On behalf of all members of "Ad Murum Singers" we wish to offer our grateful thanks to Mrs. Sheila Nicholson who was our Musical Director for the 1998-9 season.
During this period Sheila coached us through a very wide selection of music which enable us to put on three concerts and helped us raise more than £800 for various charities. Sheila will be remembered most of all for the enthusiasm which she brought to the Choir which turned every rehearsal into a fun night.
We wish Sheila well as she moves on and thank her sincerely for her time spent with us.
After the very successful event of last December we are pleased to invite you to a
in the Knott Memorial Hall on Saturday 11th December at 7pm.
The evening will begin with a varied presentation of Christmas and other music by the Singers under their new Musical Director, Dr. Douglas Hunter, with Mrs. Audrey Harrison as accompanist.
This will be followed by Seasonal Refreshments and the Grand Christmas Draw. The audience will then be invited to join in a
Get into the mood of Christmas and come to support this event. Proceeds from the evening will be a great help to both the Knott Memorial Hall - for essential maintenance - and to the Ad Murum Singers - towards rent and new music. See you on 11th December.
Stan Hall.
This call, under the direction of Mrs. Payline Wright, meets each Wednesday in the Knott Memorial Hall at 10am. Why not come along and have an hour’s gentle exercise to relaxing music. Fee paid monthly - £6.
This small friendly group continues to meet in the WI Hall on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7.30pm. We have enjoyed a variety of good speakers and light entertainment so far this year and look forward to our Christmas Dinner which, for the second year, is at the Centre of Britain Hotel, Haltwhistle.
Each one of us now hopes to see the changing of the Century
or very soon, Thy will be done, We’ll celebrate Millennium
When bells will ring across the Nation
For this Christian Celebration
In villages throughout the land preparations are in hand
Coffee mornings by the score, Tuesday Teas and many more
Events of great variety
All raising funds for charity
Here at Heddon on the Wall we held a Flower Festival
Ponteland ladies came along to help us with this marathon.
The doorway formed a heathered arch which welcomed comers to our Church
Which had never looked more fair, a floral Christian Callender
Meanwhile, in the Village Hall folks had gathered one and all
Spending many busy hours depicting Village life in Flowers
With dahlias and chrysanthemum
Of worldwide fame proud, locally grown.
The Flower Committee was amazed at the money this all raise
It was agreed at their behest to donate gifts to lesser blessed
It is, of course, the Christian Creed ...
To give is greater than to receive
Photographs were in the Chapel reminding all the older people
Of a Village now long gone .. "how sad", they sighed in unison
The Park where mothers mourned lost sons
With litter now and beer cans is strewn
The ladies from the Institute browsing through their pattern book
Sorting threads and yarns and wools, embroidery frames and other tools
Now working with dexterity
A Banner for posterity
We’re now awaiting New Year’s Eve when all we sinners who believe
To Chapel or to Church will come. We do not need a special dome ...
St. Andrew’s Church with candles bright reminds us of another night
When in a stable all forlorn the Saviour of the world was born
At midnight worldwide bells will ring
In praise of Christ that new born King.
Dorothy Murray
The Editor has asked for old Heddon memories - so here is my effort which, as far as I can reckon, goes back to the Winter of 1922.
There was a heavy snowfall and a very hard frost that year, ideal for sledging!
So, as soon as school was over out came the sledges. Now these were solid wooden affairs, shod with iron runners on the two side pieces. The sledges were homemade and the runners put on by the blacksmith, either George Armatage or Harry Amos. A hole was bored in the front of each side piece to slot the pulling rope in place.
The reason this Winter was so memorable was because we could start our run from the Reading Room (now known as the Old Library) go down past the Square, round into Station Road, fairly steady to Old Coal Depot and then speed up until we reached the sharp bend down to Heddon Hall.
This bend had to be negotiated with skill and terror because the next steep stretch reached breath-taking speed plus the sharp turn at the bottom.
By the time we reached the top of the put bank we were breathing easier, ready for the longest almost straight stretch
The momentum from this bank took us away past the Manager’s House at the bottom and, on one occasion as far as the edge of the level road to the Heddon Station.
Then came the long haul back up the bank to Heddon and down again. We maybe did this twice if we had any energy left!
The only survivor of this tale is my 83 year olf brother who has a vivid memory of the one time when we didn’t take the Hall bend and landed in the ditch ... none the worse, except that the steerer’s shoe heel had been torn off - me being the steerer!!
I think this particular Winter’s long run is memorable because I’d never heard of it happening before and certainly not since.
Winnie Spoor
(I’m sure this will evoke many sledging memories. What a pity (for many reasons, traffic, safety, etc.) children can’t do the same these days. They miss a lot. Editor)
you way to fitness under the instruction of Michelle
7.30-8 pm Knott Hall, Heddon, every Tuesday.
All ages and abilities welcome - work at your own pace - and feel better for it
A good way to restore and improve your wellbeing for the coming week.
I said to the Man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown". And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way".
This quote was used by King George VI on Christmas Day 1939. Europe was then looking ahead to a bleak future with the jack-boot of Nazism suppressing a greater part of the continent and the intimidating threat of occupation, oppression and persecution looming over every country.
That is now history but once more we reach a crossroads ... the same quote is very apt again. We look forward to a future benefitting from the immeasurable technilogical progress made over the last sixty years but threatened by its abuse, dictated by the greed and power lust of man - great advantage, benefit and happiness or self-destruction?
We turn again to the Man who now stands at the Gate of the Millennium - "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown". The answer is the same. It will never change. "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God".
In the other hand hold high your candle of faith, lighting the way to aid yourself to walk with God and also to help others who are less fortunate, wandering and lost. This will lead us into a Millennium of faith, hope and love ... love of God and love of our fellowman ... life with a purpose .... life with God.
As featured in the last issue, Heddon in Bloom has been facing a difficult time. The Good News is that it appears to have been saves, for the time being at least.
Amid many expressions of support following the last article, five new members have offered to help. They will add vital new impetus to the valued work carried out by the small band of volunteers on behalf of the whole village.
The generous contributions from The Swan and Three Tuns Leek Clubs and continuing support from several local businesses will enable the group to maintain and plant the various floral displays throughout the village; continue the popular Garden & Business Premises Competitions and enter the prestigious Northumbria in Bloom competition again next year.
A spokesman said the group was greatly heartened by the messages of support and the enthusiasm of the new members. The work of a number of other people who are not directly members of the group but who nevertheless help look after several displays is also greatly appreciated.
It is often not recognised that the group does far more than just plant flowers. In recent years it has been instrumental in many initiatives and has been actively involved in many others. There is a justified sense of pride in the work of the group over the last ten years and in the village itself. BUT THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR MORE SUPPORT.
Anyone keen on a range of jobs from growing flowers to clearing unsightly areas; from organising events like the Tidy Up Days and competitions to coming up with good ideas will be most welcome.
The clear message from recent events is that many people across the village recognise and value the efforts of the group and would not like to see its demise. Let’s hope that it will be as successful over the next ten years as it has been over the last ten.
David Chambers (Chairman)
St. Cuthbert’s, Throckley
Parish Priest - Father B.McNamara - Tel. No. 0191 2674389
Sunday Mass - 9am: 11am: 6.15pm
Christmas Services
Midnight Mass
9am Christmas Day
Ecumenical Carol Service 7pm Mon.27 Dec.
St. Andrew’s, Heddon
Vicar - Rev.Dr.Peter Bryers. Tel.01661 853142
The regular Sunday Services are -
8am Eucharist
9.30am Sung Eucharist
6pm Evensong
A Family Service is held at 9.30am 1st Sunday of each month
Methodist Church, Heddon
Minister - Ref.Robin Brooks - Tel.0191 2746057
Regular Sunday Services
10.30am Morning Worship & Sunday School
6pm Evening Worship
The 10.30am service on the 1st Sunday of each month is a Family Service
where the Sunday School children join with the grown-ups in the
Church. Families and children are always welcome every Sunday.
The problem of speeding traffic in and approaching the village is being addressed and hopefully, in the near future, measures will be in place to control this problem.
The latest news on the Final Recommendations on the Future Electoral Arrangements for Northumberland County Council is that the Local Government Commission for England is recommending that Heddon on the Wall is to be included with Ponteland South despite strong protests from The Parish Council, organisations and individuals in Heddon.
The following are requests from the Parish Council which could benefit the village -
It is often said that it is hard to get people involved in activities in Heddon because of the high degree of apathy in the community. Well, all I can say is that if that is the case we are extremely fortunate to have found all the wonderful people in the village who have been helping to produce the Butterfly Haven on Heddon Common.
When we received the £10,000 grant from the Help the Aged Millennium Fund we got the money because we put forward a scheme which proposed to involve all ages in the community from the youngest to the oldest. It’s all very well having a vision but when it involves the whole community the only way it is going to work is if lots of people are happy to help make it happen. That’s what has happened with the Butterfly Project and the results are there for all to see.
Our lead partners in this whole enterprise are the great young people from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers led by their enthusiastic leader Nick Vagg, who has been doing all the ordering of materials and supervision of the various stages of construction. Overall planning of the project through its various stages (yes, it really is planned) is undertaken by Glenys Reynolds from Age Concern/Help the Aged, Ann Lockey, the Parish Clerk and Editor of Heddon Gossip, along with Nick and myself.
Now seems a good time to dispel some mis-conceptions which a few fpeople seem to have ... this project is for the benefit of the people of the village and no-one elst. It will not be advertised as an attraction for outsiders. The village school children will be among the principal users of the site with organised lessons taking place as well as the children being encouraged to take part in the management. We will not be busing in schools from anywhere else in the district!
Back to business. Work days are normally Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday with main Community Days occuring every 3 or 4 weeks but to get the site into a workable condition we needed to clear it first. That was our first big community day when 50 or so villagers from 3 years old upwards made short work of chopping down the great stand of rosebay willowherb and taking it into piles around the perimeter of the site. At the end of September we hired a machine and driver from Thompson’s of Prudhoe to scrape off the top 18 inches or so of soil along with the root systems it contained and formed low banks around three sides (they will be planted up later). Having got the site formed into the shape we wanted we then had the stone, which we needed to form the butterfly, delivered. All 16 tons of it arrived on 6th October at the top of the road to Hillheads some 50 years or so from where we needed it. We were prepared to wheelbarrow it onto the site but a good samaritan in the form of Arthur Watson, the Heddon Banks farmer, arrived with his tractor shovel and moved the lot onto the site. On thop of that he donated a whole tractor shovel load of sand.
With all the materials on site we were able to set about constructing the stone butterfly with many people getting their first experience of wall building and cementing. The results of their hard work is now there for all to see. A 21 ton Butterfly with a wingspan of 25 ft. It really is impressive and worth a look, even in its in-complete state. We have now started on the wheelchair accessible path which goies all the way around the butterfly. This entailed another 15 ton load of fine stone being delivered to the top of the road and guess who was a good smaritan again! It is willingness like that and the kindness of many volunteers in a whole variety of ways who have made this project such a rewarding experience for those of us involved. My very grateful thanks to everyone who has been so generous with their time, enthusiasm and effort so far.
If you would like to join this great team and help this valuable project along we would love to hear from you. You will find it a rewarding experience.
Ian Armstrong
Thanks to the people who responded to Heddon in Bloom’s plea for help, signs are that it will continue.
This year more village people than ever attended the Remembrance Service in the Memorial Park. Service men and women from Albemarle are always welcome as are Heddon 1st and 2nd Brownie Packs. It was also very nice to have a Brownie and young Brownie Leader reading a poem and a piece of scripture of their own choice.
A major achievement in the village is the creation of the Butterfly Haven and the fact that people of all ages are turning out to help. Community spirit is alive in Heddon it just needs a ‘push’ at times.
You will notice that the last issue of Heddon Gossip this century is a little different for no other reason that I have attempted to set it up myself which ensures that it is delivered as near as possible to a definite date. I thank Norman most sincerely for all he has done setting the Gossip up for free. If it hadn’t been for him Heddon Gossip would have ‘died’ and as it is always over-subscribed with articles and news, this would have been a pity.
So if I haven’t got things quite right this time I’ll try harder with the next issue which will be in two months time.
My best wishes to everyone for happy Christmas and Millennium Celebrations and, all being well, I’ll see you next century!
Ann Lockey. Editor
Heddon on the Wall now has a village Web Site. The site has been developed to provide an Internet presence, which can be used to inform and promote the village and the
community of Heddon on the Wall. The content of the site is intended to be of value to both local people and to anyone else in the wider world, with an interest in Heddon on the Wall, its history or its surroundings.
The site, which can be found at www.heddon.co.uk, has been designed and is maintained by Pat Farnaby, who can be contacted on 01661 852355.
A "Local's Corner" encourages those who have any connection with Heddon on the Wall to submit their E-mail address or the address of their own Web Site, so that people can see who else is on-line, and perhaps make contact via E-mail.
Other features are planned in the near future including a "Virtual Tour" of the Village and a "Guest Book" so visitors can leave their comments.
Please send Pat the details so that they can be used to develop the site.
If you are one of the estimated 16 million people in Britain, who currently have access to the Internet, either at home, school or work, then point your Browser to the site address - www.heddon.co.uk
For those in the wider world, who don't know of the site's existence, it has been registered with a number of Search Engines. When people search the Web for "Heddon on the Wall", they should be able to easily find the site. Just as well - because there are an estimated 4.2 million other sites out there.
The site has also been registered with two local Web Rings. A Web Ring consists of a group of related sites that offer links to each others sites to encourage more visitors. The "Northumberland Web Ring" and the "Northumbria Web Ring", include sites from other villages including Wylam, Prudhoe and Ponteland.
For those who do not have access to the Internet and would like to see what the site contains, Pat will set up a computer in the library, and answer any questions on Tuesday the 14th of December from 14.00 - 16.00 and 17.00 – 19.00……………... Pat Farnaby
Thanks to everyone who came to our Exhibition in October, including those who helped out and support us in every way. Special thanks to Rev.Robin Brooks who joined us and presented the Rose Bowl. There was a tie in the voting this year, Graeme Dorey’s ‘Craster’ and Mary White’s ‘Derwentwater’ got the same number of votes.
During the exhibition several people expressed interest in joining our group and we have welcomed them to our subsequent meetings. As with many leisure painters, they have been producing good work in isolation but we hope that, like the rest of us, they will benefit from working as a group with occasional guidance from a tutor.
Our last meeting is on 1st December after which we have a break until February
Mary White
Display of photographs of Heddon Flower Festival taken by Mr. E. Tingate in Heddon Library Nov/Dec.
You are invited to COFFEE & CHRISTMAS SONGS by children of Heddon First School on Tues. 14 Dec. at 2pm. in Heddon Library.
Heddon Library will close at 7.30pm on Tues. 21 Dec. and will not re-open until Tues. 4 Jan. 2000. Extra books can be borrowed to cover this period.
The time of year has come round again to play for the Friendship Shield. The Final was at Dalton with Heddon and Dalton on the same number of points giving both teams an even chance which added to the excitement! Dalton were the winners with Heddon runners-up.
The 8th November saw a match between Heddon and Stamfordham …. it was not Heddon’s night!! .. they were trounsed!!. However, Heddon re-gained a little self-respect by winning ALL the raffle prizes. New members are always welcome … Heddon 1st School (term time) on a Monday evening at 7pm………….. Audrey Browning
This Autumn the WI has had talks on a variety of subjects including RNLI, War Memorials in Northumberland and Tassel Making. In October nine Members attended a Workshop on Tassel Making. It was held in our newly vamped Hall, so convenient!
Another well attended Soup & Bun morning was held on 6th November.
Our December meeting is to be a Christmas Party and Beryl Amos will entertain us after supper.
"Our " Drama Group took part in a "Celebration of the Century" at the Queen’s Hall, Hexham. Each ten years of the past century was portrayed by a different WI….
Heddon’s era was the 1970’s … Sheila Taylor was more like Ted Heath than the man himself, and Joyce Laws acted a superb Maggie T!!!
More WI events are planned for the New Year. Keep Watching the village notice-boards
Aileen Rand
We all wore our poppies with Pride on Remembrance Sunday and after making our own Poppy Wreath, the Brownies laid it in the Memorial Park during the Service Victoria Conoley and Melissa Chapman both gave beautiful readings.
The Brownies have recently been awarded their Needlework Badges and we are busy sewing knitted squares together to make warm blankets to donate to a Residential Home in time for Christmas. We have also made up some filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
Heddon School’s Christmas Fair is Sat. 4th Dec. and the Brownies have their own Fundraising Table with delicious home-made cakes and ‘Guess the name of the Cudley Toy’.
Please come along and support us.
A visit to the Pantomine ALADDIN at Ponteland is planned for Christmas and we are hoping to have a Milennium Christmas Party when the girls can dress up as a person from any decade of the last century.
The 2nd HEDDON BROWNIES is now up and running and it is hoped they will be able to join us in future events.
We thank everyone in Heddon who has supported our Pack and wish everyone
Lesley Weatheritt. Brown Owl.
The Christmas Disco will be on 9th December between 6pm & 7.30pm.
Santa will be coming to Heddon on his sleigh on the night of Thursday, 23rd December. He will be touring the village between 5.30 and 8pm. This year the money collected will be shared between Heddon First School and The Cystic
Fybrosis Charity. Please watch out for us.
The children are having a very special treat this year from the PTA to celebrate the Millennium. We are all going to the Pantomine at the Theatre Royal to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I’m sure the children (and the adults!) will enjoy the experience.
The Christmas Production this year is Hosannah Rock and the children and staff are rehearsing very hard to perfect the show.
The PTA wish all Heddon Gossip readers a Merry Christmas and all Best Wishes for the New Millennium.
Linda Paterson, Chair Person
This year’s holiday problem was solved when, from Singapore, arrived a flurry of invitations to the wedding of Audrey’s younger (much younger!) cousin, Graham, to his fiance, Chuen Li. the significance of the multi-invitations became apparent when we realised that this was to be very much a West joins East affair.
First problem ... what to wear? Reply from Singapore - as little as possible. Forget the Hat, too hot. We duly arrived in Singapore a couple of days before the wedding, met the delightful bride-to-be, had dinner with the groom and were briefed (!) on the sequence of events.
Came the day of the wedding we were picked up at our hotel at 8am and whisked away to the residence of Chuen Li’s parents where we just had time to meet her family, or most of them, when we were summoned to the main gates which had been locked and were being guarded by two dragons (the kind we only see at Chinese New Year) together with a couple of chaps hammering away on big drums. By now the temperature had reached about boiling point and one could only imagine how the poor guys inside the frantic dragons must be feeling.
At this point the groom arrived in full Highland Dress, much to our surprise. He was met at the gates by three of the bride’s sisters who set about the serious business of obtaining the best price they could get from this upstart who desired the hand of their sister. Through the mind-bending racket we heard the bidding start at 75cents. little enough for an able-bodied young lady we would have thought, but eventually a sum satisfactory to both sides of $8.88 was arrived at. We were told that the number 8 was considered lucky in Chinese quarters. Having paid up, the groom was welcomed into the house but, best of all, the drums stopped.
While this was all going on the bride had taken refuge in an upstairs bedroom but the groom, having paid the asking price, was not to be denied and soon found her. He led her downstairs at the end of a scarlet sash. They were not yet permitted to make physical contact. Then followed the symbolic ‘ceremony of the teas’ when the couple knelt before their respective parents and senior members of their families and served them with tea. Proceedings thus far had only been witnessed by family and very close friends and now, after light refreshment, we were driven off to the actual wedding service..... the West was going to take over from the East.
Arriving at a very full St. George’s Church we were piped in by a Gurkha Pipe Band and greeted by the Scottish Pastor and his Malaysian Minister colleague. Truly multi-national. The service itself followed a familiar form and we began to feel more at home. While the register was being signed we were entertained by some very musically talented friends of the bride. Then photograph, more from the pipers then off to Raffles for lunch and blessed air conditioning. Lunch and speeches over we were dispatched to our hotel for a brief ‘feet up’, shower and change, then off to the Shangri La Hotel where the bride’s father had arranged a Wedding Banquet for 1000 guests, one of them being Singapore’s Prime Minister. Included among the other guests were representatives of 23 countries, many in their national dress... most impressive. We were served a nine course authentic Chinese Banquet (nothing like our local ‘carry-out’) in fact, it was difficult to identify each course even with the menu in front of us!
A charming speech from our host in impeccable English which he repeated in Mandarin, then a speech of thanks from Graham who went on to explain his Scottish background which required him to get married in a "skirt". He told his audience that this background also required knowledge of a very special form of dancing whereupon he called upon an ‘eight’, formed from his family and friends who performed a very passable reel. The Eastern contingent were completely nonplussed as, indeed, were some Westerners!
An unbelievable end to a long, happy, unbelievable day when Graham and Chuen Li really did bring East and West together.
Jim and Audrey Patterson