All events are open to Members of the Friends of Saltwell Park. All events (apart from the trips away from the Park) take place in, or from, the Training Centre in Saltwell Park. For events in the Training Centre there is a charge of £1 which includes refreshments.
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Date / Time
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Topic
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Description of Event
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Saturday 15 December 2012
10.30am
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Christmas Social at St. Chad’s
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Come along to St. Chad’s to visit this wonderful Church and share some Christmas Fayre and carols with the Friends. PLEASE MEET AT St. Chad’s Church, Dunsmuir Grove, GATESHEAD NE8 4QL NOT AT THE TRAINING CENTRE
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Saturday
12 January
10.30am
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Owls and Birds of Prey
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Visitors to Saltwell Park can enjoy a close encounter with some amazing birds of prey. Come and listen to Stuart Laidler talking about his birds. One of his feathered friends will be joining him
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Saturday
9 February 10.30am
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History of Saltwell Park
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Anthea Lang, former Local History & Heritage Manager, Gateshead Council, joins us to talk about the history of Saltwell Park
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Saturday
9 March 10.30am
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Grand Houses in Gateshead
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This book was produced in September 2012 by Gateshead Local History Society. Sandra Brack talks to us about this wonderful collection
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Saturday
6 April 10.30am
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Music in the Park
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George Hetherington joins us again with his piano to talk us through the life and works of a musician from “The Golden Age”.
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Saturday 13 / Sunday 14 April
10am – 4pm
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Spring Show
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Two days of events in the Park. Open to all the Community. There will be a Friends of Saltwell Park stall. Can you help? Please let a member of the Committee know.
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Wednesday
24 April 7pm
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AGM Open to All Members
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After the AGM Judy Summerson will give a talk on “Wild Flowers Through the Seasons”
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Saturday
11 May 10.30am
Low Fell
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Looking for Grand Houses
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Walk around Low Fell identifying Grand Houses from the Gateshead Local History Society book, without upsetting residents. Meet at War Memorial, Low Fell shops
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Friday
24 May 7.00pm
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Bowls Night
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Enjoy bowls and a pie and pea supper. There is a charge, booking essential – Contact Kathleen Vasey 0191 478 4492
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Saturday
8 June 10.30am
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Photography Workshop
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Bring your own camera or borrow one on the day. Take photographs with purpose, guided by Rev.Jim Craig
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Saturday
13 July 11.00am
Bede’s World
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Bede’s World
www.bedesworld.co.uk
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Please consider car sharing or using public transport (Go North East 27 Crusader bus from Gateshead / or Metro to Jarrow). Meet at Bede’s World
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Saturday
10 August 9.30am Shipley Art Gallery
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Coach Trip to Cragside,
National Trust
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There is a charge event (coach / entrance), booking is essential. Contact Kath Vasey, 0191 478 4492 for further details. Deposit of £10 is required on booking. Meet at Shipley Art Gallery
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Saturday
14 Sept. 10.30am
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Open Meeting
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Come and talk with the Friends about issues in the Park which are important to you.
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Saturday
12 Oct. 10.30am
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Dr. John Derry
Lord Collingwood
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Dr. Derry returns to mesmerise the Friends. His talk this time entitled … “Our Northumberland Naval Hero”
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Saturday
9 Nov. 10.30am
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The Co-op
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Bill Saunders returns to inform and entertain the FoSP with another of his specialisms
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Saturday
14 Dec. 10.30am
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Christmas Social
at St. Chad’s
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Share Christmas Fayre and carols. MEET AT St. Chad’s Church, Dunsmuir Grove, GATESHEAD NE8 4QL
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Please make every effort to support us and encourage your friends to become Friends. Each event offers an opportunity to learn something new, enjoy refreshments and have a chat.
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For information about the Friends of Saltwell Park visit: www.ourgateshead.org/friendsofsaltwellpark or
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www.gateshead.gov.uk and enter Key Word Friends of Saltwell Park
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For further information contact: Diane Ward 07949 267 602
Past Events
William Wailes Evening
On 24 November 2008 about 25 Friends of Saltwell Park gathered together to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Wailes. The park was in darkness and as we approached the Towers the building looked welcoming and magnificent, all lit up ready for the birthday celebration.
Victorian costume was the order of the day and everyone had made the effort so there were lots of imaginative outfits. Rob Shreeve our Chairman and his wife Liz were Mr and Mrs Wailes for the evening and they looked amazing in their outfits. We were welcomed into the foyer with a glass of wine and mingled with other guests: this proved to be a good opportunity to take photographs.
We had a hearty three course dinner and then preceded to the upstairs gallery for the entertainment "The Ukulele Hotshots" who were excellent and in no time at all had us all singing along with them. During the interval when the Hotshots had a rest we were served with coffee, mince pies and chocolate mints.
All too soon it was time to go home everyone chatting saying how much they had enjoyed the evening.
Our thanks go to Mr Clayton and staff for looking after us all and also Ruth and her staff for the lovely meal and attention to all those little details that made it a wonderful evening. These events take a lot of organising by the committee and our thanks go to them and it is good when you support these events.
E.W. Johnston – Friend of Saltwell Park
Helen Devere – Friend of Saltwell Park writes:
Monday 24 November was a delightful evening in Saltwell Towers to celebrate the 200th birthday of William Wailes. Friends of the Park once again made a grand night come to life dressed in Victorian costumes for this special occasion. We all enjoyed an excellent evening meal, the rest of the night we were entertained by a wonderful banjo band.
Thanks to 'The Friends' for this great event.
Bowls, Pie and Peas Supper Evening
Our annual Bowls/Pie and Peas supper was a huge success again. This is the third time we have run this event and it is always well attended. A lot of people think because they don't play bowls it's not for them. We have a few members who play bowls and they are always there to show you the ropes! It’s nice to hear all the laughter and everyone enjoying the night.
The supper is the highlight of the evening, nice cup of tea after pies and peas! It’s good to see everyone chatting to each other; they were strangers at the beginning of the night! The idea of having these events is to get all 'The Friends' to meet and have a good chat, we have over a hundred members so it would be nice to have more volunteers.
Bat Walk in Saltwell Park
The evening of Monday 20 July 2009 was a perfect night for watching bats, clear and still. The silhouettes of trees stood out against the clear sky, and the colours of the sunset were reflected in the calm surface of the lake.
Peter Shield and Frances Mudd, both from the Gateshead Countryside Team and Durham Bat Group, lead this event. The evening started at 8.30pm with a very interesting talk by Peter about bats of the United Kingdom and the world. We were shown pictures of bats catching insects on the wing; skimming over the surface of water; close ups showing different shapes of bat faces, each designed to help catch their prey; maternity groups of female bats taking care of their offspring. One of his photographs stole the show – the baby Pipistrelle bat clinging to the end of a finger. It was so small it barely covered a fingernail.
Fran showed us a real live tiny Pipistrelle called 'Bovril' which was small enough to fit in a matchbox. If you had seen its colour you would understand where the name came from. Compare this with Fruit Bats whose wingspan is about 5 feet – but they are not found in this country. Bovril's mum gave birth whilst she was in captivity having been brought to the bat group injured. She quickly became well enough to leave but Bovril never quite learned to catch midges so is now very well cared for and loves maggots to eat.
Before we went out to watch bats, a number of bat detectors were given out. We were shown how to adjust the detectors to pick up the sound of bats nearby. Different frequencies pick up different varieties of bat, the bigger the bat, the lower the pitch. We could not hear the high pitched sounds the bats made, but the bat detectors converted the sounds into clicks which we could hear. The clicks became louder as the bats approached, and quieter s they disappeared into the distance.
When we first went out from the Training Centre at 9.30pm, swifts were catching the abundant insects flying at sunset. A Heron flew over the lake, there were quiet sounds from the ducks and geese as they settled down for the night. As it got darker the bats started to emerge. We saw many Pipistrelle bats flitting amongst the trees, heard the slower clicking of at least one Noctule bat and watched Daubentons bats skimming over the surface of the lake.
It is good to know Saltwell Park provides suitable conditions for these attractive animals to visit to feed. The bat watch was also an deal opportunity to remain the park after the sun had gone down without being chased out by the park Keepers
Diane Ward – Friend of Saltwell Park