"This is especially so in the North-EAST, AROUND NEWCASTLE, WHERE THE WORD "HINNY", a locally-pronounced derivation OF "HONEY", HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE EQUIVALENT OF "LUV" OR "MATE" ~~"

That is very true and it is so right up into north Northumberland. I've often been called 'hinny' by females working in shops, bars etc. Even still get the occassional 'son' by older women - which is not bad for someone approaching 50 :-)

In Scotland the term 'hen' is a very common term used by males when addressing females. I suspect it is also just derived from 'honey'