Despite the parlous state of local newspapers, there is always the option to create one's own. This is 22  Hyde Park Gate in London, the editorial offices of the Hyde Park Gate News which was produced by the young Virginia, Vanessa, and Thoby Stephen from 1891 to 1895. "Ingeniously mimicking the style of the leading newspapers of their day", it  presents a "charming and candid portrayal of the day-to-day events at the family home in London and at their holiday home in St Ives". It was reproduced as a book in 2006.

With the demise of local newspapers, we lose more than just the stories and reporting. We also lose a fine recyclable material for collage and papier mâché, an insulating wrapping for fish and chips, and the perfect size sheets to make newspaper hats to wear at Wimbledon (this photo was taken in 1953)

The loss of so many provincial and regional newspapers has had a significant impact. According to this government research, they provides "essential information that national news outlets and other sources cannot" and are "vital to local democracy". National Provincial with a preface by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, highlights the importance of these papers, in this case the fictional Yorkshire Guardian. The painting shows the Final Run of the Brecon Printing Press in 1992 by Peter Culpitt Evans. 

On the Post this week, the theme is newspapers, printed on paper, bought from shops, newsagents, stations or, if you are very fortunate, delivered to your door. An algorithm and a screen can never replicate the texture, sound, and smell of newsprint, and fortuitous discoveries. Not to mention a paper's portability. This is Lady Reading a Newspaper on a Beach (n.d., Examination Schools, Oxford) by Georges van Houten (1888-1964).

Suzanne Cooper’s largely unremarkable life story may have hindered her posthumous reputation which is why the Aldeburgh exhibition is such a positive reminder of her work. There is also a book, Suzanne Cooper: Paintings under the Spare-Room Bed (2022) published by The Mainstone Press, the title of which reflects the way she simply put her artistic life behind her in the same way that she kept her remarkable paintings under a bed. We end the week with another of her fine wood-engravings:  'The Falcon, Uppingham'.