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. 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!

Young gymnasts from Northumberland got a taste of international competition when they took on their contemporaries on the continent.

Girls and coaches from Tynedale Gymnastics Club travelled to Mitry Mory in Paris to take part in the second International Gymnastics Tournament.

The gymnasts, aged seven to 15, worked on the asymmetric bars, the floor, beam and vault and competed against six clubs from the Paris region.

Girls from Tynedale Gymnastics Club were given a lift after a Northumberland-based company gave them £250 towards new equipment.

The club, which operates at Prudhoe WestWorld and Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham, caters for more than 400 boys and girls aged between 18 months and 18 years old.

Paul Armstrong from SCA Hygiene in Prudhoe and the Tynedale Gymnastics Club squad, pictured with head coach Gayle Crowell

The donation from SCA Hygiene Products in Prudhoe has helped the club to purchase new floor mats to create a 12mx12m area for the young gymnasts to train on.

Voluntary and community groups in Northumberland have been warned they are facing a reduction in funding for their work - because of the recession and tough budget savings required by the county council.

However, County Hall bosses have reassured the sector that a funding package of £1.3m will still be available next year. Budget proposals recommend more money for charities directly supporting those people worst affected by the recession.

These will include services such as credit unions and the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

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

Plans to build a ten-pin bowling alley on the home of a Northumberland sports club are to be fought by outraged members, who say it will signal their demise.

North Country Leisure (NCL), managers of the Wentworth Leisure Centre at Hexham, has announced plans to create an eight-lane £600,000 bowling alley on the facility's bowls hall, funded by Northumberland County Council, with building work to begin in Spring 2010.

But the move has outraged Tynedale Indoors Bowl Club, which hosts league matches and competitions in the hall and will be left homeless.

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.