Christmas PotT: Newcastle's helping hands in a year of change

2025 has been a historic year for Newcastle United as they won their first domestic trophy in 70 years. Remarkably, part-way through the season, manager Eddie Howe was hospitalised with pneumonia.

Talking about that incident, and the care he received from the NHS and Newcastle Hospitals, Howe agreed with the suggestion that nothing happens in a vacuum; the city, the people, and the football club are intrinsically linked.

To further investigate those connections, George Caulkin spoke to Bruno Guimaraes and childrens' support project co-ordinator Melissa Scott at Newcastle's RVI. A group of first team players, including captain Bruno, paid a visit to the childrens' wards as part of the club's "A Helping Hand at Christmas" campaign.

George also listened in as new CEO David Hopkinson addressed the audience at the "Memory Cafe", a club initiative supporting dementia sufferers and their families, and talked about the event with former player, BBC Radio commentator, and regular attendee John Anderson.