Portico, a newly-founded choir including students and others, will perform Handel’s Messiah at St Oswald’s Church, in Durham, on Friday (December 14). The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £8, or £4 for concessions. To book, visit wegottickets.com or the Durham World Heritage Site visitor centre, on Owengate, Durham.

BURN NIGHT: A monthly meeting of Christian praise and worship, called a Burn night, which is usually held in Durham City, is moving to Annfield Plain Methodist Church, in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, for the next session, planned for Saturday. The event runs from 3pm to 10pm and is free and open to all.

GYM OFFER: The Active Life Centre at Coxhoe is offering a special membership discount. The offer includes six weeks of unlimited use of the centre’s gym and group exercise classes for £30. A free gym induction and personal fitness programme is included. The offer is available until December 31. For more information, call 0191-3773245.

DENTIST SCHEME: Framwellgate Dental Practice has been given planning permission to convert the Victoria Bridge Inn, at 20 Front Street, Framwellgate Moor, Durham, from a pub to a dentist, to extend its existing practice. The decision was taken by Durham County Council planning officials acting under delegated powers.