Tag: chester-le-street

Lumley Castle Offer Perfect Post-Christmas Break

By on 22nd December 2015in Lifestyle

One of the North East’s best loved hotels is coming to the rescue of couples, friends and families in need of a post-Christmas mini break…

Six-hundred-year-old Lumley Castle Hotel, Chester-le-Street, is offering a two night Twixmas stay, between Christmas and New Year, with one condition… that guests allow staff to wait on them hand and foot.

Not only will guests spend two nights in a sumptuously furnished courtyard bedroom, formerly the stable block of the 14th century castle, but they will also be served dinner in the hotel’s renowned Black Knight restaurant and a full English breakfast on both mornings.

They will also be able to enjoy long walks in the nine acres of historic woodland surrounding the four star hotel, overlooking both the Emirates Cricket Ground and the River Wear.

“Then, when they return, they can curl up in front of a roaring log fire with a mug of chocolate or afternoon tea, or explore the ancient corridors of the castle and find out a little more about its fascinating history,” said director of sales and marketing, Nola Collinson.

“However they choose to spend their time, we can assure our Twixmas guests that they won’t have to lift a finger; their stay with us really will be the perfect, post-Christmas treat.”

The two night Twixmas break is available from 27th to 30th December, and costs from £60 per person per night.

The offer includes accommodation, based on two people sharing a room, a £30 per person allowance towards dinner in the Black Knight Restaurant on one evening, and full English Breakfast both mornings.

For more information call 0191 389 1111, email reservations@lumleycastle.com or visit www.lumleycastle.com.

Lumley Castle Invites Wild Food Foragers To Their Grounds

By on 2nd December 2015in In & Around

A North East castle, famous for its restaurant, is giving foodies the chance to forage for ingredients in its historic grounds…

The ancient woodland surrounding 600-year-old Lumley Castle hotel is home to a wide variety of wild ingredients, from garlic and herbs to edible roots and berries.

The four star hotel, at Chester-le-Street, has joined forces with foraging experts to give nature lovers and foodies the chance to learn more about ‘wild food’, at a series of special events in 2016.

On selected dates throughout the year, it will be giving groups of around twenty visitors the chance to explore its nine acres of woodland in the company of bush craft and survival expert Bruce Ferguson, of Wild North Discovery.

Not only will he teach them to seek out and identify wild ingredients during a one and a half hour walk, but chefs from the hotel’s renowned Black Knight restaurant will then serve lunch, incorporating the foraged food.

Between courses, Bruce, who has been foraging for wild food for more than thirty years and recently took actor and presenter Robson Green seashore foraging for an upcoming episode of hit TV show, Tales from Northumberland, will give a talk about safe, legal and sustainable foraging.

He will also be talking about food to look out for later in the year that may not yet be in season and the various types of location at which wild food can be found.

Brice said: “The fascinating thing about Lumley Castle is that parts of its grounds have lain relatively undisturbed and uncultivated for a very long time, which makes them a treasure trove for foragers.

“There is huge interest in wild food at present, however not all berries, roots and leaves are safe to eat, which is why courses such as these are so important.”

Along with the public courses, Lumley Castle is giving corporate clients the chance to find out more about foraging by offering them the option to build a short course with Bruce into their team-building or conference and event packages.

“While corporate and leisure visitors are always impressed by the castle itself, its grounds have gone largely unexplored,” said Director of Sales and Marketing, Nola Collinson, “which is why they provide such an abundant harvest of wild ingredients.

“With Bruce’s expertise, we hope to help visitors find out a little more about foraged food and introduce them to our lovely grounds at the same time.”

The Foraging at Lumley days are scheduled for Sunday 22nd May and 2nd October, with more dates to follow. Places, which are limited, cost £29.50, and include lunch.

For further information call 0191 389 5857 or email info@lumleycastle.com.

[cwa id=’test’]

Frosty Fun In Chester-le-Street For Christmas Light Switch On

By on 30th November 2015in In & Around

The Chester-le-Street Christmas lights are set to turn the town into a Winter Wonderland…

 

Residents and visitors to Chester-le-Street are invited to gather around the Christmas tree for the annual festive light switch on, taking place on Thursday 3rd December at 4pm.

They’ll be joined by the Town Crier, stilt walkers, Frosty the Snowman, and characters from Disney blockbuster Frozen.

Organisers have arranged for free parking after 3pm in all Durham County Council car parks throughout December, and businesses are set to remain open throughout the evening, meaning hot drinks and food will be available.

For more information, email chester-le-streetaap@durham.gov.uk.

[cwa id=’test’]

Chester-le-Street To Mark Remembrance Day With Parade

By on 3rd November 2015in What's New?, What's On?

Soldiers who lost their lives fighting in both World Wars and other conflicts will be remembered at the war memorial in Chester-le-Street on Sunday 8th November…

 

Marking the occasion, a parade will begin at Park View Community School entrance on Church Chare at 10.30am, continuing to High Chare and Front Street and arriving in the Market Place for the start of a service at 10.45am in front of the war memorial.

The two-minute silence takes place at 11.00am with the service, conducted by Reverend David Tully, finishing at 11.15am. People are invited to follow the route and gather at the Market Place to pay tribute at the memorial.

The Scout Band will lead the parade, followed by various local uniformed organisations, who will lay wreaths.

Along with local councillors, the Chester-le-Street and District Area Action Partnership will continue to support Chester-le-Street and District War Memorial Group who will organise future Remembrance Sunday parades.

Did you or a relative serve? In the run-up to Remembrance Sunday, we want to share your stories.

Email online@inandaroundmag.co.uk to tell your story and #HaveYourSay.

Alex Nelson’s Places To Go: Bradford

By on 27th October 2015in Have Your Say, Lifestyle, Local Biz, Places To Go, Uncategorised, What's New?

Stationmaster Alex Nelson has been suggesting places to go by train every month for ten years. This month, he’s headed to Bradford…

Chester-le-Track has been promoting Bradford as a fascinating city to visit since 1999. It’s a large (population 528,155), vibrant City in West Yorkshire, reached from the north-east via Leeds on the TransPennine route.

As it happens, Bradford was chosen by Northern Rail for its annual “thank you” event for stakeholders, which I was unable to attend this year. That offered a visit to the Bradford Industrial Museum, lunch in the Abundant Life Centre, and a visit either to the National Media Museum or the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Lister Park.

The National Media Museum is a favourite of mine (formerly known as the National Museum of Film, Television and Photography, until the internet came along and threatened an even longer title). They wisely decided to go for National Media Museum, where I saw an excellent Robert Zemeckis film a few weeks ago called The Walk, about the tightrope walker who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 7th August 1974. It’s on general release now, but looked its best in 3D on a giant IMAX screen.

Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the “wool capital of the world”. The area’s access to a supply of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of Bradford’s manufacturing base, which – as textile manufacture grew – led to an explosion in population, and was a stimulus to civic investment. Bradford has much listed Victorian architecture, including the grand Italianate City Hall.

A major London company ran a textiles conference in Bradford during mid-October, bringing students into Bradford from many colleges and universities. Chester-le-Track was pleased to provide rail tickets for the participants, which was done by getting each institution to ring us with their ticket orders, and the transactions were all billed to the London company’s credit card. Not only did they get the best fares, but it saved all the invoices flying around from the various colleges.

We’re equipped to handle travel to large conferences and events by rail, so just ask us what we can do.

 

There are two good hotels to use for an overnight stay, next to Bradford’s two rail stations. The Interchange station has the Victoria hotel opposite, while the Midland Hotel is close to the other station at Bradford Forster Square. Both stations have direct services to London, with an electric service from Bradford Forster Square (more trains are available from Leeds), and a diesel service from Bradford Interchange four times a day. Trains from Leeds, with connections from the north-east, run into both stations frequently.

As stationmaster, I spend some of my time travelling around the network, frequently accompanied by our apprentices. I also speak to clubs and societies about rail ticketing, most recently at Marton near Middlesbrough, and at Alnwick. I have a particularly good knowledge of London, which is important since 70% of our tickets on the National Rail network are issued to, from, or via London.

I can speak on several railway subjects (including history, time, my adventures in Bradford, and most particularly railway fares), and if you would like to speak to an association of any sort, you are welcome to email me.

Alex Nelson

Lumley Castle Holds Halloween Party For Little Monsters And Grown Up Ghouls

By on 27th October 2015in Entertainment, Events, Local Biz, What's New?, What's On?

One of the North East’s most haunted venues is inviting small spooks – and grown-up ghosts – to two special events this week…

Six-hundred-year-old Lumley Castle, in Chester-le-Street, is holding a children’s Hallowe’en party on Thursday 29th October, with an emphasis on fun rather than fright.

On arrival at the castle, the youngsters will be led to Lumley’s dungeon before being served a three course banquet feast in the majestic Baron’s Hall, while accompanying adults are served a glass of wine.

They will then be entertained by some of the castle’s friendlier ghosts, and a prize will be given to the child with the best fancy dress costume, with all children receiving a small memento of the event before they leave.

The following night, Friday 30th October, it will be the turn of adults, who are invited to a five course banquet, with live entertainment and a late night disco in the four-star hotel’s dungeon.

“Lumley Castle is a perfect Hallowe’en venue,” says Director of Sales and Marketing, Nola Collinson, “and we hope as many diners as possible will enter into the ‘spirit’ and come suitably – and spookily – dressed for the occasion.”

The children’s party is suitable for those aged between 5 and 12, and doors will open at 6.30pm, with the banquet served at 7pm. 

Tickets, which must be pre-booked, cost £16 per child and £29 for each accompanying adult.

The adult Hallowe’en Party on 30th October begins in the Dungeon bar at 7pm, with the banquet at 8pm, followed by a disco until 1am.

The party is for those aged over 16, and tickets cost £41.50 per person.

To book, or for further information, call 0191 389 1111, visit www.lumleycastle.com or email banquets@lumleycastle.com.

Full Colour Cards: 5 Reasons To Become A Print Partner

By on 26th October 2015in Have Your Say, Local Biz, What's New?

Full Colour Cards, one of the UK’s biggest print and design retailers, are offering the chance to become an affiliate partner. Company frontman Andy Knowles tells us why you should consider...

I introduced the Print Partner Affiliate Programme back in 2012. Because of the ever increasing number of print resellers signing up as Full Colour Cards customers, I felt there was a gap in the market to offer a turnkey e-commerce website for resellers to drive traffic to, and pick up a nice royalty payment at the end of each month.

As things progressed, we introduced our Customer Service Team so that partners no longer had to deal with emails, phone calls or instant chat. This is all done by our staff in Durham, which means that print partners actually have to do very little.

Today, our Print Partner programme can take care of your online marketing, outbound telesales, and email campaigns, giving our partners the freedom to do exciting and amazing things to drive traffic through their website.

Here are our top five reasons to become a print partner:

1. The UK Print Market Is Huge

According to the British Printing Industries Federation, the UK print market is worth £13.5 billion, and employs over 120,000 people. It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without print. It’s all around us, and plays a vital role in our daily lives. Print is also a highly effective means of communicating a message easily, quickly and cheaply, which means that no matter what, there are always customers.

2. It’s Hassle Free

What sets Full Colour Cards apart from other copycat schemes is that ours is simple to use and hassle-free. Our partners don’t need to take phone calls, answer emails, or deal with instant chat. We do it all!

We also handle all of your orders, and even any customer concerns that might arise. Partners simply drive traffic to their website, and we pay the monthly commission.

3. You Don’t Need Thousands Of Customers

One of the common myths surrounding our Print Partner Programme is that you need thousands of new customers to get anything from it. The reality is that just a handful of good customers can be a winning strategy, as printing attracts a high level of repeat orders rather than one-off transactions. We offer insight into best practices, and share our experiences to ensure Print Partners get off to a great start, and are on the fast track to making money.

4. Little Investment And No Stockholding

Lots of turnkey business opportunities require you to part with a wad of cash upfront, without any certainty of getting a return on your investment. We offer four different website packages, starting from as little as £15 per month. There is no need for you to carry stock or invest in equipment, as the business is completely online based. Welcome to the digital revolution!

5. Unlock A Second Stream Of Income

For many people, 9-5 doesn’t afford the extra luxuries that life has to offer, such as holidays, a new car, or home improvements. Our Print Partner Programme can offer a significant second stream of income to help radically improve finances. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme by any stretch of the imagination, but you can earn substantial monthly commissions very quickly with the help and support of our account managers.

Here’s what an existing Print Partner has to say:

 

PrintPartner-CustomerTestimonial

For more information about the Print Partner Affiliate Scheme, visit Full Colour Cards.

Got a query? You can call 0191 354 5454 or email amanda@fullcolourcards.co.uk.

Win! An Elizabethan Banquet For 2

By on 19th October 2015in Competitions, What's New?

The year is 1595, and you’re invited to attend the banquet feast of Sir John Lumley…

Lumley Castle Hotel, gem of the North East landscape for over 600 years, are holding themed Elizabethan Banquet evenings!

Before the banquet starts, the doors to the dungeon and guardroom are thrown open, where wine, ale and mead can be purchased. To the sound of bagpipes, you’ll be greeted with a friendly smile… but take heed to be well behaved, or his Lordship’s Executioner will deal with you!

Armed only with a dagger and a bib, you’ll be served five courses of delicious food. Throughout the feasting, the banquet maids will fill your goblets twice with mead and wine while entertaining you with songs, sketches and sing-a-longs.

 

At the end of the show, the Chamberlain will guide you back to the 21st century to dance in the dungeon to the castle’s resident DJ.

We’re offering readers the chance to win an Elizabethan Banquet for 2, on a date of your choosing! To win, all you have to do is answer the following question…

This competition is now closed. Congratulations to Pamela from Consett!

Sincerely, The Editor: The Forgotten North East?

By on 16th October 2015in Have Your Say, In & Around, What's New?

Hi! My name’s Alex, and I’m the editor of In & Around Online.

This site went live on Wednesday, and before the week draws to a close, I’d just like to take a few minutes to reflect on what that means.

Each and every one of us has ‘something to say’, whether it be insight that we’d like to share, or an opinion to put out there, or something we’re proud of that we’d love to be able to shout about. I know from experience that it isn’t always easy to put some of those things into words, or to know how to go about sharing them.

In & Around Online is the platform to do just that.

Particularly in recent times, the North East can seem like the ‘forgotten’ region, but we want to change that. We want to give our region a voice, and we want you to be able to #HaveYourSay.

Getting to this point has been a lot of hard work, and I’d particularly like to thank everybody who has made a contribution so far. All of the people that I’ve spoken to since beginning this project have had so much insight and passion to share, and it’s a great feeling to finally be able to put that content out there for everybody to enjoy.

The likes of Dr Twist’s writeup of their fantastic traditional portrait business is a great read, as is Laura Tindall’s musings on Newcastle-based pianist Christopher Watson, and I’m especially privileged to be able to press the publish button on articles like Rebecca Scott’s explanation of why her involvement with the Alzheimer’s Society is so important.

Articles like these are a great reminder of the voices we have in the North East.

Having seen the first wave of content, I look forward to future contributions! Don’t forget, if you’d like to be a contributor yourself, visit the Write For Us page. Anybody at all can submit articles.

And so here’s to the future of In & Around! Ten years ago, we launched the magazine that would go on to become a Chester-le-Street institution, and this week we’ve set out on the second part of our journey. Are you coming with us?

Sincerely,
Alex Porritt
The Editor

Alzheimer’s Society: My Fight Against Dementia

By on 11th October 2015in Have Your Say, Local Biz, What's New?, What's On?

Rebecca Scott, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society, explains why the charity’s work is so crucial to the North East…

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia support and research charity, here for anyone affected by any form of dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We provide information and practical and emotional support to help people live well with dementia, and we invest in world-class research with the ultimate goal of defeating it.

We also campaign to improve public understanding of dementia and the devastating impact it can have, and make sure it’s taken seriously and acted on by our governments. At Alzheimer’s Society, we believe passionately that life doesn’t end when dementia begins. We are here for anyone affected by dementia, and we do everything we can to keep people with dementia connected to their lives and the people who matter most.

There are currently over 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2021. In the North East alone, there are over 35,000 people living with dementia, and shockingly, more than 1,125 of these people live in the North Durham constituency alone.

My role as a Community Fundraiser is vitally important, to raise funds in the North East region to help contribute to supporting as many families living with dementia as possible, as well as continue to fund vital research and campaigns across the country, and ultimately allow Alzheimer’s Society to continue to lead the fight against dementia.

I first became involved with Alzheimer’s Society after I lost my grandmother to Alzheimer’s disease in June 2011. Seeing first-hand what devastating effects the disease had on Nana and our family really spurred me on to give some time volunteering in our local fundraising group in early 2013. From this my interest in fundraising began to grow.

 

The difference we were able to make as a team was great, and I got a real boost from hearing what our total amounted to after every event! Our first big success was raising more than £5,000 at the Chester-Le-Street Memory Walk in 2013, an event that now, in its fifth year, we hope will raise more than £25,000.

I was successfully recruited into the Community Fundraiser role in September 2013, and it’s been so rewarding to watch our efforts go from strength to strength, and see the profile of dementia rise in the North East.

Our Christmas Fair, taking place on Saturday 14th November, has been held at the local Chester-Le-Street office for the last few years, and this festive season we wanted to take it to a bigger level. With the support of the brilliant volunteers across County Durham, we will be taking over the Upper Room of Cornerstones Centre for the Community in Chester-Le-Street from 10am-2pm, with all kinds of stalls and gift ideas to get people in the Christmas spirit.

On the day, attendees can expect to enjoy our special festive raffle, with prizes from Frazer Hart, Maften Hall and Newcastle Gateshead Marriott, in addition to tombolas, Christmas gifts and decorations, and cakes made especially by our volunteers. Plus, we have special guests hosting their own stalls, including Must Have Charms, Sand Art, Gill’s Floristry, The Hat Hut, Little T’s, Usborne Books, Handcrafted Wood, and even Santa will be popping in to say hello!

 

Events like this are so important to Alzheimer’s Society and to the local community. If we can raise £1,000 from the fair, we could help pay for an experienced Dementia Support Worker to spend an hour a week for an entire year with someone affected by dementia, helping them to build their own support network, and feel less isolated.

Services like this are absolutely vital to families, and we want to continue to be there for as many people affected by dementia as possible, as well as to help raise money to reach the ultimate goal: finding a cure.

For more information about Alzheimer’s Society, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk. To find out more about the Christmas Fair, visit the Facebook page.

For fundraising queries, you can contact Rebecca at rebecca.scott@alzheimers.org.uk.

ADVERTISERS