Redesdale

Emma Anderson

Evensong will be celebrated at St. Cuthbert’s, Elsdon, this Sunday, starting at 6pm. The service will be streamed live on the Redesdale Churches Facebook page at www.facebook.com/redesdalechurches/. This is also one of the farewell services for the Rev Dr. Susan Ramsaran who retires as Rector of North Tyne and Redesdale on 15 September.

There will be a bring-and-buy cake stall, in aid of St. John's, Otterburn, at the gates of Otterburn Vicarage, on Wednesday, 9 September. All cakes must be wrapped separately, to be sold as packed. Cakes can be left from 9.45am; the cakes will be sold between 10am and midday.

The next collection in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) takes place on Wednesday,

On September 9, A GNAAS van will be parked outside Otterburn Memorial Hall between 10am and 1pm. The hall will not be open. Items should be securely tied and put straight into the van. Elsewhere, there will be collections at Kirkwhelpington between 10am & 10.45am, Byrness between 11.30am & 12.15pm and Rochester between 12.30pm & 1pm. No official GNAAS bags will be delivered but any suitable bags will be accepted. Mobile phones and printer cartridges should be bagged separately. Books, CDs and DVDs are accepted and should also be bagged separately. Jewellery, ornaments and bric-a-brac cannot be accepted.

Matfen Jean Conteh The Black Bull hosted a sell-out gig in the pub car park on Saturday with local band Stratosphonic and mobile bar The Cool Box. Stringent measures were taken to ensure the event was Covid-secure, even the band were socially-distanced and the tables were well-spaced for groups to feel comfortable and relax. Under a darkening, starry sky, with the moon rising behind the church spire, people steadily chilled, and some tried out their own dance movements to keep warm. Burgers and frankfurters were available and I’m sure that those who attended appreciated the efforts of the bar staff to keep the service going. A fantastic night was had by all, and feedback from the local crowd who attended and villagers listening from their gardens was that the event showed Matfen has a great community spirit. Thanks to all who supported, and Stratosphonic hope to announce a follow-up gig soon – it will be eagerly awaited! Riding Mill Pam Pryor Manager, Suzanne Barker, and the trustees are working hard to encourage regular clubs to return to our village halls, reassuring us that all safety measures have been taken to enable social distancing, with sanitising precautions and risk assessments undertaken. Jan Walmsley and her team would dearly like to welcome villagers back to the ‘Drop-In’ sessions on a Tuesday afternoon and would like to invite people to pop into the Millennium Hall for a cuppa and a chat from 2pm on Tuesday, September 15. The venue has temporarily been changed from the Parish Hall to the Millennium Hall as the latter provides a large room where it would be easier to keep distanced for activities and even for toilet access. Jan emphasises that the decision to attend is one that everyone must take individually, seeking advice if appropriate. Wearing a mask or visor will be discretionary, depending on numbers. If you are keen to return to some normality, this first meeting may be the perfect opportunity to move forward. Thank you Jan. You may know that the Government has launched the Rural Broadband Upgrade Fund, with Northumberland being one of the pilot areas for funding. Villagers need to demonstrate to suppliers that there is enough interest in Riding Mill for them to consider improving broadband in this area so please register by September 30 at broadband-upgrade-fund.campaign.gov.uk/ You are not committing to anything financial and you might just ensure fibre-optic broadband is available to all residents, even those on the outskirts. Allen Valleys Robert Philipson Everyone who had helped organise Opera North’s version of Hansel and Gretel in Allendale Recreation Ground must have viewed the very wet and windy Tuesday with foreboding, but at the eleventh hour the rain stopped and temperature rose to allow full appreciation of the event. Opera North entertained an enthusiastic audience of all ages. With breathtaking singing, nimble storytelling and noisy audience participation there was a strong sense of wonder and joy in being able to be part of a live performance again. It is hoped that there will be many more. The Allendale Forge café and gallery will be showing another exhibition this month. Lynda Sale and Paco Garcia are exhibiting paintings, drawings and etchings under the title His People Her Places 2. The Forge is currently opening on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays so this exhibition can only be viewed on these days between 10am and 4pm. Social distancing rules mean that only a limited number of people can view the work at the same time but visitors are welcome to visit the café and walk round the shop and studios while waiting to see the exhibition. The 10th Allen Valley and King’s Head Leek Club Annual Show is on Saturday September 12 in the King’s Head , Allendale. The show is open to the public from 5pm with free admission and the sale of flowers and vegetables takes place at 7.30pm. Mr B Golightly is the vegetable judge and Mr I Robson the flower judge. The Allen Valleys Oil Buying Co-operative have an order deadline for a September delivery, of noon on Tuesday, September 8. Tel 07770 272130 or email oilorderfawside@gmail.com. Please send any contributions for these notes to robert.philipson@btconnect.com or telephone 01434 685266 & the deadline is Sunday 6pm. Bellingham Birtley Nail The big clean up at the cemetery over the Bank Holiday weekend went well, with more than half a dozen volunteers lending a hand to rub down paint railings, clear paths of moss, and generally tidy the place up on both Friday and Saturday The work on the railings has certainly tidied up the entrance to the village, as has the lopping of the vegetation which has obscured the brown tourist information sign close to the forestry offices for the past decade or so. If you were looking forward to the scaled down leek show on Saturday, you will have to wait a little bit longer. The show will now take place on September 13 at Westlands Allotments, rather than the town hall, and will feature only leeks and onions. The show is open to the public between noon and 2pm. It’s time to clear out your wardrobe and drawers again to support the Great North Air Ambulance. The GNAAS van will be outside the Masonic Hall in Manchester Square between 10,30 and 11-15 on Wednesday morning September 9th. The charity is looking for clothing, bedding, curtains, towels, handbags, belts and shoes which can be left outside the hall on Wednesday. Books , mobile phones and printer cartridges are also required but should be bagged separately. The Black Horse will be galloping back into Bellingham from Wednesday September 16, as the mobile branch of Lloyds Bank returns for its weekly visit. The North Tyne has been yielding a bumper catch of salmon and sea trout during the recent wet weather - long may it continue! Hexhamshire Lynda White Rev. Andrew Patterson invites you to an outdoor service to be held on Sunday, September 6 in the ‘Cellarer’s field at Whitley Mill by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Charlton. The Service will begin at 5pm and will include prayers and praise. Parking is available in the field next to Whitley Mill House. All welcome. Hexhamshire Leek Club is holding its Annual Horticultural and Industrial Exhibition a little differently this year. It will take place on the sports field at Whitley Chapel on Saturday, September 19. There are only a few days left to enter your photographs into the online competition as the closing date is Tuesday, September 8. Please send your photo entries to hexhamshireleekclub@gmail.com stating the entrants name and which class you wish to enter. For more information on classes check the Hexhamshire magazine. If you would like anything included in the Hexhamshire notes please contact me on 01434 673247 or email me soc25lew@aol.com before 4pm on Sunday for the following edition.

Wylam Robin Piette ON Saturday, September 19 from 17.30-18.30, there is to be an outdoor, socially-distanced, live concert at St Oswin’s Church by Semibreve/Clara Vale Music – with cover for rain or shine! Older children welcome, under 15s free. Join cellist Katie Tertell and accordionist Annie Ball for an early evening, candlelit concert of fantastic live music: local folk, classical, jazz and bluegrass. Audience numbers are limited. Please bring your own seating: picnic rugs, camping chairs or whatever you feel comfortable sitting on for an hour! A blanket and hot water bottle recommended for maximum comfort. Open-sided cover for rain, digital live-stream alternative for inclement weather. Maybe pop into the Boathouse, the Fox and Hounds or the Ship Inn for provisions on the way! Great to go to an open air concert during these times, at the same time supporting local musicians! Tickets from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/candlelit-special-wylam-tickets-117376920529 ON Sunday, there was music at the Fox and Hounds in aid of the brain tumour charity Wear a Hat Day. So encouraging that ways and means are being found to bring us a bit of musical joy. UPDATE on Ovingham road works – the landslip repair has been delayed and will now be from September 14 to November 15. The closure is 24/7. The diversions will be Holeyn Hall Road in Wylam and Horsley Road in Ovingham. See https://one.network/?tm=117789029 for more details. THE parish council would be very grateful if anyone who borrowed one of their litter pickers from the Institute over the lockdown period, and is no longer using it, could return it to the Institute entrance foyer so they can be used in future events. Unfortunately, they will not be organising a large, group litter picking event this year, but will be taking part in the Great British September Clean. Horsley Maurice Holliday A PAIR of red kites successfully bred in Stoney Hill Wood, Horsley, this year. Red kites have become a common site around Horsley over the last five years. THE Government scheme ‘Eat out to help out’ has now come to an end. The support has proven to be quite successful at the Lion and Lamb public house. THE Hearth cafe is open every day for take outs. It is still advisable to book a table if you wish to eat or drink inside. The garden area has been busy on good weather days and booking is not essential for these areas. IT is the start of harvest in Horsley with the cutting of some of the barley and rape seed. Please be aware that there are more farm vehicles passing through the village at this time of year. IF you wish to enter the village competition for the tallest sunflower and the largest sunflower head, please submit your measurements by September 4 to Hazel. MANY congratulations to Dexter who was given a special gardening club award for the making of a fantastic hanging basket. BOTH the missing tortoises who tried to make an escape from the village have found their way back home. Happy news. ANOTHER possible escape from the madding crowd and social distancing is to take the right of way from the Harlow Hill lane through the old copse to Horsley and Dunslaw hills. Not only are there great views of some of the Pennine peaks and the Whin Sill crags, but on a clear day you can see the Simonside hills and the Cheviots. In the old copse, you can see the sandstone quarry, where possibly stone was removed to construct some of the Victorian houses in the village. Some of the other buildings are constructed of stones taken from Hadrian’s Wall. Ovingham & Ovington Malcolm Cairns THE dates for the C254 Ovingham to Wylam road closure have been changed by Northumberland County Council.The new dates are from September 14 until November 15, it will be closed to all traffic 24/7.Whilst the closure is in force, the council will carry out the cutting of overhanging branches and encroaching hedges to improve visibility for road users.There will be no change to the planned detour. OVINGHAM Parish Council would like to express their thanks to residents who put forward their ideas for new equipment for the playing field.A set of geometric climbing blocks will soon be installed and the zip wire seat will be replaced at the same time. GO-LOCAL Ovington invite you to join them on Saturday, September 19 for a workshop focusing on conservation,compost and alternative growing methods.There are limited spaces,which are free,contact admin@golocalfood.org.uk for information on this and their group as a whole. Slaley Helen Savage WE’VE had a bit of bother in the Slaley School grounds – it seems that some older children have turned over the picnic tables and even dumped them on the tarmac area. If you suspect your offspring might have been involved, the school would be very grateful if you could please ask them to desist. SLALEY Leek Show can’t go ahead in the way we‘d all hoped, but this year’s leeks will be judged behind closed doors next Saturday - September 12. It’ll explain a few beaming smiles or downcast glumness (probably me) around the village that day. Rumour has it that it’s going to be a classic year. THE Badminton Club is hoping to begin again on Wednesday, September 23 in the Commemoration Hall. Fran has checked the guidance from Badminton England and we have a green light. If you’d like to play, please contact Fran on (01434) 673429. FILM Club too hopes to return soon for a showing of Mrs Lowry and Son, albeit with limited numbers. There should soon be a link to enable on-line booking on the Parish website. Keep your eyes peeled! AND Carol Ferguson is keen to know from any over-50s who’d like to re-start Exercise to Music. Please contact her on (01434) 673585. IF you’d like to book our beautifully renovated Commemoration Hall it’s now possible! Please see the Slaley Village website for more information: www.slaley.org.uk SUNDAY worship at St Mary’s continues outdoors, weather permitting, at 10am. If we have to retreat indoors, please bring a mask. Newbrough Rob Tindall IT’S time to get your entries in for the Parish Produce Show, being held in the Town Hall on Saturday, September 12. Schedules, protocols and entry forms are available online or from the Garage. One interesting, late alteration is that any produce uncollected at 4pm after the show closes will be donated to the Hexham Fresh Food Bank rather than being binned. I’m sure the committee would be delighted to take any other fresh produce you would like to donate to the Bank with the prizewinning exhibits. TWO dates for the diary – Holy Communion at St Michael’s, Warden, at 9.30am on Sunday, September 6 and a zoom meeting of Warden Parish Council at 7pm on Monday, September, 7. One of the items on the latter agenda is the latest consultation on the planning application by Border Stone Quarries to re-open Prudham Quarry. This application has been ongoing since April, 2016. ONE sign that the future is looking a little less dark is the re-emergence of the ‘What’s on in ….’ - the electronic diary circulated by Iain Bennet. After months when nothing was happening, Iain has found enough to list events in September (fourstones.info@fourstonesandnewbrough.co.uk). The Mobile Chip Van and Barber Bus are on their way to the villages, whilst the W.I. are looking forward to meeting in the Town Hall courtyard if the weather permits. WALKING along the river last week, the silence was disturbed by a distinct ‘plop’ rather than a splash, I like to think it was an otter. Humshaugh Herbie Newell WARMEST congratulations to Pat and Bob Moore who are celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary this week. AFTER an extremely difficult six months, Humshaugh First School has reopened fully this week with 53 children in total at the school and nursery this year. A huge thank you to the staff who have worked tirelessly over to the summer to enable safe reopening. THE car wash in aid of the Humshaugh Children’s Playing Field Trust at the Village Hall is this Saturday, September 5. Due to Covid restrictions, appointments for specific times must be made by calling Tim Taylor on (01434) 689438. Please support this important village cause. AS the truncated cricket season nears the end, both Humshaugh CC XIs are on good form. Last Saturday, the 1st XI visited Mitford and dismissed the home team for 67, Steven Thompson taking five wickets. Humshaugh reached the required total in only ten overs with Chris Heslop hitting 56 not out. The 2nd XI hosted Stocksfield, who were dismissed for 81 with Anthony Watson taking four wickets. Humshaugh reached 82 for the loss of four wickets, both Jason Arnup and Glen Tweddle scoring 27. The 2nd XI have one further game to play, and a win will ensure they become Division 2 Champions for the first time since 1951. THERE is a ‘live’ Holy Communion today at St Peter’s at 10am, and online Late@8 contemporary worship this Sunday. The September Broadsheet is now available in the Village Shop and virtual services are continuing.