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FREE Content Creation CoWorking Session with CDC Enterprise Agency

Hey, Small Business Owners!Do you want to get all your content planned and created for the next month?Do you need help exploring ideas and would love to support other businesses?Would you love to network with other local business owners?Would you enjoy free tea and coffee (and possibly biscuits)?Then come along to our free Content Creation CoWorking Session. Bring a laptop, phone or tablet so you can create your content. Pick the brains of our team and other attendees to get your mar...

DURHAM COFFEE - LIMITED EDITION CHARITY COFFEE

Our Honduran Charity Coffee is our newest limited edition coffee which directly gives back to our community.  In the case of our Honduran Charity Coffee, 20% of each bag sold is being donated to the Poverty Hurts Appeal.Poverty is becoming a harsh reality for more and more families and individuals across County Durham.  The region now has the highest rate of child poverty anywhere in the UK, limiting the hopes and opportunities of thousands across the county who have so much to offer.&...

DERWENT VALLEY PARTNERSHIP AREA - MAY 2023 HALF TERM

Holiday Activities with Healthy Food (HAWHF) – May 2023 – Derwent Valley Partnership AAP.Funding is available for face to face activities for children young people and families during the May half term holidays in 2023.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 May holidays including healthy food.Please note we cannot fund individuals or profit making organisations.App...

Welcome to DBN Willow and Maine Interior Design

We are thrilled that Lorraine McGill from Willow & Maine Interior Designs has joined DBN as a new member 🎉Willow & Maine is and interior design and styling consultancy based in Ryton. Lorraine has been running her business for 4 years now and she has turned houses into beautiful homes all across the North East!Take a look at some of her most recent projects on her website: https://www.willowandmaine.co.uk/Be sure to give her a follow on Linkedin ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainem...

Our March Networking Meeting

It was lovely to see you all again this morning, we certainly had lots to talk about!Thank you to David Hardy DipPFS for his presentation about planning for retirement. His informative visuals certainly helped us to understand the importance of having a plan in place for retirement! David has kindly offered a free consultation to any DBN member who'd like discuss they pension plans with him.Also, it was lovely to see Andrea McGuigan from Business Durham. Andrea and James Miller from WE ARE UMi k...

Robson Print Celebrates 50th Years in Business.

We had a great evening at Hexham Abbey last night celebrating Robson Print Ltd 50th Business Birthday 🥳Special thank you to Sharron Harrison and the team for organising such a lovely night and to John Young from Logi Firewalking for showing us what you can achieve when you focus on mind over matter 👏We have no blisters on our feet this morning but they needed a good scrub last night as they were black 🤣Happy 50th Business Birthday Robson Print 🥳 Here’s to many more successful years...

DBN Member Podcast

Coral Sirett is a qualified nutrition and weight management adviser, speaker and the founder of Zest Health.In this podcast episode Coral talks to Melanie about how employers can support their employees by offering ways to support health and wellbeing in the workplace.After moving to the North East just under a year ago Coral tried various networking groups before joining Do Business Network. Networking has not only helped her connect with other business owners but it's also introduced her to ne...

AUTISM ACCEPTANCE WEEK

This year, we'd love you to celebrate with us by attending our 'Working well with Autism' event.  Here, we will be screening our national documentary about:Positive relationships between employers and Autistic employeesSuccessful self-employed Autistic peopleOrganisations who are going above and beyond to make the work place better for Autistic peopleWorking Well with Autism - Thursday, 30th March 2023 - 13:00-16:00Star and Shadow Cinema, Warwick Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1BB.Tickets...

AND FINALLY . . .

A big thank you from "Our Hec" to Ruth at Jacwicks Designs for making us an extra large pet perch which has already been on several picnics as well as every room in the house.  No more soggy doggy bottoms here!...

KEVIN BREWERTON: "A JOURNEY FROM WHITE TO BLACK; FIGHTER TO ARTIST"

In 2020 we had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Brewerton online at two of our DBN After Dark events.  He joined us from Los Angeles to speak about his childhood in Newcastle and his fascinating journey of self-discovery.  A few weeks ago our very own Ann English bumped into Kevin at TEDxNewcastle . . . well this is his talk which is now available to watch by clicking here.  We hope Kevin can join us in person at one of our events later this year....

ANN @ CREATE INTRIGUE

Truth be told I’ve struggled to write this post . . . I struggle to write every post.  As a naturally introverted person I prefer to be invisible.  My default is to hide behind the work I do, and I like to connect with people individually through private messages.You may think you see a lot of me on social media . . . in reality I only created 42 posts on LinkedIn last year, even though it is actually my go-to favourite platform because of all the lovely people I’m connected to.&nb...

MARY JALLOW & UTILITY WAREHOUSE

DID YOU KNOW UTILITY WAREHOUSE (UW) started in 1996 and has over 70 awards of which half are 'Which' awards, for our home services and customer service.DID YOU KNOW UW will pay up to £400 to buy you out of a contract. You don't have to worry about early termination fees.DID YOU KNOW UW will pay up to £200 in your account as a boost to help with energy.DID YOU KNOW UW will pay you £50 to have one of our smart metres installed.DID YOU KNOW UW have the highest paying cashback card, up to 10% sho...

WILLOW BURN DIAMOND RAFFLE 2023

Win an 18ct White gold diamond cluster pendant with Pear, Marquise and Round brilliant cut diamonds with Willow Burn Hospice.  Donated by Berry's Jewellers.  Worth £5295!  More details on the pendant can be found here.The 18ct White gold diamond cluster pendant with Pear, Marquise and Round brilliant cut diamonds has been donated by Berry’s Jewellers, a luxury, independent and family-owned top quality retail jewellers with a store on Grey Street in Newcastle and across the UK i...

TOOTH FAIRY!

In Japan, when a child’s tooth comes out, we throw it towards the roof or under the rim, hoping that a strong adult tooth will grow like rat teeth. Rats usually live under the roof or the rim, so by giving the baby teeth to the rats, children grow strong teeth.When we were visiting Japan this summer, I told my children that there is no tooth fairy in Japan.  They had wobbly teeth but they said they would hang on to their teeth until they go back to England.  But not everything goes a...

HAPPY 14th BUSINESS BIRTHDAY, WESTWOOD ACCOUNTANCY!

Thank you to everyone who has supported us on our business journey, here's to celebrating many more!Sharron, Westwood Accountancy...

INNOVATION MEETS HISTORY . . .

Over the Summer we had some interesting projects to undertake, which included six walkover surveys in Northumberland combining to well over 1000 hectares.  Some of the sites we inspected were stunning examples, one of which was the Kettley Rock Art Shelter, Scheduled Ancient Monument List entry 1417677.  The rock art panel likely dates to the Late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, and was originally discovered in the late 20th century.  Unlike a lot of the panels we inspected in the ...

JAN COOK WILLS & TRUSTS

I was delighted to be featured in the Hexham Courant in their supplement on coping with bereavement.  Lots of signposting for receiving advice at a very difficult time.Lasting Powers of Attorney are one of the most important documents any of us can have in place - not just for older family members although often they are considered to be more time sensitive.  To chat about helping elderly relatives get their affairs in order, or to discuss setting them up for yourself, please give us a...

VOLUNTEER AND GROW YOUR CONFIDENCE!

"I volunteered at the Willow Burn shop in Consett with my friend a couple of years ago and found that my confidence and development of people skills increased significantly through engagement with customers.  For many young people, volunteering is seen as a way to gain experience for future job applications, however it is often ignored how much the opportunity can improve personal values, leading to the growth of skills that are beneficial in any situation - whether professional or personal...

SUNDERLAND BUS RETURNS TO THE NORTH EAST!

We’re thrilled to welcome Sunderland Corporation Leyland Lion bus No. 2 to the Beamish Transport fleet!  No. 2 dates back to 1929 and served routes around the Sunderland area, it was part of a first batch of buses purchased by Sunderland Corporation.The Leyland Lion design first appeared in 1925 and marked a significant step-change in bus design – moving from what were essentially adapted goods vehicle chassis, to a design that was tailored to carry passengers.Following use by Sunderlan...

FROM BURUNDI TO UGANDA WITH DURHAM COFFEE

Hello coffee lovers,We wanted to inform you of a little change within our core Heritage Range Coffee Selection; namely that our St. Cuthbert’s Journey coffee is once again going on a pilgrimage and this time we’re moving on from Burundi to Uganda.We have chosen a bean that suits a medium-light roast profile that will blend well in our Castle Blend and stand it’s own as an exciting new single origin too.  You can buy our new Ugandan St. Cuthbert’s Journey Coffee here or pop into our ...

HAVE YOU MET THE LUMO TEAM?

It's been such a busy start to January here at Lumo, our team have been run off their feet but they always have a smile on their face.Last year we had the pleasure of working with the team at Wander Films and we asked them to capture the essence of what makes Lumo different to other R&D firms.Anyone who knows us would agree that the Wander team have captured us perfectly - socks and all!  If we haven't had the pleasure in meeting you yet this video will give you an insight into who we a...

NORIKOART NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Do you have newspapers you don't need any longer?Noriko runs Chigiri-e (Japanese paper collage) workshops and she uses newspapers as art material.  If you have unwanted newspapers, and also live near Consett, please contact Noriko.  She'd love to come and collect your old newspapers in exchange for some of her Chigiri-e cards.Thank you for your help!Noriko's contact: admin@norikoart.comMany thanks,Noriko...

DBN Member Podcast

First Cohort International Ltd is a state-of-the-art substance abuse testing and safety service provider. Based in the North East of England, they deliver workplace drug testing services to businesses and individuals.Managing Director David Bainbridge talks to us about drug testing in the workplace and the effects that consumption of drugs and alcohol can have on both the individual and the people working around them.Listen to full podcast HEREAnyone wishing to get in touch with David can contac...

Free Counselling Sessions

Northern Lights Counselling in Consett is offering a number of free therapy sessions. They currently have a counsellor on placement with them until October and therefore they can offer individuals between 4 and 6 sessions of counselling free of charge. Ideally this will be face to face therapy which will be provided at Consett Innovation Centre but they can offer online therapy too. If you are interested or know anyone who you feel would benefit from this opportunity ( over the age of 18 ) ...

FIVE ACRES COMMUNITY GARDEN C.I.C.

Five Acres Community Gardens CIC was set up by Debbie and Gavin Iceton, it opened in May 2019, after many months of planning around the kitchen table.  They wanted to set up a day service for young adults with special needs in our area.They work in the transport sector and have spent many years transporting young adults to different services within the region.  They noticed that many of these services had been greatly reduced over the years and wanted to offer a unique service where th...