Be warned - they are watching...

HAVE you noticed that life is imitating art? George Orwell’s ‘1984’ has surfaced in our western, sophisticated, science-based civilisation.

Big Brother is to be found in our smartphones and voiceactivated smart TVs.

Beware of what you say when you take a banana out of your smart fridge!

Also, don’t believe a word of THEY marched down from Jarrow and districts all around For those desperate men, no jobs could be found Miners, shipyard workers and others who worked with sweat on their brow Would go down in folklore for they had no jobs now So they came together marching down to London en masse To shout the hardship suffered by the working class So they set off their heart and will they were strong To see their families starving, that was a situation they knew was wrong Their humour they still had to lighten the journey, they marched for several days They kept comradeship alive in so many ways All across the land, kind folk they would meet To cheer on those gallant men, still marching with blisters on their feet This crusade was becoming a cause of Geordie pride To show the government of the day this dreadful situation they couldn’t hide Though those lads were hungry and tired out They still had the strength to shout Their families were having the hardest of times All they wanted was to go back to the shipyards and go back the mines. ALAN WATERHOUSE, Seaton Delaval