Community Diary

Thirwall Poetry Picnic - August 2008

Hadrian Art Trust  (HAT) in association with the Tynedale Writers Group and Northumberland National Park held a poetry picnic at Thirwall Castle in August. HAT was established to develop and deliver arts projects in the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site area. Amateur poets and members of the public were invited to attend a picnic at the castle to write, perform and hear poetry linked to Hadrian’s Wall and the site. Despite the very inclement weather a number of hardy souls turned out and the following is a snapshot of some of the wonderfully inspired poetry that came from the evening ...

Hadrian

Juice from berries red blue-black
stains my fingers, my lips
legionaries call along the track
do this, do that.
Ante Iovem nulle subigebant arva coloni
A centurion chants.
Virgil, my work mate says.
And who is he when he’s at home?
I think, but do not say.

Eighty miles of Roman road they plan,
A fortlet every claggy Roman mile.
What for? I think but do not say.
This day
I can say
Civus Romanussum,
No more Brittunculus.
I know the power of the gods
of under flooring central heating ducts
and scripted letters scraped on stone.

Ditches and wall, berms and banks,
A bronze certificate,
Thanks for a life in auxiliary ranks.

Sheila Crawford

Wall in Winter

On a quiet day of swirling mist
which makes all things silent,
the lough below mirrors Hadrian’s Wall.
It looks like a giant serpent in calm water,

Languishing above a green ocean
it sits amidst pockets of rusting bracken.
A flurry of snow white-washes stones,
as pheasants rise where legion marched

there are wind-breaks of naked trees.
Rolling hills reach the edge of clouds.
The wall stretches onward to the Solway.
It’s an ancient place, a lonely place.

Nothing ever changes here,
Only spirits remain.
As whispers rise,
shadows lengthen.

Christine Lowes

To sum it up

The bright faces of the mad
sit encircled by dripping walls.
Stones that in past times
have heard
the march of boots,
the cries of rustled sheep,
the screams of bed-laboured wives,
now hear,
with some astonishment,
poets picnicking.

Lindsay Allason-Jones.

Redefest 2008

Redefest 2008 brought together a fantastic line up of local artists and bands as well as some favourites from further afield. Here are some pictures from the day ...

WI Ephemeral Art Project - July 2008

On Sunday, July 12, 2008 Northumberland WI and pupils from five local schools celebrated 90 years of the WI with a unique art project on Simonside.

90 metres of artwork featuring felt footprints of WI members and local schoolchildren was carried up the 90 steps which were recently laid on Simonside to commemorate the 90th year of the WI.

Here are some of the pictures from the event ...