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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Sam Wollaston

‘People will listen’: turning anger into community pride in North Shields

Four children in school uniform - two girls and two boys – walk across a zebra crossing towards the camera
Some of the children from two local schools who joined the walk of hope around North Shields. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Dashing through the snow with Father Chris … It does not get any more seasonal, even if it feels like there might be a final syllable missing. To be honest we are not really dashing, it’s more a leisurely walk-and-talk, around North Shields. And the snow, the remnants of an early Tyneside flurry, is patchy and dirty rather than deep and crisp and even.

Father Chris is real though – Father Chris Hughes, Catholic priest; the diocese is a strategic partner for the local chapter of Citizens UK, one of five charities supported by this year’s Guardian charity appeal, under the theme of “hope”. The appeal supports grassroots voluntary groups that nurture community pride and positive change, providing an antidote to division and hate.

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