The Village of Wark

Archive for November, 2011

We’ve got a busy few weeks coming up with a whole range of activities and events in the offing. The first to mention is the Town Hall Christmas Bingo which will be taking place next Tuesday, 29th of  November. Bingos continue to be very popular and I’m sure this one won’t be any different. There will be a range of great prizes to win and the event starts at 7.30 p.m. There’s also still timer to donate prizes for this event. You can leave any donations with Judith Weir.

Then on the Thursday the 1st of December we’ve got our second Highlights event of the winter programme with the Hut People coming to the Town Hall. The Hut People are a duo playing accordion and percussion, bringing you tunes from around the world. Sam Pirt and Gary Hammond fill the stage with their act. They have played in lots of venues ranging from main stages at folk festivals to train compartments. They most recently appeared in Hexham in September when they did a couple of slots outside and they were very entertaining to watch. Tickets are £7 or £5.50 for concessions and you can get them from Judith Weir on (01434) 230250 or on the door on the night. There will be a bar and the gig starts at 7.30 p.m.

Almost straight after, on Saturday 3 December and again in the Town Hall, you’ll get a chance to visit St. Michael’s Christmas Bazaar. The Hall will be filled with cakes and bric-a-brac, tombola, raffle, and the legendary Christmas decorations. There will also be tea and biscuits. Admission is 50p and the Christmas Bazaar opens at 2 p.m.

Then jumping ahead to Monday 5 December, the Wark History Group will hear Mike Tickell talk about and, importantly, sing a range of Border Ballads. They pop up every now and again in local Northumbrian folk evenings but it’s worth concentrating on them for a change. The Border Ballads are an important part of our rich cultural heritage. Entry is £2 (which includes tea or coffee) and the evening starts at 7.30pm. Non-members are very welcome to attend.

And finally, and looking ahead a bit further, I am very pleased to be able to report that after a short absence the festive meal for the senior citizens of the parish looks like reappearing. It is planned to go ahead for Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Wark Town Hall at 6.30pm.  Invites will be sent to everyone of Wark Parish the organizers think eligible. Funding is currently being organised. 

John Cooper told me that he’d love to hear from anyone who would be involved with setting up and /or serving the meal. There will be no committee or onerous organising tasks! I’m sure there are many young people in the village who could do a great job as waiter or waitress that night.

Anyone willing to help can contact ‘the Coopers’ . You know where they are!

It’s not often that you get TV Royalty visiting Wark, so it’s not surprising that there was a good turn out last Saturday for this particular celebrity. I am fairly sure we’ll see more of this famous character on our TV screens tonight. I’m talking of course of Pudsey, the one eyed bear which is heavily involved in the great fundraising effort for Children in Need this weekend.  Pudsey was a great hit with the youngsters and their will be a fair few photo albums (if they still exist) which will show picture of Pudsey with lots of kids from Wark. Pudsey was here of course to support Matt Baker,  presenter of Countryfile and the One Show, who came through the village on his mammoth rickshaw ride from Edinburgh to London in aid of Children in Need.  Knowing the terrain, you’ll not be that surprised that the ride from Hawick on Friday was rather slower than expected and that Matt peddled off in the near dark after a stop at the Battlesteads.  I’m sure we’ve given him a decent Wark welcome.

Speaking of the Battlesteads, they seem to be on a bit of a roll with awards at the moment.  Last week they won the Responsible Tourism Award for Best accommodation for the environment against competition from places like Kenya and Morocco.  These international awards were founded in 2004 to celebrate and inspire change in the tourism industry. The Awards rest on a simple principle – that all types of tourism, from niche to mainstream, can and should be organised in a way that preserves, respects and benefits destinations, the environment and people.  Congratulations to Dee , Richard and all the staff on this achievement.

About 40 people turned out for our ceremony at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday. I’m always moved by the reading out of the names of the people who died in the two World Wars.  Of course there have been plenty of conflicts since then which our armed forces have been involved in. It is equally important to remember those fighting in places like Afghanistan today; it’s hard to imaging what’s going on in those places on a quite Sunday in Northumberland.

Now that the dark nights are well and truly here, it’s become noticeable just how bright the new lights are on other side of the bridge, especially in comparison with the solar-powered ones that we had before.  Fortunately the new ones seem to be well designed and shine their light mainly downwards so it’s still possible to see the stars in the night sky.  I wonder what’s going to happen to the old ones that at currently still there.

Finally couple of reminders for your diaries, which I’ll give more detail on next week. The will be a Christmas Bingo in aid of the Town Hall on 29th and the next Highlights event featuring the Hut People will be on Thursday 1^st December, also in the Hall.

This weekend is Remembrance weekend and the Benefice Service on Sunday will be at St Peter’s Church in Humshaugh starting at 10.45 am.  The short service at the War Memorial in Wark will follow at 12.30pm.  The children of Wark School will have their Remembrance service in the Town Hall on Friday the 11^th starting at 2.30pm. Parents and friends are very welcome there too.  We’re getting close to 100 years since the First World War started and this year our branch of the Royal British Legion celebrated its ninetieth anniversary.  Unfortunately its work today is as important and necessary as it was all those years ago and it is important that we continue to remember those who gave their life for their country.

If you see some very spotty children going to school on Friday 18^th of November, there is no need to be alarmed.  They’ll just be dressing up and raising money for Children in Need on that day.  I’m sure they’ll have fun doing so.

You’ll have noticed the trails of cars loaded with canoes coming through the village last weekend.  The first weekend of November is Tyne Tour weekend and for me it marks the start of the winter: fishing season over, clocks have gone back and the Tyne Tour brings a final bit of colour to the river before the deep dark of November and December.  And what a lovely weekend it was.  Cold, yes, but gloriously sunny.  Let’s hope we’ll have a few of those over the next few months.

The gig by the Budapest Café Orchestra in the Town Hall last weekend didn’t disappoint.   The four musicians play a great blend of folk-based music from Eastern Europe.  Eddie Hession, the accordionist is a former accordion champion of Great Britain and has played with the likes of Pavarotti.  The violinist, Chris Garrick didn’t just play some fantastic stuff, his patter was pretty good too and he kept the audience well entertained.  About 40 people turned up to hear them and at least half of them had come from well outside the village.  It is only thanks to the Highlights programme that we can have such great bands come and play in the village.  The takings on the door tend to go to Highlights with the raffle etc. providing a bit of income for the Hall.  You’ll be interested to know that the next event is only about 4 weeks away, with the Hut People appearing on Thursday 1 December. 

The Wark Leek Club held its AGM at the Grey Bull last Sunday.  The club can look back on another successful year and has a healthy number of members, but there are always a few changes to make.  It was decided that prize money for the leeks will go up for 2012, there will be a few extra classes and the entrants for the baking classes will be asked to leave their entries for the sale which helps support the club.  With the AGM past, the treasurer will be looking to receive subs from the members shortly. 

I understand that Shelly Murray-Hill, who also runs the Zumba class, will be starting a balance class on Monday 6 November.  The class will be a mix of yoga, pilates and tai chi and will run between 10 and 11am.  There’s no need to book and the class with cost £5 per session.

Finally a quick reminder of the Meeting of the Local History Group also on Monday the 6^th.  There will be an illustrated talk about the history of Haytime in the North Pennines. The meeting in the Town Hall starts a 7.30 p.m. and entry is £2.  Non members are of course welcome.