Ponteland butcher AC Snaith to close after 180 years

A TRADITIONAL butcher’s shop which has been trading for almost 180 years is closing down after its owner decided to give up his uphill battle against supermarket competition.
The shop in West Road, Ponteland, Northumberland, has been serving customers their meat since being established in 1831, and has traded for the last 89 years as AC Snaith.
Apart from a couple of historic pubs, it is the oldest surviving business in the village.

Now owner Rob Grant, 26, has reluctantly sold up and will close his doors for the last time this weekend, after concluding that there is no viable future for the business.
Fierce competition from supermarket rivals, changes in the way people buy and cook meat and a growing reluctance to support the smaller retailer have all been blamed for the demise of the 179-year-old tradition.
Mr Grant, a former speedway rider with the Newcastle Diamonds, got involved with the shop six years ago and has owned and run it for the last three.
Yesterday he said the opening of a nearby Waitrose supermarket last year had resulted in a slump in trade, and led him to the decision to sell up and try to return to his former profession.
“People’s way of living has changed and they don’t tend to use traditional small shops like they used to now. Things have deteriorated over the last two years and the Waitrose supermarket, 200 yards down the road, has caused horrific problems. People just park there and do all their shopping in one go.
“It is just impossible for us to compete with them, especially on a Saturday when they reduce their stuff to clear it. Also, if I’m being truthful, I don’t think people know how to cook, or want to, these days.It is more convenient to just microwave things.
“It is a sad state of affairs that such a well established business as this is closing, when people used to travel here from miles around and our sausages used to go all over the world at one time.
“I’m not happy about closing but it is the way it has got to be. If I was to continue, the consequences would be catastrophic, because I just see it continuing to deteriorate.”
Mr Grant, who joined the Newcastle Diamonds when he was 16, says he will now try to re-establish his speedway career and hopes to ride again.
Source: JournalLive

Massage for Macmillan

My thanks to those of you who helped celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Therapeutic Massage Clinic here in Ponteland.  It was lovely to see so many faces both old and new and catch up with friends not seen in a while.  I was delighted with the generosity of local businesses who donated all the refreshments and food as well as raffle prizes.  As a result we raised £256.40 for Macmillan cancer care and had tea and coffee to spare that the charity were pleased with as it will furnish future coffee mornings for them.

My thanks to everyone as I look forward to the next 10!

Bikers ride to help heroes

Bikers will ride to Army, Navy and RAF bases to raise cash for charity.

Around 50 riders on their Harley Davidson motorbikes will complete the A-B-C ride from the Albermarle barracks, in Tynedale, to RAF Boulmer, then down to HMS Calliope on Newcastle's quayside.
The all-day ride on Saturday will see bikers flying Union flags and shaking the coffers for services charity Help for Heroes as they cover almost 100 miles on the region's roads.

"They have a lot of things like this down south so we wanted to do one for the North East," said organiser and Harley Davidson enthusiast John Johnston, from Ponteland, Northumberland.

"Last year we had about 30 riders so we are hoping this year will be even bigger and better.

"We want to raise as much money as possible for all three of the armed forces, which is why we are visiting each of their bases in the North East.

"Help for Heroes is a brilliant charity which does so much good work for injured soldiers, sailors and airmen."

The route, which takes in Stamfordham, Belsay, Rothbury, Boulmer, North Tyneside and Newcastle will include a lunch stop in Alnwick at around noon.

The riders expect to finish their trip at around 2pm and will then ride to the Harley Davidson dealership in Newcastle.

To donate, or to buy a pin badge supporting the ride, contact John on 01661 824713.

Source: JournalLive

Sergeants Newsletter

Don't make it easy for car thieves

Criminals always on the lookout for insecure vehicles to steal from

There have been a total of 24 crimes reported in the Ponteland area between May 15 and June 16.

They break down as follows:
• two burglaries (dwelling)
• one burglary (non-dwelling)
• five thefts (two of charity boxes)
• eight thefts from motor vehicle
• two assaults
• one possession of cannabis
• five criminal damage.

There have been five arrests in relation to these offences and enquiries are ongoing which may lead to further arrests.  I would like to take this opportunity to remind people to make sure they lock all their property but particularly their car doors, even if the car is on a private drive behind a wall. Criminals are on the lookout for insecure vehicles all the time - let's not make it easy for them.

The next Local Multi-Agency Problem Solving (LMAPS) meeting will be at the East Centre, Prudhoe on July 13 at 9.30am. The next LMAPS meeting in Ponteland is at the Memorial Hall on August 10 at 9.30am.

By PC Paul Henery,
Ponteland Community Beat Officer

FOOTBALL: Celebrating a terrific season

A TERRIFIC season was celebrated by Ponteland United FC at the Britannia Hotel, Newcastle Airport on Sunday, June 13 when the club held its Annual Presentation event.

Over 600 people attended afternoon and evening sessions as parents and family of playing members cheered the club's 23 teams as they collected their awards.

Alan Birkinshaw, joint chairman of the club with Colin Bell, gave a presentation on the history of Ponteland United and the club's aspirations for the future which hopefully includes improving pitches at Ponteland Leisure Centre and an ambitious project to install an All- Weather pitch suitable for both football and rugby.

Both club's facility requirements are becoming increasingly stretched and an all-weather pitch will ease the wear and tear on the grass pitches and help overcome winter training problems when pitches become waterlogged.

Colin Bell informed the packed audience that this was the best ever season for the club with teams now starting to win honours.

He gave a huge thank you to all of the 38 coaches who give up their valuable time voluntarily to help coach and run the various teams, which now cover all age groups from Under 7s through to Under 16s, including two girls teams, a women's team and, of course, the senior team.

On the field there were some excellent performances with many teams obtaining honours.

Both Under 8s teams obtained promotion to the NMSL Premier League, Under 9 Panthers had an outstanding year being NMSL League Cup winners and CYD Cup Finalists in addition to winning 5 tournaments.

Under 10 Magpies, in their first season, were NMSL League and Cup winners, Under 10s Madrid were NMSL La Liga runners-up as well as Corbridge Festival winners.

Under 12s Juve were NEYDL League and Cup winners, Under 12s Barca were NABC League 2 Champions and Challenge Shield Finalists and won the biggest trophy you've ever seen in an SCI Ultimatch Competition at Scarbor-ough.

Under 15s Blacks gained promotion to the Premier Division as runners-up of the NABC League 2nd division and runners-up in Middlesboro FIC Champions League Tournament and NACYP 6 a side tournament runners-up.

Senior Club Captain and Vice Captain Craig Brown and Craig Daglish proudly held up the Kicks Leisure Northern Alliance Challenge Cup after being losing finalists on five previous occasions.

Throughout both sessions, Colin gave recognition to the terrific support given to the club by its sponsors who, in no particular order ,are Sabatini Ristorante, Ponteland Print and Stationery, Appleton Internet, Meadow Healthcare Consultants, Fratellis, Unika Colour Products, Sainsbury Supermarkets Ltd, Prepress Digital Ltd, Camera Angles, Prima Ristorante, Grays Bathrooms, Business Post Newcastle, Corbridge Health Centre, The Benson Group, Straightline Construction, Gates-head Motor Company, Rowlands, Shay Given, The Diamond Inn, Ian Hampton Graves, Ponteland Barbers, Newcastle Airport, Wait-rose Supermarkets, Mrs Wallace and Acorn Catering Services.

Special Performance Awards were presented to the following:-
Most Improved Players:- Rebecca Charlton, Luca Eden, Zaid Anwar, Harry Dougal, Tim Bryce, Jaipreet Singh, Rory Nicholson, Taylor Burns, Ethan Simpson, Gabrial Rodda, Josh Curry, Julian Mak, Max Robertson, Andrew Redman, Jack Oakes, Dan Hadfield, Zac Place, Jinky Gray, Daniel Huntley, Isaac Robinson, Joseph Taylor, Caroline Garner.
Coaches Players of the Season:- Ben Walker, Douglas Renton, Josh Silipo, Joe O'Donnell, Luke Guadagno, Jody Wright, Lloyd Carroll, Nathan Powell, Daniel Watson, John Watson; Aaron Hadfield, Jack Bell, Joe Appleton, Keiran Taylor, James Brown, Gary Swinhoe, Jack Largent, Jack Wilson, Liam Stevenson, George Hunter, Ewan Forrest, Connor Willis, Aidan Poynter, Liam Sellars, Luke Reynard, Jack Devlin, Curtis McGlen, Hayden Coulson, Jack Hogg, Zac Place, Adenike Afolabi, Luke Hudson, Matthew Hedley, James Cafferty, Hugo Adams, Stephen Bolton, Tom Kernon, Lewis Keating.
Top Goalscorers:- Ryan Webster, Sam Curry, John McStravick, Jack Bell, Amy Gray, Owen Webster, Thomas Holborow, Ross Brooks, Will Pritchard. Jamie Dixon, Dale Stephenson, Matthew Ogilthorpe, George Hunter, Karl Atkinson, Aidan Poynter, Jack Devlin, Jack Bates, Ikenna Obonna, Will Allen, Damien Cook, Kody Green, Kay-Louise Bell-Milner.
Most Player of the Match Awards:- Rebecca Charlton, Will Brown, Christopher Mills, Andrew Potter, Peter McNellis, Lewis Sanderson, Matthew Benfield, Cameron Green, Aidan Nylander, Rob Robinson, Jack Morgan, Ryan Gault, Sam Dodds, Toy Spratt, Hayden Coulson, Connor Flett, Mateo Addis, Adenike Affolabi, Kay-Louise Bell-Milner.
Players Player of the Season:- Kimberley Mains, Will Scott, Liam Geoghegan, Rowan Hodgson, Cameron Wilson, Elizabeth Snowden, Harry Telfer, Callum Trett, Matthew Miller, Lewis Hodgson, Christopher Hibbitt, Dale Watson, Sam Dodds, Toy Spratt, Hayden Coulson, Rob Barnes, Timothy Davidson, Stephen Bolton, Will Shearon, Kimberley Maines.
The Top Goalscorer award went to Billy Holden, Players' Player of the Season was Mark Dummett, and Billy Holden also scooped the Player of the Year Award which was some consolation for the nippy striker, who suffered a nasty injury in April and missed the last ten games of the season and, unfortunately, will be out for the whole of next season.
Source: Morpeth Herald

Celeb clients for Ponteland masseur Barrie Graham

MOST folk dream of rubbing shoulders with stars like Alan Shearer and Robbie Williams, but this man literally gets his hands all over them.

Qualified massage therapist Barrie Graham’s tender touch has relaxed the muscles of a host of famous stars.

His long list of celebrity clientele includes pop star Robbie Williams, Mamma Mia actor Dominic Cooper, Northern comedian Paddy McGuiness, actor Ralf Little and X Factor star Olly Murs.

Barrie, from Ponteland, Northumberland, put his years of massaging experience to good use on the stars after scooping the job as massage therapist at the Soccer Aid charity football match earlier this month.

The 31-year-old said: “I got the call and they asked if I was able to do it, and I wanted to get involved because it was football and for a good cause.”

But despite working with a host of famous stars from the music, TV and sporting world, the 31-year-old wasn’t fazed by the celebrities at the tip of his fingers. He said: “It didn’t really bother me because I’ve worked with some big-named people before.”

Barrie was on hand at the match at Old Trafford, Manchester, to ease the pains and strains of the England team, with every member getting a rub down from him, and he had nothing but praise for the squad, particularly pop star, and England team captain, Robbie Williams.

He said: “He was such a nice guy, really down to earth and very warm. They were all lovely.”

The former Ponteland High School student is no stranger to celebrity skin as he was the personal masseur to ice-skating legends Torvill and Dean in April this year.

When the Dancing on Ice live show came to Newcastle Arena for a three-day stint, Barrie was booked to loosen up the Olympic heroes before they took to the ice.

Back in 2006 he was also the team masseur on Sky One’s The Match which, much like Soccer Aid, saw a team of famous faces take on footballing legends.

The likes of musician MC Harvey, Coronation Street actor Danny Young and Big Brother six winner Anthony Hutton, originally from Consett, all benefited from Barrie’s massages.

Barrie has worked as a sports masseur throughout his career doing two seasons with Newcastle United, before moving on to his current position as team masseur with the Newcastle Falcons.

As well as celebrities Barrie, who studied sports massage therapy at Sunderland University, has made a name for himself among the sporting world and counts Alan Shearer as a friend.

The Toon and England legend was one of the many football stars also taking part in Soccer Aid, and he took Barrie under his wing at the match.

Barrie said: “I know him quite well and he introduced me to people. He looked after me, it was a bit of an ice breaker.”

In between all the massages, Barrie still found time to enjoy the day and watched the match alongside Shearer and Teddy Sheringham, but much to the disappointment of the Newcastle United supporter his healing hands weren’t enough to lead the celebrity team to victory.

The Rest of the World squad beat England on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Barrie said: “It was a really good day apart from getting beat.”

Source: ChronicleLive

Ninety years of Friendship

PONTELAND WI celebrated 90 years of fellowship and service with a party in the Memorial Hall.

The group started in 1920 when the village was a very different place.

A war had just finished in which the community lost 40 young men, the Darras Hall estate had started the building of its first houses, and most people were employed on the land or in trades connected with farming.

Mrs Langton the vicar's wife was the first President. Two of today's members, Molly Henderson and Ella Pears, joined more than 60 years ago.

At the anniversary party, more than 50 members and guests enjoyed a splendid supper and the joint Presidents, Jean Tweedie and Margaret Robson, cut a celebration cake.

Source: Morpeth Herald

Pont News & Views July 2010 online now

Read Pont News & Views July 2010 Issue

Ponteland parties in the park

PONTELAND once again turned out in force for its Party in the Park.
Despite grey skies, hundreds came along to enjoy a range of attractions from face painting to a fire engine and music and dance performances at the event, which was opened by the Duchess of Northumberland.

The organising committee, which includes members of Ponteland United Reformed Church, St Matthew's Church, Ponteland Methodist Church and St Mary's Church, was delighted with how things went.

Secretary Andy Anderson said: "The day went very well and it was good to get a decent turnout similar to last year despite the gloomy weather.

"It's pleasing to see so many local residents come along and with this being the eighth Party in the Park, it is now regarded as a major established event.

"We are very grateful to the Duchess for opening the event and she seemed to enjoy it.

"From the organisation side of things, we thank the Scouts for allowing us to store equipment in their hut and use their power supply as well as putting up marquees.

"It was nice to see Newcastle Building Society come along and support us and of course we thank our main sponsor, Newcastle International Airport."
Source: Morpeth Herald

Ponteland duo top of the golfing crop

JULIE Ross, eight times the Northumberland champion, talked in Teeing Off recently about a promising crop of youngsters the county have high hopes for.

At the time, she was highlighting Nicola Haynes, the 14-year-old over half her age she had just beaten in the women’s final but, as if to underline Ross’s point, another good prospect, Rachel Bruce, 15, from the Ponteland club, has beaten Haynes in the junior county matchplay final.

In turn, that has completed a double for Ponteland. Another of their members, 18-year-old Richard Robson-Crosby, has won his county junior matchplay title.

This was also a double for the Ponteland professional, Alan Robson-Crosby, Richard’s father and coach, who also coaches Bruce, and quite a tribute to his teaching skills.

Two years ago, when Richard was 16, he became the youngest club champion in what was then the 82-year-old history of Ponteland and last year he won the St Andrews Boys’ Open. A pupil at Newcastle RGS, his latest trophy came when he beat Bellingham’s Will Robson 3&2 in the county final. His superior putting, and an ability to get up and down enabled him to ease out to victory against an opponent with top ten finishes this season in the county strokeplay championship and the individual places of the county teams event.

Bruce, who goes to Ponteland High School and has a another coach in the Hexham professional, Andy Paisley, was involved in an altogether different sort of final.

Like Robson-Crosby’s match, it was played at the Bedlingtonshire club, but this one went to the 19th, where Bruce rounded off a memorable comeback, having teed off at the 15th three down.

When Haynes found a bunker and Bruce went through the green, it was Bruce who handled her problem better, bending a wedge round a tree, when 15 yards from the green, to escape with a bogey against Haynes’ double bogey.

The 16th was halved, at 17 the margin was reduced to one when Haynes went through the green via a bunker and wiped out altogether at 18, where she drove out of bounds.

When it came to the first extra hole the decisive blow was struck when Bruce kept her composure after sending a six foot putt seven feet past the hole. She made no mistake on the return journey.

Source: JournalLive

Darras Hall couples celebrate 180 years of romance

They live just yards apart, were married within weeks of each other and, between them, have clocked up 180 years of wedded bliss.

Today, three Northumberland couples will celebrate their diamond wedding anniversaries together.

The Hugheses, the Parkins and the McLauchlins, all of whom live at Old Station Court in Darras Hall, are holding a joint party to mark the triple-occasion.

Tom and Joan Hughes, both 88, have lived on the row of 20 plush bungalows for 10 years. Joan and Arthur Parkin, 86 and 89, moved in 16 years ago, and John and Connie McLauchlin, both 84, have lived there 17 years.

The two Joans are long-term friends through their WRVS days but the rest only got to know each other when they became neighbours.

Now they all enjoy sharing a drink, and throw parties for the street's 25 or so residents for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas and New Year, although they joke that the days of 5am finishes are behind them.

Keeping up the tradition, the whole population of Old Station Court will gather at the United Reformed Church in Darras Hall this afternoon to celebrate a combined 180 years of marriage.

Partygoers will be treated to an exhibition of memorabilia about the couples and the history of the street.

Putting their achievements into perspective, John said: "Someone quoted out of every 422 (couples) only one reaches this stage, only one couple survive."

As for why they have all enjoyed such long lasting marriages, Joan Hughes jokes they "cannot afford to separate." Connie added: "I think we just get on with life and we did not think of having affairs or we did not have the time or the money or whatever you have to have!

"We have all enjoyed life and we are blessed because we have got good health. That is what it is all about.

"Our grandchildren think it is amazing that we have got to this."

John and Connie, both from Newcastle, tied the knot on April 15 in Newcastle's St Mary's Cathedral.

John worked as operations director at Newcastle Breweries for more than 40 years, having two retirements, and also served in the navy from the age of 16. Connie is a former dancer, telephonist with the Women's Royal Navy, supervisor at British Home Stores and also worked at the Ministry of Pensions.

Tom and Joan, who hail from the Midlands, were married in Birmingham in a joint ceremony with her twin sister Margaret on June 11.

Tom was in the RAF in the Second World War and was shot down while flying a Spitfire over Italy in December 1943.

He was a prisoner of war in Germany for a year and a half and later worked in engineering.

Margaret was a school PE instructor and received the MBE in 1983 for her 52 years with the WRVS as county organiser for Northumberland.

Joan and Arthur, also Tynesiders, married at St Gabriel's church in Heaton on June 12.

Joan was in the Land Army and worked in advertising. Arthur served in the RAF and worked as a civil servant.

He suffers from Parkinson's Disease and was in hospital yesterday but it is hoped he will be allowed to attend today's celebrations.

Source: Journal Live

Ten thousand thanks to Ponteland Rotary

MORE than £10,500 has been given to good causes in the last year by local Rotarians.
The Rotary Club of Ponteland has revealed details of its charitable donations for 2009/2010, which range from a grant of £1,160 for Save The Children to £12 as the Handwriting prize in Ponteland Parish Flower Show.

Sums of £1,000 each were given to Polio Plus and the Rotary Foundation, with other large donations awarded to ShelterBox for Haiti earthquake victims, Help for Heroes, SSAFA, Aquafilters, Development Direct and Children North East.

International aid included grants for WaterAid, Sightsavers International, Nigeria Health Clinic Trust, SHADE and the Qinghai Earthquake appeal.

And locally sums were awarded to Merton Hall in Ponteland, St Oswald's Hospice, the 1st Ponteland Scout Group, the Great North Air Ambulance Service and Ponteland Memorial Hall.

A total of 38 charities, appeals and community groups have benefited, sharing £10,579 between them.
Source: Morpeth Herald

Ponteland & Darras Hall 8 mile walk

Egg-laying hens on sale at Dobbies

Families with a taste for the 'good life' can now combine fruit and veg growing with producing their own eggs by visiting two garden centres in the North East.
Dobbies centres in Ponteland and Birtley have started selling egg-laying hens after a trial in six of its stores.

Hens are now on sale at 15 of Dobbies' 25 stores, after 1,000 were sold during the trial, allowing people to create the ultimate green supply chain of fresh eggs straight from garden to breakfast table.
Chicken coops have also entered Dobbies' top 20 best selling lines.
The company has also reported a 27% increase in May in sales of grow your own fruit and vegetables, which it claims is further evidence that a major trend towards self-sufficiency looks set to stay.
Source: Journal Live

Friends of Ponteland at Party in the Park.

Please come and visit the Friends of Ponteland Park in the Meadow area on Sunday June 13th and join in some meadow fun. Lots of family friendly activities to interest and occupy, such as a bug and beetle safari, making a bird or bat box to take home, learn all about our local butterflies from a member of the Butterfly Trust and get a really close up view of our pondlife without getting wet. These  are but a few of the activities that will be on going during the afternoon, so please come up and join in the fun.

Blood Donors Wanted

BLOOD donor sessions will be held in Morpeth and Ponteland this month.

The NHS needs 7,000 voluntary donations of blood every day to meet demand, but only four percent of the eligible population are active donors.
Now NHS Blood and Transplant is hoping more will come forward.

Spokesman Craig Taylor said: "It is important that both existing and new blood donors come forward and donate now and regularly.
"It isn't an exaggeration to call them lifesavers as without them vital supplies of blood wouldn't be available for patients."

Donors can give blood three times a year. The need to be aged 17 to 65, though there is no upper age limit for people who have donated in the last two years, should weigh more than 50kg (7 stone 12lbs) and be in general good health.

The process takes about an hour.

The service will be at Ponteland Memorial Hall in Darras Road on Thursday, June 10, from 2pm to 3.30pm and from 4.15pm to 7pm.

It will be at Storey Park Community Centre in Morpeth on Friday, June 18, from 1.30pm to 3.45pm and from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

To book an appointment in advance call 0300 123 2323 or visit www.blood.co.uk

Source: Morpeth Herald

Ponteland nursery has got talent

PONTELAND has definitely got talent if Park House Nursery pupils are anything to go by.

For not only have they learned tricky songs and music to stage their first outdoor concert, but ten of the group will see their written work in print.

Children were encouraged to enter the My First Poem competition, sponsored by Need2Know, for the chance to publish their pieces in a regional anthology.

The four-year-olds were given templates, tailored to complement the Early Years Foundation Stage programme, and were guided through the challenge by Deputy Manager of the Berwick Hill nursery Julie Summerscales.

But the bulk of the work was left to the children's imaginations as they created their own personal poems.

And now they have all been selected for inclusion in the book, which is due to be published in August.

Nursery Manager Eileen Appleby said: "The poems are absolutely superb.

"These children are just four-years-old and I think they should be recognised because the poems are really beautiful. It was a really educational project and the children were fantastic."

However, the hard work was not over for the youngsters as next up was their nursery concert.

The performance was based on the theme 'mini beasts' and children dressed up for the occasion to sing their recently learned songs.

More than 100 parents turned out to support the event.

"Every child was dressed in costumes of mini beasts and they looked spectacular," said Mrs Appleby. "As with all their annual concerts, their singing was outstanding.

"The children learned so much from doing mini beasts, understanding that everything living on the planet has a place. Learning new words like millipede, centipede, squirmy and squidgy and fitting them into some tricky songs gave them lots to laugh about.

"It was so well received, perhaps summer concerts will become a yearly event, along with Christmas concerts."

Source: Morpeth Herald

New Lake gives Summertime Inspiration at Kirkharle

What: Opening of the new Kirkharle Lake

Where: Kirkharle. Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland, NE19 2PN

When: June and July 2010

When was the first time you strolled around a brand new lake designed 250 years ago?

This will be the first opportunity to experience history in the making and visit the newly created Capability Brown lake, which is now open in the beautiful countryside at Kirkharle Lake and Courtyard.

The lake and parkland are being brought to life at Kirkharle in Northumberland, from a plan dating back to the 1700s.

Northumberland's Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is arguably the most famous landscape gardener in English history and was even described as 'the Shakespeare of gardening' by a German prince.

And now a long forgotten plan drawn by the 18^th century garden designer is now a reality – at his North East birthplace at Kirkharle.

Kitty Anderson, project co-ordinator for Kirkharle Creative, said: "We've got a fantastic summer ahead of us and I'd like to think Capability Brown would have been pleased that we are doing something to remember him by at his birthplace.

"We already have a thriving visitor attraction here, with a diverse range of businesses and we are now adding to it and making it even more exciting."

It is believed that the design for the lake and adjoining parkland may be the first plan ever drawn by Capability Brown, who left Kirkharle in 1739 to pursue his career.

Kirkharle now houses 12 arts, gallery, tourism and craft businesses, as well as a restaurant, coffee shop and function room.

For families, there's also a special Sunday Lake Opening Lunches at Kirkharle restaurant throughout June.

The Lake will add to the enjoyment and interest of visitors to the site, which features Kirkharle Courtyard, a gallery shopping and heritage attraction.

Brown was born at Kirkharle in 1716 and went on to design more than 100 landscapes across Britain, including gardens at Blenheim and Longleat, and was master gardener for King George III.

The present owner of Kirkharle, John Anderson, discovered Brown's plan in a desk drawer when he was going through his grandfather's papers.

The project is being supported by Northumberland County Council, using Rural Development Programme for England funds provided by One North East, the EU and Defra, Northumbrian Water and charitable donations.

Visitors can also enjoy the Capability Brown exhibition on show and the Grade I listed St Wilfrid's Church, which dates back to 1336, and was where Brown was baptized.

For more information, or to book tel: 01830 540362,
Email or log on to www.kirkharlecourtyard.net

Ponteland student goes the extra mile

A PONTELAND High School sixth former who has dug in to help his community has received a special council accolade.

David Metcalfe was given the Second Mile Award, which includes a cheque for £100, by Ponteland Mayor Robin Ramsay at a recent Town Council meeting.
He has been very active in the school as a library prefect and one of the founder members of the school choir among other roles and he is also a candidate to be school student president later this year.

The Year 12 student has also recently helped the authority with some planting ideas for its Northumbria in Bloom bid and he and some fellow students had assisted with the re-planting of the rockery on Main Street and work in Ponteland Park.

Ponteland High School's Head of Year 12 Dave Hicklenton said: "David has done quite a few community activities and he's always prepared to volunteer for things at school, so we felt it was right to nominate him for the award.

"He has always been one of the students you can rely on and he always wants to help people — it's just in his nature."

David said he would like to study pharmacy or ancient history at university and he would use the funds to help him in his studies.

"I'm delighted to accept the award and it will be useful for me as I look forward to enjoying new experiences," he added.

Source: Morpeth Herald