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The Council is indebted to John Swanson for acquiring the Christmas tree. Calum, Phil and John Guiry helped put up the tree and again the United Reformed Church let us tap in to their electricity to gives us a cheery Christmas feel in the village, until the wind had its say.
It is that time again when the elections for the parish Council and District Council take place. The elections are on Thursday, 3rd May 2007. Glanton has ten places on the Council. To be eligible, you must be at least 18 years old and either: be on the electoral register for the parish; or live no more than 3 miles away from the nearest parish boundary; or have your principal place of work within the parish; or occupy property within the parish.
Nomination papers can be obtained from Mr Mick Miller 01665 510505 at Alnwick District Council. The deadline for submitting the nomination papers is Wednesday, 4th April 2007.
If you want to know a little more about being a Parish Councillor we have compiled a brief leaflet with the Northumberland Association of Local Councils, which is available at the village Post Office.
You will be aware that not only do we have a Parish Council, we also have District and County Councils supplying different services to us. A recent Government White Paper indicated a need to reform all tiers of local government, strengthening Parish Councils and encouraging the other Councils to find new ways of working.
The County Council pre-empted discussions in our county by immediately making the case for a single authority covering the whole of Northumberland. The Districts then worked up a scenario to have two authorities covering Northumberland, an urban authority covering the south-east of the County and a rural authority covering the rest.
Both the County and District Council asked for our support but as they had not worked up their cases at that time we did not feel we were in a position to judge. Both groups submitted their bids on the 25th January 2007. As a Parish Council we have asked to see these bids to reflect on their options for working with Parish Councils.
At this stage it is not clear what will happen next. The Minster will consider the bids from all over the County and decide which options will be short listed for discussions in March 07. It is up to the Minister if there will be any further consultation on the options.
If there is to be a change in the type of Council there will be an announcement made in early July 2007. Elections to the new Council(s) will be in May 2008 and they will be fully operational by April 2009.
Following the questionnaire distributed to all households in Glanton, a public meeting was held in the Village Hall to discuss the formulation of a Parish Plan. Julia Sharpley (Community Development Officer, Community Action Northumberland) gave a presentation, explaining that a DEFRA grant of £1,500 is available, with additional funding available through "Awards for All". The Steering Committee is chaired by Chris Livsey (578459) and a full list of members will be displayed in the village shop. The DEFRA grant will fund three further events over the next 6 months to gather data. Ideas are needed, especially for a Children's Event & Volunteers are needed to help organise these events. We need to hear from EVERYONE - children, businesses, clubs and organisations, second-home owners, tourists and visitors. This is your chance to have your say about local needs and issues and to shape the future of Glanton for the next 5 years, so PLEASE get involved!
Theresa Fenley from the Queens Head won the lucky questionnaire hamper donated by the Good Life Shop.
It's all a long time ago now, but the collection taken at the village carol service of £160 was sent to the League of Friends of Alnwick Hospitals. A letter was received from the Treasurer, Jack Deeble, who asked that everyone be thanked, and that the money was being used for new equipment within the Ear, Nose and Throat Department.
Change of Name. The congregation has decided that the Church should be known as St. Andrew's United Reformed Church. This was thought to be appropriate as St Andrew and St Peter were brothers and we now share the Church with St Peter's congregation.
A very enjoyable Ceildh was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Pilots. Music was provided by St. George's Church Ceildh band from Morpeth, who kept everyone dancing - even the young lads enjoyed themselves. We are very grateful to the parents and volunteers who have been involved over the years.
7 March 7.30 pm - 1st Glanton Show Meeting - (Anyone wishing to join, please just come along, as new ideas are always appreciated)
15 March - Comic Relief evening 1st Whittingham Cubs and Beavers, Whittingham Memorial Institute
17 March 10.30am - Church Spring Coffee Morning at the Church Hall. Everyone welcome, Stalls and Coffee
26 March - Young Farmers Fashion Show (For tickets please contact Katie Drummond).
Firstly we would like to thank everyone who took part in the Race Night at the Queens Head, which raised £711 for the Village Hall.
Secondly we would like to thank The Northern Rock Foundation, who have donated the costs of new external windows throughout the hall, and the work needed to sort out the damp problem in the kitchen and Meeting Room. The windows should be replaced in March and the damp proofing shortly afterwards.
During the past weeks we have lost 3 good friends from our community.
Winnie Porter - some of us remember Winnie from the days working in Boots the Chemist when the shop was on the cobbles. After she came to live in Glanton she enjoyed nothing better than cycling down to the river at Bolton to fish.
Jean Mossman, came to live in Glanton some 30 years ago - she took great pride in her flower beds outside her home at Coniston House. She was a good baker and her dropped scones won many prizes at local shows.
Tommy Wealleans was born at Rothill, but came to Glanton when very young, and was just a tot on the School photographs. When the 2nd World War broke out, Tommy joined the Northumberland Fusiliers, aged 19, and was posted to Europe, where he then got rescued from Dunkirk, then sent to Singapore, where he was captured by the Japanese Army and sent to work on the infamous Burma Railway. After liberation, Tommy came home and married Joan, who had come to Glanton as an evacuee and liked it so much that she stayed here. He became involved in many community activities - he was keen on football and resurrected the Glanton football team, chaired the Memorial Hall committee and played in the Northern Lights Dance and Billy McCarty's bands. He also had a passion for vintage machinery and went all over the country to rallies. It was a very emotional day for our Tommy when he was asked to break the flag on our new flagpole to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE and VJ. day.
We will miss them all for their friendship, kindness and active interest in the life of the village.
Is this a record? - Some of us who know Glanton will have always considered it to be the centre of the Universe and things happen here before anywhere else.
The Funeral Service for Tommy Wealleans who was C of E, was held in the St Andrew's United Reformed Church and was conducted by Father David tanner for St Mary's Catholic Church.
The Cubs and Beavers of 1st Whittingham invite you to a Comic Relief Evening on Thursday 15th March from 5.30 - 7pm at Whittingham Memorial Institute.
There will be a bring and buy sale, raffle, game stalls and refreshments. This is the main charity fundraiser that the Scout Association are supporting as part of the 2007 Centenary Celebrations, and the cubs and beavers will get their Join in Centenary badge for helping to organise this event!
25% of the proceeds will go directly to Kaira Konko, a scout centre in The Gambia that Ninette visited with her Oxfordshire scout group. Kaira Konko are raising funds for a bore hole, generator and pump to help the village with their extremely limited water supply, as well as their ongoing rice fund to help scouting families in need.
Clive & Ninette - 574733
Ninette@AlnsideAssociates.co.uk
http://groups.msn.com/1stWhittinghamScoutGroup
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