Issue 20, March 2007 Esh Leaves Esh Parish Council newsletter for Esh, Langley Park, Quebec, Ushaw and Wilk‟s Hill Submit articles for the July 2007 edition to: The Editor, 8 Long Garth, Durham City, DH1 4HJ or email to [email protected] or leave at Esh or Langley Park Post Office by 31 May 2007 facilities, with the WHAT’S HAPPENING AT emphasis on USHAW COLLEGE? education and There is a momentous training. Our visitors occasion approaching range from teachers for Ushaw College, in to astro-physicists, 2008 we will celebrate 200 care workers, artists years of occupancy of the and management Seminary here. On July 19th trainees, and District 1808 the College opened the and County Council doors and the first students Ushaw College Conference Centre organisations use our and staff took possession. facilities regularly. Ever since that time, Ushaw You may have heard some of College has been a resource the ideas around the area Ushaw provides courses in for formation for Catholic about what is happening at Theology and Ministry at all priests for the Northern Ushaw. Some are more levels, from Certificate to a Region of the Catholic believable than others. It has Doctorate in Ministry, in Church in England Wales and been a standing joke here conjunction with our beyond. We continue this that if you ask a taxi driver on ecumenical colleagues and work of training priests to the the way to Ushaw from Durham University‟s present day, but we know that Durham what is happening, Department of Theology and Ushaw has much more to yet another version will be Religion: these are available offer at the moment, and we offered. It is true that we have to suitably qualified lay hope yet more in the future. had a lot of ideas in the past people and are integrated few years about what can be with the training for Seminary Two hundred years is an done at Ushaw to ensure a students. Ushaw‟s achievement in anyone‟s sustainable future, and make educational outreach includes reckoning, and it is a time to better use of our buildings modular courses in give thanks for the great and space here. chaplaincy, youth ministry, contribution to the life of the catechesis and interfaith Church and for the example Our Conference Centre is dialogue, among others. of those who established, flourishing, with over 30,000 Many of these courses are expanded and maintained the visitor days a year, offering available online. College resources and accommodation for all types community. It is also a time to of conferences, religious and Ushaw maintains strong links examine the present position secular, on a day or with our ecumenical partners and look towards the future. residential basis. We offer a at Cranmer Hall where people We realise that Ushaw is in broad range of Conference are trained for ministry in the need of substantial facilities, including en-suite Anglican faith, and the investment to preserve the and standard accommodation Wesley Study Centre where Heritage asset of buildings and a variety of well equipped training takes place for and landscape, and maintain conference rooms. the community that is based Conference organisers from SEE PAGE 2 FOR CONTENTS here. all walks of life are using the Methodist ministers. Many of Conference visitors, perhaps some of the fields on our our degree courses are provide some residential agricultural land. This is a taught in common with their conversion of the old Junior Biomass fuel crop, properly students, which broadens the School here, and provide known as Short Rotation teaching and learning some commercial office and Coppicing. The willow experience for all involved. workshop space. We are also cuttings that have been considering some lettable planted will hopefully provide Turning to buildings and land, holiday accommodation us with a fuel crop in about we have done significant which, together with our three years time that we can work on our future over the conference centre, we hope use as a heat source for the past two or three years, in can support the growing buildings, and perhaps most conjunction with the local initiatives of Durham City importantly with current Planning Department, English towards tourism in the area, initiatives relating to reducing Heritage and other interested and encourage visitors to global warming, the fuel is authorities, and latterly with spend more time in Durham “Carbon Neutral”. We hope to our own architectural, City and the surrounding plant four more fields near Hill planning and landscape area. Top this spring. consultants. Under the rather grand title of a Conservation We are very conscious that So, quite a lot is happening at and Management Plan, we the landscape is an integral Ushaw! We hope over the are now approaching an part of Ushaw, and this next editions of Esh Leaves, overall picture of how Ushaw summer we hope to begin and with the encouragement can come to a sustainable some renovation of the of the Editor, to keep you future, with redevelopment of rhododendron gardens at the informed of how we are some of our unused front of the buildings. We doing, and of any buildings, refurbishment of have secured some funding developments, initiatives and some others, and assistance from this project, news about Ushaw. development of agricultural and intend to establish some and other land. A key part of Permissive Footpaths to allow Peter Seed all of this is the conservation public access to the garden Director of Facilities & of the Heritage asset of area. These will permit Estates buildings and landscape, and access to the gardens from [email protected] the further opening up of the two drives to the south of Ushaw as an asset available the College buildings and we Some of the items in this to the local and broader hope that local people will issue are: community. make use of them to enjoy Item Page the gardens. Langley Park Cricketers 3 We hope to improve facilities Where are they now? 3 for the Seminary and You may have noticed a LP Pre-school Playgroup 4 rather unusual crop in Hall of Fame 5 Wordgram 6 Police Report 7 Competition time 11 News from the Schools 12 News from the Councils 15 Wildlife Corner 22 Fastfit Tyres 22 EQUaL 23 Poets Corner 25 New Businesses 27 IT @ The Tute 27 What are these Langley Park men Mining Memorial 27 pointing at? (See the Radio Golden Wedding 29 Times – Special „Days of Hope‟ Goodbye to Langley Park 29 Edition) in the centre Ushaw College front and Gardens pull-out section. Esh Leaves Page 2 March 2007 So come on all you budding perfectly. LANGLEY PARK Collingwoods, Harmisons and CRICKETERS Plunketts get ringing 0191 1982 saw the release of On Sunday 3rd December we 3733033 NOW! 'Lions In My Own Garden had a Christmas fayre in the (Exit Someone)' on Candle Welfare Club with tombola, WHERE ARE THEY Records. After months of cake, mulled wine, mince NOW? gigging and Martin working pies, hot soup, hot dogs, bric- The Young McAloons on building sites, they had a-brac, and biscuit and Better Known as Prefab saved up enough cash to go shortbread stalls, along with Sprout into a studio and record the Santa Claus in this grotto with single. They even had his two helpers. A big thank Prefab Sprout started life enough cash to get a few you to all who helped, and to playing in a garage in Witton records pressed too! all who attended and bought Gilbert, in the early 1970s. raffle tickets and goods from While customers were filling Local record label the stalls. We raised in up their cars and chammying Kitchenware signed them up, excess of £500 for our funds their bonnets, Paddy and their first album Swoon was to help in running the cricket. Martin McAloon were treating released in 1984. them to cover versions of all their favourite pop The album is a joy to listen to tunes. The punters as it features none of the loved it and so did the elaborate production style McAloon's dad – who that later become a regular ran the garage. coating on every Prefab Sprout album. It was Prefab Paddy McAloon started Sprout on a tight budget, to write his own songs sounding pretty much as they and entertained the did live. However, almost as Cricket Club Christmas Fayre local old folks home soon as the album was with renditions of We started running released, Paddy McAloon 'Faron Young,' a future single training/practice nets at dismissed it as for the band. They later Fyndoune sports hall from 'embarrassing'. That is, until graduated to pubs, playing in Thursday 8th February at electro-popster Thomas their wellies to avoid 6.30p.m. Dolby heard them on the electrocution from their dodgy radio and asked if he could wiring! Anyone interested please produce their next LP, Steve come along both Juniors and McQueen was the result. During the early 1980s, Seniors are welcome. Paddy met his future girlfriend Often appearing in the top Wendy Smith in a pub in Contact Tom Huscroft on Whitley Bay. 0191 3733033 for further Wendy was a big details fan of the band, and followed Editors note them from gig to gig. She could If Durham County Cricket also sing and, on Club can provide 3 players for joining the band, the England team then why her ethereal shouldn‟t the youngsters of vocal style our Parish break into the complemented County squad? Paddy's rough Geordie vocals McAloons service station (now derelict) Esh Leaves Page 3 March 2007 100 albums of all time lists, the Prefab Sprout „Sproutnet‟ However during august 2005 Steve McQueen, is agreed by website vandals pulled down the flue fans to be the band's finest www.prefabsprout.net that was attached to the work.