099 - Chapter 99

(Illustration: Sketch of folks from the Open Mic at Lowick)

Whenever Bob and I are at the caravan on a Sunday, we worship at the church of St John the Baptist, Lowick. We’ve visited a few churches now in North Northumberland since moving into our new caravan, out of curiosity maybe, as well as trying to find a home base for worship, but we decided to settle at our local church and ‘blossom where we were planted.’ 

But another reason for choosing this church, was that a local couple who had just moved to the area, had been invited to sing a song during the church service. This couple, Kevin and Tracey Archer, sang ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a lamp unto my path,’ which fitted so well with the theme of Bible Sunday. In my book any church which welcomes people from their community and encourages their gifts is an ‘open and friendly church’ in my book, very much like our own in Battle Hill.

We got to know Kevin and Tracey, who had recently moved from Holy Island to Lowick, and they’d only just started an Open Mic club in the Community Hall there once a month. They invited us along to it, and I’m so pleased they did, as we met so many new friends through it. It was well attended and musicians from all over the area came along. Open Mic is a club that anyone can attend, and where any genre of music can be sung. Whoever wants to sing is given a slot of two to three songs and a microphone, and the floor is theirs.

Some guests don’t actually need a microphone; take for example two local lads, brothers, who play heavy metal regularly, with an electric guitar and drum set. They’re amazing and are applauded whenever they perform. At the other end of the ‘age’ scale, we have the much-appreciated Elizabeth, a shepherdess, who plays lively Northumbria folk songs on her accordion. In between we have numerous talented singers and musicians with guitars. I love taking part in this line up. One night around Christmas, one young man called Tom surprised us all with the most beautiful rendition of T S Eliot’s poem , The Journey of the Magi, and his deep rich voice had us all spellbound. What a marvellous atmosphere in this small community centre each month.

Kevin, who runs local radio, has a beautiful recording voice that comes with a whole variety of dialects, and he has helped me record two of my dramas for radio.

This is one: ‘Radio Jerusalem’: which tells of Jesus clearing the temple: (Matthew 21.1-11 )

https://drive.google.com/.../1eLIwV.../view...

And the other ‘The Parable of the Vineyard workers’; in it men complain because others, gaining employment at the end of the day, are being paid exactly the same wage as those who began work early in the morning. (Matthew 20.1-16)

https://drive.google.com/.../1Y4FJRTSy.../view...

Also, as much as I enjoy music, I don’t hear lyrics very well, so once more I took to sketching these musicians as they sang, just like I did at Croxdale; (see illustration) it gave me that added interest and occupied my mind.

This whole idea of encouraging local talent led me to ask our vicar at Church of the Good Shepherd, whether we too could set an Open Mic up at our own church. She supported this new venture all the way. Iain, a friend and member of the church, gives a helping hand each time with equipment, as he is part of a band called 'The Cornstalkers' who’ve already held concerts for us in the past. 

We’ve had three very successful Open Mic nights since we began, with local singers from the area, (who are not necessarily Christians) and with both friends and members of the congregation taking part too, who also make up the audience. But the evening just wouldn’t be complete, without our very own compere and comedian, Bob Hamil!

Just as is the case with Lowick, we each take our own refreshments along with us, and what super nights we’ve had.

On our opening night at COGS who should walk in, but Kevin and Tracy to help us get the night going, and later that night after coffee at our house, they travelled around 60 miles back to their home in Lowick at 2.00 a.m. in the morning. Now that’s support for you.

Bob and I still have a few days break every so often at our caravan; we try and time our visits to coincide with Lowick Open Mic, We also go to Horncliffe village, not far from the River Tweed, where there’s a folk night and an acoustic  night once every month.

Bob and I love our mini breaks at the caravan, the entire area boasts beautiful countryside, and the beaches in Northumberland are second to none, the North-East’s best kept secret. We’ve enjoy visiting ‘Historic Homes’ from here up to Scotland, and we sometimes take the train into Edinburgh and back to enjoy that great city too, and have a snack in the Royal Yacht there.

But how the tides can quickly turn, as does the tide of time. Sadly, there have been signs of bird flu on the Northumberland coast. It’s distressing to have seen one or two dead gannets lying on the sands, such beautiful birds . . .  and to hear news that thousands of birds on the Inner Farnes, just off Holy Island, have also tragically succumbed to that disease.

Worse still we are seeing for ourselves the effects of climate change all over the world with floods, drought and hunger affecting millions of people mainly in third world countries, who are not responsible themselves for the harmful pollution in the air, the rising tides and the oceans of plastic waste inflicted on them. 

Masses of people are on the move trying to ease their suffering from war, persecution and poor living conditions in their own countries, and we can’t deny that the world is fractured and divided like never before. The gap between rich and poor has grown even wider, shamefully so. Even people in the west are feeling the effects with gas, electricity, food and fuel prices rising, through wars and troubles elsewhere, and many parents now worry whether they’ll be able to feed their children this coming winter and keep them warm.

What was it Chief Seattle said again?  “Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself!”

What is the answer? Surely a love that is radical and which shows itself in action, the kind of active selfless love where time, talents, and gifts are used to serve others, in the spirit of togetherness and harmony.  

We’ve read about such people throughout this book, this has been their story too. People who have served in asylum centres, churches and foodbanks, centres for the homeless, right through to those who’ve courageously spoken out about their experience of the holocaust, who’ve offered refuge to those fleeing war; and who have shared faith with people who have little or none.

I am in awe of them all, but also proud of the kind love and friendliness so typical of people in the North East of England, especially one’s neighbours.

These are the ones who have tried their best to preserve, protect, even mend that web of life.

‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.'

(1 John 3. 16-18)