OPEN GARDENS AND CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL WEEKEND SATURDAY 4th AND SUNDAY 5th JULY The leaders of the Working Groups met in February and are well on with their plans for this busy weekend. WE NOW NEED YOUR HELP as VOLUNTEERS to offer just a few hours of your time over the Weekend. The more people we have the shorter shifts we can give you! We need help - with serving refreshments in the Village Hall; as Stewards to assist with parking and selling tickets, high vis jackets supplied!; to welcome visitors into the Church; and to supervise activities in Barnacre garden. PLEASE just e-mail or pick up the phone NOW and offer an hour or two saying which day you would prefer and if you need a sitting down job! We would also love to hear from you if you have any ideas, suggestions or good contacts you feel the Weekend could benefit from. Don’t be shy, this is a real community event (and the largest we hold) and everyone has something to offer. When you are sorting out your borders this spring please pot up any surplus plants and bring them along to Barnacre for the plant stall. There will be another Open Meeting in the Village Hall on FRIDAY 12TH JUNE at 7pm for everyone involved over the weekend. At this meeting the publicity, rotas and general information will be available and we can together plan the immediate run up to the Weekend. See you there! CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL We are delighted that Marion Hinchley who is a National Demonstrator with the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies has agreed to help and support us with designing the flower arrangements for the Festival which will illustrate ‘Stories from the Bible’. Marion is going to lead a Workshop on Saturday 11th April between 10am and 2pm in the Village Hall to share with us some of her inspirational ideas. If you would like to be included please let me know as soon as possible. We are also looking for donations and sponsorship to provide the flowers for the Festival in July. Please let us know if you would like to help, perhaps sponsor an arrangement in memory of a family member or make a donation. Jill Elphick (y) and Linda Rudd (i) TABLE TOP SALE . There will be a table top sale in the Colliery Recreational Hall on Saturday 9th May from 11am. Tables (which are provided and can be set up from 9am) are £5. Entry £1, to include tea/coffee and biscuit. Please contact Bill Climson (x) to book a table. Norah Dryden PAGE 1 PARISH COUNCIL REPORT . Notes from the meeting held on 12th March. The meeting started with an Open Forum where concerns were voiced about the way vehicles were parked on the north side of the main road through the Village. Nearly all of the vehicles are parked partially on the pavement to ensure that vehicles passing through the Village are impeded as little as possible by the parked cars. It was said, however, that some cars park so far onto the pavement that it is either very difficult or impossible for pedestrians to use the pavement. On occasions pedestrians have been forced to use the road to go past a car. This is dangerous on such a busy road so the PC would ask that if parking on the north side residents ensure there is enough room left for a pedestrian to pass the vehicle easily while staying on the pavement. It has to be pointed out that the PC is not suggesting you park on the pavement at all as it is illegal to do so, but car owners who are prepared to take the risk of parking partially on the pavement please consider the pedestrians who use it. A history of the North East Grains dryer has been submitted to NCC who propose to hold it in abeyance at the present. Our County Cllr, Alan Sambrook, was told that this was simply not acceptable. The Clerk reported an incident when an elderly pedestrian on the road from Longhirst to Longhirst Station (C125) was forced to push himself into the hedge because two huge wagons could not pass each other without one of them mounting the pavement. This PC has drawn this problem to the attention of NCC for several years now and nothing has been done to alleviate the situation. The question was asked “Does someone have to be killed before NCC does something?” Alan is to bring the matter to the attention of NCC again and he is trying to arrange a meeting with NE Grains. The Clerk attended a meeting in relation to an NCC Core Strategy document where the Planning Dept. have to look 10 years ahead in relation to where housing development will take place. Longhirst Parish is mostly surrounded by land designated as ‘green belt’. It was agreed that the PC recommend to NCC that the green belt should ‘wash over’ the Village so that the Village itself is designated as green belt. The PC opposed a recommendation to NCC that PC’s should lose the ‘automatic trigger’ which sees a planning application go to the Northern Area Planning Committee if a PC objects to it. This opposition is shared by the vast majority of Parish and Town Councils in Northumberland along with many outside bodies. All of these voices have been ignored and the relevant NCC Committee have recommended to the full council that the recommendations be adopted. The Football Field has again been rented by local farmer Mr David Jordon. Several planning applications were considered and the PC did not object to any of them. The planning application to build six houses at the western end of Micklewood Close has been withdrawn. Grant applications for £845 to partially fund the building of a bird hide in the Millennium Wood and for £300 towards the cost of this year’s Open Gardens Weekend were authorised, as was a donation of £40 for the Church raffle. The next meeting of the PC is the AGM and will be held on Thursday 14th May at 7pm in the Village Hall. All Parishioners are welcome to attend. Bob Jackson PAGE 2 LONGHIRST PARISH BROADBAND WORKING GROUP . The Working Group was delighted with the turnout for the Parish photograph at the war memorial on 1st March and are most grateful to the 70 or so residents and business representatives who made the effort to come along. Our County Councillor, Alan Sambrook, also joined us together with our MP, Ian Lavery, who arrived just in time to take part in the photo which subsequently appeared in The Journal. Our Plan A is to ensure high speed broadband is installed in as much of the Parish as possible. We know this will be difficult as we are served by 4 different exchanges and we are at the furthest extremity of them all. Plan B is to make a local WiFi broadband network available to homes and businesses and we are working together with Widdrington Village, Hebron and Tritlington and West Chevington Parish Councils to make this happen. We have already been awarded grants from NCC and UK coal and further applications are underway. Negotiations have been held with a number of potential suppliers and detailed discussions with a selected company, Briskona, are now being held. Further news will be circulated in an “E Parish Boadband News” shortly. For further information The Parish Broadband Working Party please contact Peter Coates (l). VILLAGE HALL NEWS . The Board of Trustees intends to arrange for the spreading of a top covering of sharp grey gravel over the whole of the front car park within the next month or so. They have also put in hand the laying of a strong plastic mesh on the rear car park which will provide a more stable surface for cars while allowing the grass to grow through. The disconcerting noise which attends the use of one of the lady’s toilets has now been repaired. There are still a couple of vacancies on the Board of Trustees which need to be filled by appointments from the Garden Association and the Badminton Club. The Longhirst Parish Association Trustees THE LONGHIRST HUNDRED CLUB The winners of the last two ‘Hundred Club’ draws are: Month February March 1st Prize (£60) Ticket No. 218 June Lumsden Ticket No. 004 Mike Elphick for Lauren 2nd Prize (£40) Ticket No. 201 Glen Richardson Ticket No. 153 Barbara Dales 3rd Prize (£20) Ticket No. 112 Ian Thompson Ticket No. 026 Margaret Jordon The full list of prize winners for the year 2014/15 is now displayed in the Village Hall. Apart from those Hundred Club members who have signed a standing order, you should all have received a communication from me inviting you to join or re-join the Club. If by some oversight I have missed you out, please draw my attention to this inexcusable omission!! The Hundred Club is about to move into its thirteenth year and has just passed the significant Mike Elphick milestone of having raise £10K each for the Church and the Village Hall. PAGE 3 Carol Robson invites you to a WILDLIFE WATCH DAY in aid of St. John’s Church at ROSE COTTAGE, ULGHAM LANE on SATURDAY 25th APRIL 10.00am – 12.00noon 2.00pm – 4.00pm 6.30pm – 9.30pm Coffee/tea and scones Tea/coffee and cake Coffee/tea and snacks £4 per session, includes refreshments Raffle and Bottle Tombola Come with your friends to enjoy a peaceful haven and watch the wildlife. Tickets from Carol Robson (0777 373 8442), Sibell Pigg (j) and Dorothy McMillan (s). Parking is limited so please car share if possible. FOUND . Somehow I have acquired a red spectacles case + spectacles similar to mine. Could the owner please telephone Linda Mowbray on 791627 to claim them. There are also two pairs of spectacles that have been left at the Village Hall. Please contact Jill Elphick (y) if you think they might be yours. WOODRUFF WOOD GUIDED TOUR – SATURDAY 23rd MAY at 2pm . Following on from our introduction in the last Longhirst Leader, we would like to invite all residents of Longhirst to a special free of charge behind the scenes guided tour of Woodruff Wood on Saturday 23rd May at 2pm. This will be an opportunity to look at the wildlife and biodiversity within the wood (when hopefully the spring flowers should be at their best) whilst learning about the importance of woodland habitat and how we hope to best manage it for present and future generations. Please note: everyone is welcome but the ground is uneven and may be wet and muddy in places (there are no hardstanding paths). Suitable footwear is essential! Also, there are no toilets on site. As disturbance is kept to a minimum for the benefit of wildlife (which in May includes ground nesting birds), unfortunately no dogs are allowed. If you are interested in joining us, please arrive for a 2pm start (no need to book). The tour will last for approximately two hours. We will meet under the old coal haul road bridge on Ulgham Lane (just south of Ulgham Animal Sanctuary). For satnav users, the postcode of the nearest dwellings is NE61 3NQ. For further information, please contact us at [email protected] or tel. 07525 841361. We hope to see you soon! Julia Meldrum and Chris Tomlinson PAGE 4 LONGHIRST GARDEN ASSOCIATION . Village Flower and Vegetable Show – Saturday 5th September 2015 sees the one hundredth anniversary of the first Flower Show to be held in Longhirst. Longhirst Garden Association, who now organises the Show, intends to have a special section dedicated to this anniversary as well as its usual full range of classes. The Flower Show is separated into four basic sections:- Vegetables and Flowers; Cookery; Photographs and Crafts. In the next three Longhirst Leaders I will give a flavour of each section and hope that this will encourage those eligible to enter to do so. The number of people in the Parish has increased greatly with the development of Micklewood Close and we hope to tempt some of our newer residents to join us at the Show as entrants, spectators or both. Those eligible to show are residents, their children or grandchildren, those who have a business in the Parish or who work in the Parish. The Vegetable and Flower sections form the main areas of the show. Under the Schedule heading of ‘Vegetables’ there are 35 classes for vegetables, 1 for a herb/s and 3 for fruit. Many of these plants require a vegetable patch but some can be grown using tubs or bags such as potatoes, runner beans, parsnips, carrots, peppers (shown in the pot), tomatoes and herbs (shown in the pot). It may surprise some when I talk of growing runner beans in a tub but I have a fairly small vegetable patch and grow only five beans up a wigwam shaped set of 8 foot canes. The same can be done in a wide tub. I fill a small trench about 18” x 18” (a tub equivalent) with alternate layers of soil and well rotted compost. Sow the beans on their edge under each cane at least 6” apart and 1” deep. Mulch and water well. Harvest the beans about 14 weeks after planting which for our Show would mean planting in the latter half of May. To show the six beans required they should be about 15” long and of a uniform length. You may have to pick them over several days to get the same length. Keep the earlier ones in the fridge. The beans should be free of dirt, rust and blemishes. Display with your beans evenly spaced and the tail facing the judge. There are 5 classes in ‘Large Vegetables’, one being the Longest Bean. Under the heading ‘Flowers’ there are 22 classes for cut flowers and 6 classes for plants in a pot or tub. Again many of these can be and are grown in pots and tubs. I certainly grow my dahlias, gladioli, carnations and asters in tubs because I simply don’t have room to do anything else. There is a ‘Special Class’ every year where we, the Garden Association, hand out the plants to be grown and ask that the finished product is brought along to the Show. This year we are offering begonia corms as these are easy to grow in a pot. It is simply a matter of placing the corm slightly under the surface of good organic matter and then watching these beautiful flowers develop. Water and feed as the plant develops. Keep your plant after the Show for many years of beautiful blooms. These corms are now available and can be obtained from Bob Jackson (p) at Sydney Cottage, Longhirst Colliery. If you can't get down to collect your corm(s) then give him a ring on 813851 and he will try and get the corm(s) to you. We hope each entrant will be able to show 1 vegetable and 1 flower in our Anniversary Section. Each should be a variety which was in existence about 100 years ago. Old varieties are readily available with a little research. Two ‘old’ runner beans, for instance, are ‘Painted Lady’ and ‘Wisely Magic’. To ensure the judge knows what variety he is looking at we ask that a small tag be placed with the exhibit giving its name and, if known, the date of its first appearance. To see a Show schedule please contact Gill Featonby (h) or for any advice contact Gill or Bob Bob Jackson Jackson (p). PAGE 5 VILLAGE COFFEE MORNING . On the second Saturday of every month we hold a Fair Trade Coffee Morning in the Village Hall between 10.15 and noon. Do come along and join us, we charge just £1.50 for as much coffee/tea as you can drink and there are usually home baked goodies as well. This is an ideal opportunity to catch up with all the Village gossip and get to know other parishioners. See the Diary on page 7 for the April and May dates – you might also like to help with Litter Picking on the same day, please contact Chris Lediard (r) for information about this valuable voluntary service. Margaret Lediard CHURCH NOTICE BOARD . As the spring/summer months approach we are reverting to our joint Holy Communion Services back at St John’s Church. We have arranged to clean and dress the Church on Saturday 4th April at 9.30am (help would be appreciated) in preparation of our first service which will be our ‘Easter Celebrations’ on Sunday 5th April at 9.30am. Following on from this our joint services will be held in St. John’s Church on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month and 2nd and 4th Sundays at St. Andrews’ Church Bothal at the usual time of 9.30am. FORTH COMING EVENTS Saturday 25th April, Carol Robson’s ‘Wild Life Watch Day’ (see page4). Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July, Flower Festival and Open Gardens Weekend where the winning tickets from our Grand Raffle will be drawn. For more information see page 1. Many thanks to Steve and Lin Liddle and all who supported their very successful Musical Evening. which raised £420 for our heating fund. Well done! We are delighted to be able to share with you that we have agreement to put in hand the basic re-instatement of the heating system which should be done over the summer months. Dorothy McMillan RECOMMENDED TRADESMEN . Neil Gilchrist Roofing Contractor –for all your roofing needs, 790591 or [email protected]. Neil lives in Longhirst and has done a number of repairs in the Parish, including the Church roof. Jill and Mike Elphick THE U3A CEILIDH The Mid Northumberland U3A are planning to hold a Ceilidh at Longhirst Village Hall on Friday 24th April, 7.30-10.30pm, to which Village residents will be most welcome. The music on the night will be provided by the ‘Castle Ceilidh Band’ which plays traditional Northumbrian music. Tickets cost £17 including a Pie & Pea Supper (including vegetarian if requested) and can be obtained from Judy Smith, 10 Hartford Court, Bedlington, NE22 6LP. Cheques made payable to Mid Northumberland U3A (stating whether you need vegetarian), by 17th April if possible please. Bring your own drinks. For further information contact Judy on [email protected]. or 01670 825283. PAGE 6 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY APRIL Wednesday 1st Saturday 4th Sunday 5th Friday 10th Saturday 11th Sunday 12th Wednesday 15th Friday 17th Tuesday 21st Saturday 25th 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall 9.30am Clean and dress St. John’s Church for Easter 9.30am Easter Holy Communion service in St. John’s Church Late black bin collection after Easter Bank Holiday 10am Litter Pickers meet at the Village Hall 10am Workshop to prepare for Flower Festival in the Village Hall 10.15am Fair Trade Coffee Morning in the Village Hall Village Amble in Northumberland 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall 11am Home Communion at The Dairy 2pm Mother’s Union meets at St. Margaret’s Pegswood Wildlife Day at Carol Robson’s. See page 4 (i) (s) (d) (b) 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall Late black bin collection after Bank Holiday Deadline for items for June/July Longhirst Leader e-mail to [email protected] 11am Home Communion at the Dairy 10am – 3pm Selling Grand Raffle Tickets at Asda, Ashington 10am Litter Pickers meet at the Village Hall 10.15am Fair Trade Coffee Morning in the Village Hall 11am Table Top Sale in the Colliery Recreation Hall 7pm Parish Council AGM in the Village Hall 10am – 4pm Collecting for St. John’s Church at Morrisons, Morpeth 2pm Mother’s Union meets at St. Margaret’s Pegswood 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall 2pm Guided tour of Woodruff Wood. See page 4 Late blue bin collection after Bank Holiday 10.15am Combined service on 5th Sunday at St. Margaret’s Pegswood (i) (r) (y) (t) (l) (i) (f) (g) MAY Wednesday 6th Friday 8th Friday 8th Friday 8th Friday 8th Saturday 9th Saturday 9th Thursday 14th Friday 15th Tuesday 19th Wednesday 20th Saturday 23rd Friday 29th Sunday 31st Editorial Group (f) (y) (r) (t) (x) (a) (y) (g) (i) (b) REGULAR EVENTS Everyone is welcome to……………… • Church services as detailed on page 6 • Junior Activities Club in the Village Hall 6.30 – 7.30 every Tuesday during term time • Yoga 7.30 every Wednesday • Mobile Library 10am in the Village/4pm in Colliery Friday 10th/24th April and 8th/22nd May FUTURE EVENTS Friday 12th June – 7pm, Open meeting in the Village Hall for everyone involved in Open Gardens Weekend th th Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July – Open Gardens and Church Flower Festival Saturday 5th September – Longhirst Village Flower and Vegetable Show PAGE 7 CONTACT DETAILS For more information about the various activities and events mentioned in this Newsletter contact:Parish Council Clerk - Ian Thompson 791851 / e-mail : [email protected] (a) Vicar - Rev. John Park 510793 / e-mail: [email protected] (b) Churchwarden - Dorothy McMillan 518375 / e-mail: [email protected] (s) PCC Secretary – Bill Wake 790450 / e-mail: [email protected] (e) Home Communion Contact – Linda Mowbray 791627 (f) Mothers Union - Jean Richardson 504960 / e-mail : [email protected] (g) Longhirst Parish Association - Gill Featonby 812447 / e-mail: [email protected] (h) Village Hall Bookings - Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c) Luncheon Club – Linda Rudd 790116 / e-mail: [email protected] (i) Bowls Club - Tom Pigg 790354 (j) Badminton – Claire Coates 791088 / e-mail: [email protected] (k) Junior Activities Club – Linda Mowbray 791627 (f) Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c) Longhirst Amblers - Peter Coates 791088 / e-mail: [email protected] (l) Garden Association - Bob Jackson 813851 / e-mail: [email protected] (p) Longhirst Hundred Club - Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c) Open Gardens Weekend – Linda Rudd 790116 / e-mail: [email protected] (i) - Jill Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (y) Parish Voluntary Litter Clearance – Chris Lediard 790268 / [email protected] (r) Fair Trade Coffee Mornings – Margaret Lediard 790268 / [email protected] (t) Longhirst Colliery Recreation Hall –Bill Climson 816075 / e-mail: [email protected] (x) Village Website – www.longhirstvillage.co.uk - Alan Block 790282 / [email protected] (u) Bjoern Backe / [email protected] (w) Church Website - www.longhirstchurch.btck.co.uk (b) Longhirst Leader Editorial Group: Jill Elphick - Howarth Cottage:790764, [email protected] (y) Peter and Claire Coates - The Old Farmhouse, Broomhaugh: 791088, [email protected] (z) Myra Jackson – Sydney Cottage, Longhirst Colliery: 813851, [email protected] Carol Robson - Rose Cottage, Ulgham Lane: 07773738442 (o) Rosemary Horsley: 30 Micklewood Close : [email protected] This issue was sponsored by Mandarin Bay Restaurant, Cramlington www.kevinliu.co.uk If you require a copy in large print please let us know. PAGE 8
© Copyright 2024