THERE was delight among many young people this week when it was agreed that a youth club can be relaunched in Mickleton after an unhappy interval of about a year.

It closed when the previous leader moved away and there was a lack of local adults willing to lend a hand.

Now an energetic pair of qualified leaders, Sally Easton and Kylie Neilson, have been recruited to take over and are looking forward to starting the action next week.

A taster session was held in the village hall on Tuesday, to gauge the interest. The weather was appalling so it was feared the attendance might be poor, but this proved to be far from true.

A pleasing number of boys and girls arrived to hear what was on offer, and seven adults turned up to say they were willing to give assistance regularly.

Stan Walinets, vice-chairman of the village hall association, said: "We were delighted about all this enthusiasm.

"It was sad when the club closed after going for about ten years since the hall opened, but it is wonderful that it can now get under way once more."

It will be in operation every Tuesday from 7pm to 8.30pm, with a range of activities to keep all the young ones happy. County education officials were helpful in finding the leaders.

STANLEY WHITE, a retired mechanic from Tyneside, called this week to say he remembered eating some delicious eggs from Teesdale about 70 years ago.

A big packing case of them was sent by the children of Harwood School to help hard-up families.

"I was little more than a toddler when my mother was supplied with half a dozen eggs," said Mr White.

"She gave me two of them soft boiled with toast soldiers, and what a treat that was.

"They were very welcome in our family in South Shields during the awful depression of the Thirties."

He believes the collection was organised through The Northern Echo's Nignog Club, which encouraged its young members to do good deeds for less fortunate people.

Pupils of Harwood School, the most remote in the dale before it closed in 1947, took part in a lot of kind efforts.

They and others in the area apparently sent regular supplies of eggs to Tyneside, along with toys and small sums of money to help shipyard families. Anyone who took part in these efforts will be pleased to know that they are still remembered.

A NUMBER of local residents were worried when a notice was put up beside a little wood at Orchard Brae, Barnard Castle, concerning the Woodland Trust's proposals for dealing with it in the coming years.

Was something dire about to happen to the copse?

The notice indicated that details could be studied at the town's public library. Several people called there to read the document, but they must have been satisfied because nobody made any comment to Gary Haley, the woodland officer named on the notice.

Mr Haley, who is based at Sedgefield, said: "All we mean to do is thin out a few of the trees, tidy up a bit, and maintain the paths and entrances.

"It is just a case of looking after the little wood, as it is our duty to do."

His patch includes some large areas of trees in County Durham. Orchard Brae, at just under an acre, is the smallest of all.

It slopes steeply down towards the Tees, and few people are ever seen venturing into it. But it is still looked on as a pleasant public amenity.

NOT many people in Teesdale seem to sit down to a regular three-course meal these days, but for those who do, how about this for the menu: leek soup, shepherds pie made with lamb mince, and apple fold?

It is a suggestion put out by health workers and farmers' market officials for families in Teesdale and Weardale who want to eat well and stay in shape.

Recipe cards explain how to make it with fine local produce.

The cards are available at the monthly farmers' markets in Barnard Castle and Stanhope, as well as at some surgeries.

Many newspaper folk I know tend to survive on haphazard fast food diets, like I do, so we may have more than most to learn from this sound advice.

The cards also carry a tip for those who tackle the full meal: take a regular long walk to balance it.

I'll be glad to see anyone who calls with snippets of news at The Northern Echo office at 36 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, on Mondays and Tuesdays. Telephone (01388) 638628.