Durham Magazine - November December 2017 by Durham Magazine

DURHAM Magazine

Photo By - Audrey Rogan

November / December 2017 - Issue 17

DURHAM

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Editorial - November / December 2017

Welcome

Dear Durham Readers,

Thanks for picking up your free copy of the Durham Magazine. The most common question we get from readers is, “are you part of the local council”? No, we’re a completely independent magazine published by County Durham based company, Firefly New Media. Unlike other media outlets, we aim to bring you nothing but locally focused positive news. The magazine is now in it’s 17th issue and we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed their story, emailed us, called us, advertised in the magazine, written to us, or picked up a magazine. You are the reason we continue to publish Durham Magazine! In this edition, we follow the story of 9 year old Blake Stephenson on page 4, who saved the life of another boy while on holiday. Learn about the Medomsley Pit Disaster on page 6. get prepared for the

festive season with custom printing from Firefly on page 7. Rehursals are already underway for this years Pantomime on page 11. Richmond, North Yorkshire is this month’s place to go on page 12. This and much more in the packed November / December issue of Durham Magazine.

As you can probably already tell, we bring you positive stories about the Durham area, and encourage local people to get involved and contribute their stories, news, events, photographs, and anything else that matters to them. If you’d like to get published, just email us at editor@durhammagazine.co. uk and send us your story or photographs. Warmest regards, Barry Kirkham, Marco Elsy, And the entire Durham Magazine team

How do I submit news, stories, events, or photographs?

How do I advertise my business in Durham?

Email us at:

editor@durhammagazine.co.uk

sales@durhammagazine.co.uk

Call us on 0191 394 1266

Disclaimer: Durham Magazine and durhammagazine.co.uk make sure to only use reliable sources and we try to verify all content as much as possible. We cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions. All details are believed to be correct at the time of printing. We recommend that readers check information with any venue about times and dates of events in advance. Readers are welcome to send photographs, letters and other content to Durham Magazine and Firefly New Media UK but we cannot guarantee they will be featured in the publication. Firefly New Media UK reserves the right to neither use submitted material in print and online publications nor return it. The views and opinions expressed in advertisements and content do not reflect that of Durham Magazine and Firefly New Media UK. No part of this publication/website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from Firefly New Media UK. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing.

Contributors Brian Harrison Audrey Rogan Neil Collins David Sunderland Alex Nelson Glenn Maltman Roger Langley Any Potts Emily Middlemas

Content and advertising team Barry Kirkham Marco Elsy Firefly New Media UK

Advertising Info sales@durhammagazine.co.uk

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Your Free November / December 2017 Durham Magazine

Life-saving schoolboy receives Chairman’s Medal A nine-year-old who saved another boy from drowning has become the youngest ever recipient of the Chairman’s Medal, the highest honour in County Durham. Blake Stephenson pulled the French boy from the bottom of a swimming pool and dragged him to the side for help while on holiday in the summer.

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His mum and another member of the public then performed CPR until emergency services arrived and although the boy was placed in a medically-induced coma, he later made a full recovery. Blake was presented with the medal at Kirk Merrington Primary School by the Chairman of Durham County Council Cllr Bill Kellett, Schools Aquatic Development Manager David Bullen, a

representative from the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) and his headteacher Nicola Murray. The humble lifesaver becomes the youngest ever recipient of the medal, following Olympic gymnast Amy Tinkler who received the award last year. Blake also received a Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) Commendation and 125th anniversary badge. Following the ceremony, Blake said: “I feel very excited – I didn’t think I would get an award and I didn’t realise how special they are. “A lot of people have come to see me, my sister is very grumpy that I’m getting all of this attention!” Blake was taught his lifesaving skills as part of the national curriculum swimming lessons in school, which includes

learning about the dangers of being in and around water, rescue and ways of summoning help using water-based solutions. Pupils also take part in water safety and drowning prevention activities, lessons and assemblies as part of the RLSS’ National Drowning Prevention Week and the council’s Dying to be Cool campaign which highlights the dangers of water and cold water shock. Cllr Kellett said: “Blake’s quick-thinking and heroic actions saved a young person’s life and highlight the importance of learning vital lifesaving skills and how to act in an emergency. “I am delighted to be able to present him with this medal, one of our most prestigious civic honours.”

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The Medomsley Pit Disaster - By Brian Harrison

Your Free November / December 2017 Durham Magazine

The Medomsley Pit Disaster As you leave Bradley cottages and head towards the junction for Medomsley and Consett, directly in front of you there is a large field. In that field are two small fenced Medomsley Pit enclosures. These are the 150m deep shafts of Medomsley Colliery. Opened in 1839 the wheels finally stopped turning in 1972. In 1923 a terrible disaster struck. Medomsley Colliery was considered a safe pit but on the 24th of February eight young men were to be involved in that pit’s worst tragedy. At 7.25am on the Saturday morning, eight men entered the narrow cage that would hoist them back to the surface. There was a metal bar wedged across the cage at waist height, the only device that offered means of protection. In an environment where sudden death was always expected, this was the place where

nothing ever went wrong. The cage sped up the shaft, daily maintenance checks ensured that everything would run smoothly. The cage was nearing the top of the shaft when a terrible series of events began to take place. The banksman heard a huge crash. The cables began to stretch and the engine driving the headgear began to protest loudly. The engine man stopped the machinery immediately but it was too late, the cable parted and only the severed end appeared above ground. A bosun’s chair was rigged and two men were lowered into the depths. They found the cage wedged across the shaft 50 meters down and to their horror saw that the front of the cage was facing downwards. There were three mangled bodies lying on the roof, the other five had fallen to the bottom of the shaft.

The ensuing enquiry found that one of the clamps holding the cage to the wall of the shaft had cracked allowing the cage to swing free. The shaft had cross members at regular intervals and the cage had snagged on one of them. The verdict, accidental death. The coal mine has gone now, along with the miners. There is no memorial to the dead but if you visit the churchyards around Consett you may find the names of those unfortunate men etched into their headstones. Michael’s book “A Breed Apart” is a historically based novel gives a great idea of what the local coal industry was like back in 1906. Available in both paperback and kindle format from Amazon.co.uk.

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Your Free November / December 2017 Durham Magazine

And the bride wore... The fascinating stories of north east brides through the ages was told at an illustrated talk earlier this month.

The session, at the Centre for Local Studies at Darlington’s Crown Street Library, featured wedding photographs from the archives of Durham County Record Office. Although focusing on the dresses and changing fashions, the talk by principal archivist Gill Parkes, also revealed some of the stories behind the images. Gill said: “Some of the photos we will be looking at feature Edward Backhouse Mounsey and Rachel Ann Fryer, who were Quakers. They married in 1878 and settled at Tees Grange in Darlington. “They were captured on camera more often than most couples tying the knot in the 1870s, probably because the groom was so interested in photography himself. “We also know quite a lot about them – we know where Edward proposed and also that he designed the pendant worn by his bride on their big day.”

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Gill will also be shedding light on a society wedding that took place in Spennymoor in 1911, when the bride, groom and bridesmaids all had the same name, and an elegant bride from 1947, who borrowed her dress and had to spray her shoes the right colour because of post-war rationing. For more information, call 01325 349 630 or email local.studies@darlington.gov.uk

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Rehearsals underway for Gala Christmas shows

Writer-directors Neil Armstrong and Paul Hartley, who also star in the show, have teamed up with fellow cast members to make sure they are pitch-perfect for the Christmas extravaganza. Armstrong and Hartley’s partnership promises to provide another huge-hit, following on from last year’s Jack and the Beanstalk which saw over 33,000 people flock to 69 performances across the festive period. “It’s great to have all of the cast together to get started on this year’s show which is already selling-out fast,” said Neil, who plays baddie Captain Horatio Blackheart.

“Paul and I loved the idea of writing a piratical adventure this year so both thought Robinson Crusoe was a good

Joining Neil and Paul is Gateshead-born Jamie Brown who again plays the title role after last year’s star turn in Jack and the Beanstalk. He will be joined on his quest to find the fabled Pearl of Wisdom by his brother Billy Bob, played by Paul, his mother Dame Connie Crusoe (Paul Dunn) as well as the feisty Polly Perkins – played by Sunderland actress Lauren Waine. Along the way they will meet goddess of the sea Aqua Marina, played by Jayne Mackenzie, as they try to reach safer shores. Gala’s pantomime audiences have grown year on year and have gained a loyal following, this year’s show being the biggest yet. Actors will be joined on stage by performers from Gala Theatre Stage School, who are also in the process of getting ready for the 73-show run. Tickets cost between £6 and £17 with family tickets also available.

A BSL interpreted performance will take place on Sunday, 10 December, while a relaxed performance for people with autism and their families will take place on Thursday, 14 December. Robin Byers, Durham County Council’s manager for the Gala Theatre, said: “Gala’s pantomime is something we are hugely proud of. This will be the tenth year of producing our own pantomime, and we think we’ve developed the show into one of the best in the region. “Using actors and characters that our audiences love, the right amount of local flavour, and traditional stories told in a hilarious way, we are delighted that our audience return year after year in greater numbers. The feedback we get is overwhelmingly positive, and as long as people are enjoying what we do, we’ll keep on enjoying making the shows”. Visit www.galadurham.co.uk or call 03000 266 600 to book tickets for show, which runs from Thursday, 23 November to Saturday, 6 January.

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“Rehearsals are going well so far, the set looks amazing and we have a wonderful special effects team working alongside us.

bet – so all aboard and bring on the pirates!”

Your Free November / December 2017 Durham Magazine

Rehearsals are well underway for this year’s pantomime at the Gala Theatre – the swashbuckling tale of Robinson Crusoe.

Your Free November / December 2017 Durham Magazine

Places to Go: Richmond, North Yorkshire For December’s article, I usually choose somewhere not too far away (given it gets dark so early) which might be a good place for Christmas shopping. This year I have been to Richmond three times, twice speaking on rail fares and once on an excursion with my daughter. As you’ll know all railway stations in GB have a three letter code. RMD is for Richmond in Greater London which has a busy station (also visited twice in 2017). Indeed Richmond is the most duplicated UK placename, with 57 occurrences worldwide, including a third Richmond outside Sheffield.

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There is no rail connected railway station in Richmond, North Yorkshire, but it is possible to buy a rail ticket to RMK (for Richmond MarKet Place) and use the regular Arriva express bus X26 and X27 bus from outside Darlington station’s Victoria Road exit direct to Richmond. It takes about half an hour to arrive in the cobbled market place, one of the largest in England Indeed, from the north, it is quicker than the train via Northallerton ever was, before the line closed in 1968.

I asked the bus driver if we could stay on the bus over the bridge of the Swale to The Station, which was not a problem. The old railway station is now repurposed not for trains but as a food, film and art centre which admits 300,000 tourists a year. It has a restaurant, cinema, art gallery and heritage centre, as well as a bakery, cheese-maker, micro brewery, ice-cream parlour, fudge house and honey-maker. A great place to pick up some innovative Christmas presents at some time during your day, and some good coffee. A pleasant walk over the meadows into the town centre, including the interesting town garden at Millgate House, brought us to the Georgian Theatre Royal. This historic building, founded in 1788 by the actor Samuel Butler, is off the market place. A decline in the fortunes of theatre led to its closure in 1848 and it was used as a warehouse for many years. In 1963 the theatre was restored and reopened, with a theatre museum added in 1979. It is one of Britain's oldest extant theatres and a guided tour shows you the whole of the building, including beneath the stage.

The dominant building in the town is the Castle, completed in 1086, now in the care of English Heritage. Through the winter it is only open at weekends, You may have heard of the story of the Richmond Sixteen, conscientious objectors from WWI, which is told in the block they inhabited before being shipped to France. I suspect we had better food than they did in a French restaurant called Rustique in Finkle Street. Rustique opened in 2009 offering traditional French cuisine amongst its Parisian-style murals and music. Transporting diners to the streets of Paris, with views of the Tower Eiffel and Arc de Triumph, diners can enjoy rustic French-style cuisine in amongst a busy, vibrant bistro atmosphere. Two other museums complete the tourism offer in Richmond: the well-regarded Richmondshire museum is closed until April, but the Green Howards Regimental Museum (in the old Trinity Church) is fascinating, and close to the bus stop to return to Darlington. www.thestation.co.uk

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Looked after children’s Christmas card competition Looked after children in County Durham are being asked to showcase their creative flair with a Christmas card design competition. The winning image will then be printed and sent out by Durham County Council’s children and young people’s service as their official Christmas card for 2017.

“That’s why we’re inviting them to show off their artistic side by drawing, painting, cutting or sticking together a festive picture.

One winner will be chosen from each of three age groups (0 – 4 years, 5 – 11 years, and 12 – 18 years), and an overall winner will be chosen out of the three. The overall winner will receive a £30 shopping voucher while the two runners-up will receive vouchers of £15 each. The competition is open to all looked after children and

young people, up to the age of 18 and in the care of Durham County Council’s foster carers and adopters. Entrants can submit their artwork through their social worker or support team, or by scanning in their work and e-mailing it to fostering@durham.gov.uk. The closing date for entrants is Friday 17 November, and winners will be chosen on Tuesday 21 November by Cllr Olywn Gunn and Durham County Councils’ strategic manager for looked after children Karen Robb.

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Cllr Olwyn Gunn, Cabinet member for children’s and young people’s services, said: “We know just how creative children can be, especially around Christmas time.

“Last year we had many fantastically vibrant and colourful entries, including pictures of robins, reindeer, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and snowmen, but we’re convinced this year can be even better, so break out the pens and pencils and get creative.”

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