Hexham 3, Newcastle BT 1

Once again the Northern Alliance fixture list was affected by the weather but Hexham were fortunate that their Division Two match was given the go-ahead. Once again the squad was depleted with seven call offs in the morning due to injury and work commitments, but this year's squad has great strength in depth and Hexham were still able to name five subs.

Curtis Harvey scores his first senior goal for Hexham

There was even a change of match referee as appointed official Colin Smith was requested to take a game in Cumbria but another local ref Brian Young stepped in to save the day.

Newcastle BT had not come just for a day out and was looking for the points and for the first ten minutes had Hexham on the back foot. They seemed sharper in to the tackle and were finding their men better than the home side but did not put Dave Anderson in the Hexham goal under any serious pressure.

Hexham u16 girls 1, North Shields u16 girls 1

Hexham girls entertained North Shields at Tyne Green on Sunday in what was only their second league game of the season.

After a cold start, the Hexham girls settled into the match well with some good play up the left hand side between Beth Kennedy and Emma Smith. However as one of Hexham's attacks was broken down, the first goal of the match came as North Shields broke with a quick pass from the midfield over the Hexham defence to leave the North Shields striker to hit the back of the net.

Hexham's heads did not fall though and with growing communication between Holly Turley and Hannah Kennedy the defence grew strong.

We're told that exports are the key to Britain's slow climb out of recession. Here in the Hexham Local History Society we're pleased to be doing our little bit through our new online shop, set up for us by Talking Hat Associates (http://www.talkinghat.co.uk/). This is well stocked with the many publications produced by the Society over the past twenty years: books on many aspects of the town's history and it's leading personalities, and our annual journal 'Hexham Historian'.

Ted Wall, who looks after our publication sales, has long been used to a constant stream of postal requests, but the online shop makes it much easier for people to buy. And now that Paypal can be used as a means of payment we have found a sudden surge of interest from overseas. The Society's website has registered hits from all continents, including a curious level of interest from the Ivory Coast (!) and this is now being translated into export earnings from shop sales. While an internet presence and selling capability is vital, it is the content that sells, of course. See for yourself what's on offer at http://hexhamhistorian.org/pages/shop.php. Always open!

Hexham 1, Swalwell 1

It has been six long weeks ago since Hexham took to the field in the Northern Alliance, the two week Christmas break and the arctic conditions that the region has been suffering have all conspired to make this seem like starting pre season all over again.

It was December 12th the last time Hexham took to the field and as coincidence would have it Swalwell were again the opposition. But this time Hexham were determined not to make the same mistake again as in the previous match when they let a two goal lead slip away in the last five minutes only to share the points.

Curtis Harvey was starting his first game for the home side and along with striking partner Jamie MacManee and they both made impression early on. As the game begun Hexham were on the offensive and could have scored in the first minute when MacManee and Harvey combined but visiting keeper Tim Wakefield rushed from his line to smother the danger.

Swalwell 2 Hexham 2

Hexham travelled to the site of the old coke works on Spar Well Road, Blaydon on Saturday which is now home to the Swalwell Juniors football club. Alongside the junior section the senior team play their home games at these impressive facilities. The pitch itself was not quite as impressive and the strain of many matches and the recent rain had taken its toll.

The surface was heavily sanded and in racing circles it would have been described as Heavy. But it was good to get the game on and Hexham had the luxury of naming four subs as some of the injuries and illness were beginning to clear up.

From the off Hexham looked good as long as they kept the ball on the ground with Tom Phillips and Jamie McNamee leading the attack. Any aerial threat was snubbed out quickly by centre half Jason Raper who had a definite height advantage. So the ball had to be played to feet and into space from the midfield pair of Scott Coates and Neil Tiffin.

Life in Hexham in the early 18th century is brought to life vividly in a great collection of more than 160 letters written by the Reverend George Ritschel and his successor, the Reverend Thomas Andrews, to their superiors in York. The letters are now preserved at the Borthwick Institute for Archives in York, but Society members Liz Sobell and Greg Finch were permitted to photograph them last year. Ritschel was at loggerheads with most of Hexham's leading townspeople, and gave free rein to his caustic opinions. Letters from both men detail the misdemeanours of their parishioners, at a time when the church still attempted to exercise moral judgement over the public through its courts.

The Society now plans to transcribe the letters with a view to producing a fully edited publication in due course, and would be interested to hear from anyone who might wish to help. The vast majority of the handwriting is quite legible, especially once a reader has 'got their eye in' with some of the contemporary lettering, and in any case we would aim to provide some 'crib sheets' if needed. For practical purposes having a computer which can display digital photographs, an email account, and being familiar with Open Office or MS Word, will be essential. If you are interested in being part of a team to take forward what should be a fascinating project, please contact the Society at the following email address: gregpfinch@hotmail.com

Hexham 0, Wideopen & Dist 0

The early season pace setters came to Hexham on Saturday looking to get their season back on track after losing contact with the top two in the Pin Point Northern Alliance on Saturday. Hexham's horrendous run of injuries and illness continued with no less than eight regular squad members unavailable and several playing not one hundred percent.

But thanks to the strength in depth of the club two players Andrew Crawford and Curtis Harvey, who have come up through the junior teams were able to sign match day registrations and take their place in a squad of thirteen.

The Tyne Valley had escaped much of the rain which had caused chaos to the fixture list, this being only one of six matches played in the Alliance. The Wentworth pitch was in good condition and the sun was shining which caused problems for Hexham keeper David Anderson in the first half.

Forest Hall 2, Hexham 1

This was a Northern Alliance game between two very well matched teams. But the deciding factor in this encounter was to be the never ending illness and injury cycle which has hit the Hexham side.

Hexham travelled to Forest Hall with the bare eleven with no fewer than seven players all out for one reason or another. This was still a strong side that took the field but inevitably some players were asked to play out of position and in an unfamiliar formation.

Considering the rain the pitch was in good condition and after winning the toss Hexham decided to play with the low winter sun at their backs and went about their task . Both sides went for the points with Hexham leaving Tom Phillips as main striker with Thomas North and Scott Robson playing wide trying to create the bullets, but the main inspiration was Neil Tiffin who was making the midfield tick with some pinpoint passes.

Hexham Football Club has a new team this season and it's the girls under 12 side who will taking to the pitch very soon in the Northumberland Girls League at Cramlington. The team play in a seven a side competition against some of the best female footballers in the county.

A new squad means we have to find a new sponsor and Alan & Liz Birchall who own A2B private Hire Taxis stepped in to sponsor the group. Pictured are some of the squad with two of A2B six seater taxis's who are a local firm but operate throughout our region.

Also pictured are Alan And Liz with team coach Nicola Davey (centre) proudly showing off the new kit. The club is delighted to welcome them as team sponsors and look forward to the girls driving on to success.

Last Tuesday saw the culmination of this year's programme of talks and visits organised by the Hexham Local History Society. A packed hall at the Trinity Methodist Church Hall on Beaumont Street witnessed with great interest Dr Anthony Hellens' illustrated talk on the high ranking German prisoners of war held at Featherstone Camp during and after World War Two. Our programme secretary Liz Sobell has organised a varied programme this year ranging from the Bronze Age to the 20th century, and Charlotte Coxon organised three sell-out summer excursions.

The Society now looks forward to 2010. In addition to the talks and visits which will be confirmed in December we have some interesting publication projects underway focusing on new research into the medieval and early modern history of the town. One of the most exciting recent developments has been our new website which allows us to start making available a great range of new material to members and contains an online shop containing the Society's publications.

Hexham has a fascinating history, and not all of it has been told yet. We're trying to do something about that, and our intention is that some of our plans and findings will be highlighted through this blog. We always welcome new members. Details can be found on the website.