Vincent Marron became a Roman Catholic priest on July 26, 1942. Precisely 60 years later, and with a homily he described as "the idle thoughts of an idle man", he returned to Ushaw College to celebrate, and to give thanks. He is a marvellous old chap,
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
DURHAM County Council may use the controversial private finance initiative (PFI) to build and repair schools. The authority is facing a huge backlog of repairs and some older buildings are unsuitable for modern needs. The council says in some cases there
Bakery group Greggs toasted record half-year profits yesterday despite losing a day's business by closing during the Golden Jubilee weekend. Managing director Mike Darrington said the group had made good progress and revealed it was set to open its first
Q When my husband died a year ago I was given a Bereavement Allowance of £75.50 a week. Why has this now stopped and is it true that I must live on £53.95 a week? A Since April 9 last year, benefit may be paid to both widows and widowers but, unless there
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
JERMAINE Jenas last night vowed to make a first-team place his own at Newcastle this season - despite the club's "frightening" array of midfield talent. The 19-year-old faces a hard fight just to get a spot on the bench, such is the competition for places
YOUNGSTERS have had a behind-the-scenes look a Premiership football club. Fifteen, 13-year-olds had to answer a job advertisement, complete an application form and be interviewed for placements at Middlesbrough FC. The successful eight girls and seven
FARMERS in the region reacted with dismay last night to the Government's decision to retain the controversial 20-day animal movement ban. Hopes had risen that the crippling restriction - one of the last remaining legacies of last year's foot-and-mouth
SLICES of turf from a doomed football pitch go on sale this morning. Bishop Auckland Football Club, one of the most famous amateur clubs in the world, is moving from its Kingsway stadium after 119 years. To mark the demise of the old stadium, the club
A WET and windy North-East welcome awaited judges for the European Capital of Culture bid yesterday. But the relentless downpour failed to dampen the assessors' enthusiasm for Gateshead and Newcastle. When organisers tried to change the tour schedule
EMERGENCY services across Teesside were bracing themselves last night for another potential onslaught of flood-related calls. Cleveland Fire Brigade attended more than 100 flood calls, from 1am to noon yesterday, as homes flooded, roads blocked and rivers
A swathe of one of the North-East's most picturesque country estates has gone on the market for £4.25m. The sale of more than 2,000 acres of the Wynyard estate, near Billingham, Teesside, follows news last month that Wynyard Hall is also available for
CONCERN is growing for the welfare of a pair of rare nesting birds because the weather may be making it difficult for them to catch food. The colourful bee-eaters, normally found in southern Europe and North Africa, have captured the imagination of the
THE first of two open days has been arranged for people interested in taking evening classes at a Darlington school. Hummersknott School and Languages College is planning courses in several languages, information and communications technology and a variety
A DARLINGTON shop is appealing for gifts of toys to help an appeal raising funds for needy children. Travelcare, which is based in the Morrison's complex in North Road, is planning to present money raised from the sale of the toys to the Make A Wish Foundation
A SELECT band of youngsters has attended a summer school for the performing arts. Twenty one children from primary and secondary schools across east Cleveland attended a two-week course during which they wrote and performed a play, and designed and made
VILLAGERS have expressed safety concerns about a new air ambulance flying low over their homes. However, Teesside Airport managing director Hugh Lang has told the airport consultative committee he is not aware of any complaints. Middleton St George parish
Police officers grabbed hapless Shaun Phurprate and handcuffed him for making an obscene gesture in their direction, a court heard yesterday. But the officers were criticised when Sunderland magistrates were told the deaf and dumb 22-year-old was trying
ARRIVA Trains Northern hit back last night at claims that its stance over a long-running conductors' dispute was compromising safety. Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) officials claimed the company had shelved its regular safety briefings, but managing
A POCKET watch presented to a colliery worker more than 80 years ago is proving a puzzle for council officials. The watch was bought for £150 from a sale of memorabilia at the Durham Mining Museum. The buyer would have liked to have kept it himself, but
DETECTIVES are hoping new forensic evidence will close the net on an armed gang after a wealthy businessman was shot at point-blank range. Peter Stephenson was wounded in the head with a shotgun during a struggle in the grounds of his Kepwick Hall mansion
NEWCASTLE Airport is flying high in a national survey published yesterday. The airport has scored some of the top marks in the latest punctuality statistics released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). David Laws, senior manager of passenger services
TANK builders Vickers is set to be sold to armoured car manufacturer Alvis in a £16m deal, it was announced yesterday. Alvis said it had conditionally agreed with Rolls-Royce to acquire the business interests of Vickers Defence, comprising Vickers Defence
Fired-up Saltburn face an anxious wait before they can get their bid to become Darlington Building Society NYSD Premier League champions back on track after torrential rain put this weekend's cricket into serious doubt. Saltburn were desperate to get
A HOUSING estate's residents woke to find their gardens awash yesterday. Stan Moon, of Fountain View, in Branksome, Darlington, was shocked to discover a small crater full of water had formed in his front garden and had swallowed a small tree. Next-door
A NORTH-EAST man jailed following a court case involving two Leeds United footballers is seeking leave to appeal against his conviction and six-year prison sentence. Paul Clifford, 22, from Middlesbrough, was found guilty at Hull Crown Court last December
A COUNTY Durham civil engineering company has invested more than £350,000 to help cope with a bulging order book. Greenfield has spent the money on plant and equipment. The firm has been in the specialist earthmoving and groundworks business for 16 years
WORK has started on relaying the ice in preparation for the rebirth of ice hockey in Newcastle. The city has been without a team since financial difficulties caused the downfall of the Newcastle Jesters club in February last year. But construction boss
DETECTIVES investigating one of the region's longest-running murder inquiries are hopeful that DNA advances will help find the killer. Officers investigating the murder of Ann Heron, who was found lying in a pool of blood at her home near Darlington,
THE ups and downs of being a racehorse trainer have rarely been better illustrated than the demise of Ed Dunlop's powerful Newmarket stable this season. With over 150 blue-bloods to choose from, supplied mainly by the oil-rich Maktoum family, you would
AN artistic bobby with a love for classic cars is winning international acclaim for his brush strokes. Sergeant Malcolm Davies (pictured), from Cleveland Police's emergency planning unit, has painted thousands of portraits of high-powered and classic
A TEA dance organised for the first day of the Darlington Market Festival and Pot Fair has been rearranged because of the wet weather. The dance was due to be held in Darlington Market Square yesterday, but it will now be held on Tuesday, the last day
AS many as 20 people could die in what is expected to become the UK's biggest outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, hospital chiefs said last night. One elderly man has already died from the virulent form of pneumonia. The 89-year-old, who has not been named
DURHAM'S match against Kent at the Riverside today is in serious doubt, dealing a further blow to their hopes of survival in division one of the Norwich Union National League. Their excellent victory over Nottinghamshire last Sunday lifted them into third
A LANDMARK pub in a gateway to the Dales could soon be turned into a housing site - just six months after a similar proposal was turned down. Owners of the Bay Horse Inn, at Burnt Yates, in Nidderdale, have applied for outline plans to develop homes on
A NORTH Yorkshire hotel has been chosen as the first winner of a nationwide award. Managers from Waverley Wines and Spirits were asked to nominate their choice of customer from among the premises buying drink from the company in the UK. The businesses
A dog called Lizzie has won a top award for devotion to duty. The young mongrel has been selected as the August Hearing Dog of the Month, by the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. And no one is happier with the news than profoundly deaf 57-year-old
AN elderly woman sitting on a chair does not usually draw much of a crowd - unless the chair happens to be stuck to the outside wall of a three-storey building. Shoppers in Stockton stopped in their tracks yesterday to stare at the crazy antics of a German
A TEENAGER who has been missing from home for almost a month is believed to be living in the York area. Claire Marie Watson, a 19-year-old, has been missing from her grandparents' home in Adwick-le-Street, near Doncaster, since July 8. South Yorkshire
A GROUP of youngsters from three Polish orphanages watched flames sweep through a Jumbo jet at Teesside Airport. But the 21 youngsters, aged 14 to 20, were perfectly safe as they watched the demonstration by the International Fire Training Centre. The
YOUNGSTERS are to learn about citizenship during football coaching sessions this summer. Community beat officers from Northumbria Police are taking part in Sunderland football club's community football programme. They will be talking to young people about
POLICE chiefs are refusing to comment on an inquiry into the sending home of two senior officers who were in Lithuania on a training assignment. Chief Superintendent Kevin Pitt and Inspector Kerry Anderson were arrested after being caught on security
OWNERS of knives and airguns can hand them in to police without the fear of prosecution this month. Northumbria Police are holding an amnesty in a bid to combat misuse of weapons. From Monday, until Monday, September 2, knives and airguns can be put in
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
SUMMER activities at a countryside venue are proving to be a big draw. Bookings have flooded in for sessions at Summerhill, a 100-acre site in Hartlepool. Tickets are still available for some events, including a session on the Trim Trail, a 2km route
CHILDREN are being offered a wild time this summer at a series of fun days. Bug hunting and bug making are on the agenda for children aged five to seven during afternoon sessions at Lingfield Farm Countryside Centre, in Coulby Newham. For older children
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
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
A BOISTEROUS six-month-old terrier who first arrived at a rescue centre as a newborn puppy is in need of a home. William, a terrier cross, was one of four of a litter of week-old puppies taken to Deerness Kennels, Langley Moor, near Durham City, with
FOR so many it was an agonisingly familiar scene - a desperate scramble to rescue valuables and family belongings before the floodwaters wreaked havoc in homes and businesses across the region. As the rampaging waters finally subsided yesterday morning
A HAIR salon, gymnasium and spa bath will pamper elderly residents of a sheltered housing complex in Darlington, as part of a £1.5m redevelopment scheme. Dalkeith House, off Tees Grange Avenue, which provides flats for elderly people, is to be extended
TONY Blair completed a whistle-stop tour of community projects in his Sedgefield constituency during a visit to the region last Friday. The Prime Minister helped to insulate the house of Joan Harrison in Chilton, the five millionth British home to have
WORK has begun at Faverdale on the creation of Darlington's first new park in 100 years. RPS, an independent environmental consultancy group in Durham, has been commissioned by Bussey and Armstrong to design the 13.5 hectares biodiversity park. It is
CHRIS Newton won his second medal in 24 hours last night when he took bronze in the men's points race. Newton, from Stockton, finished the 30km race with 17 points - four ahead of his nearest rivals, Welshman Huw Pritchard and South Africa's Jean-Pierre
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
GLENN McCrory hailed David Dolan's meteoric rise last night and insisted the Sunderland super-heavyweight would be a match for Audley Harrison. On the eve of Dolan's assault on Commonwealth Games gold, McCrory backed his friend to sweep all before him
Yorkshire and Surrey chucked the regulations out of the window yesterday when they agreed to play their rain-hit Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi-final match at Headingley tomorrow instead of deciding it on a bowl-out yesterday. The unprecedented
AN initiative to help and support families with children under the age of four has been proposed for Newton Aycliffe and Shildon. Sedgefield Borough Council is to bid for Sure Start programmes to be established in both towns. The council already supports
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 -
CHRIS Turner is looking for his Hartlepool United team to turn up the pressure this season. The Victoria Park manager is satisfied with the way his pre-season programme has gone and is likely to field his first-choice team this afternoon at Scarborough
A pilot project to improve the quality of care for older people has been launched in Darlington. The Growing with Age project aims to increase the facilities at care homes and work to make residents' lives more active, stopping them from becoming isolated
ONE of the region's most famous attractions is celebrating a golden jubilee of its own - 50 years of opening to the public. Castle Howard, the magnificent stately home near Malton, North Yorkshire, first opened its elegant doors to the paying public in
A COUNCIL'S efforts to stay on the road to Britain in Bloom glory have been given a boost. A new Isuzu pickup, jointly sponsored by Isuzu Truck, Pro Truck and Fleet Tip, has been presented to Scarborough to help the resort's efforts to secure the coastal
SADDAM Hussein is a past master of diplomatic gimmicks. His record clearly shows that his word counts for nothing. It is understandable, therefore, for both Britain and the United States to be sceptical of Saddam's surprise offer of talks on the readmission
A STALWART of the nursing profession has been given an emotional send-off after almost 50 years' service. A ceremony was arranged to mark the retirement of Joy Ash, who has stepped down as a partner of the King's Head Nursing Home, in Barnard Castle.
A POCKET watch presented to a colliery worker more than 80 years ago is proving a puzzle for council officials. The watch was bought for £150 from a sale of memorabilia at the Durham Mining Museum. The buyer would have liked to have kept it himself, but
RAIN damage has forced a museum to close after water gushed through ceilings during Tuesday evening's thunderstorms. The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum is due to reopen today, but it could be up to three weeks before the affected rooms are back
A SCULPTOR is applying the finishing touches to an unusual piece of artwork in Teesdale. Keith Alexander has spent the past two years carving three stone sheep on top of a dry stone wall at Low Force. The impressive work has been made mainly on site,
DRIVERS can expect two weeks of delays and speed restrictions over most of the length of busy Ladgate Lane and Low Lane, Middlesbrough, from Monday. Resurfacing work and chipping is to be carried out on the route between the A19 and Ormesby.
CHURCH leaders are planning to extend a hall to house new facilities. Darlington Borough Council has received an application to extend the Methodist Church Hall, on Haughton Green, in Darlington. The proposed new rear annex would include a meeting room
MORE than 40 people took to the streets of a Cleveland hamlet yesterday to protest against plans for an animal incinerator. But not all of the villagers of Charltons, near Guisborough, are against the scheme, which would replace a much smaller furnace
A SPEEDY management buyout of McNulty Offshore aims to bring back the boom times of the 1990s for one of Tyneside's best known names. Managing director Steve Keyworth is on the trail of new national and international contracts, which should lead to job
THE sun was shining on George and Vera Iceton for their golden wedding anniversary, just as it had done on their wedding day 50 years earlier. Mr and Mrs Iceton celebrated their special day with a horse and carriage taking them to a blessing at St Edmund's
ONE of the more unusual seabirds in Britain has made an appearance along the North-East coast. Shags, large fish-eating birds, are usually black but a white one has been spotted on the Farne Islands off Northumberland. Although they do occur in nature
BLANCHE Coates passed another milestone with her 105th birthday yesterday. Mrs Coates celebrated with family and friends at the Acorn Grange Residential Home, in West Cornforth, County Durham. Born in Chester-le-Street in 1897, she worked in a munitions
A SAILOR has spoken of his four days stranded in thick fog - just yards from the coastline - and revealed plans to resume his voyage. Chirpy Alan McKeand said he was happy enough reading a book. The married father-of-two admitted he had not really been
PROPOSALS for improvements at two schools in the Darlington borough are expected to be approved next week. Darlington Borough Council's planning applications committee will consider applications for work at Heighington CE Primary and Mount Pleasant Primary
Darlington: Last night's friendly against Huddersfield was cancelled after torrential rain soaked Feethams, writes Craig Stoddart. Quakers felt it inappropriate to risk damaging the surface before the season has started after experiencing years of pitch
WHEN fundraiser Sylvia Milson and a friend failed to get into the Great North Run, they were not put off in the least. They still wanted to run to raise money for a local good cause - so they decided to stage an event of their own. As a result, a new
PLANS for a multi-million pound school have emerged just hours after hopes for a new city academy in east Cleveland were dashed. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council had hoped to build an academy in Brotton costing between £12m and £16m but were forced
POLICE are hoping a new initiative will help them tackle what most Richmondshire residents have highlighted as their major concern. A clampdown on anti-social behaviour by teenagers and even younger children was listed as the number one priority by those
HOMEOWNERS are being asked to help a local authority improve an environmental project being piloted in the Thirsk area. Hambleton District Council has delivered wheeled bins to all households and the first collection will take place next week. Organisers
BUGLARS have been making the most of the hot weather, sneaking into a number of homes where windows have been left open overnight. Police in Richmond say a number of properties on the town's Cut Purse estate have been targeted by opportunist thieves,
A BATTLE by residents to halt an application to build two homes at one of Richmond's top addresses has ended in defeat. Plans for two detached homes on land near The Terrace nursing home, in Maison Dieu, were approved by councillors, while a third was
A COMPANY with offices in York has been taken over in a deal worth more than £2m. XKO Group, provider of managed IT services and software, has announced its acquisition of Aran, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendor, for £2.42m. Aran also has offices
RAIL enthusiasts opened Leeming Bar station in North Yorkshire to the public yesterday, for a month. The move by Wensleydale Railway plc and the Wensleydale Railway Association, included the launching of a miniature steam train service in the station
A RETIRED miner and his wife have celebrated 60 years of marriage. William Dawson, 81, and wife Elizabeth, 77 - above - of Shakespeare Close, East Stanley, met through mutual friends during the Second World War years. They were married in St Thomas' Church
THE future of a charity that helps thousands of community groups has been secured thanks to a £250,000 grant. The cash will fund Derwentside's Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) for the next three years. Chief officer John Hails said: "This is really
MOTORISTS can expect two weeks of delays and speed restrictions in Ladgate Lane and Low Lane, Middlesbrough, from Monday. Resufacing work and chipping is to be carried out on the route between the A19 and Ormesby. Middlesbrough Council is warning that
POLICE have named the victim of an accident in which a car rolled 40ft down an embankment. Nancy Ward, 73, of Skelton, in east Cleveland, died on Wednesday afternoon when her Suzuki car left the road in Saltburn. Police are appealing for witnesses to
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
FOCUS ON RIGHTS: Information and representation on welfare rights is provided by the Washington Welfare Rights Service, which is based in the Galleries. It is open from 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 4.30pm, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; 9.30am
COMMUNITY groups celebrated this week after receiving a total of almost £40,000 in grants. Seven groups based in Sunderland were presented with cheques for £37,237 by Christ's Hospital, of Sherburn, Durham, in a ceremony at the National Glass Centre,
SUMMER storms had the emergency services on full alert yesterday after torrential rain brought flooding misery to the region for the second time in a week. Hundreds of homeowners and businesses counted the cost of a record-breaking downpour. Councils
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
YORKSHIRE-trained horses are currently going through something of a purple patch in the Steward's Cup having won the race three times in the past four years via Superior Premium (1998), Tayseer (2000), and 12 months ago when Guinea Hunter picked up the
A DARLINGTON woman celebrated her 100th birthday at the weekend with a glass or two of her favourite tipple. Annie Sturgeon, who was 100 on Sunday, celebrated with cousins and friends at Wilton House nursing home. The centenarian, who has lived in the
A TINY paddling pool only three inches deep, which has to be manned by two fully-trained lifeguards, is costing a North-East council about £7,000 a year. The open-air pool, at Scar Top, Barnard Castle - which can hold up to eight toddlers - also has to
A TEA dance organised for the first day of the Darlington Market Festival and Pot Fair has been rearranged because of the wet weather. The dance was due to be held in Darlington Market Square yesterday, but it will now be held on Tuesday, the last day
A NEW support group has been set up for the estimated 300 unpaid young carers in Darlington. The Time Out group is being run by Darlington Crossroads, a charity specialising in providing respite care for the growing number of carers in Darlington, using
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
