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MEET NIALL McKAY-MOUNT FROM THE SCREAMING CHIMP CHILLI SAUCE COMPANY

Hey everyone,Meet Niall McKay-Mount from the Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce Company.Niall started his business from his home kitchen in Co Durham and now ships his award winning sauces all over the world! Melanie talks to Niall about what inspired him to start making chilli sauce,  the "sauceome" awards he's received, exporting and his plans for 2024 and beyond.If you follow Niall on social media you'll be familiar with his 'saucy' sayings,  "hello chimpions", "stay sauceome", "keep on c...

NEW MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT! DBN WELCOMES USHAW COLLEGE

We first met Olivia Willmore from Ushaw College at our June networking meeting last year.  Olivia then attended our Shoebox Expo at Beamish Museum in October. We were so fascinated with her presentation about the history of the college that we just had to visit for ourselves!In 2023, Ushaw College won the Historic Houses Collections Award, and were a finalist for the Visitor Economy Award at the County Durham Together Awards! Take a look at the featured video which highlights what is s...

NEW PODCAST: MEET KEIRON & CRAIG FROM WALK & TALK TRUST

New DBN members Keiron Young & Craig Southern from Walk & Talk Trust talk about their new project Heritage 100.The charity is looking to help fund the establishment of a series of walks spanning the region, to be known as the Heritage 100. These short walks will encourage people to explore the region and gain a wider awareness of its wonderful countryside, its history and heritage. Families will be able to walk together in new places and discover some of the treasures that...

BEAMISH MUSEUM - TAKE A SEAT!

Beamish Museum are delighted that our exciting Take A Seat campaign has now launched!  Click here for details.Sponsors will receive a brass plaque on the back of one of our cinema seats in The Grand cinema, based in our 1950s town.  You can choose to have either your personal name or your business name engraved for £5,000 which also includes us displaying your company logo on screen in the cinema as part of our rolling credits at the end of each film for the period of the sponsorship ...

MATT BAKER AND HIS PARENTS VISIT USHAW

Catch up on this Channel 4 about Matt and his parents visiting Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens.Northern Echo Article:https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23967630.ushaw-historic-house-appears-matt-bakers-more4-show/Channel 4 on demand:https://www.channel4.com/programmes/matt-baker-travels-with-mum-dad/on-demand/74868-006...

TAX RETURN

The Self Assessment Tax Return deadline for the end of January is fast approaching. If you need help with your Tax Return don't hesitate to give us a call: 01207 509871.Sharronhttps://www.westwoodaccountancy.com/...

AUTUMN STATEMENT UPDATE FROM WESTWOOD ACCOUNTANCY

Following the Autumn Statement there are seven key planning areas to watch out for for small businesses, companies and employers...https://bit.ly/49KKKPPWestwood Accountancy...

FUNDING FOR WELCOME SPACES

Community groups and organisations across County Durham are being invited to apply for financial support to become Welcome Spaces.Durham County Council is working alongside the County Durham Community Foundation to offer funding to the voluntary and community sector to create a network of places where people feel safe, warm and included.Funding of £280,000 is available and you can apply for a grant of up to £3,000 to make a real difference in the community.Organisations in the Welcome Spaces s...

DBN MEETING DATES FOR 2024

We have added our networking schedule for face to face meetings in 2024.Make sure you pop these dates in your diary.Melanie & David...

COVID-19 MEMORIAL CONSULTATION EVENT

Durham County Council is hosting a series of drop-in consultation events around Consett to discuss the installation of a memorial dedicated to those that sadly lost their lives during the pandemic. In partnership with the elected members, local community groups and local schools, the Community Economic Development team have commissioned initial designs and would like to share these design options with the local community to gain feedback and opinions on the proposals. If you would like...

CHRISTMAS IN CONSETT 2023

Join the Derwent Valley Partnership (DVP) for a FREE festive entertainment programme on Saturday 9 December in Middle Street, Consett.The fun starts at 4pm ending with the Christmas tree lights switched on at 6pm.Live musicChildren’s costumed characters and SantaWear your Christmas jumper to be in with a chance to win a family ticket to see Jack and the Beanstalk at The Empire Theatre, Consett.  (Tickets kindly donated by The Empire Theatre)Pop into The HUB i...

NEW MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT: CITIZENS HOUSE IN CONSETT

Citizens House is a brand new purpose built venue ideally situated in the centre of Consett.Offering its own car park, disabled access, an on-site café and kitchen facilities, Citizens House provides a user friendly meeting place custom made to meet all your requirements.We are sure you will meet Sharon at one of our meetings soon. In the meantime take a look at the video below which explains more about Citizens House and their heritage.Website: https://www.citizenshouseconsett.o...

Join us for our last meeting of 2023!

Our last face to face networking meeting is on Tuesday 5th December at The Steel Town Bistro within Derwentside College, Consett.As it's December this meeting is Christmas themed so Christmas jumpers are encouraged but not essential.Come along to meet our members and join in our speed networking hour. Tea/Coffee and breakfast buns will be served on arrival.Places at this venue are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment: https://bit.ly/47djesfSee you soon!Melanie & David...

Welcome to DBN Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce!

We'd like to offer a warm DBN welcome to Niall Mckay-Mount from Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce!Based in Witton Gilbert, Screaming Chimp is a small family run business producing free from chilli products with no nasty additives, colourings or artificial ingredients. They make fresh chilli sauces that are both vegetarian and vegan friendly and delicious on all the meat you can eat or fish you can dish!I'm sure you'll meet Niall at one of our meetings soon but in the meantime check out his website&nb...

Jan Cook Wills and Trusts

At our recent meeting at Lanchester Garden Centre, Jan from Jan Cook Wills and Trusts Ltd spoke to members about the importance of getting the right planning in place and that it was actually one of the kindest things we could do for our families.She spoke about the difference between a standard will and a will with a trust within it and how this might benefit families.  It was the difference between making predictions now on what you think the situation might be for each of your beneficiar...

Heritage 100 Project

At our last networking meeting we had the pleasure of welcoming Keiron and Craig from the Heritage 100 Project.The Heritage 100 project is a series of 100 collectable, circular walks and accompanying stories set within County Durham.  Managed by Durham based charity -  The Walk and Talk Trust - its aim is to create a legacy of walking and wellbeing. The walks will showcase the wonderfully diverse Durham countryside from the Heritage coast in the east to the Durham dales in th...

The White Room Music Cafe

In the spirit of supporting local we'd like to introduce a new business located in Stanley!Initially a picture framing house, the White Room Music Cafe has since been established as a warm, friendly and very accommodating place for people to enjoy good coffee, cakes and great craic as well as attracting top local musicians to their weekly acoustic & folk club sessions and various monthly events.We are looking to host one of our DBN meetings at the cafe in 2024. In the meantime, if you'd like...

BEAMISH MUSEUM - TAKE A SEAT!

Sponsor a seat in Beamish Museum's 1950s Grand CinemaBeamish Museum is building a recreation of The Grand from Ryhope in Sunderland and you can have the opportunity to sponsor a cinema seat as part of our Take a Seat campaign.Beamish buffs and film fanatics alike can sponsor an individual seat within the main auditorium of our recreation of The Grand, supporting the museum.Cinema seats can be sponsored by individuals or businesses.  Those who Take a Seat can have a name of their choice engr...

Celebrating individuals who have helped raise money for Willow Burn Hospice

David & Melanie had a lovely evening at Willow Burn Hospice last night to celebrate the individual fundraisers who have challenged themselves this year to raise money for the hospice.Willow Burn is 44% funded by the NHS which means that 56p in every £ they spend needs to be raised by them.Melanie took part in the Consett Steel Town 20 this year and walked 20 miles to raise money for Willow Burn in memory of DBN member Gemma Justice who passed away earlier this year.Thank you to&nb...

'DO BUSINESS' NETWORK AFTER DARK WITH TONY

A big thank you to Tony Liddell.  We thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and were thrilled, shaken and bewildered by stories of things that go bump in the night!  Or do they!?Tony has now edited the material and if you have some time to spare it is definitely worth listening to!  Pop it on in the background as you are working (the podcast lasts about one hour).There are two sites where you can listen to the podcast:https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cykyr-14ee487https://theboggartwood....

NEW PODCAST. MEET ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS, MICHAEL GIBBON FROM RAINTON BRIDGE GROUP LTD.

Rainton Bridge Group Ltd is an IT solution business providing an outsourced IT department to SME's all over the UK.In this episode Director Michael Gibbon talks to Melanie about how he started his business, what is main 'bread and butter' service is and the benefits of using his services.You can listen to this podcast hereConnect with Michael on LinkedinWebsite: https://www.raintonbridgegroup.co.uk/...

NEW DIGITAL SUPPORT - FREE TO NORTH EAST BUSINESSES

At Department for Business & Trade (DBT), we have now rolled out new specialist support programme open to all businesses across the Northeast, specifically for all aspects of Digital support, to help you grow your overseas sales. This new support includes access to free one-to-one support with a Digital Trade Adviser, employed within DBT, to assist across all areas of your digital objectives, this can include a website analysis for example a deep dive into your website reach or competit...

FUNDING AVAILABLE: CHRISTMAS 2023 HOLIDAY ACTIVITY WITH HEALTHY FOOD (HAWHF)

Holiday Activities with Healthy Food (HAWHF) – Christmas 2023 - Derwent Valley Partnership AAPFunding is available for face-to-face activities for children young people and families during the Christmas holidays in 2023.  The scheme aims to support local community groups and organisations based in the Derwent Valley Partnership area to deliver enriching holiday activities during the Christmas holidays including healthy food.  Please note we cannot fund individuals or profit-making or...

THE DBN SMALL BUSINESS SHOEBOX EXPO AT BEAMISH MUSEUM

We had a fantastic day at Beamish Museum for our Small Business Shoebox Expo yesterday.A huge thank you to all the exhibitors for putting so much thought and effort into your shoebox presentations - they were all amazing!The focus of the day was to talk about the services each business provided and what they are looking for from other DBN members/ exhibitors in terms of support, referrals and feedback. It was also great to see so many 'light bulb' moments when exhibitors identified opportunities...

Create Intrigue Celebrates 10th Business Birthday!

This week Ann English from Create Intrigue is celebrating a milestone that isn’t just about numbers… it’s about the impact made by the countless individuals and businesses she's had the privilege of working with over the last decade. In October 2013, when she embarked on this rollercoaster of a journey which is called self employment, she didn’t know where that would take her, or all the incredible people she’d meet, many who’ve become clients and life-long friends. Along the way sh...