On Sunday 20th February, 21 air cadets from across Durham & Northumberland represented their Wing in the annual North Region cross country competition. Two of the cadets competing were from 224 (Hexham) Squadron. Each cadet ran 3 miles at the Whitton Country Park in Blackburn against other cadets from all over the region.

Hexham cadet Gabriel Southren-burns (18) came 9th in his race in the Junior Men category, an excellent achievement for his first inter-wing competition. He took home a gold medal for being part of the winning team in the Junior Men category.

After competing against another 5 Wings in the Region, Durham & Northumberland Wing won two different categories and the trophy for the overall competition. Those cadets who finished in the top four will represent the Region at RAFC Cranwell next month.

Flight Sergeant Daniel Crowther (18) also from Hexham said: "Every cadet showed maximum effort in each event and there was some very strong competition, a great achievement by all of the cadets who participated." Daniel was a reserve for the Junior Men team and assisted the many staff who organised the event to make it a successful day.

If you have an interest in aviation, competing in sports and have a taste for adventure then come down to 224 (Hexham) Squadron. We always welcome new cadets and adult volunteers. 224 (Hexham) Squadron meet every Wednesday and Friday at the TA Centre, Hencotes, Hexham. You can also visit www.224hexhamaircadets.co.uk for more information.

Photo credit: Bridget Donaldson

It was back to winning ways for the u9 Whites at the weekend with a convincing victory against Wylam Locos. After last week's defeat which broke their year long unbeaten run this will please coach Joe Watson who will hope this is the start of another undefeated sequence.

The top scorer of the day was Robert Singer but Callum Armstrong was not far behind, half term holidays caused some problems with some players unavailable the Whites still managed to turn out a team. Steven Heslop got got of his sick bed to turn out and was rewarded with a goal in the second half and along with Oliver Fairless, William Kellas and man of the match Finlat Baty, who all notched, they made it a comfortable win.

Not the best day for a game of football, cold rain, sleet, snow and mud, however it boiled down to who wanted to win the game and Corbridge proved too strong again. United are looking good to push the title and on this showing it will be a good side to take it from them although Wylam and Hexham Greens will have something to say on that mater.

Tom Robson got the consolation goal in what was a heavy defeat but it was a cracking left foot effort from a free kick after twenty minutes.

Our Chair and local mum of two, Natalie Rickman, is celebrating Mother's Day with a difference by jumping out of a plane to help NCT, the UK's largest parenting charity, support thousands of parents across the country.

Natalie said: "It's not every day you jump into thin air at 10,000ft. I'm absolutely terrified, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm raising money for a good cause. To sponsor me please visit my page at www.justgiving.com/Natalie-Rickman "

The charity hopes to have around 50 supporters doing tandem skydives at designated airfields across the UK raising up to £10,000. All the money will go directly to further the work of NCT and its 320 branches across the UK - helping new and expectant parents with the challenges they face. More funds are needed to provide antenatal and postnatal care, breastfeeding counselling and peer supporter networks so every new mum can get the support she needs.

So please help support Natalie and raise much needed funds for all new mums & dads in our region.

Haltwhistle based Flashlight Films are celebrating after a music video which they produced for Newcastle based band "Little Comets" passed a quarter of a million views on youtube.

The video, for the single 'One Night In October', was the first music video made by Flashlight films and particularly demonstrated the the editing capability and creativity of partner Matthew Brown.

'When it comes to things like this Matthew is amazing in his attention to detail and his music videos can compete alongside ones made for much bigger bands on much larger budgets.' says his business partner Ian Brown.

It's getting monotonous now but every Friday night or Saturday morning now brings weather that causes havoc with Club fixtures. This week was no different with the Middle School pitches that were playable Friday afternoon reduced to a swamp by kick off time Saturday morning. This caused the under 9 greens to call off their fixture and reschedule for midweek weather permitting but the Whites got played when they travelled to league leaders Haydon Bridge.

All good things have to come to an end and the Whites unbeaten fourteen month run came to an end with a 4-1 defeat. This was always going to be a tough fixture as Haydon Bridge did the double over the Whites last season and their win confirms their place at the top and favourites to take the title. Callum Armstrong got the Hexham goal with a text book right foot finish after forty eight minutes after being played in by Nathan Carr

Under 10 Whites had to show all their defensive talent early on against Wark on a rain soaked pitch and for the ten minutes looked secure. After fifteen minutes Hexham were awarded a penalty but unluckily the well struck shot cleared the crossbar. From there until half time the game went badly wrong for the whites and by the time the whistle went for the break they found themselves four goals behind.

The team switched off and the hosts took full advantage, but the second period was a much better performance all-round. The team pressed, hustled, passed the ball and wanted to score goals and eventually it came with a well taken left footed goal from Thomas Lewis. A much better second half performance which caused the team to regret that last ten minutes of the first half when a loss of concentration proved costly.

Despite the torrential rain which had hit the Tyneside area Hexham's Northern Alliance fixture got the go ahead at the Rising Sun Sports Ground when Willington Quay Saints were the hosts. Hexham were desperately short of numbers with no less than seven call-offs in the previous twenty four hours.

So the management team of Terry and Ryan Graham did not have a big hand to play with, but the players available were still strong enough to make a game of it. The pitch was very heavy and did not enhance the prospect of an entertaining encounter. Hexham travelled to Willington Quay with only twelve fit players but unfortunately returned to the Tyne Valley with only eleven as midfield man Mark Gibson was heading via North Tyneside Ambulance Service to hospital.

This was the result of a very strong challenge which went unpunished and left Mark with a badly gashed leg and bleeding on the grass. The hospital reported that there was no break but the ligament and muscle were severely damaged. He returned home from hospital later on Saturday night with seven stitches and unable to put any weight on the limb at all. Thankfully Mark was wearing the correct shin pads or the injury would have been a lot more serious.

Situated in the heart of the Roman Wall country, Haltwhistle is an ideal location for 'off road' distance runners and walkers who like a challenge in outstanding landscapes.

The Haltwhistle Challenge is a 26 mile cross country event which takes place on Saturday 22nd May. The Challenge for walkers is to complete the course within 11 hours whilst runners will be hand-timed. There are no prizes for the fastest finishers.

The challenge starts and finishes in Haltwhistle and takes advantage of the varied scenery to the north and south of the town. It includes a section along the Hadrian's Wall footpath, an exposed moorland section of the Pennine Way, a crossing of the much photographed Lambley Viaduct before a low level return past Featherstone Castle along the South Tyne valley. The event takes place during lambing time, so no dogs are allowed.

The route uses public rights of way with traditional signposts and way markers. At key points there will be route marshals and extra route signs. Basic navigational skills are necessary and all starters will be provided with route descriptions and a control card that must be punched at compulsory control points.

A record turnout of more than 120 people were present to hear the first talk of the Hexham Local History Society's 2011 season last month. Andy Bates, a skilled leatherworker who is helping to revive this ancient craft in the town, gave an interesting account of the history of the leather trades in Hexham. The suitability of the surrounding land for raising cattle and sheep, the presence of fast flowing streams for washing hides and skins, and the archaeological discovery of ancient handtools, led Andy to suggest that leather working in the area had origins back in prehistoric times. It was of importance to the local economy long before the more recent period, from the 17th century onwards, for which we have good documentary evidence. He highlighted the 'Hexham Tans' the gloves for which the town was famous, and the decline of the widespread hand stitching cottage industry during the 1800s.

The Society's next talk takes place at Trinity Methodist Church Hall on Beaumont St. at 7.30pm on Tuesday, Feb 8th, when Professor Peter Rushton of Sunderland University will cover 'Dangerous Words: Sedition in the Anglo-American Atlantic World, 1600-1776'. Drunken Jacobites, disappointed Cromwellians, rebellious Americans, and revolutionary enthusiasts - all were prosecuted for uttering seditious words in the 17th and 18th centuries. Professor Rushton's exploration of sedition seeks to establish what ordinary people thought of their governments in the past. Visitors are welcome, at a price of £2, which includes light refreshments. Further details are available from the Secretary on 01434 601237

The club had hoped that the inclement weather had passed us by and they could start to catch up with the fixtures that have been lost recently. But everyone should know by now the North East weather is nothing but unpredictable. There were perfect conditions on Friday and it looked like no problem was on the horizon until the frost kicked in overnight and with temperatures dropping to -5 resulted in uproar.

Coaches frantically made pitch inspections from first light but one by one disappointing phone calls were received. Every game due to be played on Saturday was frozen off, even the senior team, not due to kick off till 2pm, also failed to make it. The frost never gave all day so another complete day was wiped out. Temperatures rose a little on the Sunday, but still no pitch was playable in the town. Some teams who were away managed to get a game. The under 12's who have not played since November had a rude return went they traveled to Walker Central and were well beaten, but the long layoff must have played its part in the result

It was good to get back to league football after the long layoff with a hard fixture against North Shields. Last week's encounter was a West Division Cup semi-final, where the under 12's secured a place in the final with an emphatic victory at Lemington. But the today was a very tough and demanding game on a heavy surface with both teams wanting the points. North Shields started the brighter, pushing Hexham onto the back foot but they did not convert their chances. After this Hexham settled and started to knock the ball around. There was some very strong tackling by both teams and Hexham had to make their first substitution after losing Jack Gray through a strong challenge.

Saturday 19th February - Sunday 27th February.

Drop in from 11.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. & 1.30 - 3.00 p.m.