Northern Eye 8 - Thomond on Thursday with his choice of Guardian pictures from England's better half

Guy Garvey, lead singer of Elbow, at his favourite pub, the Briton's Protection in Manchester city centre Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

A lakeside treehouse for holidaymakers in the woods surrounding at Cleveley Mere near Lancaster Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Campaigners against a new supermarket symbolically 'closed' the local shops for the day, filling their windows with funereal black Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Our colleague Laura Barton surveys the ancient tree planting at Dunham Massey, the National Trust house and parkland near Altrincham in Cheshire Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

No shortage of excellent food at the market in Bury, black pudding capital of the UK. No, the world. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

More feasters at Bury market. Note the black pudding's gleam. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Maria Bgor and her daughter, also Maria, waiting for emergency food supplies at the Mosaic Church food bank in Hillfields, Coventry, where nearly one in six people were living in poverty last June. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Eleanor Redding with her mother Sharon at home in Leeds. Eleanor received a large payout for medical negligence but there are fears that future compensation cases will be more difficult bring due to changes in the legal aid system. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Construction work at Islington Wharf and the CHIPS building, designed by architect Will Alsop, at New Islington off Ancoats in east Manchester on the edge of the city centre. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

The Rochdale canal on a tranquil summer's day at Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, where many former corduroy and moleskin mills have been converted into homes Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Screenwriter Jimmy McGovern at home in Liverpool Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Doug Turnbull, professor of neurology at Newcastle University and head of its centre for research into the treatment of mitochondrial disease, set up in January with £5.8 million from the Wellcome Trust. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk

Pawnbrokers and payday loan shops in Newcastle city centre in the week that Newcastle United signed a shirt sponsorship deal with payday loan company WONGA. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian/guardian.co.uk