ALES AND TALES WILL BEGIN AGAIN

THE monks, the lead miners, and even the many ghosts that have populated Blanchland’s fascinating past are the inspiration for a second evening of storytelling for grown-ups at the village’s Lord Crewe Arms on Tuesday November 10.

Ales and Tales – is a free event being organised as part of  Living North Pennines, a three-year project being run by the North Pennines AONB Partnership with almost £2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to conserve and enhance the qualities which make the area so special.

Starting at 7.30pm in the atmospheric Lord Crewe Arms, the night follows on from a similar event in February and promises once again to be packed with thrills, spine-tingling suspense and of course lots of laughter. 

Ales and Tales will feature North East storyteller Malcolm Green, who will be weaving stories handed down through the ages with history, music and myth to create an exciting fictional tale which will have its roots in and around the Blanchland area.

After Malcolm’s story the audience will be able to join in and share their own tales of events that took place in and around Blanchland long ago.

Ales and Tales has been organised as part of Our North Pennines Stories, the element of the Living North Pennines project which aims to involve the local community in learning about and interpreting how today’s landscapes have been shaped by the people, activities and industries that went before.

Abi Wylde, Living North Pennines’ Community Interpretation Officer said: “The story that Malcolm will tell will be purely imaginative, drawn on what people have told him of the area’s history and folklore. But we’re hoping his tale will get local people thinking about the stories they know from Blanchland’s past, perhaps anecdotes they remember hearing as children, and get them discussing and telling the old stories again. Who knows, maybe even Dorothy Forster’s ghost will be listening from a shadowy corner of the room!”

In a change from the February event, participants will be able to purchase local ale “North Pennines Beauty” specially brewed to mark the 21^st anniversary of the North Pennines AONB.

The specially commissioned beer has been brewed by Tom Hick of Allendale Brewery, who recently won best beer at the CAMRA Newcastle Beer Festival. Tom’s is the only micro brewery based in the North Pennines, which made his company the perfect choice when the AONB Partnership was looking for someone who could capture the taste of summer in the North Pennines.

The Ales and Tales storytelling evening is open to all adults and is free of charge. A selection of ales will be sold from the bar.  To book places for the event, please contact Claire Parker on 01388 528801 or email claire@northpenninesaonb.org.uk