A PAIR of peacocks have taken up residence in our small garden. They arrived last week, unannounced and uninvited, drawn in by our two pet chickens who share their time between the coop in the garden and the mat in the dining room. When the peacocks -
Top Of The Pops is more than just a music show - it's a British institution. As a new book celebrates 2,000 epiodes of the show, Steve Pratt reports opn how it just keeps on entertaining. IT was 6.35pm on New Year's Day 1964 when a BBC continuity man
A flower festival is planned at a North-East museum to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founders' wedding. Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, will mark the anniversary of John and Josephine Bowes with the festival from August 23 to
A COUNCIL has finally taken delivery of a rare item of skateboarding equipment after a marathon journey from the US. But the prized stunt ramp, which is to form the centrepiece of a mobile skateboard park, nearly didn't make it to the region after it
IF Harry Mead's column (Echo, July 31) can use the foot-and-mouth inquiry reports so selectively to harangue farmers, I suggest his moral integrity should be questioned. The ten most important findings by the Royal Society did not criticise farmers. Some
I have had the pleasure of dining out this week. It was a works do, not mine (us gardeners tend to head for the nearest pub) but my partner's. Nick works in the medical profession and we often get taken out to local restaurants and events. These used
THE Darlington 10k road run, which takes place next week, is sparking international interest. Race organisers at Darlington Borough Council, who have been swamped with hundreds of entries, have received inquiries from as far afield as Japan. And they
Few politicians have been so cruelly abused in the media as Ann Widdecombe. But, as Steve Pratt discovers, there is a softer side to the woman dubbed Doris Karloff. HER size is what shocks. Or rather, the lack of it. Everything you've seen and read about
With her idea of cruising based only on Hollywood movies, Christen Pears finds life on board a luxury liner surpasses all her expectations. STANDING on deck as we left port, the late afternoon sun like molten gold on the water, and only the open sea and
