THE Secretary of the White House Preservation Trust has given his backing to Volunteer Now’s campaign to get more local people involved in volunteering in 2012.

Belfast Zoological Garden’s new catering facility, ‘The Treetop Tearoom’, was officially opened on Friday, February 10.

THE Newtownabbey branch of national debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is experiencing its busiest period of the year.

BALLYCLARE Women’s Institute President Joy Parkinson welcomed everyone to the group’s February meeting which was the Annual Dinner held in Oregano restaurant, Ballyrobert.

Big hearted staff and customers of Bureau cafe bar and restaurant recently supported the MS Society NI by holding a pub quiz.

THE recent Times’ reader competition to own ‘The Complete Gardening Expert’ - a book which provides advice on how to make the most of your garden - has been won by Mrs Ann Fisher from Woodford Road in Newtownabbey.

MORE than 400 people were caught watching TV without a valid licence in Newtownabbey in 2011, it has been revealed.

SATURDAY’S 55th Annual Match organised by the Ballyboley and District Tractor Ploughing Society was postponed, because the lands on the Templepatrick Road just outside Ballyclare, were waterlogged.

Following on from last year’s, ‘An Evening with Yazz’, Ballyhenry Presbyterian Church are playing host to singer/ songwriter, Steve Parsons, this Sunday evening, February 19.

Following on from the huge success of Bugsy Malone in 2011, the Grand Opera House Summer Youth Project is egg-stremely pleased to announce Honk! as its selected musical for 2012.

The Courtyard Theatre in Newtownabbey will be transported back to the heyday of the 60s later this month as a teen guitar prodigy from Larne plays the hits of The Shadows.

PUPILS from St Bernard’s Primary School visited W5 recently as part of Northern Bank Science Counts, an exciting education partnership with W5, Northern Ireland’s award winning interactive discovery centre.

Northern Ireland is moving to Digital-only TV in October 2012. To make the transition as easy as possible, Age NI is calling on volunteers in the Newtownabbey area aged 50+ to get involved in the Switchover Help Scheme which offers everyone aged 75 and over, practical help to switch their TV to digital before switchover in October.

Roses are red,

Normally a 25th anniversary is celebrated with a glass of bubbly, however, in 2012, Weightwatchers is marking the start of its 25th year in Northern Ireland by making sure its 20,000 members across the region, including those in Ballyclare, Glengormley and Carrickfergus, join in the celebrations in the healthiest way possible - with bowls of nutritious porridge!

MAYOR Billy Webb, in his role as Chair of the White House Preservation Trust, welcomed Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Co. Antrim, Mrs Joan Christie OBE, and Jacqui Dixon, the Chief Executive of Newtownabbey Borough Council, to the White House recently.

A CHURCH in Mallusk is set to run free sessions to help local people get on top of their household finances.

NewtoWNABBEY Branch, North of Ireland Family History Society are due to meet at 7pm in the Drama Theatre at Glengormley High School, Ballyclare Road, on Monday, February 13.

CANON Fenton will speak on ‘A boyhood growing up in Doagh’ at the February meeting of Ballyclare Historical Society.

Two years on and Theatre at The Mill continues to spool colourful threads of arts and entertainment, growing a solid reputation as the place to go for nights out in the Newtownabbey area.