I have always thought of Jez as a storyteller, telling stories mainly about individuals; some real, some invented but with a balance in his work giving us humour and irony but reminding us that the past was in many cases bleak and tragic. I don't feel that his work denigrates the region, but enhances its spirit through his storytelling. My impression of the North East and it's history is that it was a hard life but that the personality and strength of it's people saw them through. I find him uplifting in that respect.