Haydon News

November 1998

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EDITORIAL – GOING FRENCH

Hi Folks – ‘tis me again fit and well after a few weeks of being under the weather but now perky and cheeky as ever. I’m all geared up to be acting stupid over Halloween weekend and you may well see (have seen) me staggering about the Village on the Friday and Saturday night. Three years ago I was an aged Elvis, two years ago a Monk, last year a Ghost and I ain’t telling nobody what I’m going to be this year – however I do advise you to keep well away from the parish cemeteries and Blood Transfusion Service vans..

Have you noticed but there has been a high police presence in the village lately around about pub closing time? I understand that the men in blue are concerned about after-hours drinking in rural pubs. Recently I was in one pub on a Sunday evening when a couple of policemen wandered in and had a look around. Isn’t it amazing how they can find the resources to do this and often don’t seem to be able to find time to clear up the real crime which is going on all around us. I am told that in this area we have had people robbed and hit in their homes, thefts from houses and garages, cars vandalised etc., to my knowledge these crimes frequently go unsolved.

Methinks that priorities may have been wrongly set or maybe a new guy has stepped in and wants to impress. I do find it an intrusion to be eyed over when slowly sipping my non-alcoholic beer at closing time. It does little to impress me and seems to be a good way to turn people off co-operating and helping our Police. Our highly paid senior policemen will argue that they are only here to enforce the law – I will argue back and say to these decision makers that you are also paid to prioritise using a bit of gumption making the most efficient use of your limited resources.
Catching crooks and villains is your business and if occasionally some rural publican doesn’t stop serving promptly on time – forget it. A few middle aged and elderly folk slavering over a final pint is not what I would call criminal activity. Pubs are having a hard enough time without being hounded like this. The sooner new legislation is brought in to allow hostelries to close when they want, to the merrier we will be.

It is quite fine for me, sitting up here a mile from the village and any noise from late night revellers, as some say, staggering from the village pubs shouting urinating willy nilly in alleys and shop doorways as they trickle home. Perhaps an alternative solution would be to allow pubs to stay open as long as they want – there would then be no mass exodus late at night and final swigging of the grog in mass quantities.

It is said by village experts that it is this last quick pint which causes you to ‘want to go’ as the cold night air catches you when crossing the old bridge. Many folk have asked for a public toilet to be installed on the North Side, the P.C. has ruled that the £8,000 or so cost is too much. As their annual budget is about £12,000 they’re probably right

There used to be a urinal hanging over the river on the North Side. Someone suggests we don’t need to splash out that much but should consider removing a stone in one of the pedestrian sanctuaries in the middle of the bridge, a small basin aluminium urinal fitted in the hole with a 3’6” modesty rail built behind – and hey presto for just a piddling amount problem solved. Because of the prevailing wind it would have to be built on the east facing side! Bye for now Mitch

Index

Thursday 22nd October 1998

7 Councillors , County Councillor Purdue and 2 members of the public were present.

In the absence of Chairman Councillor Loyd Mrs. Garrow (vice-chair) chaired the meeting.

Matters Arising

Picnic site costing – several prices have been received for various play area surfaces. The Council has a ‘Duty of Care’ over the play area which should be sited as far from the river as possible and surrounded by fencing. A weekly inspection will be required.

New flagpole in the Church graveyard will be sited in a different location.

Repairs to the fence at the handicapped bungalow is in hand.

The nursery sign and flashing lights should be in place within a month.

The path next to the High School has been badly patched and the hedge needs to be cut back.

Highway Matters

No decision has been taken on the Pelican Crossing ‘lake’.

Following another accident on the A69 in Haydon Bridge County Councillor Purdue agreed with Cllr Eileen Charlton that “It is time to re-energise the by-pass campaign.” N.C.C., who fully support the case to be asked to help push the Transport Department.

The street light has finally been connected in Land Ends Road.

Planning

Keepershield Cottage – change of use from dwelling to commercial premises. Parish Council concerned about access and lack of information.

Correspondence

Tynedale Sports Council to be given a £25 donation.

Showfield Housing – Tynedale District local plan to show a further 30 dwellings even though landowner does not wish to release any more land.

The County Council are to be the architects for the new Community centre and a meeting to discuss plans is to be held at 7:30 pm on November 10th. In the Community Centre.

AOB

A stone wall near the rear old Vicarage is about to fall down near the picnic area.

The drain at the rear of the butchers is blocked as is one at the entrance to Hordley Acres.

PAT

Index

A 16th October letter from The Planning Inspectorate in Bristol to County Hall in Morpeth seems to confirm that footpath 46 from the A69 down to the river via Temple Houses Lane will indeed be added to the definitive map as a right of way. In making his decision the Inspector took into account further objections.

In his letter the Inspector says “ In my previous letter [14th January 1998 Ed.], I set out my reasons for the decisions I then made. It seems to me that neither of the objections which have been made to the modifications I have made has any bearing on them, having regard to the stringent criterion in the legislation.”

The material points of the two objectors were:

Mrs. D. Thompson – Remains most concerned at the consequences of Temple Houses Lane being a public footpath. This would lead to further disturbance for the residents, and effect their privacy and security. It is not accepted that there are public rights to use the route, and there is no justification for this as there is already a parallel way along Martins Close.

Mr. J. K. Harrison – Thinks that whilst there might have been a public right of way established at one time, it could well have lapsed when the use ceased following its being challenged. In any event, when the public right had been established the scale of use would have been much less then, which was before the construction of the football field. Visitors are required by a planning condition to use Martins Close for access, and the use of any public right of way over Temple Houses Lane should be limited to that which existed prior to 1960.

The Inspector, R.G. Brown, said:
“I understand the reasons for the objections and sympathise with the sentiments which underlie them. However they carry no weight in this case. I am merely concerned with the evidence as to the existing footpath”. However he then opened a possible life-line to the landowners in Pandon.

“If the County council can be persuaded by the residents that it is expedient in the interest of the landowners that the footpath should be stopped up as unnecessary, then there is further legislation which it could use to make the appropriate Order.”

He concluded: “I note the further point that has been made about the possibility of public rights lapsing after the challenge. In my view this can not be the case; and a public right of way established by more than 20 years of prior use, as of right, would continue in existence until legally removed.”

SBM

Index

In 1995 a Village Appraisal was carried out and one of the issues identified was the need to update the Community Centre so that it could accommodate future community needs. After discussions with the parish appraisal team the community association members decided to produce a full audit of the present Community Centre Building.

In November 1997 a funding package was put together from the Small Grants Lottery Board and the Rural Development programme. This enabled a team of consultants from Northumberland County Council to carry out a Feasibility Study of the building.

In February 1998 the Technical Services team from N.C.C. reported the results of the study to the committee and out of the audit came the discovery that the building was sub-standard and to refurbish it now wouldn’t solve the more serious problems that the centre had. After several options were discussed at length the committee voted to demolish the present building and build a new Community Centre on the same site. The decision to go for this option was strongly supported by the Structural Survey undertaken.

Estimated costs for this option came to £487.629!

Over the next few months applications for funding were made to small charities and to larger company funding programmes. Applications were also submitted to European Funding Bodies and Northumbrian Water.

After many letters, telephone calls, interviews, presentations and months of waiting the hard work was finally rewarded with a provisional award of £50,000 from Europe’s Northern Uplands 5b programme, this was subject to other funding being in place. Northumbrian Water Kickstart Programme generously granted our project £25,000.

Confirmed financial support was also approved from:

Tynedale Council £8,000
Parish Council £5,000
Shaftoe Trust £3,000
Joicey Trust £1,000
The Henry Bell Foundation £ 300
The Smith Trust £ 500
Community Association Funds* £3,000
* This amount made possible by generous donations, proceeds from special coffee mornings, the village fairs and various other events.

By April 1998 with all the required matched funding in place it was now possible to apply to The National Lottery Charities Board ‘Community Involvement Programme’. Over the next few months various people came and visited the centre and talked to us about the project. Finally at the end of September after a 6 month wait we received the news we’d hoped for, the award of £392,629 from the NLCB, towards our New Community Centre. The money will be spent on demolishing and rebuilding the community centre and the new building will retain some characteristics of the original Wesleyan Chapel building.

It is expected that work to demolish the old building will begin in June 1999 and estimated time of the project being completed is January 2000.

Valerie Bell
For the Community Association

Index

The Friends of Haydon Bridge

HELP US HELP THE COMMUNITY - JOIN THE FOHB TODAY

Present membership runs out on 30th September. New subscriptions are now due for the period 1st October 1998 – 31st December 1999. Membership is 10p per month so a subscription for the period is £1-50p. Please complete the form below and enclose with your membership subscription. You can give it to any member of the Committee or leave it in an envelope at the Post Office addressed to The Friends of Haydon Bridge. If you are a non-resident of the Parish of Haydon the subscription is 60p per month which includes a UK postal delivery of the Haydon News – please send cheque for £9 –00 to the Editor – address on page 2.

I wish to become an active / non-active member (delete as appropriate) of The Friends of Haydon Bridge for the period 1st October 1998 – 31st December 1999. Please find enclosed a cheque/cash to the value of . . . . . . .
Name .................................................................
Address .................................................................
.................................................................
Phone ......................... Please note that donations greater than minimum amount are welcome – all monies received will be used for the benefit of Parish inhabitants. Cheques payable to The Friends of Haydon Bridge

Readers outside U.K If you wish to support the Friends of Haydon Bridge e-mail us now at FOHB

Index

Members of the Haydon Bridge W.I. Enjoyed a stimulating evening with Sue Self on her ‘Arctic Experience’. Sue, a local girl, was fortunate to be a member of the first All Women’s Relay Team Polar Expedition to the North Pole.
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After answering an advertisement in the Telegraph offering ‘an adventure’, she was lucky enough to be one of the two hundred short-listed. With the other successful applicants she went for trials on Dartmoor. Of these, twenty four were finally selected, together with five reserves. Sue was the only one chosen from the North-East.

She explained that there are only three months of the year when such an expedition is possible. This is from March until May when the weather gets warmer and the ice breaks up The expedition took 28 days and set out from Resolute Bay.

Illustrating her talk with slides, Sue showed photographs of the special boots, the red insulated suits, the underwear supplied by Damart and the sleeping bags. They were not cold but they had to consume large quantities of food, 5,000 calories a day including a high intake of fat.

Sue had to raise £1,500 herself towards expenses but four firms, especially local ones, were generous in their support. On the expedition no one was injured and no one had frostbite although the conditions appear somewhat grim. On their return the team visited 10, Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Blair.

The competition, ‘A Winter Scene’ was won by first, I. Waugh second Mrs. Bowen and third Mrs B. Clarke. The raffle was won by Mrs. P. Stewart, second Mrs. F. Ord.

Myra Bowen

Index

Guests from Newbrough and Bellingham W.I.’s were invited to join Langley W.I. In their 63rd Birthday celebrations. They heard that Langley had had a busy month in September when as well as having their AGM they had attended a luncheon at Sele Afternoon Club, an evening at Humshaugh W.I., a day-trip to Alnwick for the W.I. County Day and had also played and won the first round of the Dominoes Competition.

‘Beamish and its Treasures’ was the subject of speakers Alan and Corrine Ashburner – but this was a cause with a difference. Members were put into teams and were then asked to guess the use to which various gadgets could be put. These vaguely domestic items ranged from a shoe stretcher for a bunion sufferer to a black-out for a car’s headlights and provoked much discussion and hilarity.

After supper and the cutting of the cake, a competition was held to see who could design the best cover for a W.I. Magazine. No easy task with a time limit of 15 minutes – but in true W.I. tradition the results were excellent.

Mary Nagel

Index

In the June issue of the Haydon News I published a letter – part of which follows:

Leeds Metropolitan University
Hello.
Let me introduce myself, I am the leader of a small walking club known as the Queens First Foot and Mouth. Sixteen of us, plus two dogs and a budgie, are booked in at the Anchor Hotel on the first weekend in October. As none of us have ever walked in your part of the country before can anyone please recommend any particularly good walks?

Eric Johnson
Chief Blister

I left some books of local walks I have enjoyed, at the Anchor and received the following e-mail on Monday 5th October

Mitch

Many many thanks for the loan of the books. They proved to be very useful.

On the Saturday we did the walk that takes in Vindolanda, Housestead, and Steel Rigg. Very good walk, fine weather and wonderful views. The only thing that spoiled it a little was when my wife fell down a pot hole on the main road about fifty yards short of the Twice Brewed pub. It's alright walking on rough ground but these tarmacadam roads are lethal .... Oddly enough while she was sitting (sprawling?) at the side of the road with all these cars whizzing past, the only one that stopped to see if he could help was a French tourist. makes you think doesn't it?

Sunday as you know was a little wetter so we decided to opt for a smaller walk, Allen Banks car park down to Staward Pele and back through Sillywrea. Odd spots of rain but we didn't really get wet. Very muddy in the forest stages though. Plus having to dive out of the way as orienteers came charging through.

Overall a very enjoyable time.

If the Anchor is one of your haunts you are a very lucky man. Wonderful people and fantastic food.

Once again, thanks very much.

Eric Johnson
Wakefield, WRY

Ed’s note
Thanks for coming to our village and glad you enjoyed yourself – sorry about your wife’s injury – I hear some of the members of the team decided to stay over an extra night and didn’t leave until Monday morning.

P.S.
“Ye gnaa what Hinny if wi aal stopped to pick up wimmen what fell doon 50 yards from the pub wid nivvor get hyem of a neet!”

P.P.S. Thanks for the drink you left for me at the bar – I had a double B&C.

Hello Mitch,

Just thought I contact you and congratulate you on a brilliant web page. As a Haydonian It really pleases me to be able to keep in touch with village affairs over a long distance and keeps me up to date with all of the gossip, just thought I would ask if you planned to include any of the Sid and Jean cartoons on the web page to keep us web heads amused, maybe you could do a collection for us. Any way keep up the good work.

Yours faithfully
(please withhold name and e-mail)

Ed’s note

Sorry but with the recent death of Bill Tait, who drew the cartoons, there can be no more of Sid and Jean. That is except for one in the can which I will publish at an appropriate time. Many people didn’t understand, or misunderstood the cartoons first time around so I may publish them again with explanations for the hard of hearing. If I do so, I may also put them on the web.

I still have Bill’s original ink drawings without captions, so perhaps if I sent you a set you could spread them around the university campus and have a captions competition. I’ll put up £10 for the most outrageous printable entry? I could even cons ider publishing the best 10 next year and sell them at the fair day on August Bank Holiday Monday.

You must also remember that the characters are supposed to be fictitious – if you don’t we could have someone ringing up the Friends of Haydon Bridge Committee asking for my head. I note that my reply has far exceeded the length of your letter. So, heeding Dick Turpin’s first words to his horse when he arrived at York following his epic ride - “Whoa Bess!”, I’ll stop.

P.S. If I’ve put you in a tizzy with this reply perhaps I shall explain it in the June 1999 issue of the Haydon News – an appropriate time methinks. Ed.

AN E-MAIL FROM PRUDDA

Dear Mitch,

I live in Prudhoe and I came across your web-site about Haydon Bridge, I found all the information most interesting indeed, I have not come across a site about my home town, pity really. Anyway I am not too clever with this PC and internet so I hope you do receive this e-mail, my wife and children are far more familiar with computers than me. I will visit your site again soon to find what’s going on in Haydon Bridge.

Tom Stewart

I refer to the article printed in last month’s issue of the Haydon News concerning the Moore’s case at Newcastle Crown Court. The report was long in detail and in my view should not have been published at all. The Hexham Courant and the Newcastle Journal did not report it. In the article it was stated that the Moores should be tarred and feathered and sent packing. I find this most offensive, threatening and in bad taste.

There is no doubt but the Moore’s family have been victimised as though they had committed a murder. [Sentence removed from here by Editor]. Many people, including myself, are of the opinion that the new owners of the Home contacted the police too soon and the Moore’s family were denied the chance to express and explain what problems there were, such as discrepancies and irregularities. [Sentence removed from here by Editor] It appears that the conviction was celebrated with Champagne – well this is not the end of this case, who knows – we shall just wait and see. And further Mrs. Mary Moore was accused of running the Home down – well the answer to this is you either have all beds occupied or varied according to needs.

The remark about residents of the Home looking better since the Moore’s family left is petty and pathetic, Mrs. Moore is a caring and kind person, and would not allow this to happen. The support for the Moore’s family is overwhelming, from all parts of the country from people Mrs. Moore has cared for, when in the Home, letters are still being received at the Moore’s home.

Name and address supplied

Sorry if you thought my report was long in detail, however the feedback I have received from people with no axe to grind for either party is that it was comprehensive with the right balance. The Journal did have a small report on Saturday 26th September and the Courant (2nd October) had a 450 word article in what seemed to me only a rehash of the Journal’s report. I must admit I didn’t like the Courant’s emotive words used in headlining their article on the case.

You have taken the phrase “have had the accused tarred and feathered” too literally. I presume then you think it OK then to “have the accusers deported” and the Editor “should have had three white feathers sent to him”. The paragraph concerned was written to show how unbalanced the pre-trial views being bandied around the village were.

I have absolutely no idea if your allegations that the convictions were celebrated with Champagne are true. Certainly when I visited the Home a few days after the trial I didn’t spot any empty bottles strewn about the place – all I saw was a bunch of happy elderly people watching the early evening TV news, being cared for by friendly staff. I’ve no doubt whatsoever that if I’d popped in when the previous owner was running the place I’d have seen the same thing.
That concludes the correspondence on this subject – no more letters please.

Footnote
In the middle of October an irate telephone caller from the Home rang High Brindles demanding to know what had happened to the four copies of the Haydon News normally delivered – there seemed to be a veiled suggestion that they were being deliberately withheld from the residents there. I quickly investigated and found that the person who delivers them had only received their copies that day. The Haydon News is written, printed and copied here At High Brindles where the Rainbow Writers collate it. I then personally deliver the 870 copies to main distributors who pass them on to any additional deliverers who take them to individual homes as and when they have time. Sorry if you received yours a bit late at Haydon View. Mitch

STOP PRESS
I understand that the trial Judge Ben Nolan sitting at Durham on 23rd October, sentenced Mary Moore to a minimal mandatory fine and that other charges against her have been dropped.

Mary has already lodged an appeal against the conviction – aiming to prove her innocence. This may take some time to be heard.

Mitch

High Brindles
Heugh House Lane Haydon Bridge
NE47 6HJ
19th October 1998

Tel: 01434-684-035 or 684-980

PROJECT ARCHIVE 2000

As part of my contribution to the Millennium I intend to embark on a two-year project to archive a large amount data from locally held documents that record the history of Haydon Bridge in the 20th Century. This will include extracts from newspaper cuttings, periodicals, family papers, photographs, audio-tape, etc. Residents and others hold much of this material in personal scrapbooks

Unlike normal archives this storage of material will be stored on Compact Disks, identical to those used on music CD players. An individual CD can hold approximately 700 pages of plain text or some 500 high quality photographs. To transfer paper documents to an archive requires the use of an electronic scanner, which does not damage the original material. Most modern computers are fitted with a CD device which can 'play' digital compact disks.

At the moment I have the facilities to transfer paper documents and photographs to my computer, indeed for the past 46 months I have produced the Haydon News on my personal computer on which I store the archives of the past four years and some photographs. However there is a finite limit to what can be stored on my own computer.

I have, through 'Help the Aged' applied for Millennium Lottery funding to purchase the necessary equipment and software to enable me to 'write' to CD's so that individual compact discs can be produced. When complete the CD's can be duplicated and stored in Local and County Libraries, Records Offices, Schools and Universities. It is my intention that they should also be made available to individuals - all profits being given to 'The Friends of Haydon Bridge', who would be encouraged to record history, as it happens, by adding a CD for each year of the 21st Century.

My Project has been evaluated and accepted as being suitable for final consideration by the awards panel who will meet in November - I should hear the result in early December.

For the Project I will require assistance in five areas

(a) Individual help from 4 people over 60 to form a project team.

(b) Collection and selection of data to be archived - Followed by its return to the owners

(c) Ad hoc help with library research, typing, proof reading

(d) Loan of selected items for inclusion in archive.

(e) Financial

Since I started making it generally known of my planned project a number of people have suggested that I also cover the period 1877 - 1899. This would cover that part of the 19th century not covered by William Lee in his book Historical Notes of Haydon Bridge and District published in 1876. It has also been suggested that I write a book, similar to Lee's covering the period 1900 - 1999. If I obtain the support required I shall do both of these things.

In my project plan submitted to the lottery I have shown that every 6 months, I will give a public presentation of the project's progress to date. I believe that public involvement is essential

In order to complete PROJECT ARCHIVE 2000 in the two-year time-span I will need to archive 'A year a week'. By any yardstick this is an exacting schedule so it is of paramount importance that I know as soon as possible the level of support you can give.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me on any of the two telephone numbers.

S.B. Mitchell

The writer welcomes anyone who has an interest in assisting with this project in any capacity to come forward before the end of November. You do not need to be computer literate to help record a hundred years of Haydon Bridge history. I do not want anyone to come forward who’s only interest is forming yet another committee – this will be a real live Project starting in January 1999 and ending in 2001.

Although the main team of five will be aged 60 and over help is also sought from younger people and folk who will delve through records in Hexham library, County Records Office and other places. I feel that Project Archive 2000 will be an interesting venture with many spin-offs, however it will also be hard work.

If you would like to contact me at High Brindles just come and knock on my front door, send me a letter or e-mail mitch@haydonbridge.demon.co.uk

I will be happy to give anyone a computer demonstration of the end product of the project here at High Brindles and answer any questions you may have.

Please remember that there will be no project if the necessary assistance under (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) is not forthcoming. Thanks for your time . . . . . Mitch

I have lost count of the number of people who have asked me:

“What are you going to do for the Millennium?”

My answer to each query has been the same – to do anything will take lots of planning and lots of willing people and we need to start now. Lots of different ideas are being discussed and lots of things are possible with plenty people willing to take part. To try to co-ordinate all the willing people and all the various ideas together we are going to try to form a Millennium Committee so anyone willing to take part please attend a meeting on Wednesday 11th November 1998 at 7:30 p.m..

The purpose of the group will be to raise funds for the various projects (to do anything costs money) and try to make the various ideas become reality.

IDEAS SUGGESTED SO FAR:-
* New Years Eve never to be forgotten
* Fireworks and bonfire
* Street party for children and pensioners.
*A patchwork map of the village as it is now at the turn of the millennium, the idea is to get lots of people to create in needlecraft form all the different parts of the village. These will be stitched together to form the map which can be hung in our newly completed community centre. If you can sew please come along to the meeting.

As the old millennium ends and a new one begins we should really try to make it a year to remember.

We need all age groups to be represented on this committee, after all the new millennium is everyone's future.

DON’T JUST THINK ABOUT IT – DO IT

If you cannot make it to the meeting but are willing to take part phone me.

Eileen Charlton – Tel: 684505

BY-PASS UPDATE

The Department of Transport are reviewing the A69 for safety and environmental issues so the people of Haydon Bridge should be making their views know now.

The By– pass committee is very short of members. I you feel strongly that we need a By-pass please join our group – we need to be acting now and really need some help.

Telephone Eileen 684505

CARPET BOWLS NEWS

Haydon Bridge Carpet Bowls Club have just started the new season in a new strip. A green

A green red shirt and a grey sweatshirt, both with the club logo. The strip made its debut in the away match against Lambley.

Before I start describing the match I will show you the teamsheet and fixture list for November.

A B C D
Joseph Tulip Peter Tweddle Gladys Henderson Jean Oliver
Ike Tallantyre Winnie Golightly Lily Pickering Edith Benson
Mary Lockhart Edna Rumney Michael Rumney Joyce Tucker

FIXTURES FOR NOVEMBER
Tuesday 3rd Club Night
Thursday 5th Slaggyford – Home
Tuesday 10th Club Night
Thursday 12th Slaley – Away
Tuesday 17th Club Night
Thursday 19th Simonburn – Away
Tuesday 24th Bellingham – Away

After a long summer of practice on club nights the hard work almost played off as Haydon Bridge nearly pulled off a shock victory on Lambley’s home turf.

Signs of a good night came early on when the ‘A’ team took three on the first end of the first game, but let it slip and they lost 4–3 but they didn’t give up and won their second game 6-3. The ‘B’ team pulled off a remarkable 9-1 win in their third game and carried on the good form and took their final game 6-2.

Everyone played very well and Haydon Bridge could have quite easily won the match with a little more luck. For example the ‘C’ team had about three balls in (nearest the Jack) when one of their own players accidentally knocked the Jack to the oppositions balls. But they replied and won the next game 6-3. The ‘D’ team, like everyone else, played well, but their luck deserted them. e.g. They were winning their first game 3-1 but conceded four on the last end.

The final score was: LAMBLEY 60 HAYDON BRIDGE 56

Since the Lambley match, the club have played the following games: Catton, Wylam, Throckley and Slaley and haven’t done bad in all of them.

If you would like to play carpet bowls just come along to the Haydon Bridge Community Centre on any of the Club Nights mentioned on November’s fixture list. They start at 7:30 p.m. and last until about 9:30 p.m. Come along and have a cup of tea and a biscuit, play the raffle and have a chat. These are very enjoyable evenings costing 50p for adults and 25p for juniors. Bring a small prize, such as a tin of beans, for the raffle.

Bill and Jean

In 1897 – across the border in Scotland - Thomas Stafford Tait was born. Like many a Scotsman before and since he came to England as a young man, to find work. Not only did he find work but he also met a lass and it wasn’t too long before Tommy and Frances Waugh married - by 1925 they were living in Pandon .In time honoured fashion the Taits started begetting children. On the 26th November 1926, with the help of Dr. Routledge, out popped William. Three years later the family moved to Ratcliffe Road where Tommy had a wet fish shop, Bills sibling Colin was born shortly after their move. Later they moved to Smith’s Terrace where the final member of the family, Mary, was born. Tommy later became an agent for well known insurance company.

Bill attended the Shaftoe Trust school however from an early age his uncle Alf taught him country craft which interested Bill much more than standard school subjects. On 26th November 1940 teenager Bill woke up and said:“That’s it – nee more skeul for me, I‘m noo 14.”

After getting dressed he donned one of his father’s caps, cocked his leg over his bike and with a strong westerly wind on his back rode into Hexham where his first port of call was Ellison’s in Market Street. Being the artistic lad that Bill was the owner had no hesitation in giving the young ’un a job as a trainee painter and decorator, later he continued his apprenticeship with Mr. Wilkinson in the village. At the end of his 7 year apprenticeship he joined Mr. Cooper’s painting and decorating business eventually ending up at Newmans.Now Billy Tait, like his parent’s, was a Jehovah’s Witness and in 1951 the religious order had an Assembly in Wallsend, having an eye for a pretty lass it wasn’t long before he was scanning the hall for ‘talent’. Jean Burn from Hartlepool was also attending the Assembly and felt someone was looking at her. Glancing around she saw Bill, naturally as was befitting a young lady in those days she averted his gaze, however every time she looked up she found the would be Romeo - owlish grin on his face - looking in her direction. Eventually Bill slid across the room and sat down next to a very shy Jean.

There is one thing Haydon Bridge is said to be noted for and that is the unusual courting style of the young men. Bill was not untypical, looking Jean right in they eye he said “Sorry I haven’t any chocolates with me,” fumbling in his jacket pocket withdrew a crumpled half finished tube of antacid tablets proffering one to the puzzled lass he continued “But do you fancy a Rennies Pet?” With that corny chat-up line started a relationship that lasted some 48 years. Within a week Bill was down to Hartlepool meeting Jean’s family.

The following year the couple were married and their first home was in rented rooms in the front of Mrs. Makepeace’s house at number 10, Alexandra Terrace. The pair were well suited: both were competent artists ; were of even temperament; both loved the outdoors sharing common pursuits of hiking, camping, ‘hosteling’ and with a bit of mountaineering thrown in. However the most important thing they also shared was their strong religious belief. Altogether a good recipe for a long and happy marriage.

During the day Bill followed his chosen career as a painter and decorator and like everything he put his hand to developed excellent skills, his reputation for high quality craftsmanship became well known. Evenings and weekends found the couple pursuing their outdoor leisure activities. A constant companion with the couple was Bill’s Box Brownie camera which was eventually replaced by a more modern 35mm single lense reflex. He also bought himself a mechanically driven home movie camera on which the couple recorded many hours of wildlife cinematography.

Following his departure from Newman’s in the 70’s Bill was self employed for a while until 1978 when he successfully applied for a job with Tynedale Council - eventually becoming Clerk of Works - a job he held until his retirement in November 1991.

At the age of 77 father Tommy died in October 1974 and was buried in the cemetery below Crook Hill. In January 1983 Bill’s mother Frances died aged 81 she was laid to rest alongside her husband.

Over the years both Jean and Bill also spent a lot of their leisure time painting and many of Bills excellent works, both photographs and paintings, are on display in various village establishments..

Bill, an avid writer full of humour and wit, was for three decades a regular contributor to the Haydon News and its predecessors using mainly the pseudonyms Owld Tawny and Gerry Attric, however he did use others. His articles were mainly of historic events and characters from the past.

One day in the 1980’s Bill received a phone call from a man purporting to be a radio station reporter and asked the Haydonian naturalist if he would meet him at the Spa Well. At first he thought it was a hoax but under Jean’s persuasion he went off at the appointed time and sure enough the reporter was there. In the early 1990’s an approach was made by a nature programme company – it wasn’t long before Bill made the first of many television appearances. He was just perfect for the job and anyone one who has seen the programmes will have observed the quite but confident air he had about him as he spoke to the TV audience.

In recent years one of Bill’s favourite haunts was the lounge bar of the Haydon Hotel where over a couple of pints he would entertain anyone who was interested, with tales of past Haydonian characters. A lifelong asthmatic his health started to deteriorate a couple of years ago and he had to give up his walking in the local countryside and even a visit to the local hostelry was a rare occurrence. However he did continue writing for the Haydon News.

On Monday 24th August Bill Tait had an appointment at the Health Centre. Sat in the waiting room awaiting his turn he, as always, was joking with the staff and waiting patients when suddenly he had a sudden massive and fatal heart attack. Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and it was left for Dr. Ford to make the short two minute walk to Alexandra Terrace to break the bad news to Jean.

After learning of her Bill’s sudden and unexpected death Jean asked if her husband had suffered any pain – Dr. Ford looked around the cosy room on the walls of which were many paintings by Bill and Jean – in the display cabinet a commemorative gold and blue cup and saucer inscribed ‘To Billy aged 5 from your Dad’ – on a shelf in an alcove sat the old Box Brownie camera looking down on them – the Doctor’s eyes fixed on the grandfather clock ticking loudly in the corner, he replied:

“Imagine if the ticking clock there suddenly stopped, one second there would be ticking, the next just silence –”

SBM

Jenny Wren - Tiny Bird, Powerful Song
BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN

PRIMROSES studded the bank-side as sunlight streamed through the trees, bejeweling the rain-soaked vegetation after the passing shower. I relaxed on a fallen tree, watching two small birds quickly go back and forth to a patch of dead bracken that overhung a rock face above the stream.Curiosity got the better of me, and I rose to investigate. I found what I had suspected-a wren's nest, beautifully constructed of woven moss and neatly, tucked away among the hanging strands of bracken. The perky wren measures just three and three quarters inches from the tip of its beak to its tail and is commonly viewed as one of Britain's smallest birds.

* For this reason, in 1937 its likeness was first embossed on the farthing, which was Britain's smallest coin at that time.Jenny wren, or kitty-wren – names given to both sexes by English country folk-is well-known in Europe, Eurasia, and the United States. In Britain it is the most widely distributed and the most numerous of all breeding birds. Its beautiful, trilling song has been likened to that of the nightingale and is so powerful that it can be heard over half a mile away! But harsh winters take their toll and have been known to kill up to 75 percent of the wren population. At such times wrens often choose to roost together to keep warm. Over 60 wrens were once found in a nest box, huddled together in a feathery bundle.In April the male builds a variety of skilfully camouflaged dome-shaped nests. After completing the nests, the male will introduce his mate to all of them. She will then select one and line it with feathers. By the end of April, she will have laid five or six white eggs with red-brown spots. The female will incubate the eggs on her own for 14 days, and the fledglings will leave the nest after at least two more weeks. Two broods are normal during the summer, and while the female incubates her second clutch of eggs, the male will take care of the youngsters from the first hatching, sometimes taking the young birds to one of his other nests. If the summer is a good one, with an abundance of insects available as food, the male will take a second mate and set her up in yet another of his homes.Sitting on the fallen tree, I could feel the warmth of the May sunshine as I watched both wrens flying to and fro. I noted their red-brown plumage and barred wings when they settled on a twig close to where I sat. But then, when they discovered me in their domain, their little tails cocked up, and they started their churring alarm call. That was my cue to quietly take my leave.Europe's smallest birds, the resident gold-crest, commonly called the goldencrested kinglet, and the winter-visiting fire-crest are a quarter of an inch shorter but are rarely seen.

Awake! September 8,1998

Ed’s note
The above article was written by Bill Tait being the last article he had published and before his untimely death on Monday 24th August 1998. I understand that Awake! have one more of Bill’s articles awaiting publication.Should you wish for more information on the Awake! magazine please contact Watch Tower, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1RN.

Index

It all started in the spring of ‘81 when three elderly men were discussing over a pint of beer the whereabouts of their summer holidays.

“Well I’m going back to Crete!”, said Walter, “I understand they’re promoting a bit of a shindig for the 40th anniversary of the invasion by the Jerrys in 1941. I was one of a detachment of marines that were hurriedly sent from Alexandria” to Cania to help defend the island when invasion looked imminent after the fall of Greece.”

Bobby gave me a questioning look and I responded immediately. “Aye Walter lad, we’ll cum wi ya and leave wor wives at hyem and hev a blinder on wor own.”

So it happened that on May 19th 1981 we found ourselves seated on a plane out of Newcastle bound for Heraklion on the island of Crete. Besides our suitcases Walter carried a brown paper parcel which on enquiry as to what it contained he said: “A blanket which I borrowed 40 years ago.” Walter, a quiet and unassuming man revealed a story on the plane to Crete, which was the strangest I’ve ever heard.

Born in Blyth, after school he spent some time as a lather boy in Billy White’s barber-shop in Newsham where he gained some little skill in hairdressing which stood him in good stead later on. Mid-teens saw him progress to a furniture salesman in several local establishments. After the war he became Furniture Department Manager at Robbs of Hexham.

Joining the Royal Marines on the outbreak of war he was stationed in Alexandria when the call came to proceed to Crete. The detachment wasn’t a large one but they dug in on a strategic well chosen position on the only landing strip on the coast at Malheim where the settled down to await developments which weren’t long coming. At very first light next morning the drone of approaching aircraft was heard out at sea followed shortly after by first sight of the loaded gliders coming in after casting off from their towing aeroplanes.

They were sitting ducks for the Marines, from their position in the middle of the runway, shot them down and many crashed in flames in the hills behind. However after creating the utmost carnage to the approaching gliders the detachment were overwhelmed by force of numbers. Running short of ammunition they withdrew as best they could and eventually made their way over the mountains to the west where the British Navy evacuated them from Sfaxia. Walter and his mates were, however, not so lucky for as they reached the hilltop above the fishing village in the afternoon of June 30th 1941 they could see the Navy ships just disappearing of the horizon.

Absolutely whacked through lack of sleep and sheer exhaustion they reached the fishermen’s village of Sfaxia where Walter kicked open the door of the first cottage they reached. He collapsed on an inviting bed, pulling a pretty home-made crocheted blanket over himself – in seconds he was fast asleep. Next morning he was awakened by the call “The Germans are coming!” whereupon he hastily gathered up his kit and the blanket and headed for the hills.

With help from the locals he was able to live off the land until he was captured by the Germans, eventually ending up in a POW Camp somewhere north of Bremen. The prisoners he was with were the first consignment to the newly opened camp and to his delight he was given the job of camp barber and a small hut to himself where he quickly made his bed and yes that night spread his Sfaxia blanket over it.

One day the camp admitted the crew of a Greek submarine and after a while a Greek Petty Officer strolled in for a short back and sides – just inside the door he stopped – gaping in bewilderment at the blanket on the bed.

“That’s my blanket!” said the Greek.

“Like hell it is!” rejoined Walter, “It’s what you call the spoils of war . . . .”

The Greek Interrupted Walter in mid-stream: “Aye and I can tell you where you stole it from – Number one Fisherman’s Row, Sfaxia – my mother knitted it for me many years ago and covered my bed just like it’s covering yours now. Have a look at the bottom corner and you‘ll find her initials embroidered on it.”

This piece of damning true evidence of ownership shook Walter rigid. “OK! OK! You have it - but can you believe such a remarkable coincidence could actually happen?” he said as the two shook hands.

“Oh no you keep it but promise to bring it back to me after the war and we will have a glass of beer in the local Taverna.” said P.O. Christoferson. He continued “But you will never come to any harm as long as you possess it.”

Walter subsequently told me that he had heard a garbled tale that it had been knitted from wool found in the ruins at Knosses which was supposed to be the stuff that Joseph’s ‘Coat of many colours’ was made from but of course this cannot be taken seriously.

However to get back to 1981. On the anniversary date of May 21st we piled into our hire-car at Agios Nicholas where we were staying and set off up to Cania and then to Malmein, a distance of over 60 miles. From the road we surveyed the long disused airfield, part of the beach itself, it presented a very pleasant sight – the dugouts and trenches which Walter had help dig 40 years earlier were still visible.

Those same trenches from where they had defended till the last shell had been fired. Walter’s calm ‘matter of fact’ description of what had happened all those years ago sent shiver down my spine. What it did to him actually re-living the whole hideous affair is something we shall never know, but it was an experience and a scene I shall always remember.

Likewise the sight of a German War Cemetery which lies about a mile to the west and contains some six thousand of the flower of Hitler Youth who perished on that morning 40 years earlier. The German gravestones laid prone each with the name rank and number and age (mostly 20 or 21) neatly engraved and each surrounded by a neat border of Livingstone Daisies which open out in an abundance of colours in the sunshine and close up when the sky is clouded over.

We wandered all over the 30 or 40 acres until we came across an elderly German couple kneeling at a grave.

“Our only son died here and we’ve saved up all these years to visit his grave.”

Walter, eyes moist, looked away as the thought struck him that he might have been the one responsible for the young German’s death.

As I turned the old jallopy west to make our way on a rather daunting journey over the mountains, which run practically the whole the whole length of Crete, we all felt rather subdued. The viewing of the last resting place of some 6,000 young fellows with an average age of 20 or 21 is not exactly exhilarating.

It must have turned mid-day when I pulled into the same lay-by at the top of the mountain from where Walter had surveyed Sfaxia in the late afternoon of June 30th 1941 and watched the last hope of escape disappearing over the horizon. A look at his face told me not to dwell there too long, so slipping into second gear proceeded to negotiate the ‘Big Dipper’ descent down the frightening road to Sfaxia. Despite the hair-raising bends we arrived safely fifteen or twenty minutes later.

To Bobby and I who had never been there before the place looked like any small Greek watering place situated in a somewhat isolated geographical position with plenty of tavernas and cafes clustered around the little permanent harbour. But to Walter the place was different, where was the row of abandoned cottages he had dossed down in and where did this damn great big car park come from? It certainly wasn’t here in 1941. Then he gradually figured it out in relation to the harbour walls and one or two other features that we must have parked on the very spot where the cottages had once stood.

We all agreed that our stomachs were in need of a little sustenance and our poor old dry clacks certainly needed lubrication so we repaired to the most likely hostelry to attend our needs.

Much refreshed after a welcome meal of prawns, whelks, cockles, mussels with chips followed by coffee – any left over cracks being filled up by several beers and a little Oozo. Walter and Bobby started to ask any likely lads over sixty if they could remember anyone called Christoferson who had lived there before the war. However Walter’s Greek, gleaned from a few shepherds during his wartime sojourn 40 years earlier and Bobby’s broken Arabic picked up in the western desert from passing nomads proved totally futile. As for myself I knew my limitations, I can only speak Geordie so I kept my gob shut like old Dr. Murray of Haydon Bridge used to say in his recipe for a long life “Keep your ears, eyes and bowels open and your mouth shut you won’t go far wrong.”

So it was rather a dejected and disappointed threesome who, after Walter muttered, “I’ve waited for too long – after all 40 years is more than half a lifetime.” We retraced our steps back to the car. On opening the boot to put our bits and pieces in I asked Bobby to move the blanket parcel which he readily complied with.

“But there’s nowt in heor!” he exclaimed as he pulled the parcel apart “Look there’s just nowt heor!”

“Why thor was this mornin when aa put it in” I remonstrated as we all stared incredulously at each other.

It was a complete mystery, the boot was self locking so it couldn’t have been left open since early morning. There was no sign of it having been forced, anyway anyone pinching it would have taken its wrapping as well.

Walter spoke at last:

“Well it’s not the first time there has been queer, aye very queer happenings with that blanket but as the time’s now getting on and we’ve got those mountains to git ower. We must be aboot a hundred miles from Adeos Nicholas so let’s git gannin.”

I slid in behind the wheel – speechless but thinking hard.

Walter passed on a few years afterwards to the place where all ex marines eventually go and Bobby also handed in his cards just three or four years ago. I hope St. Peter greeted them nicely when they knocked on the Pearly Gates.

As for the blanket I just cannot understand how it happened. But as I write this on October 6th 1998 the TV News is recounting that four young men flying from Haiti to Cuba have disappeared without trace.

Has the Bermuda Triangle claimed more victims?

I’m just not qualified to decide.

Hunter McDonald

One of the benefits of gardening is to have abundant material for indoor flower and foliage arrangements. My displays are very simple - a jar of forsythia in spring, a big jug of chrysanthemums in autumn - it's a way of bringing the garden into the house. This month I've filled a wicker basket with interesting ornamental seed-heads from the garden. These are some of the plants I used Allium cristophii - all alliums have attractive seed-heads and this one is the largest and most spectacular. Buy from bulb catalogues. Fennel - an architectural plant, 6' high, with yellow flowers. I grow the bronze fennel for its attractive dark foliage. The dried seed-heads add a delicacy to my basket arrangement and are pleasantly aromatic.

Eryngium - One of my favourite late summer flowers. All varieties dry easily and look striking in a floral display. Teasel - this one is biennial and will seed itself all over the garden but it deserves a place because it looks spectacular (8' high the second year) and attracts wildlife. The pollen brings in bees and butterflies in August. The seeds are buried in the spiky seed-head and are inaccessible to all garden birds except the goldfinch. A clump of ripe, brown teasel seed-heads will bring this colourful visitor to the garden and provide a dramatic element for the flower arranger.

Poppy - choose the larger seed-heads from papaver orientalis. Chinese lantern flower - physalis alkengi, grown for its brilliant flame-coloured seed pods. Pick and dry them in the autumn because they become skeletonised if left outside. A hardy plant, 2' high, which prefers a well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. This is another one which can become a nuisance if left to its own devices because it spreads by underground runners but worth a restricted position in the garden because the seedpods are magnificent.

This month - time to tidy up.

Cut down dead herbaceous stems and leaves. Mulch with mature rotted compost. Collect fallen leaves from borders and lawns. Store them in bin liners so that they rot down into leaf-mould.

Gather up fallen rose leaves for disposal and shorten long stems to avoid wind damage. Leave main pruning until spring. Plant new roses in well-prepared ground.

A very cold winter is forecast. Put a generous mulch of bark, leaf-mould or peat over the roots of any plant or shrub which might be vulnerable. Hardy plants left outside in containers can be damaged if their compost freezes solid so wrap some bubble polythene around the pot for insulation.

Best time to plant tulips. Finish planting ail spring bulbs. Bare-root trees and shrubs can be planted from now, weather permitting, until resumption of growth in the spring.

ROSEMARY – THE POSTIE

With weary legs and bags in tow
I wait beside the road.
My hopes are high – a car I spy
A winking light – then slow.
As car draws near – a friendly face
A cheery smile – a nod.
Which beckons me inside
And then off home we plod.
So many faces – so many smiles
So many lovely people.
So many times to express my thanks
The message well meant, not feeble.
To each and every one I say
That all the rides are pleasant.
Not only am I going home -
The company’s one big present !

All practices have been given check sheets to help them track down equipment that may be affected by the "Millennium Bug". We've been through the place with a fine tooth comb and now the only bits of equipment unaccounted for are those that have been borrowed by patients AND NOT RETURNED.

Please - if you have a piece of equipment on loan, for example a nebuliser or TENS machine, bring it in to be checked.

Our main computer should be unaffected as it is effectively new. I was interested to hear that one of the major European Airlines is making a definite point of having all its planes on the ground and switched off for the New Year's Eve leading to the new millennium!

EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE

Medicine is prey to a continuous stream of "fashions". This may come as a surprise to those who thought it was one of the last bastions of stolid adherence to the past.

A century or so ago everything was due to "septic foci" and numerous desperate but futile surgical measures were undertaken. Before that, "bad air" or miasmas were thought to be behind such diseases as TB and malaria - hence the enduring mistrust of the night air by some older people. At the end of the last war there were high hopes that almost everything would be solved with the newly discovered antibiotics.

Lately there has been a very heavy emphasis on the psychological and social aspects of physical illness. The contribution of diet and other environmental factors is creeping to the fore now having been regarded with scepticism by more conservative elements within medicine for years.

All fashions have their season and then we move on with some lessons learned, some reputations made, some reputations ruined and a few more small bricks added to the walls of medical knowledge.

At last we are moving into an era when we aspire to practice according to the roughly evaluated evidence all the time, rather than in some areas whilst other areas are left to preference or prejudice. This new departure is called evidence based medicine and at first sight appears to be the obvious way to proceed. Yet it is sobering to find just how much of medical practice is changing and how much is based on best estimate or habit.

Stunningly simple concept, isn't it! So why hasn't it been done before? Difficult to say. Probably it has much to do with the sort of personality that goes with becoming a doctor or at least has done in the past. Paternalistic, opinionated, conservative, suspicious of new fangled notions, rigid and doctrinaire. Perhaps, in the future, we shall come to think the same of the evidence-based zealots who are at the gates now but by then we shall have moved on to the next fashion and as a profession we shall be all a few courses further up the wall I mentioned earlier.

This is all tied up with another phrase that is gaining currency in medical circles - clinical governance - which means looking much more closely at what we are all doing and trying to agree what is the best course to take and then all agreeing to do it rather than simply carry on the way we always have done. This will be one of the functions of the new Primary Care Groups.

The main fly in the ointment is that it has been said that trying to control doctors is like trying to herd cats.

AVOIDING PROSTATE CANCER

Here's a bit of evidence based medicine that men may wish to take to heart - or rather to mouth. Eating tomatoes and carrots on a daily basis reduces the risk of prostate cancer by thirty per cent.

OUT-OF-HOURS PROGRESS REPORT

On the first Sunday day-time that I was on call for the whole of Tynedale in eight hours I saw six people at home and nine people in the Abbey clinic. On the first night shift (11.00 p.m. – 8.00 a.m.) I did, I visited one person and had one person visit the clinic. Michelle's night shift yielded one visit only.

This level of patient demand from the sixty thousand plus population used to be handled by having up to six GPs on duty simultaneously.

I think, on the evidence so far, that I have to admit I was wrong to have held out against joining the co-op until now. I believed that the patient's preference for seeing their own GP outweighed the improvement in the working conditions for GPs and the potential benefits to their mental and physical health.

An early result for evidence-based medicine perhaps.

MICHELLE'S GETTING MARRIED

Michelle is getting married in the week before this Haydon News hits the streets. Her intended's name is Andrew.

We all wish them a wonderful Wedding Day and a very long and happy life together.

CHANGES ON PRESCRIPTIONS

Following advice from the local pharmaceutical advisor we are changing some of the details on prescriptions. You may notice that the words on the prescription are different but that the medicine you receive is the same as usual. For a number of reasons it is preferable to use the chemical name of the medicine rather than the trade name, just more of what we have been doing for some years anyway.

A Distant Grave

White flowers touch a distant grave
with petals soft as summer snow
daisies hide in grasses green
hawthorn hedges softly glow
lilies cold and stately stand
a white rose blooms to scent the air
a dove flies past and gently cries
where white flowers grow
and my sweet love lies

Sylvia

Following the Church Service on Sunday November 8th there will be a wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial in Church Street. It is suggested you arrive at about 10:45 so that you can hear the names of our war dead read out followed by one minute’s silence at 11:00.