I spent a very jolly and laugh-filled twenty minutes or so in the company of the Catton Line Dancers last week, on the invitation of their leader Valerie Sparks, and I tried to capture some of their movements on camera….
Category: Organisation
The Catton Women’s Institute
Just in time to note the Catton WI’s Christmas Party this evening, Melanie Pepper sends this lovely piece describing the group’s activities in Catton and around the houses: “Catton WI is a thriving group, part of the Northumberland Federation of…
The Burnlaw community and the Bahá’í faith
In midsummer of 2020, the Burnlaw community will celebrate its 40th anniversary. I had a lovely long chat with Garry Villiers-Stuart the other day, both of us fading now into our later years, but still, I think, fizzing with the…
Rehearsals for the ‘Peter Pan’-tomime in full swing
One of the things I always thought this diary could document is the cyclicity of events: how things are developed one year, and then re-developed on and into the coming year. The cycle of life in these parts, essentially. So…
Rural Touring: Highlights North, at Allendale Village Hall
In what must be a truly remarkable tour de force, a one-person show arrives at Allendale Village Hall this evening, courtesy of Highlights North, the Rural Touring facilitator which contributes a great variety of arts and culture to remote village…
The Tea Dance
Mary Gibson invited me specially to drop in this afternoon to chat with the regulars at Wednesday afternoon’s Tea Dance Society in Allendale Village Hall. So I’ll certainly have more stories and information about this beloved institution in Allendale, later…
Allen Valleys Local History Group
Yesterday evening I spent an intriguing hour with the Local History Group as Paul Mingard explained the fascinating story of some old glass plate negatives delivered over a decade ago into the hands of Margaret Stonehouse, then District Councillor. I…
A word, or two, about meetings
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard, or heard of the phrase: ‘I’m happy to do something, but I won’t go to meetings.’ And then the listener nods sympathetically, and wonders, silently, “Well, that’s fine, but how…
Rave on again!
Tonight it’s specifically the turn of the under-18s to experience the rave dance scene. The concept, developed I believe between Anna Harrison and David Porter, has followed on from August’s successful DJ-driven disco. Arriving as the half term finishes out,…
The Farmers’ Masquerade Ball
The Farmers Masquerade Ball (you don’t have to be a farmer) is tonight the 12th of October at 7pm at Allendale Village Hall. The tickets at £30 have all been dealt out (food reservations meant that ticket sales were finished…