Meeting Friends of Sunniside

 

I met up with volunteers from Friends of Sunniside last night to discuss arrangements for forthcoming events. The first is on Saturday 14th November (11.30-3pm) when Cornerstone Church holds its Christmas fair. Alas, I will not be able to make this event as I am at a conference in Northumberland.

On Sunday 29th November (4pm-6pm) Cornerstone Church will be holding a Christmas celebration event. There will be free food and the Friends of Sunniside's Christmas tree lights will be switched on. Entry is free.

Meanwhile, on 13th December (4pm) Cornerstone Church will be holding a Christmas carol service.

So, lots happening.

Lighting up Sunniside

 

On Monday I met up with Plant Up Sunniside to put the final touches to the Switch on Sunniside event on 25th November. I've booked the Christmas donkey and "reindeer". Santa is coming as well. There will be live music from Anna Reay. There will be no Christmas tree as such this year, sadly. The cost of buying a tree (plus delivery, installation, insurance etc) from the Council has jumped from £3200 to £3800. That has put having a Christmas tree beyond reach for many community groups in Gateshead, Sunniside included. Instead, the trees in the planters on Sunniside Front Street will be decorated with battery powered lights. The trees aren't conifers but they will light up well.

So, come along on 25th November. Events kick off at 4.30pm and finish about 6pm.

Uniformed organisation parade

 

On Sunday, after the remembrance service was over in Whickham, there was a parade of uniformed organsiations.

Wreath laying in Whickham

 

Over 50 local organisations laid wreaths at the Whickham War Memorial during the Remembrance service on Sunday 8th November 2026.

Last Post

 

My 3rd video from Remembrance Sunday - Last Post.

Remembrance parade arrives at Whickham War Memorial

 

Filmed on Sunday 8th November as the Remembrance parade arrives at the Whickham war memorial.

Remembrance Sunday video - the parade forms up

 

On Sunday we held the Remembrance Sunday parade in Whickham. I've made a number of videos of the event. This is the first - the parade forms up ready to head to the War Memorial.

First at the Chowdene action day

 

I was the first to arrive at the Gateshead Lib Dem action day this morning in Chowdene ward. That meant I had the first choice on which patch I was to deliver. Somehow I ended up with the biggest patch which also contained a huge number of houses with long flights of steps just to get to front doors. The good news is that I managed to get the whole patch delivered.

The by-election tea leaves

There was a by-election in Penn Hill in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole on Thursday. The result was:

Lib Dem - 1,278, 43.6% (+0.9)

Con - 764, 26.1% (+1.0)

Reform - 521, 17.8% (new)

Labour - 135, 4.6% (-6.7)

Restore - 106, 3.6% (new)

Green - 65, 2.2% (-6.5)

Ind1 - 55, 1.9% (new)

Ind2 - 7, 0.2% (new)

So what do the by-election tea leaves have to say?

The Conservatives seemed rather excited about this contest. It was once a Conservative held ward and they pushed the claim that the battle was between Conservatives and Reform. They claimed the Lib Dems couldn't win. The reality was somewhat different. The Conservatives came second but the battle was between them and the Lib Dems. Reform came third. There was an interesting intervention from Restore. Add together Reform and Restore votes and the non-Conservative right would still be in 3rd place.

Labour and Greens each lost most of their vote share. I don't have enough information to explain why both lost votes. It could be down to either local or national issues (the Greens in particular are having problems as a result of their anti-semitic vote at their conference.)

Thumbs up to Bournemouth Lib Dems. 44% is a now strong vote share in this age of multi-party politics.

Printing again

 

Gateshead Lib Dems are having yet another action day on Saturday. That meant I was in the office this morning printing the survey we are delivering. The printing machine worked without a hitch. That's a first for me!

The orange one is in Sunniside

 

The scarecrow festival is currently taking place in Sunniside and Streetgate. This is my favourite.

Walkabout

 

Recently, Cllr Marilynn Ord (one of my ward colleagues) and I accompanied a Gateshead housing officer on a walkabout in Sunniside and Byermoor toidentify issues on the council owned estates. Marilynn and I also had lists of issues we wanted to raise. We will be reporting back to residents as and when these issues are resolved or progress on them is made.

(photos taken in Byermoor Park)

Photos from Whickham North and Swalwell action day

 

On Saturday we had another action day in Gateshead, this time in Whickham North and Swalwell ward. Here are some of my photos. Providing lunch is always a good way to booost the number of helpers.

Library reopening - the video

 

The official reopening of Whickham Library took place on 15th October. I took the opportunity to make this short video of the refurbished facility.

Photos from the official reopening of Whickham Voluntary Library

 

Earlier this month the official reopening of Whickham Voluntary Library took place. The refurbishment was paid for by a government Pride in Place grant. Here are a few of the photos I took on the evening.

Whickham North Focus delivery

 

Another Saturday and another Focus delivery for Lib Dems in Gateshead. I was given a patch to deliver which I know well. It is now a part of Whickham North and Swalwell ward but until May this year it had been part of my ward. Lunch back at the home of Councillors Peter and Susan Craig.

Timing of this action day was spot on. It was dry this morning although it start to drizzle at midday. Had the evening weather shifted back a few hours we would have been drenched in one of the heaviest storms in ages.

Delivering in Whickham

 

We couldn't let a few days go by without delivering some more surveys. So this morning I had a couple of patches to deliver across two patches in Whickham. I was slowed up by conversations with residents and then,five minutes before I finished, it started raining. I'm not complaining. We need the rain! 

Why I'm fighting these plans

 

I put together this video about why I oppose proposals to build 210 houses to the south of Sunniside.

Ready for tomorrow

 

We are all ready for tomorrow! Gateshead Lib Dems have another action day, this time in the Whickham area. We will be delivering a survey which I printed yesterday - see photo above where the leaflets are coming off the folding machine at high speed.

Looking good!

 

Well done everyone involved with Planting Up Whickham. Flower beds and tubs look fantastic. I will be along on Sunday when the volunteers will be stripping the beds. My job is to take the vegetation to my farm and turn it into compost.

Show Racism the Red Card

The anti-racism charity, Show Racism the Red Card, appeared to have a poor start to October when it was announced that Gateshead and Sunderland Councils, both run by Reform, were withrewing support for the charity. Coming in to defend the charity however is Lib Dem led Newcastle Council. The Leader, Cllr Colin Ferguson, has announced that the Tyne Bridge and Newcastle Civic Centre will both be lit up in red on Wednesday. Well done to Reform for ensuring Show Racism the Red Card is getting far more publicity than would otherwise normally be the case.

Inside the refurbished library

 

Whickham Library is currently being refurbished. On Saturday I was able to see inside. It's looking great. Doors reopen on 30th September.

Sunniside MacMillan coffee mornings

 

On Friday, Sunniside hosted 2 MacMillan coffee mornings, at the Pharmacy and at the Social Club. I went to both!

Inside the refurbished library

 

On Saturday we (ie the Whickham Lib Dem Councillors) held our monthly advice surgery outside Whickham Library. The reason we were outside rather than inside is because the Library is undergoing refurbishment. We were given the opportunity to have a look around. The work is nearly finished and the Library is looking great. It reopens on 30th September.

Surgery tomorrow

Everyone, please hope for a rain free day tomorrow in Whickham! I will be having my monthly advice surgery with my Lib Dem councillor colleagues at 10am outside Whickham Library. Note the word "outside". The Library is closed for refurbishment so the surgery will be in the great outdoors. The umbrella will possibly accompany me.

Let me eat cake

 

Today, Sunniside hosted 2 MacMillan coffee mornings - at the Pharmacy and at the Club. I felt it was very appropriate tht I visit both and buy lots of cakes and scones. That's my lunch sorted!

Brighton Conference

 

I am in Brighton for the Lib Dem conference and yesterday I got to meet a political hero of mine: Lynne (now Baroness) Featherstone. As home office minister in the coalition government (2010-15), Lynne was instrumental in passing the legislation that legalised same sex marriage. It is because of her that I now wear a wedding ring. As she was able to pass the same sex legislation, David and I were able to get married. Lynne Featherstone, my hero.

Focus delivery, Mexican style

 

Gateshead and Durham Lib Dems held a join action day on Saturday. On the Gateshead side we delivered 1000 Focus on Barley Mow newsletters. On the other side of the border, Durham delivered their latest edition of their North Lodge Focus. 

We are used to action day lunches consisting of sandwiches. North Lodge Councillor Craig Martin had other ideas. It turns out he is a keen cook and likes to experiment. We were happy to be the guinea pigs to test out his latest Mexican themed cooking. It all went down very well!

Memories of 9-11

I remember distinctly 11th September 2001. I was working for the Lib Dem group at the Local Government Association at the LGA HQ in London. The internet was more basic and slower back then but I was able to pick up a news report that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. My initial thought was that it was a small plane that was involved in the collision. A few days before I had (wearing my historian's hat) studied a crash by a light aircraft into the Empire State Building in 1945. I presumed the crash in 2001 was something similar. I mentioned the crash to colleagues as they returned from lunch only to discover no one could get onto the BBC News site. Apparently it was overloaded.

And then came the rumour that a passenger jet, not a light plane, had hit the WTC. We knew there was a tv in the basement so we headed down there to see one of the towers burning and to witness the 2nd attack followed by the collapse of both towers. It was a Kennedy moment. Everyone old enough remembers what they were doing when they heard the news of the assassination. Now everyone old enough remembers what they were doing when they learnt of the attacks on the WTC, Pentagon and American Airlines 93.

With fears that this terror attack could be about to hit other countries, the Blair government ground all aircraft in UK airspace. We felt as though we were all under siege and as we were based in Westminster, next to Parliament, and fearing the rail and tube could be suspended, we were told to head home. I got to Victoria Station which was unusually crowded for an afternoon but fortunately the trains were still running. These were the days when mobile phones were simply for making calls but David was able to phone me from the safety of the North East and give me an update.

I got back to the house later in the afternoon and watched as events unfolded on television. We knew at that point that the world would never be the same again.

Front Street looking great

 

Volunteers from Planting Up Sunniside have been hard at work on Sunniside Front Street. The flower beds look great. Well done everyone.

Printing again

 

With the summer break now behind us, we are back to campaigning. I was in our print room this morning the result of which was 1000 leaflets ready for delivery this weekend.

Six month absence and he stands again

This is the first time that I have ever come across an ex-councillor standing in a ward where he caused the election by not attending any meetings. If a councillor fails to attend a meeting for six months, they are off the council and a by-election is called. Most of those former councillors disappear never to be seen again. Not so ex-councillor John Allen, elected for Reform in Hirst ward of Northumberland last year. He failed to put in an appearance at council meetings from February to August, at which point the 6 month rule kicked in.

The resulting by-election will be held on 1st October and, you guessed it, Allen is standing again, this time without the Reform branding. Instead, he is standing as an Independent. 

This contest sees the Conservatives, Restore, Reform and ex-Reform battling for the right wing vote. On the centre and left of the political spectrum, Labour and the Lib Dems are battling for the progressive vote without a Green candidate to muddy the water.

Chowdene action day

 

On Saturday 5th September 2026, Gateshead Lib Dems held an action day, this time in Chowdene ward. Most of the ward was delivered with the Focus in the morning. I had a patch of 275 to deliver, only to find whilst out delivering that 60 had to come off my delivery list - I bumped into a colleague who was delivering part of my patch by mistake! It meant I was the first back at HQ for lunch! By the time everyone else was back, we could see that only 4 patches (see photo above) were left to deliver. 

I was not sticking around after lunch. I had tickets to watch Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home 40th anniversary at the Tyneside Cinema. It's one of my favourite films. Definitely not to be missed.

Three way split for parties of the right

A by-election in the Northumberland ward of Amble is due to be held on 1st October. The vacancy has been caused by the death of Arty Hume, first elected in May last year for Reform. The point of interest is the list of the parties contesting the by-election. There are four: Conservatives, Reform, Restore and Labour. I am scratching my head as to why there is no Lib Dem candidate. Sadly, the party is not as strong in Northumberland as it used to be. Notice also the absence of a Green candidate. It means the rightwing vote is split three ways. If Labour can't win in such circumstances, can they ever win?

Another point of interest will be the impact of the presence of a Restore candidate on Reform's vote. Will Restore grab a share of Reform's vote, enough to cost them the by-election? We shall find out on 1st October.

Oh no, not another by-election

Has Keir Starmer left a ticking time bomb in Burnham's inbox? His resignation as MP for Holborn and St Pancras means a tricky by-election. The Greens are already sniffing around the constituency and they are doing nothing to deflect suggestions that Zak Polanski will be their candidate. The talk is that Starmer has handed the constituency to Polanski. But is that really the case?

In the May local elections, Labour actually held on, though admittedly with a reduced majority, in Camden, the authority that covers Holborn and St Pancras. Elsewhere, Labour were in meltdown. It seems in Camden that people regard Labour a bit more positively than elsewhere. There is likely to be a rebound in the Labour vote, as already seen in opinion polls and in the Makkerfield by-election. And I'm not convinced that the Labour machine was unaware of the by-election. I suspect Starmer had been in talks with Labour campaign chiefs and an assessment of Labour prospects has been made. Perhaps he's going now because Labour feel they have a good chance of holding on, subject to a suitable candidate. Meanwhile, the gloss has started to come off Polanski. And an examination of Green policies could put off many moderate centrist voters.

So although the Greens may be getting excited about Polanski storming his way into Parliament, I would caution against all this excitement. We may be in for a big battle but if Polanski stands and loses, his political career is over.

Dunston fair video

 

Basil and Dandelion went down well with visitors to the Dunston fair yesterday. As you can see, they were the stars in the video I filmed on the day.

Dunston fair

 

This morning I took two of our goats to Dunston fair. Dandelion and Basil spent the morning and afternoon being given lots of apples and attention. My colleagues Peter Maughan, Marilynn Ord, Jason Meecham and Peter and Susan Craig were there as well. Particular mention is made of Emma from Dunston who took over the running of the fair some weeks ago. It probably wouldn't have gone ahead without her.

Leapfrogging in style

Yesterday there was a by-election in the Newcastle City Council ward of Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn. Yet again, it was another Reform resignation after just a few weeks in the role of councillor. The ward itself was comfortably held by Labour until their near wipe out in Newcastle. From a council Labour had run with a significant majority, they were reduced to two. But with the Burnham Bounce and the boost that can be gained by starting in second place in the ward, Labour must have fancied their chances of regaining the ward.

Throckley must have been the worst ward to try to pull off a Lib Dem coup in Newcastle. We were chugging along with barely a few percent. Even the Conservatives were ahead of us. Ahead of them were the Greens, who were stalking Labour who were in a slightly distant 2nd place. Reform had a comfortable majority. The margins may have been significant but Labour should have been the primary challengers. And then everything went wrong.

Instead of storming the Reform barricades in Throckley, Labour slumped. Instead, the Lib Dems were doing the storming from the back of the queue. In spectacular style, they leapfrogged the Conservatives, Greens and Labour to seize the coveted 2nd position. It would have been great to leapfrog in style by winning the seat outright but the Lib Dems now have a winnable ward which, if worked, could go Lib Dem next time.

The actual result (with the top result for each party in May in brackets for comparison) was:

• Reform 901 (1380)
• Lib Dems (Steve Kelly) 670 (150)
• Labour 534 (914)
• Greens 103 (432)
• Conservatives 101 (276)

The only party with an increased vote are the Lib Dems. Greens and Conservatives were squeezed right down. Labour lost nearly half their vote. Reform lost approximately a third of their vote. Meanwhile the Lib Dem vote quadrupled.

Well done to Steve Kelly who has taught us to leapfrog in style.

Protesting again a greenbelt development

 

Plans by Banks Group to build 210 houses on the fields to the south of Sunniside are not going down well in the village. The planning application is not yet submitted to Gateshead Council but it is expected later this year. I organised a photo op for the Evening Chronicle on Thursday for residents to protest against the proposals. With only a couple of days' notice, 30-40 came along, having responded to the post I put on our Lib Dem Facebook page, Focus on NE16.

Our reasons for opposing the proposals are:

• the site is greenbelt;
• the village is heavily congested;
• the community infrastructure (schools, health services etc) are already overstretched;
• the drainage in the village is already inadequate and during times of heavy rain, sewage overflows into the local stream.

The application has not yet been submitted but we expect it to be with the Council later this year.

Come and see Basil and Dandelion tomorrow

 

Tomorrow I will be taking two of our goats to another local fair, this time in Dunston Park, Gateshead. I will be taking dandelion (see above) one of our young nannies and Basil (see below), a billy kid born earlier this year. The fair is open 11am to 3pm.

Meeting Planting Up Sunniside

 

Another floral display from Planting Up Sunniside. The group have taken on the role of brightening the village by planting up containers and verges. They are meeting shortly and I've been invited to attend. The Sunniside Christmas tree and the switch on event will be on the agenda. I will have to report that there will be only one donkey for the switch on. We had three last year but this year two of the donkeys have been sold (they used to live in the stables next to my farm). But one is better than none and if necessary I could bring a couple of my goats to the switch on cunningly disguised as reindeer!

Goodbye Dolly

Sad news: Dolly Parton has passed away. I saw her in concert at the O2 about a decade ago. She was one of the greatest singers and entertainers of the last 6 decades. The world will be a less colourful place without her. She accepted people for what they are and she was a great success in a male dominated world. 

RIP Dolly.

Housing protest on Thursday

On Thursday I have arranged for a reporter/photographer to come to Sunniside where he will be reporting on the proposals by Banks Group to build 210 houses on the land immediately to the south of the village. Residents fighting the proposals are welcome to join us at midday at the Burdon Park/Burdon Lodge entrance to the Tanfield Bridleway.

Councillor Marilynn Ord and I are opposing the plans because:

• The site is greenbelt which protects land from development;
• Sunniside is heavily congested during morning and evening rush hours as the village is on one of the busiest routes between Tyneside and northern Durham;
• The community infrastructure (eg health services) in Sunniside would be stretched to breaking point with the addition of 210 houses;
• The village's existing drainage and sewage system struggles to cope and especially in winter, there can be sewage overflows into the Blackburn, the stream which runs through local woodland and through Watergate Park.

The planning application has not yet been submitted but it is expected later this year. A final decision is expected next year.

Residents are welcome to join us on Thursday.

Reform's foundations of rubbish

 

In Gateshead, the new Reform administration is learning the hard way how to put one's foot in one's mouth and look ridiculous in one go. Council Leader Nick Allan thought it was a good idea to back a proposal for defense manufacturing hubs to be set up at five locations in the UK, one of which was Blaydon Quarry in Gateshead. The proposals were the work of the Adam Smith Institute, not exactly known for any left-leaning inclinations. Nevertheless, Cllr Allan rushed to back the proposals publicly and the Chronicle, the North East's daily newspaper, carried the story.

Alas, within 24 hours, the Blaydon Quarry proposal was in tatters. Cllr Allan overlooked a small but rather important point. The Quarry is already occupied - by a landfill site! No rubbish has been deposited there since 2021 and the site has since been capped (under the direction of Gateshead Council). Had Cllr Allan checked with officers, he would have realised the location was a non-starter.

Within 24 hours, the Quarry proposal was abandoned. How long Cllr Allan's red faced embarrassment will continue is anyone's guess!

Dr Who or Terminator

 

Yesterday I went to the Tyneside Cinema to see the Dr Who film released in 1996. The showing was to mark the 30th anniversary of the film. Back in the 1990s there was a great deal of hope and anticipation about the Dr Who film. Nearly a decade earlier the plug had been pulled on the TV series but Dr Who fans, myself included, hoped the film would kickstart the production of a regenerated TV programme. Oh how wrong we were.

In 1996, with high expectations came low returns. There was widespread disappointment with the film which felt too Americanised. Somehow, car chases, bullets flying, shoot-outs and a disturbing lack of Daleks just didn't seem like the Dr Who we previously knew. Kiss goodbye to any thoughts of a return to the small screen. It wasn't until 2005 (in the middle of the election campaign) that Dr Who eventually made its comeback.

So what did I expect when, for the first time in 30 years, I saw the film again? Frankly I went with low expectations this time. As I sat through the viewing yesterday, I felt I was watching Terminator. That didn't help matters as Terminator 2 is one of my favourite films and ironically I have already booked up tickets at the Tyneside Cinema to see Arnie in September!

As for Dr Who the Movie? I'm still disappointed. It seems I haven't mellowed over the past 30 years.

Conference agenda now online

 

Lib Dem conference agenda and directory are now live on the party's website. I will be there for the whole of conference, indeed, for a bit longer still. I usually arrive at conference on either the Saturday or Sunday. This time I will arrive in Brighton on the Friday morning so I can attend an afternoon training session. I've also got a ticket for an event in the evening run by the Social Liberal Forum. This includes a reception and a trip up the i360, a viewing tower on Marine Parade.

What I have to do now is read the conference papers. I will start with checking which training events are taking place. Then move on to fringe events and bringing up the rear will be policy debates. Over 20 years ago I was part of the policy team so I was involved with writing the policy papers that went to conference. Nowadays I'm quite happy to have a more leisurely approach to conference!

You can read the conference papers on this link.

Are food price rises on the horizon?

 

There can be no doubts about it: the drought is affecting the food supply and there is likely to be an impact on prices this autumn and winter. I keep sheep and goats on our farm but we also make our own hay. The hay crop is about a quarter of what it would have been if we had had a bit of rain in the summer. We have enough hay to get us into next year but we won't be selling much. The problem is multiplied across the country. Farmers are already feeding their winter hay to their livestock. Price rises are already on the horizon.

The video above was filmed on our farm earlier this month when we got our first hay crop in.

A successful visit

 

I recently arranged for Sunniside History Society members to visit Ravensworth Castle in Gateshead. The trip took place on Saturday. The Castle was a stately home designed by John Nash (who designed Buckingham Palace when the Prince Regent was around) but it was partially demolished in the late 1930s and then more substantially in the 1950s. Fragments survive including the stable block and a corner of the Nash house (see photo above). In addition, the two medieval corner towers have survived the ravishes of time far more so than the rest of the site.

Ravensworth Castle is in the Ravensworth Park estate and is privately owned. You can't just turn up and look around. All visits must be arranged in advance.

There were about 15 of us on the visit and a good time was had by all. There were two of us able to talk about the history of the site - myself and Barry, the head gamekeeper at Ravensworth. Barry's intimate knowledge of the buildings was especially useful.

I was the only member of the group who had previously been to the Castle so this visit was a new experience for the others.

Stable block.

Stable block

Fish pond.

Good start but....

It seems that Andy Burnham has got off to a good start. I had previously thought of him as something of a lightweight but his performance since becoming PM has made me revisit my opinions on him. This is of course the honeymoon stage of his premiership. We saw with Starmer and Brown that honeymoons can be shortlived. It will be interesting to see how long Burnham's last. Nevertheless I get the feeling that most people want him to succeed, at least for the nation' sake.

But then we come back to the same problems that Starmer faced. Burnham makes announcements on policies but he still has all the restrictions that were placed on his predecessor. All the problems that faced Starmer are still there. He was not able to resolve them (his time in office was after all curtailed). Time will judge Burnham in the years to come on whether he succeeded where Starmer fell short.

Which is the most unworkable policy?

It seems the Conservatives have entered a competition with Reform to see which party can come up with the most unworkable policy. Over the past week, Reform announced that if they were in government, they would use the Royal Navy to forcibly return asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats to France. That would mean Royal Navy vessels entering French territorial waters without permission from the French authorities. The French have already announced they will not allow ships to dock. For an unworkable policy, Reform are awarded 10 out of 10.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have come up with a plan to solve the housing crisis by evicting people. Specifically, they want foreign nationals thrown out of social housing. The patronising claim by the Conservatives is that somehow those living in social housing are not paying their way and should therefore be kicked out of their homes so they are forced to support themselves. But what about the hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who are paying their way? People who work in the NHS or in vital other local services? According to the Conservatives, they are living off everyone else so they need to be evicted. Another 10 out of 10 for an unworkable policy.

Neo-Nazi and net zero

The Conservatives have really lost the plot. In a desperate bid to outdo Reform, Kemi Badenoch has announced that no one supporting net zero will be allowed to stand as a Conservative candidate in the general election. This led to one former cabinet member (Grant Shapps) being refused permission to stand. Yet at the same time she was standing by a Conservative local election candidate with convictions for harassment and neo-Nazi activities. This candidate has now stood down but the damage to the Conservatives has been done.

Ravensworth Castle visit

 

As chair of Sunniside History Society, I have arranged a visit to Ravensworth Castle (or what is left of it after the demolition squads of the 1930s and 1950s had finished their work). What is left is the stable block, the two Medieval corner towers, the ice house and a corner of the John Nash mansion. The trip will be on Saturday. If you want to join the visit, come to the Sunniside History Society meeting tonight (Wednesday 5th August) at Sunniside Social Club and register your interest. You can also email sun1h1st@gmail.com.

Cornerstone community fair

 

Cornerstone Church recently took over the former Sunniside Methodist Church building. I am delighted that Cornerstone took on this project as it ensured the building continues to be available for use by the community and the heritage of the Sunniside was retained and protected. On Sunday, the church held its first community fair. I was there to run the Sunniside History Society table. My ward colleague Cllr Jonathan Mohammed also popped in (see photo above).