Tag: winter

What’s On In Chester-Le-Street And Durham

By on 1st December 2016in What's On?

Durham City’s Traditional Christmas Festival

If you’re set to be anywhere near Durham City over the weekend of Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th December – and why wouldn’t you be? – you really need to get to down to the Traditional Christmas Festival, which will take place across various venues in the historic centre.

Based principally around the Cathedral and Castle, the event will provide excellent opportunities for Christmas shopping, alongside festive entertainment.

So, where to head first? Here at IN&AROUND, we are certainly looking forward to the Craft and Gift Marquee on Palace Green, where more than 190 stalls are planned, although there will also be plenty of activity in the Cloisters of Durham Cathedral, where more than 30 regional food and drink producers will be present.

All of this is without us even mentioning the outdoor markets in Durham Market Place and Millennium Place, or the more than 50 additional traders in the Market Hall.

Oh, and there’s also set to be a wide range of family entertainment and activities, including live music performances and bands, live reindeer, Cathedral carol services and the Saturday afternoon Children’s Christmas Lantern Procession, which will see children leading a procession to the Cathedral for the St Nicholas service.

Please note that these details are not final and could change.

Christmas Market, the Bowes Museum

For a modest cover charge of £2.50, visitors to one of the region’s most esteemed museums can enjoy not only free admission to the museum itself, but also a feast of festive food and creative craft stalls, together with use of the Santa bus ‘park and ride’ facility.

Taking place from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th December, the event presents the perfect opportunity for visitors to sample quality produce – including breads, cakes, cheeses, gourmet scotch eggs, speciality hot chocolates, local beers and more – from some of the region’s finest suppliers.

Alternatively, you might look to pick up a quirky gift from an assortment of fascinating locally made jewellery, wreaths, ceramic and glass art, leather goods, toys and upcycled furniture. There will even be stalls for your dog!

Nor will there be a shortage of entertainment, with seasonal singing provided by the popular group No Added Sugar, and Barnard Castle Band and the Andreas Ensemble also on hand with a festive repertoire. Even Smooth Radio will be on site right through the weekend, playing festive music and offering gift wrapping master classes.

Throw in Christmas craft activities and the opportunity for your child to visit Santa in his grotto and even receive a gift from him (all for £5), and it becomes even more obvious that if you visit just one Christmas market this year, it should be this one.

Seann Walsh: One for the Road

Given how he stormed his last gig at Stockton’s Arc a few years back, it’s unsurprising that this dishevelled comic with the eye for the absurd is primed for a triumphant return to the same venue on 9th December.

For someone known as ‘the Lie-in King’ with a penchant for staying in watching Sky Sports News, the Lewisham-born stand-up has shown remarkable stamina in building up his career to date, being nominated for the Foster’s Comedy Award and appearing on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats, Live at the Apollo, The Jonathan Ross Show, Alan Carr Chatty Man and Tonight at the London Palladium.

Walsh is also quite the sight to watch live, pacing the stage and working the room as he makes good use of his well-attuned observational mind to drive his audience to hysterics. Described as “Unquestionably the best observational comic of his generation” by The Guardian and “This generation’s Dylan Moran” by Time Out, Walsh is a man you won’t want to miss when he brings his brand new, perfectly delivered show to the North East.

10 Things Not To Forget This Christmas

By on 1st December 2016in Lifestyle

The festive season may be a time of fun and plenty (in theory, anyway), but there’s a huge amount of preparation that goes into a truly successful Christmas. Here are 10 of the things that you really shouldn’t allow to slip your mind if you are to avoid those last minute ’emergencies’.

  1. Planning

This is the single most important thing not to forget. After all, with everything from the office Christmas party to your children’s nativity play to think about, you’ll be overcome with anxiety if you fail to follow such basic steps as putting together a ‘to-do’ list and spreading out those essential duties over the coming weeks in your diary.

  1. Christmas cards

This is the time of year when you suddenly seem to remember all of those family members you never actually meet, and you won’t want to be the only one in the family not to have sent them a Christmas card. So, make sure you make a list of all conceivable recipients to avoid repeat trips to the card shop when someone else pops to mind.

  1. Postal costs

Sending off presents to your far-flung relatives can get pretty expensive. To alleviate this, look for gifts that are light, non-breakable and easy to wrap, and include your Christmas card to the recipient in the same package to save you having to buy another stamp.

  1. Budget

It seems that we all plan to be frugal over the festive period, but so often find ourselves plunging into our overdrafts due to that costly present that we hadn’t initially expected to buy, or that party where we overspent on the sherries. So, by all means, agree a budget with your family – not too strict, and not too costly – but then stick to it.

  1. Tidying up

Those weeks of calm before the Christmas celebrations are the perfect period in which to declutter your home – not least to make space for everyone set to descend on your humble abode. Put last year’s unwanted gifts on eBay to raise present-buying funds, find a cupboard for all of that wrapping and make a flattering space for the Christmas tree – accounting for height and not just width!

  1. Food and drink

This aspect of your Yuletide shopping threatens to be such a headache with all of the queues – unless you take steps to avoid this, such as ordering online for home delivery or purchasing all non-perishable products well in advance. The turkey’s a natural essential, so order yours well ahead of time for collection on the 23rd.

  1. Stress management

With so much to plan, buy and organise, it’s easy to become overwhelmed – but don’t shirk your duties. Instead, practice effective stress management techniques such as breaking down everything that you have to do into smaller, less daunting chunks, or delegating tasks to other people where you can. Are the kids helping out enough with the washing up, for instance?

  1. Fashion

You won’t want to lag behind anyone in the style stakes at your Christmas party. Get an instantly glamorous look by pairing a statement necklace with a lightweight knit, and for your footwear, opt for a medium heel or a block heel with a platform to ensure the utmost comfort on the festive dance floor. Nor will a tasteful handbag go amiss for completing your look.

  1. Everything you need for wrapping

Sellotape, scissors, wrapping paper that isn’t embarrassingly out-of-date… they’re all the kind of things that you might expect to already be in your cupboard due to all of that shopping you did last year. However, you should always double check far in advance. Don’t forget those labels either, and make sure everything’s wrapped up ahead of the last Christmas posting dates.

  1. A smile

If you’re the host of the Christmas party, you’ll need to remember to provide the best possible hospitality, including that all-important festive cheer. Try to avoid those heated debates about politics or who should have brought the food course – unless all of that’s your “thing”, of course.

Warm Up North Scheme Installs Free Central Heating

By on 1st March 2016in In & Around

Residents in County Durham are set to benefit from a new scheme which sees free central heating systems fitted to a number of homes without, or with only partial, central heating…

As part of Warm Up North, and thanks to a £6.5m government grant, Durham County Council in partnership with eight other North East local authorities and British Gas, will begin installing free central heating systems into qualifying properties.

The £6.5m funding was awarded to a scheme involving nine North East local authorities – Northumberland County Council, Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Gateshead Council and Newcastle City Council – with the emphasis on rural areas.

A number of residents in County Durham who may be eligible for the fund will shortly receive a letter with full information.

Cllr Eddie Tomlinson, Cabinet member for housing and rural issues at Durham County Council, said: “We’re very pleased to be part of this scheme which offers help to people who need it most.

“By tackling fuel poverty, we can help to ensure people can afford to heat their homes, which in turn can have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing.”

People can find out more information by visiting www.durham.gov.uk/freecentralheating or by calling Warm Up North on 0800 294 8073.

Twenty projects nationwide were awarded funding, totalling £25m as part of the Central Heating Fund scheme, which will improve the energy efficiency of more than 7,000 households across England.

Metrocentre Puts The Kettle On For ‘Brew Monday’

By on 15th January 2016in In & Around

Retailers in Europe’s largest shopping centre are helping shoppers beat the January blues – by putting the kettle on…

Monday 18th January, or ‘Blue Monday,’ is widely believed to be one of the most depressing days of the year, as the excitement of Christmas wears off, the temperature plummets, and people return to work.

However, retailers at intu Metrocentre are hoping to sweeten the day by renaming it ‘Brew Monday’ and offering shoppers a range of free hot drinks, special offers and surprises.

Among the treats available at the centre on Monday will be free tea and coffee vouchers for Wetherspoon, while Oh You Pretty Things Champagne Bar is creating special blue cocktails and mocktails.

And, for those who are too blue to leave the house, intu Metrocentre will be running online competitions, including the chance to win a free afternoon tea for four at Lumley Castle Hotel, on Facebook.

The centre will also be giving away Muffin Break vouchers to Twitter users who share selfies having a brew on the day.

“To combat the January Blues, we want our customers to share a cup of tea or coffee with their loved ones, or have a brew on us,” said Helen Atkinson, marketing manager at intu Metrocentre.

“If we all join together, then there’s no reason why we can’t beat the blues and get the year off to a much happier start.”

For more information, click here.

Mr And Mrs Winter Exchange Wedding Vows As Snow Falls

By on 14th January 2016in Lifestyle

Meet Mr and Mrs Winter – a North East couple who exchanged their wedding vows just as snow began to fall…

As bride Rebecca Thompson walked down the aisle at 600-year-old Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street, to marry 31-year-old civil servant, Michael Winter, morning rain had turned to sleet.

And by the time the happy couple, from North Shields, had exchanged their wedding rings, the ancient castle was crowned with snow, giving their Winter’s tale a truly story book ending.

“It was magical, really,” said Rebecca, a 28-year-old recruitment consultant. “Michael’s surname was the inspiration for us having a winter wedding in the first place, but we never dreamed it would actually snow.”

Around 100 friends and family members attended the wedding in the four-star hotel’s Garter Suite, followed by a reception in the Baron’s Hall for 140.

“We’d chosen William Shakespeare’s play, The Winter’s Tale, as our theme,” said Rebecca, “and our table centrepieces were copies of the play.

“Lumley Castle is a story book setting at the best of times, but the snow turned it into a fairy tale.”

“A very great deal of thought and care went in to planning the wedding,” said Lumley Castle’s wedding coordinator Claire Sanderson.

“But, of course, no one can plan the weather – and it couldn’t have been more perfect.”

To book your own fairytale wedding at Lumley Castle, call 0191 389 1111, email reservations@lumleycastle.com or visit www.lumleycastle.com.

Heart Of Teesdale’s ‘Donate A Gate’ Scheme A Great Success

By on 11th January 2016in In & Around

A walking group, which donated two gates at Gainford as part of a ‘Donate a Gate’ scheme, used its annual Christmas walk to visit them…

 

Members of the Darlington Countrywide Holidays Association and Holiday Fellowship Rambling Group decided to see the work for themselves, festively dressed and singing carols along the way.

Chairman of the Darlington club, Ian Bagshaw, said: “It makes everything much more accessible. If you don’t walk so well, you don’t want to be going over wobbly styles, so it just makes things safer and easier for everybody.”

The Heart of Teesdale Landscape Partnership and the Friends of the North Pennines have been working together to roll out the ‘Donate a Gate’ scheme across Teesdale and the wider North Pennines area. The idea behind the scheme is to make the area’s popular footpaths more accessible by replacing awkward stiles with gates, and members of the public are being encouraged to sponsor a gate to make this possible.

Thanks to the scheme, 45 new gates have now been installed by Jay Marrison of 4Nature.

The ‘Donate a Gate’ scheme invites members of the public to pay for a stile to be replaced, and the new gate fitted with an engraved plaque. This could be in remembrance of a loved one, to commemorate a special occasion, or as a gift to someone who loves walking in Teesdale and the North Pennines. Everyone who ‘Donates a Gate’ will be given a choice of the location of the gate (subject to conditions), choose their engraving, and receive a personalised map of the area around their gate.

This scheme forms part of the Heart of Teesdale’s Paths for All People project, which aims to improve the footpaths and bridleways around the project area to make them more suitable and accessible. This includes work on the Teesdale Way and the Greta Walk.

For more information on the scheme, contact Emma Ashton-Wickett on 03000 260645 or emma.ashton@durham.gov.uk, or Friends of the North Pennines on fotnp@hotmail.co.uk.

Virgin Trains Offer 200,000 Cheap Rail Tickets

By on 5th January 2016in In & Around

If you’ve spent too much time soothing feuds between family members over the holidays, it might be time to bag yourself a bargain escape route…

A total of 200,000 cheap tickets are up for grabs from Virgin Trains along their east coast route from London to Edinburgh. At £5 for a single ticket between London and Leeds, £10 between London to Newcastle and £15 between London and Edinburgh, the bargains are eye-wateringly tempting.

Those needing that extra bit of nurturing after dealing with particularly irritating relatives should be able to justify upgrading to First Class. At just £40 for a First Class ticket all the way from London to Edinburgh, their deal will include the full package – including complimentary food and drink, free Wi-Fi and more spacious and comfortable seats.

George Shuttlewood, Head of Marketing for Virgin Trains on the east coast, said:

“All those who’ve spent the last two weeks with seriously annoying relatives have our deepest sympathy. We’re delighted to be able to offer a sharp exit with our super-cheap tickets.

“This is an excellent opportunity to save big on travel between Edinburgh and London, and many of our destinations in between. And with 200,000 seats available over the travel period, there’s plenty of choice.

“London is always our most popular destination, but with prices so low it’s the perfect opportunity to try somewhere new.”

The bargain seats are on sale from today until Friday 8th January, and only through this web page. All tickets are for travel from 5th January to 23rd March 2016.

All offers are subject to availability. As well as seriously beguiling bargains for off-peak week-day travel, some peak-time tickets are up for grabs as well as more limited (due to engineering works) but equally tempting deals for weekend travel.

Because the prices are already so low, no other offers or discounts can be used, including Railcard or child reductions. Once booked, no changes, refunds or break of journey can be made.

£5m Investment Helps Warm North East Homes

By on 2nd January 2016in In & Around

Thousands of homes across the North East are enjoying warmer homes thanks to ‘Warm Up North’, a landmark initiative being delivered by British Gas in partnership with nine local authorities…

Warm Up North has delivered £4.9m worth of energy saving measures across 3,690 homes since its launch in 2013.

Warm Up North tackles fuel poverty in the North East by helping to lower energy bills, and make it more affordable for residents to keep warm.

Local residents can benefit from a range of energy efficiency measures, including free A-rated gas boilers, subject to eligibility and survey, as well as cavity wall and loft insulation.

In addition to the cost and energy savings for residents, the programme has created annual carbon savings of nearly 15,000 (14,961.61) tonnes of carbon. To put this into perspective, one tonne of CO2 weighs as much as 10 baby elephants!

Although thousands of residents have already benefitted from new gas boilers and insulation, Warm Up North is urging residents in the North East who haven’t taken part in the scheme to get in touch to find out if they are eligible for help.

Graeme Stephenson, lead partnership development manager at Warm Up North, said: “Warm Up North has helped thousands of households, including homes in Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham, to become more energy efficient.

“As the weather gets increasingly cold, many local residents will be thinking about the costs of heating their homes, and I’d urge them to give us a call to find out if they could join the thousands of people who are already benefitting from our Warm Up North programme.”

For more information about this range of energy efficiency measures, including free A-rated gas boilers for eligible residents with an inefficient boiler, subject to eligibility and survey, and cavity wall and loft insulation, contact Warm Up North on 0800 316 4320 for the gas boiler offer, or 0800 294 8073 for all other energy efficiency measures. Alternatively, visit www.warmupnorth.com.

#ThrowbackThursday: Icebreakers Of The Tyne

By on 31st December 2015in Lifestyle

The Tyne & Wear Flickr Archive provides a unique view into Newcastle’s shipbuilding past…

 

 

Although the days of the Tyne being crammed with ships may be long gone, the proud memories of North East shipyards are still as strong as ever.

The region’s marine heritage dates as far back as 1294, when a galley was built in Newcastle for the King’s fleet. By 1346, ships were being built in Sunderland, and then in Stockton a little over a century later. From then, it remained a key industry in the area until the late 20th century.

So of all of the thousands built, where were these ships going to? As documented in this Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Flicker album, some were destined for the far reaches of Russia.

 

The SS Baikal (pictured above) and the Ermack were both built by W G Amrstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd in the 1890s, in their Low Walker yard. These were sent east for ice-breaking duties across frozen waters.

Click through the gallery below to see the fantastic images of both ships in action.

 

Included in the gallery is a photograph of the workforce which reassembled the SS Baikal upon its arrival at Lake Baikal. As the caption reads:

“They were mainly exiles and criminals. They also included Isaac O’Henry, the Chief Engineer, who often told a tale of a long walk in the tundra alone with a guide who later turned out to have murdered his entire family with an axe.”

To see more of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums photographs, click here.

To see more local #ThrowbackThursdays, click here.

Do you have shipbuilding memories or photographs of your own to share? Leave a comment below, or email online@inandaroundmag.co.uk!

Council Provides Essential Winter Weather Tips

By on 29th December 2015in In & Around

Following the continued wintry weather, people in County Durham are being urged to stay warm, well and safe…

 

Durham County Council is reminding everyone that online resources are available at www.durham.gov.uk/warmandwell to ensure that no one is left out in the cold this winter.

As well as advice on staying healthy and looking after elderly or vulnerable neighbours, there’s also information on coping with the snow and ice. This includes everything from finding out the location of your nearest salt bin, to tips for driving in wintry conditions.

There’s also guidance on how to make sure your home is warm and energy efficient, including information about the Government’s Warm Homes Discount Scheme, whereby energy companies must offer extra help to their most vulnerable customers, with a possible one-off rebate of £140 on energy bills to those who qualify.

Cllr Eddie Tomlinson, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for assets, strategic housing and rural issues said: “With the winter weather well and truly underway, we’d like to remind everyone that a range of advice and information is available on our website to keep people warm, well and safe.”

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