FOR 50 years, Fishburn Brass Band has given a free concert to villagers on the eve of the Durham Miners' Gala as a thank you for their support.

This year's concert will be on Friday, at 8.30pm, in Fishburn Working Men's Club. The band will also perform in Coxhoe Village Hall at 9.35am the following morning, before marching into Durham for the gala.

Villager Judy Evans is raising funds for the band with a sponsored walk from Fishburn to the gala on Saturday, starting at 8.30am. Her employers at Barclays Bank have agreed to match the sum raised up to £750.

TOWN TALKS: A meeting of Great Aycliffe Town Council to discuss the progress of the town centre development on the former Avenue School site will be held in the council offices, School Aycliffe Lane, today, at 7.15pm. The policy and resources committee will meet tomorrow, at 7.15pm.

SPORTING CASH: The darts team at Darlington's Quaker House pub has raised more than £300 for Mind. They raised the cash by competing against the Rolling Mills table tennis team in both groups' sports.

SUMMER FAIR: St Catherine's Church, Fishburn, is holding a summer fair in the church grounds on Saturday, at 11.30am. The event is in aid of church funds.

SOLD OUT: A barbecue arranged for the end of Sedgefield in Bloom Open Day, on Sunday, July 20, is a sell-out.

SLIDE SHOW: Sedgefield Parish Mothers' Union will meet in Sedgefield St Edmund's Church on Monday, at 7pm, for a slide show by Janet Thackray, called Our Northern Heritage.

FORUM MEETING: A meeting of Sedgefield Borough Council's area forum for Sedgefield, Fishburn, Mordon, Bradbury and the Trimdons, will be held in Ceddesfeld Hall, Sedgefield, tomorrow, at 7pm.

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: A meeting of Sedgefield Borough Council's scrutiny committee for culture and recreation, housing and supporting people will be held in the council offices, Green Lane, Spennymoor, tomorrow, at 10am.

PLOTTING AHEAD: Glebe Road Allotments' Association, in Darlington, is holding an open day on Saturday, from 11am to 4pm.

CHARITY BOOST: Joan and Ian Martin have given £60 each to the Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland and the RAF Association. They raised the money at a slide show in Barnard Castle.

MOUNTAINS VIEW: Walter Balderson, of Middleton-in-Teesdale, is giving a slide show featuring mountains in Barnard Castle Methodist Church hall on August 6, at 7.30pm. Proceeds will go to the Ramblers Association.