The Village of Wark

Having enjoyed some absolutely fantastic weather during the half-term week, our area was treated to some soft rain, just when the Birtley Fete started last Sunday afternoon. I suppose there are pros and cons to those situations: on the one hand people might get tempted away from their gardens by the wet, while on the other hand sitting outside enjoying a cup of tea didn’t quite work out.  All in all it was a very nice occasion, with our new MP Guy Opperman opening the fete, with some excellent plants, a great raffle, a cake stall which just about sold out in minutes, tombola, books, bric-a-brac and clothes, and of course those fantastic teas.  I hope the organisers felt the occasion wasn’t let down by the weather; as a visitor, I really enjoyed it.

I’ve been asked to mention a couple of things coming up in Birtley over the summer. Following last year’s enjoyable afternoon, there will be another Barbeque on Sunday, June 27^th starting at 2 p.m. on the Hall Field.  There will be food, music and games to suit all ages.  I’ll let you know how to get tickets for this event a bit nearer the time.  Then, on the first Thursday in each month, beginning on July 1^st, there will be a coffee morning in the Village Hall.  You’re all invited to join for fresh coffee and home baking any time between 10.30 and midday.

The Art Tour started coming to Wark last weekend with Bill Weightman opening his studio on Mote Hill.  In the brochure Bill said: “I am painting landscapes of the two places in my life: the North Tyne Valley, where my family have lived since the Border Raiders in the 15^th Century, and the hills of Andalusia, Southern Spain.”  If you’re curious to see Bill’s paintings, you can still visit the studio this weekend, 12 and 13^th June and on the 26^th and 27^th of June. You can visit between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.  And of course there are plenty other artists to visit too; there are no fewer than 58 locations to visit across Northumberland and close to 90 artists ranging from water colourists like Bill, to sculptors and felt makers.  Well worth an outing.

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