10 YEARS AGO

PATIENT CHOICE: A consultation made it clear that the majority of people in Tynedale would still be able to be taken to hospitals in Newcastle, even if the proposed £200 million emergency hospital at Cramlington was built.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Greenholme Care Home in Haltwhistle could close within the next month due to residents being moved out at an alarming rate. Haltwhistle Town Council accused Northumberland County Councillors of forcing elderly residents away from the town.

HOTEL BATTLE: The Battlesteads Hotel in Wark won its bid to expand, despite the fact that the scheme attracted a total of 14 letters of objection.

HYDRO PLAN: A bold bid to breathe life into Belllingham’s ironworks by reopening it as a source of hydro-electric power was launched by local enthusiasts.

25 YEARS AGO

BREAKING LINKS: Matthew Charlton’s was pinning its hopes for the future on a multi-million pound redevelopment scheme of shops and offices based around Hexham railway station’s goods yard, with fears the builders merchant may relocate the business outside the district if they failed to get planning permission.

LEEKS LOST: Keen gardener Joseph Foggin (63) said he cried when he saw the damage done to his potentially prize winning leeks by “mindless vandals”.

HIGH FLYING: Aero Tours, based at Newcastle Airport, began offering sightseeing flights over the Roman Wall, as well as trips over the Northumberland Coast and Durham.

SOMETHING FISHY: The National Rivers Authority said releasing water from Kielder Reservoir to raise the river level at Wylam would do little to stop migratory fish dying, after large numbers of salmon and sea trout were pulled dead from the weir.

50 YEARS AGO

GOOD CHOICE: A Falstone farmer, Mr Christopher Dickinson, took his only sheep to the village show – and won the supreme award in the Blackface Sheep section, beating top breeders in the district.

‘ALLO ‘ALLO: Hexham welcomed representatives from its twin town Saint Lunaire, as the Mayor and his wife, Dr and Mme Leblane and two teachers, M and Mme Cahpron, came to stay.

COAL PLEA: Prudhoe Urban Council asked Northumberland County Council to approach the National Coal Board and ask them if they would put the miner’s concessionary coal into bags instead of dumping it on the pavements outside their homes.

75 YEARS AGO

WARRING BROTHERS: There was a family reunion in Normandy for Bardon Mill brothers Driver Alan Dixon and Lance-Bombardier T.H Dixon, who had not seen each other for almost four years.

IKE’S INVITE: Colonel Douglas Clifton Brown – speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Hexham for 20 years – was invited by Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, to visit Normandy.

HEADING OUT: Mr Tom Watson retired as headteacher of Lowgate school after holding the post for 22 years. He had been in the teaching profession for 42 years.

100 YEARS AGO

HEXHAM WEST: There was a touch of the wild west at Tyne Green in Hexham as the Wild West Exhibition and the Circus of Bronco Bill came to town.

IN PROFIT: After a lapse of two years because of the First World War, Allendale Show made a record amount of money, raising over £96 from the gate alone.

STRIKE OVER: Work resumed at Plenmeller Colliery, Haltwhistle, following a strike caused by an argument between management and the men.

125 YEARS AGO

SHOCKING EXPERIENCE: A Haydon Bridge man, Mr Lee of Church Street, had a lucky escape when he was struck by lightning while crossing the fell from Melkridge to Henshaw.

TO DURHAM: Members of the Primitive Methodist Choir, of Hexham, had their annual trip to Durham City.

OPEN SECRET: Mr Harris of Calthwaite Hall and Moor House sent the Conservative Club in Alston a bound copy of “25 years in the secret service” by Henri Le Caron.

150 YEARS AGO

SCHOOL TREAT: Nearly 200 children and their teachers at Wark and Birtley were entertained by the clergymen of the two parishes at an annual picnic at Warkshaugh Bank Farm.

NO CANARY: An inquest into the death of a miner at Otterburn, William Elliott, left the jury in no doubt that he had died from inhaling carbonic acid case, and a verdict was returned accordingly.

THUMBS DOWN: A Courant reporter was injured whilst on holiday in Durham. Anthony Cook’s left hand was injured so badly in a gun explosion, his thumb was amputated.