Haltwhistle Summer Carnival

The sunnier days are already making us (as a family) think about Carnival days. Haltwhistle has a carnival every July. The town gets dressed up (in various forms) and parades down the High Street and out on the lower road past the petrol station (the old A69). Each year it gets better and better.
You can see more photos here of the carnival. When it has all paraded past and we've got lots of photos everyone heads down to the fields where the fun fair is set up. The children adore it! Fingers crossed that we are in for an exceptionally sunny Summer.

Having said that...no hosepipe ban for us as yet! :-)

Hadriana's Four Wynds' B&B/Hadrian's Wall Short Films

I know I have been incredibly quiet of late and realise that my New Year's Resolution of blogging each day has gone for a complete and utter Burton. Mea culpa! My fault! Things have got incredibly, incredibly busy with the B&B, Four Wynds; my putative company "Hands-on-Latin" and I'm running around in circles. More of which anon.

You might be interested in these short videos (above) which I made with Hadrian's Wall Heritage and Endemol in the last couple of years. (I've been dying to show you them but I've now got the green light from HWH to do so now. euge! Hurrah!) I'm a volunteer guide for Hadrian's Wall Heritage. I'll also be placing them on my sidebar here on the blog as well.

I'm almost ready to launch my guiding/language course company called "Hands-on-Latin". is all about teaching the links between Latin, the Romance Languages and English using the Roman remains in this area. I will be teaching/guiding indoors and outdoors. I'll also be teaching Latin too via courses and inscriptions. I'm hoping to get the company up and running over the next month or so.

Last things to do...create a website and write the course outlines...and then I'm practically ready to go!

If you are in the Hexham area tomorrow - I'll be on a stand at the Northumberland Leaflet Fair at Wentworth (next door to Waitrose and the Leisure Centre/Swimming Pool). The big supermarkets in Hexham are at the bottom of the town. I'll be there with Sue Wardle, a Blue Badge Tourist Guide, who's a good friend....The doors open at 11 am and the day finishes at 4pm. Come and say 'hello'! I'd be delighted to see you there. :-)

vale! Bye for now! Hadriana

P.S.: There is a deliberate (or not so deliberate!) factual error in the middle film. The Roman coins found by a workman in the Roman quarry on Barcombe Hill (above the fort of Vindolanda) date, in fact, to Hadrian's reign - and are not, as I said, "Pre-Hadrianic". Still kicking myself over that one...but hey! "Nobody's perfect!" ;-)