Easington - Down Your Way

Easington Colliery Band members at the Victoria Palace Theatre where they performed in the last Billy Elliott the Musical in the West End. They are pictured receiving a cheque for East Durham Trust wich supports former mining communities.

It was an amazing and emotional experience for the band members to perform on the last night as they are an integral part of our mining heritage and community. Abide With Me played subtly in the background of Billy saying goodbye to his dead mum was brilliant. The original film was shot in and around Easington Colliery in 1999, an area which inspired the tale of a young boy who dances his way to a new future amidst the backdrop of the miners’ strike. Proceeds from the final West End show were donated to the East Durham Trust which supports former mining communities.

A charity night will be held in Easington Colliery Social Welfare Centre on Saturday from 7pm -11.30pm with the UK’s hottest new tribute band Elvis Nixon. Tickets are £4.The evening will include a raffle and bingo. Ring 5270635.

St Mary's Church in Easington is to host a bell-ringing competition.

Easington Village Women’s Institute will be holding its AGM in Seaton Holme on Monday, May 16, followed by a Beetle drive.

Hawthorn Annual Parish Assembly will be held at 7pm on Monday, May 16, in the community centre. It is an opportunity to go along and tell the Parish Council what it can do for you.

It’s a double success for Easington Colliery Primary School with both the boys’ and girls’ teams taking part in the English Schools’ Football Association Under-11s Nations Cup Final after winning their Northern Regional Heats. This is the first time any school has had two teams in the final of the prestigious competition, in the same year. The finals will take place at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Sunday, May 22. Various fundraising activities are planned to help subsidise the cost of the trip. The teams will visit a sporting venue on route to the Midlands, with an evening meal and overnight stay to follow before the big matches. More than 3,000 schools competed in the English leg of the world’s biggest football tournament for 10 to 12-year-olds.

A Royal British Legion 1940s charity evening dedicated to the sad loss of an old friend – Sergeant Paddy Fox BEM – will be held in Easington Colliery Social Welfare Centre on May 20. Tickets are £5 per person. Ring 07871343024, limited numbers are available on the door on the night. Money raised is in aid of veterans and their famines.

Hawthorn Parish Council has been successful in obtaining funding towards a defibrillator. This will be attached to the outside wall of the community centre. Watch out for details of training for all in how to use this extremely useful and important piece of equipment. It can save lives.

St Mary’s Church is very excited to have the honour of hosting a huge bell-ringing competition for Durham and Newcastle on Saturday in the afternoon – do listen out. From 1992 to mark the 800th Anniversary, the church increased the bells from three to eight thanks to various grants and donations. The peal of eight bells were rung for the very first time on May 26, 1994.

Dementia Awareness Minerva House (Hospital of God) will be at Healthworks holding a free dementia awareness event on Monday, May 16, from 1pm-3pm. All welcome to go along for information and questions.