COVID-19 Covid-19 has had a significant impact on events in the village. We suggest contacting the club, organisation individually. We will post any information that is sent to us.

Event Posters

After COVID-19 would you like your event poster published here?
Just email us the poster and we can also add a link to your website or Facebook page. All for FREE!

Sedgefield Library

Check with the club for COVID-19 updates.
Usual Opening Hours:
Wednesdays: 9:30am-12:30pm
Thursdays: 10am-6pm
Fridays: 1pm-7pm
Saturdays: 9:30am-12:30pm

Thursdays 10:30-12:30: Basic computing, tailored to your needs.
Thursdays 2.15pm: ‘Boogie Beat’ Pre-school session. Booking reqd.
Craft Group: 1.30pm 2nd & 4th Friday
Book Circle: 2pm 3rd Friday. New members welcome. New Borrow Box Service. Download the app and gain access to audio e-books or audio books on computer, tablet or mobile phone. This is a free service to all our members. More information at the library. Summer Reading Challenge: Space Chase, limited spaces, please book

Tel: 03000 269521

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The Hub

Sedgefield Community College
Closed due to COVID-19.
New Dance Generation: Monday U9s 5-5.45pm. Over 9s 5.45-6.30pm
Clubbercise:Tue 6.00pm
Zumba: Tue 6.30pm & Thurs 7pm
Blade Taekwondo: Sat 10.30am
Call 01740 617882 for all enquiries

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Sedgefield Community Association

Ceddesfeld Hall is closed with immediate effect. In line with Government advice, relating to Coronavirus, COVID-19, Ceddesfeld Hall is closed from Tuesday 17th March, initially for two months. All SCA events up to mid July have been cancelled. Very best wishes to all members and patrons of Ceddesfeld Hall.

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Sedgefield Social Club

Check with the club for COVID-19 updates. Usually Entertainment every Saturday. Telephone Number: 01740 620591

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St John Fisher Catholic Church

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. Wed & Fri mornings, 9.45am. Sunday 10.45am with Children’s Liturgy in term time. Adoration on Thursday at 7pm. Legion of Mary meeting Friday mornings after Mass. To contact The Parish Office, email parishsecretary1961@btconnect.com

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New Generation Church

Check here for COVID-19 updates.

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One Step Forward Bereavement Support Group

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. One Step Forward is a group offering mutual support after bereavement. We meet every Thursday from 3pm to 5pm in The Welcome Room in St. Edmund’s Church. Further details from Panny Pighills: 01740 620909/07443 423113

Sedgefield Methodist Hall Non-Profit Playgroup

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. Mon, Wed & Thurs 9.30am - 11.30am in term time. For children aged 2 to 4. Contact Barbara Smith 01740 620923 or Jane Jones 01740 620893.

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Youth Club

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. Monday Evenings in Term Time. Parish Hall. Juniors (50p) 6-7pm, Seniors (£1) 7-8:30pm. Table tennis, Xbox, Playstation, tuck shop and more. For info email natalie@Sedgefieldtowncouncil.gov.uk

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Sedgefield Tea Dance

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. For information, call Joyce 01740 622601 or Ann 01740 629070

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Fishburn Art Group

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. Fishburn Art Group is looking for new members. The group meets every Monday from 9.30am till noon. Anyone interested is welcome to visit to see what goes on and meet members. For further info call Julie Underwood on 07770 972 988 or email underlogs@talktalk.net

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Sew Easy Sessions

Check with the contacts for COVID-19 updates. Mon 6.30-9pm & Wed 1-4pm. Venue: Parish Hall Boardroom

‘Don’t ask the Family’

Update by Tom Guest From the beginning of lockdown the Players and SPYS have been meeting on Zoom, to continue to work as much as possible but also to keep contact and stay social with one another.

As part of this we began to develop and record material, utilising a different set of techniques than we are used to. We started reading plays and, as we were to miss our June production, decided to film something instead. It was very difficult to find something that had the right number of characters to fit the ages of the actors we had.

Our group varies in age and technological ability and getting into zoom initially was quite hilarious. Often people would disappear or we could see them but not hear them; they might appear upside down; or occasionally we would have someone call in via phone as they couldn’t get on at all (truthfully, we still aren’t fully to grips with it!) Also, during this time a huge number of Family Quizzes were happening, so we decided to write a comedy series based around a family Zoom Quiz.

At the time of writing we have released 3 episodes and there are three more to come on the next 3 consecutive Sundays. They are fast paced, a little bit daft; occasionally politically inclined, but essentially a normal family meeting during lockdown. Just search for Sedgefield Players on YouTube - you’ll find us there.

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Mark Gatiss on John Minton: The Lost Man of British Art

Sedgefield's Mark Gatiss pursues another of his long-standing passions in this BBC documentary, which sheds light on a lesser known figure who was at one time at the vanguard of the British art scene; an associate of Lucian Freud & Francis Bacon & one of the leading lights of 20th century art in the UK.

The film paints a vivid portrayal of Soho during the 1950s, still recovering from WW2 & presents an affecting portrait of John Minton himself, whose death at just 39 casts a dark shadow over the story. He had a vivacity & passion for life that made him the centre of the social scene, and was gifted with an extravagant, versatile talent; equally gifted as illustrator or painter: portraiture, cityscapes or still life.

His output was prolific & he found huge popular success, not least with his work on Elizabeth David's 'A Book of Mediterranean food' which was a runaway success. Nonetheless the piece tells the story of a figurative artist who found himself increasingly alienated in an art world enamoured with abstract expressionism. John Minton is not a well known name now, and this reappraisal of his vivid life & tragic death is long overdue. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vzg5h

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A Walk in the Park

A Poem by William Laycock A sea of purple hazes into the distance
Speckled with buttercup and nipplewort yellow
Waves ripple o’er in the gentle breeze
Swaying white sails of mop-capped parsley
Bright blue eyes wink a lover’s tryst
“Forget – me – not, forget – me – not”
Peeping out of the mauve topped grass stalks
Amid the mounds of thistle and dock
Bees bumble and flies hover
Over clover red and clover white
Nectar for pollen in fair exchange
A honey lover’s delight
Raucous white gulls, croaky black crows
Twitter of swallows, scream of swift
Skimming the tops of long stemmed grass
Hunting posh-nosh for their growing brood
Lush islands of English oak, ancient beech
Candled chestnut and nutted hazel
Offering first class accommodation
For burrowers and hoverers, fur and feather
Elder flower, guilder rose, hip and haw
Hawthorn and thorny bramble
Sticky-jacks to hit the unwary
Horse chestnuts for knuckle raw conkers
Who dreamed this up from land forgotten?
Whose beauty is balm to our eye
But will it again be sacrificed
On the altar of fiscal penury?

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Norman Cornish online

Fans of the world-famous son of Spennymoor can now take a virtual tour of a recent exhibition entitled 'Norman Cornish: The Definitive Collection'.

Due to museum closures, the artworks and Cornish’s sketchbooks have been made available in films narrated by Norman's family free here: www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/Exhibitions/2019/Norman-Cornish-The-Definitive-Collection.

Cornish took his sketchbooks everywhere, directly capturing the daily life of his community to take back to his studio & produce finished pieces. They illuminate the detailed process that Cornish followed and the compositional changes that went into each finished work. The exhibition showcases the wide breadth of styles in which he worked, from vibrant views of bustling streets, reminiscent of Bruegel the Elder, to intimate family portraits and larger-than life bar-room scenes.

Hearing the work described by those who knew the man, with extra biographical details, offers an additional insight even to those already familiar with his output, and makes both films a must-watch for those of us who enjoy Norman’s work.