THE news will always have a natural tendency to focus on the bad news. When a deranged man spends nearly ten minutes blazing a machine gun into people attending a music festival in Las Vegas, it is bound to dominate headlines around the world.

But one of the joys in having this column is the opportunity to write about the good people in our part of the world and highlight those who don’t normally make the headlines.

The fortnight-long, inaugural Sedgefield Book Festival concluded at the weekend and it was a pleasure to present a story-telling workshop to youngsters from Sedgefield Primary School and Hardwick Primary School.

According to Norma Neal, co-organiser with Sarah Guest, the festival proved to be a great success, well supported by a range of authors and the local community.

“There seems to be an appetite for it so, hopefully, it will become an annual event,” said Norma, a local author herself.

When I was leaving Ceddesfeld Hall, the main festival venue, I was introduced to a lovely fella called Norman Midgley. Norman is a shining example of a brigade of volunteers who devote an estimated 15,000 hours a year to making Sedgefield a better place to live in all kinds of ways.

Green-fingered Norman is the driving force behind the transformation of the “Stepping Through Time” community garden, which has just been completed in the grounds of the hall. Not only did Norman design it but he’s out there most days, in all weathers, just keeping it right.

“It needs doing so I just get on and do it,” said Norman.

The community garden’s crowning glory is a wicker sculpture, The Dashing Vicar, by local artist Victoria Conner. Holding a bible, he’s meant to be rushing from the old rectory towards The Church of St Edmund across the road. Meanwhile, up in the trees, if you look closely enough, you might spot a wicker woodpecker, owl and squirrel.

None of this will make global headlines, of course, but it means a lot in Sedgefield. And, in the midst of sickening atrocities, let’s not forget the good people at the heart of every community.

IT’S 50 years this month since The Queen officially opened Billingham Forum and, to mark the milestone, a week of family entertainment is planned from next Monday.

The Forum played a part in my childhood and, apart from being a place where we had lots of fun, it also symbolises my first experience of bribery.

I went to a Catholic school – St Peter’s, in South Bank, near Middlesbrough – and the headteacher was clearly desperate for a good turn out in the forthcoming “May Procession”.

“All those who take part in the May Procession, wearing their school uniforms, will get a day off school and have a day at Billingham Forum,” he announced during morning assembly.

I’ll be honest – I hated the May Procession. I found it embarrassing to be part of a public demonstration of religious exhibitionism. But I preferred ice skating to Maths or Physics.

In all honesty, the main objective in those days was to impress the girls by displaying mastery of the ice. Sadly, I was more like Bambi and kept falling over.

Just for old time’s sake, I’ll be popping down next week to have a skate, wish the old place well – and, hopefully, avoid a visit to North Tees General Hospital.

THE Lord moves in mysterious ways...

The appeal to raise £2.5m to buy new MRI scanners for the hospitals in Darlington and Bishop Auckland has been boosted by news that a sponsor has been found for an inaugural fund-raising ball.

By chance, appeal manager Pat Chambers got talking to Billy Maguire, owner of Maguire’s Country Parks, at the recent Hurworth Country Show.

Billy, unable to resist Pat’s persuasive talents, found himself agreeing to sponsor the ball at Hardwick Hall Hotel, near Sedgefield, on November 17.

“It was unbelievable,” said Pat. “When Billy said he’d sponsor us, the band struck up and the vocalist started singing Hallelujah.”

Amen.

FINALLY, the headline opportunity of the week came with a story about Amazon unveiling a water-proof Kindle for reading books in the bath.

Books with a bathtime theme? Anne of Clean Gables and MacBath had their appeal but “Lady Chatterley’s Loofah” scrubbed up best.