Last updated 10:11, Friday, 22 August 2008

QUITE by accident I noticed a group of men fishing in the river last Sunday.

Now there’s nothing unusual in that, you might say, but this was coarse fishing rather than our usual fly fishing.
I was told that these guys were doing an annual survey for the Environment Agency on dace, a coarse fish which is typically found in middle reaches of rivers and upstream brooks.
Dace are usually found in moderately clean running water, so should be well at home in our stretch of the North Tyne.
I understand from talking to the fishermen on Sunday that they had indeed caught a number of them during the day.
Sadly I have no idea about how the Environment Agency handles the information it gathers so I suspect we’ll have to wait for next year to find out if numbers are going up or down.

THE jumble sale which was held in the town hall at the beginning of August clearly was a success, with people coming from all over the North of England to rummage round the stuff on offer.
It never ceases to amaze me how one person’s left-over goods can suddenly become someone else’s treasured possession.
I suppose it is all in the spirit of “re-use”, giving a new home to goods that are still doing their job and as the Town Hall makes some money out of it, so much the better!

THE report by Durham Archaeological Services, bringing together a vast amount of historical information on the village and the immediate surroundings, has now been received.
The local history group has five paper copies and the document in an electronic format which will eventually go on to the Wark website.
The intention is that one of the paper copies will be left with the parish council, so that it has access to historical information when making comments on planning applications.
Copies will also go to the Northumberland National Park Authority, one of the project’s funders, and the county archaeologist in Morpeth, who is responsible for the county’s Historic Environment Record.

THE coffee morning in aid of Wark MUR Church raised £312 for church funds. Many thanks to all who gave to the stalls and supported on the morning.

THE football season is now under way with Wark having three games last week. Good luck for the season lads.