Peter Barron: Good Vibes about the future of Darlington

I know the feeling. I have a son in Manchester and a daughter in London and it’s impossible not to have selfish thoughts when news breaks of the latest tragedy. Where are they? Are they OK? Have they texted?

But, in the midst of the fear and darkness, there’s hope to be found in the kindness and positivity all around us. Last week, it was a joy to compere The Vibe Awards, recognising the achievements, dedication and care of young people in the Darlington area.

Scores of youngsters were honoured for overcoming the odds and selfless acts that have improved lives in their community. Lyle Godfrey is just one example amongst many. Lyle has a rare, and potentially fatal, medical condition – congenital adrenal hyperplasia – but he has never let that stop him from making the most of every opportunity.

While working hard on his GCSEs at Carmel College, he has volunteered to make a presentation to all the year groups in his school to explain his condition, so they can have a better understanding of the challenges some people have to face every day. “It’s impossible not to admire Lyle’s courage in wanting to inform others about things that the rest of us take for granted,” said the citation.

So, when atrocities, committed by a tiny minority of hate-filled losers, are spreading terror and making us afraid to even turn on the news, remember that even in a relatively small community like Darlington, there’s an army of young people sharing love, understanding and basic goodness.

“They give us hope,” said Councillor Cyndi Hughes, who leads on young people’s issues for the council. It might sound romantic and idealistic but I really don’t care. It needs to be underlined.

THE day before The Vibe Awards, the speaking tour took me to Ferryhill and the other end of the age range.

I was there to address a group known as DIDO – Days In, Days Out – and what a pleasure it was. The group, pictured below, was launched in 2011, meets at the Dean Bank Literary Institute, and has a loyal membership of 112, with 70 more on the waiting list.

There was a special mention for three members who were celebrating their 90th birthdays within two weeks of each other: Joyce Murray, Betty Clark and volunteer Jean Hedley. Joyce even had a piper to salute her Scottish roots.

May there be many more days in and days out for the evergreen DIDO clan, pictured below.

MY favourite artist, Middlesbrough’s Mackenzie Thorpe, tweeted a picture called Ring A Ring O’ Roses last week with the question: “What was your favourite childhood game?”

All kinds of memories flooded in on Twitter, but there was clearly special affection for “Kerby”, a blissfully simple game where you had to bounce a football off a kerb on the other side of the street.

It was a million miles from the computer games of today. For a start, it was out in the fresh air – as fresh as could be expected in the shadow of the steelworks at South Bank, Middlesbrough – and there were double points if you could catch the ball after it bounced back off the kerb.

On the rarest of occasions when it rebounded right across the street for a “double-kerby”, it was game over and the trigger for a lap of honour round the estate.

It got me thinking. How about staging the World Kerby Championships here in the North-East in aid of charity? I think we’d have a ball.

FINALLY, I was delighted to see that an Abba-themed restaurant is to open in Waterloo, London. The restaurant, the brainchild of founder member Bjorn Ulvaeus, features Abba songs being performed in between courses.

It is to be called Mamma Mia, The Party but that seems a missed opportunity to me. Surely, The Dinner Takes It all, Chiquiteater, Thank You For The Moussaka, or even Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a Flan After Midnight might have been given due consideration.

Other suggestions are more than welcome.