THE first of two fundraising shows to raise much-needed cash for The Witham takes place next week when retired vet Neville Turner returns to the arts centre with a talk and slide show.
Mr Turner has put together a completely new presentation entitled A Wonderful Life, recalling some of the many things he encountered during his busy life as a rural veterinary surgeon.
It will take place on Wednesday, September 26.
Mr Turner said: “This is not an ego-trip. It is just an account of all the marvellous, often serendipitous, things that have happened to me over the years; things that have, quite by chance, enriched my life beyond my wildest dreams.”
A Wonderful Life is a follow-up show to his first fundraiser for The Witham, staged last October.
Although he had been presenting slide shows in the dale for more than 40 years, he was quite anxious as to whether the programme of music, pictures, and anecdotes would attract enough people to furnish a worthwhile audience in the 170-seater auditorium.
He need not have worried – the evening was a sell-out. Scores of people turning up on the night had to be turned away and the evening was a huge success.
Sarah Gent, The Witham marketing manager, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Neville for a second evening, following the success of last year, and we really appreciate his support of The Witham.”
The second fundraiser for The Witham is being staged by BBC TV antiques expert David Harper, well known for his appearances on the likes of Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. He will perform a one-man show entitled Antiques, Art, Cars and TV, on Sunday, December 9.
Mr Harper said it would be “live and unscripted” , with members of the audience welcome to bring in one of their favourite pieces for him to look at.
An accomplished artist, Mr Harper is also offering to present one of his original paintings to the audience member who comes up with the most interesting question or antique on the night.
Tickets for Mr Turner’s A Wonderful Life are £6, available at www.thewitham.org. uk, call 01833 631107 or call into the box office at The Witham from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
Tickets for Mr Harper’s one-man show are £10 adults and £5 for U16s. Contact the box office for details.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
