In&Around January 2017

JAN UARY 2017

I S S U E 14 0

FREE

NEW Y EA R HEA LTH A ND FITNE SS TIPS What you need to know to get in shape

BEA MISH MUSEUM Its connection with ITV hit drama Dark Angel

W H AT ’S ON IN THE NORTH EAST THIS MONTH? Comedy, panto, art and so much more

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Venue: The Alun Armstrong Theatre, Civic Hall, Stanley, DH9 0NA Box Office: 01207 299110

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THE TEAM DIRECTOR Benjamin Kerry MEDIA SALES Val Atkinson ACCOUNT MANAGER Julie Taylor DESIGN TEAM Joe Crooks Ann-Marie Tulip Daniel Haley COPYWRITERS Gavin Lenaghan Jack Crute Ed Quinn Mary-Leigh Watkins Craig Lenaghan SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVE Alex Porritt CONTRIBUTORS Alex Nelson

WELCOME....

Hello and welcome to the January issue of IN&AROUND! January, eh? It’s grey, drizzly and depressing, but also the first month of what promises to be an extremely exciting year for many of our readers. To get things kicked off nicely, we’ve come up with another assortment of great articles on topics of relevance to people throughout County Durham.

Our free magazine is widely read across Chester-le-Street, Durham and Derwentside, so if your business is active in or targets these areas, why not advertise with us?

All that you need to do is call our lovely Val on 0191 388 2698, and she will be able to tell you all about our great value advertiser packages. They include discounted three and six-month plans to ensure that whatever your business’s New Year budget may be, we can help to spread awareness of your brand throughout the county. Alternatively, simply email sales@inandaroundmag.co.uk.

As ever, we love all of the feedback and support that we receive from you, our readers! Keep it coming, and we’ll work hard to continue making IN&AROUND the best free monthly magazine in the region.

Bye for now!

DISTRIBUTOR Malcolm Cranston

Congratulations to last month’s competition winners, all winners have been notified.

The IN&AROUND magazine is delivered to thousands of homes and businesses every month in Chester-leStreet, Durham & Derwentside with an estimated readership of over 100,000.

We are the largest FREE monthly publication in North Durham and we are also pound for pound the cheapest form of printed advertising in North Durham, If you would like to advertise with us please call 0191 3882698, with prices starting from only £40+vat per month, every business large or small can afford to promote themselves across North Durham.

DISCLAIMER - Whilst we take every care to ensure accuracy in this magazine, we regret that we cannot accept responsibility for any incorrect information. All advertisements are accepted in good faith as to their veracity and we are not responsible for views expressed by contributors or other sources. The copying of any material within this publication is strictly forbidden without the publishers or Studio Managers consent.

Tel: 0191 388 2698 for more information.

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Beamish Museum: an enchanting backdrop of TV’s Dark Angel We have a question to put to you.

Have you watched Dark Angel? Yes, we mean the two-part crime drama that aired on ITV1 in October and November, and saw Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt play Mary Ann Cotton, the County Durham woman found guilty of murdering three of her husbands in the Victorian period. If you have watched it, you might have felt a certain sense of déjà vu – and we don’t just mean because it was filmed in the North East.

We mean because Beamish Museum, one of the jewels in County Durham’s crown today, features in a number of the TV drama’s scenes. If you missed the show’s initial airing on ITV1, we can report that, while it’s no longer available for on-demand viewing through ITV Hub, you can still buy it on DVD from Amazon or download it from Apple’s iTunes Store. When you do watch it, keep an eye out for areas of the museum – you could miss them if you don’t know Beamish well…

What the Dark Angel cast thought of Beamish The museum’s drift mine makes an appearance – and local actor Alun Armstrong, who plays Mary Ann’s stepfather in the drama, told tourism body Visit County Durham 6 | IN&AROUND

of his recent enjoyable experience of that mine. He recalled how, while on holiday in Weardale, he took his family to the museum and the drift mine, revealing: “A young man gave us a commentary describing the kind of working conditions and showed us all of the implements they used. There were three or four of us who were from mining families and we were all shocked at just how tough it was.”

Have you visited Beamish’s 1900s Town – and in particular, the Co-op there, recognisable by the lengthy red sign along its front? That store appears in Dark Angel, too – as the place where Cotton buys arsenic that she then uses for… well, you probably don’t need us to spell it out. Armstrong also told Visit County Durham of his fondness for that Coop, as it’s actually the very same Annfield Plain Co-op building that he visited daily during his childhood.

Armstrong said that being able to enter the Co-op again made a big impression on him, despite the building’s scene in Dark Angel not involving his own character. He revealed: “It was remarkable to walk back into that Co-op after all that time. Beamish is a wonderful museum and I shall definitely be going back again”. The leading lady, Joanne

Froggatt herself, has also spoken positively of her time at the museum during the filming of Dark Angel; she even took to Twitter to share a photo of her “pretty cool” on-set transport.

It was, indeed, of a vintage flavour...

The Downton Abbey connection Froggatt is, of course, best known for playing lady’s maid Anna Bates in the hugely popular period drama Downton Abbey, another show originally made for ITV. Incidentally, that show’s very last episode, which aired on Christmas Day 2015, also featured Beamish scenery – or to be more exact, its 1900 Town’s sweet shop and garage, each covered in “snow”. Yes, the snow was fake – the scenes there were filmed in July of that year. That said, County Durham is not an entirely unlikely place to attract the white stuff at such a time, as a Beamish spokesperson admitted to the press.

Froggatt apparently wasn’t at the museum herself when those scenes were shot. However, Beamish’s recent appearances in Dark Angel and Downton Abbey suggest that we can look forward to seeing the much-loved local landmark regularly reappear on-screen long into the future.

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PLEASE MENTION IN&AROUND WHEN ADVERTISERS Chester-le-Street Station: Station Rd,CONTACTING Chester-le-Street, DH3 3DE

Places to go. Glasgow For a winter warmer city short break, it’s hard to beat Glasgow at this time of year. In January and February, advance rail fares are at their lowest, and there’s an incredible choice of interesting places to visit. From the north east, Cross Country Trains runs direct into Glasgow Central, or you can use the regular Virgin Trains services into Edinburgh and Scotrail from there to Glasgow Queen Street. A third alternative is to use the Northern stopping service into Carlisle and Virgin Trains West Coast into Glasgow Central where you could stay at the Grand Central Hotel in the City Centre.

Glasgow has many attractions but my personal favourites are the Glasgow Subway and the buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the famous architect (1868 - 1928). Scotland Street School tells the story of state education through the 19th and 20th centuries in one of Mackintosh’s celebrated buildings, right 8 | IN&AROUND

opposite the Shields Road subway station. The subway opened in 1896 as a 6.5 mile circular route. The track gauge is 4 foot so the orange subway cars are quite small, and they run either on the clockwise outer loop or the anticlockwise inner loop. It takes just under half an hour to get round, and, as my wife says, it’s the best way to see Glasgow! Not because you are underground all the time, but because you can leave the Subway at any of the 15 stations and find something of interest. Many of the museums are free, such as the Riverside Museum featuring transport and technology which is ten minutes from Partick station (National Rail and Subway). If football is your interest, get off at Ibrox station for the Rangers stadium, and tours are also available at Celtic on the other side of the city at Parkhead.

I used to enjoy staying at the Swallow Hotel on the Paisley Road (between Ibrox and Cessnock subway stations), which became more run down

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when Vaux group was broken up and finally closed. After an impressive full refurbishment of all 117 rooms, it has been reopened by the Crerar Hotels group as their only urban hotel.

Trip Advisor rates it as the 11th best hotel (of 95) in Glasgow, and being out of the centre rates are competitive, especially so on Thursday and Sunday nights. Search for Go Glasgow Urban Hotel. If you do stay there, you will be well placed across the road from the Glasgow Climbing Centre in an old church. You can watch people climbing on ropes to dizzy heights whilst sipping a coffee in the Balcony Café. Also close by is Bellahouston Park where one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s buildings, which he designed for a “House for an Art Lover” competition in 1901, was built in the park well after his death, opening in 1996.

Hillhead in the West End is another useful stop, Kelvinbridge too, and a day ticket on the Subway costs only £4 as a paper ticket (not on a smart

card), and at Hillhead you can see two Subways opposite one another: the sandwich shop on one side and the underground railway station on the other, a short walk from the interesting Botanic Gardens. The main shopping streets are Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street, and to the east is the Merchant City cultural quarter.

Beyond that is the well-regarded St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, set in Scottish baronial style buildings, and named after the patron saint of Glasgow. Like many museums in the City, it is free to enter, a reason so many people visit Glasgow!

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What’s all the controversy about grammar schools?

As you may recall us mentioning in the December issue of IN&AROUND, the debate about Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to usher in a new era of grammar schools by scrapping a ban placed on them in the early years of Tony Blair’s government has occupied much of our thoughts lately.

But why? What’s the big deal about the proposal, and what could it mean for education in the UK? First... what are grammar schools?

We’re sure that many of our readers will have no need for this section - after all, many of you were probably educated at a grammar school. They’re state secondary schools that select their pupils on the basis of an examination taken by children when they reach the age of 11 - the “11-plus”.

Those passing the exam are able to attend the local grammar school, while those who fail go to what is known as a “secondary modern school”.

celebrated and lower-paying professions the system has been subject to controversy down the decades.

1950s and 1960s critics of the grammar school system - generally Labour politicians and egalitarian educationalists - said that such a selective education system entrenched class division and middle-class privilege.

So, what’s next?

In 1965, local education authorities were ordered by Harold Wilson’s Labour government to begin phasing out grammar schools and secondary moderns in favour of a comprehensive system. In 1998, under another Labour government, the School Standards and Framework Act was passed, forbidding the establishment of any new allselective schools.

What’s the case for lifting the grammar school ban?

That is the grammar school system, but with only about 163 of England’s 3,000 or so state secondaries actually being grammar schools, children today are much more likely to be taught under the “comprehensive” system, which involves pupils of all abilities and aptitudes being taught together.

Supporters of grammar schools have long said that they serve the purpose of identifying children with the potential to do well and separating them from less academic children who may hold them back. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is a particularly notable supporter of grammar schools, having called for one “in every town”.

The decline of the old grammar schools With grammar schools being academically focused, it being assumed that many of their pupils would proceed to higher education, and secondary modern schools being geared towards pupils expected to go into the “trades” - in other words, less

Now, May has argued the case for a new generation of grammar schools, stating that students are currently being selected for schools on the basis of the area they live in, giving an unfair advantage to students living in affluent areas with good comprehensive schools.

10 | IN&AROUND

The Prime Minister said that the current system saw children’s potential sacrificed for “dogma and ideology”, adding: “The truth is that we already have selection in our school system - and it’s selection by house price, selection by wealth. That is simply unfair.”

She has said that grammar schools assist social mobility and new ones would help to make the country a “true meritocracy”.

At the time of this article being written, the Government’s consultation on the lifting of the grammar school ban had just concluded, with the findings yet to be published.

Whatever is learned from the consultation, it’s clear that there are deep divides of opinion over the plans. One recent study by the Education Policy Institute suggested that there were only six local authority areas of England where new grammar schools would be both welcomed by parents and beneficial to the wider school population.

However, a Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson dismissed these findings, saying: “Independent organisations have recognised the transformative impact grammar schools can have on the lives of disadvantaged young people.”

What are your own thoughts on this longrunning and sometimes highly emotive debate? Feel free to let us know here at IN&AROUND, and we may publish them in a future issue.

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By preparing the relevant paperwork in advance of seeking legal advice, we can negotiate from a position of strength to obtain a fair price for the work involved in obtaining Probate.

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Call in to our showroom: Renny’s Lane, Dragonville Ind. Est. Gilesgate, Durham. DH1 2RS Mon –Fri: 7am to 5pm Tel: 0191 3742070 Sat: 8am to 12 noon Ample Car Parking

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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU? We’re sure you’re well aware of what a New Year’s resolution is by now, but here at IN&AROUND, we thought we would remind you just once more. This tradition has been around for more than 4,000 years, with millions of us making promises to help others or simply ourselves.

After another Christmas, we’re at that time of year again: the time when many of us have decided to lose weight and start exercising.

We try to convince ourselves that healthy eating and hardcore fitness is going to be our main priority, all in a bid to achieve a “summer bikini body”. However, at the back of our minds, we have no doubt that we’ll give up on this new routine after three or four days – but at least we tried, right?

Nevertheless, if you’re determined and ready to begin a whole new year, it’s entirely possible to make positive changes in 2017 – and it’s better late than ever!

16 | IN&AROUND

Don’t set overly high expectations!

If you’re hoping to lose weight, the last thing that you should do is simply stick a photo of a model onto the fridge or fantasise about being slimmer. It has often been said that, if you put too much focus on the end goal or the downsides of not achieving this goal, you’re likely to fail.

Nor can you rush into that new, healthy lifestyle. Don’t convince yourself that you can simply devour a salad with an apple for lunch and wash it down with a bottle of water and immediately feel like a brand new person.

You need to de-clutter your cupboard and get rid of the half-packet of custard creams, the processed foods and the unhealthy mentality, too. Instead, visit the supermarket for healthy options, and make sure you purchase plenty of whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans.

It makes sense – switching to healthy, natural foods means that you’re less likely to feel bloated and more likely to shed some pounds.

What you drink matters, too Throughout the average day, try to drink around two litres of water.

Staying hydrated offers several benefits, including healthier skin, better moods and improved digestion. It has even been widely claimed that water can aid weight loss.

Try to avoid fizzy drinks, alcohol and other calorie-rich beverages, as they’re full of sugar and could cause you to gain weight. A study has even shown that those who drink fizzy drinks could see their waistlines expand up to three times more than that of a non-drinker.

By making sensible changes to your diet and routine, you’ll be well on the road to being a healthier, happier person in 2017. Good luck!

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Are you ready for a better you?

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liv

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EASY-TO-OVERLOOK GEMS IN COUNTY DURHAM

Low Force, Bowlees

Hamsterley Forest This was another attraction that Fogle visited during his time in County Durham – and it’s fair to say that if you are thoroughly familiar with the forest, you might be wondering why we are mentioning it here.

After all, the forest, which is managed by England’s Forestry Commission, includes over 2,000 hectares of woodland, making it difficult for country bumpkins in particular to overlook. Furthermore, it annually attracts about 180,000 visitors, making it one of the county’s most popular attractions - and given the huge variety of things to do here, why should we be surprised?

However, its distance from the major population centres of County Durham means that Hamsterley Forest could be easily overlooked by people who either spend their day-to-day lives in those hotspots or simply pass through the county on their way to or from Newcastle.

Furthermore, we think that even many people who do know about the forest could fail to grasp the sheer variety of things to do in this oasis, which sprawls along the sides of a sheltered valley. You could watch wildlife, gaze at the dark sky, embark on high-octane mountain biking and try out many other pursuits. For outdoor types especially, it can feel like an adults’ playground...

If you want to visit Hamsterley Forest, your journey to it could be lengthy, as it lies in the heart of the Durham Dales, in the west of the county. However, once you get there, you might not want to leave! Maybe the hectic pace of city life has left you feeling a little stressed – in which case, Hamsterley’s gentle walks and nature trails could provide just the tonic. Alternatively, you could sample what Fogle has, in his Great British Adventure series, declared “some of the best off-road cycling in the UK”.

24 | IN&AROUND

You are probably already familiar with County Durham’s High Force waterfall; in fact, we’ve even put it under focus in this column in a recent issue of IN&AROUND. However, you might not be so familiar with Low Force waterfall, despite the other waterfall’s name practically hinting at Low Force’s existence. The word “Force” here comes from the old Norse word “Fosse”, meaning “waterfall”. We learned that not from - as you might have expected - Wikipedia, but instead the adventurer and broadcaster Ben Fogle, who recently filmed his exploits in rural County Durham for his Great British Adventure series.

Low Force waterfall is, like its counterpart, on the route of the River Tees. Of course, that river extends through much of County Durham and into Teesside, too; however, if it’s Low Force specifically that you want to visit, you should head to the naturally beautiful area of Upper Teesdale. Low Force can be easily reached from Bowlees Visitor Centre, and it’s open to the public right through the year. Well, that is a common plus point of rural attractions - many of them aren’t often, if at all, shut off to the public, and County Durham as a whole is hardly short of rural attractions!

In fact, it was at Low Force that Fogle began his on-film adventures in the county, having met up with Rob and Abi of Kingsway Adventure Centre in nearby Middletonon-Teesdale. At the waterfall, Ben indulged in a spot of white water swimming before leaping off the waterfall... expertly guided, we emphasise, by the Kingsway staff accompanying him. As Ben told his viewers, waterfall jumping, although fun, can be dangerous - so if you want to try it yourself, you should make sure that you only do it under the supervision of an organised activity provider.

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Remember When county durham

DURHAM Postcard of Hatfield Hall Durham. Posted in Durham in 1907 to Rotherham produced by the Photochrom company of London.

CHESTER-LE-STREET A postcard from a series produced by R.Johnson of Gateshead of the interior of Lumley Castle this card shows the music room c 1920’s.

DERWENTSIDE A 1940’s view of Snows Green Shotley Bridge published by R.Johnson of Gateshead and posted from Newcastle to Redcar.

Durham Postcard, Cigarette Card & Stamp Fair.

Durham County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL Saturday 4th February 2017, 10:00am - 3:00pm Entrance fee: Adults £1.00 FREE entry for accompanied children Disabled Access - FREE Valuations provided.

26 | IN&AROUND

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BEYOND CHESTER LE STREET/ DURHAM

Aladdin, Bishop Auckland Town Hall

The Allure of Napoleon, The Bowes Museum

The perennial Middle Eastern folk tale of Aladdin has seen so many adaptations down the years, including books, films and even video games, as well as - of course - musical theatre and pantomime. Indeed, Aladdin was dramatised in the UK as far back as the late 18th century, by John O’Keefe for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, while the traditional Aladdin pantomime is also the source of the well-known pantomime character, Widow Twankey - Aladdin’s mother.

If you thought Barnard Castle’s longstanding cultural gem, the Bowes Museum enjoyed a vintage year in 2016, that’ll be nothing compared to the festivities in 2017 set to mark the institution’s 125th anniversary.

This particular musical pantomime production comes courtesy of Bishop Auckland Theatre Society. Taking place from 12th to 14th January at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, it combines sing along musical numbers, dancing and no shortage of silliness, making it a pantomime firmly for all of the family.

As for the story itself, how could you possibly need to be reintroduced to it? Oh, well go on then... just imagine if you had three wishes, three hopes and three dreams, and they could all come true. After being hoodwinked by evil sorcerer Abanaza into embarking on a perilous quest, Aladdin frees a genie from a lamp, and has all of his wishes granted.

But hold on - Abanaza has rather more nefarious plans for the lamp! Can Aladdin stop him while also winning the heart of the beautiful princess Jasmine?

What better way could there be to kick off such celebrations, in fact, than with a focused display drawing upon the museum’s own collection, centred on the founders’ (John and Josephine Bowes) interest in Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and his times?

This exhibition, which will run from 28th January to 19th March, will showcase outstanding artworks - including paintings, prints, books and sculptures - telling the story of the Napoleonic cult and the fascination that the Emperor generated on both sides of the Channel.

It is to this end that the show is divided into the five themes of The Political Chameleon, The Fall of a Titan, Luxury Reborn, A New Dynasty and The Napoleonic Legend. Period-display decoration, animated films, talks, gallery trails and a recital of Napoleonic-era music will accompany the exhibition to further bring Napoleon’s remarkable story to life.

Find out more by visiting www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk or contacting the museum reception on 01833 690 606.

All tickets are priced at £7.50 and can be bought in advance, reserved or on the door. Call 01388 775 508 or visit www. bishopaucklandtheatresociety.co.uk for more information.

Lucy Porter: Consequences, The Witham Where can one possibly start any discussion

ethics, falconry, 1990s Britpop and, erm,

of the prolific comedy career of the

Gary Wilmot as she continues to showcase

diminutive (4ft 11in) Croydon native? With

the chatty and charming style that led The

her appearances at high-profile festivals,

Herald to describe her as “a treat from start

including both the Edinburgh Fringe and

to finish”.

Brighton Festival? What about her starring roles on BBC Radio 4 favourites like Quote...

This show of personal, heartfelt revelations

Unquote and The Personality Test, or on

kick-starts what looks set to be yet another

some of the most beloved TV panel shows

extremely chuckle-inducing year for the

ranging from Never Mind the Buzzcocks and

Teesdale comedy club Funny Way To Be

Mock the Week to Have I Got News For You

Comedy, which will welcome such other big-

and QI?

name acts as Chris Ramsey, Gary Delaney and Richard Herring over the coming

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the

Manchester

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alumnus is now back on the road and will rock up at The Witham in Barnard Castle

Tickets are priced at £14; call 01833 631 107

on 28th January. Expect her to touch on

or point your browser to www.thewitham.org.

such themes as censorship, generational

uk to book.

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WHAT’S ON The Unexpected Guest, People’s Theatre, Newcastle.

This 1958 play by crime writer Agatha Christie centres on a young man whose car breaks down one foggy night near an isolated rural residence.

While searching for help, he makes his way into the study via the French windows, only to come across the murdered body of its owner.

It turns out that this man, Richard Warwick, was a sadistic bully who many people may have been quite happy to see dead. In this house full of secrets, all is not what it seems, with its residents having plenty of surprises in store for the unwary.

Such a classic whodunit could have hardly found a better setting than Newcastle’s People’s Theatre, an amateur theatre that can trace its history to 1911, but which has been based on Stephenson Road, Heaton since 1962.

Bookings can now be made for showings on five dates from Tuesday 17th January to Saturday 21st January, with tickets priced at £13.50; concessions £11. While all tickets are non-refundable, a 10% discount is available to those booking for a party of at least 10 people for the same date.

Visit www.peoplestheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 0191 265 5020. could provide just the tonic.

Alternatively, you could sample what Fogle has, in his Great British Adventure series, declared “some of the best off-road cycling in the UK”.

Beamish Hall Winter Festival, Stanley.

You might have thought of the mid-18th-century country house Beamish Hall in many different contexts, but we suspect that you have never before imagined it as a real ale pub - until now.

Most of the time these days, the resplendent Grade II* listed property is - of course - a hotel, but over the weekend of Friday 27th and Saturday 28th January, it will host its sixth annual Winter Real Ale and Music Festival, with a wide variety of live music provided by local bands and entertainers.

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But of course, for many visitors, it will be the real ale served up by this unique event that will be the big attraction. More than 50 craft beers, ciders and perries from local and regional breweries will be waiting to be sampled, together with dozens of flavoured gins.

As for the live music acts, expect the likes of Richie Docherty, The Dee Tees, Amy Lambert and Mitch Laddie Band to make welcome appearances.

It can all be enjoyed for just £5 per person per day, which perhaps makes it highly unsurprising that the event sells out every year. Call 01207 233 733 to nab your own tickets before they’re all gone.

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PUB REVIEW

Duke of Wellington, Durham City The passing of time can be a strange thing – and as we all tucked into our three-course Christmas dinners from the Festive Fayre Menu of one of Durham City’s most popular and down-to-earth pubs, we had plenty of events over the past year on which to reflect.

This Yuletide night out for employees of JAK Inc and its sister company Precise English may have seen some banter about the well-publicised world events of 2016, but the principal setting for our evening’s enjoyment warranted some conversation in its own right.

As someone still largely unfamiliar with this part of the North East, I certainly hadn’t previously dined at the Neville Cross-based Duke of Wellington. It has been described by the Evening Chronicle as “a good value pub [that] with a few minor tweaks could be even better”, and by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)’s whatpub.com site as “a very friendly, relaxed pub with an emphasis on food and very good beer.”

On our early-December Saturday night visit to this establishment, we certainly found it to live up to all of the above sentiments. Getting together at about 5pm, we saw that the place gradually began to fill - but even by past 8pm when our dining was done and we were about to spend the rest of the night touring the historic city’s other clubs and 32 | IN&AROUND

watering holes, the vibe was never less than absolutely welcoming.

For my own £15.99 three-course meal, I started with a king prawn and smoked salmon salad consisting of little gem, rocket, tomato and cucumber with Marie Rose sauce, served with bread and butter. Although I didn’t get round to eating much of the salad before the main course arrived, it was certainly scrumptious, even if I couldn’t remember whether I’d actually ordered tomato and basil soup and our group had got the various dishes confused around the table...

Anyway... what of that main course itself? Well, my choice was in the best tradition of home Sunday dinners, comprising a hand-carved roast turkey with festive trimmings. Served with roast potatoes, a pig in blanket, sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and what the menu quite accurately described as “a rich gravy”, it would have been quite the Christmas treat even if I hadn’t opted to upgrade it with a mighty big baked Yorkshire pudding with a pig in blanket and stuffing for just 99p extra.

The end result was just so, and I suspected from the murmurings around the table that much the same could be said of the other main course orders that included the likes of a braised flat iron steak, chargrilled fillet of salmon, bejewelled vegetable tart and the pub’s

Festive Gourmet Burger. The latter consisted of a chargrilled chicken breast in a toasted brioche bun, topped with brie, bacon and cranberry sauce, served with chips and a pig in blanket.

Oh, and all of the aforementioned main courses except the Festive Gourmet Burger were served with Brussels sprouts, Chantenay carrots and British seasonal greens. “Good value”? Yep, we benefited from no shortage of that.

Roll on the desserts, which for me was a white chocolate and cherry cheesecake served with whipped cream and topped with marshmallows – every inch as delectable a prospect as you would expect from that description – and much of the team’s focus was on the apparent surfeit of salted chocolate profiteroles that had arrived at our table.

Polishing these off and washing it all down with an assortment of drinks including Desperados and Guinnesses, we were soon ready to climb aboard our ordered taxis and head off into the night of one of the North East’s most liveable and – it would turn out – most fun-loving cities...

Gavin Lenaghan Content Manager

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WHAT’S ON TV JANUARY

Taboo

This eight-episode drama miniseries, which will debut on BBC One on 7th January and is the creation of Steven Knight, Tom Hardy and his father Chips Hardy, is set in 1814 and tells the story of the adventurer who brings 14 stolen diamonds with him on his return from Africa to Britain, seeking vengeance after his father’s death.

Tom Hardy plays James Keziah Delaney, who was believed to be long dead, only to inherit the remains of his father’s shipping empire on his reappearance in London. He duly begins to rebuild his life, but finds his father’s legacy to be a poisoned chalice,

Sherlock

New Year’s Day treats surely don’t come much better than Baker Street’s favourite double act. That’s right: Sherlock returns for its fourth series from 1st January 2017 on BBC One, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman reprising their familiar roles as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson respectively.

The crime drama based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal Sherlock Holmes detective stories has been capturing imaginations since the first series premiered in 2010, not least those of the powers-that-be at the BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes, with various accolades and nominations garnered across a series of categories.

with enemies seemingly lurking in every corner to plot his demise. A dark family mystery subsequently emerges amid a thick atmosphere of conspiracy, murder and betrayal.

Hardy is joined in the cast by such talents as Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary, David Hayman as Brace, Michael Kelly as Dr Dumbarton and Jonathan Pryce as Stuart Strange, while recurring cast members include Jessie Buckley, Jefferson Hall, Leo Bill, Christopher Fairbank and Roger Ashton-Griffiths. Sir Ridley Scott is among the executive producers.

been disappointed this year. As IN&AROUND headed to press, a message from the show’s characters was published in - of all places The Daily Telegraph’s births column, revealing the name of the new infant character, the child of John and Mary Watson: Rosamund Mary Watson.

We suspect that various other titbits will show up between now and the big premiere, as Cumberbatch and Freeman are joined by Amanda Abbington, who returns in her usual role as Mary, and all of the other longstanding fan favourites.

Whenever a new Sherlock series looms, avid watchers invariably keep a lookout for clues of what it may contain, and they haven’t

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events The children’s novel series by Lemony Snicket - real name Daniel Handler - has been adapted for the screen previously, albeit the big one, with the 2004 film adaptation having starred Jim Carrey as the villainous Count Olaf, who adopts three wealthy orphan siblings in an attempt to steal their late parents’ fortune.

The challenge of bringing the franchise to TV has fallen to Netflix, which will release the initial eight episodes together on 13th January. It will see Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) take on Carrey’s role as the evil aristocrat, while Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith will play 34 | IN&AROUND

the Baudelaire siblings Violet, Klaus and Sunny respectively. Meanwhile, Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, Men in Black II) will provide the voice of Lemony Snicket.

Throw in Barry Sonnenfeld - yes, he of The Addams Family and Addams Family Values - as director, and we seem to have a sure recipe for the kind of gothic creepiness that made the film such a hit. Indeed, Sonnenfeld had even been involved in that project, writing the script before parting ways with the team over budgetary issues, so it’ll be interesting to see how he approaches this ‘second go’ of things.

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THE YEAR AHEAD We are looking forward to an exciting new programme at our group meetings for 2017.

We will offer a range of talks and presentations that will include scientific and research updates about Parkinson`s, new therapies to try out, talks on subjects of local interest, musical entertainments. All this with our usual singing therapy sessions and buffet.

NEXT MEETING Friday 27th January 1-00pm Newton Hall Community Centre Dr Paul Chazot will update us on the latest research.

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Lancaster Toyota Durham, Alma Place, Gilesgate Moor, Durham, DH1 2HN Tel: 0191 357 2405 lancasterdurham.toyota.co.uk

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*Offer is only available on new retail orders of AYGO x-play 5dr Manual 1.0 VVT-i in Red Pop when ordered and delivered between 20th and 30th September 2016 and registered and financed on AccessToyota through Toyota Financial Services by 31st December 2016 on a 42 month AccessToyota (PCP) plan with 0%-37% deposit. At the end of the Personal Contract Purchase there are 3 options: (i) Renew: Part exchange the vehicle, where equity is available, (ii) Retain: Pay the Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) to own the vehicle or (iii) Return the vehicle. Prices correct at time of going to print. Toyota Financial Services (UK) PLC; registered office Great Burgh, Burgh Heath, Epsom, Surrey KT18 5UZ. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Indemnities may be required. Finance subject to status to over 18s. Other finance offers are available but cannot be used in conjunction with this offer. At participating retailers only. Toyota Centres are independent of Toyota Financial Services. Terms and conditions apply. Affordable finance through AccessToyota. 5 year/100,000 mile manufacturer warranty subject to terms and conditions.

AYGO x-play 3 door 1.0 VVT-i Manual. Official Fuel Consumption Figures in mpg (l/100km): Urban 56.5 (5.0), Extra Urban 78.5 (3.6), Combined 68.9 (4.1). CO2 Emissions 95g/km. All mpg and CO2 figures quoted are sourced from official EU regulated laboratory test results. These are provided to allow comparisons 36 | IN&AROUND between vehicles and may not reflect your actual driving experience.