As rumours swirl around the village, (and when have they ever not?!) the Golden Lion’s facebook page puts a brave face on things, as new local management seeks to bring locals back, after the upheavals of the past months. This…
Author: LarryWinger
International Birdsong Day
Apparently the single had reached #11 in the singles charts yesterday afternoon, so it might be in the top 10 by the time International Birdsong Day (today, the 5th, first Sunday of May) rolls around. I was actually casting around…
New gardening capacity
Getting a little professional help on the raised beds early in the week somehow seemed to stimulate all those creative gardening juices, and by Friday they were in full flow — so much so that after I got the new…
North Pennines Smallholders Association
Founded about five years ago now, and coordinated to a large degree from a smallholding in Carrshield, the North Pennines Smallholders Association grew out of a series of workshop events held by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty…
Election today . . .North of Tyne mayoralty
So we’ve got the blurb from county, and a few bits and bobs from one or two candidates, but basically, trying to figure out what the point of this one is, feels like an endeavour for the legendary Sisyphus. For…
Cuckoo calling . . .
We know you’re eager mate, but 5:30 in the morning eager? That’s just too much “cuckoo-cuckoo” for us, even though we love to awaken with the fresh breeze wafting in through the bedroom window. It all started on Sunday, and…
Post-Lenten penance
Err, Lent is supposed to be finished by Easter Sunday. That is to say, having gone through the rituals of self-abnegation and small or large tortures inflicted upon ourselves to represent the sins we all carry with us, Christians are…
Old and getting older
There’s something about the ‘Valuation Evening’ at Allendale Village Hall tonight that’s frightening. Not in the sense of ‘family treasures’ . . . nah, that’s just a hoot — nothing we own could be said to have any more intrinsic…
The neglected garden . . . is there any chance of redemption?
From the very start of our sojourn up in the hills, I wanted to develop a garden that, when mature, would require very little upkeep, but that would still, recognisably, be a kept garden, and not a wilderness. It was…
Sparty Lea Poetry Festival . . . piqued!
Anjelica Falterfoot makes an enquiry about the (in)famous Sparty Lea Poetry Festival, held over the Easter holiday in 1967: “For many years the story piqued my imagination; my partner introduced me to Barry MacSweeney’s poetry and by chance I got…