BOTANICAL artist Janet Orme is showing some of her work at the Art Shop in Bondgate, Darlington. Her exhibition opens tomorrow and continues until September 2. A former teacher and civil servant, she took early retirement about nine years ago and discovered
AS MIGHT be expected, the glorious summer weather of July was not conducive to the appearance of rare birds in the area. However, those birdwatchers who could tear themselves away from their deckchairs did manage to find one or two sightings of note.
DID I switch off my mobile?" That was my chief thought as we sat silent and motionless among the foliage of a Swaledale wood at 5am on a rare wet Wednesday morning last month. The image of a startled deer bolting for cover as I tried desperately to turn
REGULAR readers of this column will be aware through my writing that, each weekday morning, I take a brisk walk before settling down at my word processor. As my short hill-climbing outing takes me through some beautiful countryside it is not surprising
SOME problems in life are like the second labour of Hercules - he had to kill the nine-headed Hydra, which grew two new heads every time he clubbed off one of the original nappers. Cold calling is a prize example and it grows new dodges all the time.
WE don't know if the excellent folk who run the creamery at Hawes read our leading article on this page in October last year. If they did, we hope they will forgive us for claiming a little credit for suggesting that there should be brand name protection
GIVEN its lamentable performance in implenting the reformed Common Agircultural Policy, you'd think the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would have more important things to do than send its civil servants on a range of outings. It
WILLOW sculptor Emma Stothard had no inkling when she received a loan from the Prince's Trust that she would end up delivering a gift in person to the Prince of Wales at Highgrove this summer. The artist, whose work has featured in this column, lives
JULY was a truly exceptional month, producing both record temperatures and sunshine. The combination of these and prolonged dry spells provided us with a taste of the Mediterranean - perhaps not typical of the height of the summer there but certainly
A STATELY home in North Yorkshire has links with the Surrey gallery which won the South-East heat of BBC Television's Restoration Village. The Watts Gallery, in Compton, was built to house the work of Victorian artist George Frederic Watts, who had connections
GREAT Britain international Stephen Hepples devastated the field in Sunday's big Darlington 10K, winning by nearly a minute. The 26-year-old Loftus runner only decided to take part as a late entry after being told that another top international, Dominic
THE chasing clubs will be hoping that Great Ayton slip up against Redcar tomorrow, but in their current form it is difficult to see the leaders failing against the visitors, who are fourth from the bottom. Ayton have lost just once and lead the table
A FATHER and son partnership has found a recipe for success with a new type of food "parcel." Will and Leigh Hughes took a huge risk when they quit well-paid jobs as a project manager and accountant to turn their passion for food into a business. But
SHEEP numbers have almost doubled on a North Yorkshire farm as most of the arable land reverts to grass as part of a conversion to organic production. Mark Exelby has increased the North of England Mule flock from 280 to almost 500 ewes on his 425-acre
YARM School's rowing season has ended with record successes. Three national gold medal titles were awarded to crews at the recent National Rowing Championships held at Strathclyde Park in Glasgow. Their success follows commendable achievements in making
BRITISH Sugar threatened to close down the entire industry during talks over the doomed York sugar beet factory. The threat was made when National Farmers' Union negotiators demanded more compensation for the 1,200 growers affected. And on Wednesday,
RECORD Quakers signing Julian Joachim could make his debut for the club tomorrow, a week after his two goals for Boston United helped bring an abrupt halt to Darlington's unbeaten start to the season. The experienced 31-year-old striker, signed in a Â
Anything goes: Sir, - In the mid-1990s, having decided that a "more strategic approach to the after-use of quarries" was needed, North Yorkshire County Council abandoned its policy of restoration of quarried land to agricultural use when it spawned the
Bedale & West of Yore PC. - Aug 20: junior ODE, Catterick, classes 8yrs and under 1ft 9in, 9/10yrs 2ft 3in, 12yrs and under 2ft 9in. Sae to Michelle Slinger, 21 Stuart Avenue, Richmond DL10 4PG, tel 01748 872661 or 07930 481568. BHS County Durham. - Oct
THE Cleveland Hunt Pony Club have much to celebrate from recent area competitions. The club's junior dressage blue team of Fiona Leng, Kate Sutcliffe, Lauren Jones and Sophie Dicken swept the board at the Area 2 dressage competition held at Wolsingham
A PENSIONER is warning people about a lottery scam which asks its "winners" to hand over their bank details. Mavis Carr, 70, received a letter on Tuesday telling her she had won more than £5m in a euros lottery. The letter asked her to claim her prize
TOP horse trials rider and trainer Lucinda Green has added Foxberry Chasers, near Scotch Corner, to her long-established Petplan 'Learning the Safe Way' series of clinics. Proprietor Sara Metcalfe said: "We are thrilled to be selected as a venue for one
WORK has begun on revising the directory of Guisborough's voluntary organisations. First published more than 20 years ago, it aims to provide information for families. The 64 page Family Focus contains details of voluntary and charitable organisations
Michaela Sowerby, from Darlington, is in the running to lift a major prize for female amateur jockeys. She takes on rival Faye Bramley at Bath on Sunday as they contest the £25,000 Ladies' Derby - Europe's richest race for lady amateur riders - in the
PLANS to incorporate environmentally-friendly features into Darlington's proposed £14m out-of-town agricultural and equine centre have been revealed. Plans being drawn up for the centre, which will be sited at Humbleton Farm on the A68 near the A1, will
A RURAL shop owner has said he is "absolutely gutted" after being prevented from expanding his shop. Andy Hill, who runs the Londis store in Middleton St George, has said he is being made to suffer because of the traffic problems in the village. Darlington
BARNARD CASTLE. - Tues. Fwd: 97 cattle, 256 store lambs. Feeding cows: Lim to 85p; Ang to 83.5p; Fr 52p. Angus hfr & calf £760; BB cow & calf £700. Bulls: Lim £735; Char £670; Saler £525;Angus £480. Steer: Blond £582; Lim £580;Char £450. Hfr
A MUSEUM has received £300,000 as part of a £4m Government grant which will benefit several regional attractions. The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, will use the funds to create new textile and fashion galleries. It is the joint largest sum to be handed
A DARLINGTON councillor is taking a break from meetings, agendas and minutes to appear in a blockbuster film. Coun Peter Foster, of Hurworth, has been in Redcar this week to film scenes for Atonement - expected to be one of next year's box office smashes
THE hunt for the people who blinded a horse has gathered new impetus thanks to a local businessman. A £2,000 reward is being offered by the boss of a Saltburn hotel. Jim Brennan was shocked and angry when he read about the airgun attack on family pet
KIEREN Fallon may be barred from riding in the United Kingdom while awaiting next year's race-fixing trial, but of course can still ride in Ireland. David "Dandy" Nicholls had no hesitation in booking him for Moss Vale, a raider in the Group 3 Phoenix
YOUNG footballers are celebrating after their club was awarded almost £211,000 by the UK's largest sports charity. The money will allow Bedale Junior Football Club to buy land and convert it into pitches. The club is also planning to build a pavilion
PENRITH. - 24th annual show and sale of pedigree Dairy Shorthorns, Tues. Fwd: 40; judge P Armstrong, Thrimby. Cow in milk: 1&3 D Dent, Kirkby Stephen; 2 Messrs Hewson, Wigton. Heifer in milk: 1&2 Messrs Robinson, Kendal; 3 Messrs Ritson, Ireby. Cow or
STEAM travel will return to a heritage railway for the first time in almost 40 years this weekend. King Arthur class 4-6-0 30777 Sir Lamiel will travel on the Wensleydale Railway on Saturday. The last steam trains to run on the line were part of the Three
CALLS for a link road from the upgraded A1 to a village have been dropped after highways experts said it would cost at least £3.5m. Richmondshire District Council agreed on Monday to explore the possibility of a road direct to Catterick Village as part
A VACANT office block dating back to the 1960s could be demolished and replaced with nine modern apartments. Plans for the three-storey building in Norton High Street have been in the pipeline for six years and developers are hoping the end is near. The
TOUGH new powers to curb drinking at one of Hambleton's most popular beauty spots come into force today. Sheepwash and Cod Beck Reservoir near Osmotherley is now a designated public place, meaning the consumption of alcohol may be prohibited if police
A STRANGE, perhaps irrational, fondness for rather prosaic foods is something I know I share with others. Whether it's Spam, tripe, Smash potato, fish fingers, crab sticks or cheese strings, most of us have affection for something which perhaps wouldn't
FROM this newspaper 100 years ago. - An unusual sight was seen at Hawes on Wednesday, when a motor car which had broken down near Thwaite, in Swaledale, was yoked to a horse and drawn to Hawes Station, from whence it was dispatched for repairs. The triumph
AFTER a number of weeks of dry and sunny weather, the good old British summer returned with a vengeance last weekend to bring intermittent rain and strong winds to Croft circuit as the region played host to round ten of the Bennetts British Superbike
THE secret ingredient behind an award-winning carrot cake was this week revealed as 19-year-old Sophie Dobson.She baked the winner at Mainsgill Farm Shop at East Layton, near Richmond.The carrot cake was among three products from the shop to win gold
A NORTH Yorkshire moorland estate has bucked the trend with a surplus of grouse for this year's season.Des Coates, head keeper on Lord Peel's Grinton Estate in Swaledale, said they have nearly a record number this year.He said: "We could be looking at
A 400-YEAR-OLD North York Moors National Park estate has become a shining example of successful farm diversification.The Dawnay Estates, at Danby in the Esk Valley and Wykeham near Scarborough, is headed by Viscount Downe.Robert Sword, estate manager,
ONE of the region's great ruins has revealed one of its hidden secrets - a long forgotten medieval hostelry.The remains lie - appropriately - beneath what is now a pub, the first one to be created by English Heritage, custodian of the site. Ancient stone
A FIRST glimpse has been given of the facilities at a new learning centre.The new Darlington College, in Haughton Road, opens its doors to the public for the first time this month.The £35m centre is to offer academic and vocational studies to children
ENERGY plant workers are playing cupid to frogs and toads. About 30 employees and contractors from the BP Cats gas terminal at Seal Sands have been clearing out a large ditch to improve conditions for the amphibians. It is hoped the work will mean that
A YORKSHIRE-BRED Charolais has won her third major title in as many weeks.Holstead Velvet, a two-year-old in-calf heifer, is bred and shown by Freddie and June Andrews of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.She first won the interbreed beef title at the Great Yorkshire
A NAME is needed for a new brew, believed to be the first lager ever made in Wensleydale.Drinkers at a Wensley pub, where the German-style pint with no name is being tried out, quaffed nine gallons a night over the weekend.Richard Thompson, of the Wensleydale
