THE first collections of a kerbside recycling scheme involving 65,000 homes gets under way next month.

South Tyneside Borough Council will be collecting newspapers, magazines, cans and bottles from residents in Whitburn, Cleadon and Boldon, from next Monday. The scheme will be extended to cover the rest of the borough by June.

SOCIAL CLUB: A social club for older people has been set up on Tyneside. Wallsend Social meets in the Lindisfarne Club, Wallsend, each Thursday, from 1pm to 3pm. It follows a successful grant application to Help the Aged by Wallsend resident Nancy McLaughlin. To join the club, call 0191-262 4647.

SUMMER SHOW: Preparations for a popular summer show start this week. The Peterlee Show Committee will meet in the council chamber in Shotton Hall, Peterlee, on Thursday, at 7.30pm. The show takes place on August 30 and 31.

WOMAN'S SERVICE: A service to mark Women's World Day of Prayer will take place in the Salvation Army Hall, Saddler Street, Durham, on Friday, March 7, at 10.30am. The speaker will be missionary teacher Joan Crooks.

RIDING SUCCESS: Consett horse rider Victoria Jones has reached the final of the Blue Chip Championships. She will compete in the junior section of the contest, which takes place in Solihull, near Birmingham, in April.

MINING PAINTINGS: Former miner and artist Tom Lamb is showing some of his mining paintings in his home town of Newton Hall, near Durham. The exhibition, in Newton Hall Library, features 20 pictures and runs until March 7.

HOLIDAY SPANISH: A course in conversational Spanish for holidaymakers will start in Park View Community Association's centre in Chester-le-Street, tomorrow, at 7pm. To enrol, call 0191-388 1043.

DONOR DATES: Blood donor sessions will take place tomorrow in the community centre, Wensleydale Avenue, Penshaw, and the Methodist Church hall, Bede Way, Peterlee. Both sessions run from 3pm to 7pm.

MEETING CANCELLED: A meeting of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority due to take place in Sunderland Civic Centre on March 10 has been cancelled because of a lack of business.

NATURAL ART: Work by Darlington artist Lisa House, incorporating leaves, feathers and tree bark, is on show at Durham Art Gallery, Aykley Heads, Durham, until Sunday.

TEA DATE: Esh Winning Pit Stop Community Caf will serve teas tomorrow and on Thursday, from 2pm to 4pm, at Esh Winning Community Centre and Library.