THOUSANDS of people were due to descend on the banks of the Tyne last night for the spectacular opening of the Great Exhibition of the North, on June 23, 2018.

The Quayside came to life with music, dance, animation and street performances, along with the unveiling of the UK’s largest water sculpture.

Event-goers were set to enjoy a live performance from northern rock band Maximo Park, and an appearance by renowned poet, Lemn Sissay introducing his newly created Anthem of the North.

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The opening event marked the culmination of months of planning and the start of an 80-day free programme including trails, venues, exhibits and installations across Newcastle and Gateshead.

The exhibition told the story of the North of England and how its innovators, businesses, artists and designers shaped our present and are inspiring our future.

Hopes were raised for the future of Darlington’s Binns store after it emerged the store was still significantly profitable.

As hundreds of House of Fraser staff in the region tentatively awaited a creditors’ meeting to decide the future of the company, Darlington's then-MP Jenny Chapman said she had held constructive talks with the building’s landlord at Westminster.

Ms Chapman and Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for economy and regeneration, Chris McEwan, met representatives from the pension fund which owns the building for talks – and emerged hopeful they would make “a major effort” in keeping a department store in the region.

A state-of-the-art MRI scanner was installed in a hospital thanks in part to the generosity of the local community, in June 2018.

The machine at Darlington Memorial Hospital followed the installation of an identical scanner at Bishop Auckland Hospital in December 2017.

Funding for the new scanner was raised by a number of community projects and donations from former patients and small businesses. One group of NHS staff and members of the public even took part in a skydive, raising more than £4,000 for the machine.

One of the first patients to test out the new scanner was Darlington man Kevin Hogg, who was referred to the hospital after suffering neck problems.

He was a guest of honour at the launch of the MRI scanner on Thursday and cut the ribbon to officially declare it open.

IT sounded like a bit of a fishy tale, but a creative aquarist made a tank for his koi carp from a Nissan Micra – using 400 copies of The Northern Echo.

Aquarium enthusiast Andy Tate used recycled editions of the newspaper to make papier mache filler for his pet piscine project, lining it with fibre glass over a ten month period.

When it was completed, the 44-year-old also installed LED lighting so it could be lit up, although he was wary about keeping his beloved fish outside in his garden overnight in case one of the windows is broken by vandals.

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The madcap idea raised a few eyebrows among neighbours on Mr Tate’s street, on a housing estate in Consett, County Durham.

He said: “People just think I am crackers. We had people out in the street the other night when we had it lit up and they were taking videos.

“A few people who did not know what it was have seen it and been quite shocked. It is not what you expect.”