Sedgefield sombre before Bush visit

Police erected barriers and checked gardens and side streets, as villagers, who had been asked to remove their cars, walked their children to school.

But there were no flags, no bunting and not even a few extra flowers to welcome the President.

Signs in some pub and shop windows announced: "No protestors. No press."

Posters put up in the windows of some homes said simply "Stop Bush."

One of those homes belongs to counsellor and psychotherapist Peter Cook, who lives close to the Dun Cow Inn, where President Bush and Mr Blair would later dine with invited guests.

Mr Cook, 57, said he hoped there would be a huge protest but he did not expect Bush or Blair to listen.

He said: "It is the electorate who will take notice of the protests here today and this is an opportunity for us to send a message to America that they should wake up to the impact of their nation's foreign policy on the rest of the world.

"Far from fighting terrorism it is creating terrorism as we have seen in Istanbul. Would that have happened had this visit not been taking place. "I suspect we would still have had a consulate there today had it not.

"If you reduce the poorest communities in the world to rubble you leave them with nothing else but to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs.

"This visit has simply been a very expensive photo shoot for Bush's election campaign.

"But look around there are no flags, there is no bunting, no fresh flowers planted. It feels more like a memorial service to the dead of many nations."

Veteran Greenham Common protestor Jane Orton, an adviuce centre manager who is in her fifties, said the terror attacks in Turkey had stiffened her resolve against Bush and Blair.

The grandmother of five had travelled to Sedgefield from her home in Stockton to protest.

She said: "I wept when I watched the news last night, I could not help myself.

"I had planned to bring with me a banner which read "Bush kiss my Bush" but I decided that was inappropriate so instead I brought one that said 'Jesus wept'."

Grandfather Bill Prest, 72, a retired chief foreman at Fishburn Cokeworks, video-taped the visit for posterity.

He said: "I am going to senmd this to my family in Australia, they would not believe it, everyone says sedgefield is a sleepy little village. It certainly isn't today.

"It was a sleepy village in 1937 when Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales, visited but I think it is a good thing everyone is allowed to have their say today and speak their mind.

"This is a free world and I think that is the point of the protests today." Around 200 protestors, many of them students from Durham University, gathered on the village green in Sedgefield to protest against the Bush visit.

They were kept behind barriers, erected next to St Edmund's Church around 150 yards from the Dun Cow.

Plans were laid to bring the Bush cavalcade into the bottom end of the village, which was cordoned off, to avoid bringing him anywhere near the protests. In Trimdon Colliery one family who should have been eagerly anticpating Mr Bush's arrival were spending the day in mourning.

Labour party stalwart Owen Willoughby died of a heart attack just a day before he was due to dine with the president and Mr Blair.

His family believe the excitement of the meeting may have proved too much for the 84-year-old great grandfather.

He had known for 24 hours that he would be one of a select group invited to join the US President and Tony Blair for a lunch in Sedgefield, Co Durham.

In response to the invitation Mr Willoughby, a staunch defender of both Bush and Blair, decked out his home in the stars and stripes.

He was sworn to secrecy about the dinner date, only telling his closest family.

But their pride was quickly replaced by anguish as Mr Willoughby suffered an apparent heart attack at his home in Trimdon Colliery, just yards from Mr Blair's constituency home Myrobella.

After being taken ill at 4am on Thursday he was rushed to Hartlepool General Hospital where he died with his family around him.

Mr Willoughby and wife Joan, 74, had been overjoyed to receive the call to the lunch from Mr Blair's constituency secretary John Burton.

It was seen as a reward for his unstinting devotion to the Labour Party and Mr Blair, who he had known since 1982 - a year before he became Sedgefield's MP.

Mr Willoughby was also well known in the football world, having been a scout with Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace and a close friend of former England manager Terry Venables.

His son-in-law George Elliott, a 49-year-old taxi company boss, said: "Owen was so looking forward to his dinner with president Bush, it is cruel he has been robbed of that chance.

"He was a great supporter of President Bush and was incredibly excited at getting the opportunity to meet him and be at his table.

"Everyone in the family is wondering whether it was the excitement of that meeting that led him to have what seems to have been a heart attack.

"He had had some heart problems in the past but there had been nothing for a lot of years.

"He was so proud at being invited to this lunch and rightly so - it is a huge honour."

The Dun Cow, where the two leaders were to entertain their guests, had a new kitchen fitted for the occasion.

The 200-year-old inn is Mr Blair's favourite local pub, where he also entertained French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in 1998.

Legend has it that the name the Dun Cow can be traced back to the story of St Cuthbert who was a famous monk and priest who had a special gift for healing and whose final burial place was determined by a lost cow which stood upon Dunholme - now the site of Durham Cathedral.

Sedgefield village, which has a population of 5,000, gives Mr Blair's constituency its name.

It also takes in the new town Newton Aycliffe and many surrounding villages, including the four Trimdons, Grange, Station, Village and Colliery.

The surrounding villages all grew up as a result of coal mining although the pits have been closed for 20 years or more.

New light industries have taken the place of coal. Sanyo make microwave ovens, Fujitsu make semi conductors, Flymo make garden products and Tallent Engineering make chassis for the car industry.

Tony Blair has been MP for the constituency, which has an electorate of 64,923, since 1983.

Early histories stress Sedgefield's position both scenically and for its restorative properties.

It was described in 1821 as being "one of the finest situations in the country, standing proudly upon a swell of gravely ground, open to every aspect and remarkable for the health and longevity of its inhabitants."

The celebrated Dr Askew - a famous 18th century Harley Street doctor - called Sedgefield the Montpellier of the North and frequently recommended his recovering patients to visit.

A market was first held in front of the churchyard in 1312, when Bishop Kellaw granted it a charter, until 1918. The history of the church can be traced back a long way.

Official records show that in 915AD, Cutheard, Bishop of Chester-le-Street, purchased the village with church money.

According to local legend visiting hunstmen of the past used to claim that "there are only three towns in the world worth living in, and they are London, Paris and Sedgefield." Horse racing also dates back as far as 1732 in the town.

Legend has it that the name the Dun Cow can be traced back to the story of St Cuthbert who was a famous monk and priest who had a special gift for healing and whose final burial place was determined by a lost cow which stood upon Dunholme - now the site of Durham Cathedral.