All posts by Tom-M

Charity, Children

Children’s Hopes and Dreams village group

This is a Witton Gilbert fund-raising organization which supports lots of community and charity activities for children in the village and further afield.

Some of the activities for summer 2024:

  • Free football coaching on the field, usually every Wednesday evening through August.
  • A qualified CrossFit trainer puts on four sessions.
  • Supporting the much loved Woodland Wonders children’s holiday sessions with lunches and other support.

According to Jon Reynolds, one of the organizers: “We put a Halloween party and Christmas party on at the club, all free. We also do other things during the year like the pantomime horse race”. The horse race is an annual event since 2021 and the date is to be confirmed.

Jon added: “Last year we put guitar lessons on and supplied the instruments, but that is yet not confirmed for this year.

“We also designed a programme with suicide prevention charity If U Care Share to go into year 5 in Witton Gilbert Primary School for six weeks to prepare the kids for going to the “big” school. This went down really well with the kids and parents so we are raising money to do this again and want it be a yearly thing. This cost us £3,500 for the first year but will only cost us £2,000 moving forward as it is all designed.”

Children’s hopes and dreams was originally set up nearly 30 years ago in memory of a local serviceman, Michael Stephenson, who was in the Royal Marines and died from a heart embolism at the age of 23 years. Here is a story in the Northern Echo.

Since then they have organized a football tournament in his memory for many years and have continued to raise money for different causes, including the primary school, local playgroups and the Treetops children’s ward, at the University Hospital of North Durham.

Business

WG’s screaming chillis

Screaming Chimp is world-class chilli sauce made in Witton Gilbert – and the first chillis were grown here too.

Cragside resident Niall McKay-Mount said his friend Paul initially gave him some chilli seedings in 2015 when he was suffering from depression: “Grow them mate, they may take your mind off things.”

Niall developed sauce recipes and distributed to family and friends for special events and, in February 2016, trademarked the name Screaming Chimp. He launched operations in June.

The first of many years of awards came in 2017, and in the first three years Niall and Mrs. Chimp Vicky produced 30,000 bottles from the kitchen in Cragside.

In 2019 they outsourced some production – which helped them survive lockdown in 2020 – but Niall told us he still produces limited edition bottles, chimponnaise, chilli peanuts and designs new recipes at home.

After lockdown and arrival of baby Albi Edward, 2021 brought on board new stockists. The Screaming Chimp chilli sauces from the NorthEast are shipped worldwide to Australia , Belgium, Netherlands and the UAE, as well as lots of collaborations with top restaurants, pizza makers, burger shops and other great taste specialists.

Niall spends many of the weekdays in production and marketing at his local business. At weekends he is often on the road to shows to sell sauces, test recipes and meet new customers. The varieties available are:

  • Chimpotle
  • Chilli Oil
  • Chimponnaise
  • Original hot sauce
  • Pineapple
  • Screamer
  • Mon-key Lime
  • Rhubarb, Ginger and Chilli preserve – limited edition this June/July
  • Chilli peanuts

What’s Niall’s advice for budding entrepreneurs in Witton Gilbert? He says: “Be prepared to change, and to pivot your operations” and “listen to advice, but don’t try to follow it all”.

Big events coming up are Windsor Food and Chilli Festival (29-30 June), Seaham Food Festival (3-4 August), North Shields Christmas Market (9-10 December) and many more. They also have regular stands at Hartlepool Marina market once a month and at Jesmond Market.

You can buy Screaming Chimp chilli sauces at:
Broom House Farm (DH7 6TR)
Holmside Farm Fresh (Whiteside Farm, Burnhope, DH7 0DR)
Market Cheese and Deli (Covered Market, Durham DH1 3NJ)
Northern Stores & Deli (Unit 14 Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, Durham DH1 3UJ
Or buy on the website, https://www.screamingchimp.com/.

Hashtags for social media #KeeponChimpin, #staysauceome and #Screamifyouwannagohotter. Screaming Chimp is also on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok.

Music, Whats On

Martin McAloon (Prefab Sprout) 2024 tour dates

Martin McAloon, formerly bass player of Witton Gilbert’s megastar band the Prefab Sprout, is touring again in 2024. This follows his very successful 2023 tour.

I saw Martin at The Cluny in Newcastle last year and the gig features lots of the Prefab Sprout favourites. His excellent arrangements for guitar amazingly bring the big Sprout sound into just him and his guitar. It was great! It was also fantastic to catch up with him after the show, and get the t-shirt.

According to the tour press release: “Although born with the open road in his blood, Prefab Sprout appear to have had a 40-year aversion to playing live and he hope these new shows “40 YEARS: A VERSION” will address his gigging addiction.

“He’ll be revisiting the repertoire written by his brother Paddy, that stretches back through the classic Prefab Sprout albums: Swoon, Steve McQueen, Protest Songs, Langley Park to Memphis, Jordan: The Comeback, Let’s Change the World With Music, Andromeda Heights, The Gunman and Other Stories, I Trawl The Megahertz, and Crimson / Red.

“Expect all the hits and pared-back acoustic versions of Prefab Sprout’s most beloved songs, along with some storytelling and the opportunity to meet Martin after the show.”

Live shows in the North East include:

  • 16 August – O2 City Hall in Newcastle, where he is opening act for top electronic producer Thomas Dolby. Get your ticket here. (Martin is opening for all the tour)
  • 15 December – The Cluny Newcastle, a friendly venue where you get to see Martin up close. This one sold out last year – get your ticket here.
  • See all the tour gigs below, including the Irish concerts in October.

Here is Martin McAloon’s website with all his tour dates, including the first tour to Ireland after 25 years.

Here is our #PrefabSprout page, linking back to an excellent 2017 post on the wonderful Sproutology website. It gives detailed description of the layout, activities and local memories of the McAloon garage on both sides of Front Street, when it was run by Tommy McAloon,. No doubt many in Witton Gilbert village remember it.

Here is an old Guardian article where Paddy McAloon and Thomas Dolby remember working together on the album Steve McQueen and playing and composing music in Witton Gilbert village and in Consett and London.

Martin McAloon of Prefab Sprout music tour 2024
Martin McAloon of Prefab Sprout from Witton Gilbert village music tour 2024
Music, Whats On

Wittfest music festival early-bird tickets tomorrow 18 May

Witton Gilbert’s own music festival is coming up on Saturday 13 July, the annual Wittfest. It is held at the lovely Traveller’s Rest pub.

Entry is by wristband and the early-bird price £10 wristbands are on sale tomorrow, 18 May from 2pm-5pm, only at the Traveller’s Rest. After tomorrow they are £15 each. Traveller’s Rest is also having a bottomless brunch tomorrow.

Here is the line-up for the Witfest, with bands all afternoon and evening from 12:30pm – 10pm:

Children under 16 are free, although the festival is quite crowded.

For more information contact Jon Reynolds, John Rooney or John Nixon via the very active Witton Gilbert page on Facebook.

Parish Council

Great website for Witton Gilbert Parish Council – AGM coming up on 13 May

Congratulations to Witton Gilbert Parish Council and the team for the beautiful website they created. You can find it here https://wittongilbertparishcouncil.uk/.

Go to the website for news of their activities, decisions and work for the community. You can find details of the council meeting agendas and minutes. With the latest minutes being for the March meeting.

Next Monday 13 May is the Annual General Meeting and will be at Witton Gilbert Community Centre. There are actually two meetings: The Annual Meeting of the Parish will be held at 6.30 p.m. which is fairly procedural. Then at 6.35 pm comes the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council.

Residents of the village are welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council. They may speak on any agenda item at the discretion of the chairman but they may not vote.

If you want a copy of the agenda for the AGM, have a look here.