Every Canadian of a certain generation learned several poems by heart. In my day, this was one of those poems: In Flanders FieldsBY JOHN MCCRAEIn Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the…
Category: Those We Have Lost
Remembrance Sunday
The Lych Gate honours the fallen from this parish in both World Wars of the last century. Remembrance Sunday, when the Last Post is played at the memorial, is always the closest Sunday to Remembrance Day itself: the 11th of…
The Hexham Courant, our local weekly paper
Now published, and also appearing the same day in the shops, every Thursday, the Hexham Courant has been the local paper of record for many decades, having amalgamated papers from the surrounding towns and villages into its fold throughout the…
George Newman, 1929-2019
It’s the funeral today of George Newman, beloved pillar of the community and renowned builder of much of Allendale, actually. We’ve traced some of George’s building projects in an earlier item (19th April) in the diary, but this piece today…
75 years on from hell
This week the country, and much of Europe, Canada and the USA, have been commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings on Normandy, which heralded the end of WWII’s war in Europe within the following nine months. Many of…
Terry’s Bench
Just at the junction of Catton and Allendale, where the road sign says Allendale on one side, and Catton on the other, sits a lovely, hand-carved bench with a recent history. Liz Conway writes to chat about the bench: “My…
Tranquility, but not just yet please
My brother emails me from the Near North, Ontario, just below Lake Nipissing where the northern half of the province begins, to wonder if the recent diary entries are not some sort of metaphor for my current state of health…
Allen Smith, 1912-2019
I did not know Allen Smith, but I’ve been fortunate to be able to call his brother Lawrence a friend. Allen’s funeral will be held at the West End Methodist Church in Hexham on Tuesday. His life has been extensively…
Downhill all the way . . .
As Liz Conway notes, life feels like it’s all going downhill when you reach 70, but on the other hand, a ride downhill on a bicycle is one of the most exhilarating adventures you can actually have. Especially if there’s…