Category: In & Around

Ultra-fit North East lawyer wins a place in London Landmarks half-marathon to help raise funds for equality and access to justice

By on 23rd January 2019in In & Around, Lifestyle, What's New?

A leading North East lawyer has won a much sought after place in the new London Landmarks Half Marathon….in his continued quest to help raise awareness and much needed funds for the voluntary ‘pro bono’ work within the legal profession.

Hugh Welch took up running as a hobby 10 years ago and is senior partner at Newcastle based law firm Muckle LLP.

Already clocking up an impressive list of marathons and ultra-marathons on his journey so far, he has now been awarded one of ten exclusive national places made available by Advocate, which is the national charity finding free legal help from barristers.

He has now earned the right to compete alongside13,000 other runners in the world famous half-marathon, which takes place on 24th March 2019 and also takes in renowned landmark places through both the City of London and City of Westminster.

The race starts on Pall Mall and finishes by Downing Street and has fabulous views of London’s most iconic buildings including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye and of course the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.

Speaking about his news, Hugh said: “This is such a privilege for me to be accepted and be given the opportunity to run in the London Landmarks Half Marathon. I took up running 10 years ago and run for fun, so this is a great opportunity for me to combine my love of running with fundraising for a cause that I really care about.

“I am passionate about equality and justice.  For me, access to justice is every bit as important within our society as access to education and healthcare.  It’s fundamentally wrong that people who can’t afford it are denied access to legal advice and to the court system.

“Also, like many other legal practices, our lawyers at Muckle are very active in doing pro bono work and we see this as a key part of our commitment to this region.

“I have been challenged to raise a minimum of £400 pounds in sponsorship money as part of my place in the half-marathon and this will be the first time I have asked friends, colleagues and clients to sponsor and help support my running,” he added.

Advocate encourages and facilitates voluntary work by lawyers and others working in the legal sector in their local communities.

Mary Dobson, Head of Fundraising and Communications, at Advocate said: “We are delighted to have chosen Hugh as one of our 10 participants to represent Advocate in this, the first year we’ve partnered with the London Landmarks Half Marathon.

“Last year Simon Gledhill of 3 Temple Gardens achieved a Guinness World Record for the fastest half marathon whilst wearing barrister robes. He’ll be running again in 2019, this time alongside Hugh to raise funds for our work.

“We are hoping our ten participants will raise thousands of pounds and much needed awareness for our work getting free legal help for really vulnerable people facing court alone in England and Wales.”

Advocate was founded as the Bar Pro Bono Unit by Lord Goldsmith QC in 1996. They are the only pro bono charity to provide legal assistance in every area of law in all courts and tribunals across England and Wales. They work with 4,000 volunteer barristers who donate their time and expertise to help people who cannot afford to pay for legal assistance and who are not eligible for legal aid. The Unit rebranded to become Advocate in October 2018, modernising their brand and service to become more accessible to as many people as possible and to help increase access to justice for all. Read more on their website https://weareadvocate.org.uk

Muckle LLP has a well-established charity and fund raising programme and actively encourages staff to become involved. Over 40% of its staff regularly volunteer for charities and the firm donates 1% of its annual profits to its charitable fund each year. To date, many communities and worthy causes across the North East have benefitted from over £500,000 in grants from the fund.

Hugh Welch has led the business in developing its award winning corporate social responsibility programme. Muckle is a five-time winner of the North East Business Heart of the Community Award (Tyneside and Northumberland) and won national recognition when it scooped ‘Best Contribution by a Firm with a Regional Head Office’ at the 2017 Law Works Pro Bono Awards.

To find out more about Hugh Welch’s half marathon fundraising drive, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HughWelch

Escape from Lumley Castle

By on 14th December 2018in Entertainment, Events, In & Around, Places To Go, What's New?, What's On?

The Legend surrounding a 630-year-old North East castle is to be brought vividly to life, giving amateur detectives the chance to solve a mystery in a UK first.

Lumley Castle Hotel, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, has announced plans to create the country’s first escape room within a historic property.

The 73-room castle has joined forces with the highly acclaimed Escape Rooms Durham, which already runs two games within the city centre, Mr Borrowdale’s Study and Lab Heist.

And the organisation has created a unique new escape room challenge, based on the tragic story of Lily of Lumley, who, in the 14th century, was reputedly thrown down a well by Catholic priests for renouncing her faith.

Lily is said to haunt the castle and there have been many supposed sightings of her ghost over the years – but now everyone who visits Lumley will get the opportunity to come face to face with the tragic heroine.

The escape room is being created in the castle’s former beer cellar and is scheduled to launch on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2019.

Sam Lupton of Escape Rooms Durham said this will be a unique experience.

“We have worked tirelessly over the past few months to create a game that is not only entertaining but is also completely immersive in its game play and the only one of its kind in the UK,” said Sam.

“We can’t wait to share the experience of Lily of Lumley with visitors to the castle and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with this fantastic hotel.”

Although the story centres around the legend of Lily of Lumley, the experience is set to be family friendly and suitable for anyone over the age of ten.

The Escape Room experience will be open to residents and non-residents alike with the option to add an overnight stay, afternoon tea package, or dinner in the hotel’s highly acclaimed Black Knight restaurant at the time of booking.

Lumley Castle Sales manager Lauren Colledge believes the attraction will be a fantastic asset to the hotel and give visitors another reason to visit.

“This is a very exciting venture for us and we are investing heavily in it,” she said.

It will mean a visit to Lumley will be even more special and we know it will appeal to a wide range of audiences, from corporate guests who want a challenging team building activity to leisure visitors who want to have some fun.”

For more information or to make a booking visit www.escapedurham.co.uk.

Get set to blossom in National Garden Month

By on 13th April 2018in In & Around

Now’s the time to get back into your garden – and not just because the warmth and brightness of spring are here. This month is National Garden Month, giving you another excuse to start sorting out your foliage or even get some new plants. However, sprucing up a garden isn’t just about making it look pretty; by taking up gardening, you can also grow your own food and even improve your health and lifestyle.

What is National Garden Month, anyway?

If you’ve never previously heard of National Garden Month, it’s probably because it’s largely an American thing. The United States’ National Garden Bureau and 23 cosponsoring national horticultural organisations were instrumental in legislating what was initially National Garden Week. On 18th April 1986, the Proclamation was signed by the then-President, Ronald Reagan, leading to the first celebration of National Garden Week from 12th to 18th April 1987.

However, in the early 21st century, the celebration was extended to cover the whole of April – on the initiative of the National Gardening Association. The first National Garden Month was in 2003; however, despite its American origins, it’s clear to see that there are plenty of green-fingered types on this side of the Atlantic who would love to join in with the fun.

If gardening can work for these stars…

Gardeners and researchers can vouch for many benefits of nurturing plants. Those benefits include improving attitudes to health and nutrition, fostering community spirit, and even helping children to excel at school. However, if you doubt the merits even now, consider the stories of people who have decided to basically make gardening their life.

Those people include the ‘80s pop star Kim Wilde. In 2015, she recalled that, despite having clocked up platinum records and toured Europe with Michael Jackson, she was “always plagued with anxiety and it badly affected my mental health.” However, Kim, who won a gold medal for a Chelsea Flower Show garden in 2005, enthused that gardening “has been great therapy for me and can help people get back on top of things when it feels like life is veering out of control.”

Meanwhile, the former Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin is now an urban gardener who grows fruit and vegetables in her California garden. She has cited gardening channels and YouTube as resources that have inspired her own gardening adventures – but you shouldn’t consider only those if you want to start gardening for the first time.

Some quick tips for gardening success

During a 2014 interview, Wilde recommended that beginner gardeners “start small” – even if they just “sow a seed” in “a little pot”. Not too little, though; otherwise, as Coughlin warns, the pot could prevent roots significantly growing and also can’t contain a lot of water, resulting in stunted plants.

Meanwhile, for tasks as routine as cutting grass and trimming hedges or as large-scale as entire garden makeovers, there are plenty of specialists in the North East who can help you to create a garden that will leave a big impression on visitors.

Good Friday: what is it and how should you spend it?

By on 29th March 2018in In & Around
Fish and chips

Many of us are familiar with Good Friday as the beginning of the lengthy Easter weekend which includes, following the usual weekend days, Easter Monday. However, perhaps not all of us are familiar with the religious relevance of the date or the great opportunities that can come our way at the same time as Good Friday.

Here is a more in-depth look at the history of Good Friday and how you can spend it in a manner that is especially fitting and enjoyable.

Why do we call it “Good Friday”?

The celebration of Good Friday springs from commemoration of the date of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death at Calvary. According to accounts of the Gospel, this date is when Judas betrayed Jesus, who was then sentenced to death.

Given these reported events, it might initially be surprising that Christians accept “Good Friday” as the name of the day commemorating Christ’s death. However, several theories have been proposed with the aim of helping to clear confusion.

Experts have put forward the idea that the “good” in “Good Friday” was intended to mean holy or pious. It has also been speculated that “Good” was just an alternative spelling of “God”, making the day effectively “God’s Friday”. Another theory suggests that Christ’s tragic crucifixion brought “good” to his followers.

Whatever the true reason for the name, Christians have always yearly set aside a Friday on which to “unite their sufferings”. Christians often refrain from eating meat on this day.

There’s something fishy going on… and there isn’t

There are various ways that people in the UK tend to spend Good Friday. Regular attendees of church might, on the day, attend a special church service. Other common Good Friday pastimes include gardening and, unsurprisingly given the length of the Easter Weekend, embarking on a getaway. However, the “no meat” rule followed by many Catholics on Good Friday has led to the emergence of a particularly distinctive tradition: eating fish.

Some people might think that forgoing chocolate eggs in favour of fish may seem like a different kind of fishy. However, there’s nothing strange about it; in fact, millions of people tuck into this type of seafood on Good Friday. The Good Friday tradition of eating fish is actually much older than that of chocolate eggs. It started due to Christians remembering the Passion by choosing to sacrifice meat due to its associations with celebrations and feasts. So, why did they not deem fish to be meat?

This is because of Church law which defined meat as originating only from animals living on land – and birds. Fish, however, was not included in the same classification. Historically, meat was often eaten only on celebratory occasions; however, fish was considered more of an everyday delicacy, as the majority of people were fishermen.

Therefore, you could opt to spend your Good Friday in a coastal setting like Seaton Carew or Redcar and nibbling fish and chips. Now, that would be good in a different sense of the word.

Increased Efforts To Tackle Cyber Crime

By on 26th January 2017in In & Around

Computer criminals that target people in County Durham are being snared using a wide range of measures, councillors have been told.

As families increasingly become victims of cyber-crime the Safe Durham Partnership is employing a number of ways to stop fraudsters and thieves.

Members of Durham County Council’s Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee heard of those efforts to keep people safe from digital threats.

Durham Constabulary’s assistant chief constable, Dave Orford, the chair of the Safe Durham Partnership, said: “Cyber-crime is a fast-growing area of crime with more and more criminals exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities which know no borders, either physical or virtual, cause serious harm and pose very real threats to victims.

“Locally in County Durham we are working in partnership across our communities and our businesses to raise awareness of the risks.

“And we will continue to share information with the public in a bid to ensure they do not become the next victims of online crime.”

The Safe Durham Partnership identified cyber-crime as an emerging threat and set up a multi-agency group to co-ordinate activities including raising awareness, education and how to tackle the problem.

Durham Constabulary has also set up a “Digital Intelligence and Investigation Team” to look into digital crimes and work to stay up to date with the latest threats, viruses and scams.

Councillor David Boyes, the chair of the Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “We are supportive of the work of the Safe Durham Partnership in keeping those who may be vulnerable to becoming a victim of online crime safe.

“Cyber-crime is very much a 21st century challenge and we need to adapt to this changing world to deal with the criminals who look to take advantage.

“It’s important that we help to get the message out to our communities about the risks of becoming a victim of online crime.

“Cyber-crime may be prevented by taking simple steps. These include creating a complex password, updating antivirus software and not clicking on unexpected emails from unknown sources.

“Through our 14 Area Action Partnerships we will continue to support the Safe Durham Partnership in getting these crime prevention messages out to our communities.”

The Committee heard examples of the work that has been undertaken, including the work with Get Safe Online who offer advice and tips on issues such as online shopping, finance, social media, keeping children safe, running businesses and protecting digital devices.

The committee also heard about the Stay Safe Online at Christmas project, which saw an online advent calendar of advice created to spread online safety messages.

And they were told of the work taking place in schools, with class discussions on online hate speech and bullying on social media.  Further events will take place in schools for Safer Internet Day on 7th February 2017.

Cllr Joy Allen, the council’s cabinet member for safer communities, said: “Partnership working is crucial in tackling cyber-crime.

“It is important that our communities understand how to protect themselves against being a victim and I support the work of the Safe Durham Partnership in addressing this type of crime.”

You should report cyber-crime by ringing Durham Constabulary on 101 or through the website, visit www.durham.police.uk

For more advice about how to stay safe online, including practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computers and mobile devices, and your business, against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other problems, visit www.getsafeonline.org/durham

 

Putting Young People At The Heart Of Decision-Making

By on 19th January 2017in In & Around

A range of schemes that enable children and young people to get involved in decision-making in County Durham were outlined to councillors onWednesday, 18 January.

Members of Durham County Council’s Cabinet heard how the authority, its 14 Area Action Partnerships (AAP) and other organisations working together as the County Durham Partnership are using a range of methods to engage with younger residents.

This year, for the first time, young people aged 11 years and older living or attending school in County Durham were able to take part in voting for AAP priorities in their area. More than 3,000 young people took part.

Teesdale and Three Towns AAPs, meanwhile, encourage young people to fill in applications for Small Grants Funding themselves, with other young people asked to appraise and approve submissions.

In the Mid Durham area, members of the Youth Area Committee, which includes young people from six local villages, have been working with the AAP for a number of years. The AAP also regularly works with primary and secondary schools.

Mid Durham and Stanley AAPs have a young person’s representative on their board, with 17-year-old Liam Bell, the Stanley rep, receiving a Chairman’s Medal for his voluntary work.

The report to Cabinet also outlined how County Durham Economic Partnership and the county’s Children and Families Partnership, the Health and Wellbeing Board, Safe Durham Partnership Board and the Environment Partnerships are also working to involve children and young people in their work.

Initiatives include the Erasmus+ project, which saw five council apprentices spending two works working with their counterparts in Gothenburg; the launch of the inaugural Student Voice Survey, which more than 8,000 secondary school pupils took part in; and involving children in designing the logo and branding for the 0 to 19 health visiting and school nursing service.

More Than 2,000 People Sign Up For DurhamWorks help

By on 12th January 2017in In & Around

More than 2,000 young people have now signed up to a £17 million project designed to develop their skills, increase opportunities and help them into work.

The DurhamWorks programme is aiming to improve the prospects of County Durham’s 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.

And just six months into the more than two year project it is well on course to put almost 6,000 people on the path to employment by summer 2018.

Cllr Ossie Johnson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services said: “In only a few months DurhamWorks has successfully signed up over 2,000 County Durham 16 to 24-year-olds  who were not in employment, education, or training.

“Unfortunately due to issues including the late introduction of increased requirements by the Department of Work and Pensions, and a delay in the payment of funding from the Government, we have had to request that our original target for sign ups in 2016 be reduced.

“Yet the overall target of involving 5,830 people in the DurhamWorks programme by July 2018 remains unchanged and, having now introduced a system to gather and verify eligibility, we expect the numbers of participants to increase significantly in the coming weeks.

“We are working with employers and Business Durham to make sure there are jobs and apprenticeships for people to progress into, and we remain confident that the project will be a success.”

Already more than 300 small firms are working with the project to help create new job opportunities for the county’s young people, with businesses saying they appreciate the support they are receiving  to help them recruit the most appropriate people.

And more businesses are being encouraged to find out about working with the project, to help find the young staff they need.

The council’s Cabinet will receive an update on the programme on Wednesday January 18.

For more information about DurhamWorks, and how to get involved, visit www.durham.gov.uk/durhamworks

Deadline For Primary School Place Applications Approaches

By on 5th January 2017in In & Around

Parents in County Durham are reminded they are running out of time to apply for primary school places for their children.

The deadline for applications for the next academic year, which starts in September 2017, is Sunday 15 January 2017.

Cllr Ossie Johnson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “In our county we benefit from many schools with superb facilities and dedicated, talented staff, and we hope that through our admissions system people can express their preferences and see children enjoy a happy and successful education.

“We know that the decision of where to send your children is a big one, and can be difficult, but we would urge parents to make sure they apply by the deadline as a late application greatly reduces your chances of getting into your preferred school.”

Applications can be made online, at www.durham.gov.uk/schooladmissions, or by post.

Forms can also be requested by phoning 03000 265896 or by writing to the School Admissions and Transport Team at Durham County Council, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UJ.

If posting, the forms should be sent back using signed for or special delivery services.

Offers of places will be made to parents on 16 April 2017.

If you apply online you will receive an offer email. If you apply by post you will receive an offer letter. These should arrive by no later than 16 April.

Darlington Building Society Supports North East Homeless Charity

By on 5th January 2017in In & Around

Darlington Building Society in Stockton is helping to tackle youth homelessness in Teesside after giving its support to a local charity.

The Stockton High Street branch of the Society has supported the Youth Homeless North East (YHNE) charity, by making a donation from its community fund to allow the charity to purchase important items including hygiene products and warm clothing.

Working in collaboration with partners throughout the region to bring about change, YHNE has the ultimate aim of eradicating homelessness amongst young people through the promotion of best practice, influencing policy and strategy, and working with young people to help them overcome barriers to housing.

Linda Masterman, Customer Service Consultant at Darlington Building Society, said: “When the branch heard about the work that Youth Homeless North East does with youngsters in Tees Valley, we wanted to help and put it forward to receive a donation from our community fund.

“It does fantastic work helping to keep young people safe and off the streets, so we’re pleased to be able to give them our support.”

Kieran Platts of Youth Homeless North East said: “We’d like to thank Darlington Building Society for its support. It’s important for us to have the backing of organisations, like the Society, which have a passion for giving back to the community.”

Howlands Park And Ride Site To Reopen

By on 15th December 2016in In & Around

Durham County Council’s Park and Ride site at Howlands in Durham City will reopen from the 15th of December.

The site has been closed since Tuesday, when a collapsed sewer meant that the access road to the site had to be shut. Although work was planned for the New Year, the situation deteriorated suddenly and the council was advised there was no choice but to close the road. This meant that the Park and Ride facility also had to shut.

A temporary access point has now been put in place to allow the site to reopen from 7am on Thursday, 15 December.

Adrian White, head of transport and contracts, said: “Although there was no danger to the public, the collapsed sewer meant that access to the Park and Ride site, and therefore the facility itself, had to be closed.

“We have worked quickly to put a temporary access in place so Howlands can reopen while the repair works are carried out. We’d like to thank the public for their patience during this time.”

Full details on the council’s Park and Ride service can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/parkandride.

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