MS FUNDRAISER: A children’s Halloween party held at Belmont Parish Hall, Belmont, Durham, on Tuesday (October 30) raised £543 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The event was organised by Caroline Atkinson, whose husband Marc was diagnosed with MS in 2010.

WARD SURGERY: Durham county councillors Eunice Huntington and Robin Todd, who represent the Shotton ward, will hold a ward surgery at Alcote House, in Shotton Colliery, on Saturday (November 3), from 10am to 11am.

DURHAM U3A: The November meeting of Durham’s University of the Third Age (U3A) group will be held in the Indoor Bowling Club, in Pity Me, Durham, on Thursday, November 8, at 1.30pm. The session will include the group’s annual general meeting and a talk by Roger Barrell titled The Bullet Catchers. The U3A is an opportunity for those no longer in full-time employment to meet and enjoy lifelong learning and social activities. New members are welcome.

CHRISTMAS FAIR: The Friends of Belmont Community School, in Belmont, Durham, will hold a Christmas Fair on Saturday, December 1, from 11am to 2pm in the school’s sports hall. Anyone wishing to book a stall or activity is asked to call Lynne Hirst on 0191-3723722.

TWO AWARDS: Debbie Sharratt, of DebSharratt Communications, has won a gold award for the Best Sporting PR campaign at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Pride Awards for her work with Deerness Gymnastics Academy, based in Ushaw Moor. Ms Sharratt, originally from Consett, also won the PR Freelance Practitioner of the Year prize.