On the 5th November, the Mayor of Bishop Auckland, Cllr Michael Siddle watched on Bishop Auckland RUFC closed the gap on league leaders Ryton in a hard-fought clash between first and second place.

Mayor of Bishop Auckland, Cllr Siddle Said: “It was great to be attend such an important game as the clubs clashed for first and second place in the league. The Club are a huge community asset, and a bit of a hidden gem therefore I look forward to attending again to see the Ladies, Juniors and Mini’s sections in action.”

Clive Booth, Chairman of Bishop Auckland Rugby Club said: “It was great to welcome the Mayor to our Club for such an important game. Securing the victory meant that the team remains in a strong position in the league. We look forward to introducing the Mayor to more teams as we are thrilled to have all ages of Rugby at Bishop Auckland from the BLT’s who start at age three, through to the Juniors, and Colts as well as our strong Ladies sides, which has a growing junior section.”

Match report is as follows:  Bishops opened the scoring with a try from James Imiela, converted by Bedford. Bishops maintained the pressure until the half leading 7-0. From the half, Ryton fought back adding a quick penalty and eventually a try to steal the lead at 7 -10.

Bishops pack dominated at the set piece and Ryton seemed to struggle to gain momentum.  From an excellent kick from Luke Redfern, Ryton crumbled under scrum pressure and were intercepted by Redfern who strolled in under the posts before Bedford added another conversion. 14 -10 to Bishop Auckland.

Bishop Auckland began to control the midfield with Nareki and Wilson both making great runs deep into Ryton territory. Eventually the power of Nareki was too much for Ryton, and when they over-committed to the midfield, Andy Harrison was set free to score in the corner. 19-10.

Ryton were dogged to the end and pulled back a late try, with just three minutes to go. The day however, belonged to Bishop Auckland, who held on to victory.

Final score: 19-15.

Today (27th May 2022) the Town Mayor, Councillor Michael Siddle attended the Jubilee Party at Cockton Hill Junior School as a start of the Mayor’s Jubilee activities.

After opening the celebration Mayor Siddle said: “It has been lovely to see the children participating in such a lovely celebration, it has been such a shame that the weather let things down, but lots of fun has still been had. This Jubilee really is a once in a lifetime event, it has been great to be here today as part of the overall celebrations of the Town.”

“The school, have also taken part in the Jubilee Jog, which the Town Council have supported though the Angel Trust to help ensure that the children receive a memento to remember this special event, and the jog has had over 3,000 participants which is amazing. It has been wonderful to the celebrations today, a really good way to start the countdown to the other Town Council activities taking place over the bank holiday weekend.”

“We are thrilled to be an official Jubilee Beacon Town, with our beacon being lit as part of our Platinum Party celebrations next Thursday, where there will be a Full Moon Street Market and entertainment in the Market place from 6pm. This is followed on Friday with our Platinum Car Show, in collaboration with the Northern Bygones Society, and then on Saturday we have a free children’s fun fair in the Market Place, along with the sold out Platinum Picnic at the Castle grounds, in Partnership with the Auckland Project. We have tried to support and arrange a range of events to be as inclusive as possible.”

“It is lovely to see the town start to turn red, white and blue as people start to decorate for the celebrations. The knitted Beefeaters are very special and the work that has gone in to them is outstanding, King James WI have made great job of them. Don’t forget that there is a competition in every ward for best dressed windows, don’t forget to let us know so we make sure we take a look at yours as part of the judging next week.”

The Town Council are hosting a range of events across the Jubilee weekend as well as supporting others, these include:

• Supporting the Woodhouse Close Community Centre and Auckland Youth and Community Centre event on 1st June 2022.
• Supporting the Wear Valley Community Action Event on at Henknowle Community Centre on 2nd June.
• Platinum Party and Beacon Lighting event Market Place, Bishop Auckland on 2nd June.
• Platinum Car Show, in Partnership with Norther Bygones Society, Market Place, Bishop Auckland on 3rd June.
• Platinum Fun Fair, (small free fun fair for children under 8 years old), Market Place, Bishop Auckland on 4th June.
• Platinum Picnic, in partnership with The Auckland Project, at Auckland Castle on 4th June.
  Combined Church Service, by Bishop Auckland Churches Together, Auckland Castle on 5th June

Across the weekend there will also be a display of knitted bunting and knitted jubilee Beefeater Soldier’s knitted by King James WI in the Market place, and on Fore Bondgate.

There will be a ‘Find our Queen’ free trail in the town centre – sheets can be collected from the Town Council stand at the beacon event or No.42 over the weekend.

There are also other activities to see including a display of jubilee flags designed by school children of the town in No.42 Market Place, coordinated by the Angel Trust and kindly displayed by the Auckland Project. The Auckland Project are also working with the Bridge Creative to run a pop up Royal Teas event in No.1 Market Place, where attendees with receive a wonderful talk by renowned Royalist and memorabilia collector Anita Atkinson.

Bishop Auckland Town Council met on last week (Tuesday 17 May 2022) for their Annual Meeting, at which they appointed the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the municipal year 2022-23. Cllr Michael Siddle has been appointed as the 15th Mayor of Bishop Auckland, and Cllr Sam Zair has been appointed Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022-23.

Mayor Cllr Michael Siddle said: “I am both honoured and delighted to have been chosen to represent Bishop Auckland Town Council as Mayor for 2022-23. I look forward to the opportunities I will have over the next year to work closely with my fellow Councillors and the local community to ensure that we meet the wants and needs of our constituents.”

“During my time as Mayor of Bishop Auckland I want to provide support and opportunities for the young people of our town, therefore I am going to raising funds to support this.”

Deputy Mayor Cllr Sam Zair said: “It’s an honour to be chosen as Deputy Mayor of Bishop Auckland Town Council. This position comes with great responsibility and I will support the Mayor Cllr Michael Siddle in every way possible.”