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Peter Barron

Peter Barron

The Northern Echo

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Grandad At Large: A trip back in time to The London Palladium with my mum

AS a young woman in post-war London, my mum loved nothing better than going to The Palladium to see the stars. Money was tight but after her shifts...

19.02.2026 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Grandad At Large: Taking a stand against old age during a holiday bus ride

FROM childhood to adulthood, into middle-age, and old age (if you’re lucky), defining moments come thick and fast. The nervous excitement of...

15.01.2026 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Grandad At Large latest: The night Santa dropped a right clanger in Darlington

DRESSING up as ‘Santa Claus’ has become a Christmas Eve tradition for me over the past 20 years or more – but spreading the Christmas magic has...

30.12.2025 10

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Grandad At Large: A trip to The Kinks musical isn't the hit it might have been

FROM the distant perspective of my younger days, I always thought being a grandad would be relaxing. I expected to potter rather than dash. Well,...

21.11.2025 10

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Grandad At Large: itching to get back home after Italian island holiday

I DON’T know what it is about my blood, but mosquitos love it – never more so than during a recent holiday with my wife to the Italian island of...

11.10.2025 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Why I ended up lugging a drum-kit along Platform 4 at Darlington station

SO, here I am, on Platform 4 of Darlington station, waiting for the 3.58pm to Aberdeen – with a drum-kit. Yes, a drum-kit. I’m not even catching...

07.08.2025 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Grandad At Large: How Eric and his trusty metal detector saved the day

THE longer the marriage lasts – and ours has just reached the 37-year mark – the harder it is to earn brownie-points. The days when youthful...

07.08.2025 30

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

A bird’s eye view – how I herocially solved the great starling mystery

SOMETIMES only raw courage will do – and that’s what it took the day the birds invaded the house. It started on Sunday morning when a startled...

11.05.2025 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

Focusing on the growing challenges us oldies face with reading glasses

AS I head deeper into my seventh decade, I feel the need to focus on something that’s become an increasingly important feature of my life: reading...

07.02.2025 20

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron

The day a Durham headteacher wished he hadn't asked about a pupil's dog having pups

MANY thanks to former teacher June Clough for passing on a lovely story after my Dad At Large talk to Durham Friendship Centre in Belmont earlier this...

16.01.2025 10

The Northern Echo

Peter Barron