A CAMEL with two humps and a bump has stunned her owners by giving birth to a calf. Andrew Henshaw, owner of Mainsgill Farm, near Richmond, said he believed five-year-old Bactrian camel Doris’s labour had been triggered by a neighbouring llama
WHAT do Steph Houghton, Jill Scott and Jordan Nobbs have in common? All current England internationals? Correct. All North-Easterners who kicked off their career in the region? Right again. But crucially, also all players who had to leave the North-East
POLICE searching for a missing Middlesbrough man said he has now returned home safe and well. Officers had been concerned for 52-year-old Stephen Smith from the town's Fullbeck Road. However Cleveland Police said has now returned home.
AS they wait to hear when Kumar Sangakkara will arrive, Durham will also keep an eye on the Indian Premier League to see whether their chief overseas signing, John Hastings, is in the Chennai Superkings line-up on Friday. They start their campaign
ABC are headlining the region’s exclusive society event, the Lobster Ball. Lizzie Anderson speaks to frontman Martin Fry about the music industry, Lady Gaga and lobster AS a passionate foodie who loves to entertain, the Lobster Ball at Hardwick
Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse, Bar & Grill in Newcastle promises ‘affordable glamour’ for discerning diners. Sarah Foster finds out whether it delivers THE most striking thing as you enter Marco Pierre White’s restaurant, within Hotel Indigo
A MAN who died in hospital following a house fire in Gateshead has been named. Colin Moss, 53, of Redemarsh, Leam Lane, died in hospital yesterday (Wednesday, April 14) following fire in his house at 6.35pm on Tuesday. The 45-year-old man arrested
THERE’S lots to report this week, as the local folk scene continues to offer us a grand variety of acoustic music, featuring artists from near and far. Tonight’s choice is between popular Humberside songstress Edwina Hayes, at The Copper Beech,
THIS posthumous studio album release from one of the biggest icons in the world of country music debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and Number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, selling 54,000 copies its first week and has sold
Andrei Serban’s spectacular 1984 production of Puccini’s grandest opera Turandot, from the Royal Opera House. Andrei Serban’s vibrant production comes in stunning HD with American soprano Lise Lindstrom giving a brilliant performance of Turandot. She
This set features keyboard titan Emil Gilels performing works from various periods, including Mozart, Busoni, Haydn, Beethoven, Cui, Rachmaninov, Brahms and Babayev. Gilels is joined by wellknown piano and chamber ensembles in these recordings taken
This remarkable blending of contemporary jazz and sacred Haitian Voodoo music is very much more successful than might have been expected. For jazz fans Schwarz-Bart’s rich tenor saxophone, Etienne Charles’s trumpet and pianists Milan Milanovic and
The Netherlands Radio Choir, conducted by Kaspars Putnins, presents a coupling of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil and The Theotokos – a hymn to the Virgin that aims to exploit the skill of an accomplished choir with its fascinating mix of textures, tempos
THE leader of a new “super authority” has insisted it will be subject to proper scrutiny, but admitted that will mostly be by fellow Labour councillors. Simon Henig, Labour leader of Durham County Council, was speaking after an Order was approved
This immaculately-recorded album captures the veteran pianist live at the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2008. His solo performance here epitomises his wonderfully free but structured playing on four originals plus the classic Pent- Up House. Superb playing
These are three of the LPs which helped establish the reputation of the Bill Evans Trio. The earliest, Everybody Digs Bill Evans features him with Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones while Portrait in Jazz and Sunday at the Village Vanguard (plus some different
WHICKHAM, near Newcastle, has been added as a third date for the North East Fake Festival and will take place on Saturday, June 21, at Fellside Park. License holder Bec Evans has booked tributes to The Killers, Kasabian and Kings of Leon (The Fillers
Growing old gracefully isn’t easy, as Steve Pratt discovers after a chat with tutti fruiti stars Erika Poole and Josie Cerise ERIKA Poole and Josie Cerise are getting used to working together. Having appeared together in Cartoonito TV’s Ha! Ha!
Alistair McGowan talks to Steve Pratt about becoming the voice of Henry Higgins LIKE most people of his generation, Alistair McGowan explains, he was more au fait with My Fair Lady than George Bernard Shaw’s drama Pygmalion on which the musical
AS awkward moments go, this is one of the trickiest to negotiate. Nick Nick Tilsley is down on one knee, not a position recommended to those with deteriorating joints or concrete floors. He’s asking his ex-wife Leanne to marry him in Coronation
BUBBLING beneath the surface of ‘New’ Glasgow – with its Commonwealth Games-inspired gentrification of the dilapidated East End – there lies a society no less isolated now than before the men in sharp suits appeared. Thank goodness for The Amazing
THE fourth album from US punk rock/pop band The Menzingers smashes into life, all guns blazing with opening track I Don’t Wanna Be An A Anymore. Full of attitude and packed with quality, this bodes well for the rest of the record. Bad Things and Rodent
PROPOSALS to build 120 dwellings on one of the North-East’s largest building sites have been passed after claims the plan would boost the area. Durham County Council and construction firm K Hartwell lodged the scheme as the latest part of the 60
A MAN has died after he was pulled from the River Wear today (Thursday, April 17). A Northumbria Police spokesman said officers were called to the River Wear near the Biddick Inn at Bonemill Lane, Fatfield, Washington, on Wearside at 12.30pm following
SINCE 2012’s XXX, this band have undergone yet another line-up modification. Guitarist Steve Howe has departed the fold and been replaced by Sam Coulson, and the sound has changed, too, although it is still recognisably Asia. The production is
THIS could almost be called a concept album, built around a particular love affair which frontman Mark Oliver Everett, otherwise known as E, had and threw away, only to later regret doing so. Whether you choose to heed his advice, or simply wallow
IT’S been 16 years since the last Afghan Whigs album, but frontman Greg Dulli is typically bullish from its first note. On crunching opener Parked Outside, he bellows: “If they want something more, give ’em something new.” A reinvention is questionable
When John Carter Cash happened upon an album of unheard songs by his father, he knew it had to be released. He tells Andy Welch about keeping the Johnny Cash legacy alive THE first notable album issued after an artist’s death was Otis Redding’s
A PETITION demanding all decisions relating to future housing in Sedgefield are postponed has been handed over to Durham County Council. Sedgefield Residents’ Forum collected 1,406 signatures in support of its request for the council to hold off
A DRUG addict who burgled a nursing home in the middle of the night as its residents were sleeping has been given a two year jail sentence. David Dale, who has a criminal record consisting of more than 200 offences, rifled through lockers in a
A PENSIONER died after her face was engulfed in flames - because she insisted on smoking while wearing an oxygen mask, an inquest heard. Margaret Woodward, 77, suffered severe burns to her face, lips, tongue and neck after the accident at her home
THE death toll in the rivers of York this year has risen to three with the tragic discovery of the body of a young man. The body was recovered from the River Ouse in the centre of the city shortly after 11am today after it was spotted by a member
A MAN is to face a trial after denying indecently assaulting a girl. Jonathan Edwards, 43, of Taunton Vale, Guisborough, east Cleveland, was bailed after appearing at Teesside Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty to a single historic charge
A TRADITIONAL North-East Easter event was back on the calendar today (Thursday, April 17) after being cancelled last year. The annual Maundy Thursday egg rolling competition on Penshaw Hill, near Sunderland, was called off because of the weather
A DIAMOND couple who met through babysitting are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Ken and Sylvia Spencer, of Ferryhill, marked their special day today (Thursday, April 17) with a cruise in Holland and Belgium and a family gathering.
EXAM SUCCESS: Music pupils of Andrew Nelson of Newton-le-Willows, have passed their Associated Board music exams. They are: Oliver Bowett of Kirkby Malzeard, piano grade six; Lucy Chapman of Hunton, piano grade six; Alicia Hayden of Spennithorne
BAKING enthusiasts at a Help For Heroes recovery centre in Catterick Garrison have contributed towards a fundraising cake sale to benefit centres across the UK. Phoenix House recovery centre for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans
A RESCUE plan to ensure the survival of a North-East airport has been published, as passenger numbers on key routes start to rise. Following a two-month consultation, Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) bosses have issued a final version of a masterplan
CAMPAIGNERS protesting against plans to build a supermarket Malton have handed over a petition ahead of a crunch meeting next week. Plans to build a store and petrol station on Wentworth Street car park in Malton will go before a special meeting
TICKETS for the opening ceremony of the Tour de France go on sale this week. More than 10,000 people will see reigning tour champion Chris Froome and sprint star Mark Cavendish line up alongside the 22 teams taking part in this year’s race at the
Easter at Sage Gateshead was marked by The English Concert under Bernard Labadie performing two contrasting settings of Stabat Mater – a dramatic meditation on the Virgin Mary’s suffering at the foot of the Christ's cross. Vivaldi’s setting, featuring
TAKEAWAY customers are being ripped off after a number of local curry houses were found to be substituting lamb with beef, according to a new survey. The investigation by Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers from the five Tees Valley
AN acclaimed head teacher has denied historic sex allegations involving a teenage boy. Anne Lakey is accused of four counts of indecent assault on a male person, one of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and three of gross indecency
THE Archbishop of York followed one of the great Christian tradition when he washed the feet of 12 people today, April 17. The ceremony at York Minster remembered the Last Supper and was part of the annual Maundy Thursday service. The Minster
Stalls can now be booked at a vintage fashion fair being held at the Dolphin Centre this summer. Organiser Cassie Cooper is appealing to Darlington women to dig out their vintage items to sell at the event, which takes place in Central Hall on
FINANCIAL debt that mounted up over a year drove a young man to take his life. Christopher Todd hanged himself at home in Eldon Grove, in Stanley, County Durham, on Saturday, February 22. Today (Thursday, April 17) an inquest into his death
A SCHEME to tackle low-level crime and anti-social behaviour through restorative action in Darlington has out-performed other similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK, figures have shown. The Neighbourhood Resolution scheme run by Darlington Borough
BROADCASTER and architectural historian John Grundy will give a lecture titled ‘What makes a good townscape?’ in room ER140 of Durham University’s Elvet Riverside 1 building, New Elvet, Durham, on Tuesday, April 29, at 5.30pm. The lecture is part of
POPULAR digital photography classes held in Durham are increasing to three a week to meet demand. The ten-week courses are held in the Community Room at Durham Free School, Bradford Crescent, Gilesgate, by award-winning photographer Philip Nixon
INDOOR bowls enthusiasts are looking forward to a weekend of high-level sport as a North-East club prepares to host the sport's equivalent of the FA Cup. Darlington Indoor Bowls Club, based on North Road, will welcome teams from across the UK for
A TOWN park will soon be bursting with colour thanks to the efforts of green-fingered youngsters. Great Aycliffe Youth Council and members of Acle Scouts and Clubs joined forces with volunteers from The Friends of West Park in Newton Aycliffe to
ALAN PARDEW insists Hatem Ben Arfa still has a future at Newcastle United, and claims his recent talks with the French midfielder have been nothing out of the ordinary. Pardew has held a series of heart-to-heart discussions with Ben Arfa in recent
A POST-MORTEM examination carried out following the unexplained death of a 39-year-old man has proved inconclusive. Police officers were called to an address on Alderson Street in Hartlepool shortly after 1.30pm yesterday (Wednesday, April 16).
THE North Durham branch of Parkinson’s UK held a coffee and information day at Durham Town Hall on Saturday, April 12, as part of Parkinson’s Awareness Week. Visitors included Durham City MP Roberta Blackman-Woods. FREE SESSIONS: Croquet Durham
A MARKET town is to sacrifice one of its two existing car-parks as part of the drive towards a new 42.5m bypass. The sale of Bedale's Auction Mart car-park will help fund a now-approved gateway car-park by the bypass on the edge of the town.
THERE was definitely no egg on the faces of children at a Stockton day nursery as they got into the Easter spirit. Little Ladybirds Day Nursery, on the Preston Farm Industrial Estate, held an egg painting competition for children in the pre-school
MIDDLESBROUGH Council is joining forces with the Dogs Trust to offer free dog chipping and check-ups. The events at the Community Hub @ Newport Settlement (CORR) and Stewart Park reflect a change in the law which will require all dogs to be microchipped
EFFORTS to solve the riddle of the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence have been given renewed impetus as more leads emerge. A total of 121 people have come forward to help the investigation since a series of new appeals were made by the police just
The body of a man was recovered from the River Ouse in York this morning by police who have been searching for missing soldier Tyler Pearson. The body was found at about 11.05am today at Skeldergate Bridge in the city centre. The bridge was closed
A WARRANT has been issued for the arrest of a man convicted of assisting a conman labourer, who fleeced an elderly householder of thousands of pounds. Jonathan Keogh paid a cheque for £3,800 into his account at a bank in Peterlee, last July.
KFA Moves are presenting their annual festival show A Panorama of Movement and Dance at the Dolphin Centre next month. Tickets are available now for the show which takes place on May 17. Tickets are £10 for adults, £5 children, and can be bought
WATCHES and jewellery worth more than £20,000 has been stolen in a burglary at a collector’s home. The property in Durham Road, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was raided between 2pm on Saturday, April 5, and just after midnight the following
SUPERMARKET staff donned superhero costumes to raise money for charity today (Thursday, April 17). Staff at the Tesco Extra store in Dragonville, Durham City, took part in the fancy dress fundraiser in aid of Diabetes UK. The Dance for Diabetes
MORE than 200 bikers have pledged to attend a replacement Easter Egg Run this weekend after the original event was cancelled by Durham Police. The run, which sees bikers deliver Easter eggs to children in Darlington and Durham hospitals, was hugely
THE Transporter Bridge Visitor Centre will reopen its doors for four days this Easter Bank Holiday weekend offering members of the public a sneak preview of the new ‘Bridging the World’ exhibition. The exhibition, part of the £2.6m Heritage Lottery
Light exercise sessions to build up stamina and confidence are being held in the Parish Centre on Church Chare in Chester-le-Street. They start on April 30 and will be held every Wednesday at 2.30pm. For more information call George Barber at Age
AN North-East engineering company is branching out across the globe after teaming up with one of the world's leading pump manufacturers. C & A Pumps and Engineering has been appointed to supply and maintain products for the German firm Vogelsang
HAMZA’S claims of becoming one of the leading sprinters in the land can be bolstered by victory in the Connaught Access Flooring Abernant Stakes at Newmarket. The five-year-old gelding has yet to win in Pattern company, but his last two outings
TRUE STORY looked a horse with a bright future when landing the Listed ebm-papst Feilden Stakes at Newmarket in good style yesterday. Saeed bin Suroor’s Manduro colt arrived at HQ boasting fancy entries in the Qipco 2000 Guineas, the Betfred Dante
LEE WESTWOOD will look to shake off the disappointment of another missed major opportunity – not to mention the jet-lag – in an event which provided one of his earliest professional victories. Westwood flew to Kuala Lumpur for the Maybank Malaysian
LEWIS HAMILTON is hoping his recent victory in Bahrain has delivered a psychological blow to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg as they scrap over this year’s Formula One world title. Three grands prix into the new campaign and the Mercedes duo clearly
AN army of volunteer litter pickers is expected to descend on a Redcar as part of this year’s national Big Beach Clean Up. The Marine Conservation Society event, which is being supported by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, takes place from
A CRAZY golf course has been opened at a farm visitor attraction. The new course, named Wonky Donkey, at Hall Hill Farm, near Lanchester, has nine holes and has been designed with a farm theme, complete with a combine harvester as its centrepiece
Final score: Everton 2 Crystal Palace 3 EVERTON boss Roberto Martinez admitted he and his players were hurting after their pursuit of a top-four Barclays Premier League finish was damaged by a 3-2 home loss to Crystal Palace. Avoiding defeat
WHEN someone asked me what we were doing for the Easter holidays, I was taken aback. It seemed such a quaint, old-fashioned term. The words “Easter” and “holidays” haven’t gone together in our house since 2008, the year our oldest boy started
CRICKET re-emerges, the Feversham League’s unique joys await. This season, sadly, the deeply grass-rooted North Yorkshire competition is again reduced to just four teams. Duncombe Park, Helmsley-based, have moved to pastures new and, perhaps, a
FINALLY, irrefutably, last week’s column established that the great Tom Finney did indeed play at Darlington, an otherwise less than All Starsstudded night in 1961. Now, probably from the same year, a yet more intriguing question arises: did German
THANKS to the recession, pawn shops spring up on just about every major UK high street. Perhaps more interesting is the less exposed world of high-end pawnbroking, the subject of this series. It goes behind the scenes with Surreybased Prestige
GRAHAM WALTON is a man who has had to put up with being the last in the queue for the bathroom for much of his life and he won’t have won an argument for the past 30 years, that’s for sure. But he wouldn’t swap his six daughters for anything. He
PROPOSALS to cut anti-crime meetings from a monthly to bi-monthly schedule in Shildon have been placed on hold after residents raised concerns at the plans. The Police and Communities Together (Pact) meetings in Shildon are held in the town’s wards
IN the space of only five years, the number of children waiting to be adopted has doubled. Now, with 15,000 on the list at the time of the last count, child protection figures are more daunting than ever. This three-part documentary has shown many
IT’S a strange situation when the lead singer of the headlining act ends up being his own support band. Yet Geordie frontman Ginger Wildheart has achieved just that with Hey! Hello! one of the several side projects he has on the go. Hey! Hello
YESTERDAY, the Durham County Council cabinet made the decision to close its remaining residential homes. Its own values and vision document, The Council Plan 2013- 17, places great store in phrases such as neighbourhood, sustaining rural communities
THE number of people using food banks in the last 12 months has risen to nearly one million (Echo, Apr 16). Forgive me if I’m out of touch, but I thought the economy was improving. There is a need for food banks for the right causes, but I see
IT was brilliant to see Sheila Dibnah in The Northern Echo at Locomotion at Shildon (Echo, Apr 14). She was proclaiming the GNR Stirling Single No 1 engine was the favourite engine of her late husband, Fred. It has an 8ft diameter drive wheel and is
I AM writing to support Barrie Lamb’s letter (HAS, Apr 15) concerning the future of Locomotion No 1 and Darlington’s Head of Steam railway museum. Locomotion No 1 is a deeply historic, iconic locomotive which, because of its deep historic significance
YOU printed a letter where the correspondent asked you not to print their name or address (HAS, Apr 15). The person states that they had contacted their local councillors and had not received a reply or acknowledgement. Without stating when this
I CAN never admit to being a fan or supporter of Liverpool FC, but I have always admired them and looked on them as a true English Premier League team. They have never been afreaid to include a smattering of Britiah and Irish talent in their time,
THE BBC has been showing the workings of the European Parliament. We need to get out of it asap. Hundreds of assorted bodies like battery hens pressing buttons with no debate, and this is the way 50 per cent of our laws are made? Daft Dave Cameron
IN answer to Adam Walker (HAS, Apr 12), I am sure that there is not one political party member who agrees with all of the policies of any party, whether it be Labour, Tory or any of the smaller parties. I did take up my views, on immigration, with
THE scrawled but perfectly legible messages, written by William Whitfield Peadon in fading pencil, are really rather mundane notes to his friends and family in Weardale. They say nothing of the horror of the trenches, provide no detail of life
THE Co-operative Group has announced losses of £2.5bn for 2013, marking the worst losses in the group's 150-year history. The Group said most of the losses came from discontinued operations of its banking arm, which amounted to £2.1bn. That
MORE good economic news for the Government, and it would be churlish to deny it a few good headlines now that, for the first time since 2010, wages are growing faster than inflation. Indeed, unemployment is down, employment is up and shadow chancellor
HARTLEPOOL UNITED and Colin Cooper are hoping Victoria Park on Monday will be a happy and content place. Pools, who have pegged season ticket prices back to as little as £100 in recent seasons, have reduced prices to £5 for their game with Morecambe
WITH four games of the season remaining, it feels as though some Newcastle United players have already switched off for the summer. For Steven Taylor, however, it could be argued that the campaign has only really just begun. Regarded as a key performer
DURHAM paceman Graham Onions hailed the “tremendous effort” put in by his team-mates after they failed agonisingly to clinch victory in the opening match of their title defence at Northampton. The hosts’ last pair survived for nine overs to clinch
RICHIE SMALLWOOD is ready to fight for a place in Middlesbrough's first team next season after revealing the club have taken up the option of extending his contract to 2015. Smallwood joined Rotherham United on loan in January and has been a prominent
SUNDERLAND and Durham make their long-awaited Women’s Super League debuts tonight when they go head-to-head in a North-East derby at New Ferens Park. The pair were accepted into the newly-extended franchise last summer and they will battle it out
A BABY who fought for survival after being born three months early has finally been released from hospital, five months after her birth. Alison Marshall weighed 1lb 12oz after being born at 25 weeks and three days into her mother Marie Spooner’
A NORTH-EAST offshore wind farm will be a pioneering blueprint in shaping the UK's power sector, a senior energy boss has told The Northern Echo. Christian Egal, chief executive of EDF Energy Renewables, said the Teesside wind farm will be a crucial
A RARE collection of cards sent from the trenches will go on display at a County Durham museum on Good Friday (April 18). Duncan Leatherdale got a sneak peak at the silk postcards. THE scrawled but perfectly legible messages, written by William
CHURCH vicars are increasingly being asked for help by hungry parishioners, the Bishop of Durham has claimed. The Right Reverend Paul Butler spoke out as ministers sought to brush off new figures revealing more than 900,000 people turned to foodbanks
GIRLS Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, Fame Academy contestant Alistair Griffin and a brass band immortalised by a movie have joined forces to record an anthem for Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Départ. Welcome to Yorkshire, which led the winning
THOUSANDS of businesses could benefit from reduced rates in a bid to turn around failing high streets. Durham County Council has broadened the criteria for businesses to qualify for reduced rates after the Government introduced new rules which
A PETITION calling for an investigation into alleged problems at Richmond School has been submitted to the authorities amid claims of a cover-up. More than 200 people have signed a request for an independent examination of recent events at the
ANIMAL welfare officials found dozens of dogs living in kennels with urine-soaked saw dust and surrounded by piles of faeces when they visited a County Durham breeder's compound, a court was told. RSPCA officers took film footage of conditions
THE organiser of the Miss England competition compared a seaside resort’s beauty pageant to a Carry On film after a fracas broke out as the winner was revealed. Angie Beasley, who has run beauty contests for 26 years, said she had never heard of
