OCTOBER 2026 NEWSROUND
Updated: Oct 2
Newsround is Norham's free monthly community newsletter, bringing together local news, village updates and upcoming events.
For further information about any of the groups, events or activities featured in this issue, please email norhamlife@gmail.com unless alternative contact details are provided.
IN THIS ISSUE:
NORHAM VILLAGE BAND CONCERT
Sat 3rd October 3pm
Entry By Donation: Afternoon Tea Included!
To celebrate the re-opening of Norham Church after three months of electrical works amongst other things, Norham Village Band is welcoming us all back! Time to sit back and enjoy the music whilst also appreciating the results of all the hard work.
Come and enjoy a joyous afternoon of wonderful music, and a wonderful afternoon tea!
ST CUTHBERT'S CHURCH
HARVEST THANKSGIVING 2026
10.00am, Sunday 4th October
With the St Cuthbert’s Junior Singers
We will celebrate and give thanks for the re-opening of the church after three months of closure, and for the completion of major electrical and other work.
Donations of flowers, foliage and fresh produce, to help decorate the church, are welcome from 10am on Sat 3rd October. Harvest gifts are welcome at the service itself, for the benefit of the Berwick Food Bank, as follows:
Non-perishable food items.
Financial donations, for the retiring collection.
You are invited to
A HEALING SERVICE
6.00pm, Sunday 18th October
The Festival of St Luke, ‘the beloved physician’ (Colossians 4.14)
The service will be quiet and low key, with the opportunity to light a candle and, if you wish, ask for prayers for healing and wholeness for yourself, or for someone you know. The Vicar will be available to pray for you (perhaps alongside another church member), and confidentiality will be assured.
For more information please contact The Revd Rob Kelsey on (01289) 382325.
A SERVICE IN COMMEMORATION OF THE DEPARTED
6.00PM, ALL SOULS’ DAY
MONDAY 2ND NOVEMBER
In the Church of England we remember our departed loved ones, especially those who have died in the previous year, at a special service on All Souls’ Day. The service on 2nd November will include a Commemoration, when the names of those who have died are read aloud. The service will also include the opportunity to light candles in their memory.
If you would like your departed family and friends to be remembered in this way, then please write their names on the list that will be available at the back of church from Sunday 18th October.
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
8TH NOVEMBER
The Service for Remembrance Sunday will take place as usual this year, with the Remembrance Service in Norham Church at 10.00am, followed by the Act of Remembrance beside the war memorial from 10.45am.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
11TH NOVEMBER
Norham Primary School will take part in a commemoration for Remembrance Day, starting at about 10.50am on Wednesday 11th November, beside the war memorial. Everyone is welcome to attend.
NORHAM INDUSTRIAL SHOW
The 39th Norham Industrial Show will be held on Sunday 4th October.
Everyone is welcome to enter, no matter male, female, age 2 or 102 so why not have a look at the show schedule and give it a go?
Categories this year include jam, bread, pizza, tray bakes, flower arranging, knitting, floating bowls, photography, jewellery from junk etc …..and if none of that tickles your fancy there is a very popular colouring-in competition for adults and children.
It’s always lovely to see the children’s entries so please encourage your offspring.
Wendy and Ian at Norham village shop stock most of the more common ingredients for your baking, Foremans the Butchers has a tasty choice of cheeses for your cheese scones and Fords the Bakers sell simply the best scone making flour.
The show schedules are available in the Village Shop. Choose your categories, and drop your completed entry form into 28 West Street before show day along with the correct entry money.
On the morning of show day pop into the Village Hall with your exhibits and a sealed envelope containing your name and address for each entry which should be placed underneath each and every entry. This must be done by 12 noon on Sunday 4th October. (Ages too on outside of children envelopes please).
Then go home and relax whilst the judges decide who are winners. Prize cards are placed on winning entries, which can be viewed from 3.30pm. Good luck to all competitors.
Show secretary is Sheila Johnson.
The full schedule will be available in the village shops and here:
NORHAM WI
Our next meeting on Thursday 1 October is the most important one of our year.
It is the Annual Meeting where members will elect the President for the coming year. The meeting will start with a Pie and Pea lunch before progressing with the business of the afternoon and finishing with the members prize giving. To confirm the meeting starts at 1 p.m.
The meeting on 5 November will be a games afternoon and not as programmed, the members competition is something beginning with ‘N’ and the theme is Guy Fawkes.
For more information please email norhamlife@gmail.com.
CRAFT AND CHAT
Our weekly meetings continue as usual with attendees working on their own projects. This coming Wednesday 30 September is different, we will be joined by Lorna Watkins who will demonstrate and get us painting pottery. This is a new venture for us which we hope to repeat next year with a different craft. For further information please email norhamlife@gmail.com.
BIRCH HILL
You are warmly invited to the Bingo Night at Birch Hill!
NORHAM’S ADVENT CALENDAR
Yes - it’s that time again, and our traditional Advent Season is nearly upon us!
You are invited to take part by agreeing to be one of the ‘days’. You would decorate your own window in a Christmas theme and represent one of the 24 days of the Advent Calendar. A different window will be ‘revealed’ each day from December 1st until December 24th. This means that by December 24th there will be 24 windows on display. Places will be given on a first come first served basis and each participating house will be given a number.
If you’d like to be part of this Calendar, please contact Sheila Johnson on norhamlife@gmail.com before Saturday 31st October to register your interest.
You can choose your own number but again they will be allocated on a first come first served basis. If you don’t get your first choice I will try and allocate as close as possible to that.
ADVENT WREATHS
Last year we again had a good response to Christmas door wreaths so please, would you like to do it again? The village always looks so festive, the wreaths are very much admired and give pleasure to villagers as well as visitors.
To participate simply hang a seasonal wreath/ garland/ decoration on your front door/gate/railings during November.
You don’t need to let me know!
NORHAM VILLAGE HALL
Playing snooker
We are delighted for people to come to play snooker on an ad hoc basis. However at least 4 hours notice MUST be given for a booking so that it can be registered, approved and allow time for a response with details about access. There are now balls and a brush available for everyone to use.
Community lunches
The first lunch of the winter will be on Thursday October 15th at 12.30pm. A donation of £4 per person would be welcomed to cover costs and contribute to the fundraising for the hall. Future dates to follow but the aim is for them to take place on the 3rd Thursday of each month. If you would like to be involved in the provision of these lunches in any way please get in touch.
Community social afternoons
The next community social afternoon will be on Friday 6th November when we will show a film. Do emial us with any particular request!
Tables
New tables are on their way! The old table are now stored under the stage on trolleys. Please take care when taking them out or putting them away.
Donations
We do appreciate donations but please don’t just leave them in the hall. Email us on norhamvillagehall@gmail.com with your proposal and we will let you know if your gift would be useful.
ST CUTHBERT’S JUNIOR SINGERS
We are a group of mostly younger members who sing for fun. We enjoy singing a wide range of worship songs, pop songs, rounds, etc. We practice weekly on Thursdays for up to an hour starting at 3.30pm during term time. We also have the opportunity to lead First Sunday Worship and take part in other village activities. If you would like to join us, please contact Sarah at stcuthbertjs@gmail.com.
CONCERTS AT ST CUTHBERT’S
Andante Chamber Choir
presents A Choral Tapestry
Sun 11th October 3pm
Norham Church
Entry by donation
The ever popular and talented a cappella choir return with another varied and interesting programme of music.
A great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon - with afternoon tea of course!
Inn Echo Concert
Fri 6th November 7pm
Norham Church
Refreshments available!
TICKETS EARLY BIRD OFFER
FROM 25 AUG to 8 SEPT
£12; U25s £10
9 Sept onwards Tickets £15
Inn Echo crafts a cinematic, high-energy sound rooted in Celtic folk traditions, blending fierce fiddle, grooving guitar, and soaring cello.
After six remarkable years touring three continents and earning Music PEI awards along with JUNO, ECMA, and CFMA nominations, Inn Echo have plenty to reflect on but it’s the future that excites them most. Their 2023 album Hemispheres captures the spirit of their journey, drawing inspiration from festivals like Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival and Scotland’s Shetland Folk Festival while pushing the boundaries of what three trad instrumentalists can achieve. From their home base on Prince Edward Island, they continue to evolve their sound and explore new tours, territories, and creative horizons. Inn Echo invite audiences to pull up a chair - but keep their dancing shoes on!
A LITTLE NORHAM CHRISTMAS!
20th November 6pm
Norham Village Hall
Crikey is it that time already!
Tickets on sale soon… In the meantime put the date in your diary!
A lovely social occasion to enjoy whilst being inspired with great ideas for gifts for Christmas.
We’ve got some lovely new stalls for you - and some lovely old favourites!
FRIENDS OF NORHAM CASTLE
The Sheepgate is now open and the Heras fencing has been removed - a small but definite step towards full re-opening!
We are hoping to install habitat boxes in the woodland during the autumn to encourage bats, birds, especially owls, and insects to benefit from the environment.
The new updated guidebook for the castle can be obtained from friendsofnorhamcastle@gmail.com, Foreman the Butcher and both The Masons Arms and The Victoria hotel.
Find out more about Friends of Norham Castle.
NORHAM COMMUNITY WEBSITE
The Annual General Meeting of the Norham Community Website Association will meet on Friday 6th November at 10am in the committee room in the village hall. Everyone is welcome to come.
THE ST CUTHBERT'S PROJECT
Bulletin No. 17 - October 2026
The major electrical work in Norham Church is all but complete, with the new heating and lighting system in place. The new heaters, in particular, look very impressive!
The church will formally re-open with a celebration concert by the Norham Village Band, at 3.00pm on Saturday 3rd October. See separate publicity for more details. We hope that ‘Charlie the church clock’ will chime for the first time again at 3.00pm, just before the concert starts.
The following day, at 10.00am on Sunday 4th October, we will celebrate both Harvest Thanksgiving and the completion of this part of the St Cuthbert’s Project. It should be a very happy occasion! Again, see separate publicity for more details.
We are developing ideas for telling more stories about the church and community, and would welcome your comments and suggestions. You can chat to Jo Scott from our heritage interpretation planning group over afternoon tea at the concert on Saturday, and/or browse the proposals and share your thoughts after the service on Sunday. You are also warmly invited to our next interpretation planning meeting at 2pm on Wednesday 4th November, to be held in the church.
If you would like to find out more about the storytelling plans, or would like to be part of the heritage interpretation planning group, please email Jo Scott at stcuthbertsproject@gmail.com.
We are grateful to all our benefactors, including the Barbour Foundation, the Benefact Trust, the Blake Family Trust, the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, the Community Foundation (Barmoor Wind Farm), EDF, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Liddell-Simpson Trust, the Northumberland Historic Churches Trust, the Rothley Trust, the Steel Family, and the William Leech Charity.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday 1st October ~ WI meeting
Saturday 3rd October ~ Norham Village Band Concert
Sunday 4th October ~ Harvest Thanksgiving
Sunday 4th October ~ Norham Industrial Show
Sunday 11th October ~ Andante Chamber Choir
Thursday 15th October ~ Community Lunch
Sunday 18th October ~ Healing Service
Thursday 5th November ~ WI meeting
Friday 6th November ~ Community Social – Film
Friday 6th November ~ Inn Echo (Highlights) Concert
Sunday 8th November ~ Remembrance Sunday
Wednesday 11th November ~ Remembrance Day
Thursday 19th November ~ Community Lunch
Friday 20th November ~ Little Norham Christmas
ABOUT THE NEWSROUND
Newsround is Norham's free monthly community newsletter, bringing together local news, village updates and upcoming events. Printed copies are delivered to households throughout the parish by volunteers at the beginning of each month.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEXT EDITION
Items for publication, posters, dates for the diary and feedback can be emailed to Janet Young at janetyoung.lazda@gmail.com by 6pm on Tuesday 3rd November. Contributions should be submitted in Word or JPEG format rather than PDF.
