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Community Newsletter February 2019

If you have an item that you would like including in the March 2019 newsletter, then please forward information in electronic form to Susan Rogerson by Wed 13th February via [email protected] (print date: Friday 15.02.19).

The Upper Coquet Resource Group has been established over 20 years as a registered charity. We promote the benefit of the inhabitants of the Upper Coquetdale area, consisting of the parishes of Netherton & Biddlestone, Harbottle, Hepple & Alwinton. The charity provides facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and other leisure time occupations. If you know of a group that may benefit from some funding and they meet the above criteria, then please contact us via [email protected]

ALWINTON VILLAGE Shepherds’ Supper: on Friday 8th March at the Rose & Thistle Inn, Alwinton from 7.00pm. Tickets cost £20 and are available from Stewart Wallace on 01669 631265.

NETHERTON VILLAGE Netherton Post Office: in the Village Hall on Monday 4th February, 11.00 am till Noon. Coffee (£1) and a chat in the Reading Room. Everyone welcome. On Monday 4th March there will be no Post Office at Netherton due to Bessie's annual weekend away.

Star Inn Netherton Quiz Evening: on Wednesday 6th February from 8.00pm. All welcome.

Netherton W.I: will meet on Wednesday 20th February at 7.00pm in Netherton Village Hall for a talk by Barbara Morton on writing a novel.

Netherton Gardening Club: will hold their Christmas Party on Monday 18th February at 2.00pm for a talk by Richard Barns on “small gardens”. Visitors welcome.

HEPPLE VILLAGE

Table Tennis: (self-programming) in Hepple Village Hall every Tuesday evening from 7.00 until 8.30pm. For more information contact Chris on 640012.

Basketry Group: meets monthly on third Wednesday of the month 10-3.30pm. Contact Gill Philipson beforehand or drop in on the day.

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HARBOTTLE VILLAGE

With many thanks and best wishes……… “Glen the Postie” is retiring after 15 years of delivering our letters and parcels. Anne is organising an informal gathering at the Star Inn on Saturday 9th February from 1pm, to which all are welcome to attend. On behalf of everyone up the valley, we wish Glen a long, happy and healthy retirement!

Harbottle Christmas tree & decorations: many thanks to the “Christmas Tree Boys” who helped with this year’s Christmas decorations. They were very much appreciated by all and a big thanks to all those who decorated their houses in the village. Special thanks to Ann Hennessy and Angela Atkiss for supplying refreshments to keep them going!

Star Inn Quiz nights: in aid of the Christmas lights raised £110.

Carols around the Christmas tree: a good crowd sang in strong voice led by Lindsay Johnstone. This was followed by sherry and mince pies, kindly provided by Anne Dunn & Janet Wood and finished off with some fireworks! The Grand Christmas draw followed at the pub where £195 was raised and this was divided between the Christmas Lights fund, the Ladies Darts and the Domino league.

Star Inn Christmas Domino Knock-Out Competition: the winner was John Dunn with runner up Joan Blakey. Many thanks to all who support the event, especially those who turned up in their wonderful Hawaiian fancy dress theme!

Anne would like to wish everyone all the very best for 2019.

Harbottle Carpet Bowls: every Wednesday evening in the village hall from 7.30-9.00pm. All welcome.

Iyengar Yoga Sessions: in Harbottle Village Hall every Tuesday evening 7.00 to 8.30pm. For further information please contact Margaret Ranken on 650281.

Judali Yoga hatha yoga class: at Harbottle Village Hall on Thursday evenings 7.30 – 9pm. All welcome. No previous experience necessary. Suitable for both beginners and those with more experience. For more information contact Judie: 01669 650045.

Harbottle School Community Group: if you enjoy a bit of gardening in your spare time and would like to join us to look after the school gardens, then please contact Margaret Ward for more information (01669 650317). Also, if you have any complete jigsaw puzzles, including children’s jigsaws and any boxed games that you no longer want and would like to donate to the group then please contact Tracey Boldy, Jackie Bickmore, Ann Hennessy or Margaret Ward.

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Advance Notices….Save the date:

 Star Inn Netherton Quiz nights for 2019: Wednesday evenings with 8.00pm start on: 6th March 3rd July 6th November 3rd April 7th August 4th December 1st May, 4th September 5th June 2nd October

 Star Inn, Harbottle: quiz nights in aid of Harbottle School on Mondays in March (4th, 11th, 18th & 25th ). 8.30pm start.

 Village Litter Picks: 16th March in Netherton, 6th April in Harbottle and 27th April in Hepple. Organised by Mark Bolton, Ranger Northumberland National Park.

*************************************************************************************** Upper Coquetdale Community Transport

We would like to thank everyone who returned our survey on local transport. From your responses we have been able to start the new service below and we are still collating some other ideas of services we can provide in the future too.

Rothbury Shoppers Route Starts Friday 1st February 2019

Picking up from:

 Harbottle  Sharperton  Alwinton  Biddlestone  Netherton  Holystone Collect and drop off at your door. £4 per return trip

This service is for the elderly or mobility- impaired. The pickup/drop off points are from home, which means times will be different per person and dependant on how many people are on the bus each week.

We are looking to start the pickups from 10.30am and to start our return from Rothbury at 1pm.

To use the service people need to contact Lesley Leeson, Transport Manager, both to book and initially to register with some basic personal information (address, telephone number etc.).

Contact Lesley:

01669 622264 Monday to Friday 12.00pm to 3.00pm or email: [email protected]

Web page http://ucct.btck.co.uk Find us on Facebook too!

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Updates from Local Councillor

Rothbury Cashpoint: As residents will already be aware, the new cash machine (ATM) went live in Rothbury the weekend before Christmas. I am informed by Barclays that the cash withdrawals from that weekend and into the New Year have been at levels they have not previously seen. Much of this can be put down to the fact that you can't make withdrawals from the bank directly. In recent days this has resulted in some technical difficulties in topping the machine up with new notes. Barclays has given written assurances that, now they are aware of the level of withdrawals they can expect to see in the future and how quickly those withdrawals are taking place, they will update the machine to notify the external contractor to refill it more frequently.

Coquetdale Dental Services: Further to my previous update regarding the return of dental services to the Coquet Valley, I had hoped that by now we would have appointed a new dentist. Unfortunately, as you may have already heard, none of the bids/tenders that were submitted to NHS England by potential new providers were compliant against one or more of the published criteria. This is not the fault of NHS England; this is a result of the bidders not submitting the correct details as required as part of their tenders. NHS England has given a commitment to the county council that they intend to re-tender the contract but, given the failure by previous bidders to submit the correct information, there is a legal requirement to begin the whole process again. This will result in the delivery of new dental services being put back to the fourth quarter of 2019. I will continue to push NHS England to ensure that the delivery of the new service is carried out as quickly as possible and I will continue to update residents on its progress.

Housing in Coquetdale: At the most recent meeting of the full Northumberland County Council, it was agreed by a majority of councillors present to accept the proposed Northumberland Local Plan (Planning Document) which will be used to determine planning applications in Northumberland and in our area (for those who are not in the Northumberland National Park) up until 2036 and beyond. I spoke against the proposal based on the fact that, in our area, it would see affordable housing on new developments (and possibly some existing) reduced from the current 35% to 15%. Particularly in Rothbury, this is only going to benefit one person/estate that controls nearly all of the developable land. From the 30th January until the 13th March, the council will enter the second stage of consultation on this document. During this time, residents will have the opportunity to comment on the document and the proposals contained within it. The planning policy team from Northumberland County Council will be holding a walk-in consultation event at the Jubilee Hall in Rothbury on Thursday 28th February 2019 from 2:00pm until 7:00pm. I would urge residents to attend this event and comment on any of the proposals and policies within the plan.

If you cannot make this event, you will be able to view the local plan documents at www.northumberland.gov.uk/localplan or submit your comments online via the county council website, in writing or via email to the planning policy officers directly at [email protected]

Should you have any issues or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish you all the very best for 2019.

Cllr Steven Bridgett 07590032619 [email protected] ************************************************************************************************************************** Healthcare Updates Alnwick Minor Injuries Unit: Recent information from on duty staff indicate that from possibly the end of January there will no longer be a duty doctor to support the infirmary and no guarantee that nursing staff will be qualified prescribing nurses, so it will limit what can be investigated or treated. At certain times ward nursing staff will cover the minor injuries clinic so waiting times might vary. According to the staff member, in future patients would have to call 111 to contact The Northern Doctors out-of-hours services, who have a consultation room set up in the infirmary.

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Reminder of Additional GP availability via Cramlington Hub for patients of The Rothbury Practice:

______Don’t forget…..to report those pot holes! It is very easy to do via the council website: www.northumberland.gov.uk , scroll down to TOP TASKS and click on Report a Pothole. Alternatively phone them on 0345 600 6400. Remember….pot holes occur all year, not just for Christmas! ______

Vintage tea party items for hire

Everything you need to host the perfect tea party! For further information contact Alison Bolton on: 01669 630252 or email: [email protected] Donations for any hire will be given to the Upper Coquet Resource

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PARISH OF UPPER COQUETDALE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER February 2019

CHURCH ORDER OF SERVICES: February 2019

Church of England Alwinton, Holystone & Alnham Sunday 3 11.30am HC, Alnham Presentation of Christ in the temple Sunday 10 10.15am Holy Communion, Alwinton 4th Sunday before Lent Sunday 17 10.15am Holy Communion, Holystone 3rd Sunday before Lent Sunday 24 10.15am Holy Communion, Alwinton 2nd Sunday before Lent

From the Register Funerals 12 November Mary Elizabeth Turvey, Crematorium 26 November George Alexander Henderson, Alwinton 15 December Pamela Sutton, Rothbury 19 December Evan Williams, Rothbury 9 January James Turnbull, Crematorium May they rest in peace

Wedding 24 November Ashleigh Hall & Alan Fenwick, Rothbury Congratulations

Music for services during February We are in what is known as "Ordinary Time" - we've finished with Epiphany but are not yet in Lent. Musically, this means I don't have any help choosing music for Voluntaries. When in doubt, play Bach! I've chosen 3 pieces by him, and one by his predecessor, Georg Boehm.

Sunday February 10th at Alwinton Sunday February 17th at Alwinton Introit: J. S. Bach: Jesus, meine Zuversicht Introit: J. S. Bach: Liebster Jesus, wir sind hier Voluntary: J. S. Bach: Ich ruf zu Dir Voluntary: G. Boehm: Herr Jesus Christ, dich zu uns wende

I would like to explain how I set about choosing music. As far as possible I stay with the Liturgy (except during the long "Sundays after Trinity").Unfortunately, and entirely my own fault, I missed the deadline for the December and January newsletter. This meant I was not able to explain my choice of music for December 23rd, which was the 4th Sunday in Advent. I chose Advent hymns and music. I started the service with an arrangement of "O come, O come Emmanuel" and concluded with a beautiful Nocturne by the Newcastle composer Arthur Milner, which was a meditation on the shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. This was certainly not Christmas music - nor was it meant to be! You wouldn't expect me to play Easter music during Lent - so similarly I will not play Christmas music during Advent! I hope this explains my choice of music. Mary Thorne UCRG Community & Parish of UC Newsletter February 2019

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Valley Happenings We hope everyone had a good Christmas and our very best wishes for the New Year to you all.

It was a very hectic build up to the festivities and we wonder how our few clergy coped with it all. However they were all wonderful and we are so grateful to them. Our carol service was lovely and the choir and band had worked so hard, which made it. We would have enjoyed a much bigger congregation than we had but with so many services to choose from it does become difficult. The following morning the Mart Carols had an enormous crowd and what a super happy service it was! Christmas Eve Crib service was wonderful and Bishop Mark took it very enthusiastically and the children gave it their all! Christmas morning service is always very good with everyone in full Christmas spirit and some of the children clutching their goodies delivered by Santa!

The Curry Night will have been by the time the letter gets to you so we do hope everyone who wanted tickets managed to get them. We have a great venue at Blue Doors with kind permission of Sharon and John Graham.

Having previously been so excited about the bell rope at Alwinton church having been repaired I have a huge confession...... unfortunately I have put us back to square one as at one of the services it came gently tumbling down and lay rather pathetically at my feet! However our Knights in shining armour appeared again and are trying to find a reasonable deal to get bigger scaffold to reach higher and get the rope nipped PERMENANTLY onto the wire holder under the bell. Watch this space……..!!

Our new Rector’s induction is in Rothbury church on February 28th and everyone is most welcome to attend. We haven’t any details yet for the service but it is most exciting and we sincerely hope he and his wife will be very happy in Coquetdale.

Just quickly in passing a mention of the Baigie Competition on New Year’s Day at The Rose and Thistle – George Graham was the champion with the biggest turnip but was very reserved when asked for his growing procedure! However it was a fun end to a beautiful day with a big crowd in and loads of turnips and a little ditty that was sung with great gusto by everyone in the pub. Big thanks to Gareth and Jane for putting up with it.

In the middle of November we sadly lost Alex Henderson a very long standing member of our community. Alex and Roberta came to Northumberland from Cumbria shortly after they were married and arrived in the sixties at Cotewalls and then went to Burradon, from where he retired as a shepherd. They had years in Netherton and then finally in to Rothbury. We send our love to Roberta and all the family. Julia Stott ______

200 Club February Ticket Winners £20: Katherine Easton £15: Margaret Wardle £10: Freya Buchan ______Are you thinking about what you might give up for Lent? Giving up chocolate or alcohol might be good for your health, but maybe you’d like to try something different... You may remember last year our Bible Study group, ‘After Sunday’, decided to give up one item for each of the 40 days of Lent to give to the Alnwick District Food Bank, which covers our Coquet Valley. We managed to accumulate an impressive amount of various items which were gratefully received by the Food Bank, so we have decided to do it again this year and would love you to join us. You could give some of your weekly shop or unopened, in-date things from your kitchen or bathroom cupboards.

If 40 items would be too much, even one item for each week of Lent would help. You could drop your items in at Harbottle School or ring me (650385) or Susan Rogerson (650390) to arrange collection. Sue Joyner

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Outreach Post Office Services

Day Location Time Monday Hepple Post Office 9.00 am - 10.00 am Netherton Village Hall 11.00 am - 12.00 noon Hepple Post Office 2.00 pm - 5.30 pm Tuesday Thropton Village Hall 10.00 am - 12.00 noon Hepple Post Office 2.00 pm - 5.30 pm Wednesday Hepple Post Office 9.00 am - 10.00 am Netherton Village Hall 11.00 am - 12.00 noon Thursday Rochester Camian Café 9.30 am - 11.30 am Otterburn Village Hall 12.00 noon - 2.00 pm Hepple Post Office 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm Friday Hepple Post Office 9.00 am - 1.00 pm Hepple Post Office 2.00 pm - 5.30 pm Saturday Hepple Post Office 9.00 am - 12.30 pm

K$ Book Keeping Services - Invoicing, Supplier Payments, Receipts, Bank Reconciliation - VAT Returns - Employee Payroll - All types of businesses – farming, retail, building, hospitality I offer a friendly, flexible and confidential service for your business. No obligation introductory meeting with references available. Katherine Singer Tel: 07766 747 382 or 01669 650 436 E-mail: [email protected]

------TUTOR AVAILABLE Tutoring in English Literature, History, Classical Civilisation (Students up to A level) and French (up to GCSE). Rates negotiable. Please contact: [email protected] Good luck for another academic year!

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THERAPEUTIC CANINE MASSAGE HELPS YOUR DOG FEEL GOOD, FEEL FIT, FEEL BETTER SUITABLE FOR DOGS OF ALL AGES AND ACTIVITY LEVELS MO POOLE - 07590 992964 or 01669 650024 [email protected]

SWEDISH MASSAGE THERAPY BLAKEYS HAULAGE Relief of muscle aches & pain, improved circulation & Wayside, Netherton, Morpeth Tel: 01669 630225, Mobile (Les): 07850529970 relaxation. Email: [email protected] 1 hr full body massage with oil £20, Back massage - £15. Also your local CMF approved coal merchant Home visits can be arranged. FIRST MASSAGE FREE Coal & smokeless fuel supplied in sealed 25kg bags Contact Peter Joyner on 01669 650385 or email emptied into your bunker or stacked in a shed. [email protected] for an appointment Preferred minimum delivery of 250kg DRAKESTONE BUILDING SERVICES Sweeties Joinery, General Building, Tiling Bridge Street, Rothbury & Decorating Work Sweets * Treats * Gifts Pick & Mix* Slushies*Hot & Cold Drinks Billy Gibson Traditional sweet shop stocking a large variety of sweets & chocolates. We can Tel: 01669 650206 OR 07979042499 special order anything we don’t have in Email: [email protected] stock. Now stocking Coquet Chocolate. Beautiful handmade chocolates & truffles, made in Rothbury. DEFIBRILLATOR LOCATIONS Martin Wealleans Defibrillators are sited in the following local villages: Painter & Decorator Hepple: on the village hall wall Tel 01669 621327 Netherton: on the village hall wall Thropton: on the school wall Advertising Space Alwinton: in the car park on the toilet Available block wall If you would like to Alnham: on the wall of the Kings Priory advertise your School Field Centre business for an extremely competitive price in ______this newsletter and reach over 425 households Collins Fish Van each month, then please contact Susan Visits the area on a Thursday at the following times: Rogerson: [email protected] Hepple Post Office: 8.00am Sharperton (on the hill): 8.30am All funds raised, plus extra donations and Alwinton Village Green: 9.00am money raised via fund raising events, help The Harbottle (Chapel end): 9.30am Upper Coquet Resource Group to keep this Holystone Post Office: 9.40am voluntary community publication going. Netherton Village: 12.00–12.15pm

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UCRG Community & Parish of UC Newsletter February 2019