SCA was delighted to welcome in
2025 with the traditional Burns
Supper. The evening was well
attended and enjoyed by all. Special
thanks must go to Paul Cook the
Piper, to Ian Sutherland for the Selkirk
Grace, to Jim Sutherland for his
Address to the Haggis and his Toast
to the Immortal Memory, to Peter
Hinde for his Toast to the Lassies and
to Maxine Patterson for the Response.
There was indeed a rousing rendition
of Auld Lang Syne to finish!
Ceddesfeld Hall is very pleased to
host a folk and country music night
with the very popular John Wrightson
Band (and friends) on Saturday 8
February. Places for the event were
snapped up within a day, which is
amazing, and very much reflects the
long tradition of folk music in the
town, with special thanks to Joan
Edmundson, who was the driving
force for Sedgefield Folk Club for
many years.
Ceddesfeld Hall Community Bar
continues to offer a warm welcome to
all members and residents. The bar
has recently been listed in the CAMRA
Good Beer guide! The real ales from
local brewers remain popular and
special mention must go to Hopper
House Brew Farm, Durham Brewery
and Yard of Ale for their flavoursome
and varied choice of beers. Flavoured
gins, sparkling wine and cider (now on
draft) add to the mix too, all at very
reasonable cost! The bar continues to
be run by a small committee of
dedicated volunteers and is open from
Monday to Friday, from 7:30 pm.
Please do get in touch if you are
interested in getting involved!
Springtime Events
Everyone is of course looking forward
to the better weather and it’s going to
be another busy springtime for the
community in Sedgefield. SCA will be
hosting the Easter Picnic on Monday 1
April, a quiz night with pie and peas on
Saturday 26 April and of course the
2025 Mediaeval Fayre.
Mediaeval Fayre, Saturday 17 May
2025 – Save the Date!
The planning is well underway
already, but anyone who would like
to be involved with the organising
committee is very welcome - please
do get in touch. We are open to new
suggestions and ideas on how to
promote and improve the event.
SCA
relies wholly upon the support from
its sections, groups, and members
as well as other community groups
and associations, local businesses,
traders, and organisations who
support the event by volunteering to
help, provide sponsorship or donate
gifts and prizes for the special SCA
tombola.
Interest and Hobby Groups
It’s great to see the various groups
return to the hall following the
Christmas break. New groups are
always very welcome with rooms
available for hire during the day and
evening times. Ceddesfeld Hall has
free Wi-Fi in every room and rates
are very competitive.
As I write this the cold snap has just come to an end and it won’t be long
before the Blue Tit in my garden will be checking out the nest box and the
Great Tit will be doing their familiar “Teacher Teacher “ call to attract a mate
and mark their territory. This is perfect timing for National Nest Box week,
which will be soon, and which happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day when
romance is in the air! British birds are short of nesting holes, and there are
plenty of reasons why.
Our gardens, parks and woodland are neater and tidier
than they used to be, depriving birds of natural holes to find a home. And to
make matters worse there are fewer handy nooks and crannies in modern
buildings. The populations of many bird species are down as a result of this
housing shortage.
The good news is that everyone can do their bit to help and your own garden is
a great place to start. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reckons that if all
the gardens in Britain were rolled up into one
giant plot, it would be a huge area bigger than
Suffolk. Just imagine how our wild birds would
benefit if each one of those gardens contained
a nest box or two, plus plants and insects
providing food. Alongside common visitors –
like Blue Tits, Great Tits, House Sparrows,
Robins and Starlings – putting up a box may
also boost your chance of attracting rarer
species.
Different birds have different
requirements – size of box, size of hole or open
fronted or other special requirements. So, if you
don’t have one in your garden it is well worth
putting one up and now is a good time to do it.
You can find more information on
how to make one (or which one to
buy) and where to put it
at nestboxweek.com.
Don’t forget
that nest boxes are good for us too.
Spending time in the garden,
building your own box and watching
birds make themselves at home are
all great stress-busters.
Our next meeting will be on Friday 7
February in the Parish Hall from 2pm
to 4pm when a representative from
Durham Wildlife Trust will be telling
us about their vital work in the
various nature reserves in County
Durham, the visitor centres at their
conservation bases at Rainton
Meadows and Low Barns and how
best to discover, protect and
conserve local wildlife from the Tees
to the Tyne.
