The Village of Wark

Archive for July, 2009

Having waxed lyrical last week about the work people had done on cleaning the bridge of vegetation, I can do so today about the fantastic difference they made when clearing the riverside path from the bridge to the school.  I’m sure it was cleared by some footpath volunteers about 15 years ago and attempts have been made in the mean time, but this is something else.  With chainsaw and digger the whole of the path has become accessible again and I’m sure the sizes will green up within a very short time.  It is also interesting to see how poor the tarmac underneath is, but perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised about that; after all, our roads aren’t in particularly good order either.

While they were at it, they also repaired the little bridge over the Dene Burn.  I trust the County Council, which is responsible for bridge maintenance, approves of the help they’ve been provided with.  I understand the path to the saw mills is on the programme for this week.  The walk along there is very pleasant but it has got a bit overgrown over the path few years and the surface is nothing special.  I can’t wait to see the results of the men’s work.

Mrs Edwards’ farewell ‘do’ last Wednesday night was very well attended indeed, with parents, former pupils and governors, teachers and other staff all there.  The school looked very smart with all the artwork from the children getting pride of place in the Hall.  Guests enjoyed a fantastic buffet and had an opportunity to catch up with old friends.  Both Rev. Michael Thompson and Vice-chair of Governors, Adrian Langford gave speeches thanking Mrs Edwards for her great work at the school.  It was nice that both the new head, Mrs Henry and the new teacher, Ms Coulthard were also there, providing an opportunity many people who perhaps don’t go into the school that often to meet the new staff.

I also had an opportunity to look at the new outdoor play space for the very little ones, at the riverside end of the school.  This new area, which was completed just a few weeks ago, provides a safe outdoor space and is part-covered  by a roof.  I’m sure it will be very well used by the pre-school children from September onwards.  All in all we can look back on a very positive period under Mrs Edwards’ leadership.  Although she mentioned that the success of the school is a team effort involving all the staff and the governors, we owe a big ‘thank you’ for all the work Mrs Edwards has done for our children and the school.

Wark Notes- 24 July 200

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that a number of people were going to spend some time cleaning up and cataloguing the books in the Victorian Library in the Town Hall.  I know the collection of books could be seen as a bit of a millstone: hundreds of Victorian books need looking after and it is not as if there’s been much call for the complete works of Sir Walter Scott and everything that’s ever been written about the man- everything that is until about the end of the 19^th century.    You can however also see it as an essential part of the history of the village, a collection that’s worth cherishing.  I’m pleased to be able to report that all books have now been cleaned and that the recording of everything there is will continue over the next few weeks.  Perhaps one of the most interesting things that came to light in the cleaning, were the minutes from meetings in the 1860 which established the reading room.  It details the publications that were to be bought and eventually a plan was hatched to build a Mechanics Institute for the village.  The minutes record the appointment of the architect, tenders for the work and much more.  A fascinating read and actually not that different from the things the Town Hall Committee discussed just a few years ago when the Hall went through its refurbishment.

Pride in the village seems to be flavour of the month with a group of men having a go at cleaning the bridge of vegetation last week.  If the Council won’t do it, there is no reason why we, collectively, can’t put some effort into it ourselves.  The work has been much appreciated and the team was ably supported in the efforts by refreshments from the surrounding houses.  Thank you very much everyone concerned.  I understand the path from the bridge to the school is next and that there are further plans afoot.

It is not yet too late to book yourself a place for the Birtley Village barbeque which will take place this coming Sunday, 26 July 2009 on the playing field in the village.  There will be live music from local; band Landermason, face painting, games, tombola and a raffle.  Tickets are £3 to include salads and entertainment, and under 12s go free.  Expect to pay a bit more for the barbeque meats.  You’ll need to book tickets to allow the organisers to plan the amount of food they need.  You can do so by contacting Ann on (01434) 230464, Liz on 230612 or Bob on 230728.

You’ll have noticed that the work at the Sportsclub got underway this week with the car park being dug up for the installation of the ground-source heat pump.  It looks a bit of a mess while the work is going on, digging things up never looks pretty, but the end result- a sustainable heating system for  the building – will be worth it in the end.  There’s plenty more work to come over the next couple of months, so watch this space for further updates.

Finally a big ‘Thank You’ to Mrs Edwards, Headteacher at Wark School for the past 15 or so years.  Lots of things have happened over that time and many, many children have come through the school.  Like in virtually all rural first school, there are fewer  children in the school now than 15 years ago, but the facilities are infinitely better, the care for preschool children is much more closely integrated in school life and the profile that the school has achieved through a bit range of awards is very impressive.  Most importantly, the children seem to be very happy there.  So this week was one of farewells, with the  summer art exhibition providing an opportunity for family and friends to see the art work that the children have made and to say goodbye to Mrs Edwards.   We hope that Sheila and her husband John will enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Last week we expressed the hope for a dry and sunny Saturday for last weekend’s Summer fete and despite the fact that we’ve had occasional showers right through the week, it did indeed keep dry for the Fete.  As usual there was a very genial atmosphere, with lots of folk expressing the hope of winning the garden bench in the raffle, people having a good nose round the bric-a-brac or bagging a bargain from the plant stall.  It was a good day to have an ice cream stall and the stall selling traditional sweets seemed to be doing a good trade.  I for one found myself some interesting books on the second hand book stall and had a look at one or two things on the clothes rail.  One of the thing I really enjoy on our Summer fete is just to have the opportunity to have a sit down, watch the world go by and have a chat with various villagers doing exactly the same.  And what better way to round off a good day with a gorgeous tea in the Hall.   I did hear a report on the national radio that traditional English village fetes are under threat, but by this year’s effort ours looks in reasonable shape.  I understand that about £1600 was raised which is pretty good.

This coming weekend members of the Town Hall Committee hope to make a start on the cleaning of the books in the library.  As I have reported on and off over the past few months, the library – or the snooker room as some of you will know it- has been done up with work to the plaster, a complete re-painting job and now the impending arrival of new carpets.  To bring the library back to life the committee will clean and re-catalogue the books.  Comparison with an old inventory will identify and books that have gone missing over the years.  I’m sure some of these are still being kept safe by people in the village and the Committee hopes that some of those missing books might make their way back to the Town Hall in due course.  If you want to help with the cleaning or cataloguing, you can contact Judith Weir on (01434) 230250 or Peter Samsom on 230605 for further details.

I’ve been asked to give a mention to Birtley’s Village barbeque which will take place on Sunday 26 July 2009 on the playing field in the village.  There will be live music from local; band Landermason, face painting, games, tombola and a raffle.  Tickets are £3 to include salads and entertainment, but under 12s go free.  Expect to pay a bit more for the barbeque meats.  You can book tickets by contacting Ann on (01434) 230464, Liz on 230612 or Bob on 230728.