Life on the ocean wave is clearly suiting Linda Pink, who is fondly remembered by countless people in Teesdale, thanks to her superb teaching methods.

She helped hundreds gain qualifications and launch first-rate careers before she stepped down as head of the Teesdale Training Centre just over a year ago.

When I met her on Wednesday she told of the rollicking time she and her husband Roger have enjoyed, sailing a 40ft yacht from Gran Canaria to St Lucia, in the West Indies.

The 3,000-mile voyage, with four others on board, took 21 days. Then they had a long sunshine holiday on the vessel.

Having flown back across the Atlantic, Linda was busy shopping, ready to fly to Spain yesterday to spend time at her parents' home. Soon she will move on to Gibraltar to link up with Roger, who is sailing the yacht back across the ocean via Bermuda and the Azores. The couple will relax for a while around the Med before sailing to Britain.

Many who profited from her tutoring skills will want to wish her fair weather in her adventures.

One of the artistic people at the Bowes Museum could perhaps dab two blobs of yellow paint on two AA signs that have been put up outside.

They have direction signs and the words "Major Wedding Dresse's Exhibition". It won't take long to make both apostrophes disappear.

Friends in the dale will be elated to hear that Lynne Bottomley has won the North East round of a talent show for the over-60s and will sing in the national final in Southport on July 30 before an audience of 2,000.

She was best known here as the outstanding producer of Mad Mads shows, but when she took to the stage herself she could captivate any audience - as could her husband Rob, a notable actor as well as a baritone.

The couple ran the Strathmore Arms at Holwick and later lived in Middleton before moving to Saltburn. Lynne, or Rose, as she is sometimes known, is certain to impress in the final.

Following the note here about the decrepit state of Lartington Hall, it is only fair to add that it has now been restored and probably looks more graceful than at any time in its 400-year history.

This is thanks to Robin and Claire Rackham, who moved in when other attempts to find a saviour had failed.

With water pouring in and parts in danger of collapse they were warned by their solicitor Frank Stephenson that only a fool would take on the hall. But the couple put their energy into restoring it and now deserve the opulence in which they live.

Robin did valuable work as leading light of a preservation trust which renovated other derelict properties and put them back to full use.

His efforts will benefit Teesdale for generations to come but he never seemed to get the official recognition to which he was entitled.

I was lucky enough to win a TV set this week - a Sony 32in pure-flat designer Nicam stereo wide-screen model worth £1,200. I hadn't even entered a competition.

A priority letter from Express Forwarders in Holland said I had been selected as a recipient. But hold on - smaller print gave the news that I might not get the TV after all, but could instead be sent a mini hi-fi CD player or a genuine CZ tennis bracelet, whatever that is.

All I had to do to find out which was forward a nominal transfer fee of £24.95. So the letter went the way of other junk mail, into the bin. But while writing this column I realised I was telling only half the story, so I retrieved the letter and sent a cheque.

This means I'll be able to report later developments for the sake of anyone else who receives a similar letter. Is this what's called cheque book journalism?

How long would it take these days to lift a 12-ton boulder from the River Tees at Winston and move it ten miles? Perhaps four hours? A scrap of paper that has turned up shows the job took four days, dawn to dusk, in 1901. Eight men with a cart and horses struggled to shift it to Darlington, where it still stands at the Feethams entrance to South Park. It was put there in memory of Dr R Taylor Manson, who often wrote about natural history in The Northern Echo. Sadly, a metal plaque with an inscription about him has been stripped from the stone in modern times.

* I can be contacted on Mondays and Tuesdays at the Echo office, 36 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, tel 01833-638628 or any time on mobile 07986-459320.