Stage 6 of the Tour of Britain 2008, from Darlington to Gateshead,
as it passes the outskirts of Deaf Hill on the way towards Durham.
Photos courtesy George Ford

*Click photos to open full-size

A big big thank you to everyone one who attended and participated in the SNAIL RACE at Trimdon Grange WMC on Friday 29th August - organised by Geraldine Wilson of Trimdon Grange Community centre - we had a fantastic night and raised £746.00 for Breast Cancer

Despite atrocious weather, Deaf Hill Banner Group paraded the new Lodge Banner and Community Banner round the the streets of Deaf Hill, Trimdon Station and Trimdon Colliery on Wednesday 9 July.  £225 was collected towards funds to enable the banner to march in Durham. The Group would like to thank Trimdon Concert Brass, all who helped on the night and especially the people of Deaf Hill and Trimdon Station for their continuing support. David Chaytor, Chair, Deaf Hill Miners Banner Group

Following the recent closure of the church, the Diocesan Board of Finance has applied for planning permission to convert the building into two dwelling houses. Full details can be found on EDC’s website here for anyone interested in commenting or objecting.

School Bus Petition
Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson will be at the Trimdon Station Community Centre on Monday 10am 1st September 2008 to accept the school bus petition from the  organisers, Debra Harrison and colleagues .

Seven members of Trimdon Concert Brass are taking part in the Durham Race for Life on 6th July 2008 to raise money for Cancer Research UK and would really welcome your support.
Please take a moment to sponsor Lynsey, Lisa, Jenna, Laura, Sarah, Katie and Laura, and read why they are entering the race
Donations can be made online by credit or debit card at the following address: www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/trimdonconcertbrass or alternatively you can make a donation in the collecting bucket located at D & J Jordans, Trimdon Colliery.
** £460.81p raised - Thank you to all who donated, from Lynsey, Lisa, Jenna, Laura, Sarah, Katie and Laura.

In recent weeks damage has been caused in the Foxcover wood, with fences damaged and a caravan being set on fire. If anyone has sold, or had stolen, a caravan with the registration plate S926 SWE, or can provide any other information, please contact either the local Police or use our contact form.

Despite the wet, horrible weather the Band managed to raise £355.20 from our street collection on 2nd. We would like to pass on our sincere thanks to the kind folk of Trimdon Colliery and Trimdon Station.
Much better weather on the 9th, thanks to the generous people of Trimdon Grange we raised £219, and oOur collection at Trimdon Village on 16th raised £273.28.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout the year!
Lynsey Garraghan on behalf of the Band.

by Tracy Walker , Hartlepool Mail )
CS spray was used on a drunk man when he resisted arrest after officers spotted him dancing in the street and holding a bottle of wine above his head.
Anthony Evans, 22, had to be sprayed after "tensing up" and "lashing out with his feet" to resist being arrested.
He was dancing in Wingate Road, Trimdon, with the bottle held above his head and liquid pouring out, Peterlee magistrates were told.
He was arrested after an officer thought he was supplying alcohol to a group of youths and Evans ignored requests for him to hand the bottle over. But Evans disputed the people with him were youths. Lynsey Armstrong, prosecuting, said the police officer on duty in Wingate Road, Trimdon, noticed a group near the bus shelter and Evans "dancing in the road with a bottle of wine in his right hand and holding it above his head with liquid spilling out of the bottle".
Ms Armstrong said Evans, of Laburnum Square, Trimdon Station, told the officer: "You think you're it because you have that red and white cross on your chest.
"I'll give you some advice – why don't you get back in your van and drive away." Ms Armstrong said Evans "tensed up" when he was informed he was under arrest and "lashed out with his legs" when placed in a caged police van. The officer issued a warning before spraying him.
Evans admitted being drunk and disorderly and resisting a police officer on November 24.
Neil Bennett, mitigating, said Evans was "affected by drink" but not in the company of under-age youths and disputed making any remarks.
Chairman of the magistrates' bench Roy Simpson, fined Evans £50 for being drunk and disorderly and £150 for resisting a police officer.

by Andrew Pain, Evening Gazette )
A TEENAGER was due to appear in court today charged with throwing a lit firework at a train conductor.
The conductor was standing on the platform at Thornaby Station at the rear of a train on the Darlington to Saltburn route at about 4.50pm on Monday, October 29, when the incident happened. The firework caused scorching to the conductor’s clothing and reddening to the leg.
After images appeared on the front page of the Evening Gazette and in other media outlets Daniel William Young, 18, contacted police requesting to hand himself in.
The teenager, of Newlands Road, Trimdon, County Durham, was subsequently arrested and was to appear before Teesside Magistrates today charged by the British Transport Police for common assault and throwing a firework in a public place.
Following the incident PC Graham Adams, of British Transport Police, said: “This was a totally unprovoked attack which has left him understandably shaken. Everyone has the right to be able to go to work without fear of being attacked or abused in this way.”

A WOMAN who hid behind her clothes in a bid to avoid the attention of bullies has faced her demons – on prime-time television.
Margaret will be surrounded by her family, which includes husband Tony, 53, daughter Claire, 31, son Anthony, 29, and grandchildren Oscar, 18 months, and Tristan, three, at her home in Trimdon Grange for the BBC 1 programme What Not to Wear when it goes out as the series finale at 8pm today. Full story from the Sunderland Echo.

Nesting birds - moor hens on the ponds - have been killed by air gun pellets recently in the nature reserve. Hunting or killing wild animals of any type (including rabbits) is illegal in the reserve - if you see anything untoward please telephone Police on 0845 6060 365 or email rangers@durham.gov.uk
 

Labour held onto the Sedgefield seat, but with a reduced majority, with the Liberal Democrats in second place, Conservatives in third and the British National Party in fourth. Phil Wilson got 12,528 votes to become the constituency's first new MP since Mr Blair was elected in 1983.  Full details - Hartlepool Mail.
Pictured, Trimdon man Phil Wilson (Labour) with celebrity support provided by John Middleton, aka Emmerdale’s Ashley Thomas, who kindly posed for this photo whilst on the campaign trail.

The Hartlepool Mail
original article By CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

VANDALS have struck again at a primary school just months after causing hundreds of pounds of damage.
Police have appealed for help to track down youngsters who are targeting Deaf Hill Primary School, in Trimdon Station. During the Easter holidays, vandals broke into the site and ripped tiles from the roof of the school building. They also put a hole in fencing and broke wire mesh which covered the pond. Last autumn, hundreds of pounds of damage was caused at the school after a play house was destroyed, a bird box was broken and an outside tap was ripped off the wall. Headteacher Paul Lonsdale said: “We can’t afford to throw money away like this. “They have ripped some slate off the roof in a patch which has quite re-recently been re-roofed. They have then thrown the tiles at a wall and caused a lot of damage. “We have got to make people aware that they can contact the police and if they see something happening, they must report it.” PC Phil Stephenson, from Peterlee Police, urged locals to protect the school from the vandals. “Most of the damage tends to occur over school holiday periods but as the nights remain light for longer, it could be that youngsters will be hanging about getting up to no good,” he said. “I would encourage anyone who spots youngsters in the school grounds - whether they appear to be misbehaving or not - to contact the police. “We would also like to hear from anyone who thinks they know who is responsible for causing earlier damage.” Anyone with information should contact Peterlee Police on (0845) 6060365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on (0800) 555111.

original article The Northern Echo

A FACTORY only yards from Tony Blair's home in County Durham has gone into administration. Volante Public Transportation Interior Systems Limited, which employs 70 people in Trimdon, said a number of loss-making contracts had caused it to go under. It is the second business in Trimdon to hit financial difficulties in the past week. The Northern Echo reported last Friday how canal boat maker Steelcraft, based on the Trimdon Grange Industrial Estate, had gone into liquidation, threatening 30 jobs.
Last night, Graham Wood, regeneration manager of Sedgefield Borough Council, said: "This is another harsh blow for a small community, especially at this time of year."

The Newcastle office of professional services firm Deloitte has been appointed as administrator for Volante, which makes interior panels for buses and trains.
Administrators Ian Brown and Neil Matthews, of Deloitte, said they are aiming to find a buyer to take it on as a going concern. Mr Brown said: "We have already had a number of expressions of interest in taking over Volante as a going concern, and would expect that more will follow in the next few days.
"Volante is essentially a structural strong business with a range of established customers, and offers good prospects for potential new owners."
Volante, which continues to trade while a buyer is being sought, was forced into administration due to the "combined impact of a number of loss-making contracts".
Mr Blair opened the factory in 1997 and then returned for a visit in 1999 with his wife, Cherie, when the company had an artist in residence on the premises.
In February last year, Volante made about 30 redundancies after an order with a major customer came to an end.
Last week, Steelcraft closed its doors and was in consultation with local business support organisation, the Shildon and Sedgefield Development Agency, in an attempt to save the company.
At the time, Councillor Lucy Hovvels, Mayor of Sedgefield borough, said: "We are a small community and we rely on small local companies like this to help generate income back into the area.
"This is a real blow for this community."

original article The Northern Echo
 
ABOUT 30 jobs were under threat last night after it emerged that a Trimdon-based boat building business had run into financial difficulties.
The Northern Echo has learnt that canal boat maker South West Durham Steelcraft is in liquidation, after a prolonged shortage of work and lack of orders.
Steelcraft, which employs about 30 people at its base on Trimdon Grange Industrial Estate, remained closed yesterday. The company is understood to have been consulting local business support organisation the Shildon and Sedgefield Development Agency in an attempt to save the company.
Last night, Steelcraft's situation was said to be a "blow for the community," and workers at the site, in Prime Minister Tony Blair's constituency, spoke of their fears at being out of work only weeks before Christmas.
One worker said the staff's hours had been reduced recently, but they did not know the extent of the situation. The worker, who asked not to be named, said: "This is bad news for us - things are obviously worse than we thought. We don't know what's going to happen - but my concern is that Christmas is not even three weeks away. "There's never a good time to be out of work, but this must be the worst."

The company was set up in 1989, and is well regarded in the industry.
It has built more than 500 boats, and has designed and built shells for some of the country's largest boat companies, including Simolda and Pennine Cruisers.
Councillor Lucy Hovvels, Mayor of the Sedgefield borough, which includes Trimdon, said it was bad news for the area.
She said: "We are a small community, and we rely on small local companies like this to help generate income back into the area. "This is a real blow for this community, and the factory employs a lot of local people. "We rely on local businesses like this one helping the economy.
"We are all hoping there can be some solution soon, especially with it being so near Christmas."

John Flynn, Steelcraft's founder and owner, last night said he did not want to comment on the situation.

From 24Dash.com - News for the public sector and beyond:

A community group in a County Durham town was today celebrating after a new play space opened with help from a charity that funds regeneration projects in former coal mining areas.
A grant of £35,103 from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) has enabled the Skerne Play Park Association to pay for the first phase of the redevelopment of a playing field in Trimdon. The site has now been turned into a multi-use games area for the community.

The Skerne Play Park Association was formed by local parents who were concerned about the lack of a safe play space for children. The group is working with Trimdon Parish Council to develop the project, which has received support from the police, local schools and residents. The next phases will include the creation of a toddler and junior play area, a sensory garden and a seating area.

CRT trustee, Peter McNestry, said: "It is great to see a community working together to create a public space that residents of all ages will be able to enjoy, especially during this hot summer weather. "We congratulate the campaigners for their hard work and are delighted to be able to support their redevelopment plans."
The CRT supports community activists and voluntary groups working to improve facilities and opportunities for residents of coalfield areas.

From the Northern Echo website by Mike Amos

ALMOST 125 years after 74 men and boys died in the Trimdon Grange Explosion, villagers have been warned against marching in their memory on Durham Big Meeting day.
Police say that they won't supervise the traditional early morning parade through the village - a mile from Prime Minister Tony Blair's constituency home - nor any other local Big Meeting march unless road closure orders have been applied for.
Angry officials claim however, that when around 25 members of Real Fathers for Justice marched through the Trimdons on June 16, almost as many police officers - and the force helicopter - were deployed to supervise them. Employing a "road management" company would cost about £600.

"We've been told that it's illegal to march on the road and that we could lose our houses in the event of an accident and a compensation claim, but the march will go ahead no matter what they say," says one of the organisers.
"We lost 74 men at Trimdon Grange lodge in one shift, plenty more at other times, and now they're telling us that for a few minutes once a year we can't remember them in the way that we have for more than 100 years.
"We're only working lads trying to maintain the traditions of the Gala, but they're trying to put pressure on us by talking of losing our houses."

The explosion, immortalised in a song by Tommy Armstrong, occurred in the early hours of February 16, 1882. Almost every family in the village lost a close relative.
A heated meeting earlier this month between police, council officials and representatives of five former colliery communities in Sedgefield borough - Spennymoor, Ferryhill, Fishburn, Chilton and the Trimdons - was told that police had no powers to halt or re-direct traffic without a road closure order.

A Durham police spokesman said that banner parade organisers across the county had been invited to appear before their local safety advisory group - particularly since Heritage Lottery funds had become available to restore banners.
The spokesman added that, last year, marches were thought to have taken place without formal road closures. "Organisers would have been liable if there had been accidents, injury or even death. That remains true for any event where advice is not sought or followed."

The Real Fathers for Justice march was "a legitimate demonstration by a recognised pressure group" near the Prime Minister's home, say the police. "It was a one-off event, unlike the Miners' Gala which is a major annual public gathering."
Led by the Reg Vardy band playing Gresford - the miners' hymn - the Trimdon gathering will defiantly halt at 7.20am on Saturday, July 8, outside the Aged Miners' Homes before marching down the main street and then taking a coach to Durham.

"We've been told it will be illegal but it's definitely going ahead and that way we might get the police there after all," says the organiser, who has asked to remain anonymous.
"We've nothing against Fathers for Justice but it's crazy that they can come from all over Britain to march through Trimdon and we can't. The only way we won't march in memory of those lads is if they lock up every one of us."

Bank Top Stables Update
Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court today jailed Lee Howard, 39, of Douglas Street, Middlesbrough, for six months.He was charged after the RSPCA discovered animal remains at Bank Top Stables in Trimdon last May. Magistrates also banned him from keeping animals for life. 29-03-06

By SUN ONLINE REPORTER   ( www.thesun.co.uk )
A MAN who callously abandoned more than 30 animals at stables was warned today he faces jail.
Lee Howard cruelly left the animals to starve to death because he could not cope with what “life was throwing at him“. Horses, dogs, chickens and rabbits were condemned to a death sentence when Howard left them locked up in without food or water in filthy stables. Out of more than 30 animals only three dogs survived - by eating the remains of the others. RSPCA officials discovered the horrific scene at Bank Top Stables in Trimdon, Co Durham following complaints from neighbours about the smell and the noise of barking dogs.
Upon entering the premises they found the rotting remains of 13 horses, four dogs, 11 hens and a black and white rabbit, which had been left unattended for at least two months. There were also skulls of horses and other bones lying around the stable’s courtyard.
The scene was so gruesome that RSPCA and police were overpowered by the smell coming from the stables and maggots could be heard crawling over the carcasses of the dead animals.

Howard, a finance company worker, had denied one count of causing unnecessary suffering to all the dead animals and three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a rottweiler and two border collies by abandoning them at the stables.
On the morning of the 39-year-old’s trial at Bishop Auckland Magistrates’ Court he changed his plea and admitted all the charges. Prosecutor Kevin Campbell, for the RSPCA, told JPs that the animals were each housed in different stable blocks. “As each door opened an absolute horrendous and gruesome picture there was an animal, usually a horse, in various stages of decomposition,” he said. “The horses were clearly dead and had been there for some time. One of the police officers heard dogs eating and devouring the horses. “The smell was overpowering.” Mr Campbell then played the court the video the RSPCA made at the time of the grisly discovery. Howard, of Douglas Street, Middlesbrough, kept his head bowed throughout the 10-minute film.

“The smell in here is just unbelievable,” said Chief Inspector Neil Mitchell in a commentary accompanying the video. “As you can tell the smell in here is incredible. The maggots are everywhere.” A female voice in the background added: “That’s disgusting.”
Jane Scott, defending, said Howard had been suffered from depression and financial difficulties following the death of his mother and was in a “downward spiral“. She added: “He simply could not cope with what life was throwing at him and he simply walked away.”

Magistrates also heard that Howard had avoided a jail sentence in January after admitting fraud. He was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, when he pleaded guilty to four charges of making a false instrument and 10 of false accounting. Howard, a self-employed loan company worker, made up the names of clients to pocket thousands of pounds from his bosses.
The scam emerged after he was questioned in connection with the gruesome discovery at the stables.
He was also told by a judge at Teesside Crown Court to complete 200 hours’ community service and pay £2,195 in compensation and £200 court costs after pocketing £6,098. Chair of the bench Beryl Swinbanks told Howard he was facing a possible jail sentence.
“We have heard what has been said by the prosecutor and defence solicitor today,” she told him. “We are going to adjourn for a pre-sentence report as we feel we need to know more information about you.”

The maximum sentence for animal cruelty is six months jail. Howard was remanded on unconditional bail until sentencing on March 29 at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court. Speaking shortly after the discovery in June last year, RSPCA Inspector Mark Gent said: “When I got there, I smelt a terrible smell and knew there was something wrong and phoned the local police who attended and we broke in and found quite a shocking sight.
“I have smelt it before, sadly, but you know that smell and I knew instinctively there was something wrong. “I have never seen anything on this scale before.”

Northern Echo

CAMPAIGNERS in Prime Minister Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency have lost their fight against a wind farm they say could blight their lives.
Energy firm EDF has won its appeal against Durham City Council's refusal of permission to erect four 76-metre turbines between Town Kelloe and Trimdon Colliery.
Councillors rejected the scheme despite the recommendation of planning officers to grant approval.
That decision delighted the members of Trimdon Action Group Against Wind Farms, who were worried about possible subsidence, light flicker, noise, vibrations and the possible effects on people's health.
Mr Blair's agent John Burton wrote signalling support for the objectors.
Council officials said the turbines would not have a "significant visual impact". Council leader Fraser Reynolds said: "We do recognise that many people did have concerns about noise and visual impact around this scheme. We will now try to make sure that residents are kept informed of the various stages involved in developing this site by EDF Energy.
"At the end of the day all local authorities in this region have signed up to the Regional Spatial Strategy and sustainable energy generation is part of our own LA 21 agenda. Any planning application for alternative energy will be judged on individual merits, as this particular plan was."
A spokesman for the North-East Assembly, which drew up the Regional Spatial Strategy, said although the site was not specifically earmarked for wind power, it was identified as an area of "least constraint" where small development may be appropriate.
EDF welcomed the decision, saying the wind farm could supply the annual requirements of up to 3,333 homes.

The Durham Mining Museum permanent exhibition will open on Saturday July 2nd 2005
There will be a march with a band and some banners from The Crossways Hotel on the A181 (The very first meeting of miners which led to the formation of The Durham Miners Association was held in the field which is now The Crossways Hotel car park) to Thornley Community Centre.
Centrepiece of the museum is the alphabetical list of some 19,000 miners killed in the Durham Coalfield with a memorium book.
Timetable:
09.30 Meet up at The Crossways Hotel at the Thornley road junction on the A181 (Durham to Hartlepool road)
10.00 Band, banners and procession lift off (up to 13 banners expected)
10.45 Opening speeches at Thornley Community Centre
11.00 Museum open for inspection by invited guests
12.00 Buffet for invited guests, banner carriers and Mining Museum Members
13.00 to 16.00 Museum open to the public. Free entry. Donation box to help pay for heating & lighting.

It is hoped that 2 of the 3 NUM Production Bannerettes will be on display along with the painted panel of the 1892 "Bainbridges" Deaf Hill Banner which went to a private owner in the 1930s has re-appeared.
We hope the opening will be done by Ian Lavery the NUM Chairman.

Research group ACIA is trying to trace any surviving relatives of Sgt George Marshall, of Trimdon, who was killed on 1st March 1943 whilst serving with the RAF. George is buried in Trimdon Grange Cemetery and his parents were James and Alice Marshall, of Trimdon Village.
The group is researching wartime aircraft accidents and George's aircraft is one of them, having crashed onto remote moorland near Bellingham, Northumberland. The remains of the aircraft are hopefully going to be excavated later this year and are to go on display at the North East Aircraft Museum in Sunderland.  It is also hoped that a memorial will also be erected near the crash site. The main reason for tracing the relatives of Sgt Marshall is to invite them to the memorial unveiling should it come to fruition.

If you think you can provide any information, please get in touch.

by Chris Lloyd     Northern Echo

AS fields go, this is a famous one. It separates the Blairs' constituency home of Myrobella in Trimdon Colliery from the low community association hall in which they cast their vote.Labour Club, Trimdon : Photo from Associated Press

It's a puddly field, with water collecting in the dips of the football goalmouths.

For its big moment this year, the field had been cut. Clarts of matted grass clippings stuck to the shoes of the Blairs as, for the third time, their walk across the field was followed by live TV cameras and photographers from across Europe. In both May 1997 and June 2001, the council had allowed the grass in the famous field to grow. Buttercups and daisies gave it an attractive, pastoral feel.

This year, though, only a few dandelions survived the tyranny of the lawnmower. They kept yellow heads low until the blades had passed over and now they pushed upward.
In May 1997, on a blisteringly hot day, the three children did not reach Tony and Cherie's shoulders as they tripped breezily across the field as the nation joyfully turned to New Labour.
In June 2001, on a pleasantly warm day, it was a workmanlike walk. The boys, Euan and Nicholas, were big and confident, stepping out on their own. Only Kathryn clung shyly to her father's hand.
But then, in November 2003, what may yet be the defining moment of Mr Blair's premiership occured on this field.
Two giant Black Stallion Sikorsky helicopters landed in the goalmouth closest to Myrobella, bringing the Republican President George Bush to cement a friendship born in wartime.
And so, in May 2005, the walk across the field seems a little subdued.
"It's caad," notes an elderly woman of the weather change.
On the chilly wind drifts the clatter of a helicopter - "these are just toys, these helicopters", says a local who watched grown policemen blown over by the downblast of Mr Bush's choppers.
Cherie waves enthusiastically for the cameras, and brings Euan, now 21, and Nicholas, 19, into line for a tight picture. They are both voting for the first time. Kathryn, now 16, has stayed at home.
Tony - open-necked for the first time on polling day - just holds up a hand to acknowledge the photographers (their number is down, too, from 34 in 2001 to 22 yesterday).
"Rock on, Tony, man," shouts a voice from the small crowd.
And in these parts at least, Mr Blair is still extremely popular. "You shouldn't need to ask, we're all Labour round here," says an elderly lady, making her way on a stick and an arm to vote. She adds: "But some folks are funny - y'know, that Sedgefield lot." She waves her stick towards the more conservatively-inclined townlet down the road.
"I remember the big strike in 1926," says Nora Morgan, 86, who with her husband John, 84, a retired miner, has seen all the walkings and landings on the field these last eight years.
"I was seven years old and we ate in soup kitchens on Christmas Day. We can never let the Tories back in."
As the Blairs disappear behind the peeling green paint of the polling station, Evelyn Haupt arrives from Hanover, in Germany.
"I am a Tony fan," she says in the perfect English that she teaches to children back home. "I get butterflies in my stomach seeing him."
Pinned to her lapel are four handmade badges showing pictures of her meeting Mr Blair. She jiggles another handful in her pocket, and points to the one he signed at a Labour conference two years ago.
"I was amazed by his speech in front of Downing Street in 1997," she says. "I met him first when he was on holiday in France in 1997, and ever since I have met him once or twice a year.
"I like his politics - with the exception of Iraq, but that's over now. I like him because he's very intelligent, warm and honest."
Their votes cast, a dark green Jaguar sweeps the Blairs away. Tony is off to thank the party workers in Sedgefield; Cherie is off to the Catholic church in Trimdon village because it is Ascension Day.
Yesterday morning's polls suggested their votes would help Labour to a comfortable and historic third victory.
But for the field, anonymity rather than history beckons.

Mr Blair, who will step down as party leader before the next election. He will never walk this way as Prime Minister again

By Rod Minchin, PA

Prime Minister Tony Blair joined a credit union today as he began a series of engagements in his County Durham constituency.
Mr Blair, accompanied by his wife Cherie, started his day in Trimdon Village where he joined the local credit union.

As Mr Blair signed the official membership papers, he joked: “I can’t see what I’m signing, I haven’t got my specs on.”
His wife replied: “I’m a lawyer. You do not sign anything you haven’t read.”
The South West Durham Credit Union collects money each week from its members before giving out low interest loans to those that need it.
Later Mr Blair met children from St William’s Roman Catholic Primary School and Trimdon Village Infant School at a row of shops in the village, which the children have decorated for Christmas.

The Prime Minister was then officially launching the CBI-backed £6 million Aspire project that aims to plug the region’s skills gap.
He is also joining elderly constituents at a luncheon club Christmas dinner.
 

The Daily Record

A TV company sparked a bomb alert when they posted a pedometer to Tony Blair.

Tyne Tees Television sent the Prime Minister and other MPs the gadget, used to measure how far you have walked, as part of a fitness programme. The devices were sent to their home addresses, including Blair's house, Myrobella, in Trimdon, County Durham.

As the unmarked parcel was put through the X-ray machine used to scan all Blair's post, staff were horrified to see an image of a battery and a ticking clock face. The bomb squad were called in from Catterick, Yorkshire, to deal with what staff thought could be a terrorist explosive device.
A police spokesman said: 'After taking a look using their specialist equipment, they found the device was nothing more than a pedometer.
'They had been sent to the Prime Minister and other north- east MPs by a senior executive at Tyne Tees Television in a well-meaning bid to promote ITV's Britain On The Move campaign.'

Tyne Tees bosses were told that while Blair appreciated the sentiments, the next time they decided to send such a gift to the Prime Minister it was advisable to inform the police first.
A spokeswoman for Newcastle-based Tyne Tees said: 'We were advised that in Westminster there was a lot of interest shown in the campaign, so we sent a pedometer to all of our local MPs.

'It was during the summer recess so they went to the constituency addresses. We did get a call from Durham police asking to confirm that we had sent it.'
Experts believe adding extra steps to your daily total has many health benefits.

David Smith, The Guardian, The Observer, Sunday October 3, 2004

Blairs' new London address is a world away from constituency home in Durham

They may be sorry to leave the simplicity of village life and the bracing country air, but when Tony and Cherie Blair quit their constituency home for Connaught Square, central London, they will not be in want of shopping opportunities or celebrity neighbours.
The closest business to Myrobella - the former pit deputy's home in Sedgefield, Durham, bought by the couple in 1983 - is Lamb's Funeral Services. Little remains of what used to be called the High Street in Trimdon Colliery, a village given its name by a coal mine which closed in 1966.

PTS Timber & Hardware Supplies has seen better days, and few people are taking up the offer of freshly made sandwiches on the plastic board outside D&J Jordan Off-Licence & Grocer. The Style Studio has a sticker in its front window which says 'Exclusive Salon' - a claim that would have more credence if the weather-beaten sign had lost fewer letters.

Shopper Dorothy Elward, 56, said: 'There is nowt here. If I want to get some shopping in, I have to catch the bus to Hartlepool - that is, when they are running.'
The nearest shop of reasonable size is in Trimdon Village. The Blairs took a tour of the store when it opened, Cherie posing for the cameras with a bunch of bananas in her basket.

Last week the Blairs splashed out £3.6 million on 29 Connaught Square, a five-storey Georgian town house near London's Marble Arch. Affluent neighbours include Paul Oakenfold, the DJ and composer of the Big Brother theme, while Madonna and Stella McCartney live close by.
Blair need only nip around the corner, past six art galleries, to find the Iraqi-owned Le Chef restaurant, where Delia Smith once cooked and Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was a regular.
Its manager, Baghdad-born Haidar Alyassriy, said: 'Mr Allawi and all the present Iraqi government have come here since Saddam. We would like to invite Tony Blair from the first day he will be a neighbour. I respect what he did in Iraq. I am happy and I think 99 per cent of Iraqis in Britain feel the same.'

Should Carole Caplin fail to move in too, Cherie can choose from Ruth's Beauty Salon, Connaughts Hair & Beauty or, a short walk away, Daniel Galvin's. The pampering possibilities are endless, including aromatherapy, arasys inch loss, electrolysis, eyelash tinting, facials, thread vein removal and waxing.
If she gives up bargain-hunting on eBay, Cherie need only walk around the corner to Jimmy Choo Couture, where bespoke shoes can go for £900. Blair can toast the good times at Arturo, a new restaurant with more than a whiff of Granita about it. Amid the pristine white tablecloths and bare wood floor, the fare is distinctly more New Labour than Old.

General manager Paul Puglisi, from Sydney, said: 'If the Blairs come regularly, I'm sure we can always find room for them.'

Richard Dodd, a regional director of the Countryside Alliance;

Last week around 300 of us turned up outside Tony Blair's home in Trimdon Colliery, County Durham. We were shouting and blowing hunting horns ... Word came back that a few of us would be allowed in to speak to him and we had 20 minutes with him, talking about hunting over a cup of tea.
If we had written to him asking for a meeting we would have had no chance. Direct action clearly works and I think we will be doing more of it.
Original source :  www.guardian.co.uk    15/09/2004

Rise of the countryside militants shows despair at failure of lobbying
By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent,  16 September 2004

The violence and disruption that erupted both inside the House of Commons and on the surrounding streets yesterday reflects the growing militancy among small sections of the pro-hunting lobby.
It emerged last night that one of the five protesters who broke into the chamber of the House was Otis Ferry, the 21-year-old son of the musician Bryan Ferry. Mr Ferry, who has led the South Shropshire Hunt since May, has acquired a reputation as a high-profile, and at times radical, campaigner against the hunting ban. His mother, Lucy, Bryan Ferry's former wife, is also a supporter of the cause.
The former Etonian who abandoned his education to pursue his love of hunting, Mr Ferry has made no secret of the fact that he claims to be prepared to go to jail to defend the right to hunt. In an outspoken critique of the tactics used by the pro-hunting lobby, he has also said: "Its tactics have been too soft. We have to get the Government to notice us."
His own tactics have resulted in him getting increasingly noticed by the authorities. Mr Ferry was one of a delegation of five allowed to discuss the hunting issue with Tony Blair last week at his house in Trimdon, near Sedgefield, County Durham, after hundreds of protesters arrived at his doorstep.
Last year, Mr Ferry was arrested while attempting to place pro-hunting Countryside Alliance posters on the walls of the same building in Sedgefield in the early hours of the morning. He was released without charge.

Last night, one senior Countryside Alliance official who wished to remain anonymous, distanced the organisation from his actions and described how Mr Ferry represented a more radical wing of the pro-hunting movement.
"We're certain that Otis Ferry was one of the protesters arrested in the chamber," he said. "It wouldn't come as much surprise to anyone. We do not approve of what they did. They were clearly very well prepared and they had builders' gear and maybe even builders' passes."
The number of radical protesters breaking away from the mainstream Countryside Alliance has increased in the past three years, many forming splinter groups.

The most militant is the Real Countryside Alliance, or Real CA. The leader of the group, which has a small but growing number of supporters, is Edward Duke, a member of the Middleton Hunt in Yorkshire, who was, briefly, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance.
In an interview last year he warned: "When it comes to it, we will want to set fire to motorways and [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] offices. We can do naughty things."

Another more radical organisation is the Countryside Action Network (CAN), led by Janet George, a former press officer for the Countryside Alliance and the British Field Sports Society. She left the alliance six years ago after a clash with Mr Duke, who was the chief executive at the time. In the past, CAN has organised go-slow protests using tractors and farm vehicles on motorways across England and Wales.

The use of blockades reflects the growing crossover between countryside campaigners and those involved in the fuel protests in 2000.

Original source; http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=562191

This story is from The Sunday Sun / news.com.au network      Source: The Courier-Mail

'Plot' to kill Tony Blair thwarted
By Ben English in London
17 August 2004
 
BRITISH anti-terror authorities have foiled a suspected al-Qaeda plot to assassinate Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Police swooped on two Lithuanian asylum seekers believed to be spying on Mr Blair's home in his constituency in England's north.
The men were caught with hi-tech surveillance equipment less than a kilometre from Mr Blair's countryside home.
Sources said the pair raised alarm bells because they displayed the characteristics of al-Qaeda spying behaviour.
Using a stolen car fitted with false number plates, they filmed roads and traffic surrounding their alleged target and were carrying a highly-detailed map of the country area of Trimdon in County Durham.

"To dismiss these as nothing more than a couple of wandering foreigners out to see the British countryside is stretching it a bit," a security source told Britain's Daily Express newspaper.

Intelligence officials are reportedly working on the theory that the men had been hired by intermediaries to keep higher-ranking members of the terror cell at arms length.
"This is classic al-Qaeda behaviour, a textbook example of one way the terrorists would gather information about a possible target," the security source said.
"Video equipment like that wasn't normally the kind of gear you'd expect a hard-up asylum seeker to be carrying about.."
After their arrest, the Lithuanians were deported. Police said they were satisfied no security issues were involved.