After being asked this week to provide details about a small Teesdale school which closed 93 years ago, I was astonished to be able to talk to one of its former pupils, surely the only one still surviving.

The place of learning concerned was a sturdy timber shed put up beside the site of Grassholme reservoir, in Lunedale, when the job of creating it started in 1901. It was used by the children of workers until the project was completed in 1914, when it was removed along with other temporary buildings.

The ex-pupil is 100-year-old Ben Payne. He must have had a good grounding in his early classroom days as he can still complete a newspaper crossword every day at his home in Middleton-in-Teesdale.

He went to the school with his brothers, Ted and Charlie, because their father, William Payne, worked on the reservoir site. They lived in one of a collection of huts put up for workers and their families.

It became its own little township for the duration of the scheme, with some folk moving in from faraway places, including Ireland. Ben told me about going to the school, but confessed he couldn't remember a great deal about it. His family moved to Middleton well before the wooden school closed.

A retired quarryman and still a jovial character, he hit the headlines when he celebrated his 100th birthday in April this year, as he was born when his father was aged 57. The family feels the time covered by their two lives - 157 years so far - must be a British record.

His nephew, Bill Payne, a historian and retired teacher who also lives in the village, told me about his family's connection with the school.

He gave interesting details about the reservoir and school in a book on the upper dale published in 1999. One of the old living-in huts is still used as a storeroom.

People in the Bowes area will be looking in cupboards and attics next week for heirlooms they can take to an antiques roadshow in their village hall on Thursday.

There's a chance that some relics will prove valuable. Richard Edwards, of Addisons, will be the duty expert, giving his opinion and the possible worth of each item.

The event is in aid of St Giles Parish Church, which dates from Norman times and was largely rebuilt in 1865 at a cost of £1,500, part of which came from the sale of the old lead roof.

Christine Bracewell, whose husband, Andrew, is a churchwarden, has been urging villagers to look out possible treasures.

"I'm taking a 100-year-old Royal Doulton toby jug I got from my mother," she told me. "It'll be interesting to hear what Richard thinks of it. I hope we get lots of intriguing items."

Admission to the show, which starts at 7.30pm, is £2. Valuations will be given in return for a donation.

Many people were impressed when they saw Jenny Mott transforming a plain old shop into a gleaming takeaway in the centre of Barnard Castle. She scrubbed, sanded and painted the outside, then got busy inside with joinery tools to remove dated fittings and install a new counter plus modern equipment.

It was a remarkable piece of DIY - and the busy lady seems to be toiling even harder now that the new business has opened. Taking a short breather between serving tasty food, she reported that in her first week she worked 78 hours. "It was non-stop all the way, so I'm tired but delighted," she said.

She was helped during the decorating stint by her friend, Michelle Foster, who is now her valued cook. They are busy preparing meals well before the door opens at 7am, when full breakfasts are popular. Then there is rarely a second without customers in the place until it closes at 3pm.

Ms Mott worked for four years just along the road at the Crusty Loaf bakery shop, then had a brief spell over the road at Greggs. "But I always wanted to work for myself, so as soon as this shop became vacant I applied for it," she said. "It has cost about £12,000 to get it sorted out and equipped."

Her fiance, Bob Usher, is a partner in the venture and is delighted with the start she has made. There has been an increase in the number of cafes and takeaways in the town and before long there will be more competition from a new Costa Coffee shop. But Ms Mott seems to have hit on a winning formula.

A music group set up in Gainford by Peter Dransfield a few months ago is growing only slowly, but at least there are now enough participants to form a quartet. There are hopes that a handful more will join the sessions in the village hall, with no greater ambition than to have fun while playing tunes.

Mr Dransfield, a retired shoemaker, is a drummer who has played for years in a small rock band called Copycats. It was his idea to form the new group so that local musicians could get together on the first Wednesday of each month, at 8pm, just for the enjoyment of making music together.

The three who have joined him so far are Chris Allcock on guitar, Simon Day on saxophone and Owen Evans on keyboard.

"We just jam around with a bit of jazz and I think it sounds fairly good," said the genial founder. "But we would welcome a few more - any ability, young or old, any instrument. It's purely a fun thing. Anyone interested can just come along to our next session and see if they like it."