Bowled over by Allendale's success

I am passionate about cricket, and as a member of Allendale Cricket Club it is brilliant to see the club going from strength to strength. Four years ago Allendale Cricket Club nearly folded, with its only team sitting at the bottom of the West Tyne League and the ground in a really bad state. Now, after a remarkable effort from everyone at the club, the first team are the current holders of both the League and the T20 Cup, junior talent from the local area is coming through, and they are one of only thirteen clubs in Northumberland to have entered a team in the Northumberland Women’s League. 

The Club is now focusing on its junior cricket, and have been working closely with local schools, sports and activity clubs and running taster sessions. They have also been running the Allendale All-stars course for 5-8 year olds, designed by the ECB to offer training to junior cricketers. 

It’s great to see so many people getting involved at Allendale, and that the hard work of everyone at the club is really paying off. If, like me, you are a cricket fan, why not get involved? 

https://www.facebook.com/AllendaleCricketClub/

Electric charging points- we're leading the way

The Department for Transport recently released data on electric car charging points in Northumberland, illustrating the number of charge points, when people charge vehicles and the most used charging points. The data shows that charging points in Northumberland are the most used in the country- more than 33,000 times. 

This is really positive news for Northumberland, showing that we are leading the way in the UK in the use of electric charging points. The full report is available below- 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/718245/electric-chargepoint-2017-rapid.pdf

The following website contains a list of charge points in the Hexham area-

https://www.zap-map.com/locations/hexham-charging-points/

The Great Exhibition... great events coming up

The Great Exhibition of the North is now well under way- here are just some of the things to see and do over the next couple of months:

Which Way North Exhibition- an exhibition of the North’s revolutionary past including the work of inventors, scientists, designers and artists, from Helen Sharman’s space suit to the last piano played by John Lennon. I went to a preview of the exhibition recently, and I certainly recommend a visit.

https://getnorth2018.com/events/which-way-north/

The Northern Design Quest- a design trail that takes you through the creative processes behind iconic Northern products- Joseph Swan’s lighbulb and Meccano to name just a few. The trail starts at the Great North Museum and takes place across several venues, including Newcastle City Library and the Northern Design Centre- and it’s completely free.

https://getnorth2018.com/events/northern-design-quest/

Idea of North- the Baltic’s exploration of northern identities through a series of pavilions, architectural constructions and guest-curated displays. A highlight is a collection representing women and girls in the North East from the 1970s to the present.

http://baltic.art/whats-on/idea-of-north

The Worker’s Maypole- Grey’s Monument has been transformed into a colourful maypole in celebration of the collective values of the North. 

https://getnorth2018.com/events/the-workers-maypole/

The Rocket Reimagined- a particular highlight for me and many others, Robert Stephenson’s Rocket is at the Discovery Museum, and thanks to virtual reality you can go back to the early steam age and see the iconic locomotive in its birthplace.

https://getnorth2018.com/events/the-rocket-reimagined/