Wark Bridge reopening ceremony on July 14 - a triumph for many locals

The top picture is the culmination of a meeting that took place in September 2009; it happened early on in my candidacy and this photo is one I really treasure, for it was a special meeting. In the top picture are the Monday Club a group of locals who liked to meet in the local pub and then decide how to improve their village. They decided that they were not happy with the state of the bridge, and that they would campaign to stop the bridge being closed. If we had not carried out the improvements the bridge would have become a pedestrian / cyclists bridge - see below - thereby cutting the Upper North Tyne community in half. It would have had a massive effect on trade, farmers, and the vibrancy of the village. The rebuild is down to many people - too numerous to name - but primarily due to the efforts of Councillor Edward Heslop, all the petitioners, and the people pictured on the bridge above. It is defintely a project worth the effort and they are having a formal reopening on July 14.
The cost, logistical issues, environmental impacts, and actual design are complex. However, I am pleased to say that the long journey is now over and the bridge is completed. Full credit to the engineers at NCC.

A final word on the group pictured on the bridge. They are what makes Tynedale, and particularly the Upper North Tyne, special. A collection of individuals whose attitude is positive, and full of why not, rather than the rules do not allow it. I lived in a cottage near Chipchase just over the bridge for several years pre and post election and know Wark and Barrasford well. The people are the best bit - albeit a couple of great pubs definitely help! I look forward to having a pint with the Wark Bridge Warriors soon. Their grandchildren, and the people locally should be very grateful to them, to Edward Heslop, and all the locals who made this happen.

Battlesteads Hotel in Wark to be included in Great British Cookbook

Popped in for lunch to Wark's great hotel and restaurant last week and talked to Eddie the star chef over lunch. Delighted to see that the hotel is getting further recognition - this time in the Great British Cookbook: the book takes readers on a culinary journey around 10 regions, featuring recipes from some of the UK’s finest chefs en route - Rick Stein and Nigella Lawson among them - and 200 top pubs, guest houses, hotels, Michelin Star and AA Rosette restaurants.
Battlesteads, a stone-build former farmhouse in Wark on Tyne, near Hexham, has been signalled out for one of its signature dishes, braised beef cheeks, which has been included amongst the recipes.
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/north-east-analysis/analysis-news/hexhams-battlesteads-hotel-wins-place-8117061

Tynedale events this weeknd - sculpture, lions club auction and leek shows - something for everyone

Aside from the Hexham Music and Arts Festival there is also on Saturday the Wark Leek Show from 4pm and the Allendale Lions Club charity auction from 9am and Sculpture at Cheeseburn, a new venue for sculpture in the North East this Friday19 and Saturday 20 September

Please register here if you want to go to the scultpure exhibition or find out more about the centre for sculpture and contemporary art in the North East. The initial exhibition will include new works and proposals by David Mach and you will be able to tour the grounds at Cheeseburn and see work by Joseph Hillier, Andrew Burton, William Peers, Stephen Newby, Heidi Dent, Colin Rose, Daniel Clahane and Sarah Smith.

The Bellingham Deanery Synod - MPs and Church leaders see the same problems

On Thursday I spent the day cris-crossing the Upper North Tyne, in one of the most fascinating and rewarding days I have spent for a while. I visited businesses like the Northumberland Shepherd Hut and Falconry Days, spent time with Parish Councillors, knocked on doors in West Woodburn and Bellingham, delivered Energy Booklets, enjoyed Evensong in Bellingham, and attended Bellingham Middle School for a 30 minute Q&A with the senior children, and had a good, albeit quick, chat with the Headteacher. I loved being back, as I used to live just outside Wark for many years, and was a resident there at the 2010 election. I know the Upper North Tyne well.

It culminated with the Bellingham Deanery Synod inviting me to a Question and Asnwer session in Otterburn Village Hall. I was there to address 3 key themes - youth employment, housing and connectivity in all its forms - from broadband to rural transport. However, over 1 and a half hours we discussed everything from Schools to business rates, our collective dislike of Ofsted's high handed approach, the rise in apprenticeships, the demographic problem, the movement of people around Tynedale, the way in which local communities can, sometimes, be judged by their youth football teams, the usage of local tradesmen, for big local projects, and pretty much all of the issues that affect a rural area like the Bellingham Deanery. I was struck driving home after a long day by how similar the roles of the Vicar and the MP are:
- Both are there to provide assistance.
- Both would prefer if we were "supporters", even in the broadest term- but both the Church and MPs are rightly obliged to provide assistance to one and all, without fear or favour. I confess to enjoying the look of surprise when I help someone who I know detests the political views I am purported to hold [even though I am a very different politician to what many people imagine I am]. I often tell the tale of the BNP supporter who was exceptionally nasty to me during the 2010 campaign, but who we helped 9 months later with a particularly difficult local problem.

- Both struggle to provide local solutions to local problems, and both can make a huge difference.

The starkest difference is that I can be dismissed by the voters from this job. But for my part I like that - if I am doing a really bad job I should be dismissed. There is no such thing as a right to a job for life in my profession certainly.

I was, however, really encouraged by the effort being made by the Church in the Bellingham Deanery to address the issues we all face. Mike Slade is, I know, doing wonderful work in Chollerton, and his ideas for Youth Advocacy and outreach were fascinating. However, possibly the highlight of the day was the realisation that Susan, the Bellingham Vicar, was going to try and get an apprentice.

I tried to convey my optimism for the years ahead for rural Tynedale:
- broadband is the key to so much: as we already live in the best place how good it would be if we were able to work from home or in a barn or local business unit in exactly the same way that we can in Newcastle or any other town?
In short, as the broadband extends I believe we shall see local communities reborn with entrepreneurs setting up businesses at home. I am already seeing this in Hexham, where businesses like PDL and Red Marine are providing state of the art computer based engineering, from small little offices in Hexham - something which would have been unheard of 5 or 10 years ago.
The broadband point was also echoed by the Bellingham Middle School children.

- housing and jobs: we discussed local plans for housing, but not in the detail I would have liked, but there was a lot to cover. I remain convinced that the Local Plans will address the housing needs. We did not get into the National Park problem of the lack of affordable housing, or ability to convert, but rural housing is a genuine and real problem. We discussed the lack of apprenticeships or opportunities in forestry and agriculture, but I made the point that these were not where the future rural jobs were going to be coming. In all probability, the future jobs would be home based start ups or jobs with the growing businesses of Tynedale - I gave the example of the 40+ new engineers at Egger in their new Academy. 

Thursday was a long  but fascinating day - I can only thank the Deanery Synod for inviting me and providing a brilliant discussion forum that even featured delicious cake! 

Tynedale Today - Bellingham, Wark, West Woodburn, Otterburn & several places in between

Today is all about the Upper North Tyne. I am off to Bellingham and beyond, taking in schools, businesses, councillors, and so much more, and spending part of the day with the vicar of Bellingham, Susan Ramsaran. If you have not followed her blog you should do so: www.NorthumberlandRector.blogspot.com