"Howay Sandy". Copyright Ashington Group Trustees
New exhibition tells ‘Pitmen Painter’s’ story
Woodhorn shows Oliver Kilbourn’s biographical paintings
Woodhorn Museum is to put on display a series of historic paintings by Oliver Kilbourn, one of the best known members of the Ashington Group, immortalised in Lee Hall’s hit play The Pitmen Painters.
The evocative collection of nearly 40 paintings charts his 50 year career as a miner. They show the many different tasks he undertook in the job from his early work as a ‘pom-pom boy’ to his time as a salvage drawer.
Tags: ashington, pitmen painters, woodhorn
Kielder Reservoir
The ‘jewel in the water crown’ is set to celebrate a special anniversary.
As Kielder Reservoir in Northumberland approaches its thirtieth birthday, tourists and locals alike are invited to hear its extraordinary story as told by the people who live and work there.
‘What the reservoir means to me’, a special exhibition at Tower Knowe Visitor Centre, is one of a series of activities taking place in Kielder Water & Forest Park to commemorate the anniversary.
On Wednesday 26 May 1982 her majesty the Queen officially opened Kielder Reservoir in Northumberland. The largest man-made lake in northern Europe; the Northumbrian Water project had a big impact on the remote valley and is now one of the county’s top tourism destinations.
Tags: celebration, kielder dam
Cragside House, Gardens & Estate. Credit: John Millar
Gardeners at the National Trust’s Cragside in Northumberland are predicting the best Rhododendron display in years thanks to the mild winter and April showers.
Huge numbers of flower buds are bursting into colour at Cragside in Rothbury, the former home of Lord Armstrong who created his 1000 acre estate to replicate the Rhododendron forests of the Himalayas. Gardener Neil Cuthbertson says this year’s displays promise to be spectacular:
“The Rhododendron season is one of the best times of year to visit Cragside. The whole estate is awash with pink, purple, white and red Rhododendrons, complimented by the scented yellow and orange Azaleas. You can explore the estate on foot as we have over 40 miles of footpaths, or by car around our 6 mile carriage drive. Either way, this is a great year to visit as we’re expecting the best display in five years. The number of flowers buds ready to bloom is phenomenal.”
British Cycling
In what can only be described as the most exciting year the UK has ever seen, British Cycling’s Breeze Network is on the hunt for inspirational women to become the next generation of Breeze champions in Northumberland.
The Breeze network empowers women to change the face of cycling for good and leave a lasting legacy. Led by women for women, Breeze relies on a hugely important group of volunteer champions to make this programme come to life. Breeze champions will help other women enjoy the fun, fresh air and freedom offered by bikes rides. There is no need to be a cycling expert – just be confident on a bike and keen to help others.
Flodden 2013
The Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum is looking to expand by a further 25 sites and is seeking nominations from across the UK for sites which relate to the Battle of Flodden, either directly or indirectly and which will help in the development of the network of the Ecomuseum. The search for new sites is part of the development phase for the wider Flodden 500 project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The Flodden 500 project application is the first substantial cross-border project that the HLF has considered and approved in recent years. The project will include new cross-border archaeological and historical research, cross-border education initiatives and commemorative events as well as the extension of the existing Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum sites from 12 to perhaps 30-40. The aim of seeking nominations is to identify a ‘long list’ of as many Flodden related sites as possible. This list will be distilled down to a ‘preferred list’ of sites, perhaps 15 in Scotland and 10 in England to equal the balance of sites each side of the border, which will be included in the full Flodden 500 HLF application. If this application is successful these sites will be added into the Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum with their own web pages, leaflets and new interpretation.
Tags: battlefield, flodden, history
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