A query has come in from a Sedgefield woman about RN Goldsborough, who was a Barningham publican in the late 1800s.

She came across a reference to him being landlord of the Royal Oak in the village, as well as working as a cordwainer.

She wanted to know the location of the hostelry, what became of the premises, and what the landlord's other duties entailed.

The answers can be found in the late J Merryne Watson's book about Barningham, As Time Passed By. This reveals that Ralph Nixon Goldsborough, who was born in Staindrop, ran the Royal Oak in about 1890, when its name was changed to the Milbank Arms.

It is probable that his wife, Ann, who was born in Barton, helped to run it, because he was busy in other ways.

A cordwainer in those days was a bootmaker, though at first the word applied only to those who worked with Spanish cordovan leather. As well as producing footwear, Ralph was listed as doing some farming.

Luckily for local residents, the Milbank Arms is still going strong as a popular meeting place - unlike two other local inns from Ralph's era, which were closed and turned into private houses.

The Black Horse is now called Elm Cottage, while the Boot and Shoe is The Hollies.

There were also three other bootmakers in the village in those days - John Wiseman, William Sowerby and Henry Robinson.

The latter worked at Barningham Academy, presumably making footwear for pupils.

There were also a host of other craftsmen, just as there were in other dale villages. But the blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, slaters and tailors gradually disappeared from the scene just as the hostelries did.

An idea that might be useful in dissuading many drivers from speeding in Teesdale seemed to be working well in the area around Edinburgh this week.

A system used in this part of the world flashes only when a vehicle is moving at more than 30mph, with the warning slow down.

But the signs in Scotland also give a pleasant message to those going slower, for example, "28mph. Thank you!"

That might appeal to drivers here, or could it be even better to put up speed cameras and hand out fines to the culprits?

Dougie Clayton, who has impressed many an audience with his acting skills in leading roles over the years, in Teesdale and farther afield, is turning his hand to directing. He is taking charge of two one-act comedies to be staged at Bowes village hall on the last two evenings of this month.

Members of Bowes Amateur Theatrical Society - or Bats for short - are enjoying his expert and friendly guidance at rehearsals.

The performers all live in the village so other residents will naturally get more pleasure from watching them treading the boards than from seeing any number of highly paid professional stars.

One play, What's for Pudding, with a cast of five, features Adrian Hobbs and Val Bowman-Lawrence as a couple who get on each others' nerves and cause a lot of hilarity.

The second offering, with a cast of four, has the snappy title When the Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley. It is about a village drama group, rather like the Bats, which sets out to sabotage a production by a rival group in another parish. It sounds like a lot of fun, but it could never happen in this dale - or could it?