Iranian born housewife, mother, and artist Mitra Touzhy Farzi goes about her day-to-day life taking care of her family while also producing her art.

The story of the Farsi family and their arrival in the North East, while not the focus of this video, is an important one as the content does reflect both their life in the region as well as Metra Farsi as a housewife and artist. Her husband, Dr Mohammad Farsi first came to Tyneside in 1977 as a lieutenant commander in the Iranian navy, part of the crew of the supply ship Kharg being built at the Wallsend shipyards of Swan Hunters. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the start of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, he felt completed to return to Iran to do his duty but found his home a very different place. By 1982 his position in the county had become untenable and, with the help of friends, was able to escape back to his new home in Newcastle where is wife and two sons were waiting. After receiving asylum in Britain, Mohammad attended Newcastle University and was awarded a PhD becoming a lecturer there in 1985. Although not able to return to his beloved Iran he became involved in the Iranian Centre in Newcastle. Following his retirement Dr Farsi continued to work in several voluntary capacities including Chair of Governors at the Excelsior Academy in Newcastle as well as a community representative on the BME Education Support Group and Newcastle BME Safeguarding Initiatives. Dr Farsi's work has not gone unnoticed, being awarded an MBE in the 2019 Queen's Honours List as well as staring in a 2018 photographic exhibition at the Discovery Museum entitled 'Arrivals: Making Tyneside Home.'

"Forty-eight hours is just a moment in time in the social history of a nation. However, over 26 and 27 August 1988, the people of the North East England have produced a significant record of their lives, their time and their country." These are the words of HRH Prince Charles in his introduction to the book '48hrs: Two Days in the Life of the North East', published by BBC Books and containing hundreds of original and unique photographs taken by people across the region that, according to David Cox, producer of 48hrs, "Create a true reflection of how people feel about their area and their lives' at a specific moment in time."

'48hrs: Two Days in the Life of the North East' began as a collaborative project between the BBC in Newcastle, local production company Filmnova and the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation. The BBC were able to promote the project and along with Filmnova provided curatorial assistance in witling down the thousands of submissions to those that would eventually make up the book. The Tyne and Wear Development Corporation provided financial support with the books publishing.

While the book went onto become a success, what is less know is that twenty film submissions in the form of video tapes were also submitted by for consideration. Sadly, none of these films made it into the final publication and for the next thirty they sat on the shelves of Filmnova until being donated to the Yorkshire & North East Film Archives in the early 2010s. Now, thanks to the support of BFI Heritage 2022 these tapes have been digitised and made available here for you to view and look back on the people of the North-East of England over a summer Bank Holiday more than thirty years ago.