Energy Switch update

We have received a number of enquiries from residents recently regarding the current status of our Energy Saving Scheme.

These enquiries have been prompted largely as a result of communication from their current suppliers offering Fixed Term Contracts. These offers aren’t a result of our scheme but the suppliers’ own tariffs of which the Development Trust do not have details so we are not in a position to provide individual advice.

We continue to consult with Ichoosr (who have managed the supplier auctions) and are informed that, in the current climate, suppliers do not wish to offer Fixed Term tariffs to collective schemes such as the one we have operated.

As all residents, who have been a part of the scheme, will be aware that it has now been more than two years since Ichoosr have been able to hold any of the traditional auctions to obtain the market leading tariffs that we became used to receiving. Also suppliers do not appear to be willing to offer tariffs to customers without access to online facilities who require paper bills. This would affect 25% of our participants.

It was January 2014 when the Development Trust explored the potential of collective bargaining to reduce resident’s gas and electricity costs.

Since its inception, it has generated savings of £182,284 to the residents of Sedgefield for which we must be grateful to Ichoosr for the development and continued support to all participants of the scheme.

Sadly we have decided, because of the decisions made by the gas and electricity suppliers, we will no longer continue to operate the scheme. Sedgefield Development Trust would like to say a huge thank you to Peter Burnip who has been so active in pursuing energy savings for our community throughout this project.

He has provided practical help and guidance to many residents and solved many complex supply issues over the years.

Thank you, Peter, for your kindness and your tenacity.

POLICE UPDATE

No report this month.

If you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, report it at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Steve's Nature Diary

When you are out and about at this time year, you notice that most of the flowers have stopped flowering and the bird song has faded away, but there are still plenty of things to look out for. The other day it was a cool crisp morning and I managed to find one of my favourite mushrooms - the shaggy inkcap. Luckily it is an unmistakable fungus, easily recognised - it has a tall, narrow, cylindrical cap that is white and very 'shaggy' with 'scales' over its surface.

The cap gradually opens out to a bell shape. The gills are very crowded; they are white at first, then turn pink and eventually black, dissolving from the margin of the cap until it is almost entirely gone.

It has a number of other names including 'lawyer's wig' and 'shaggy mane'. It is widespread and common on roadside verges, parkland, grassland and gardens, growing in small groups.

The next day I spotted a very strange thing - what can only be described as a mess at the bottom of a tree. At first I thought it was dog sick - I poked it with a stick wondering what it was. Later that day I read a blog and realised what it was - Dog sick slime mould - it can turn up on grass overnight and is most common in September/October. It doesn’t stick around though! After one night it will turn black, and it will have disappeared in a couple of days, especially if it has rained.

‘Slime mould’ is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated organisms that can live freely as single cells, but some can also clump together to form larger structures (plasmodia). Once considered to be fungi, slime moulds are now recognised as a completely different kingdom of single-celled organisms, called protists, that more closely resemble amoeba.

There are some 900 known species of slime mould worldwide, and there are likely to be hundreds more unknown species. They vary greatly in their colour, size and form. Slime moulds typically occur in cool, moist, shady places like crevices within decaying wood. They have some interesting descriptive names including wolf’s milk, cauliflower slime mould and many-headed slime mould.

Some slime moulds can tolerate toxic metals, and the scrambled egg slime uses its special powers (the yellow pigment that gives it its colour) to make the metals harmless. Look out for this magic slime in your garden this autumn after heavy rain. It loves to grow on the wood chips that are often put around plants. As November progresses this is a good time to look for fungi and slime moulds before we get the hard frosts of winter.

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

Autumn time is well and truly here, with darker evenings and colder days. However, the lawns and grounds of Ceddesfeld Hall look stunning in the autumn sunshine. Very special thanks must go to the dedicated, hardworking Sedgefield in Bloom volunteers, who do so much to improve the area around the Ceddesfeld Hall.

Ceddesfeld Hall bar is delighted to have been awarded a prestigious entry into the ‘2025 CAMRA Good Beer’ guide. This achievement is down to the enthusiasm and hard work of the dedicated bar committee and volunteers.

During 2024, large scale work was carried out to move, improve and modernise cold storage facilities at the hall. This has resulted in increased scope to store a larger range of beers and to include smaller as well as larger barrels.

Typically, there are two real ales on offer (usually one light and one dark at £3 a pint), supplied by local breweries. Atlantic pale ale and lager is also available. The bar and lounge are open Monday to Thursday from 7:30pm to 10:30pm, and to 11pm every Friday. We’d love to see you!

Events @ Ceddesfeld Hall
Fireworks and Halloween Howler on Friday 1 November at 6.30pm-SOLD OUT
Admission into Ceddesfeld Hall Grounds (with pumpkins for judging) from 5:45pm to 6:20pm. Adult £3, child under 16, £2 - tickets from STC offices (9am to 1pm) and Ceddesfeld Hall bar (7:30pm to 10:30pm). Sedgefield scouts will be selling hot chocolate and hot dogs.

Mayor’s Quiz on Saturday 23 November at 7:30pm
Tickets £5, from STC offices.

Christmas Craft Fayre on Saturday 30 November from 1pm to 4pm
This event is part of STC Snow Party &Parade. The Fayre will take place in the main hall with the community bar open until 7pm. Refreshments (teas, coffees, cakes and biscuits) served by Sedgefield District Uniformed Services Group (SDUSG).

Christmas Wreath Workshop on Sunday 1 December, 10am to 12:30pm
Make your own 2024 Christmas wreath, with all materials provided (cinnamon, dried fruit, berries, pinecones, luxury ribbon), all for £40, including refreshments. Contact 07523 398922 to book a place

Mulled Wine & Mince Pies on Friday 20 December at 7pm
This event will take place following the Churches Together ‘Carols on the Green’ in the bar and lounge. Sedgefield Smile Time Ukulele Band will perform at 7pm in the main hall.

SCA Christmas Eve Quiz on Tuesday 24 December at 8pm

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

The Mayor’s Quiz will be held on Saturday 23 November at Ceddesfeld Hall. Doors open at 7:30pm, the quiz starts at 8pm. Tickets cost £5.

New Year’s Eve Party is on Tuesday 31 December at 7:30pm.
Tickets cost £12.50. Tickets for both events are available from the Sedgefield Town Council Office.


Peter and Jaime Hinde
U3A Update

At our meeting on 4 October, Dave Dean returned and, this time, told us about the Hidden North East. He gave us lots of fascinating information and facts about events in our local area over the past two hundred years or so.

Who knew about the Great Fire of Newcastle in 1864 or how Darlington’s Macmullen Rd gained its name - to mention just two? Our Book Club reviewed A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe. The group had mixed responses to this book which centred around how the Aberfan disaster affected the later life and relationships of just one man who had worked as an embalmer of the bodies of the young children recovered from the site.

Most of our readers admired the writing skill but did not enjoy the use of Aberfan as a vehicle for the character’s past.

However, the discussion revealed that the book resonated with many of the readers for many different reasons and a score of 7/10 was given.

The Creative Writing Group is busy writing their Modern Pantomime which is to be featured in a radio broadcast over the Christmas period. More details on that very shortly! The Theatre Group visited Sunderland Empire where the group very much enjoyed Wicked, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Again, another wonderful evening of theatre, music and dance!

Unfortunately our projected trip to Newby Hall had to be cancelled because of the atrocious weather. As it is now closed until Easter, we hope to rearrange the visit for next summer. We opened our trip to Alnwick to nonmembers and were very pleasantly surprised by the response.

Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the day and we hope to repeat the experiment for another venue.

The Lunch Club tried another new venue when they visited Maximo’s at Castle Eden. This received another thumbs up and will be added to the list to revisit.

Members from the Science and Industry Group took advantage of the Open Day at the Tees Pumping Station in Darlington which had been the subject of one of our speakers earlier this year. They were able to marvel at the skill and expertise of the Victorian engineers who took water from the River Tees and circulated the cleaned and purified water to homes and businesses in Darlington and Teesside.

Of course, all our other groups continue to meet to learn new skills or expand their knowledge. We’re not at all a serious or pompous group and really believe in our mantra - Live, Laugh and Learn.

There is really no need to be bored or lonely in retirement; come along and see what the u3a can offer to fill your time at sedgefield.u3asite.uk. Our next meeting is on 1 November, 2-4pm in the Parish Hall so do come along to listen to our speaker and to see what the rest of our year holds – what visits, events and speakers we have planned.

We look forward to another full house with members and guests joining us then. Guests are required to pay a cover charge of £3 but this is refunded from the yearly subscription if you become a member.


Chris Balfour
Your Letters

The impassable path

Where is the impassable public path in Sedgefield?

As a resident of Sedgefield I’m disconcerted to find that a signposted public path in the centre of the village is virtually impassable. I refer to the pathway between East End and West End.

To be blunt it is a disgrace. It does not appear to have been maintained in any way for quite a while. It is so overgrown in places that people who have used it in the past have nicknamed it "The Impassable Path".

In fact, people with mobility issues are unable to use this pathway and many people without mobility issues have problems negotiating it as well.

I have recently discovered that there is a dispute as to who is responsible for its maintenance, Sedgefield Town Council or Durham County Council. It should be pointed out that there is street lighting in the pathway so one would assume it would be the County Council, however, I have not had this confirmed.

I have discussed this issue with the local ward councillors and county councillors but, as yet, have still not received any logical answers as to why it hasn't been maintained. In the meantime the path is becoming even more overgrown and impassable. Brian

Margaret's magnificent morning for Macmillan

Every year, Margaret Dickerson hosts a Macmillan Cancer Support coffee morning, to raise money for the charity.

Macmillan encourages organisations and individuals to organise an event every September, for what it describes as the "world's biggest coffee morning". Margaret's coffee morning is certainly sizable and raised a very impressive sum of £540 this year.

Margaret wants to express her thanks to everyone who supported the event, either by baking and helping out, or attending on the day. And thanks and well done to Margaret too - what a brilliant effort for such a good cause!