Church hosts series of WW1 centenary events
HEAT IS ON AS CHARITY WALKERS HEAD FOR THE SAHARA
ST Cuthbert’s Church, on Church Bank, Shotley Bridge, will be commemorating the centenary of the end of the First World War with a weekend of events.
The children, parents and helpers of the Messy Church group will prepare hand-made Remembrance poppies with the names of World War I soldiers on the leaves, and these will be planted along the church path ready for the weekend. Others with prayers for peace will be displayed on the Messy Church noticeboard.
At 7pm on Saturday, November 10, the duo Fools’ Gold will perform “Beat the Drum” in the church hall. Music, stories and images from the First World War will be followed by supper.
Doors will be open at 6.30pm with an admission price of £8, by ticket only and available from Lynne Severs, tel 01207 502587 or Jan Worters, tel 01207 655669.
The normal morning service at St Cuthbert’s Church will begin at 9.30am on Sunday November 11, as an Act of Remembrance will take place in the church starting 10.50am for 11am.
That afternoon, at 3pm, a service will take place at the Memorial Cottages in Shotley Bridge. AN intrepid team of North East fundraisers is swapping the winter chill of the North East for 40C temperatures in the Sahara Desert for its latest challenge.
The 27-strong group flies out to Africa on Saturday from Manchester airport for a four-day trek across one of the hottest, most inhospitable places on the planet to raise £70,000 for St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle.
It will stay one night in Marrakech, Morocco before being driven 10 hours by mini bus across the Atlas mountains to its starting point of their Sahara Challenge on Sunday.
Supported by a team of Berber guides, a native nomadic people, as well as cooks and camel handlers, the group aims to cover five kilometres on the first day, 20 kilometres on each of the following two days followed by five kilometres on the fourth, a total of 50 kilometres - around 30 miles.
Team members will spend each night in a tent or sleep under the stars, depending on the night-time temperatures, which can drop to zero.
The group is made up of St Oswald’s staff, people whose loved ones have been looked after there and supporters of the hospice who have each committed to raise at least £2,750 each to take part.
It includes Paul Clayton and Jack Crozier of Collective Hairdressing in Newcastle.
Paul said: “I am slightly nervous but also very excited about it.
“I am hoping there is no rain as I am told that is when the scorpions and snakes come out.”
St Oswald’s is the salon’s chosen charity and Paul also took part in the Great Wall of China challenge to raise funds for the Gosforth hospice, which provides care to people of all ages with complex, incurable conditions, supporting patients as well as their families and loved ones and the cash will go towards its running costs.
Helen Alderson, senior fundraiser at the hospice who is also taking part in the trek, said: “It is a massive challenge, it is really hard to appreciate how hot 40C is to be walking in. We do not have any home comforts either.”
At the end of the trek and a good night’s rest, the group will spend the next two days helping on a range of tasks at the Dar Al Bir Association in Marrakech.
It provides support for elderly patients at the nearby hospital, as well a residential base for vulnerable and disabled teenagers who lack family support.
The centre accommodates around 700 residents at any one time, and offers various facilities including a mental health unit, therapy rooms and a training centre.