Archive for April, 2011
Wark Notes 21st April, 2011
April 20th, 2011 | 
Author: The Wark Parish Plan was launched last week and it was nice to see a few people there. It has been a bit of a marathon to get the thing completed, but it should help with any funding applications etc. The Plan was originally funded through grants from Community Action Northumberland and Northumberland National Park Authority and representatives from both organisations were there to see it launched.
The Town Hall AGM the night before the Parish Plan launch heard that the Hall has had another successful year. Again progress has been made with the refurbishment and the Committee plans to continue to pick of the refurbishment room by room. Since the AGM Committee members and one or two other volunteers have sorted out the stuff that had been stored in one of the front rooms and made it available for the Cross Carriers who use that room in the run-up to Easter on their way through to holy Island. Judith Weir, the Town Hall Secretary has indicated that she would like to give up the role of caretaker. So if you want to make a contribution and would be interested in taking that role, you can contact Judith on (01434) 230250 for more details. The AGM of the Sports Club had to be postponed and is now taking place (or will have taken place by the time you read this) on the Monday 18th of April.
There will be a bingo in the Town Hall on Tuesday 26 April, the day after Easter Monday, in aid of the Methodist United Reformed Church. The bingo starts at 7.30 p.m. and refreshments will be served. You can contact Eleanor Mole for more details.
And then there is the Royal Wedding on Friday the 29th. The wedding itself is at 11 a.m. and I trust many of you will be glued to the television for much of the day. However, you’ll be able to share your impressions at the Wedding Tea on the Green starting at 5 p.m. This is a pooled tea so you’re expected to bring food to share with others, like happened at the VE Day celebrations last year.
Although Wark School is now on holiday, I’ve been asked to give a couple of bits of news both to do with school gardening. First, Emily Coulthard, has put out a call to all gardeners to help provide vegetable plants to set the school garden. Please remember that ideally those plants should provide their ield before the summer holidays or in September, as there is no one to harvest them over the summer break. Any seedlings can be brought into school after the Easter holiday. The second item is about a school garden a bit further afield. Miss Coulthard is doing a fundraising trek on the Massai Way this August to raise money for a school vegetable garden in our partner school Mae Juu in Tanzania. Please show your support by attending the first fundraising event, which is a Live Music Night featuring a range of artists from the North East. It takes place at Stonehaugh Village Hall on Friday 20 May 2011 starting at 7.30 p.m. and there will be home-made curry and a licensed bar.
Posted in 
Wark Notes 8th April, 2011
I have to admit that I am fascinated by the bridge works. At the time of writing there’s a huge hole on approach to the bridge on the village side and you can see the steelwork supporting the bridge. The work mean that the first part of the separate footbridge is now open and people seem to be traveling across it quite happily. It will be very interesting to watch how things progress.
Members of the Parish Council have asked me to give you a bit more information on the work to repair the road round the Green. No less than 180 tonnes of stone came from Barrasford Quarry and the cost of the work was covered from some money the Parish Council had received from the Tynedale Council when they received Beacon Status some time ago. I understand that this money had to go to a specific project and could not be spent on covering the things normally paid for through the parish precept. All in all, I think that the work has much improved the centre of the village.
I’ve also been asked to make you aware of the launch of the Wark Parish Plan, at the Town Hall on Tuesday 12 April 2011 at 7.30 p.m. It’s been some time in the making and I know for a fact that a number of the priority actions in the plan are now underway, – if only because the repair of the bridge was one of them. Anyone is welcome to attend the launch and refreshments will be served.
If you feel like making a contribution to one of the essential village groups, you might attend the AGM of the Town hall or the Sports Club and Recreational Charity, both on Monday 11 April. If you’re really keen you could do Town Hall at 7 and Sports Club at 8 p.m. and you’d be very welcome at either or both.
There’s a lot going on in the school in the run up to Easter: a fundraiser for Chernobyl children, an allotment work party and a school disco this week, and an Easter bonnet event next week. I’ve also learned that the recent Pre-School cake stall raised nearly £150 and that more than £250 has been raised for school funds through rag bag collections.