Glendale Live May-June 2021

Contents 2 Ad Gefrin on the move.

3 Crookham’s Flodden

memorial seeks new home.

Referendum Day for Wooler 4 Chevy Chase heads for hills 7 Parish project for gardeners 9 A Glendale Life - Tom Johnston 13 Alexa’s animals 17 Invitation to bowling 18 Croquet at Etal 20 What’s On 25 Gardening Victorian style 29 Wooler Arts 31 Farmers’ Market 33 Living life ‘Without Limits’ 37 Lowick launches own radio 39 Pete Loam

Thanks to Patrick Sheard

for this

quacker of a

cover

photograph.

We’re always looking for

something bright and breezy for our cover, preferably local, so if

you’ve got a picture you’d like to share, send it to:

editor.glendalelive@gmail.com

What’s on your doorstep?

Miniature Steam Railway | Working Corn Mill | Medieval Castles | Heavy Horse Centre Pre-Raphaelite Painted Schoolroom | Seasonal Events | Places to Shop, Eat and Stay Northumberland’s Only Thatched Pub | Beautiful Countryside to Explore

www.ford-and-etal.co.uk

Where did the Chain Bridge go...

No, it wasn’t Nicola Sturgeon making a night-time raid on border crossing points. The 200 year old Chain Bridge, is undergoing a £10.5 million restoration, due to finish in January 2022.

With a single 449ft span, it was the longest wrought iron suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1820. Before these works began, it was the world’s oldest suspension bridge still carrying traffic.

Amazing what goes on in your own backyard when you’re not getting out and about.

nial hunt for volunteers is picking up pace, as you’ll read inside.

We look forward to hearing what groups and organisations are getting up to this summer. After all, with all this promised freedom, we’re going to need places to go to and things to do. or

With a bit of luck, we’ll all be rediscovering our favourite haunts once Boris opens the starting gates.

Signs of the green shoots of recovery are already about and the peren-

the edit

Next editorial deadline May 31 - editor.glendalelive@gmail.com

Next ‘what’s on’ deadline June 7 - whatson.glendalelive@gmail.com To book advertisements - advertising.glendalelive@gmail.com Facebook - Glendale Live

Fully reopening on the 17th of May Beer garden open weekends from the 16th April • Child, boot & dog friendly • Large secluded garden • Open log fire

20-22 Cottage Road, Wooler NE71 6AD

01668 281581 | enquires@tankervillehotel.co.uk

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Ben Murphy has been appointed head distiller at Ad Gefrin and will lead the distillery team producing Northumbria’s first single malt whisky.

Trained at Heriot-Watt University’s Brewing and Distilling School in Edinburgh, Ben has worked with brewers around the world including Rock Town Distillery in Arkansas, Norway’s Berentsens Brygghus, Liverpool Craft Beer Company Ltd and The Ginsmiths of Liverpool.

Originally from The Wirral, 35 year old Ben says: “I am especially excited and keen to explore the use of modern yeasts and heritage barleys, such as those that might have been around in the Anglo-Saxon times.”

Ben Murphy, Ad Gefrin’s head distiller, ooking forward to turning Cheviot water and local barley into malt whisky.

‘The Journey’ gets off to a great start

Construction work has finally begun on Ad Gefrin distillery and visitor centre based in Wooler - after news that it had secured £4.6 million in Government and local authority grants.

We’ve been overwhelmed by everyone’s good wishes – even when it looked as if progress was slow to the point of coming to a halt.”

The new visitor experience is expected to open in Autumn 2022 and aims to create the equivalent of 50 full time jobs.

Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council said: “We have worked hard behind the scenes to support this fantastic project which will bring more jobs, investment and visitors.

Eileen Ferguson, one of the team behind Ad Gefrin, said: “We have never doubted that we could fulfil our vision to create a world class visitor destination and the people of Glendale haven’t doubted either.

“Tourism is a key economic driver for Northumberland and this couldn’t have come at a better time to support a Covid-19 recovery and boost the expanding market for UK ‘staycation’ holidays.”

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Disturbing the peace

The 11metre long Flodden Peace Timeline in the garden at Crookham United Reformed Church is likely to be moving later this year. The church itself closed last November and the building is due to be sold off.

This has raised the issue of what should happen to the information board which was put there during the 2013 Flodden 500 commemorations. It was originally designed and made in sections so should be able to be moved, though some parts may need repair. A site closer to the Flodden monument is being investigated where more people may see and enjoy it.

Crunch time for Wooler Neighbourhood Plan A date has been set for the public vote on Wooler Neighbourhood Plan - June 10.

not to accept the plan. Information on where and how to vote was due to be sent out by Northumberland County Council as Glendale Live went to press.

The plan lays out how Wooler’s future should be shaped - showing where new housing could be built, areas earmarked for industrial development or business and land which should remain green space.

Copies of the WNP are on the Parish Council website (see below *) with printed copies at the Cheviot Centre.

Wooler PC and the neighbourhood plan steering group urge all residents to vote, in person or by post, to make the town’s views known.

Several consultations with residents have been held since 2016 and the June 10 referendum will let residents vote on whether or

*https://northumberlandparishes.uk/wooler/documents/neighbourhood-plan

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The Chevy Chase is back

The Chevy Chase fell run, which was cancelled last year because of Covid-19, is set to go ahead on July 3.

Shank House, Low and High Bleakhope, Scotsman’s Knowe, Cheviot, then to Wooler via Cold Hill. The first Chevy Chase was run in sandshoes. Boots were worn and rucksacks carried thereafter.”

Three hundred runners take part in the 20 mile race that takes competitors up Cheviot (2,676 feet) and Hedgehope (2,348 feet).

He recalls coming third in the 1956 race in four hours and 25 minutes and second in 1957 in three hours and 55 minutes.

One of the toughest competitions going, the Chevy Chase started in 1955 and has been run every year except 1967 and 2001 during the foot and mouth outbreaks and last year. Originally, the race was promoted by the Youth Hostel Association and ran from Alnham Youth Hostel, across Cheviot, ending up at Wooler Youth Hostel.

The fell race was men only for a good number of years, with women allowed to enter a walking section.

Eventually women were included..

YHA member Val Cobbing is also quoted on Trevor’s Blog: “I took part in the first ever ‘ladies’ section event, as I remember, it was from Alnham YH via Cheviot to Wooler YH and omitted Hedgehope. Ashamedly, I made a name for myself and ended up in the Journal newspaper.

Steep The inaugural event was won by Mal Chesney. Runner George Harrison describes the route in ‘Trevor’s Blog’ (www.trevorhipkin.net) “The route involved climbing the steep hill directly outside Alnham YH and

“Somehow after checking in on Cheviot (no one else around) I started the descent and about a third of the

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cuit starting and ending at Wooler.

Wooler YHA manager Lawrence Heslop took over promoting the race and did so for 18 years - even after moving to be warden at the Newcastle YH.

way down realised all was not well as the trees I could see were not the distinctive shape of Langleeford – like an idiot I carried on and ended up at Hownam, in the College Valley, where by some strange coincidence I met Ricky Bareham who took me back in his Morgan to the Dunsdale Ski Club hut for a cup of tea, after which he said ‘you’d better start on your way back to Wooler’.

Spectators Since 2004 the event has been co-ordinated by Wooler Running Club but they rely on around 50 volunteers from the local community. Wooler YH still hosts the event.

Manager Karl Wait is safety officer on the Chevy Chase committee.

I mistakenly thought he was going to give me a lift. So he set me on the track towards Broadstruther – by which time there were search parties out for me – I never did compete again.”

Places for this year are all taken and there is a waiting list. Entries for next year, the 65th race, will be taken from next March.

Former competitor Peter Whewell, also quoted in Trevor’s Blog, says that up to 1986, the course was slightly shorter than the current distance – approximately 17 miles, but it attracted top fell runners from around the country.

And if you’re not up to running the course, it’s a great spectacle to watch either out on the course (often at Carey Burn Bridge) or at the start on Common Road, or the finish at the hostel.

At some point the course was re-routed, making it a 20 mile cir-

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New project grows healthy plants and healthier people An exciting new project is springing up at Wooler’s School Farm Field site - a community poly tunnel.

who want to re-engage but might be feeling nervous or unsure about mixing again.”

“Anyone with 30 minutes a week or 30 minutes a day is welcome.”

The town’s Floral Display Group has teamed up with the parish council The poly-tunnel was funded by to use the tunnel to grow seeds and Coun Anthony Murray who made a ‘plug’ plants to fill the baskets and donation from his planters around Northumberland Wooler this sumSpending time in green space County Council mer. The project or bringing nature into your small projects is being supporteveryday life can benefit both fund to the pared by Wooler your mental and physical wellish council.

Garden Centre. being...

Mind mental health charity

“This is a great community asset which will benefit many - including the allotmenters at Wooler Community Food Garden, young people who would like to learn about gardening and less mobile people who can enjoy ‘potting on’ in company thanks to easy access.”

As well as enabling more plants to be grown more cheaply, the project’s main aim is to get the community involved - either tending the plants in the tunnel or growing seeds and plants at home.

“We want to involve people of all ages and gardening abilities,” said parish council clerk Kerren Rodgers.

Anyone who would like to find out more or get involved can contact Kerren on 07866 566415 or email woolerparishcouncil@yahoo.com

“Particularly people who have been isolating during the pandemic and

qHelpers are needed to water flower planters in Wooler town centre.

Anyone who can spare two-three hours a fortnight from late May to October can contact Catherine Dunn on 07710 801432.

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...A Glendale Life...A Glendale Life...A Glendale Life...

Tom bows out

There was a palpable shock when the announcement came: Tom Johnston to retire at the end of May.

industry and I could see no future in it, so I left.”

He took off on a trip around France and Spain, sometimes sleeping on beaches and living very cheaply. “It was a life-changing experience for me.”

The man who's been so influential in Wooler and Glendale for the past quarter of a century was stepping down as chief executive of the Glendale Gateway Trust.

Then he came to Wooler. He'd actually been before – at the age of 16 Tom's first trip away from home on his own was with a couple of friends. They cycled up to Wooler and stayed a couple of nights at the youth hostel.

Tom was born in Ashington in 1961.

He went to Bedlington Grammar School, left at 16 (even though his teachers wanted him to do A levels and go on to university) and joined the Coal Board as an engineering apprentice. “I suppose at that age I just wanted to do something more practical,” he says.

In 1986 Tom did the Chevy Chase run in Wooler and decided he quite liked the place. Chatting to some of the locals he realised there were opportunities for voluntary work – and he ended up helping out at the youth hostel. This led to a job at the hostel (working for one Rachel Sinton, who later ended up working for Tom at the Cheviot Centre!).

He got his engineering HNC at Ashington College – a qualification that would come in handy later.

The miners' strike in the mid-1980s was a major shock to the young Tom. “There was massive change, they were dismantling the mining

“It was actually a failing youth

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hostel but we managed to turn it round,” says Tom.

of the founding trustees of the GGT in 1996.

After six or seven years he took a job with a specialist cycle firm in Coldstream. “That was bizarre; we were selling all sort of bikes, including recumbent ones. I remember selling one for £3,500 – in 1992!

I bought a car for only £490 four years ago. There were some really special bikes.”

The village plan envisaged turning the former workhouse into a community centre – to be known as the Cheviot Centre. Money was tight and it clearly needed a project manager.

Village appraisal Back in Wooler Tom was still involved with a variety of community projects, including a Town Trail and a village appraisal plan. He became chair of the Wooler Village Appraisal group which led to the formation of the Glendale Gateway Trust which was set up to carry through the project's proposals.

So almost inevitably he became one

Tom took on the job in February 2000. “We were having to save money on just about everything we did. I remember new washbasins were going to cost £14 each, so we just kept the old ones. They're still being used today.”

The early days of the GGT saw plenty of problems and they had to take risks. “We were absolutely determined we were not going to fail,” he says.

There was support from the Regional Development Agency and the

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Northumberland Strategic Partnership (“they really believed in what we were doing”) and they got a useful £129,000 Lottery Fund grant.

ered his engineering skills so from 2003-2007 he spent many of his holidays sailing from Portsmouth to the Canaries and around the Med.

“I remember getting a phone call One of the many VIPs Tom met up asking why with during we hadn't his years applied at the GGT for Market was Sir John Town Hall, the Initiative multistatus. I had millionaire 48 hours to businessput an apman behind plication tothe Metrogether – but Centre. “We it was worth discovered it. I have we were to confess both edthe appliucated at cation was Bedlington pretty much Grammar fiction, but School, and On the High Seas with the tall ships it meant we then both had funding went on to for the next three years.” work for the Coal Board. But that's where the similarities ended I'm The grand opening of the Cheviot afraid!” says Tom. Centre in October 2001 by Prince Charles put the GGT on the map.

Two principles have been with Tom from the beginning. 'Clustering' is Their next project was to buy up a one of them: the idea of having a chunk of Wooler High Street includnumber of organisations under one ing the land where Butler Court was roof to share overheads – making then built. “We couldn't have done each more viable. this without an interest-free loan from Duncan Davidson, but that Tom wanted the Wooler Library to opened up support from move into the Cheviot Centre at the other organisations. It was risky – start – it took the County Council we bought it without really having a more than a decade to agree to that, proper survey. But Butler Court got but it probably saved the library built and we then had funds to help from closure. rejuvenate the High Street.”

The move to redevelop the Cheviot In those early years Tom was still Centre into a joint community and doing volunteering work. He was small business centre seven years keen on the Tall Ships trips and volago was also part of this vision. unteered as crew. They soon discovAnd the idea of developing pro-

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jects that would produce an income (housing, buying the youth hostel, High Street properties, renting Cheviot Centre spaces) to achieve financial sustainability was Tom's other driving force. Both, it seems, he has to a large extent done.

be able to help some other organisations outside Wooler, particularly on housing issues.”

Frank Mansfield

So what does the future hold for Tom? “Well I do need to step back from the Trust once I've gone. I've still got plenty of tinkering to do with cars and bikes and things, and I may

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A lifetime rescuing four-legged friends Finding homes for unwanted pets is a never-ending task as Jenny Pollock learns from refuge founder Alexa Nisbett Alexa Nisbett` Alexa Nisbett says there are two kind of dog owners – those that want an animal for selfish reasons and those who want to give a dog a good home.

“There are genuine reasons for re-homing a dog – people going into a home or a flat, or even people dying. Of course there are still those who just chuck dogs on the street.”

She’s seen plenty of both in the 30 years that she and her trusty band of volunteers have been rescuing and re-homing dogs – more than 3,000 of them to date.

A life-long animal lover, Alexa has always had beasties about – hens, geese, birds, cats and dogs and the occasional rat for good measure.

Alexa started by providing a temporary home for litters of puppies that had been dumped and rescued by NEAR (North East Animals at Risk).

“Looking after the puppies was lovely, but we had to find homes for them,” she recalls.“Refuges were just starting and people began changing the way they disposed of unwanted animals. Once they realised there were places that would re-home them, they weren’t so quick to put dogs down.

After NEAR folded, Alexa decided to go it alone, funding her work with car boot sales and, for 20 years, a stall at Alnwick market.

More people came on board, both fundraising and helping to look after the dogs that ended up on her doorstep. In 2016 Alexa’s Animals became a registered charity with six trustees and 25 loyal helpers.

The next challenge was finding a site for the refuge. “Nobody wants a refuge near them,” says Alexa. “It’s

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partly noise, but also pedigree dog owners don’t want them contaminated by strays and mongrels.”

the injuries that some animals arrive with. These can require operations costing thousands of pounds.

Three years ago they bought a boarding kennel at Charlton Mires, with a loan from Northumberland County Council. They have worked alongside the county’s dog warden services for years.

Alexa estimates it costs around £40,000 a year to run the refuge, with more than half the cost being vet bills. As well as physical injuries, some animals suffer mental trauma.

“Ninety nine percent of dogs can be saved,” says Alexa.

“You can’t release a vicious dog but with the help of dog psychologists, what appears to be a bad tempered animal can usually be turned around.

The site is split between commercial boarding kennels and kennels for rescued dogs. The charity employs a manager and kennel workers but still relies on volunteers.

The commercial Volunteer kennels help fund Katherine the charity’s work, Grant with though lack of bookher own ings since the Covid rescue dog lockdowns have hit Craig profitability. Similarly the Wooler charity shop was a good fundraiser until the lockdowns.

Running a refuge is costly. Animals have to be vaccinated and spayed which costs £250. Then there are

“ If an animal is ill, a vet will tell you if the problem is incurable.

Most of our animals who need on-going medication are looked after by our volunteers in their own homes with the charity paying for medicines.”

Occasionally animals arrive in a heart-breaking condition. “There

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was a little dachshund brought in with its jaw hanging by a thread; a hole in the roof of its mouth where the liquid went and mammary tumours. The vet couldn’t save her – and she was brought in by a breeder and judge at Crufts!” says Alexa.

She has little time for those who make their living breeding dogs for thousands of pounds. “Why would you do that? Labrador puppies can fetch £2,500. It’s ridiculous – they’re trading in dogs’ lives.”

She fears that breeders do little to check prospective homes. “We had a little French bulldog in recently.

Its owner had bought it to sit on her knee – it never saw daylight. .

“People looking in a refuge are mostly people who put the dog’s needs first – the salt of the earth.

Our job is to match the person with the right dog. For instance, a collie is a working dog – not a family pet to sit on a sofa. They need someone who can walk them for miles.”

All prospective owners and homes are checked. “If the sitting room is out of bounds to the dog, we know they’re not going to be part of a family.” she says.

Alexa, a sprightly 81 years, was awarded an MBE for her work in 2001. As she was unable to go to Buckingham Palace, the then High Sheriff and the Mayor of Morpeth laid on a tea party for her and her guests at the county council offices.

“They presented me with my MBE. The High Sheriff was in full regalia – and my sister helped him fasten his spurs. It was a lovely afternoon.”

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Beat the blues - take to the greens Wooler’s bowlers were quick off the mark to open up the greens as soon as the Government gave the go ahead.

“We have been looking forward to getting some healthy exercise, reviving old friendships and forming new ones for months,” said Wooler Bowling Club president Maurice Ward.

They’re hoping to entice some new members to join them. “ The club has a six rink grass bowling green in beautiful condition,” says Maurice.

“This year we’re taking part in the Bowls England sponsored Big Week-

end by having open days on Sunday, May 30 and Monday May 31 from 1-5 pm.

“Anyone can come and have a go at bowling. Bowls and bowling shoes will be provided by the club if re-

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quired and members will be on hand to show folks the ropes”.

New members will get a 50% reduction in the first year’s membership fees.

Friendly matches “As well as club nights every Monday and Friday evenings and social bowling whenever the green is free, the club is re-starting its pre-Covid programme of friendly matches with other clubs, both local and further afield,” says Maurice.

For more information about Wooler Bowling Club visit their website: www.woolerbowls.co.uk Alternatively, phone Maurice on 07704 329232 or Club Secretary Richard on 07867 524246.

Anyone for croquet...

If you fancy trying something different, how about taking up a croquet mallet?

Enthusiastic players have formed the Tillside Croquet Group which plays on the Tillside Cricket Ground at Etal.

All you need is suitable flat footwear, the equipment is provided and there are seasoned players on hand to help beginners work out their ‘croquet’ strokes from their ‘roquets’.

Despite looking genteel, croquet

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has a strategic and devious side which makes for a challenging and enjoyable game.

The group plans to play on Sundays when there are no cricket games and midweek on a day to be decided, from 2-5pm.

There is an annual membership fee

of £20 but visitors can also ‘play-asyou-go’ for £2 a session. Players of all ages are welcome, as are complete beginners.

If you would like to find out more, get in touch with Nick Jones on 07889 509324 or email him on: nicolasjbjones@gmail.com

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What’s On What’s On

What

Glendale Live’s ‘What’s On’ section will publicise your activity isation. If yours is a commercial activity we ask for a donation whatson.glendalelive@gmail.com The deadline for our next because of lockdown but will no doubt be opening as soon as p

Weekly events The Cheviot Centre, Wooler, is open from 10-3pm weekdays.

Wooler U3A groups currently active via Zoom are geology, international, philosophical discussion and reading for pleasure. Other groups, the monthly speaker and social meetings will restart as soon as Covid restrictions permit. New members welcome. Initial enquiries to Patricia 01668 216306 Wooler Tennis Club members are welcome to use the courts at any time with priority as follows: Juniors- up to 6.30pm weekdays; Ladies-Tuesdays from 6.30pm; Men-Thursdays from 6.30pm; Club Night- Fridays from 6.30pm.

For more details contact Fiona on 01289 388525 or 07581 362857.

Monday Wooler FC Juniors (6-12yrs) training. Wooler Football Club. 6-7pm. £2. Saturday morning games in the Glendale League, Alnwick. Contact Wendy Hogg on 07754 829373.

Tuesday Tai Chi and Qigong Beginners Class. Cheviot Centre, Wooler.

2-3pm. £6. 30 minutes for an extra £2 for more advanced participants.

Contact Amanda 07885 682078.

Wooler FC Men’s training. Wooler Football Club, 6-7.30pm. Saturday afternoon games in Northern Alliance Development League. Contact Tristan Jeffrey: 07941 049741.

Wooler Wolf Cubs (girls and boys, 8-10yrs) 6.15-7.30pm at the school farm field. Contact Mark Napier on 07712 042424 or 1stwoolerbpscoutgroup@gmail.com

Wednesday Weeklybiz. Local online networking 12.30-1.45pm. Also Thursday, 8-9.15am. Free. Call Charlie on 01665 577084 to book.

Beavers (girls and boys, 5 to 7yrs) 6-7pm at the school farm field site. Contact Mark Napier; 07712 042424 or 1stwoolerbpscoutgroup@gmail.com

Thursday Scouts and Senior Scouts (girls and boys, 11-17yrs) 7-9pm at the school farm field. Contact Mark Napier on 07712 042424 or email 1stwoolerbpscoutgroup@gmail.com

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t’s On

What’s On What’s On

y or event here free of charge if you are a non profit organof £5-£10 . Send details, with a contact phone number to t issue is June 7th 2021. Some village halls are still closed possible. Contact venues and events to check for updates.

May events Wednesday, May 5, TillVAS (Till Valley Archaeological Society)on-line webinar Geoff Parkhouse on ‘The rediscovery of the remains of the Medieval bridge over the River Teviot at Ancrum’.

Webinars are currently replacing monthly talks held at Crookham Village Hall. The webinars (via Zoom) are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30 pm. To join you need to be a member of TillVAS, Lowick Heritage Group, the Border Archaeological Society or Coquetdale Community Archaeology. A few days before each talk, members will receive a link that can be used to register . Those registered will receive a further link to join the talk.

to 2 pm in Wooler Bus Station.

Tuesday, May 18 Wooler Carer group for carers of patients of Glendale Surgery and Cheviot Medical Group. Meeting room, 10am-noon. Coffee and a chat. Check the notice board in the surgery or ring Val, 01668 216136.

Saturday May 22 Plant sale, outside Branxton Village Hall, 10–12.00 noon. Contact : Cathy Straughan 01890 820320

Friday, May 7 Chatterbooks book club, 2pm on Zoom (1st Friday of each month) Contact Geoff Dade of Glendale Connect on 01668 281280 or geoffdade1982@gmail.com Saturday, May 15 North Northumberland Geneallogy Group Zoom talk: Stories of Women from Berwick Archives by Linda Bankier. 10am. To listen in email rowan2010@hotmail.co.uk for instructions in good time before the date.

Sunday, May 16 Wooler Farmers’ Market 10.30 am

Sunday, May 30 and Monday, May 31 Wooler Bowling Club ‘Open Afternoons’ 1-5pm for players or folks who want to try bowling. All welcome. Bowls, shoes and tuition will be provided. No charge. Contact Maurice Ward, 07704 329232.

June events Wednesday, June 2 TillVAS (Till Valley Archaeological Society) at 7.30 pm Webinar via Zoom. Greg Finch on ‘The Dukesfield Smelters and Carriers Project: discovering the heritage of the Dukesfield Arches and lead carriers’ routes.’ See May 5 for instructions.

Tuesday, June 15 Wooler Carer group for carers of patients of Glendale Surgery and

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What’s On Cheviot Medical Group. Meeting room, 10am-noon. Coffee and a chat. Check the notice board in the surgery or ring Val, 01668 216136.

Sunday, June 20 Wooler Farmers’ Market 10.30 am to 2 pm in Wooler Bus Station.

Sunday, June 27

Wooler High Street on their way towards Chatton.

Coming up...

Glendale Local History Society will restart meetings in September but, in the meantime, you can use their recently published ‘Ten History Walks in and around Wooler’ to catch up on some local history yourself.

Book early for... ...two open-air opera performances being hosted by Ford & Etal Estates this summer in the spectacular setof er e b r ll Ba evi S

The Bamburgh Run - annual event for vintage motorcycles. Departing from Lady Waterford Hall in Ford village at 10.30am. Vehicles will start arriving from 9am.

The run will stop for tea and cakes at the Cheviot Centre between 11.30 and 1.30 before riding down

ting of Ford Castle courtyard. Opera Brava, Britain’s leading outdoor touring opera company, will present

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What’s On If you’re still enjoying on-line activities here are a few more sites.

ge ia ro r a ar ig M fF o

Join a Facebook group to see pictures of out of the way Northumberland www.facebook.com/groups/hiddennorthumberland/ A virtual tour of part of the National Gallery www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/ virtual-tours/google-virtual-tour

The Barber of Seville. - Friday August 6 at 7.30pm The Marriage of Figaro - Saturday August 7 at 7.30pm

Lots of geological information and pictures of the North of England www.geologynorth.uk/the-cheviot-hills/

Take your own rugs and chairs.

Food and a bar will be available but guests can take their own picnic if they prefer. Gates open at 5.30pm.

Admission: £30 plus booking fee Child (15 and under): £10 plus booking fee. Tickets can be purchased online at: eventbrite.

A variety of free work-out classes www.goodhousekeeping.com/ health/fitness/a31792038/coronavirus-live-stream-workout-classes/ Free online bridge www.bridgebase.com/ Other on-line card games www.trickstercards.com/

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Gardening with...

...the Victorians Gertrude Jekyll’s garden at Lindisfarne Castle - The National Trust

Ford Village has a new nursery specialising in plants loved by the Victorians. Glendale Live looks at how green-fingered Victorians shaped our gardens today The Victorians loved gardening.

They loved it so much that the era saw an explosion in plant collection with hundreds of new species and varieties being brought back from around the world to fill an ever increasing number of gardens.

No longer were gardens confined to castles and stately homes, where an army of gardeners supplied ‘the house’ with fresh produce and flowers all year round.

The introduction of new technologies, the boom in suburban living and the introduction of municipal parks all helped make gardening a hobby enjoyed by thousands.

Imagine walking round Ford Village in Victorian times with its school, working forge and cottages housing estate workers - each cottage with its picket or chestnut fence, a gravel path edged with lavender, lady’s mantle, catmint or fragrant pinks.

The front door framed with fragrant honeysuckle and rambling roses on a rustic arbour; tall hollyhocks, majestic delphiniums framing the paned windows filled with regal pelargoniums and geraniums. Beds and borders overflowing with a mix of perennials and bedding plants, wallflowers, lupins, foxgloves, peonies, roses, scented sweet peas growing up ‘pea sticks’...the plant list is endless.

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Lawns and formal planting, including ‘carpet’ bedding - the sort you see in parks - were very popular, though gardeners such as Gertrude Jekyll, who designed the garden at Lindisfarne Castle, led a breakaway movement arguing that plants should be enjoyed for their individual qualities, setting them in wide herbaceous borders with lower flowering specimens in front and a lush mix of taller flowers behind.

sealed some leaf mould and the pupa of a moth to watch its development and he noticed a tiny fern seedling growing. He realised it had been protected from the polluted air and was inspired to invent a glass case to grow ferns and other plants in – what we now call a terrarium.

Lawns became a ‘must have’ after 1830 when Edwin Beard Budding patented the first lawn mower.

‘a new combination and application of machinery for the purpose of cropping or shearing the vegetable surface of lawns and pleasure grounds’ Budding, a mechanic in the textile mills near Stroud, got the idea for his lawnmower from the cross cutting machines that were used to finish woollen cloth. Rumour has it that he tested his grass cutting prototype at night to avoid curiosity and ridicule from his neighbours.

Another crucial invention was made

by Dr Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1829. A keen naturalist, he grew plants in his backyard but very few survived the pollution from factory chimneys near St Katherine’s dock. One day he was examining an airtight jar into which he had

As well as being fashionable in Victorian parlours, the terrariums or ‘Wardian cases’ became an essential tool for plant hunters. Finding new plants was just one of the problems; the salty air on the ship journey back to the UK killed off many if not most specimens. Collectors were lucky if one in 20 plants survived.

If they were protected by Wardian cases, 19 out of 20 plants survived.

While transporting plants home became easier, the actual collection was still hazardous. Take, for example, the spring flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum. This was introduced by David Douglas, as were lupins, California poppies and many conifers. Douglas paid for his discoveries with his life – aged just 35, his body was found in a pit dug to trap wild bullocks in Hawaii.

George Forrest, a renowned collector of rhododendrons and camellias,

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The Japanese garden at the National Trust’s Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire. Biddulph’s landscaped Victorian garden is a showcase of Victorian garden design and exotic plants drowned when his boat overturned in a rocky river.

died of a heart attack in Yunnan in 1932 after a career that included escaping from Tibetan monks not keen on having local flora shipped abroad.

Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson, a 22 year old Kew botanist, was sent to China in 1899 to collect seeds of the rare ‘handkerchief tree’. Setting off with only a hand drawn map of the tree’s siting in Yunnan region, he escaped local bandits, was imprisoned on suspicion of spying, survived an epidemic of deadly fever and nearly

When he finally found the location of the tree, he discovered that it had been cut down and used to build a house! Bitterly disappointed, he turned to collecting other plants and stumbled across a clump of handkerchief trees by accident. He still had to wait weeks for the seeds to develop while hiding from soldiers of the Boxer rebellion.

Today we take the vast array of plants available for granted. Instead of intrepid journeys into the wild, we can spend an hour enjoying the model village of Ford and drop into the new plant nursery at the Horseshoe Forge to find locally grown plants suitable for a Victorian garden - and possibly Victorian vegetables as well!

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Volunteer call from new arts project Wooler Arts, a new community based arts organisation, is on the look out for friends and helpers.

generally contribute to this exciting new initiative,” says Alison Davies, one of those involved in starting the group.

Its aim is to provide local people with opportunities to learn new creative skills, enjoy Northumberland’s artistic heritage and get involved in arts projects run by professional creators.

“We need volunteers to help run our activities, steward at concerts and

Anyone who would like to get involved or just find out more can contact Wooler Arts by phone: 01668 283502 email: info@woolerarts.org.uk social media: @woolerarts or website: www.woolerarts.org.uk

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29

FRIENDLY LOCAL COFFEE TRAILER IN THE HEART OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTRYSIDE

FIND US AT RAILTONS AUCTIONEERS, 5 SOUTH ROAD, WOOLER, NE71 6SN

30

Farmers’ Market set for bumper season Wooler Farmers’ Market is set to return on May 16 and traders are queuing up to take part.

“This is our fourth year and we’re running at full capacity. We have 27 stalls booked for every market and a waiting list to fill cancellations,” says Ann Love, one of the organisers.

The market is organised totally by volunteers and any profits are donated each year to local projects.

“So far, as well as paying for new stalls, we’ve donated around £1,000 to Wooler’s floral display and to funding a bouncy castle for the last community fun day,” says Ann.

“We need people with a pick-up, small truck or tractor to tow the trailer with the stalls on to the market at 7 am on Sunday morning and return it at 3pm just a few hundred yards down the High Street. It only takes half an hour.

Market dates May 16 June 20 July18 August 15 September 26 December 5 Bus station 10.30-2pm

But more volunteers are urgently needed. “We want to create a bank of volunteers so it is not too onerous on the same people,” says Ann.

“We also need people to help put up stalls and take them down when the market has finished. This usually takes 1½ hours at each end of the day.

“It’s not all hard work, we do have fun along the way and we’ll provide bacon sarnies for breakfast, so please come along and help your local market.”

If you can help, email

woolerfarmersmarket@gmail.com

or ring Ann on 07835 950069.

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Local elections candidates stand for county council seats

Elections for Northumberland County Council will be held on May 6.

Anthony Murray is retiring as Wooler’s councillor. His seat is being contested by: Stephen John Crane (Social Democrat), Tom Hancock (LibDem), Alex Kuklinski (Green), Mark Mather (Con) and PaulineThompson (Lab), In the Norham & Islandshire ward, the candidates are: Michael Robert Coombes (Lab), Colin Richard Hardy (Con), Ged Thomas (Independent) and Dougie Watkin (LibDem).

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Making the most of life - Without Limits Janey Dixon tells Judy Kirby how a life changing illness set her on a path to help others facing similar problems.

The day that changed Janey Dixon’s life started like any other - going off to work as a front line paramedic in north Northumberland.

She was working with her team when she suddenly lost power in her leg. Her colleagues immediately recognised the signs of a stroke and drove her straight to hospital. Janey survived but was left with disabilities that snatched away the career she loved at the age of 52.

“No one is ready for this,” says Janey. The NHS support package for people suffering a life-changing event is just six weeks. The process of adjustment has hardly begun by then says Janey.

Depression set in and she became aware of the countless people in a similar situation; people she had helped as a paramedic, whose lives had changed in 24 hours.

“People don’t understand,” she

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Buggy on down to the beach...

says, “unless it has happened to them.”

In the months that followed she had time to contemplate the lot of the working age newly disabled. “I didn’t want to learn how to cook a scone, I didn’t want to socialise with people much older than me, or much younger. I needed to have contact with working age people.”

A meeting with a GP Link Worker set Janey off on a journey of exploration and, with some National Lottery funding behind it, a new group called Without Limits has appeared. It is set to help those aged 35 – 65 who have faced a lifechanging diagnosis but are reluctant to give up on life.

The pandemic restricted Without Limits at the start. Zoom and phones helped link people but Without Limits is determined that its members should still get plenty out of life – concerts and theatre, dining out and even going down to the sea on beach buggies (see adjacent story).

Even before Without Limits announced its presence, people in Northumberland were calling Janey.

She is helping a number of callers with weekly phone chats. It proves to her that the lifeline she has thrown out to those struggling with a disabling condition couldn’t have come soon enough.

If you walk with sticks or need a wheelchair it might have been a while since you felt the sand between your toes but take heart, far-sighted volunteer groups are making access to shores possible with special wheelchairs.

Since Scottish charity Beach Wheelchairs started in 2015 in North Berwick it has helped 500 people with disabilities be by the sea. Other groups have sprung up along the north east coast.

The wheelchairs are designed with large rubber wheels that can move across sand and are hired out free of charge. Local peoople are being urged to start the service on beaches near to them so there is a chance that we might see beach wheelchairs at Bamburgh and Alnmouth. www.beachwheelchairs.org

If you are interested in Without Limits, either as a user or a volunteer, contact Janey Dixon on :

janey.dixon.withoutlimits@gmail.com

or ring 07598 697494

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Much more than knitting supplies!

Haberdashery, clothes, underwear, sleepwear, greetings cards, cake tin hire, dress hat hire, crafters shelves, opticians outreach service.

18 High Street, WOOLER, NE71 6BY Facebook

01668 281066

woolerwoolshop@gmail.com www.woolerwoolshop.co.uk

36

Lowick hits the airwaves Would-be radio presenters and reporters now have an opportunity to get a taste of life on the airwaves, thanks to a new local radio station.

Forget You and Yours, Jeremy Vine and Classic FM - Lowick now has its very own radio station.

Lowick Community Broadcasting (LCB) has been ‘on-air’ since March and is offering villagers and their Glendale neighbours the chance to get involved in a variety of ways.

Project co-ordinator Kevin Archer says: “This is an exciting new venture which I hope will capture the interest and imagination of a wide range of local people of all ages and backgrounds both as listeners and contributors.

“Having had expevrience last year of setting up a radio project on Holy Island and, before that, of involvement with community radio in West Yorkshire, I know how much such a venture can offer by way of developing and showcasing communication, organisational and technical skills as well as strengthening a sense of local identity.

Kevin Archer “So far we have launched our weekly magazine podcast - ConneXions where we have featured the stories of some key community folk and the music of local artists. Now, we want to provide more in-depth programming and to encourage others with broadcasting aspirations to use the LCB platform. Volunteers with any level of experience or expertise are welcome and we can offer guidance and training.

“Creating lively radio programming is a practical and social activity which can flourish even during times of lockdown. It is my hope and firm belief that LCB will help keep the community spirit strong, both in lockdowns and when we return to a semblance of normality.”

To listen in and find out how you can get involved with LCB, visit the website at www.LCBRadio.co.uk and you can contact Kevin directly at kevin@lcbradio.co.uk

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Hunting for history in the origins of farm names Imagine having a farm named after you. Some folk are immortalised that way - Georgefield Farm and Harrietsfield Farm are both big border farms.

I can’t help wondering who was the inspiration behind Lords Lot Farm or Dukesfield Farm. As for Bishopside and Chapelhouse farms, you feel there must have been a link with the church, perhaps dating back to the days when it owned large swathes of agricultural land.

I’ve always been fascinated with the diversity of farm names. Some throw up mental pictures of idyllic rural life – such as Farglow Farm – while Seldom Seen Farm and None Go By Farm, I suspect, were lonely places often bereft of visitors.

Of course money always comes into the equation, one way or another.

The farmer who named Make Me Rich Farm has got to be one of nature’s optimists! Ditto, the first owners of Moneylaws Farm and Prospect Hill Farm. Most farmers would tell you Pennymoor Farm is a more realistic choice of name.

For the nature lovers we have Snipe House Farm, as well as Wagtail, Peteral Field, and Brockbushes farms.

Clues to the quality of the land is often found in the name. Turveylaws, for example, was named for its exceptionally rich turf and grasslands.

Then there are Fallowfield, Pasture Hill and Heatherhope farms. Cow Bog or Bolam Bog farms, on the other hand, have names which might make faint hearted farmers turn tail.

Hopefully you won’t regard this as just a list of names, it’s actually a subject rich in history and our local heritage. Once life returns to something like normal and you get out and about again, take a closer look at the farm names you see on your travels – you could learn a lot.

Meanwhile, next time the wind gets up and you settle round the fire, be glad you don’t live at Blaewearie!

Pete Loam 39

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Church contacts Chatton, Chillingham, Eglingham, Ingram, South Charlton (Breamish & Till Benefice) Vacant Lowick, Ford, Etal, Ancroft, St John the Baptist Rev Charlotte Osborn, 01890 820 240, email ceosborn@mail.com Milfield Methodist Rev Kim Hurst, 01289 306291, www.lindisfarnemethodistchurches. org.uk Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Community of the Holy Mother of God and St Oswald.

Reader, John-Michael, 01668 215397, email, ikons@gmx.com Wooler, Kirknewton, Doddington,

Ilderton (Cheviot Benefice) Rev Suzanne Cooke, 01668 283502, suzanne@cookehouse.co.uk Rev Judith Dobson. judedob@gmail.com Wooler URC Jean Armstrong (Secretary), 01668 216205, jean.arms50@gmail.com www.woolerurc.org.uk Wooler St Ninian’s (Roman Catholic) Father David Philips, 01665 574240 Wooler Evangelical Church Alistair Fairnington (elder), 01668 281813, email albefairnington@ btinternet.com www.wooler-evangelical.org.uk Wooler Christian Brethren David Pulman, 01668 216520

Useful Contacts HEALTHCARE IN WOOLER Glendale Surgery

LOCAL SERVICES 01668 281740

Cheviot Medical Group

01668 281575

Tourist Information & Wooler Library

Glendale Pharmacy

01668 281343

Wooler Food Bank

Thompson Opticians

01668 281066

Wooler Police

SCHOOLS

101 (Non-emergency only)

Glendale Gateway Trust

01668 282406

01890 820217

www.ford.northumberland.sch.uk

U3A

01668 281362

www.u3asites.org.uk/wooler

Lowick First School

01289 388268

Samaritans

Glendale Middle School

01668 281470

PARISH COUNCILS

Wooler First School

01668 281470

www.lowickholyislandschools.org.uk

www.glendale.northumberland.sch.uk

www.wooler.northumberland.sch.uk

COMMUNITY & VILLAGE HALLS Bolton

01665 574689

Bowsden

01289 388543

hgew13@gmail.com

Chatton

villagehall@chatton.uk

Cheviot Centre, Wooler 01668 282406 ggtadmin@wooler.org.uk

Crookham

01890 820446

Etal

www.etalvillagehall.org.uk

07790 457580

ladywaterfordhall@ford-and-etal.co.uk

Glendale Hall, Wooler

01289 388387

Ingram

01665 578980

Kirknewton

01890 850285

Lowick

01668 282406

ggtadmin@wooler.org.uk

Ford First School

Ford

01668 282123 www.visitwooler.com

kirknewtonvillagehall@gmail.com

01289 388285

Call free at any time on 116 123

Bowsden

01289 388871

Branxton

01289 306365

Carham

01890 850336

Cornhill-on-Tweed

01890 820501

Ford

01890 820566

Ingram

01665 578906

Kirknewton

0191 257 1948

clerk@carhamparish.org parishclerk@cornhill-on-tweed.co.uk clerk.fordpc@btinternet.com

clerk.kirknewton.pc@gmail.com

Lowick

01289 388205

lowickparishcouncil@btconnect.com

Milfield

07856 577181

milfieldpc@gmail.com

Tillside

01289 306365

Wooler

07501 169591

tillsidepc@btopenworld.com woolerparishcouncil@yahoo.co.uk

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