On the week end of the 9^th and 10^th March the Parish Council held an exhibition of the proposals which had been put forward for the improvement of the Welfare field. An important part of this was an opinion survey to find out what the residents of Heddon really wanted to happen on the Welfare Field.

In all, 85 survey forms were taken and filled in. This represents the number of people who attended the exhibition. From this response it appears that the residents of Heddon don’t really care what happens to the Welfare Field. The survey is not being evaluated by the Parish Council. It is being evaluated by Castle Morpeth Sports Development, so no results are available as yet. When results are available they will be publicised and there will be public discussion about any further actions.

THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS IN HEDDON

The Parish Council has conducted a survey of every organisation in Heddon. In all 10 organisations replied, but of those only two had anything planned. The positive side was that there was plenty of help on offer for anything which may be planned by anyone else.

The Parish Council is calling a meeting of all of the organisations in order to try to kick start the village celebrations. Hopefully, by the time you read this it will have taken place and something positive will be on the way for the June week-end.

In 1977, for the Silver Jubilee there were wide spread celebrations which seem to have been enjoyed by every-one and are still remembered by some residents to day. We must try to recreate that atmosphere and have a day to remember in June 2002.

If you are then there is some very important information of which you should be aware. From April 1^st 2002 all new replacement glazing installations come within the scope of Building Regulations. From then on any one who installs replacement windows will have to conform to strict thermal performance standards. There is a short grace period which will apply to contracts concluded by March 31^st 2002. This ruling applies to DIY installations as well as contracted installations but the grace period does not apply to DIY installations.

The administration of this new ruling is being carried out largely by the replacement glazing industry through a scheme known as FENSA. An installer will be registered under FENSA and will give the customer a certificate verifying that the installation conforms to the building regulations. Any firm, or DIY project which is not registered under the FENSA scheme will need full local authority approval under the Building Regulations.

In the future when the time comes to sell the property it must be on record that any glazing installed after April 2002 conformed to the Building Regulations. The purchaser’s surveyors will be entitled to ask for this information, so this certificate or other approval is a very important document and must be carefully looked after.

If you require any further information on this topic then please contact Tom Bates on 01661 852682.

Annual Electors Meeting, 2002

This will take place at the beginning of May as usual. The date has not been definitely set yet BUT KEEP AN EYE ON THE VILLAGE NOTICE BOARDS.

Remember, this is your chance to make your feelings known.

In the autumn Heddon In Bloom will be planting a tree next to Heddon Library for the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations. There are already trees in the village which have been planted by individuals as well as the village as a community on other such celebrations. With the help of Heddon villagers H.I.B. would like to carry on this tradition. We would like to ask the villagers of Heddon to help with donations to a Jubilee Tree Fund, (for the next few weeks there will be donation boxes in the shops, public houses and the garage for you to do so) penny's or pounds the amount you give does not matter, what does matter is that the tree will be bought by the donations from the villagers of Heddon as a community.

David Chambers & Barry Gibson.

Did anyone lose their Sunday joint in early March? Tony had dug over his vegetable garden in February and was raking it in preparation for planting his early potatoes at the beginning of March when he uncovered a thin white plastic bag and was amazed to find inside what looked like a piece of raw rolled brisket, about 2 lb. weight, and beginning to go "off". It was not ours.

We enquired of the immediate neighbours, eliminating the possibility of Meg the Labrador being involved, and even considered it could have been taken when Ann's freezer was emptied for defrosting, but no meat was missing. Nor had Eric lost any meat from his butcher's van.

It could not have been our regular squirrels, it seemed too big for a cat to carry far, and we usually keep the garden gate closed so it was unlikely to be a dog. It was near our fence to the common, but the fact that it was buried suggests that a creature was involved. A fox has been seen in the garden, which is surrounded by a 4ft.boarded fence and which we know the fox has jumped. We can only surmise that it was the fox - but where did the meat come from?

We would be interested in any theories, but regret that we are unable to return the meat to its rightful owner!

(Tony & Mary White)

HEDDON ART GROUP

Although we made plans for the coming year at our AGM in February, we got off to a sad start when our regular tutor, Barbara Clayton, was unable to come due to a bereavement and sickness in the family. However, there is always something in the W.I. to be set up as a still life, and we were happy to welcome Mick as a prospective new member. Barbara hopes to be here on 4th April - did anyone else see Edith's posters and consider coming for a session. If so we would be happy to see you.

As a new venture, Rachel in Dingle Dell has kindly offered us the use of the walls in her tea room to exhibit our work and we look forward to having a permanent display area where we can hang our paintings throughout the year.

Mary White Hon. Sec. (01661) 852749

HEDDON-ON-THE-WALL W.I.

During the last couple of months, food has again featured high on the agenda of Heddon W. I.!! On February 4^th we had a wonderful cookery demonstration by Mr. John Roughley, with plenty of tasting afterwards! On February 9^th, innumerable pancakes were tossed and eaten. "Soup and buns" were served on March 9^th, a welcome warmer on a snowy morning. . On 4th March Heddon W.I. celebrated its 85^th birthday. The County Chairman came as a guest to our birthday-party; Beryl Amos entertained us most excellently, and of course we had some birthday cake.

Tuesday Teas are continuing, with dates being posted around the village. Our next meeting is on April 8^th, when Mr. Colin Jewitt will talk about the development of Ladycross Stone Colliery into a nature reserve. The following evening (9^th April) there will be a return visit of C and J. Fashions. They will be modelling clothes in many styles and sizes, at prices to suit all pockets. There will be the opportunity to buy something for your summer wardrobe, after the show. Put the date in your diary!

We were delighted to welcome three new members to Heddon W. I. in January. Why not join us too? You’ll be made most welcome. From Joyce Laws and Aileen Rand.

The choir is continuing to practice enthusiastically every Tuesday evening at the Methodist Church Hall. We are rehearsing for our next concert to be held in May and the programme will contain some modern material balanced with some old favourites. The choir committee is also considering what contribution the choir can give toward the proposed "Queens’ Jubilee Village Event"

I would like to take this opportunity to enquire if there is anyone in the village, or anyone (that you know) who would feel able to take over the position of conductor at the choir. At present we have a temporary conductor but we are anxious to obtain a permanent leader as soon as possible.

If you feel you would enjoy singing in a choir, it is not too late to join us!

Chris Rand.

NEW GP SURGERY !!!

At long last, after several years of frustrated attempts, THROCKLEY SURGERY is about to move into its new premises. After 50 plus years of happy (but cramped!) practice at Back Victoria Terrace the surgery is moving a few hundred yards away to a brand new, vastly expanded, purpose built primary care centre at THROCKLEY PRIMARY CARE CENTRE, Tillmouth Park Road, Throckley.

The new surgery will have greatly improved facilities for both patients and staff. There is a large, comfortable waiting area, larger reception desk with improved facilities for privacy and disabled use, toilets (including one for the disabled and a baby changer unit) and a large car park. There are more than double the number of consulting/treatment rooms than we currently have. The District Nurses, Health Visitors and Community Midwife will be based at the new centre, as will a chiropody service (provided by Newcastle Primary Care Trust). Throckley Clinic on Mayfield Avenue will be closed down. All of our baby clinics and ante-natal clinics will be held at the new centre. There will be a large group room for groups run by the Health Visitors and Midwives. THROCKLEY CHEMIST is moving into a new pharmacy immediately adjacent to centre in the new complex. From the point of view of the staff - for the first time we will have sufficient office space, a large meeting room, staff room, staff toilets and showers, a library and car parking.

We are sure that the new surgery will prove a great success with both patients and staff, and also allow us to continue to develop the services we provide in the future. However, there are bound to be some initial teething problems and slight disruption to normal service during the hectic period of moving – we thank you in anticipation for bearing with us during this time.

We have arranged for road signs to be put up to guide you to the new centre. We have also had discussions with the local bus companies and hopefully the buses will stop near to the centre. We plan to have an official Opening Ceremony later in the summer once we have settled in. The new surgery will be open for business (and the old surgery closed) from Monday, 15^th April, 2002. All of our existing patients will be contacted via the post with full details.

Our new address/phone number is Drs. Bookless, Grainger, Joughin and Jones, Throckley Surgery, Throckley Primary Care Centre, Tillmouth Park Road, Throckley, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 9PA. Telephone 0191-210 6700.

Dr. David Grainger Throckley Surgery

I have lived in Heddon all my life and live at Heddon Banks Farm. I attended the schools at Heddon, Coates Endowed and Ponteland High Schools where I took my A Levels. I then studied Agriculture at college in Edinburgh for three years before returning to work on the farm

I am married with two sons who both attend Coates School and who play football for Heddon St. Andrew’s in the 6-a-side League at Concordia in Cramlington. I have been a member of the Parish Council since 1991.

Heddon suffers from its geographical position in relation to all aspects of its dealings with both the District and County Councils. I am sure we get a poor deal from both councils because of this.

I think that more could be done for the young people in Heddon, the vast majority of whom are no-where near as bad as many people would have us believe. I think that the up-grading of the Welfare Field is something that should be supported. My biggest concern is that Heddon will become a stagnant village full of people who are opposed to any change whatsoever.

Parish Council meetings are open to the public and are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm when we regularly attract an audience of none! We do occasionally discuss more interesting topic than the provision of pooper-scoopers and defective street lights As Woody Allen said, "The world is run by those who bother to turn up".

FLOWER FESTIVAL

Thursday, 1^st August - Sunday 4^th August, inclusive.

The Preview Evening is on Wednesday, 31^st July in the Knott Memorial Hall when the Festival will be opened by Martin, Bishop of Newcastle.

The proceeds of the Festival will be divided between the Churches serving Heddon on the Wall, St. Oswald’s Hospice Jigsaw Appeal and other local charities.

We have already had a very successful Coffee Morning in Heddon and an evening of Fashion and Flowers at Dissington Hall.

We would like to sincerely thank Mr. Michael Brown and his staff at Dissington Hall for allowing us to use such a magnificent venue for our Fashion and Flowers evening. Our thanks also go to Lady Renwick and her staff at ‘Get Smart’ at the Milkhope Centre for the wonderful selection of garments we were able to display at the show and, of course, to Anne Codd for her splendid flower arrangements.

Finally, we would like to express our appreciation to everyone who supported the event and helped to make the evening so successful.

THERE ARE TWO FUTURE FUNDRAISING EVENTS SCHEDULED ..

Anne Codd will demonstrate flower arranging with her usual flair and expertise. The flower arrangements will be raffled afterwards and refreshments will be served.

Tickets are available from Esme Tingate (01661 833525) or Freda Phillipson (01661 852287)

We are very grateful to Mrs. Brims for once again allowing us to hold a garden party at her home. There will be many attractions, games and stalls including a Plant Stall, Cake Stall, Raffle and Refreshments

We would like to invite everyone to some along to these events and support this worthwhile cause. Thank you to everyone who has and continues to support our efforts.

Lynda Henderson.

In the early days of the war I was employed as a refrigeration Service Engineer in this area. My work was varied, butchers, fishmongers and farmers all had some form of cooling equipment as had military camps and ships.

On one occasion I had to go to a farm at Harlow Hill and then on to RAF Ouston (now better known as Albemarle Barracks). I called at the farm first and when the work was finished I asked the dairyman how to get to RAF Ouston.

There were no signposts anywhere at that time due to fear of invasion by paratroops. He told me it was further along the road about a mile away. However, he showed me a short cut from the farm to the airfield which was protected by a large barbed wire fence. A section of the fence had been removed and brought forward so that it was possible to drive around it onto the aerodrome, whilst it still looked like a solid fence from a distance.

I drove through this gap and down to the main building where the refrigerator was situated in the kitchen. When I finished the job I drove to the main gate where an RAF policeman stopped me and asked for my pass. I told him I did not have a pass. He then called the police sergeant over who said I must have received a pass when I came through the main entrance.

When I explained that I had not entered this way he drew his revolver, pointed it at me and said, "Get out". He leaned into the car and switched off the engine and removed the key at the same time.

I was escorted into the Guardroom by two corporals and the Sergeant who persisted in pointing the gun at me. I suddenly realised that I was suspected of being a ‘Fifth Columnist’!!! I think they would have relished the idea of shooting me if I had attempted one wrong move.

The Sergeant rang a superior office who arrived within a few minutes and questioned me as to how I had entered the airfield. When I explained he took me, under guard, in a vehicle which had a machine gun on the back and we drove to where I had entered the aerodrome.

When he saw the way the fence had been altered we drove back to the guardroom where we had tea and biscuits together. He was very grateful that he was able to make the airfield secure once again before any further major inspections took place.

We parted friends but I suspect the Sergeant was disappointed not to have had the chance to use his revolver or to boast about how he had captured a ‘Fifth Columnist’!

ST. ANDREW’S FOOTBALL CLUB, HEDDON ON THE WALL

A member of the Churches together (North East) Football League The Club has now reached the 30 player mark (not bad for a small village)

Thank you to the four people in Heddon who came forward to offer their services to the Knott Hall Committee. The Acting Chairman, Robert Young, is in the process of getting things under-way again and will report fully in the next issue. The AGM of the Knott Hall will be held in the next few weeks (watch the village notice boards for the date and time). Why not go along and give your support to the Knott Hall Committee and they are still open to offers of help.

VACANCY FOR A PARISH COUNCILLOR

There have been applications to fill this post and decisions will be made in the next few weeks.

HEDDON IN BLOOM

Another busy year ahead in and around the village. Entries have been made in two prestigious competitions: the main Northumbria In Bloom award and also the Best Voluntary Group category. As the name suggests, this is for villages and areas where voluntary groups are at the heart of activity. Partnerships with other individuals and organisations such as local clubs, associations, small businesses and councils are so important. We believe Heddon can be rightly proud of its long tradition of community activity. Imagine if Heddon was featured on the T.V., radio and in the newspapers as prize winners this year!

The first judging takes place as early as 16 April so you will notice a lot of activity in the Memorial Park, flower displays and tubs etc. around the village over coming weeks. There will probably be a ‘tidy-up’ on Saturday 13 April to which all volunteers are welcome - many hands make light work and the involvement of young people helps build firm foundations for future community activity.

The main summer judging will be in mid-July when hopefully the whole village will be looking at its best. More details in future editions of the Gossip.

As ever, the very popular front garden and business competitions will be run leading up to the summer judging. Prize winners for the usual categories and one or two new ones will be announced at the Village Show Day in the Knott Hall. The school painting competition will also be keenly awaited so we can again marvel at the Village’s young artistic talents.

One or two other ideas are also in development so keep your eyes and ears open over coming months. The first of which you will find else where in this edition - can you spot it?

So all in all another busy year. A number of new people have recently joined the group so if you fancy finding out more let us know, start by contacting me on 852740 or Tom & Terry Glenton on 864650. We also try to have a regular working session in the Memorial Park on the first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. for an hour or so. More leisurely sessions are held in the pub every now and then - do join us!

Bye for now, David Chambers.

HEDDON CARPET BOWLS

The club has had two friendly matches recently. In February we played in the Grange at Throckley Heddon won by a small margin.

This month we had a home match against Dalton who are a very good team. I think it must be the first time ever that the winners were Heddon (61 – 51). It was a good night with the games played in a very friendly spirit and a lovely supper to follow.

HEDDON HAIR SALON

I am writing to you with news that makes me very sad. At the end of July this year I will have been in the Hair Salon for fourteen years, thirteen of them as my own business. This means my lease has come to an end and, unfortunately, Liz and Ken Burdon (who I rent the room from behind their General Dealers shop) have decided not to renew my lease.

I have looked all over the village for a suitable place for my salon but have been unable to find one. The support I have had from my clients and friends has been overwhelming and I would like to return that support by providing a Mobile Hairdressing Service.

I will give out my new mobile ‘phone number nearer the time of changeover. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. It really means a lot to me.

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before I find a base for us all again.

One of the benefits of the World Wide Web is that it can help to bring people closer together, through the use of electronic mail or the ability to find out information about the places or people that you used to know, but may now have lost touch with. The number of messages that the Heddon web site receives from people, from all over the world, suggests that the site does make a small contribution towards achieving this.

Another web site that is helping to bring people together, but in a much bigger way, is www.friendsreunited.co.uk. This web site has been set up to enable friends, who met at school or college, to get back in touch with one another. The site lists about 45,000 schools/colleges, and if you can locate your old school/college you will be able to see the names of those that have already registered and attended the same school/college. The site currently has 4.95 million registered members.

You can leave a message or read other people's messages. For a fee of £5.00 you can access the e-mail addresses of those listed, thereby being able to make contact with people, that you may not have heard from for many years. You can also add comments about ex-pupils who are now famous, teachers and also class photographs.

Heddon School has 63 ex-pupils registered on the friendsreunited web site dating back as far as 1957. Visit the site at www.friendsreunited.co.uk, look up your old school or college and you could have a pleasant trip down memory lane.

Pat Farnaby

HEDDON FIRST SCHOOL PTA

Many thanks to everyone for their continued support. The PTA have a very tough target to reach this year in that we are trying to raise money to support ‘Design a Playground’ – to improve the school grounds and play areas. All ideas and contacts gratefully received.

Here are some dates for your diaries:

Sponsored Bounce Friday, 22^nd March

Spring Fair Saturday 13^th April 10-12noon

School disco Thursday 9^th May 3.30 – 5pm

Diane Howorth

PTA Chair

We now have a programme of work agreed with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers which will see the completion of work on the butterfly site.

Some work will have been done by the time you are reading this including some measures to stop horse riders using the top of the site and also the hard path which we laid through from Trajan will have to be made impassable for horses. We are not being awkward, but shod horses particularly cause a lot of damage to soft surfaces and neither of those two areas are bridleways.

The programme of work will involve the completion of all the scheduled stone work at the site and will mean that the area around the seat will be fully stone pitched which should make it look very good and thena stone plinth will be built to support the large stone slab which will form the seat. The stone slab is waiting for delivery from Ladycross Quarry at Slaley and weighs about half a ton! getting the stone into position will have to be done by hand ( in reality many hands!!) and should provide us with an interesting day. Once in position we would like it to be carved in the same way as the stepping stones were done, by everybody joining in and contributing their own bit of stone carving.

All this work will take place in April with BTCV being there on nine days with Community Days scheduled for the week-ends of 20th and 21st and 27th and 28th. The big stone slab will be put in place on the weekend of 27/28. As well as all this activity we have an artist who works in stone coming along on Sunday 21st to construct the long awaited stone feature at the entrance to the site from Trajan.

There is plenty of work about to take place at the butterfly and with Spring just about here the whole site should be looking at its bets by early summer.

IAN ARMSTRONG

SPRING IS SPRUNG

Winter is just about over and each morning now brings more and more bird song as the days get longer and just that bit warmer. For anyone who appreciates the the natural world around us this is such an exciting time of year as wildflowers begin to appear, the first leaves burst out on the trees, frogs and toads are into their spawning season and even the odd butterfly appears on a mild sunny day, usually small tortoiseshells that have been tempted out of their winter hibernation spot by the extra warmth and bright sun.

Blue tits will be investigating nets boxes and starting their nesting activity soon so it is a good idea to stop feeding them by the end of April or if you do want to carry on make sure you grind down peanuts and sunflower seeds so that they can feed feed their young with large un-digestible bits that will choke them.

By the third week in April the welcome song of the migrant willow warblers will be back on the Common. These tiny birds have been away in Africa during the winter but here they are back again for another summer with us.

The first swallows will be back just shortly after that ( or maybe even before that ) and they will all have spent the winter months in South Africa. The local birds will come back to use the same nest as last year and in the meantime apart from flying about 20,000 miles on the journey there and back will aslo have crossed the Sahara twice. Amazing isn't it?

IAN ARMSTRONG

8^TH April Scrabble Club 1.30pm

15^th April Coffee & Chat 10.30am-12noon

20^th April Coffee Morning 10.30am-noon

22^nd April Scrabble Club 1.30pm

24^th April Pathfienders Walking Group 10am

6^th May Coffee & Chat 10.30am-noon

11^th May Christian Aid Coffee Morning WI Hall 10.30am – noon

13^th May Scrabble Club 1.30pm

20^th May Coffee & Chat 10.30am-noon

27^th May Scrabble Club 1.30pm

29^th May Pathfinders Walking Group 10am

If it’s May - it must be Christian Aid Week! This year the dates are 12^th to 18^th, but Heddon is getting in early with a Coffee Morning on Saturday 11^th May. As usual, it will be held in the WI Hall from 10.30am ‘till noon. Please support this united village event which raised money for such a worthwhile cause.

A new venture for the Church is the Scrabble Club which meets on the second and fourth Monday afternoons of the month at 1.30pm. Anyone who enjoys a game of Scrabble is invited to join in. Further details from Kaye Poole (01661 852701)

Our weekly 7.30pm Thursday evening Bible Study continues as usual. Everyone is welcome to join in this informal meeting to study our faith in Christ and the Bible.

On the first and third Monday mornings of the month between 10am and noon the Chapel is open for anyone to drop in for a Coffee & Chat (or Tea & Chat!). Why not come along? Dates in the events diary.

The Mums and Toddlers Group meet every Wednesday between 1.30 and 3.30pm during school term time and loves to welcome new mums, grandmas or carers with their toddlers.

The Pathfinders Walking Group walks on the last Wednesday of the month. For up to the minute information on the next walk please contact John Banks (01661 852317) dates are in the diary above. If you enjoy an easy walk with good company you are very welcome to join the group. Don’t forget to bring a packed lunch.

Thank you to all the ‘delivers’ of Heddon Gossip. I felt for you on those wet and windy days but knew I could rely on you.

Thanks to the people who volunteered to help the Knott Hall, the Parish Council and Heddon in Bloom

With the Flower Festival in the offing we can look forward to a colourful Heddon this Sunner

Ann Lockey, Editor.