IT was BT who profitably declared that it was good to talk, and I'm inclined to agree. The public speaking side of my life as an editor crept up on me almost unnoticed and gradually took over.

In my first few months of editing The Northern Echo, seven years or so ago, I was asked to speak to a church group in Darlington. The seed was sown and it has carried on growing ever since.

It is not a hardship at all. In fact, it is a great pleasure and an invaluable way of meeting readers and finding out what they think about the paper.

My speaking engagements, which have so far raised well over £10,000 for the Butterwick Children's Hospice, take me to fascinating corners of the region. They introduce me to wonderful people, doing wonderful things for their communities.

A couple of weeks ago, for example, I was invited to speak to the Normanby Methodist Church Wives' Club, near Middlesbrough, just up the road from where I grew up. The wives' club meets in an admirable new building, which the members paid for themselves with a magnificent £250,000 fundraising drive. The church building is also being used by all sorts of other community groups and the fundraisers are rightly proud of their achievements.

Last week, the public speaking trail took me to St Margaret's Mothers' Union at Brookfield, Middlesbrough.

In the audience was Doreen Elder, who had a strangely familiar look. Mrs Elder, it turned out, is the older sister of Brian Clough, legendary football manager and yesteryear star of Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

The family grew up in a Middlesbrough council house - 11 Valley Road - and there's a plaque on the wall to mark its place in history.

"Aye, I used to smack our Brian's bum when he was little," smiled Doreen. "What people don't realise is just how generous he was - there were eight of us and he paid off all our mortgages."

There is an appeal up and running to erect a statue of the great man in the town's Albert Park, but it's hit a bit of a brick wall.

"We seem to have got a bit stuck," said Doreen.

I promised to give it a plug, so anyone who can help should send cheques to the Brian Clough Memorial Fund, c/o John McPartland, 32 Malvern Drive, Acklam, Middlesbrough.

Cloughie, not a bad talker himself, would surely appreciate it.

AND so to this week's apology... The Northern Echo's deputy editor Chris Lloyd is himself a respected public speaker but last week he was being talked about in less than glowing terms.

Chris was supposed to be at Tudhoe Cricket Club on Monday morning but got confused and thought it was an evening event. Apologies to the members of Spennymoor Probus Club who were left to talk among themselves.

It reminds me of the time I drove all the way to Pickering, up Sutton Bank and beyond, stuck behind a tractor for ages, to address a ladies' luncheon club.

I arrived in a fluster and apologised to the ladies for being slightly late.

"Oh no, Mr Barron," said the secretary, "you're exactly a year early."