Catherine Cookson serpentine symbol, commonly used to symbolise health and caring. The hospital occupies the site of the Harton Workhouse, where Cookson worked from 1924 to 1929. The project was partly funded by the Catherine Cookson Trust. "Tom and Catherine", a musical about the couple's life, was written by local playwright Tom Kelly. It played to sell-out crowds at the Customs House in South Shields. Catherine Cookson Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE (née McMullen; 27 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British author. She is in the top 20 of most widely read British novelists with sales topping 100 million,
Linda McCartney Lady McCartney when her husband was knighted in 1997. Her brother, entertainment lawyer John Eastman, has represented McCartney since the breakup of the Beatles. Paul and Linda McCartney became vegetarian in 1971, and she promoted a vegetarian diet through her cookbooks: "Linda McCartney's Home Cooking" (with author Peter Cox, 1989), "Linda's Kitchen", and "Simple and Inspiring Recipes for Meatless Meals". She explained her change to vegetarianism by saying that she did not "eat anything with a face ... If slaughterhouses had glass walls the whole world would be vegetarian". The McCartneys became outspoken vegetarians and animal rights activists. In 1991,