Sunday Sun

Cover Star

NOT long ago, any petrol engine producing 120bhp was a 1.8 or two- litre. Not any more. The VW group's 1.4 turbo has 123bhp and, in the Audi Sportback five-door hatch fitted with stop/start, it is great fun to drive and immensely economical.

Review ; Mazda5 Pounds 17,695

THE new Mazda5 people carrier now in showrooms has seven seats for the first time. And it also has twin sliding rear doors, and new engines fitted with fuel saving stop/start technology.

Review

TODAY'S big 4x4s have improved beyond all recognition from even just a few years ago when it comes to economy. The Toyota Land Cruiser, a big five-door with a three-litre turbo- diesel engine, managed more than 34 miles per gallon helping transport my daughter to her new home 200 miles away.

Simon Says . . Harleys Are Life Changing ; Advertisement Feature

IN early October, 40-year-old Simon Taylor, a marketing consultant on business in Newcastle, decided to pop down to Newcastle Harley-Davidson's new showroom at Silverlink to take a look around. After he'd sat on a few bikes that he liked the look of, Eric Ree, who has worked at Harley-Davidson for more than 10 years, asked if he would like a test drive. He jumped at the chance Donning all of the safety gear, Simon jumped on the back of the showroom's Electro Glide demonstration bike and the p...

Tanya has a Real Passion for World-Class Fashion

THE team at Newcastle Harley-Davidson is delighted to welcome Tanya Hewitt to its new Silverlink showroom. Tanya, who lives in Newcastle, has worked in the clothing and fashion industry for two- and-a-half years. She joins the company in a clothing and merchandising role, making sure that the Newcastle branch of one of the world's strongest brands has all of the latest product lines and accessories for Harley lovers. Tanya says: "It's great to join the team here at Newcastle Harley- Davidson....

Used Car

THE Alfa 156 is curvy and beautiful in a way that puts most BMWs to shame, and the concealed rear door handles even give it something of a coupe look. When I first drove it, I wrote that it was as good to drive as a BMW and, at the time, it was the best front-wheel drive car on the market.

Used Car ; Ford Puma From Pounds 1,750

GOOD, unmodified Ford Pumas are as rare as hen's teeth these days but, if you can find one, they are marvellous to drive. The Puma has been out of production since 2002, so all are getting a little elderly now.

Gran Meets Her Idol Joe in Gay Nightclub

NELLIE Dickson certainly proved she's got the X Factor when she swapped knitting for nightclubbing in London... she met her idol Joe McElderry! The 74-year-old grandmother lived it up with seven of her gal pals at the capital's famous G.A.Y. nightclub, after learning the South Shields star would be performing songs from his new album.

North's Most Haunted - Centre [ ... ]

Inside: Beauty Spot [ ... ]

Beauty News

JAPANESE beauty brand DHC has unleased its new Tourmaline Pack, designed to give the face a treat in a gemstone-based mineral mask. Containing micro-fine particles of precious tourmaline to energise and remove surface impurities, it is described as a powerful mineral- rich mask which leaves skin looking more radiant and refined. It features a combination of two clays. The first is bentonite, a high- quality volcanic clay renowned for its purifying qualities and the other is kaolin, a white po...

He's Mr Wan-Derful ; He's Adored by Women of All Ages Thanks to His Gift for Making Them Feel Confident From Within. Liz Lamb Chats to Makeover Maestro Gok Wan About His Own Struggle with Self-Image and Becoming a Star.

GOK Wan could be a subject for his own television show. As the fashion guru behind How to Look Good Naked and Gok's Fashion Fix he has empowered thousands of women struggling with low self-esteem to love themselves from within. He knows it can be done because he's done it himself.

Quotes of the Week

"There were no obese people, from those on the black market. Rationing cured that almost It was the greatest and most successful public health experience of all time" - Tory peer LORD McCOLL on 1940s food rationing. "What we will not see and we will not accept is any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London. On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place where they have been living and have put down roots" -Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, left, attac...

Me and My Wardrobe ; Fatherhood has Curbed Wayne Allen's Penchant for Designer Clothing, yet He Still Aims to Dress to Impress. Francesca Craggs Talks Fashion with the Tfm Radio Breakfast Show Host.

DESPITE his 4.30am rise, Wayne Allen is surprisingly full of beans. While most of us are deep in slumber, the TFM DJ is waking up his listeners with his Wake Up With Wayne breakfast show.

Lifeline Keeps Elderly Out of Cold ; When the Winter Weather Bites, the Majority of Us Just Hike Up the Heating Without a Second Thought. But Spare a Thought for Those More Vulnerable Whose Health Is Adversely Affected Through Cold Living Conditions. Mieka Smiles Reports.

JULIA Steward has angina, asthma and severe arthritis. In 2009, the 65-year-old had a knee replacement, which meant she spent a lot of time at home recovering, and was left with restricted mobility. Her arthritis became worse in the colder months and, just two weeks before Christmas last year, Julia's boiler broke down - leaving her without heating or hot water.

Marco's Top Tips ; Food & Drink

THROUGHOUT his career, Hell's Kitchen presenter Marco Pierre White has prided himself on bringing the world's finest food to the plates of open-mouthed diners. The youngest chef ever to be awarded three Michelin stars (at the age of 33), Pierre White was lauded by critics for his intricate creations before he notoriously returned his stars in 1999 and retired from his kitchen.

Mine Rescue Sells Wine

THE booze market has taken a bit of a kicking since the end of the Football World Cup in South Africa in July, it seems. Figures from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) show the fall to be the biggest quarterly decline since at least 1997. However, pubs fared slightly better, showing a 7.8% fall in sales, the equivalent of 88 million fewer pints drunk, compared with a 12% fall in supermarket beer sales.

Journey Through the Ages ; Books

SURFACE DETAIL by Iain M Banks is published in hardback by Orbit, priced pounds 18.99. Available now. Though the fiction he publishes without the M can be patchy, Iain M Banks's latest tale of his spacefaring libertarian utopia is another triumph. In a galactic meta-civilisation where souls can be digitally recorded, Lededje Y'breq sets out for vengeance on the man who owned and then murdered her - Veppers.

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