Category: Uncategorized

For the next 12 weeks, Millburngate Bridge in Durham is subject to traffic restrictions. Durham County Council have provided cameras for you to check how traffic is running through town. The most useful one shows Gilesgate Bank, approximately 100m from Mallard Days HQ, and can be found at http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/6140/Gilesgate
PLEASE TAKE EXTRA TIME WITH YOUR JOURNEYS

Work to help plan essential maintenance work on one of Durham’s busiest road bridges is taking place this month (May).
Durham County Council will be carrying out investigation works on Milburngate Bridge and drivers are being warned to expect traffic disruption.
The work will take place on Sunday 10 and Sunday 17 May between 7am and 7pm.
Lane closures will be in place on the bridge between 4am and 9pm on the two days the work will be carried out.
Two lanes will remain open, allowing traffic to flow in both directions during the works.
Temporary closures of the footpaths may also be needed but only one will close at any time.
As part of the investigations, specialist testing will be carried on the concrete bridge joints and a number of trial holes will be drilled.
A noise impact assessment has been carried out and noise reduction measures will be put in place to ensure disruption to businesses and residents is kept to a minimum.
Allow extra time for journeys
John Reed, head of technical services at Durham County Council, said: “These investigation works are an essential part of the major maintenance scheme, which will begin in the summer.
“The findings will help us to ensure the maintenance work is carried out in the most efficient way in order to minimise disruption.
“We appreciate that this will cause some inconvenience to people using the bridge and we would ask people to be patient and allow extra time for their journeys during the work.”
The maintenance work in the summer, which is expected to start on Sunday 12 July, will include improvements to drainage, parapets and surfacing, concrete repairs and replacement waterproofing.

As some of you know, Hannah and I are doing the Stockton Duathlon this weekend. Hannah is racing for a charity which helped out her grandma when she was very ill, and is racing in memory of her grandad.
As someone who has just lost their last grandparent this week, I know all too well just how big an impact grandparents have on our lives – even if we may not realise it at the time.
Hannah’s JustGiving page is linked below, and it would be really nice to give what you can – I’m not running a sponsorship campaign myself for this one, but will be making a small donation to Hannah’s 🙂
https://www.justgiving.com/Hannah-Wynn1/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Hannah-Wynn1&utm_campaign=pfp-share
Please give generously.
Thank you – Richard

I’m often ask how travelling expenses for tutorial sessions are calculated.  Well, here’s the answer!

Firstly, expenses are calculated on an individual basis.  This means that they are specific to your situation, and might be different to those of your friends!  However, these are the rules that we apply.
At the Mallard Days HQ:
No travelling expenses!
At your home:
If we come to you, and you live within  half an hour drive time of HQ, your expenses are simply calculated at 45p per mile.
What does 45p per mile look like?
The map on this page has been designed to give a rough idea of how much things will cost – but it is indicative only!  If you live on or within the green line, you can expect to pay £5 or less per session in travelling expenses.  If you live within the maroon line, you can expect to pay £10 or less per session.
What about further than half an hour?
If you live further than half an hour away, (that’s roughly outside the purple line on the map), it takes a long time for us to get to you – which means that we can take on fewer students.  Because of this, we charge £8 extra (on top of the mileage!) for sessions outside of this line. There are also fewer sessions available in this area.
Are expenses charged per session, or per hour?  What if I do a 2 hour session?
The expenses for a two hour session are the same as for a one hour session, but the tuition fee does increase – therefore if travelling is required, longer sessions are slightly cheaper than multiple sessions overall.
I hope that has made things clearer – if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!