PARISH BROADBAND NEWS .

We have been advised by iNorthumberland that Longhirst has been included in their phase 2 fibre optic broadband contract with BT. This means that there is a very reasonable chance that the centre of the Village and Micklewood (the 135 properties connected to the Ulgham exchange) will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2017. Excellent news as long as it happens! This leaves us with wireless broadband as the best long term solution for the remaining 94 properties in the Parish and for any of the 135 who wish to use a faster service in the meantime. Briskona are currently finalising their proposals for our local network and these should be known shortly.

For further information please contact Peter Coates (l). The Parish Broadband Working Group

OPEN GARDENS AND CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL WEEKEND .

LONGHIRST’S BIG WEEKEND – MAKE SURE YOU ARE PART OF IT!

SATURDAY 4 th and SUNDAY 5 th JULY is the Open Gardens and Church Flower Festival Weekend when the sun shines in Longhirst, metaphorically if not actually, our community pulls together to put on a quite spectacular event and everyone has a great time! The main activities for the Weekend are :- FRIDAY 3 rd , 7pm in St. John’s Church – Service of Praise to which all are welcome. SATURDAY 4 th , 11am – 5pm and SUNDAY 5 th , 11am – 4pm 10 Village gardens open and Flower Festival in the Church.

Morning coffee , stalls including plants and ice cream, classic cars on display (Sat), games and childrens activities all at Barnacre.

Homemade lunches and teas together with craft displays and sales at the Village Hall.

Entertainment by Mid Chorus each afternoon and a Silent Auction running throughout the weekend for the floral arrangements in the Church. Grand Raffle drawn at 4pm on Sunday.

If we haven’t managed to involve you, just come along with your family and friends and soak up the atmosphere. Tickets are £5 a day and £8 for the weekend, with accompanied children free and dogs on leads welcome. A big ‘thank you’ in advance for the skills, enthusiasm and just plain hard work that so many give freely to enable this wonderful Weekend to take place.

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Here is a check list for the few weeks beforehand:- NOW! – get posters to put up at work, school, sports centre, Church, shop etc. Contact Jill (y) Friday 12 th June 7pm in the Village Hall – gathering of everyone hoping to be involved over the Weekend for a general briefing, final distribution of publicity material and last minute arrangements! Jill (y) Saturday 27 th June – ‘ Clean-up day’ around our own homes and the Parish. Litter pickers needed and volunteers to clean the Church. Chris Lediard (r) Monday 29 th June – Friday 3 rd July The flower arrangers will be working in the Church. It is not too late to volunteer your help and support by donating your time, flowers or cash. Jill (y) Plant Sales – deliver plants you have for sale to Barnacre. Linda (i) Refreshments – get all your baking done for the now well-known delicious homemade refreshments served in the Village Hall. Carol Robson (o) Signage – Can you help on Friday evening to put up signs? Mike Elphick(c) PLEASE NOTE In order to avoid congestion and improve safety, cones will be put out to stop parking on the east side of the Main Street and the north end of the west side. The cones will be put out Saturday morning and removed Sunday evening. Please do not park in the restricted area or you may incur a parking fine. Linda Rudd (i) and Jill Elphick (y)

LONGHIRST GARDEN ASSOCIATION .

In this edition I am looking at Photographs and Crafts. Photographs :- There are ten classes in the photographic section, all in colour and measuring no more than 35 square inches eg. 5” x 7”. Six of these classes are fixed:- Landscape, Seascape, Person/People , Building/s, Animal/s and Plant/s. Four classes are fluid and this year they will be Texture, a Selfie, Close-up, and Shadow/s. In addition there is an Open Class for a black and white or colour photograph of any size and this is judged by the public visiting the Show. For the 100 th anniversary feature we invite people to enter an old black and white photograph of any subject which will again be judged by the public. These photos can be enlarged or enhanced but should feature a scene from as close to 100 years ago as can be obtained. Crafts :- There are seven classes here :- a Piece of Embroidery, a Hand Knitted Item, a Stitched or Sewn Item, a Three Dimensional Model, a Painting, a Drawing and Any Other Craft Item For the anniversary we would like any craft item which might have been made 100 years ago . We hope these classes will be of interest to all in Longhirst, both old and new residents, and hope to see as much participation as possible.

For any queries please contact either Bob Jackson (p) or Gill Featonby (h). Bob Jackson

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PARISH COUNCIL REPORT .

Notes from the Parish Council AGM on 14 th May. The Chairman of the PC gave a review of events covering the previous 12 months. The issues that electors raised were ongoing and were to be discussed in the following PC meeting. The AGM was then opened with all Councillors present and five members of the public. Bob Jackson retired as Chairman and thanked those present for their support and efforts during the years he had served as Chair. Catherine Farrell was elected the new Chairman and Richard Tordoff the Vice Chairman. Catherine then thanked Bob for all his years of service to the Parish Council. There has been no further news regarding the grain drier and concern over the increase in traffic was again voiced. The annual accounts were accepted by everyone and at present it appears that the costs for the year ahead will be less than the previous year. The planning applications considered at the last meeting have been passed but one is still to be confirmed. There were some new planning applications to be considered which caused some concern and the Clerk was asked to seek advice before submitting a response. The latest information regarding the opencast sites in our Parish, namely Potland Burn and Butterwell Disposal Point, show that Butterwell Disposal Point have now finished coaling but are still extracting brick shale for the building trade. This has resulted in a shorter working week and the time scale for completion is on target. Concern had been raised at the lack of public access in the restoration plans and this is being looked into with the planners. Potland Burn have submitted an application to NCC to extract more coal at the far end of the site where they had originally not intended to mine. The profits from this extra coal will help towards the cost of the restoration and will be completed within the current time frame already allowed. The C126 will be re-opened by Christmas . Peter Coates gave the Council a rundown of the latest news concerning the provision of improved broadband for the Parish (see page 1). There was a letter from Groundworks who have recently improved the pit heaps in Pegswood and and they asked for our support. We all agreed to support this worthwhile cause. Gill Featonby mentioned that she now has some support re her request to help with maintenance of footpaths and bridleways within the Parish. The next meeting of the PC will be held on Thursday 2 nd July at 7pm in the Village Hall. All residents are welcome to attend. Catherine Farrell

RECOMMENDED TRADESMEN .

Matthew Boutflour, plumbing and heating engineers , contact on 07723326842 or [email protected].

Window Paramedics, curing your panes – all PVC repairs/problems . Telephone 01670 820864 or check out on www.windowparamedics.co.uk . Jill and Mike Elphick

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VILLAGE HALL NEWS .

Charges for the hire of Longhirst Village hall remain pegged at last year’s rates. For residents of Longhirst Parish, the Reading Room can be hired for £6 per hour or the Sports Hall for £8 per hour. To hire both rooms only costs £14 per hour and all these charges include use of the Kitchen for drinks and snacks (fairly traded coffee, tea, hot chocolate & sugar are provided but bring your own milk ) and use of the chairs, tables, cutlery, crockery and glasses. If you want a Bar at your event we have to charge an additional £25 for the Alcohol License and there is an extra one-off charge of £6 per event for use of the cooker. Charges for people and groups from outside the Parish are a little higher and we charge businesses and the Government considerably more. A list of all the charges can be found on the notice board in the Foyer of the Village Hall. If you want to hire the Hall just give our secretary, Mike Elphick a ring on (01671) 790 764.

The Longhirst Parish Association Trustees

MORPETH AND DISTRICT RED SQUIRRELS .

During the Easter Bazaar at the Village Hall I was approached by some Longhirst residents who seemed uncertain about how MADRS is functioning. There also seems to have been some doubt cast over the group’s continuation. It may be helpful to clarify our position. Many people who live the village will know MAD RS was formed in 2012 following a public meeting at Longhirst Hall. This was in response to the closure of a former red squirrel conservation group and demonstrated the strength of feeling that the work was too valuable to abandon. We were extremely fortunate to be able to attract grants from such organisations as UK Coal, Northumberland County Council, Morpeth and Ashington Town Councils and several Parish Councils as well as donations from individuals. Most of this money is ring fenced, to be used for the purposes stipulated by the grant giver eg. UK Coal will not fund mileage but prefers the money to be spent on equipment. None of the MAD RS Core Group receives any money nor has ever claimed any mileage for the considerable work they do. We have, however given regular contributions to some of the volunteers who undertook grey control, to assist with their travel expenses. Justin, who has covered the Longhirst area, received £100 per month. As we do not have a regular and dependable income we unfortunately had to reduce the amount we could afford to give to our grey control team. However, we still intend to work to protect and preserve red squirrels, we have a programme of presentations planned and events to attend, we are active in supporting Northumberland residents who are opposing planning applications which will adversely impact on native wildlife and will continue with our extensive programme of grey control within Morpeth and District. We have recently secured a generous grant to undertake grey control in South and East Northumberland. Meanwhile Hepscott Pest Control is also undertaking grey control in Longhirst as part of their wider role in controlling vermin of all kinds. We will, of course, work with them. Two groups working on grey control is better than one! Catherine Weightman, Joint Coordinator MAD RS

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR . Apologies for the mess! I apologise in advance for noise and building waste in my garden over the next few weeks. Amongst other things I'm in the process of dismantling a modern fireplace to open out the original one and needless to say this is creating a fair amount of mess. Hiring a skip is not practical given lack of space on Main Street. I'll do my best to ensure that the garden is clear for the Open Gardens Weekend so it doesn't spoil the show. Thanks. Jenny Gibbs

MID NORTHUMBERLAND CHORUS SING GILBERT & SULLIVAN

The Mid Northumberland Chorus will present a concert entitled “The Magic of Gilbert & Sullivan” at Chantry School Hall, Morpeth on Saturday 6th June at 7.30pm. The performance will be repeated at Holy Sepulchre Church, Ashington on Wednesday 10 th June , also at 7.30pm. The first half of the concert will consist of music from 13 of their most popular Operettas and the second will be a version of “Trial By Jury”. Tickets at £7 can be obtained from Mike Elphick (c) or Chris Lediard (r). Mike Elphick

CHURCH NOTICE BOARD . We offer you a warm welcome to our combined services at Longhirst and . The Holy Communion services are as follows, with Evensong at 4pm in the Church where there is no morning worship. June 7 th - St. John’s, Longhirst at 9.30am. June 14 th - St Andrew’s, Bothal at 9.30am. June 21 st - Father’s Day - St. John’s, Longhirst at 9.30am. June 28 th - St. Andrew’s, Bothal at 9.30am. July 3 rd , 7pm - Opening Service and Thanksgiving for the Open Gardens Weekend and a first look at the Flower Festival in the Church. If this year is anything like the previous times, the flowers will be great. July 5 th - St. John’s at 9.30am. Come and worship with the flowers all still in situ. July 12 th - St Andrew’s at 9.30am. July 19 th - St. John’s at 10am. Family Service. Please note the later start. July 26 th - St Andrew’s at 9.30am.

It is hoped that contractors will carry out and complete the re-instated Church heating for St. John’s during the first week in June and on Saturday 6 th June some tidying up and cleaning may need to be done to make sure the Church is ready for the Sunday service the next day. On the 4 th and 5 th July, as part of the Open Garden Weekend festivities, the Mid Northumberland Chorus will be presenting a short concert at 2.30pm each day in St John’s Church. They are giving their time and talents free of charge for these concerts so please give them your support as we know they will be good and it’s FREE. All donations gladly accepted towards the Open Gardens. Carol Robson’s Wildlife Watch Day raised £533 towards the Church heating fund. Many thanks to Carol and all her helpers for another excellent effort. Chris Lediard

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VICAR’S LETTER - A YEAR TO REMEMBER .

Sometimes I can’t help thinking that we Brits don’t make it easy for our European neighbours. Nowadays, if you are on a London bound Eurostar from Paris your destination will be St. Pancras Station but for several years following the Channel Tunnel’s opening in 1994 the first English greeting awaiting French visitors as they stepped off the train was to be found on in-your-face signs saying WATERLOO, at the station named after the French defeat that marked the downfall of Napoleon – not the most sensitive of welcomes, was it? This coming June marks the 200 th anniversary of the battle and no doubt there will new books, talks and commemorations. But that’s not all. October sees the 600 th anniversary of another Anglo- French contest in which our neighbours came off second best. The Battle of Agincourt, if you have heard of it at all, is possibly best remembered through some banal patriotic lines from William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, “ The game’s afoot: follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry, ‘God for Harry, and St. George’” - to quote but one. That too will no doubt get some stage and screen time. There is however another centenary this year, the legacy of which is far more substantial and important. Exactly eight centuries ago, on 15 th June, King John of England issued what eventually turned out to be a revolutionary political document called The Magna Carta (or Great Charter) at Runnymeade. It was intended to be no more than a peace treaty between the King and his rebellious subjects, to bring to an end a civil war, by agreeing the terms on which the King would rule. In the event the Magna Carta of 1215 completely failed to bring peace and they were all soon at it again - this time the rebels even invited Prince Louis of France to hop over the Channel steal the English crown (maybe the Eurostars should be redirected to Waterloo after all). However the seed of putting restraints upon arbitrary government and the abuse of power by means of a negotiated political contract, was well and truly sown in the Magna Carta. The key clauses were these: “No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or have their property confiscated or be outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we (the King) take any action against him except by the lawful judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.” “To no one will we (the King) sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.” During succeeding crises between monarch and subjects the Charter was revived, appealed to and reissued and through time the principles of justice enshrined in these clauses came to be regarded as the cornerstone of civil liberties not just in England but throughout the English speaking world and beyond. The resounding phrases of the United States’ Fifth Amendment, “Nor shall any persons be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law” clearly resonate the Magna Carta and in recognition of this a commemoration tablet was set up at Runnymeade some years ago by the American Bar Association. At a time when the country seems to be commemorating something or other on a fairly regular basis (as I write VE Day is in full swing) it may be worth pausing to reflect on this genuinely “good thing” to have emerged from the conflicted muddle of our past as we groped our way towards modernity and maybe marvel at how those who took part in the proceedings at Runnymeade eight hundred years ago to deal with immediate and pressing difficulties, would have had not the slightest inkling of the future significance of what they were setting in motion. It may also be worth remembering, as we look around the world, to be eternally thankful for those freedoms and rights we enjoy and which, sadly, many others are denied. The Magna Carta will be on show at Durham Cathedral throughout the summer. John Park

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THE LONGHIRST HUNDRED CLUB

The winners of the last two ‘Hundred Club’ draws are:

Month 1st Prize (£60) 2nd Prize (£40) 3rd Prize (£20) Ticket No. 16 Ticket No. 134 Ticket No. 69 April Adrienne Dobson for Elisabeth Katherine Leech Peter Coates Ticket No. 93 Ticket No. 78 Ticket No. 231 May Claire Whitfield Peter Angus Carol Hunter

Mike Elphick

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY JUNE Wednesday 3 rd 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall (i) Friday 12 th 7pm Open Meeting for everyone involved in Open Gardens (y) W/end Saturday 13 th 10am Litter Pickers meet at the Village Hall (r) 10.15am Fair Trade Village Coffee Morning in the Village Hall (t) Tuesday 16 th Mother’s Union Strawberry Tea at Angel Mason’s home (g) Wednesday 17 th 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall (i) Friday 19 th 11am Home Communion at The Dairy (f) Saturday 27 th 10am Litter Picking and Church Cleaning (r) (y) Sunday 28 th Village Amble in Northumberland (l)

JULY Wednesday 1 st 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall (i) Thursday 2 nd 7pm Parish Council Meeting in the Village Hall (a) Friday 3 rd 7pm Service of Praise in the Church (b) Saturday 4 th 11am – 5pm OPEN GARDENS/CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL (i) (y) Sunday 5 th 11am – 4pm OPEN GARDENS/CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL (i) (y) Friday 10 th 11am Home Communion at The Dairy (f) Friday 10 th Deadline for items for August/September Longhirst Leader Editorial e-mail to [email protected] Group Saturday 11 th 10am Litter Pickers meet at the Village Hall (r) 10.15am Fair Trade Village Coffee Morning in the Village Hall (t) Wednesday 15 th 11.45am Luncheon Club in the Village Hall (i) Sunday 19 th 10am Family Service at St. John’s Church Longhirst (b) Tuesday 21 st 2pm Mother’s Union meet at St. Margaret’s Church Hall (g)

REGULAR EVENTS Everyone is welcome to……………… • Church services as detailed on page 5. • Yoga every Wednesday at 7.30pm in the Village Hall • Mobile Library 10am Village/4pm Collliery Friday 5 th /19 th June & 3 rd /17 th /31 st July

FUTURE EVENTS Saturday 22 nd August – Afternoon Tea at Rose Cottage Saturday 5 th September – Longhirst Village Flower and Vegetable Show

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CONTACT DETAILS

For more information about the various activities and events mentioned in this Newsletter contact:-

Parish Council Clerk - Ian Thompson 791851 / e-mail : [email protected] (a)

Vicar - Rev. John Park 510793 / e-mail: [email protected] (b)

Churchwarden - Dorothy McMillan 518375 / e-mail: [email protected] (s)

PCC Secretary – Bill Wake 790450 / e-mail: [email protected] (e)

Home Communion Contact – Linda Mowbray 791627 (f)

Mothers Union - Jean Richardson 504960 / e-mail : [email protected] (g)

Longhirst Parish Association - Gill Featonby 812447 / e-mail : [email protected] (h)

Village Hall Bookings - Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c)

Luncheon Club – Linda Rudd 790116 / e-mail: [email protected] (i)

Bowls Club - Tom Pigg 790354 (j)

Badminton – Claire Coates 791088 / e-mail: [email protected] (k)

Junior Activities Club – Linda Mowbray 791627 (f) Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c)

Longhirst Amblers - Peter Coates 791088 / e-mail: [email protected] (l)

Garden Association - Bob Jackson 813851 / e-mail : [email protected] (p)

Longhirst Hundred Club - Mike Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (c)

Open Gardens Weekend – Linda Rudd 790116 / e-mail: [email protected] (i) - Jill Elphick 790764 / e-mail: [email protected] (y)

Parish Voluntary Litter Clearance – Chris Lediard 790268 / [email protected] (r)

Fair Trade Coffee Mornings – Margaret Lediard 790268 / [email protected] (t)

816075 Longhirst Colliery Recreation Hall – Bill Climson / e-mail: [email protected] (x)

Village Website – www.longhirstvillage.co.uk - Alan Block 790282 / [email protected] (u)

Bjoern Backe / [email protected] (w) Church Website - www.longhirstchurch.btck.co.uk (b)

Longhirst Leader Editorial Group: Jill Elphick - Howarth Cottage:790764, [email protected] (y) Peter and Claire Coates - The Old Farmhouse, Broomhaugh: 791088, [email protected] (z) Myra Jackson – Sydney Cottage, Longhirst Colliery: 813851, [email protected] Carol Robson - Rose Cottage, Ulgham Lane: 07773738442 (o) Rosemary Horsley: 30 Micklewood Close : [email protected]

Our sincere thanks to North East Grains for printing this magazine

If you require a copy in large print please let us know.

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