Any man or woman seeking regular exercise mixed with a spot of fun could do worse than have a go at border morris dancing with Teesdale's own acclaimed team, Black Sheep.

Those taking up the pastime are guaranteed to get rapidly fitter as they clack their clogs, rattle their sticks and wave their hankies to traditional folk music at fairs and festivals, including one in France.

Team leader Karen Tranter tells me she is hoping to enrol some enthusiasts for the coming season.

Her husband, Roy, who like her has been stepping around merrily for 15 years, is now the foreman, with the task of teaching newcomers the movements.

Black Sheep's official colours are black, emerald green and yellow, but members can add others as they customise their own coats they way they want.

Musicians who can play accordians or concertinas will also be welcome.

The team visits a festival at Poix de Picardie, in France, each May and has also performed in Wales and Scotland as well as all over the North.

Anyone aged 18 or over who is interested can turn up at the Witham Hall on Wednesdays at 8pm or call Mrs Tranter on 01833-638288.

"We all have really good fun and I'm sure everyone taking part gets fitter," she said.

"There is a good spirit between the various teams. Everyone is welcome to have a go and see if they enjoy it before joining the team."

As gales howled around St Mary's Parish Church in Barnard Castle last week the vicar, the Reverend Alec Harding, was faced with a dilemma - whether to leave the St George's flag fluttering fiercely at the top of the square tower or send someone up to remove it.

"I knew there was a danger of the flagpole breaking if we left the flag flying," he told me.

"But I also realised that anyone who went up to remove it would be in a lot of personal danger. So the flag had to stay there."

The inevitable happened. The fibre glass pole snapped in two while the large flag, which cost £70, was ripped to shreds.

The vicar then discovered that there are only two firms in the country that supply and fit new flagpoles.

But luckily one of them is near at hand - Harrison Brothers, the steeplejacks in Borough Road, Darlington, who now have the job in hand.

"We don't know the total cost yet, but I hope we are covered by insurance," said Mr Harding.

"I always like to fly the flag for the 12 days of Christmas, but it's doubtful if I'll do so next winter."

Among the many interesting relics on display at Meet the Middletons, the heritage exhibition that traces the history of the upper dale, are a pair of dainty little clogs handed over by Maurice Tarn, who tells me they were first put to use nearly a century ago.

They fascinate many visitors, who wonder if they were ever real pieces of footwear or were just display models, perhaps on show in a cobbler's window.

"I wore them as a toddler," said 75-year-old Mr Tarn, a retired farmer. "But they were second hand when they were given to me. My father, who was born in 1903, wore them for a while when he was a toddler, and they were kept in the house until I came along."

The clogs, with leather tops and wooden soles, were the type worn by many children in the dale in decades gone by.

"This pair must have had a lot of use, because segs have been hammered in on parts of the soles that were worn down," he added.

* I'll be glad to see anyone who calls with snippets of news at The Northern Echo office at 36 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, on Mondays and Tuesdays, telephone (01833) 638628.