Local ladies group Pimm’s & Needles celebrated the first birthday of their Darlington group on Thursday evening at St Augustines Parish Hall. The group of 90 ladies who get together once a month learned how to decorate and ice their own cupcakes to celebrate, with a workshop hosted by Hurworth based company Buttercream - Cakes by Emma Pearson.

In the last year amongst other activities the group have done salsa dancing, made chocolates, ceramics and learned some DIY skills with local tradesmen. Darlington member Judith Makenzie said “The group has been a great way for me to meet new people and try something different every month. I even had a go at tiling my kitchen after our DIY evening!”

Pimms’s and Needles founders Charlotte Pyrah and Donna Feeney are delighted with the demand for more of their groups “Since launching the first group in Hurworth in September 2015 we’ve had messages every week from ladies who want to join us, so we have launched two extra groups in the last year in Darlington and Aycliffe Village to accommodate them, which are now both full too. We have over 300 members now and hope to double that number within the next year” said Mrs Charlotte Pyrah.

“The support we’ve had from our existing members has been brilliant to help us set up and run the new groups, they’re just as passionate as we are about the companionship and mental health benefits our group sessions can offer. We both love working alongside local businesses to deliver the group sessions too, its a great showcase for the businesses which we have on our doorstep. We’re really excited for what the coming year brings” added Mrs Donna Feeney.

There are plans for a Barnard Castle group to launch in September, with North Yorkshire and Teesside in the pipeline too. For more information search for Pimm’s & Needles on Facebook or email hello@pimmsandneedles.co.uk