Archive

  • Funding uncertainty for Tees Valley metro plan

    THE 30-year dream of a metro-style light rail scheme across Teesside is in fresh doubt after it missed out in a £1.5bn Government transport package. Promoters must now try to rescue the project by putting together bids for two separate funding

  • Club claims right to path never existed

    LAWYERS acting in a dispute over an alleged right of way at Croft, near Darlington, expect to see “the whites of the eyes” of witnesses who say a footpath existed. A public meeting about the dispute, due to be held today, has been postponed. However

  • Love ever blooms

    SIX years after the death of Alzheimer’s sufferer Dorothy Claybourne, a plant given to her as she battled the condition continues to flower. Her widower Ken Claybourne (above), 86, said that everyday when he looks at the cyclamen, now 11 years

  • Free school campaigners cut planned intake by 600

    CAMPAIGNERS hoping to bring a pioneering free school to Ingleby Barwick have changed their application to include only half the original number of pupils. The application for a 900-place secondary school and 300-place sixth form was submitted to

  • In honour of the Captain

    A VILLAGE held its annual celebration in honour of a famous explorer who lived there as a child. Youngsters from Great Ayton built their own boats and sailed them down the River Leven for the Day of Sail to mark Captain James Cook’s birthday

  • Walker dies after 170ft fall from mountain

    AN EXPERIENCED walker died after plunging 170ft down a mountain. Graham Bunn, from Egglescliffe, fell after losing his footing at the summit of the 2.415ft Yr Aran, in Snowdonia, north Wales, shortly before 3.30pm on Saturday. He was 46. His

  • Tough going for both Park and Darlington

    BOTH Darlington clubs were relieved to emerge with victories on Saturday from games they expected to win more comfortably. Mowden Park hung on to beat Billingham 16-12 at Yiewsley Drive, while Darlington’s decision to rest five players for the

  • Slazengers too good for Thirsk firsts

    THIRSK Men’s first team travelled to play Slazengers at the weekend and lost 4-1. Thirsk II, against Bingley, started the brighter, with debutant Phil Cummings using his pace to good effect, while Mike Rushmere, back from his summer training

  • Police arrive in time to stop Barton from stealing points

    Northallerton Police 6 Barton FC 2 NORTHALLERTON Police roared to the top of Division One as three late goals finally saw off the determined challenge of Barton FC at Newby Wiske last Sunday. Police arrived with one of only two 100 per cent

  • Richmonds of the world, unite – for online support

    A PLAN to unite every village, town and city in the world called Richmond through a community website has been backed by local businessmen. The Richmonds of the World initiative would link 50 or more locations from 11 countries under one organisation

  • Doing it the way it’s always been done

    COURSES in a range of ancient crafts, including glass work and stone masonry, are on offer in the Yorkshire Dales. An open day to launch the training courses was held in the grounds of Thorp Perrow Arboretum, near Bedale, on Wednesday. The

  • Turf sink Hibs to get back in title hunt

    DEFENDING Division One champions Richmond Turf put themselves right back in the title race with a hard-fought 2-1 home win over leaders Great Broughton Hibs last Sunday. Kevin Wilson gave the Hibs a half-time advantage with a fine free kick but

  • Northallerton come out on top in an eight-goal thriller

    Northallerton Town 5 Whitehaven 3 THE goals flowed at the RGPS Stadium as Northallerton Town put their recent poor run of league defeats behind them. They came back from going an earl goal down to beat visiting Whitehaven 5-3 in this allaction

  • Academy far too bright for lowly Hawes

    LAST Saturday saw the first round of the Medals Shield and shocks were in very short supply. Overnight league leaders Richmond Town Academy made it through to the quarterfinals as expected with a 16-0 thrashing of bottom side Hawes B. Dan Briody

  • Bank holiday date for the Christmas Stages Rally

    AFTER losing its traditional slot in between Christmas and New Year, the ever-popular Christmas Stages Rally will take place at Croft Circuit on bank holiday Tuesday, December 28. Once again sponsored by the Middlesbrough branch of Specsavers

  • Farmer among the winners at HOYS

    THE Horse of the Year Show held at the LG Arena, Birmingham had a strong field from the North-East contesting the wide range of classes and accolades in the showing world. Abbie Farmer took the overall supreme pony championship and the Timberwolf

  • Shy Man’s a winner for Middleham’s Moore

    THERE was competitive action at Aintree last Sunday and the easiest winner of the day came in the 3mi handicap hurdle when The Shy Man ran out a very impressive winner for Middleham trainer George Moore. The seven-year-old, now a six-time winner

  • Rich Pickens at Ayrshire event

    A RIDER from the region has qualified for an international showjumping competition. Julia Picken, from Swainby, North Yorkshire, came first in the qualifying stage at Fenwick, in Ayrshire, at the weekend with U2II. She will now take

  • Kibirige is selected for England squad

    A YOUNG rugby player from Yarm School has been selected for the England under-17 squad. Zach Kibirige, 15, from Kirklevington, was selected after attending an England under-16 development training camp in Leeds. Zach currently plays for Yarm

  • A thrilling Scott Trial to live long in the memory

    WAS the Scott Trial last Saturday the most dramatic event in its 96-year history? Certainly it was a Scott to remember for many reasons. James Dabill, 24, finally ended the reign of nine-time winner Graham Jarvis, who challenged Dabill through

  • Pony and riding club dates

    Barnard Castle & Teesdale Riding Club. – November 13: Winter League Third round at Catterick Saddle Club, contact Angela 0779- 2349029. BHS Durham. – Nov 2: AGM, 7pm, including guest speaker vet Nicola Mason from Durham Equine Practice. Contact

  • Soft cheese now in full production

    A POPULAR organic brie will be on the menu all year round after a dairy has stepped up production to meet demand. Acorn Dairy, which farms organically and has herds at Archdeacon Newton, near Darlington, and Spennithorne, near Leyburn, has made

  • Country ‘has no choice’ over austerity measures

    CLIVE Parritt, deputy president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), has warned that financial austerity is needed to reduce the country’s deficit. Addressing the annual dinner of the Teesside Society of Chartered

  • Stewardship still making sense

    ARABLE farmer Harry Robinson has no hesitation about rejoining the entry level stewardship (ELS) scheme. He has not only found it beneficial to wildlife but also to the farm as it provides payments for previously unproductive field corners

  • Fountains farmer picks up Expo award

    A BREEDER from North Yorkshire was reserve grand champion at Northern Dairy Expo 2010. Andrew Jennings from Jennings Farmers of Hill House Farm, Fountains, Ripon, took the runner-up spot with Abbeyhouse Gold Peach VG89 SP, a senior second calver

  • EID impact spelt out to EU chiefs at Penrith mart

    THE impact of the electronic identification of sheep on farmers was spelt out to European Commission officials visiting Penrith mart. The National Farmers’ Union and National Sheep Association both raised sheep farmers’ concerns. The main problem

  • The Carpenters Arms, Felixkirk, Thirsk

    Highchair dudgeon for Sunday lunch. AMELANCHOLY consumes me as I join my husband and son in the car. We are relieved to be leaving The Carpenters Arms. Pete and I are frazzled – taking a young child to a restaurant can be exhausting when everyone

  • Need a new lawn? Turf’s the way to instant gratification

    IF YOU want a beautiful new lawn, but don’t want to wait long to see it come to fruition, then turf’s your answer. It offers the nearest solution to an instant lawn, can be laid quickly and shouldn’t need too much aftercare as long as the ground

  • Portrait of a town across 200 years

    THE eagerly-awaited Reflections of Bedale will be launched tomorrow in Bedale Hall. The launch of the book will be at 2pm but the hall will be open from 10am to 4pm. Representatives of various organisations and a range of family and local history

  • Jonathan Trowell , Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk

    THIS exhibition is a tour de force of drawing and painting techniques. Best known for his vibrant oil pastels of racehorses, bursting with speed, power and muscle, Trowell highlights other aspects of his work in this show, the most important

  • Gallery marked out for drawing collection role

    THE growing status of mima as a regional art gallery has been recognised by two recent developments. As one of 18 selected arts institutions in the UK, it has become part of Plus Tate, a venture announced last week by the Culture Secretary,

  • Piano will play itself in a UK premiere

    THE UK premiere of a concert featuring a computercontrolled piano takes place on Tuesday, November 9, at Gisborough Hall. Entitled Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff, it is a broader version of a concert given last November at Carnegie Hall, New

  • 1984, Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond

    ORWELL is not praised for his hilarious wit, and true to him, light relief was not offered here. The intimacy of the Georgian acts as a free ticket in the form of audience connectivity for any company on stage. Northern Broadsides chose to

  • Coastal theme in diverse forms

    A SHARED passion for the east coast has resulted in an exhibition of paintings, ceramics and photography by three artists. Peter Sarginson, Neil Hodgson and Peter Hough focus on patterns formed by waves and eroding rocks in an exhibition called The

  • Settlements’ tortuous dance to the music of time

    NEWBY Wiske, or “the New Village on the River Wiske”, as we would say in modern English, between Thirsk and Northallerton, has a name that reminds us that human settlement, even in peaceful England, has never been particularly stable. Now, it

  • Love is summoned by bells

    WHITBY used to be the scene of a peculiar custom that occurred on October 31, which is Hallowe’en, otherwise known as the Eve of All Hallows or the Eve of All Saints. It is celebrated this coming weekend and the date has many other names. Among

  • Flatter bumps

    Sir, – Your correspondent, Coun Michael Heseltine, quite correctly presents the case for the traffic calming measures in Skeeby (D&S letters, Oct 22) . However, the solution must surely be to install flat platform bumps as in Brompton on Swale

  • Scrap NY Times

    Sir, – I understand that North Yorkshire County Council has called in Pricewaterhouse Cooper to advise them on how to save money – and paid the accountants £95,000 for the privilege! Surely a good starting point would be for the council to

  • Lucky us

    Sir, – I hope that you have space in your paper for me to say a big thank you to all the people who recently looked after me at the Friarage hospital. Northallerton and surrounding areas are so lucky to have such dedicated staff, especially

  • Bypassed Friarage

    Sir, – Some years ago I awoke one night to find my husband having what I thought was a stroke. I rang the emergency number and was put through to the duty doctor. Within ten minutes he arrived and rang for an ambulance who arrived in about 15

  • Charity thanks

    Sir, – Can we thank everyone who braved the weather to attend the Stockton South Constituency Labour Party coffee morning at Gray’s Road Institute, Stockton, on Saturday held in aid of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity. The event raised

  • A big ask

    Sir, – In the Spending Review last Wednesday I secured a fair deal for councils which will mean they can protect the interests of hard working families and the most vulnerable in society. Given the legacy of debt we have to tackle, tough choices

  • Easy tax

    Sir, – I know we are in difficult economic times. But there is one easy decision that could spare a lot of the “tough ones”. A tax on the banks could raise £20 billion in the UK to help those hit by the financial crisis in this country and around

  • Priorities

    Sir, – I would like to reply to Coun Duff and his comments about the musical talent or otherwise, of buskers (D&S Oct 22)and say that as the district councillor for Leyburn, he should concentrate his energies on the lack of custom in our shops

  • Great staff

    Sir, – I am delighted that Spectator enjoyed the Darlington Piano Recital earlier this month (“When the lighting computer says No”, (D&S Oct 22). But I take issue with him on one point. He writes that after “what seemed like an age” the lighting

  • Help hedgehogs

    Sir, – Doubtless everyone knows that pets should be kept indoor on bonfire night to avoid being terrified by the noise of fireworks. However, wild animals also suffer at this time of year, and none more than hedgehogs. These wonderful animals,

  • Saving money

    Sir, – Almost two years ago a headline in the D&S referred to “The building works fiasco”. This related to a job that Richmondshire District Council carried out at Gayle, I believe the job was supposed to take five days but finally took nine

  • Cuts question

    Sir, – I have read the article (D&S, Oct 22) regarding Richmondshire District Council’s public consultation on spending cuts and offer the following suggestions. It is a pointless exercise to ask residents what services they want keeping as

  • In Wonderland

    Sir, – What sort of an Alice in Wonderland financial system runs Teesside Airport? (I refuse to call it DTV – Deep Vein Thrombosis). Have they not heard of SPQR? No, it’s not just a plaque below a Roman Eagle standard, but is just as powerful

  • One sided

    Sir, – Is it acceptable that Linda Gibbon (presumably on behalf of the trustees of the Clock and their landlords the Methodist Church in St James’ Green, Thirsk) is allowed yet again to “stick the jackboot in” (D&S letters, Oct 22)? The accusation

  • Local homes

    Sir, – May we be clear about the 31 affordable homes for Catterick Village. They will not be swept into the council’s choice based lettings scheme. Both Richmondshire District Council and its agents, Broadacres of Northallerton, have confirmed

  • Shameful

    Sir, – I wish to refer to the recent controversy over the burial of my brother-in-law, Tom Alcock. I believe the behaviour of certain members of Great Ayton Parish Council is nothing short of a disgrace. Councillors are required to treat

  • Airport madness

    Sir, – I was amazed to read in your paper that Durham Tees Valley Airport is resorting to charging passengers to use it – presumably this is in addition to the charges it levies for car parking and the fees it charges airlines. There is a phrase

  • October 29, 2010

    From this newspaper 100 years ago. Advertisement: Stewarts the tailors has opened in Northgate, Darlington and has a splendid offer for Darlington FC supporters – two overcoats for every two goals. This offer, which we extend to the Darlington players

  • End of the road

    THE decision to scrap the upgrading of the stretch of the A1 between Leeming and Barton is most disappointing, not just for North Yorkshire but the whole of the North-East. The completing of the motorway link to the rest of the country, which had