LEISURE bosses in Derwentside are hoping to attract more young people to summer activities, with the launch of a leaflet.

Stay in Touch This Summer features timetables on activities at leisure centres, plus details on coaching programmes for tennis, cricket and golf. There is also a list of day trips. The next is a visit to Whickham Thorns Centre next Tuesday, for activities including archery, mountain biking and climbing. Copies of the booklet are available from Belle Vue leisure centre, in Consett, and the Louisa Centre, in Stanley, or by contacting the leisure hotline, on (01207) 218014.

SCREEN COUP: Summer blockbuster movies are returning to two North-East cinemas. The Lamplight Arts Centre, in Stanley, and Empire Theatre, in Consett, have secured Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life as they go on general release in August. The cinemas, owned by Derwentside District Council, usually have to wait weeks before the biggest new films reach their screens, meaning movie fans have to either wait or trek to one of the bigger multiplexes. But a partnership with agent Nick Varley already secured blockbuster The Hulk for the movie houses and this builds on his success.

EXAM SUCCESS: Leisure centre staff are celebrating after passing exams in emergency first aid. Eight workers from the Belle Vue Leisure Centre in Consett are now qualified to use a defibrillator - swift use of which can save the life of a heart attack victim. The staff went on the course after people who use the centre donated £2,500 to buy the machine, through a series of fundraising events over the past 18 months. Centre manager Bobby Hewitson said: "We hold sessions here for people with heart disease or recovering from heart attacks, so it should make them feel safer."

FAIR DATE: Chester-le-Street Amateur Operatic Society will hold a summer fair on Saturday, in the town's Methodist Church, from 10.30am to 1pm. Proceeds will go towards the society's centenary production, Oklahoma, to be staged in November.

SPIRITUAL HEALING: The National Federation of Spiritual Healers is holding a healing session at the Shakespeare Hall, in North Road, Durham, on Saturday, from 1.30pm to 4pm. Sessions are staged every second and fourth Saturdays of the month.

NATURE WALK: Consett and Vale of Derwentside Naturalists' Field Club will meet on Saturday for a walk from Gilsland to Brampton. For further information, contact (01207) 506890, or 580918.

FANCY DRESS: A fancy dress competition will take place at the Mackays clothes store, in Front Street, Stanley, on Saturday, starting at 3pm.