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If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years of Sunday pub roast-guzzling, it’s that a beautiful exterior is no indicator of the quality of grub that lies within.
The General Havelock is a boozer that reminded me not to judge too much on appearances; the place might not please the eye, but its Sunday dinners certainly please the stomach.
The pub has neither a spectacular location, situated as it is close to the A189 Spine Road near Blyth, nor, it has to be said, a well-kept air, with its peeling paintwork on the windows, rather battered furniture and visible mould in one corner of its restaurant. A slight smoky haze, presumably from the kitchen, pervaded both the pub and restaurant section, and I even discovered the lock in the cubicle in the gents’ toilets wasn’t working.
However, if you don’t mind your pubs being a bit rough around the edges, the General Havelock’s food will more than make up for what it lacks in the way of refinement.
You’ll have to be happy to launch straight into your roast, as there are no starters served – and no other choice of main course. A standard-size pork, chicken or beef meal is £7, or you can opt for a small one for £6. Choosing lamb adds £1 to the bill.
I was unsurprised when Mrs E ordered beef, having noticed that particularly wanton look that she gets in her eyes when she hasn’t had any of the stuff for a while. I, on the other hand, struggled to make a decision, so appreciated being offered the option of a bit of all the meats by our friendly server.
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Northumberland County Council is backing a flagship campaign to get up to half a million people out and about cleaning up their local communities this March.

The Great British Spring Clean is a campaign with a simple aim: to bring people across the country together to clear up the litter that blights our towns, villages, countryside and beaches.

Litter remains a huge problem across the country, causing harm to the environment and wildlife, with councils in England having to spend over £700 million on street cleaning  services every year.

Running from 2 to 4 March, and promoted by Keep Britain Tidy, the Great British Spring Clean wants to inspire hundreds of thousands of people to get outdoors, get active and help clear up the rubbish that lies around us.

Northumberland County Council will be encouraging and supporting groups and individuals who want to ‘do their bit’ to help clear up the litter from streets, parks and beaches.

Officers will be on hand to give advice, and essential equipment can be loaned to groups who want to collect litter.  Council teams can also arrange to pick up the bagged waste afterwards.

An ‘environmental prize’ that supports community clean up activity will be offered by the council to the group which collects the most litter during the Great British Spring Clean weekend, with their prize presented at the annual Love Northumberland awards.

Last year’s winners received a Superbin, a large steel litter bin with a storage compartment for volunteers litter picking equipment.  

Councillor Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for the environment and local services, said: ‘We are justifiably proud of our beautiful county and are determined to keep it that way.

“We are delighted to be supporting the Great British Spring Clean and encourage as many groups, individuals and organisations as possible to take part.

“We can offer equipment, waste collection and all the advice and guidance that groups might need.  Together we can make a real difference and clean up the environment on our doorsteps.”

If you would like to loan equipment such as litter pickers, hi-visibility vests, gloves and rubbish bags you should email nicola.wardle@northumberland.gov.uk or phone 01670 622997 by Friday 23rd February.

To find out more about campaign, and register your event visit www.greatbritishspringclean.org.uk  
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Two Northumberland firefighters found themselves saving a life outside the county as they made their way to a training course.

This morning (February 16), NFRS Firefighters Paul Cameron and Tom Oliver were on their way to an Initial Boat Operators Course on the River Tyne at Newcastle Quayside. En route they came across a crashed car. They then performed CPR on the driver, who it's believed may have suffered a cardiac arrest, until paramedics arrived.   

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark McCarty said: "Paul and Tom acted in the best tradition of the emergency services when they came across this incident and their quick thinking and professionalism helped save the driver's life."

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service firefighters from Colby Court also attended and made the scene safe for the general public and all other road users.
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An online campaign which helped to share Northumberland residents’ love for their local parks has won a national award.

Northumberland County Council ran the campaign last July, and it has now been recognised as the best in the UK by national environmental campaign charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The Love Parks Award recognises an outstanding event or campaign that ran during Love Parks Week 2017, and Northumberland was awarded the top prize at Keep Britain Tidy’s annual Network Awards last Thursday.

The Love Parks initiative aims to ensure that residents and visitors use local parks and protect these important green spaces, and the award was open to entries from all local authorities in England and Wales.

Northumberland County Council ran a social media campaign to promote how great Northumberland’s parks are and to  highlight why residents and visitors ‘Love’ their local parks.

Cllr Glen Sanderson cabinet member for environment and local services said:  “We are absolutely delighted to have won this national award.

“People tell us on a daily basis how much they enjoy parks and green spaces across the county - and it was extremely good to be able to highlight so many of those reasons through this campaign.

“I would like to sincerely thank all the residents and visitors who took the time to take part.  It is a great credit to our parks and local services staff who maintain our beautiful ‘Green Flag’ parks to such a high standard and who have worked closely with our communications team to run a hugely successful campaign that was so highly commended by the judges.”

At the award ceremony, Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton said:  “Each year, our award winners show just what is possible when people have the passion and commitment to make a difference to the environment on our doorstep.

“This year is no exception and I would like to congratulate them and thank them all for their incredible work.”

During the Northumberland campaign photos and videos were posted on social media each day, building a colourful campaign which demonstrated the fantastic features of the 12 parks across the county that are managed by the county council.

Thirty three posts gained a huge 42,059 impressions on Twitter and on Facebook seven posts and videos reached 146,855 people and were viewed 67,300 times.  

Things that Northumberland residents and visitors said that they love about local parks included meeting friends and family; dog walking; enjoying flowers, plants and green spaces; watching wildlife; enjoying water features such as lakes, streams and paddling pools; and taking part in sports and leisure activities like bowls, football, cycling and play.

You can view a video about Northumberland’s Love Parks campaign here.  
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Are there any areas of land near you that you think could be developed to improve your community?

Northumberland County Council is calling for people across the county to put forward sites that they think could be suitable for future development.

As part of producing a new ‘Northumberland Local Plan’ for the whole of the county the council is giving people an opportunity to suggest sites for potential use.

This ‘call for sites’ will help the council to understand where land could exist for a range of possible future purposes and will add to information already held by the planning team.  

Sites which could be used for housing, economic development such as business units, or for mineral extraction, will be particularly welcomed. Those which might be used for retail, leisure or other types of development will also be considered.  

They could include vacant or derelict land and buildings, surplus public sector land, agricultural land, and areas which might present additional opportunities for development within existing settlements.

The county council is preparing a new county-wide local plan.  The new full plan will set out both the strategic and detailed policies that will guide future growth and development across Northumberland over the next 15 to 20 years.  

Councillor John Riddle, cabinet member responsible for planning at Northumberland County Council, said:  “We are preparing a new local plan for Northumberland which will not only set over-arching planning policies for the future but include detailed land allocations for future development.  

“We are therefore calling on communities across the county to come forward with any sites that they think might be suitable for development that will enhance the future of their area and the county as a whole.  

“The council already has a lot of information about sites, but we are extremely keen that this plan meets the aspirations of all residents and communities and so we are inviting everyone to put forward their ideas.

“Once we have gathered all this information and assessed it we will then consult on them widely as part of the local plan.”

Landowners, developers, agents, local residents and other interested parties are asked to put sites forward for consideration by 5pm on Monday 12 March 2018.

The best way to submit information about sites is an online form which can be found at www.northumberland.gov.uk/localplan.  

An accessible form can also be downloaded, completed and returned to the Council and printed copies are being made available in each of the council’s customer information centres across the county.  

After this period of consultation, the council will consider and review all of the information received and use it to inform the process of selecting sites that will be proposed for future development in the plan.

A draft version of the new local plan will be published for public consultation later this year.
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Northumberland today - join the debate

By Bot, in News,

Northumberland County Council is holding a State of the Area Debate on Tuesday 20 February from 3pm in the Council Chamber at County Hall in Morpeth.

Cllr Peter Jackson, Leader of the Council, will set the scene before introducing Cabinet colleagues who will briefly speak about the current challenges and opportunities for the county, to stimulate discussion.

A public debate will take a ‘Question Time’ style format, facilitated by the Business Chair Cllr Richard Dodd.

The meeting will be open to all, and questions from members of the public or councillors can be submitted in advance or will be taken from the floor on the day.

The event is expected to run until around 4.30pm.

Anyone wishing to submit questions in advance should send them to democraticservices@northumberland.gov.uk by 5pm on Friday 16 February 2018.
David Ellis

BTFC February fixtures

By David Ellis, in News,

To follow on from my previous post, a few home matches coming up.  Nice bar, food kiosk an.d the legend that is "The Foal"

Been far too long since a consistent 100+ crowd.  Surely 100 isn't much to ask from a population of ~ 15000 in the town?
 



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