Hexham

On Tuesday I took myself off up the Tyne Valley to Hexham to meet up with ministers and church leaders of the group 'Together Northumberland'. This is an occasional gathering for those involved in various denominations (and none) throughout the County. As usual it was great meeting up again and discovering what was happening around the region in individual contexts, and contribute prayer, support and encouragement for one another in our very different situations.
As I walked up through the town I noticed a plaque on a wall which intrigued me....


It was attributed to 'The Methodist Ranters'....! Well, I don't believe I fall into either of these categories but I couldn't wait to find out more when I got home via the wonders of the interweb... here's what I found out... Turns out this group was a breakaway from the 'Orthodox' Methodists (themselves of course a breakaway from the Church of England) in Hexham, and were marked out by their 'hellfire' style of preaching throughout the region.

As far as I know there are no such ranters among the Together Northumberland group (no doubt I'll be corrected on this score, and severely ranted at, if this is the case!) Our focus is more gentle hopefully, and more concerned with the journey of faith, the removal of religious barriers and the recognition of God-given individual freedoms, which should surely more closely be hallmarks of followers of Christ.

Borderlands

Bren had a singing gig up at Paxton House, near Berwick upon Tweed, so I took the role of roadie for the trip and off we set through the beautiful Northumbrian countryside. In a little over an hour I had deposited Bren at the venue and me and Gracie set off for a lovely walk through the woods that led down to the river.What a beautifully quiet and peaceful spot... apart from the occasional blast of the locals discharging their shotguns at the local wildlife!... and a bend in the river revealed that we weren't too far off the famous local landmark Union Chain Bridge.Bren and me had stayed in a cottage along this stretch of the river some years ago. These cottages were used for years by the salmon fisherman for which the Tweed is mostly famous.
Gracie loved all the smells in the nooks and crannies as we walked through the woods, and also stopped to admire the architecture from time to time.Lovely signs appeared along the path to give an exciting indication that Spring is not too far away!

Cramlingtonvilleshire... this morning...

Snow Action at Crammy... Surf Action at Tynemouth

Another six inches of snow on Friday night made everything look gorgeous again.

Today was also a fine one, with a nice walk on Tynemouth Longsands, with kayaks and surfboards akimbo! This guy got stuck on the beach as the tide continued to recede...
Eventually a kindly wave came by to get him afloat once more...
In time to join his mates who were already in the thick of the action...Whilst the serious surfer dudes strode purposely down the beach to enter the fray, or should that be spray!

She's back in town....

Granddaughter Angel returned last week to stay with us for a few days (14 to be exact!) As usual her behaviour has been impeccable and I believe she has thoroughly enjoyed herself. Leon has been to stay this weekend too so they've had fun together, and also with Gracie, including a trip to Blyth beach this afternoon.

Sunset over Cramlingtonvilleshire...

A Grand Day Out...

Bidding farewell to summertime and welcoming the winter months, we got the day off to a cracking early start by heading up to Netherwitton and Mitford. Gracie loved the freedom after being cooped up in the house for a couple of days because of the rain.

Later on we headed down to Blyth beach and later on to The Delaval Arms for a lovely roast lunch followed by Apple and Blackberry Crumble... with custard, as you can see! It was great to be in this pub again. It has hardly changed at all over the years apart from a spot of paint here and there and some new pictures. I used to meet my dad here for a pint sometimes on a Sunday morning after he had walked all the way from the High Point (Cullercoats), his weekend constitutional.

ECG Northumberland

Today I was at the 'Encouraging Christian Growth' day conference at Morpeth. This is an inter-church initiative aimed at drawing together and encouraging people to engage with God and with their communities. I was there partly to help promote the excellent 'Kairos' missions course with colleague Andrea. Also in the resources/exhibitions area I bumped into fellow mischief-maker Julia and her hubby Paul, who were promoting the 'Hope UK' initiative at the conference.

A trip up the coast... and some nuts!

A nice trip up the coast yesterday. Firstly to do some panorama photography for JT at a lovely B&B, than a couple of hours all to myself relaxing on my favourite (secret) beach. Time to think and reflect, with warm sunshine on my face and peace and quiet all around.

Later on, as I was walking the dog, I stopped to pick some ripening nuts from a row of hazel trees over the fields from our place. A goodly harvest, with more to come hopefully, and ripening ready to eat towards the end of the year.

Lindisfarne and Beamish

Emma, Phil and the children were up for a few days holiday. We managed to get out in the sunshine to Lindisfarne on Saturday and Beamish Museum Sunday.