07.the beach. The from -- footprints in the sand shows how busy the
:08:07. > :08:13.beach is. This time last year, they were footprints in the snow.
:08:13. > :08:19.Temperatures at the coast were below freezing. It was not just the
:08:19. > :08:24.shoreline, it was the snow line. This time last year, paddling in
:08:24. > :08:29.the snow. Struggling to drive our car. There was snow on the beach on
:08:29. > :08:35.Christmas Day last year. The sand was frozen. You are not exactly
:08:35. > :08:39.wrapped up. It is really mild today. We have come up for Christmas for a
:08:39. > :08:47.few years to visit relatives and this is the most mild I have seen
:08:47. > :08:53.it. Last Christmas, Tyneside dropped to -12 degrees. This year,
:08:53. > :08:57.is expected to be seven degrees before daylight and 12 degrees on
:08:57. > :09:04.Christmas Day, which could equal the warmest temperature in the
:09:04. > :09:12.region recorded in 2003 in Gainford in County Durham. With temperatures
:09:12. > :09:22.such as these, there is no need to head for Australia. If it does get
:09:22. > :09:25.
:09:25. > :09:30.too cold, do what others do, I will simply filed my arms. -- thought my
:09:30. > :09:33.arms. We are saving a fortune in our bills. Coming up next, all I
:09:33. > :09:37.will say is it's a real Christmas heart-warmer. And later, find out
:09:37. > :09:44.what has been happening to some of the stars of our Metro The Musical
:09:44. > :09:50.video. And find out what will happen in the weather forecast for
:09:50. > :09:52.the Christmas weekend. We've brought you many reports on
:09:52. > :09:57.the work done at the Freeman Hospital transplant unit in
:09:57. > :10:02.Newcastle. Some of the most delicate operations there are
:10:02. > :10:06.carried out on children and babies. But, sometimes, the odds are really
:10:06. > :10:09.stacked against them. This little lady, Scarlett Ungers, from Seaton
:10:09. > :10:12.Delaval in Northumberland, was just six months old when she was
:10:12. > :10:15.admitted with a badly damaged heart. Her parents were preparing for the
:10:15. > :10:20.worst, when something remarkable happened. Our health reporter has
:10:21. > :10:28.the story. Here is Scarlett. Critically ill
:10:28. > :10:34.and being kept alive by a mechanical heart. She had been a
:10:34. > :10:40.healthy baby but was struck down by a virus. They did an X-ray because
:10:40. > :10:43.they thought she might have a lung infection. When they looked at her
:10:43. > :10:52.lungs, the heart was really enlarged. They referred us to the
:10:52. > :10:55.Freeman Hospital. The doctor broke the news she was really ill.
:10:55. > :10:58.heart no longer working, as doctors prepared to put her on the Berlin
:10:58. > :11:07.heart and put her on the urgent list for a transplant, things went
:11:07. > :11:11.from bad to worse. Scarlett had a heart attack. I ran out when she
:11:12. > :11:19.had a cardiac arrest. I did not want to see. I sat in a room and
:11:19. > :11:22.thought the next person I see will say she is dead. For six weeks, she
:11:22. > :11:26.was kept alive on a Berlin, or mechanical, heart, waiting for a
:11:26. > :11:33.donor. Doctors wanted then to do tests to see how well her own heart
:11:33. > :11:36.was performing. They made a remarkable discovery. When we were
:11:36. > :11:39.looking six weeks ago, the heart muscle was not contracting, there
:11:39. > :11:44.was no squeezing of the heart muscle and some of the blood was
:11:44. > :11:47.flowing backwards through her leaky valves. When we did the test on her,
:11:47. > :11:52.we found the heart muscle was working again, contracting and
:11:52. > :11:55.squeezing strongly, and the leaking back had got better. The Freeman
:11:55. > :12:02.Hospital in Newcastle is the only hospital in the country to
:12:02. > :12:05.undertake a test to see if the heart has recovered. Nobody wants a
:12:05. > :12:11.transplant if they can avoid it. For her to keep her own heart is
:12:11. > :12:16.the best chance of having a long and healthy life. Now at home, it
:12:16. > :12:22.is a Christmas gift her mother did not dare contemplate. We did not
:12:22. > :12:32.know she would be here. We thought possibly we would be in hospital.
:12:32. > :12:34.
:12:34. > :12:38.We are looking forward to a quiet Christmas, and enjoying her.
:12:38. > :12:41.Another good reason why that unit should stay here.
:12:41. > :12:44.A Christmas get-together is at the heart of the festive season for
:12:44. > :12:47.many. But for some older people, it can be a lonely time.That's where
:12:47. > :12:50.organisations like Age UK and its volunteers play a vital role.
:12:50. > :12:53.People such as retired driver John Bannister, who has spent the last
:12:53. > :13:03.ten years helping a lunch club in Dalston in Cumbria. Julie Smith has
:13:03. > :13:13.
:13:13. > :13:17.the last of our reports on the true spirit of Christmas.
:13:17. > :13:27.Familiar sight some Christmas, the tree, the trimmings and the family
:13:27. > :13:28.
:13:28. > :13:37.dinner. But not the reality for some older people. An estimated
:13:37. > :13:43.500,000 of them will spend Christmas alone this year. Making
:13:43. > :13:48.all the difference is John and Graham. They are reliable
:13:48. > :13:54.volunteers. The lift they give to the community is priceless. The
:13:54. > :14:00.selfless gift of time. If somebody had said the year ago that we would
:14:00. > :14:08.enjoy going out, in our eighties and nineties, I would have said, do
:14:08. > :14:14.not be so silly. I thoroughly enjoy it. Really good company. We look
:14:15. > :14:22.forward to it. We are looking after them in general. We take them out.
:14:22. > :14:28.If we did not do it, nobody else would. We doubt volunteers helping
:14:28. > :14:34.the staff, -- without volunteers, they would still be at home in
:14:34. > :14:41.their own four walls or as one person said, he would still be
:14:41. > :14:47.staring out of the window. If I were at home, I would be very bored.
:14:47. > :14:57.My wife does the garden, but no hobbies. This is my life.
:14:57. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:01.Definitely. Merry Christmas! It has certainly been a year of
:15:02. > :15:04.anniversaries. We've had the 100th anniversary of the Transporter
:15:04. > :15:07.Bridge in Middlesbrough, the 25th anniversary of the Metro Centre in
:15:08. > :15:12.Gateshead and 2011 was also the 30th anniversary of the Tyne & Wear
:15:12. > :15:16.Metro. You might remember, Look North helped commemorate that
:15:16. > :15:21.birthday by commissioning a musical video. Metro the Musical, which
:15:21. > :15:25.premiered at the Sage in March. The stars were you, the Look North
:15:25. > :15:35.viewers, who auditioned to take part. We have been finding out
:15:35. > :15:42.
:15:42. > :15:52.what's happened to some of them. 1980, a year of unemployment and
:15:52. > :15:59.
:15:59. > :16:09.cold war darkness. 1980 and emerging from a winter of harshness.
:16:09. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:17.In the baking heat. The Metro. In cadmium yellow. Just got back from
:16:17. > :16:21.six months in Spain. I continued singing after the musical. The
:16:22. > :16:26.dream was the West End and this will give me the confidence to go
:16:26. > :16:36.for that. I cannot believe it is 12 months since I got the part.
:16:36. > :16:45.
:16:45. > :16:49.Everything has changed. It has been such a good year. I am fairly
:16:49. > :16:54.instantly recognisable in this, but since the musical has been
:16:54. > :16:57.broadcast, my profile has gone up and I have had a great time meeting
:16:58. > :17:07.people all over the region. The musical was one of the best things
:17:08. > :17:11.
:17:11. > :17:17.I have done in my life. It has been almost two years since
:17:17. > :17:23.we did the musical. I have changed. I am more confident and have more
:17:23. > :17:33.friends. I go out and neighbours say, are you on the television
:17:33. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:40.and?! It has completely changed my life. So since the musical, I have
:17:40. > :17:45.a management company in London. My group is now on a four of the major
:17:45. > :17:49.TV stations and we have record label interest. It has been a great
:17:49. > :17:56.year and the start of it was Metro The Musical. It boosted my profile
:17:56. > :18:03.in the local area. It was good to see myself on the local news.
:18:03. > :18:08.heavily pregnant. Two weeks later this little bundle came along. He
:18:08. > :18:18.was listening to Metro The Musical. We still sing it to this day. We
:18:18. > :18:24.
:18:24. > :18:31.sing it in a car. What are we saying? Metro The Musical!
:18:31. > :18:36.It has been an amazing year. Especially for myself. This will
:18:36. > :18:46.give us the confidence to go for it. Brilliant. I would do it again in
:18:46. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:09.an minute. -- a minute. I always wanted a solo! Let's Go,
:19:09. > :19:12.
:19:12. > :19:18.Metro. That is high energy. I am exhausted! Talking of anniversaries,
:19:18. > :19:25.happy anniversary. 23 years. Dear me. We have been
:19:25. > :19:30.changed together -- chained together. On to sport. There are so
:19:30. > :19:36.many games in the Christmas period. The time can have a major bearing
:19:36. > :19:42.on a football team's entire season. Newcastle will hope for a change of
:19:42. > :19:47.luck while Sunderland fans will think that Santa has already been.
:19:47. > :19:53.It is still early days, but after two victories out of three games,
:19:53. > :20:02.as many as Steve Bruce are managed in 14 attempts, the arrival of
:20:02. > :20:12.Martin O'Neill looks like a good thing for Sunderland. I think it is
:20:12. > :20:14.
:20:14. > :20:19.so traditional, it is fantastic. I am the first one to talk about to
:20:19. > :20:27.break in the new year, I was never talking about forgoing games such
:20:27. > :20:32.as Boxing Day. It was later in January. Rather selfish of me.
:20:32. > :20:38.Newcastle's winter stumble has seen them take two points from a
:20:38. > :20:43.possible 18. Alan Pardew could still be granted his Christmas wish.
:20:43. > :20:50.I wanted 30 points for Christmas dinner. But the Boxing Day dinner
:20:50. > :20:55.will be OK. I will accept that. We have had a fantastic first half of
:20:55. > :21:03.the season and we are looking to build on that. That was a great
:21:03. > :21:13.hacked! Tony Mo Gray returned to bring Middlesbrough out of the mire
:21:13. > :21:22.-- Tony Mowbray. They have a tough fixture list. Return to the Premier
:21:23. > :21:27.League is the wish of bosses, and also Rob Nichols, the editor of Fly
:21:27. > :21:33.Me To The Moon. The title was taken from the quote
:21:33. > :21:38.of Bruce Rioch, who said if he had to fly To the Moon, he would take
:21:38. > :21:44.Tony Mowbray with him. It is humbling to have a fanzine that has
:21:44. > :21:50.been going for 25 years. With your name attached to it, it is a
:21:50. > :21:56.humbling thing. It is amazing how it has changed. There was a
:21:56. > :22:01.typewriter with a missing letter. Your hat to be created. Fly Me To
:22:01. > :22:07.The Moon Is at an often light hearted take on all things to do
:22:07. > :22:15.with Middlesbrough. It has even contained a cartoon who had a crush
:22:15. > :22:19.on a certain TV presenter. The it reflects the times. There is
:22:19. > :22:26.probably more humour in it again, perhaps there was dark humour last
:22:26. > :22:30.season before Tony arrived. Most of the criticism is against opposition.
:22:30. > :22:35.It shows the strength of the humour in the town that it still goes and
:22:35. > :22:39.people want to buy it. There is only one thing they want for
:22:39. > :22:45.Christmas. Promotion to the Premier League is the big dream.
:22:45. > :22:50.pressure. We will enjoy the challenge. It is not much to ask.
:22:51. > :23:00.League One sides also have a busy time. Two of Carlisle's games are
:23:00. > :23:06.away against top-four opposition. Hartlepool will try to break their
:23:06. > :23:11.losing streak. We are now going to the tree that
:23:11. > :23:18.has been delivered to Newcastle from the way. Is that right?
:23:18. > :23:28.That is right. The town is packed. We have come to a quiet corner to
:23:28. > :23:29.
:23:29. > :23:36.give you the forecast. It will not be a white Christmas. But we will
:23:36. > :23:41.have a wet and windy Christmas. It will also be incredibly mild. We
:23:41. > :23:47.might just have record-breaking temperatures. We will not have the
:23:47. > :23:53.coldest Christmas, which was in 1878, when we reached -18 Celsius
:23:53. > :23:59.at Durham. We might challenge for the mark this Christmas, 2003, when
:23:59. > :24:02.we reached 12 degrees. So look out on your thermometers on Christmas
:24:02. > :24:08.on your thermometers on Christmas Day. Tonight it is cold. The rain
:24:08. > :24:18.went through during the day. We have clear skies around the region.
:24:18. > :24:19.
:24:19. > :24:24.It will be a cold night. There is a chance of a frost and perhaps I see
:24:24. > :24:30.stretchers on the roads first thing tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is
:24:30. > :24:35.Christmas Eve it. We will start dry, particularly in the North East. In
:24:35. > :24:40.Cumbria, cloud will bring wet weather through the day. It could
:24:40. > :24:44.turn heavy in Cumbria. It will move into the North East, but it will
:24:44. > :24:51.always be lighter east of the Pennines. And with the wind picking
:24:51. > :24:59.up, it will not feel so mild. We can look at the pressure chart for
:24:59. > :25:04.Christmas Day. It will be windy. The blue of the rain showing up
:25:04. > :25:12.across Cumbria in particular. On Boxing Day, it will be mild, and
:25:12. > :25:17.windy. So, the summary, it will stay mild. We will be looking for
:25:17. > :25:22.the record, but it will also be windy and wet. I could not find my
:25:22. > :25:25.mistletoe. And so I have brought a blow up Christmas tree in the hope
:25:25. > :25:26.of getting a kiss on the way home. of getting a kiss on the way home.
:25:26. > :25:33.of getting a kiss on the way home. I am off to finish my Christmas
:25:33. > :25:37.shopping! Shoppers beware! It is always nice
:25:37. > :25:45.to receive Christmas greetings from viewers. One message has to take
:25:45. > :25:49.the biscuit. Andy Taylor and Scott two are
:25:49. > :25:54.Geordies who are divers in the North Sea. They have to use a mix
:25:54. > :25:57.of helium and oxygen, which plays havoc with their voices. They have
:25:57. > :26:03.just finished a dive and will have to spend five days in a
:26:03. > :26:13.decompression unit. This is why their fellow diver cent this
:26:13. > :26:20.
:26:20. > :26:30.seasonal offering. THEY SING WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS IN HIGH-
:26:30. > :26:31.
:26:31. > :26:36.PICHED VOICES. Bless them. Happy Christmas. Andy said they will have
:26:36. > :26:41.Turkey, but no crackers, because there is a risk they could cause an
:26:41. > :26:51.explosion. We would like to finish with our Christmas greeting, which
:26:51. > :26:58.
:26:58. > :27:08.comes courtesy of the town crier. Oyez!! Oyez!! Santa is coming on
:27:08. > :27:15.
:27:15. > :27:21.his slave. What a wondrous sight that will be -- on his sleigh.