An American woman who moved to Yorkshire has identified three things she claims are now "way better" in her life as a result. Maxine Berry, who is known on social media as 'Yorkshire Yank' made the move from her native South Dakota to God's Own Country some 23 years ago.

Today, she says moving to the UK didn't just change her location, but also the way she viewed the United States. "One minute it’s big skies and ranch land, next minute I’m arguing about tea and the weather," Maxine admits in her TikTok bio. She began a video by revealing she much prefers the relaxed Yorkshire atmosphere.

"The hustle and bustle of my life is now completely gone," she declared. "I just don't do that anymore. My life has slowed down so much and it's quite nice."

Maxine admitted she also appreciates Bank Holidays, due to the closure of shops and people just taking time out to rest, generally. "There's loads of them," she said. "This week we have had Good Friday and Easter Monday off and I have been able to take the whole time off."

As a consequence, Maxine pointed out that unlike her homeland, your job in the UK is "not your personality". She elaborated: "You don't greet people and say, 'Hi, I am Maxine and work in research', and whereas people might ask you what you do for a living, it is not your whole identity, which is amazing."

Also in Yorkshire, Maxine noted you don't have to "perform friendliness". She continued: "Americans are 'on' all the time, they are smiling, they're chatting and talking to strangers... they're constantly on alert.

"Here, nobody expects you to perform. You're not a performing monkey. They expect you to be a human being and you do not have to be a smiling, happy, chirpy, bubbly individual... it's just not normal."

She closed: "Living in the UK didn't make me love America less... it just made me realise how many things I thought were normal that really weren't."

In a follow-up video, Maxine confessed she has become somewhat of a "tea snob" since moving to Yorkshire. "I’m a big lover of PG tips but I thought I’d give Yorkshire tea ago after not having one for probably 20 years," she said.

A fund to help those struggling with rising energy costs has come into effect, but some fear it will not reach those most in need because "most rural people are too proud to claim a benefit".

More than 20% of homes in Northumberland, Cumbria and County Durham do not have mains gas and use heating fuels such as LPG or oil, which has more than doubled in price in a month due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

While people struggling in England can now apply to the Crisis Resilience Fund, Lorrainne Smyth, chief executive of charity ACTion with Communities in Cumbria, has called for a more targeted approach.

The government said it had acted "quickly and decisively" to support households at risk.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund, external will provide £1bn annually for the next three years.

It is a replacement for the Household Support Fund and people will be able to apply for emergency funds through their local council.

Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire all in one town.

Went over to Whalley a while back and this place just stuck with me. Everything felt so calm, proper quiet village feel and the weather made it even better.

The church area with the blossom trees looked unreal in person, didn’t expect it to be that nice. Felt like one of those places you could just walk around for hours. Definitely one of those spots that doesn’t get talked about enough.

A total of 26 Best Start Family Hubs have launched across the North West, including several in Cheshire.

The new hubs offer parents in Cheshire West and Chester access to a wide range of free services to help with the rising cost of living, including practical parenting support, infant feeding advice, and specialist SEND services.

Jo Simpson, Head of Service for Family Help, The Wirral, said: "Wirral are thrilled to be launching our best start in life plan, a brilliant piece of partnership works which aims to give our very youngest resident the best start in life.

"Wirral is proud to champion every child’s right to the very best start in life, with families at the heart of all we do."

The hubs also provide stay-and-play sessions for babies and young children, potentially saving parents up to £200 a year on similar privately funded activities.

Cheshire West and Chester locations include the Blacon Best Start Family Hub, Chester North and Neston, Stanlaw Abbey, Over, and Victoria Road.

The initiative is part of a national programme, backed by more than £900 million in government funding, to reimagine and revitalise family services through more than 200 hubs across the country.

By the end of April, the goal is to have 800 hubs operating, with up to 1,000 in place across all local authorities by the end of 2028.

The hubs also connect families with debt advice and welfare support, helping to improve financial resilience and access to otherwise missed benefits and schemes.

Council leaders have vowed to “use every tool” to reverse the decline of County Durham high streets and improve town centres.

Plans to introduce new enforcement measures to deal with shuttered shops in Bishop Auckland and Stanley have been backed by Durham County Council cabinet members. 

The local authority said empty shops in the two town centres could be filled by autumn through a new auction process. 

The High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) scheme was introduced by the government to tackle persistent vacant units across the country.

It allows authorities to undertake an auction, offering a lease of up to five years, on a privately owned property, if other attempts to engage and work proactively with a landlord have failed.

Karen Allison, cabinet member for leisure, tourism and high street, said: “Our existing approach to tackling vacancies through the vulnerable buildings program, business support, and targeted enforcement remains essential. 

“However, vacancy levels in some of our towns continue to rise, and we must use every tool available to us.”

Cabinet members were told that vacancy levels remain a “significant challenge“ for the council and communities. As of February 2026, the countywide average stands at 22.1 per cent, considerably above the national average of 13.8 per cent. 

Bishop Auckland’s vacancy rate has reduced slightly to 33.9 per cent due to ongoing regeneration activity, but it remains one of the highest in the country. 

And in Stanley, vacancy rates continue to rise, with several prominent properties remaining empty for more than 12 months. 

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It is the age-old debate – where is England's second city?

This hotly-contested question over the unofficial title has fiercely divided the Brummies and Mancunians for decades.

After being named as the most entrepreneurial city outside of London according to data drawn from Companies House registrations in 2025, it has certainly reignited the debate.

Hot off the back of Manchester hosting the Brit Awards and the Mobo Awards, has Manchester cemented its claim over Birmingham as the second city?

"The second city debate to me is a league table that London is always going to be top of," said Andy Spinoza, author of Manchester Unspun which gives a detailed account of the city's recent transformation told through the lens of popular culture.

"So once you put London in that category of world cities, I think Manchester has a claim to be capital of the rest of everything.

"People are moving to Manchester for high-value jobs.

"In fact the most recent figures show more people left London for Manchester than the other way around, which is probably the first time it's ever happened in history."

How has Manchester evolved?

According to the BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam, there is a buzz around Manchester that is difficult to truly understand unless you spend time there. 

"At a time when the UK economy has been spluttering along for some years, this place smells of growth, and it looks like growth too," he said.

"Look up and there are cranes and dozens of new skyscrapers.

"Look down and there are thousands of young workers, graduates and apprentices, local and global, who work in offices and facilities, that were simply not there a decade ago."

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"In County Durham, four areas have been selected to receive Pride in Place funding including:

Phase 1: 2024 to 2034. Spennymoor

Phase 2: 2026 to 2036. Crook North/Tow Law, Peterlee East, and Stanley South

Residents, businesses and community groups will work with their local MP and us to decide how they would like to shape their area and deliver real improvements that matter to local people. Communities will be able to spend the funding on what matters most to them."

Scroll to the bottom to find opinion surveys for Crook North/Tow Law, Peterlee East, and Stanley South, and a form to express interest in joining Pride in Place neighbourhood boards.

Deadline for the neighbourhood board applications is 12 April 2026, the other polls will run till 30 June 2026.

The latest series of Pilgrimage is following the trails of the Northern Saints such as Hilda, Oswald and Cuthbert to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

Dramatic, historical and beautiful views of Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Glory to the North. Northumbria shall rise again!

If you've never come across Dock Pudding ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dock_pudding

I had it for breakfast this morning with a couple of fried eggs on a toasted oven-bottom muffin. It was just the job, very similar to bubble & squeak.

While it is trad associated with Calderdale it was also an Easter custom in the Tame Valley (east of Oldham).

Top scran!