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April 2017 - Editorial

Dear Consett Magazine readers,

and awe-inspiring shots from around the Derwent Valley.

Contributors

We hope that everyone in Consett is ready for the spring weather to truly arrive this month. Our fingers are crossed.

Stay classy Consett!

Brian Harrison Barry Kirkham Marco Elsy Frank Bell Neil Sullivan Lorraine Weightman Bazza Davison Troy Nathan Jim Callan Christina Stubbins Garry Hughes David Fort Alex Nelson

In this month's magazine you'll find plenty of great articles from great local content producers, like Brian Harrison, Lorraine Weightman, Neil Sullivan, and Alex Nelson. In early May, Garry "Scrapman" Hughes is organising a special event, "Crushing Cans For Testicular Cancer" at Time bar. Read all about it on page 15 and remember to start saving your empty pop and beer cans. On the front cover this month, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see Bazza Davisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dog "Tag" on the Gill Bridge. He's a cute one, isn't he! Thanks for the photo Bazza!

P.S. - If you or someone you know might be interested in becoming a Media Sales Executive, please send your CV to sales@fireflynewmedia.com We've got an opportunity for someone in Consett to join our team and help us to make Consett Magazine even bigger and better! PS - If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to promote your local business then get in touch 01207 438 292, we have a number of creative methods to help spread the good word about your business. Some of the options include online / in print adverts and advertorials, social media interaction, and email marketing.

Disclaimer: Consett Magazine and consettmagazine.com make sure to only use reliable sources and we try to verify all content as much as possible. We cannot accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions. All details are believed to be correct at the time of printing. We recommend that readers check information with any venue about times and dates of events in advance. Readers are welcome to send photographs, letters and other content to Consett Magazine and Firefly New Media UK but we cannot guarantee they will be featured in the publication. Firefly New Media UK reserves the right to neither use submitted material in print and online publications nor return it. The views and opinions expressed in advertisements and content do not reflect that of Consett Magazine and Firefly New Media UK. No part of this publication/website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from Firefly New Media UK. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. To reduce environmental impact, once finished with please recycle this magazine or pass it on to friends and family. Firefly New Media UK - All Rights Reserved

The Front Cover If you have a photograph you would like to share, then send it across and it could be your photo we use - send any photographs to: editor@consettmagzine.com

Advertise Get your story, photograph, or adverts to us by the 15th April 2017! Call 01207 438 292 or email sales@consettmagazine.com

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If you'd like to see your photograph on the front cover of the May issue, then please send it to us your image (in high quality please) via email to editor@consettmagazine.com - We're looking for lovely Spring flowers, awesome pets,

Barry Kirkham, Marco Elsy, and the entire Consett Magazine team.

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Welcome

Founding of the Avenue - By Brian Harrison

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FOUNDING OF THE AVENUE Consett Methodist Church has a long history which started more than 100 years before it was ever constructed. Methodism had strong roots within the Consett area right from the early years of the Consett Iron Company. The specific branch relating to this particular story was the Primitive Methodist. Their first official meeting place was in Trafalgar Street from 1845 where the services ran smoothly for almost 20 years. Unfortunately, as with everything in Consett in those days, the congregation began to outgrow the premises. So in 1864 they moved into their all New Church in Front Street, Consett. For another 25 years they once again carried on happily. During those 25 years the town of Consett and the surrounding area's began to blossom into a true industrial heartland. The Consett Water Company had been founded bringing a new healthier outlook. The Iron Works expanded into steel manufacture as well as the iron. Employment and job prospects had, an the whole, improved. The Temperance movement had also made major strides into the area bring a boost to Methodism and a greater push for education. All these factors

once again swelled the congregation to bursting point. Another premises had to be found. So began the search for a new place to build, not only a new church but also a school and lecture rooms.

A suitable site was eventually found in 1908 on the corner of Delves Lane and Sherburn Terrace. The site was in excess of 1,600 square yards (approx 1338 square metres). The site was owned by Consett Iron Company who gave them the land for a bargain price of only ÂŁ250. The money was quickly found by people purchasing parts of the land for the church at 3s 6d (3 shillings 6 pence or 17.5p in Decimal) per square yard. However, this was just the start. Over the intervening years the Church managed to raise a whopping ÂŁ7,400, equivalent to approximately ÂŁ776,000 today. After years of saving and planning the Avenue Primitive Methodist Church opened on 6th February 1913. It had a seating capacity of 600 and a further 400 located in the

school hall at the north end of the church. The church was beautifully constructed in the Gothic style with large tower and in a cruciform shape, the architects being Davidson and Sons of Newcastle. Unfortunately between the 1950's and 1960's the congregations began to drop. Not only in the Primitive Methodists but right across all the established religions. The Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists had already amalgamated in the early 1930's so the decision was made that it was time to come together. The Wesleyan Church in Middle Street was sold and the Avenue Church was demolished to make way for the new Consett Methodist Church. The initial stone laying took place in September 1970 and the all new modern church opened on 5th December 1970 just 2 months later. An original architects plan of the Avenue Primitive Methodist Church still hangs in the entrance of Consett Methodists Church, a reminder to its past.

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On the Town - By Lorraine Weightman

I promised myself a ticket for the 1975 gig the following October.

especially around the Bigg Market where there was a lovely little place called The Cloth Market Cafe, that boasted local specialities like Pan Haggerty as well as Afternoon Tea.

My first trip to town was with my mother. Alighting at Marlborough Crescent - which I thought sounded very grand - we called into St Mary's Cathedral to light a candle, then walked to Binns, before winding our way to Northumberland Street. A fish and chip lunch at Bimbi's was the order of the day before hitting C&A, and of course we always finished up at Fenwick's. The city has always been vibrant and I loved exploring the streets even then,

I remember loving the fact that there was often a 'bus on' from Consett. So many were organised by a competent, kind local lady from The Grove who had the reputation of arranging the best trips to almost anywhere. There was talk once that she'd scheduled a trip to Cape Canaveral and The Kennedy Space Centre but I'm sure it was just hearsay! Roxy Music were touring in 1974 and when Brian Ferry changed the lyrics in 'Do the Strand' to 'Eskimos and Geordies' at The City Hall,

But my most exciting memories are from the early seventies when some of my favourite artistes played at the City Hall and my Saturday and holiday jobs helped pay for the tickets.

Unfortunately there was no 'bus on' so we made an early start, catching the Venture just in time and sitting back in the prickly seats for the over an hour journey to town. Laughing and chatting we stood in the queue clutching on to our tickets. Soon we were treated to 'Giving it all Away', 'One Man Band' and 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' which we did in abundance! High as kites, we caught the last bus home, buzzing with adrenaline and excitement. Loving our lives, knowing at that moment, if we'd had the opportunity to trade it all in for a trip to Cape Canaveral, the answer would have been a definite, 'Nee chance!'

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From being a child I loved going to Newcastle. Unfortunately I didn't have the pleasure of travelling by train as Consett Station was closed to passengers in the late 1950's. However the bus station was a hive of activity and used by everyone. I remember standing in the queue and thinking that the toilets must be super clean as you could smell the bleach and Izal toilet paper three stands down.

Three songs in, 'Love is the Drug' had everyone dancing and singing in the atmospheric hall and another great night came to an end too soon.Then, as luck would have it, a trip was arranged to see Queen, who burst onto the stage with 'Bohemian Rhapsody', again in The City Hall on 11th December. The place went wild and the concert was sensational. So much so we could hardly talk to each other on the bus on the way home, as we'd sang and screamed so much. With funds running low in the new year, it was an all out effort to get the money together to see Leo Sayer in April.

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ON THE TOWN

12 8

Places to Go: Kingston upon Hull

Places to Go: Letchworth Garden City Your 2017 Consett Your Free Free April March / April 2017 Magazine Durham Magazine

A recent episode of “Call the Midwife”, the popular East End of London gynaecological drama had one of the characters going out for the day to Letchworth in Hertfordshire, to the Spirella corset factory. Letchworth is a Garden City, indeed the first one, dating from 1903, and the Spirella Company began building a large factory in 1912, close to the middle of town. Completed in 1920, it blends in through being disguised as a large country house, complete with towers and a ballroom. During the Second World War, the factory was also involved in producing parachutes and decoding machinery. Because corsets fell out of fashion, the factory closed in the 1980s, and was eventually refurbished and converted into offices. Other industries included early computers, dustcarts and fire engines.

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Letchworth has 33,600 inhabitants, up from just 96 in 1901. From the North East it is reached by Virgin train to Stevenage, doubling back on the line to Cambridge via Hitchin, but such is the importance of the town that in the morning peak there are direct trains to King’s Cross from Letchworth, which do not stop at Hitchin or Stevenage at all.

The town was laid out by Raymond Unwin as a demonstration of the principles established by Ebenezer Howard. It is also home to the United Kingdom's first roundabout, Sollershott Circus, which was built in 1909, probably inspired by the traffic arrangements around the Arc de Triomphe which Unwin would have known well. Letchworth influenced not only Welwyn Garden City and the whole new town movement, but also abroad such as Canberra, the capital territory of Australia. Even Lenin visited Letchworth. Howard's depicted a choice of town design as a contest between three magnets: town, country and the fusion of the two as town-country. The Wetherspoons pub in the town is the Three Magnets, which would have horrified Howard who insisted that there would initially be no pubs in the town, although several pre-existing pubs beyond the boundary did well! The first licensed premises in the town was the Broadway Hotel, close to the station, and an ideal place to stay. It opened in 1961, the year of my birth, and the double and twins on the front are attractive rooms, some of the singles at the back less so, but it’s still a great place to

stay with the opportunity of a day trip to London and a side trip to Cambridge too if you have time. Leave time, though, to explore Letchworth itself. There’s a lovely art deco cinema within walking distance of the Broadway Hotel, and the town centre has plenty of interest, even though some parts of the town have an unfinished feel with spaces for buildings that never came. The term "Garden City" derived from the image of a city being situated within a belt of open countryside, and not, as is commonly cited, to a principle that every house in the city should have a garden. Only one tree was felled during the entire initial construction phase of the town, and an area devoted to agriculture surrounding the town was included in the plan – the first "Green Belt". It’s instructive to wander around enjoying the architecture of the original Garden City, and see the “cheap cottages” that the people from the crowded cities were delighted to move into. I enjoyed the museum dedicated to the Garden Cities movement in house containing Unwin’s studio. It’s a great place in its own right, and as a cheaper alternative to London hotels for a trip to the capital. By Alex Nelson

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Haka Rugby Camp Comes to Consett

Haka Rugby Camp Comes to Consett A World Class Rugby Camp is coming to Consett this May and June. The camp is touring the World in 2017 and will be visiting 20 countries, with 25+ camps, and 2000+ people taking part globally. Consett will host the Haka Rugby Camps for girls and boys aged 6 - 18. The camp will teach rugby skills, team building, hand to eye co-ordination, and there will also be a emphasis on Maori cultural values. With haka and songs the camp will visit clubs around the world, all coaches are Kiwi and will provide quality of coaching in 40+ camps in 2017. www.consettmagazine.com

We interviewed Troy Nathan, a current professional rugby player/assistant coach and Regan Sue, an ex-professional rugby player now professional coach, who share a love of rugby and the Maori Culture.

What can people expect at the Consett Rugby Camp? Our camps start off with a Powhiri, welcoming the children and their parents to the camp. Throughout the week the children learn the haka, waiata, karakia and maori protocols and on the final day of the camp we run a tournament and the children perform a powhiri for their parents and families. The last day will include a team tournament followed by prize giving, We invite all the children and their families to have a kai (Dinner) with us once their performance is finished. All of our coaches have played at the highest levels of rugby around the world and we also have some ex All Blacks involved in coaching at our camps. We aim to teach rugby the way we were taught grassroots rugby back in NZ and bring our love of rugby to the

children around the world. The children learn the importance of brotherhood and respect, and to grow and thrive in the sport that they love while also learning about our Maori heritage. All participants will receive a HRG black training tee, HRG white training tee, HRG black training shorts and a HRG boot bag. Lunch and snacks will be catered each day, and an H2O hydration and sunscreen station will be provided. Participants with specific dietary requirements/allergies should let them know so they can provide a separate menu, email hakacamp@gmail.com to discuss requirements. Website: www.hakarugbyglobal.com Facebook: www.facebook.com /hakarugbycamp

For the first camp 29 - 31 May we will be having coach/special guest ex All Black Sam Tuitupou, who is currently playing for Sale Sharks.

75 Years in Consett

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The Rotary Club of Consett celebrated their 75th anniversary in February. A timeline presentation was given highlighting the activities, fund raising and achievements of the club over the years.

Comic Book Cleric Father John Bagnall who was inaugurated as Parish Priest in Saint Patrick's Consett last month began his life in Huyton in Liverpool. Like many of us he grew up reading the Beano, and as a keen child artist who was fascinated by comics, he began to draw his own as a hobby which continued into his teenage years and beyond. After leaving school he acquired a place at Newcastle University - following in the steps of Bryan Ferry - to study fine art. Successfully completing his degree he explored many aspects of art including painting, yet his love of the comic book which predates all his explorations stayed with him. As part of a project at Limelight in London he, along with other artists was asked to draw on large pieces of paper secured to the walls. Noticing his work had gone missing he was informed that Boy George had been admiring it earlier!

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Living in Durham after getting a job as a graphic designer in Chester le Street, he attended Saint Joseph's Church in Gilesgate and became increasingly involved in parish life for over twenty years. After being asked by Fr Michael Corbett if he had ever

considered the priesthood, he thought he may be too old to retrain. But the seed had been sown and after approaching the vocations director he was accepted at Ushaw college where he studied for a year followed by four years at The Beda college in Rome. During these years he was still drawing comics encouraged by his mentors as he was informed that 'All priests should have a hobby!' In 2003 'Don't Tread on My Rosaries' published by Kingly Books was warmly received, being described in a review in The Observer as ' one of my books of the year.' Some of his work was exhibited in The British Library in 2014 and was published in Escape Magazine. And so, alongside self publishing he was ordained a deacon in St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome and then as a priest in St Mary's Cathedral Newcastle in June 2015. Taking up his first post as Priest in Charge of Brooms in August that year while still pursuing his creative hobby he was in September 2016 given the responsibility for St Patrick's Consett, Brooms and Moorside parishes. His new book 'Dusty Sideboard' published in the same month as he settles in as Parish Priest in Consett is available now.

There is an extract below: 'The first members of Rotary Club met in Consett on 29th January 1942 when Consett was a very different place. Butter and bacon were 1/6 a lb, milk was 3d a pint and eggs were 8d a dozen. You could buy a three bedroomed bungalow for ÂŁ550 and a baby Austin to go in the garage for ÂŁ122. It was a time of great stress for the people of Consett, times of deep austerity, men at war, families left behind, barely surviving. Rationing of food began in January 1940 and clothes in June 1941. By 1942, virtually every household item was either in short supply or was unobtainable. With an eye to the future the extension committee of Rotary No 3 district (now district 1030) approached prominent business men in the town, one of whom was Talbot Hedley who became the founding President, he along with Albert Bridgewater and Dr McKenzie were informed of the tenets of Rotary. Their first meeting was held in the Co-op Ballroom on Thursday April 9th 1942, attended by 68 visitors. Although this was war time and transport was limited, clubs from as far away as Barnard Castle, Stockton, Ashington and Blyth came to launch the new club.' The celebration proved a huge success and everyone was invited to put 2042 in their diaries to celebrate 100 years!

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