Re: The Joicey Trust: application for asssistance for the Morpeth

							Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering 29th April to 1st May 2011

Reivers, writers and railwaymen are being joined by royalists and maypole dancers during the 44th
Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering held as usual on the weekend after Easter. This year the late slot
means a few changes to the programme, with a smaller scale historic re-enactment but extra activities
planned to accommodate the Royal Wedding and May Day.

This year’s “On the Write Lines” theme puts local stories and legends in the spotlight (hence a Border
Reivers focus for the living history) but also railways and their north-eastern heritage, with a gala
concert on the Friday night, supported by the Robert Stephenson Trust, featuring music relating to the
railways with headliners the High Level Ranters (who else?).

Young musicians step to the fore on Saturday evening, with the Winners’ Concert bill topped by new
local school student supergroup Fligarishon led by their inspiring tutor Stewart Hardy.

The Saturday morning pageant will include artwork reflecting the traditional marriage customs of the
area, and the full jam-packed programme will feature concerts, workshops, re-enactments,
music/literature/dance/crafts competitions, exhibitions, films, drama, puppets, bellringing, street
theatre, story-telling, orienteering, walks and talks.

This 44th Gathering continues to promote the distinctive traditional music, dance, crafts, dialect, art,
literature, history and culture of Northumberland to its residents and visitors, who include this year
traditional Spanish dancers Es Rebost who will display their dances and share workshops with local
experts. They come from Lord Collingwood’s other home, Menorca (the admiral’s family lived in
Morpeth while he tended to be based on the Mediterranean). The Gathering is seen as a highlight of
the town’s cultural and tourism offer and it aims to populate Morpeth’s spaces with a mix of
enjoyable, welcoming experiences, while also boosting the local economy and community morale at a
time of considerable uncertainty for retailers and residents, many of whom are local government
employees.

Funding has been a worry, with the county council core funding slashed by 88% and little likelihood of there being any
more in the future. In the last few months a less predictable problem has been the experience of the Gathering’s parent
body, Morpeth Antiquarian Society, who were obliged to remove its museum collections from Morpeth Town Hall,
following a change in management at that building. The search for an immediate and longer-term home for its holdings has
made considerable time demands on the volunteers who are central to both organisations, preventing the organisation of
the usual autumn Gathering fund-raising events and impeding the grant application process.

Nevertheless, the popular winter concert will still be staged at the Town Hall on 11th March, starring
Alistair Anderson (tickets from Morpeth Chantry Tourist Information Centre 01670 535200), and
anyone wishing to become a patron or donor should contact the Gathering organisers - please ring
Kim on 01670 513308 or see website www.northumbriana.org.uk