Back to Blog

Meet Carol Smith from County Durham Community Foundation

County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF) is an independent grant-making foundation that works with individuals, families and local businesses who want to put something back into their community, either in their lifetime, or through leaving a legacy.Melanie Cant (DBN) talks to Carol Smith about the foundation, how it works, who benefits and what Carol is looking for from DBN members.Listen to this Podcast HEREFind out more about CDCF https://www.cdcf.org.uk/Connect with Carol on LinkedIn&nb...

Networking and Coffee anyone? Join us on Tuesday 12th September at Durham Coffee for our next face to face networking meeting.

If you haven't been to Durham Coffee before then you're in for a treat!Bernhard and Carina are a father-daughter roasting duo with a passion for ethically sourced quality coffee and building sustainable relationships.With a range of beans from around the world, they aim to showcase the diversity of flavour within the speciality coffee industry and hope to encourage people to savour the moments – cherish the taste and connect to the wonderful North East through our Heritage Range...

Who fancies a trip to Beamish Museum?

Beamish Museum have recently opened the next phase of the 1950's town which includes replicas of a semi-detached council house from Red House in Sunderland, police houses and office from Leam Lane in Gateshead, and a bowling green and pavilion from Billingham.In the month of September we are giving our members the opportunity to visit Beamish and do a bit of networking too! Our Beamish pass allows up to 5 people entry at a time so we plan on making a few trips with small groups for networking an...

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: FUN AND FOOD OCTOBER HALF TERM HOLIDAYS 2023 OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS!

We are now accepting applications for the October Half Term Holidays 2023. We have around £7,500 to allocate for activities taking place across the DVP area over the October Half Term Holidays. Please note that the maximum amount you can apply for is £1,000.The scheme aims to support local community groups and organisations based in the Derwent Valley Partnership AAP area to deliver enriching holiday activities during the October Half Term holidays including healthy food.Please note ...

AFA POLICY ADVISORY LETTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS FORUMS

Changes to the way County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service respond to calls for assistance from Automatic Fire Alarms (AFA) in non-residential premises. I am writing to notify you of a key change which may affect you and your organisation. When an AFA actuates for any reason other than a fire condition, this is referred to as a false alarm. The point at which the Fire and Rescue Service is requested and responds to a false alarm is referred to as an Unwanted Fire Signal (U...

'DO BUSINESS' NETWORK - 15th AUGUST 2023

Thank you for coming along to our "small but perfectly formed" walk this morning.Hope you are keeping well after our ramble through the woods - at least we did not manage to lose anyone and we all got back to the café shrub all safe and sound (eventually)!  Also, we had great weather.  On Monday, the weather was quite atrocious, but, by Tuesday, the sun was out and the temperature was quite pleasant!Thank you to the café shrub for their warm hospitality.  And, a big th...

In Memory Of Gemma Justice

Hi Everyone,We now have a fundraising page set up for our sponsored walk on Saturday 2nd September:https://willowburnhospice.enthuse.com/pf/steeltown20dbnIn case you missed our post earlier in the week, we are inviting DBN members to help us raise funds to donate to Willow Burn Hospice in memory of former DBN member Gemma Justice who lost her battle with cancer recently.You can get involved by either registering to participate in the walk (see details via the above link) and/or making ...

Remembering Gemma Justice

It saddens us deeply to share the sad news of the passing of Gemma Justice who lost her long battle with Breast Cancer in June. Gemma and her husband Steven were DBN members for a time and have continuously supported our meetings with their warm hospitality when we have hosted our networking mornings at the Derwent Walk Pub in Ebchester.After learning about Gemma's passing we thought it would be a nice idea to fundraise in Gemma's name and thought it would be fitting to donate any money rai...

LUMO detail how you can use Patent Box to help businesses capitalise on their R&D activities

Last week Lee Quarzi and Roger Tipple from LUMO had the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience about patents and patent box with the The R&D Community Ltd.The article is a really good read so if you are interested in this topic you may like to click on the link below to find out more: https://bit.ly/47iAYDkIf anyone has any question on this topic the LUMO team would be happy to have a conversation with you. Email info@lumo.tax...

LAND OF OAK & IRON - CHRISTMAS MEET THE MAKER MARKET 2023

VENUE: Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, NE21 6RUDATE & TIME: Sunday, 3rd December 2023 - 10:00-16:00Land of Oak & Iron are excited to host our Christmas Meet the Maker Market, bringing together some of our past Meet the Makers and new local artists and creatives too!We love hosting our seasonal Meet the Maker Markets, they’re great events for buying hand crafted items, getting inspired and meeting new local makers and artists – we’re e...

LAND OF OAK & IRON - AUTUMN MEET THE MAKER MARKET 2023

VENUE: Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Tyne & Wear, NE21 6RUDATE & TIME: Saturday, 23rd September 2023 - 10:00-16:00Land of Oak & Iron are excited to host our Autumn Meet the Maker Market, bringing together some of our past Meet the Makers and new local artists and creatives too!We love hosting our seasonal Meet the Maker Markets, they’re great events for buying hand crafted items, getting inspired and meeting new local makers and art...

LAND OF OAK & IRON - SUMMER MEET THE MAKER MARKET 2023

VENUE: Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Tyne & Wear, NE21 6RU.DATE & TIME: Sunday, 13th August 2023 - 10:00-16:00Land of Oak & Iron are excited to host our Summer Meet the Maker Market, bringing together some of our past Meet the Makers and new local astists and creatives too!We love hosting our seasonal Meet the Maker Markets, they’re great events for buying hand crafted items, getting inspired and meeting new local makers and ar...

WITHIN THE BOGGART WOOD EVENT AT THE LAND OF OAK AND IRON

DATE: Sunday, 27th August 2023 - 10:00-15:30On Sunday 27th August, the Boggart will be at the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre to collect (should you choose to) your stories of all things weird and wonderful!  I’ll be coming armed with audio recording equipment and a notebook . . . if you’d like your story to appear on an upcoming podcast episode you’ll have the option of me just reading it out, or your voice appearing on the podcast!If there are enough stories collected, the aim ...

***BREAKING NEWS***

After the very positive feedback from our July Wag and Walk, we have decided to hold another in August.  Please feel free to bring along your dog and your children too!  We look forward to seeing you there.  This event is FREE for ALL attendees.  Venue: The Land of Oak and Iron, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Blaydon upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE21 6RU.Book you place now....

CHIGIRI-E WORKSHOP AT ORIENTAL MUSEUM

DATE & TIME: Saturday, 29th July, 14:00-16:00VENUE: Oriental Museum (Elvet Hill, Durham, DH1 3TH)Chigiri-e is the art of Japanese hand torn paper collage.  I will take you through the step-by-step process of designing and creating your own unique chigiri-e.This workshop coincides with the current exhibition "Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki" at the Oriental Museum in Durham.  We'll be making chigiri-e inspired by the themes of 'peace' and 'hope.'Book your place here....

James Miller from UMi talks about how to digitally drive your online presence!

Digital Advisor, James Miller from UMi talks to Melanie at DBN about the FREE Digital Health Check available for North East SME's and shares 5 top tips on how to strengthen your digital presence!https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9476m-142379fIf you enjoyed this podcast and have any questions for James you can contact him via the details below... T: +44 (0)191 716 0960 M: +44 (0)7741 091 196E: james.miller@weareumi.co.uk Sat Nav: weareumi.co.uk/satnav...

LANDMARK POST-BREXIT TRADE DEALS TO COME INTO FORCE IN MAY 2023 DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH ACROSS THE UK

Press release: 4th May 2023From: Department for International Trade, Department for Business and Trade, Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP.The Prime Minister met with his Australian and New Zealand counterparts on 5th May 2023 for talks ahead of the King's Coronation.Benefits of ground-breaking free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand to be unleashed for British businesses and consumers later this mont...

EXPAND YOUR GLOBAL REACH WITH A KING'S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE

Expand your global reach with a King's Award for Enterprise - Applications for  2024 are now openConsidered to be the most prestigious accolade presented to UK businesses, previous winners of the globally recognised award have reported benefiting from increased commercial value, greater press coverage and a boost to staff morale.This year saw 13 of the North of England’s top exporters receive the first ever King’s Award for the Enterprise International Trade category.&nbs...

BUSINESS ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT (BEEP)

The Derwent Valley Partnership is offering local businesses the opportunity to become more energy efficient through a new ‘Business Energy Efficiency Project’ (BEEP), funded through the Partnership’s Towns and Villages Fund.By getting involved, businesses will be helped to better understand their consumption and carbon emissions, and how to reduce them through behavioural modifications, investment in more efficient equipment and appliances, and on-site renewable energy ...

DERWENT VALLEY AAP - BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE WANTED!

Do you have knowledge of local business issues in the Consett and surrounding areas, and some time to spare to be involved in local decision making in the area?If the answer is yes, the Derwent Valley Partnership currently has a business representative vacancy on its Board and would to hear from you.As one of our partner representatives (representing the local business community alongside health, housing, fire and rescue, police, voluntary and community sector and the Council), you would be requ...

AMAZON PRIME DAY WEBINAR WITH CHANNEL ADVISOR

Channel Advisor - Prime Day 2023: What you need to know - Webinar DATE & TIME: Wednesday, 24th May 2023 - 16:00Our friends at Channel Advisor are holding a webinar on Wednesday 23 May at 4pm to help brands and companies prepare for the next Amazon Prime day.  The webinar will feature experts Mariko Davison, Chris Wollman and Maya Walker and will cover the below topics:Forecast and prepare inventoryCreate and optimise content that attracts shoppersMaximise profit through smart prici...

MAY NETWORKING MEETING AT LANCHESTER GARDEN CENTRE

We had such a lovely networking meeting at Lanchester Garden Centre this morning. It was nice to see everyone's smiling faces - the sun made a guest appearance too!It was great to introduce new member Carol Smith from County Durham Community Foundation and hearing about the great work that CDCF have been doing across our region. We'll be sharing more information about CDCF in our blog and newsletter in the next few weeks.Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 20th June (8:30-10:30) ...

This Months DBN Big Conversation

Everyone was wearing their best smile at our Zoom networking meeting this morning!Thank you to everyone who joined our 'Big Conversation' with David Kelly and Gary Scott. We got to hear about that everyone has been up to over the past month. In these smaller meetings you tend to hear more about the nitty gritty of what people actually do, which is always great.Our next Zoom meeting is on Tuesday 6th June - book your place HERE...

Mary Jallow, Utility Warehouse

Meet DBN member Mary Jallow who is a self employed consultant for Utility Warehouse. Since registering as a self employed consultant, Mary has saved her customers anything between £50 to £500 per month!  In this podcast Mary talks to us about why she loves her job and how networking has helped grow her customer base.https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-8rb3h-14225df...

APRIL 2023 NETWORKING MEETING

This months networking meeting was held at Citizens House in Consett.Thank you to everyone who contributed to our group discussion including Joanne Puckering, PhD, Ann English - Create Intrigue, Paul Sparks, Sharron Harrison, Owen Weightman, Tony Liddell, Moira Barnes, Carrie Dennison and Estelle Spring.  It's lovely to hear about all the positive updates about what's going on in our business community.Superstar shout-out goes to Ann English - Create Intrigue who told us about the launch of...