Articles December 2025

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, 10th December, in the Village Hall, starting at 7pm, with a parishioner slot at 8pm. Meeting notices are displayed on village notice boards, with minutes and other information found on the Parish Council website.

Contact details for the current members are detailed below:

Clerk: Samantha Doyle, 35 Burghley Gardens, Pegswood, NE61 6TN 07427 123268 or parishclerk@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Chairman: Norman Douglas 07485 174529 norman.douglas@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Councillors: Sarah Alcock, Kirsty Bell, Peter Boyle, Jennie Parker and Trevor Potts.

Graffiti

We are aware of graffiti around the village, if you see anything please do not hesitate to report the offenders. If you have video evidence of the crime then even better.

FixMyStreet

Just a reminder that fixmystreet can be used to report a multitude of things including blocked rights of way.

Social Media

Social media is a very powerful tool which allows us to communicate quickly to a mass audience and when used responsibly it can be an asset to society. The other side of this is the use of social media to spread disinformation, which can result in statements which constitute harassment, incitement of hate, or even liable. We would ask all in our community to think about your use of social media, consider how it will be received and what could result from this before posting. It is also the case that people making anonymous posts can be identified, if the content of those posts are not legally compliant.

The Longhorsley Facebook page is a public space with nearly 3.7k members. A large number of these members do not live in, or have any affiliation to the Parish, with some being located in other countries. Those posting on this site should be mindful of including personal information and consider the consequences of this information being subsequently misused.

Thank you…..

The Parish Council would like to extend a huge thank you to Jan and Sheena who have worked tirelessly on the production of the Longhorsley Tree for the past 4 years. We are sure that everyone will agree that this is such a valuable resource to all Parishioners and we are very grateful for all the hard work you have both given to this and wish you well for the future.

Christmas Greetings

Members of the Parish Council would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful and Safe New Year.

Outgoing Editors

This is our final edition of the newsletter as editors. It’s been a pleasure to provide this service to the village over the past 4 years.

Many thanks to all of the people who have provided input to the Tree.

This includes the many people who look after events, clubs, churches, businesses, the school, the Village Hall, and the Parish Council and County Councillor. In particular a thank you to Mary and the team of volunteers who deliver the newsletter.

Good luck to Chris, who will take over the editing of the newsletter, and Olive and Norman who will continue to look after the advertising and parish council matters.

Chris Hutchinson 07479 393727 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com

Many thanks to you all,

Jan and Sheena

Longhorsley Village Fete - Saturday 4th July 2026

Planning is already well underway for next year's Fete, and we're excited to bring the community together again for another fun day. One of the highlights of the day is our Industrial Section, where local people can show off their creative talents! Now winter is here we thought it would be a good idea to announce some of next year's categories, so you can spend the colder days and evenings doing some of your favourite crafts...

Handicraft Section

A knitted or crocheted item
An embroidered item to include cross-stitch and tapestry
An open category which could include lace-making, felting or quilting
Handmade soft toy

Art Section

A painting - any subject or medium
A drawing - any subject or medium
An open class for other artwork - e.g. pottery, stained glass, decoupage, collage, paper cutting
An upcycled/recycled/reclaimed object
An exhibit in wood
A photograph (5"x7") to depict nature

If you have any queries please contact us at longhorsleyfete@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook or Instagram as “Longhorsley Village Fete”.

Longhorsley Village Hall Update

We would like to provide an update regarding recent activities surrounding the Village Hall.

We have recently undertaken a structural survey of the Village Hall; the outcomes from this survey advise us that the Hall (as it is now) is past its designed lifespan and will need to be replaced or substantially repaired within the next few years.

Following these findings we have worked closely with the Parish Council to understand what options are available to us. From these discussions it was agreed that the Parish Council would look to purchase the freehold for the Hall to give us greater flexibility with any future plans. This process is currently underway with an offer accepted and the proceeding conveyances ongoing.

We have informed our insurers of the ‘status’ of the hall and shared the structural engineers report. Following this correspondence they have had their own engineer attend the site to survey and advise further. The outcome of the insurers inspections is that we are currently still insured with no change to our policy, however we are advised to check areas of the hall that are highlighted within the engineers report regularly, especially after inclement weather. They have also identified that the newer parts of the hall are okay and the problems are primarily with the main hall area and the roof.

With regards to ‘what happens next’; we are awaiting the finalisation of the freehold conveyancing, then it is our intention to set up a sub-committee to look at funding options to develop a plan for the future of the Hall. If you would like to volunteer for this sub-committee, please make yourselves known to a member of the Village Hall committee.

The Village Hall Committee

(Paul Mooney, Garry Ritchie, Amy Brisker, Joanna Reilly, Jane Pringle, Anne Peat, Vicky Foggon, Liz Elliott, Val Douglas, Fiona Leighton, Peter Boyle)

St Helen's Update

The Diocese of Newcastle has published a Lessons Learned Review (2023) regarding the conduct and conviction of the Revd Peter McConnell, former vicar of St Helen’s, Longhorsley.

If you have a genuine concern arising from this review and would like to speak to someone within the diocesan safeguarding team, please contact the current vicar, the Revd Elaine Jones, at revelainejones@gmail.com to arrange this in confidence. You can also contact the safeguarding team at the diocese safeguarding@newcastle.anglican.org to speak in confidence with a member of the team.

Your voice matters, and you will be listened to with care.

Your County Councillor

By this time next year we hope to have a simpler recycling system in place. Every home will be offered a new bin (with a snazzy burgundy coloured lid) which will be for card paper and cardboard etc. while our blue bin can then be used for glass along with other materials. In addition to this, following a recent successful pilot, we will be rolling out food waste buckets in the south east of the County plus some of Morpeth and Hexham. We can't cover the whole county just yet, because we need to get extra funding, which we have requested from government.

Full details will be shared soon, and in the meantime my best wishes for a restful and enjoyable Christmas and for 2026.

Glen Sanderson 07730 979737 glen.sanderson@northumberland.gov.uk

December Tweets along Archie’s Pond

As far as migrants and winter visitors go, it has been a quiet season for Northumberland, Longhorsley not excepting. But as soon as we get the North wind and a snowfall, Fieldfares show up along the walk. They love the combination found there of berried bushes and permanent pasture nearby. Berries for the energy and invertebrates from the turf for protein. They are skittish birds, but in low sunshine their rich grey and rufous colours show well in flight and make for a typical wintry scene.

Low temperatures make great energy demands on birds, and coping strategies vary. Robins fluff up and perch along the path watching for potential food below. Others carry out a systematic search, like the Treecreeper creeping up the bark of a tree and starting again on another one from the base. Blue and Great Tits are very active searchers for food but visit all parts of a tree from the trunk to the thinnest twigs. Robins can be found along the walk throughout the winter, only abandoning their patch in prolonged snow and frost. Your best chance of a Treecreeper is amongst a flock of Tits and Finches on the move through the bushes and trees.

Another opportunity to record your garden birds is on 23-25 January 2026 with the Big Garden Birdwatch – see www.rspb.org.uk

Andrew Brunt 788352

For more information about birds in Northumberland, visit the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club website at www.ntbc.org.uk

Longhorsley Sweepstake

The collection of the money for the year for the sweepstake takes place each January. We could really do with a few volunteers to help with these collections. This involves covering a set area in the village to collect, it should only take a few hours and only needs to be carried out once a year. Any help we get would be much appreciated.

If you can help please contact Garry or Janice 07713 583311 garry7256@aol.com

The Longhorsley Village Ball

Many thanks to all those who have supported this year’s Longhorsley Ball. We hope you have a fantastic evening.

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy new year.

From the Longhorsley Ball Committee.

Beware of winter fuel payment scams

Between April and September 2025, Action Fraud has received 2,790 crime reports relating to Winter Fuel Payment scams, with victims reporting losses totalling over £27,000. Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, you do not need to do anything. If you receive any text messages about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam.

Christmas Cards from St Helen’s C of E First School

The cards below are from Pippa (reception), Alex (year 1), Sienna (year 2) and Robert (year 3).

Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall

Monday 9.15am to 11.30am

Friday 11.30am to 1.30pm

Please note that this Outreach Service cannot accept large parcels.

Longhorsley Takeaway Food

We will send out a Breaking News if we are notified of any changes.

The Shoulder of Mutton

The Shoulder of Mutton is open and offering takeaways every day.

Sunday lunches 12-6pm ~ Monday to Saturday 5pm-8pm

See their menu at shoulderofmuttonpub.com ~ phone 788236 to order

The Flying Fryer

The Flying Fryer will be here every Friday from 4pm to 7pm, depending on demand.

Facebook The Flying Fryer 07984 426 725

Dou_h&co

Dou_h&co visits on one Thursday in the month from 4:30pm – 7:30pm.

Pre-order on 07507 834 628 from Monday 9am.

See their menu on the Dou_h & Co Facebook page, Instagram and Dou-h.co.uk

Mobile Library Visiting Times

The Mobile Library visits Longhorsley once every 3 weeks, currently still via the transit van, on Fridays between 15.55pm and 16.35pm, in the Village Hall car park.

The next visits are on the 5th December and 16th January.

The Mobile Library Service website can be found here

February Edition

The last date for submissions is 20th January. You can email or phone us.

Please keep articles under 250 words, if at all possible.

Chris Hutchinson 07479 393727 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com

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