Clarrie Beadle claims he did not learn much at school, and was unable to read or write very well by the time he left.

But that did not stop him becoming a notable Methodist preacher, able to hold the attention of congregations all over Teesdale by delivering wise words in his own homespun fashion.

He gave his first sermon 60 years ago, when he was 24, in the old Ebenezer chapel. That has long since closed, as have a string of others in the area.

He stood in the pulpit of all of them at times, riding to them on his motorbike at first and then switching to a little van. But he didn't like travelling a long way.

Luckily he won't have far to go tomorrow when he is honoured at Forest Chapel, just a short step along the road from a bumpy track to his farm at Whey Syke.

A service is being held there so that he can be thanked and presented with a certificate to mark his six decades of local preaching.

Clarrie, or John Clarence Beadle, to give him his full name, told me: "I thought of school as a place where nitwits graduated, and I was one of them. But strangely enough I fancied giving lectures."

He did a lot of reading at home before giving his first sermon, and others soon followed around the dale.

"I got down to Staindrop and Cockfield at times, but didn't want to travel any further," he added.

He is known for telling amusing anecdotes and for a hearty laugh that accompanies them. But he never jokes during a service.

"I like to keep things solemn when I'm in a chapel," he declared firmly.

He started as a quarry blacksmith then did dry stone walling, as well as running his sheep and cattle farm, on which he was born and still lives. He has retired from farming but means to carry on preaching.

His wife, Winnie, will be at his side at tomorrow's service, which starts at 6.30pm. Wilf Capstick will preach, and Mr and Mrs David Judges will entertain. A supper will round off the memorable evening.

Members of the Rowan Pipe Band, which is based at Winston, aim to raise nearly £3,000 to buy kilts.

Their original set, bought cheaply from Pakistan, didn't last long, so now they plan to order better quality ones from an Irish firm.

They have chosen the Ancient Colqhoun tartan, which Pipe Major Barry Waldron describes as "really eye-catching - a nice blend of dark green, blue and black".

Once the kilts are bought, the pipers and drummers will have to raise more cash to complete their outfits.

They are entertaining shoppers in the centre of Darlington today, in the hope of collecting a handy sum, and will play around the area in the coming weeks.

Mr Waldron is inviting anyone who would like to learn to play the pipes to call him on 01833-660562. If he finds some keen recruits, the bill for new kilts will go up even more, but he says he won't mind that at all.

When Richard Edwards was an auctioneer for Sotheby's in New York, he sold a marble sculpture of a naked girl in a hammock for $685,000 - which delighted the owners, a Beverly Hills couple. He saw it in the garden of a house they bought, and they had no idea it was worth much until he told them.

Now he has moved to the more peaceful setting of Addisons, in Barnard Castle, where the highest auction price he has secured so far is £12,000 for a painting.

But he and his wife, Anne, have no regrets about leaving the bustle of the US for life in Teesdale. "We absolutely love it here," he told me.

The couple were in New York at the time of the terror attacks on the twin towers, and decided to move back to Britain.

They had never been to this region but heard that Simon Nixon, of Addisons, was looking for a new expert.

"I had always worked in cities but fancied being a country auctioneer," Mr Edwards told me. "So that is what I've become. It's a big change from Sotheby's, but I thoroughly enjoy it."

While with the world-famous firm, he could sell nothing valued at less than $2,000, and the average price was about $10,000. Here, goods regularly go for a pound or two at normal sales.

But he is building up special catalogue sales, in which his deep knowledge of antiques and fine arts is valuable to clients, and high prices are routinely reached.

In the Big Apple, he dealt with armour and then sculptures before becoming a "generalist", covering a wide variety of items.

He welcomes the spate of TV shows featuring auctions, such as one filmed at Addisons recently with David Dickinson, as they create new interest.

But he feels one drawback is that they scare off many dealers, who don't like being filmed.

Pearls of wisdom from the latest Parish News for Upper Teesdale churches: I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles three things - a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas lights. And I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone - a smile, a hug or just a friendly pat on the back.