Born And Bred (BBC1)

IT'S a good thing Tom's coming back tomorrow," they kept saying in the small Lancashire village of Ormiston throughout the first episode of the new series.

Those familiar with dramas like Born And Bred will have recognised that words like this translate as Tom's not coming back tomorrow, or any other day.

Eagerly awaiting the return of a regular character can only mean that the opposite will happen because (a) the actor playing the role has left the series or (b) the producers have decided to boost ratings by killing off a popular character.

Dr Tom's failure to return home from visiting relatives in New Zealand isn't the only change. The 1950s-set Born And Bred has been evicted from its comfy Sunday evening slot and moved into the bright lights of Wednesday peaktime. I fear it may not survive among the more aggressive dramas and reality TV overload of the weekday schedules.

An awful lot happens despite Ormiston giving the impression of being a sleepy sort of place. Or not, in the case of newlyweds Eddie and Jean, who are finding living with her stationmaster father Wilf is cramping their style in the bedroom.

"This isn't a marriage, it's an exercise in frustration," fumed Eddie as he suffered another instance of coitus interruptus.

All the tension left him unable to perform and with a keen interest in trains. "The 1.13 from Manchester waits 20 minutes in the station and becomes the 1.33 to Cleethorpes," said Eddie. Those 20 minutes meant Wilf couldn't leave the station, thus leaving the coast clear for a spot of nooky.

They decided to move out of the house and into a room in the pub. Eddie dreaded telling Wilf of their plans. "Just stand firm, whatever he says," Jean advised her husband, who wouldn't have needed to move if he had taken a firm stand in the first place.

It emerged that father Wilf had been deliberately keeping the couple apart to win a bet that his daughter wouldn't get in the family way.

Fathers got a bad press all round. Widower William kept his teenage son and daughter, Abel and Amy, under lock and key. "He's not a father, he's a jailer," declared Abel.

The new doctor arrived on a motorbike to organise a walk-in blood bank, which sounds like somewhere Count Dracula would have an account. It was handy once it was revealed that Abel was a haemophiliac, or perhaps people called him a little bleeder for other reasons.

Seeing Richard Wilson in a white coat - as Ormiston's Dr Donald Newman - made me worry for the locals' health so soon after the actor played another medic in the most recent Doctor Who story, where he turned into a gas mask-wearing zombie.

Mothers too were put in their place. Deborah, Dr Tom's soon-to-be-widow, took far too much interest in other people's affairs, according to her daughter. "We're supposed to be your job, not the hospital," she was told.

Inessa Galante and the Rotterdam Opera Choir, Durham Cathedral

THE splendour of the cathedral, coupled with an international ensemble of performers bringing their talent to the North-East was an opportunity not to be missed. The coldness of the venue and discomfort of the pews was more than made up for by the free commemorative cushions that The Children's Foundation had made available for everyone to take home.

The choir and Galante commenced with an outstanding performance of Casta Diva from Norma by Bellini, followed by a selection of Donizetti pieces by the choir and bass Edmund Toliver.

The second half included a captivating solo by Han Louis Meijer - Prelude by Rachmaninov, Summertime by choir and Galante and a rich and powerful rendition of I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' by Toliver from Porgy and Bess.

Regina Coeli from Cavaleria Tusticana by Mascagni was totally magnetic and earned a standing ovation, producing encores of Ave Maria by Caccini, Va Pensiero by Verdi from Nabucco and Ol' Man River from Showboat by Hamerstein. Conductor Ago Verdonschot, also a tenor, teamed up with Galante for the final piece of Libiamo from La Traviata, bringing a humorous flavour to delight the spellbound audience. One could scarcely have imagined the heights that diminutive and stylish Galante could have reached with her hauntingly beautiful voice. And the gentle giant of 6ft 7ins Edmund Toliver added so much to the atmosphere.

But the night must go to the 100 strong Dutch choir, who clearly enjoyed every minute of their experience.

Joan Lloyd

Triple Band Showcase, Mickleton Village Hall

TV's Paul Daniels may be playing Mickleton Village Hall this June, but the end of May saw a three-band showcase of the region's up and coming musicians producing their own kind of magic.

First up were 2 Crows, a gentle acoustic three-piece from Teesdale, telling us it was their first ever gig. Well if that's true then it hardly showed as Kate, Colin and Ray took us through smoothly sung covers mixed with their own songs. Singer Kate Brown captivated the audience with her haunting vocals.

Next were The Good, a band originating from Australia and now living in Danby. The Mickleton gig followed the band's full UK tour and their experience really showed as incredible musicianship and wonderful vocal range had feet tapping and wild applause after every song.

The headliners for the night were the TCR Blues Band coached by Andrew Yeadon. The 11 members are all in their teens, so it is astonishing to see how relaxed they all were on stage and how professionally they took us through some much loved classics.

Colin Robinson