Category: In & Around

Metrocentre Call For Food Bank Donations

By on 25th February 2016in In & Around

The North East’s largest shopping centre is urging households to help the hungry by donating to a food bank…

Last year, staff and shoppers at intu Metrocentre, Gateshead, donated more than 200kg of dried and tinned food to Gateshead Foodbank to help those in need, and the aim is to donate even more this year.

In a bid to help as many people as possible, intu Metrocentre is asking shoppers to bring in food products they don’t use or want – or perhaps have given up for Lent.

The initiative, which will last until 20th March, is the brainchild of intu Metrocentre Chaplain Lyn Jamieson, who said: “It is very sad indeed to think that, in this day and age, in this borough, there are still people who do not have enough to eat.

“These may be families whose benefits arrive late or are reduced, people leaving an abusive relationship, with nowhere to go and no money, or students who can’t make ends meet. Sadly, there are many causes and levels of hardship.

“The Gateshead Foodbank has been set up to help those most in need, and as intu Metrocentre is at the very heart of the community, we are committed to gathering as much food and awareness as possible.”

Last year, foodbanks across the UK gave more than 500,000 emergency three-day food supplies to people in crisis. More than a third of the emergency foodbank supplies went to children.

The centre is calling for donations of:

  • Milk (UHT or powdered)
  • Sugar
  • Long life fruit juice
  • Tinned food
  • Pasta sauces
  • Breakfast cereals
  • Tea bags and jars of instant coffee
  • Instant mash
  • 500g rice and pasta
  • Jars of jam
  • Packets or biscuits and snacks

Donations can be handed in at any of the centre’s customer services desks or the Centre Management Offices, 1st floor, next to House of Fraser. For more information, visit www.intumetrocentre.co.uk.

Flying Scotsman Returns To East Coast Main Line

By on 25th February 2016in In & Around

Iconic locomotive 60103 Flying Scotsman officially returns to the East Coast Main Line alongside Virgin Trains’ modern day Flying Scotsman liveried train…

FlyScots-BodyImg

Railway history is being made today (Thursday February 25th) as Flying Scotsman officially returns to the East Coast Main Line to launch a season celebrating its return to the track. The celebratory season, which is sponsored by Virgin Trains, starts with today’s inaugural London-to-York run.

The iconic locomotive is being showcased alongside Virgin Trains’ own ‘Flying Scotsman’, complete with its brand new interior, at King’s Cross station before setting off on its five-hour journey to York. The Virgin Trains Flying Scotsman express service takes passengers between London and Edinburgh in just four hours – around half the time of the original steam train. It was unveiled in autumn by Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Virgin Trains is investing £40m improving its fleet on the East Coast, including new leather seats in first class, new seats in standard, new carpets and lighting.

Virgin’s Flying Scotsman is the first electric train in the fleet to have the new investment, and enters service on Thursday. It also showcases the new mood lighting which is being installed in First Class in all electric powered trains.

David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on its East Coast route, said: “The Flying Scotsman has an incredible history. It was the first locomotive to reach 100mph in 1934 and, in the pre-war era, it symbolized speed and style – service qualities which remain important to our customers today.

“We’ve embedded these qualities in our own Flying Scotsman, which has had its own refresh, including luxury leather seats in First Class, a new red hot look for Standard Class, new carpets and coloured mood lighting. Looking forward to the future, new Virgin trains arrive in 2018 which will make the four-hour Edinburgh-to-London journey the norm – half the time it took the Flying Scotsman to do the journey non-stop before the war.”

Virgin Trains’ fleet upgrade is part of its investment in the London-Edinburgh route, which has just seen it granted permission to run an extra 42 services a week on the route, boosting seat capacity by 22,000.

The original Flying Scotsman will be on display in York until March 6th. Virgin Trains runs in excess of 60 services a day to York, providing a great way for train enthusiasts to visit the National Railway Museum and see the enormous heritage of the East Coast line. Additionally, Virgin Trains is offering 30 per cent off Advance fares to York to encourage visitors to the region as part of a joint promotion with Visit England.

Campaign Launches To Boost County Durham Recycling

By on 25th February 2016in In & Around

A campaign is to be launched to encourage even higher levels of household recycling in County Durham…

Durham County Council has secured almost £31,000 from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to promote its national Recycle Now ‘Good to Know’ campaign locally.

The council will promote the six month long Good to Know campaign from next Monday 22nd February.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the different types of materials that can be recycled from different rooms of the home in the blue lidded recycling bins and recycling boxes, including those from which WRAP believes recycling rates are lower.

Good to Know will see the council’s strategic waste team getting the message out at school assemblies and roadshows, through social media, knocking on doors and handing out leaflets. The campaign message will also be advertised in newspapers and on the back of buses, as well as on radio.

Officers will also be giving out bin stickers, and putting stickers on recyclable items in Durham’s Sainsbury’s store.

Around half of the population already recycle, and the campaign aims to encourage people to do more by highlighting the benefits. For example, one drinks can could save enough energy to power a TV for four hours, and plastic bottles can be recycled and made into a chair.

Alan Patrickson, the council’s Head of Projects and Business Services, said: “More than six out of ten of us now describe ourselves as committed recyclers, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do more.

“This campaign will raise awareness about the products people might still be unsure of, and help those that already do their part to recycle extra items and different materials that they might not have thought of.”

Good to Know will run alongside the council’s ongoing Bin it Right campaign, which aims to get people to put the right items in the right bin, in order to stop recyclable material being contaminated and made unusable.

Durham Ice Cream Man Caught Selling Cigarettes To Kids

By on 24th February 2016in In & Around

A court has heard that an Ice Cream Man sold cigarettes from his van to children as young as 8…

Angelo Fella, from Catchgate near Stanley, was caught out when an off duty Police Sergeant queueing at his van witnessed him selling cigarettes to an 8 year old.

Surveillance then revealed the 54 year old selling cigarettes to children aged 11 and 13.

Fella has now pleaded guilty to three charges brought by Durham County Council, and has been ordered to pay out over £1,000.

At Peterlee Magistrates Court on Tuesday, it was outlined how the off-duty Sergeant was queueing for an ice cream at Fella’s van while it was visiting Catchgate, near the village’s primary school, in July 2015. The policeman watched as the defendant, who trades as Roma Ices and lives at Anthony Court, sold cigarettes to the child.

The same day, Fella sold cigarettes to a child aged 13, again at Catchgate. The Sergeant complained to Durham County Council’s consumer protection team, which obtained court authorisation to carry out surveillance on Fella’s van.

Days later, video evidence was captured of Fella handing two packets of cigarettes to a girl in school uniform at Catchgate. The girl was later confirmed to be 11.

Fella was interviewed by Consumer Protection Officers, and initially denied selling cigarettes to children. However, photographic evidence was put to him and he admitted doing so.

Fella pleaded guilty to the three charges of selling tobacco products to a child under the age of 18.

The court heard the defendant – the third generation of his family to own the ice cream business – claim he only sold cigarettes to children who were known to him in the expectation they were buying them for family members over the age of 18.

Magistrates were also told Fella lost his Council Street Traders licence after the offences came to light, although it has since been reinstated on appeal with a condition that he is not allowed to sell products including cigarettes on which there is a lower age limit.

The defendant was further said to have suffered financial loss as a result of the episode, while his marriage has also broken down.

Fella was fined £100 for each offence and ordered to pay £200 legal costs, £553.69 investigation costs, and a £20 victim surcharge, a total of £1,053.69.

Speaking after the case, Joanne Waller, Durham County Council’s Head of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, said: “It is against the law to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18, and yet Fella knowingly did so to children up to ten years below the legal age limit.

“His actions were highly irresponsible, and our consumer protection team will not tolerate such activity.

“The financial penalty imposed on Fella should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of making a fast buck by breaking the law.”

Northumbria Glaciologist Secures Funding For European Alps Research

By on 23rd February 2016in In & Around

A Geography researcher will spend his summer doing fieldwork in the Miage Glacier, after receiving a grant from the British Society of Geomorphology…

 

Dr Matt Westoby will travel to the Italian Alps to research how climate change is affecting the region’s glaciers and mountain ranges, after being awarded an Early Career Researcher Grant. His research will utilise advances in technology such as unmanned drones and photogrammetric surveying to focus on glaciers with a layer of debris on their surface. These so-called ‘debris-covered glaciers’ respond very differently to climate change than ‘clean ice’ glaciers. The ‘debris’ generally comes from the mountain slopes, with frequent rock falls onto the glacier surface being one of the common causes.

Dr Westoby said: “Traditional methods to monitor just how much and how frequently debris is added to these glacier surfaces are typically indirect, such as digging pits in the surface debris, measuring its thickness, and using these data to estimate a debris flux. This is an extremely labour-intensive undertaking.

“Instead, this research will use a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and cutting-edge advances in photogrammetric surveying technology to undertake repeat surveys of rock fall source areas in order to refine our estimates of how quickly these slopes are back-wasting and contributing to the growth of the surface debris cover.”

The results of this research will contribute to numerical modelling to explore how such glaciers will respond to climatic change. It is hoped that the research will prime future projects in areas such as the Himalayas.

Dr Westoby is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Department of Geography, at Northumbria, and is currently employed on a NERC-funded project to reconstruct the glacial history of the Heritage Range, Antarctica. He is also involved in consultancy-based coastal erosion monitoring for South Tyneside District Council alongside staff in the Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering. His research interests are broad and varied, and have to date included the 3D reconstruction and analysis of glacial landscape evolution using original surveying technologies, as well as numerical modelling of catastrophic Himalayan glacial lake outburst floods. He has undertaken glaciological fieldwork in the European Alps, Norway, and the Nepal Himalaya.

The British Society for Geomorphology is a registered charity with a mission of fostering geomorphological research and outreach. It administers a range of grants to support geomorphological research by postgraduates and early-career and established researchers. For more information, visit www.geomorphology.org.uk.

Northumbria offers a range of courses in Geography, and is ranked Top 30 in the UK, based on research power following the results of the Research Excellence Framework 2014. To find out more about studying at Northumbria, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/geography.

5 Teesside Kids Represent England At Kickboxing Championships

By on 22nd February 2016in In & Around

Boro Taxis has kick-started a fundraising campaign to support five talented Teesside youngsters who have been selected to represent England at the World Kickboxing Championships…

The children, aged 6 to 12, are all members of the M.A-X Training Academy in Middlesbrough, and have been crowned national or European titleholders to qualify for the World Championships.

Heading for the prestigious October competition in Portugal are Adam Ullah and his sister Angeli, Warren Green, Holly Underwood, and Saran Hill.

The achievements of the young kickboxers were brought to Boro Taxis’ attention as Adam and Angeli are the children of one of their taxi drivers, Ashik Ullah.

In preparation for the tournament, each of the five-strong team is dedicating six days a week to training, putting in at least an hour a day.

Mohammed Bashir, founder of Boro Taxis, one of the largest firms of its kind in the North East, said: “It is fantastic that five local youngsters have qualified for the World Kickboxing Championships. It really is a proud moment for Teesside, as well as for M.A-X Training Academy and all its members.

“When we heard from Ashik about his children’s success, and the fact their club needed financial help to pay for the accommodation, flights and other expenses to get them to Portugal, we were only too happy to help.

“These youngsters are a credit to the area, and they are working so hard to achieve their dreams. We wish them well at the World Championships, and are sure they will do Teesside proud.”

Samantha Johnson, M.A-X Training Academy Manager, said: “We have never had so many members qualify for the World Kickboxing Championships at one time, and they are all an inspiration to the whole club.

“We are extremely proud of Adam, Angeli, Holly, Saran and Warren, whose dedication is second to none. Attending the World Championships will be a brilliant experience for them.

“It will cost about £6,000 for the six days that the team will be in Portugal, and we are very grateful to Boro Taxis for getting our fundraising efforts off to such a good start with its generous donation of £1,000.”

During the last few years, the youngsters have all notched up a number of significant victories on their journey to being selected for the World Championships.

At the age of 7, Saran became the youngest kick boxing black belt in the North East, attaining the highest A+ grading. She has achieved Silver and Gold at national level, and won Bronze and Silver medals in the European Championships.

Angeli has won Silver at the Europeans, and Bronze at the FSK Grand Championship. Both she and her brother Adam took Gold in this year’s English National Championships.

Warren has been Gold and Bronze medallist at national, and a Silver medallist at European level.

Holly’s achievements comprise Gold and Silver in the English Championships, and Gold and Silver in the Europeans.

Samantha added that learning martial arts was a great way of helping people to not only get fit, but also to help with their dexterity, including eye and hand co-ordination. It also has emotional and mental wellbeing benefits, such as boosting self-esteem and confidence.

M.A-X Training Academy, based in Bright Street, Middlesbrough, has been in existence 16 years, and has almost 200 members aged from 4 to 60+.

Durham City Is Contender For Britain In Bloom Champion

By on 22nd February 2016in In & Around

Durham City is bidding for gardening glory once again – this time in the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions competition…

 

Durham in Bloom, a community-based campaign involving local businesses, residents, volunteers, Durham County Council and various partners, has been revealed as a contender for the prestigious accolade.

It comes after the city scooped double gold in the RHS Britain in Bloom competitions in 2014 and 2015.

The group will now battle it out for the first time with other high-quality entries from all over Britain for the much sought after title of Champion of Champions.

Oliver Sherratt, Durham County Council’s corporate director, neighbourhood services, said: “We are absolutely delighted and honoured that Durham City has been recognised once again, on a national stage, for its commitment to horticultural excellence.

“To be named as a contender in such a prestigious and respected competition is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the Durham in Bloom group, and the volunteers who help ensure the city is a beautiful place to live, work and visit.”

Durham in Bloom will officially launch its campaign to become the Champion of Champions later in the spring.

Hundreds of volunteer hours are dedicated to sustainable environmental schemes and various improvement projects each year as part of the Durham in Bloom campaign.

This year is no exception, with plans already underway for a raft of further enhancement schemes such as flowerbed planting on Gilesgate roundabout with local schoolchildren.

Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “We have a proud record of horticultural achievement in County Durham, and this is underlined by the continuing success of Durham City nationally as well as the impressive efforts of our towns and villages in regional competitions.

“We would urge everyone to get behind our entry, and we offer our huge congratulations to the Durham in Bloom group for their nomination in the Champion of Champions event. We wish them all the very best of luck.”

For more information, visit www.durham.gov.uk/inbloom or follow Durham in Bloom on Facebook.

£20,000 Art Prize Open For Applications

By on 20th February 2016in In & Around

Student artists from across the UK can now apply for one of the UK’s most generous arts prizes…

 

The Woon Foundation Prize, jointly hosted by Northumbria University, Newcastle, and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, offers an exceptional opportunity for final year undergraduate fine art and sculpture students.

The first prize is £20,000 cash and a 12-month studio space based in the Woon Tai Jee studio at BALTIC 39 in Newcastle city centre. The year-long fellowship includes mentoring from staff from both institutions and a final exhibition with catalogue at the end of the Fellowship. There are also two generous runner-up prizes of £9,000 and £6,000, plus a further £5,000 discretionary award.

The Prize is fee-free, and applications can be made via www.woonprize.co.uk up until 31st March 2016. The shortlisted artists will be selected by a panel of judges including Laurence Sillars, BALTIC Chief Curator, Christine Borland, Turner Prize-nominated artist and BALTIC Professor at Northumbria University, and Karen MacKinnon, Curator and Director, Artes Mundi.

Up to 12 artists will be shortlisted from the open submission for an exhibition at BALTIC’s project space at BALTIC 39 in summer 2016, with a solo exhibition concluding the Fellowship at Northumbria’s Gallery North.

Northumbria and BALTIC jointly award and present the The Woon Foundation Prize for Painting and Sculpture as an important part of the successful strategic partnership between the two organisations. Now in its fourth year, the Prize is open to all UK undergraduate Fine Art students who are in their final year of study, graduating in summer 2016.

The £40,000 prize fund is generously donated by The Woon Foundation. One of its trustees, Mr Wee Teng Woon, studied law at Northumbria and is passionate about creating opportunities for new and emerging artists.

Professor Borland said: “On behalf of the judging panel, we are really excited to begin to receive the applications for this year’s Woon Foundation Prize. The generous nature of this prize is unique in all respects; for the selected Woon Fellow, to receive not only a studio and a one person show with a catalogue, but the support of the community of artists, students, and academics at BALTIC 39 in the heart of Newcastle.

For the other prize winners, the freedom to spend their prizes however they choose; on travel, materials, or to pay the studio rent, is surely a game changer. Association with the Prize, and an exhibition at BALTIC 39 will, I’m certain, be a welcome addition on any young artist’s CV.”

Sarah Munro, BALTIC Director added: “BALTIC is absolutely delighted and proud to be a key partner in the Woon Foundation Prize. From the remarkable generosity of the prizes to the chance for young artists to have their work seen by an esteemed panel of artists and curators, this is the absolute must-consider prize for undergraduate fine art students in the UK.

“We are proud that BALTIC’s curatorial staff form part of the judging panel each year, and the shortlist exhibition is presented in BALTIC’s project space at BALTIC 39. Crucially, the Woon Foundation Prize is one of the continuing ways BALTIC supports talent development of artists in their formative years. We hope it also sees all shortlisted finalists engage in the burgeoning artistic community here in the North East.”

The prize was launched in 2012, and the inaugural winner was artist Holly Hendry, who completed her Fellowship in September 2014. The next Fellow was Ramona Zoladek, who held the Fellowship until September 2015. The current Fellow is Kayt Hughes, who recently met Mr Woon when he visited the UK in January.

Mr Woon said: “The Woon Foundation is delighted that applications are open for the Woon Art and Sculpture Prize 2016. We look forward to seeing the work of this year’s shortlisted applicants, and encourage you to take part.”

The Woon Foundation Prize 2016 is open for applications until 31st March 2016. For full terms and conditions, and to enter, visit www.woonprize.co.uk.

SSI Task Force Assists Ex-Steelworker Launch New Business

By on 19th February 2016in In & Around

A former Steelworker who was made redundant following the collapse of SSI UK has set up his own sport coaching business, having secured funding through the SSI Task Force…

Andy Baker, 42, from Middlesbrough, was left devastated when SSI UK was liquidated in October last year, ending what he thought was a job for life.

Hearing of the various Task Force Funds available in the media, Andy contacted his local Job Centre Plus to find out more information. He very quickly saw the closure as an opportunity to fulfil a dream of setting up Velocity Sports Coaching.

Over the last eight years, he has volunteered as a football coach at Nunthorpe Athletic, and has always had a passionate for coaching.

Andy said: “I thought it would be great to make a career out of a hobby. I will be working in local schools to deliver coaching for children aged between 5-11, and my wife Claire is planning to get involved to help grow the business.

“Applying for the SSI Task Force Business Advice Start Up Fund was brilliant. It was very easy, and I felt very supported by my mentor who helped me to develop my business plan. From submitting the plan to receiving the grant, it only took a week. I was amazed at how quickly it all worked. I’d certainly recommend the scheme to anyone. It was first class.”

Amanda Skelton, Chair of the SSI Task Force, added: “It’s not unusual for someone to decide that they want a complete change of career after being made redundant, and I am pleased that Task Force funding has been able to support Andy to do something that he is passionate about. The funds are there to support both individuals and businesses, and I would encourage people to get in touch to see how we can help.”

Jonathan Armitage, Andy’s Business Adviser, added: “This fund has been amazing in its flexibility. It has been great to be able to work with and offer former SSI workers advice on starting their own business. The grant scheme, which could provide a start-up grant of up to £10,000 to help make a business a real opportunity, has been invaluable in helping lots of people affected by the SSI closure work towards and actually start their own business.”

The Business Advice Start Up Fund administered by NEEAL has already proven extremely popular, with more than 200 people receiving advice and guidance, and nearly £300,000 of funding awarded to 46 people starting their own businesses.

Anyone interested in the scheme and looking for further information should contact NEEAL on 0191 516 6093, or visit www.teesbusinesscompass.co.uk.

MEGA Motion Campaign Is Out Of This World

By on 16th February 2016in In & Around

Pupils from Timothy Hackworth Primary in Shildon enjoyed a special spacewalk to school with the help of an astronaut…

 

Luke Costello, 6, won a MEGA Motion competition to decide on the theme of the special walk by writing about his hero Neil Armstrong.

As his prize, he enjoyed an out of this world walk alongside MEGA Motion’s very own astronaut, Mel Keeway, who joined Luke and his classmates as they walked, cycled and scooted to school. Once there, the pupil’s enjoyed an atmospheric assembly from astronaut Mel highlighting the benefits of healthy and environmentally friendly ways of getting to school.

The special day was the latest Durham County Council supported MEGA Motion event, which comes under the wider Local Motion campaign promoting sustainable transport throughout South Durham. The campaign aims to encourage children to walk, scoot or ride to school to make them aware of the health and environmental benefits from an early age.

As well as the fun walks, pupils earn points every time they use sustainable travel to get to school, aiming to collect enough points to become MEGA heroes by the end of the year.

Cllr Neil Foster, Cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “MEGA Motion is a brilliant scheme that encourages our children, in a fun way, to be healthier and more environmentally friendly every day. It’s great to see the kids enjoy such a memorable day, and we’d like to wish them all good luck in their quest to become MEGA Heroes!”

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