A PARTNERS and Communities Together (Pact) meeting for the College ward will be held at the Queen Elizabeth College, in Vane Terrace, at 7pm, next Thursday, January 24. It has been moved to this venue after Pact meetings at Abbey School were poorly attended.

GIFT THANKS: ‘Be Santa for a Senior’, an initiative run by Home Instead Senior Care and Lingfield Point, in Darlington, meant that more than 40 elderly people who may otherwise have gone without received Christmas gifts this year. Diane Chandler, director of Home Instead Senior Care thanked everyone for their donations. The presents were distributed with the help of Age UK Darlington.

LET’S DANCE: A ceilidh in aid of Diabetes UK will be held at Darlington and Simpson Rolling Mills Club, in Longfield Road, Darlington, from 7.30pm to 11pm, on Friday, March 1. It will include a ‘bring and share’ supper and a licensed bar. Tickets are £7 at the door or £5 if booked before February 22. Call 01325-488606 or visit northyorks@diabetes.org.uk

OPERA NIGHT: All Saints' Church in Ravensdale Road, Darlington, is hosting its first opera evening, featuring North-East group Opera by Design, on Saturday (January 19), at 7.43pm. The group, whose members are from Guisborough, Marton and Darlington, will perform arias, duets, trios and quartets from the world's favourite operas, including songs from La Traviata and Lakme. Tickets are £10 for adults, £5 for under-16s, and £25 for a family (two adults and two under 16s), from Andy Hopkins on 01325-333865.