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A former Northumberland garage owner is motoring in a completely new career, after swapping automotive engineering for watch making.
Glen Anthony Jobling, from Bedlington , has more than 30 years experience in the vintage and modern motoring industry but he has now turned his interest in design watches into a new business.
Mr Jobling was inspired to change his career as a successful garage owner in North Tyneside in 2015, after making a watch for a friend while mulling over his options for a career change.
Glen Anthony Watches (GA) has now officially launched with a range of men’s and women’s watches, which are designed, manufactured and assembled at his workshop in Wansbeck Business Park in Northumberland .
All the parts of the watch are handmade on site by Mr Jobling except the Swiss movement, which he has sourced to meet his specific requirements.
The watches are influenced by his love of all things mechanical and automotive, with designs inspired by the craftsmanship of the vintage cars he used to restore, as well as high tech materials of the latest sports cars.
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The Newcastle Chronicle has teamed up with The Halifax, Metro Radio and TFM Radio to explore what home means to the people of the city. We'll be celebrating the special places in people's lives and sharing those stories of home with #HalifaxLoveYourHome. Every week between now and Sunday 24 June 2018, one lucky person will be chosen by the judges to win £500 for sending in the best story.
This week’s winner is former primary school teacher Joe Waddle. He says the peaceful Northumberland home he shares with wife Jude and daughter, Caitlin, provides the perfect inspiration for his writing, and his evocative poem really captures the meaning of home...
I’m a creative person and I love writing - I’ve penned poems, songs and even self-published a novel - and home is where I get a lot of inspiration. I actually come from a very sporty family. My younger brother Chris was a professional footballer who played for Newcastle and England.
I wasn’t a bad sportsman but not brilliant and packed football in when I was quite young. My wife Jude and I moved to Bedlington 14 years ago. It’s a former mining town but it’s so peaceful and quiet. We turned our spare bedroom into a study and it’s where I wrote my Kindle book On the Up, two years ago.
It was something I always wanted to do. The study is not the only place I like to get a bit creative. At Christmas we like to decorate the house so we’ll usually have two Christmas trees – a big 6ft one in the living room and another 4ft one in the conservatory.
And we also like to have parties every now and again. Of course, being from a football family we’ve had the odd World Cup celebration in the garden! Despite that, when it comes to day-to-day decoration, I’m an absolute minimalist. Our living room has a TV, two sofas, a coffee table and a few pictures hanging up.
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Bethany Dawson has her hands full with her young family.
One of her four-year-old twins is disabled and needs round-the-clock care while she also look after sons Jack, three, and Luke 11.
Kole and Hayden McDonald were born prematurely at 31 weeks and while Kole went from strength to strength, it soon became clear that his brother was different.
Hayden now suffers from an undiagnosed genetic condition meaning he has Global Developmental Delay, visual impairment, problems with his foot and is tube fed.
He is one of just 90 people in the whole world to suffer from his specific genetic mutation and is believed to be the worst affected.
The Northumberland tot is also epileptic and non-verbal.
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What difference can a year make?
Peter Jackson, leader of Northumberland County Council, claims it can be significant.
It’s a year to the day since Coun Jackson’s brand new Conservative cabinet met for the first time, after missing out an overall majority by - quite literally - a straw.
Northumberland local elections results IN FULL - council held by Tories in 'straw draw' drama
Their first 12 months in office certainly could not be described as “uneventful”, and they haven’t shied away from controversy.
Here’s some of what’s happened:
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A businessman has been convicted of keeping a group of men as slaves – after he made them work 90-hour weeks in return for takeaway food and alcohol.
Landlord Hargit Singh Bariana, 46, targeted vulnerable men who were left without homes due to alcoholism and drug addiction.
The victims were all white British men – which the lead investigator said should challenge peoples’ perceptions of these types of cases which have previously predominantly seen victims trafficked from abroad.
Bariana provided the men with accommodation, took all their housing benefit as payment and forced them to work.
They were made to clean sewage pipes by hand and work 13-hour days in their bare feet.
They did not receive a wage. Instead they were offered takeaway food and alcohol.
Bariana would rely on their addictions and lack of accommodation to force them to work. If the victims refused he would then resort to violence and intimidation.
It wasn’t until officers raided a property in the town linked to anti-social behaviour and drug use that police uncovered the offences.
They found a number of men living in horrendous conditions who were initially too terrified to speak about their ordeal.
When they did disclose the whole story to police, Bariana was arrested and later charged with eight offences under the Modern Day Slavery Act.
Bariana, of Blue House Farm, Netherton, Bedlington, was charged with eight counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour between 2009 and 2015.
And at Newcastle Crown Court today (16 May) he was found guilty by a jury of six of those offences. He was also convicted of being concerned in the supply of Diazepam.
Bariana was found not guilty of two of the force labour charges and also acquitted on a single count of robbery.
He was remanded into custody by a judge and will be sentenced on the week commencing June 18 at the same court.
Following the conviction, Chief Inspector Helena Barron said: “Hargit Bariana preyed on vulnerable victims for his own gain.
“He relied on the fact that they were homeless with addictions to keep them under his control.
“If they did not work then they feared they would lose their home and be unable to feed their addictions.
“Previous slavery cases have highlighted the trafficking of vulnerable victims from abroad to work in this country. However, in this case all of the victims were white British men – which challenges people’s perception of this type of crime and highlights the fact anyone could find themselves subject to such offences.
“It is a lesson for everyone that a victim of modern day slavery can come from any walk of life and any background.
“Our message is that if something doesn’t look right then it probably isn’t right and we would encourage people to contact the police.
“Often people don’t realise they are victims of slavery – so it is important in order to tackle this type of crime that we encourage local communities to stay vigilant and alert.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank the victims in this case who have shown great bravery.
“I would also like to recognise the hard work of our officers on this case, and for their continued efforts to target offenders benefiting at the expense of others.
“Under the banner of Sanctuary, protecting those who find themselves vulnerable through a whole range of crimes including modern day slavery, is Northumbria Police’s number one priority.”
Anyone who thinks they are a victim or any members of the public who have concerns about modern day slavery happening near them should ring police on 101 or call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700.


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