Christmas Market

Come along to our Christmas Market where there will be a lovely festive atmosphere with live music, complimentary mince pies and warm non-alcoholic drinks provided by Sedgefield Churches Action Together and Sedgefield Development Trust.

This is a great opportunity to get gifts from our traders selling a wide range of products including: local gin, alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, cakes, jams, pickles, cheeses, pies, plants and many, many other products.

Visit our Facebook page Sedgefield Farmers Market for details of all our traders attending.

Sedgefield Neighbourhood Watch Committee

Winter cyber security
Is it a festive bargain or costly scam?
Scammers love the holiday shopping season. It’s the perfect time for them to lure people in with fake deals and trick their victims into paying for items that are counterfeit or don’t exist. Here are some tips to help you protect yourself.
DO:
- Open websites by typing them into your browser, not by clicking links.
- Consider whether or not deals you may see on social media are too good to be true.
- Research sites and sellers - reading reviews can help you understand if they are genuine or not.
DON’T:
- Open links in emails or text messages you were not expecting.
- Buy high value items from sellers on social media which you cannot first view in person.
- Agree to use gift cards as a payment method - criminals may ask you to do this as it is harder to trace.
NHW Committee vacancy
At the end of the year the position of Sedgefield NHW Committee Chair will become vacant. We would like to invite all interested parties to attend our next NHW meeting in Ceddesfeld Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday 14 December, or make your interest known to any one of our many members.

Please continue to report all incidents of Antisocial Behaviour, suspicious persons / vehicles or any Criminal activity to the a police on 101 or, in an emergency, on 999. You can also pass on any relevant information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Of course you can also call in to the Sedgefield Police Station and report incidents in person.

Please continue to report incidents of concern to the Police on tel 101 or 999 in an emergency. Issues relating to a Crime can be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800555111 and remember any photographic evidence can be emailed to CPSO amy.jorgeson@durham.police.uk. If NHW can assist with further information on any of the above issues, please call in to our next meeting. In the meantime we wish you a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
Steve's Nature Diary

I am watching a herd of cattle grazing and there is a small white heron following the cows, feeding on insects they disturb, and occasionally flying up and picking flies off their faces and sometimes landing on their backs. No, I'm not on the plains of Africa I am in Bishop Middleham!

On a different autumn day, I am looking up into a berry-laden tree and at the top is a remarkably colourful bird; a plump bird, slightly smaller than a Starling with a prominent crest. It's reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white on the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It certainly looks out of place on the edge of a housing estate in Wheatley Hill.

The first bird I mention was a Cattle Egret, they are slightly smaller than a Little Egret, but with a shorter neck, shorter legs and much more compact body giving them a stockier impression. They also have a shorter, stubbier bill, which is dark in juveniles but quickly turns yellow. Cattle Egrets have shown one of the greatest range expansions in the world of birds. At the beginning of the 20th century, the western form of Cattle Egret was only established in southern Spain, Portugal and North and tropical Africa.

Over the next few decades, they spread south to South Africa and began to spread north across Europe. They even managed to cross the Atlantic to reach South America, and have dispersed throughout that continent and up into North America, with breeding recorded as far north as Canada. And now they are become more common in the UK with several birds having been seen in the North East recently.

The second bird is a Waxwing and signs are looking good for a Waxwing winter. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor from northern Europe and can be spotted in flocks on bushes full of berries - it isn't fussy where the bushes are and it frequents towns, car parks and gardens. Waxwings prefer rowan and hawthorn berries, but can be enticed with hung-up apples.

Sudden invasions of large numbers of Waxwings (called 'irruptions') occur when the berry crops fail in Northern Europe. It was mid-November when I saw my Waxwings and there were lots of reports coming in with large flocks in Scotland and smaller flocks in the North East and even some in Middlesbrough. So on your winter walks why not check out the fields with cows in and the berry laden trees, you never know what you might see.

You might also like to sign up for 12 Days Wild, the Wildlife Trusts festive nature challenge, encouraging you to do one wild thing a day from 25 December to 5 January each year.

In those weird days between Christmas and New Year, winter wildlife is just waiting to be explored! Your wild acts could be little things to help nature - like recycling your Christmas tree or feeding the birds – or ways to connect to the natural world, like walking off your Christmas dinner in the woods or admiring the beauty of stargazing visit wildlifetrusts.org/12dayswild to sign up.

Ceddesfeld Hall: Home of Sedgefield Community Association
Ceddesfeld Hall: Home of Sedgefield Community Association

SCA are delighted to host a Christmas Craft Fayre, in support of STC Snow Party, on Saturday 2 December, from 1pm to 4pm. There will be several festive craft stalls in the main hall as well as a children’s Christmas bran tub. Wendy Rowley and team from Pop In will provide coffees, teas, with delicious homemade cakes, scones and biscuits. The bar and lounge will open to visitors from 1pm and will remain open until 7pm, to welcome back families following the switching on of the Christmas lights, which takes place on the green at 4pm.

Following the Churches Together ‘Carols on the Green’ on Friday 22 December 6.30pm to 7pm, the bar and lounge will be open from 7pm. Mulled wine will also be served at £3 a glass. A donation from mulled wine sales will be made to Butterwick Hospice.

A Christmas Kanika Pila with Sedgefield Smile Time Ukulele Band on Friday 22 December begins at 7pm in the main hall. This is a free event with well known tunes and Christmas songs performed by this popular group.

SCA are pleased to hold the very popular Christmas Eve Quiz on 24 December, 7:30pm for 8pm. Come along to enjoy a great, social evening with quiz master Peter Hinde. This is also a free event and of course the bar will be open. Feel free to bring Christmas nibbles and treats.

SCA are very pleased to host a Burns Supper in true Scottish tradition, on Saturday 27 January, starting at 7pm. Tickets are £30, to include a drinks reception followed by a 5 course meal (choice of haggis or roast beef or vegetarian option) with a cheese board and coffee. There will be ‘pipes, toasts, talks and quotes’ too! Tickets can be purchased by contacting Pat on the number below.

SCA are looking forward to another busy year in 2024! In next month’s edition of Sedgefield News you will receive the 2024 SCA pamphlet which provides an outline of the regular, interest group activities and events calendar, as well as room hire and booking information for the year.

For more information on Ceddesfeld Hall events, regular activities, room hire and bar opening times, contact Wendy on 01740 620206, Pat on 01740 620607, John on 01740 620042, Sarah on 01740 622185. Visit us on Facebook or see the SCA website, www.sedgefieldsca.org.uk

Mayor's Corner

December is traditionally the busiest month for a Mayor with a plethora of Carol Services, Civic Services and Christmas events to attend.

I have 10 Civic Carol Services to go to in Spennymoor, Seaham, Stockton, Durham, Sedgefield, Redcar and Cleveland, Sunderland, Peterlee, Hartlepool and Darlington. There are 3 Christmas events in Sedgefield, Sunderland and Shildon as well. I have visits to our 2 excellent Primary Schools to arrange so that I can judge their craft activity.

After that, I am looking forward to decorating the Mayor’s Tree with their crafts at the Christmas Tree Festival in St Edmund’s. There is also a very busy Snow Party Day!

I have my Mayor’s Christmas Coffee Morning featuring Sedgefield Hardwick School Choir and Nichola Jones Cards and Gifts on Friday 8 December and my sell out Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Dance starring Mamma Said to organise.

As soon as Christmas is over, my attention turns to our Sedgefield Players’ Pantomime from 27-30 December so look out for me with my collecting bucket as you leave the hall after each show!

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year and to thank you all for your tremendous support in this, my second year as your Mayor. David Jasper

Your Letters

Volunteering in Kenya

Hello. In September I headed out to Kenya on my volunteering trip and just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all those people in Sedgefield and the surrounding areas who helped me with my fundraising efforts.

Thank you to the many people who donated bags of clothes, shoes, handbags and bedding that I was able to weigh in (and sell) to raise money. Thank you to the kind mums who donated school uniform which meant children were able to go to school where they not only received an education but a good meal for that day.

Thank you to those who donated money via my GoFundMe page meaning that we are able to feed a whole school for the coming year until our next trip in September 2024. And thank you to all those people who knitted cardigans and hats and sewed some reusable sanitary towels for me to take out with me.

They were all gratefully received. I always knew there were some lovely people in our area but the support I received has confirmed this. Again if any groups need speakers for their programmes I am more than happy to come and tell you all about it and I’m collecting bags already if anyone is clearing out their wardrobes this autumn.

Thank you again. Sharon Brown

Sedgefield News

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