100th Birthday
Anthony Greathead, of Dunelm Road, Trimdon Village – better known as ‘Anty’, was100 years old on 16th December 2015, and must be one of the oldest surviving miners in our area. He is still in good mental and physical shape apart from industrial deafness.
Read the Northern Echo article here.

Armed Forces Award
Cllr Lucy Hovvels, Durham County Council’s armed forces champion, was presented with a silver award by the Ministry of Defence through its Defence Employer Recognition Scheme by Brigadier Jez Strickland, Commander 4 Infantry Brigade. Details here.

Ronald Hamilton  (1936-2015)
Ron was born and raised in Trimdon and has very recently died and been cremated in Cornwall. A memorial service will be held for him in St Mary’s Church in West Rainton on Tuesday 10th November at 2.30pm.

Remembrance Sunday – Sunday 8th November 2015
The annual Act of Remembrance and wreath laying for the Trimdons will take place at 6pm on Sunday 8th November in St Mary Magdalene Church, Trimdon Village. The service is organised by the Royal British Legion Trimdon Branch and will be led by The Rev. Michael Thompson. All are welcome to come along and remember the 269 Trimdon men who have died on active service since 1914. Once again this year has added poignancy as we continue to mark the centenary of the Great War.

Armistice Day – Wednesday 11th November
Two minutes silence in memory of the men who gave their lives in the Great War, a century ago, will be observed across the Trimdons on Wednesday 11th November. We especially remember the 198 men from the Trimdons and Deaf Hill who lost their lives. All are welcome to attend.
Trimdon Village
10:55am – St Mary Magdalene Church, Village Green. Prayers and silence at the war memorial in church.
Trimdon Grange
10:55am – War Memorial inside the Cemetery, Northside Buildings. Prayers and silence at the war memorial.
Trimdon Colliery/Station/Deaf Hill
10:45am – Memorial Gardens, Wingate Road. Short Service organised by Trimdon Foundry Parish Council with prayers, silence and wreath laying.

Schools Amalgamation
The community consultation meetings about the proposed Trimdon Schools merger for Trimdon Village Infants and Trimdon Village Junior school will be held on Monday night at 6pm at Trimdon Village Infants School – one combined meeting for both schools. Trimdon Grange Nursery & Infants School is on Tuesday 10th November at 6pm. We would strongly encourage all parents, carers, families, past pupils, governors and concerned residents to attend the meetings to listen to the proposals and ask any questions they have. Now is the time to have your say about what is best for the children & the community.

EVOLUTION FOOTBALL COACHING
Mark Watson will be holding coaching sessions at: Trimdon Community College  for 3-6 year old boys and girls. This will be indoors or outdoors depending on weather, so please bring appropriate footwear for both. 5.15pm – 6.15pm on Mondays. For more details call Gary on 07967 249533 for booking and info. (September 2015)

Ex-Bowling Club Members
Trimdon Royal Albion FC are currently trying to give the changing facilities at Trimdon Station Recreational Area a make over, and this involves clearing out the existing clutter and rubbish. However, quite a lot of old bowling equipment and trophies is amongst this. If these aren’t claimed very quickly then they will have to be thrown away. Please contact jojobin@hotmail.co.uk if these may be yours, or you know who owns or wants them. (August 2015)

Deaf Hill Banner Group
David and Christine Chaytor are stepping down as Chair and Treasurer of the Banner Group. Full details here.

Rogue Traders
Residents are being warned to be on their guard against rogue traders after a string of reports of doorstep crime – details here.

Trimdon to London Cycle Ride
A non-stop bike ride from County Durham to London has raised well over £4,000 so far for a council chairman’s charity. An intrepid team of five completed the 270 mile run from Trimdon to Vauxhall, non-stop in 23 hours and 28 minutes. More details here.

Fundraising Charity Bags Stolen
DANCE IT LIVE IT, a local dance school, had over 40 charity bags stolen, losing fundraising towards their Christmas Show and competition costs. Details here.

Dance It, Live It
Sophie Johnson’s dance school scooped a collection of awards at The World Championships dance competition in Blackpool Winter Gardens at the end of June 2015 and then the Week after successfully competed at Wolverhampton at The ICON Championships. Story and photos here.

Queen’s Birthday Honours
Lucy Hovvels, Councillor at Durham County Council, awarded the MBE for public service on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list – full article in the Chronicle.

Tackling environmental crimes
More than 80 people have been left counting the cost of committing environmental crimes in County Durham last month (May). Details here.

Durham Miners Gala (11th July 2015)
Trimdon Grange Banner will be starting at Galbraith Terrace at 7.15am and will be accompanied by the Harrogate Band.It will also be accompanied by Channel 4 and Turner-Prize winner Grayson Perry CBE as part of a documentary of the Gala.The bus leaves Hopper Tce at 7.50am, bus fare is only £3 return.
Once again Deaf Hill Banner group is providing a free bus to this years Gala for the residents of Deaf Hill and Trimdon Colliery. Leaves Trimdon Station Community Centre at 7.45am and returns at 3pm. Contact Jim Robinson on 01429 880584 or Paul Connor on 07727987646 to book your seat. First come first served!

Trimdon to London Cycle Ride
On 20th June 2015 Peter Brookes is tackling the most ambitious cycling challenge that he has ever undertaken. Together with four other cyclists, he is attempting to ride non-stop the 270 miles from Trimdon to London, hopefully within 24 hours! It’s a big ask – he has been training hard and it’s going to be tough, but it is for the worthwhile cause of The North East Autism Society (NEAS). Mr. Brooke’s old friend John Philipson is the chief Executive of NEAS and he is also doing the ride.
Please support them and dig deep for a very important organisation that is helping people with a condition that affects so many people across the Country. You can donate through the ‘Just Giving’ website on the link below.
https://www.justgiving.com/TeamNEAS/

Make Your Own Compost
Residents in County Durham are being urged to turn household waste into food for their garden by making compost – info here.

Under-Age Sales
Durham County Council’s enforcement programme for 2015-16 sets out how it plans to tackle sales of age-restricted products such as alcohol, tobacco, spray paint containers, videos and DVDs and fireworks. Details here.

Victory Medal
After an appeal for information online and in the Northern Echo, this 1st World War Victory medal was reunited with family descendents. Update in the Northern Echo.

House Letting Rules
Letting agents in County Durham are being advised of changes to the law relating to the information they must provide at their premises and on websites. Details here.

Volunteer Befrienders
The Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) is looking for volunteers from Bowburn, Coxhoe, Trimdon, Fishburn, Kelloe and Sedgefield areas to help with a project aimed at improving the health, wellbeing and quality of life for local people. Full details here.
One particular Health Buddy story is outlined here, including a video interview.

Health Trainer
Elliott Snowball is our local Health Trainer who has been extensively trained to help people wanting to improve their general health and to help make healthier choices, and can be contacted via Trimdon Grange Community Centre. (tgcc2014@gmail.com)
Health Trainers provide FREE confidential one-to-one support & guidance to people over 16 years of age who want to make a lifestyle change These can include;
Support , Encouragement and Motivation, Giving you the tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle
Positive long term life style changes
Accessing local services/ reducing stress
Free Health Checks
Healthy Eating / weight loss, Physical Activity
Giving up smoking, Cutting down on alcohol

Memorial Gardens
This Saturday 6th June 2015 the memorial garden at Trimdon Station will be officially opened and dedicated to the Miners and the Servicemen who lost their lives in the course of their work/duty.The Brass Band will be playing and there will be Deaf Hill Banner and the DMA Area Banner as well as the secretary of the DMA Mr David Hopper in attendance. All welcome 2pm-4pm. For further details please contact Cllr Carole Bell on 07773 200 104 or carole.bell@talktalk.net

Litter Fines
One hundred people have received fixed penalty notices (FPNs) after being caught littering, issued during February by Durham County Council. A further six people received FPNs for failing to pick up after their dogs and council neighbourhood wardens also dealt with 189 stray dogs during February.
Six FPNs were also given to people who failed to comply with litter clearing notices in relation to untidy yards or gardens. Residents are reminded that they can take household waste to their nearest recycling centre and can arrange for bulky waste collections by contacting the council. To arrange a bulky waste collection people can contact Durham County Council on 03000 26 1000.

New Computer Classes
Computer classes for those who want to learn from scratch will be held every Thursday from 5th March at 1pm in the Community House, May Crescent. Only £1 per session. Tel 01429 882413 or 01429 880025 for more details,

Foundry Parish Notice
Residents of the parish are still aggrieved with a minority or dog owners who allow their dogs to foul in public areas. Free dog bags are available at the Community Centre at Station Road for residents of the parish. Please use this service and help to keep our environment clear from this dreadful practice. Clean up after your dog with free dog bags and bin it in the nearest bin!

Church Roof Repair    (26/3/15)
St Mary Magdalene Church in Trimdon Village is among those to benefit from the Government’s Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund, receiving £46,600. Reverend Michael Thompson, of the Parish of the Upper Skerne in Trimdon, said the church would not have been able to carry out vital repairs without the grant.
He said: “A lot of hard work went into the application by church members and the wider community and everyone is delighted.The roof needs an awful lot of work doing to it to stop water running into the timbers.This is the first phase in a series of repairs to preserve it for future generations.”

Garden Waste Reminder
Residents are reminded to sign up to the garden waste scheme this month to ensure they receive all collections this year. For an annual fee of £20, householders will receive fortnightly collections from their property between spring and autumn. You can join the scheme at any time during the year but to receive all 16 collections in 2015 you should sign up by 1 February. These will start in March for those signing up by this date. More info at http://www.durham.gov.uk/gardenwaste