A six-week basketball training course for girls in years eight and nine at Hartlepool schools will be held every Wednesday from November 13 to December 18 at the town's Brierton Community Sports Centre.

The course is being developed by Hartlepool Borough Council's sports development team. It is hoped the sessions will lead to the formation of a girls' basketball club. The full course costs £9. Places must be booked by calling (01429) 284052.

FRENCH POLISH: Beginners courses in watercolour painting, yoga and French polishing begin in Redcar in mid-November. For details, call (01642) 475397 or (01642) 490409.

LANGUAGE COURSE: A course in Italian for people who have already learnt some of the language is available in Redcar. The classes will take place on Mondays from 4pm and start on November 11. For details phone (01642) 490409 or (01642) 475397.

BEAST AND BEAUTY: A new exhibition called Maskerade has opened at Cleveland Craft Centre at Gilkes Street in Middlesbrough. The exhibition features a wide range of masks by international artists and designers and was first shown at the Gallerie Ra in Amsterdam. Cleveland Craft Centre is open from 10am to 5.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday.

T-SHIRT COMPETITION: The Asda store in Thornaby is giving its younger customers the chance to design their spooky T-shirt. The winner will receive a £10 gift voucher and also have the chance for their winning entry to be printed on their own T-shirt. Entry leaflets are available from the store's customer service desk. Closing date is November 7.

BOOK EARLY: Anyone interested in taking a stand at the annual Stockton Christmas craft fair is being invited to come forward. This year's fair will be held at Billingham Art Gallery, Billingham town centre, from November 30 to December 7. There is a small fee for the stand for the week and exhibitors will be expected to be present throughout the fair. Anyone interested should call Paul Lake for details or a booking form on (01642) 397590.

FLOWER POWER: More than 1,000 woodland bulbs, including snowdrops and bluebells will be planted by local people at Stainton Quarry on Sunday to celebrate the site's new status as Middlesbrough's first local nature reserve.