A show for people with learning disabilities will take place in Hartlepool on Thursday.

The Big, Big Show will take to the stage from 7pm to 10.30pm at the Town Hall Theatre, in Raby Road, with a line-up of local and national talent. Hartlepool's Roaring House Drama Group will perform two pieces about the everyday lives of disabled people, Shout Your Mouth Off will screen its comedy/horror production described by Channel 4 as a gore-fest, and Get Off Our Backs, a Tyneside theatre group, will present new material. The evening will be rounded off by young comedian Laurence Clark, with his take on what he describes as the patronising world of television charity appeals. Admission is free. For details, call Karen Sheader on (01429) 523440.

BACK BEAT: The musical group Jump Back Georgia will perform Appalachian music at The Ann Charlton Lodge, in Redcar, on Wednesday, September 3 at 7.30pm, in aid of the east Cleveland branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Tickets cost £2. There will also be a raffle.

ORGAN SHOW: Organist Chris Powell will play the Wurlitzer at James Finegan Hall, Eston, at 2.30pm on Sunday. Admission is £2.50, £1.50 for concessions, at the door. There will be a raffle in aid of the Langbaurgh Theatre Organ Society.

CLIFFORD'S DAY: A 28ft inflatable dog took to the sky above Stockton yesterday. The inflatable Clifford The Big Red Dog, from the TV children's channel Cbeebies, came to the Big W store in Stockton as part of a fun day at the children's shop.

GIVE BLOOD: There will be a blood donor session at St Michael's Centre in Norton, near Stockton, tomorrow, from 3pm to 7pm.

LIFEBOAT RESCUE: The Teesmouth All Weather Lifeboat rescued six people stranded on a fishing coble off the Redcar coast yesterday. The coble, named the Heather, had a mechanical failure about a mile east of the South Gare breakwater. The lifeboat was alongside the fishing boat within 13 minutes of being launched and towed the boat back to port.