The Bishop Auckland Food Festival takes place on April 23rd and 24th, with various events, demonstrations, shows, and stalls featuring “the very best food and drink the North East has to offer”.

One of the more interesting features, from a beer­lovers aspect, is the Tipple Tent. No prizes for what goes on there! Two of our Durham CAMRA area breweries will be there to offer the chance to talk to the brewers themselves, and samples their wares.

The Branch gives notice that the 2016 Branch AGM will take place on Tuesday 12th April at The Ship in Middlestone starting at 19:30.

A bus is being provided. If you are interested in using this, please email social@camradurham.org.uk for information. It would also be appreciated if you could email us if you plan on making your own way there so we know what size buffet is needed.

Thanks to all Durham CAMRA members who took part in the vote for Branch pubs and club of the year 2016. The votes have been counted and ratified by the branch and the results are given below. Congratulations to winners, runners-up and all who received nominations. The winners will now go forward to the regional competitions in the respective categories.

Thanks are also due to Black Paw Brewery and the Station House, Durham for providing prizes in the draw amongst those members submitting votes. The winners of these are in the process of being contacted.

Stockton Beer Festival to be held on 25th - 27th February at ARC, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL.

The venue is a 3 minute walk from Stockton High Street for those using buses.
10 minutes from Stockton railway station (Northern trains from the North-East)
15 minutes from Thornaby railway station (Trans Pennine from Manchester via Leeds, York, Thirsk & Northallerton / Northern trains from Darlington).

Over the years, Durham CAMRA have supplied supply all volunteers with a shirt for helping out at the festival and in some years we used to have polo shirts for sale to the public. As we never managed to sell all the polo shirts and usually there are a few staff shirts left over at the end of each festival we found ourselves storing more and more surplus clothing. After the Nepal earthquake one of our members who had visited the country had the idea of posting these surplus shirts over to his Nepalese colleague to distribute to some of the needy villagers.