What you say #138
Christmas Lights Parade Thanks
It was fantastic to see the Christmas Lights Parade, people must have missed it for the past two years, as it seemed the lion’s share of Amble turned out to see this wonderful annual event. The Town Square thronged with activity and entertainment, as did the parade itself. It was a real community effort with more than 25 groups and organisations represented – all looked like they had an enormous amount of fun. Having fun and being an integral part of the Amble calendar is what we all aim for.
It was wonderful to have entertainment not only in the parade but also at various positions along the route. We at Amble Events Committee are always looking for ways to improve the occasion, whether it be through entertainment or attractions – so if you want to be involved or have any ideas, please do get in touch.
Of course, the parade had the tremendous backdrop of the Christmas lights. It is worth remembering Amble Christmas Lights Committee have to find all their own funding. We must be pretty unique in having such a dedicated band of volunteers who work throughout the year to repair, build and put up lights for us all to enjoy when the festive season arrives. If you would like to take part in their work and be a member of their team, please get in touch through The Ambler.
If you enjoy the parade and Christmas lights, as well as other community events in the year like the Puffin Festival, please be as generous as you can when you are asked for a contribution, whether it be time or money. The costs of staging these events may surprise you – just to close the road for the parade is over £1000, not to mention insurances and licences etc.
We really enjoyed this Christmas parade and we are already looking forward to December 2023. If you want to:
• Be part of the parade organisation
• Join or help the Christmas lights team
• Be a sponsor (companies or individuals)
• Or have ideas for how to make it better
– then get in touch now via The Ambler (editor@theambler.co.uk) or Julia Aston (julia@ambledevelopmenttrust.org.uk).
Thank you,
Bartle Rippon,
Chair, Amble Events Committee
Information please
A long lost pal who joined the RAF as a Boy Entrant in 1961 aged 16, Reg Taylor originated from Amble.
I am wondering if he is still around and if anyone from his family can contact me and give me any information.
I was known as Ken Tinker and I hailed from Blyth (although my name has changed since then for personal reasons to Ken Mckean).
Kenmckean100@gmail.com – I live in hope!
Ken Mckean
Via email
Disappearing wildlife habitats
I fully support your correspondent’s efforts to protect nature in the boat storage area behind Broomhill Street as did Lily Tibbitts in her excellent article “Wildlife v Weeds” in a previous issue.
There are many other sites within Amble rich in plant and animal life worthy of protection. These places harbour Amble’s natural heritage which are Amble’s links to its rural past.
These sites are relatively small but varied. Each has its own distinctive flora and fauna. The whitebeams and rowans which were felled on the Coquet Industrial Estate earlier this year were one such habitat which if they had been protected might well have offered a rich food source to the waxwing and fieldfare which turned up in Priory Park a few days before Christmas.
Other sites around the industrial estate are home to Meadow Brown and Small Skipper butterflies as well as Cinnabar moths. Wildflowers such as Cuckoo Flower, Meadow Buttercup, Common Knapweed and Hoary Ragwort which help to sustain these insects and many others, are also present.
The presence of orchids also hint at unimproved pasture, a unique habitat which is disappearing elsewhere.
Identifying and protecting such sites from development and mis-management would cost little and they could become an attraction to visitors and residents alike and could even be of educational value to local schools as environmental study areas.
Before Hauxley Grange was built skylarks sang over the former meadow in Spring and Summer and probably nested there too. A barn owl used to hunt over the rough grass verge, now under tarmac, adjacent to Percy Drive. Slowly but surely nature is disappearing from Amble. The Braid, with its wealth of biodiversity, is presently under threat of development. Perhaps now is the time to halt this trend and instead recognise the community value these areas offer.
Yours sincerely,
Hugh Tindle, via email
