I spent a couple of hours there and did a bit of the social media thing as the sun went down.

Here’s a quick pan of the river uploaded to YouTube from the iPhone:

Some thoughts captured to Audioboo, slightly drowned out by the blustery breeze:

And finally a couple of yFrog photos

Every couple of months I drive up to Orford – it’s one of those rare places in the UK where the sky seems a little bigger, and the light a little warmer. Watching over the village is the arresting Orford Ness lighthouse.

One cold afternoon in January I stumbled on the news that Orford Ness lighthouse had been recommended for closure, and had an idea. An idea which, thanks to Twitter, I could simultaneously share with the world and pitch directly to Radio 4 continuity announcer and Suffolk-born man Zeb Soanes:

What began and ended with a few casual (and easily forgotten) keystrokes for me was the beginning of a chain of thought and real time commitment for Zeb, so it’s really pleasing that by his own account he had an enjoyable time reading an excerpt of the shipping forecast from the lighthouse this morning.

This recording is from today’s Lesley Dolphin show on BBC Radio Suffolk and yes, of course, I blushed a little at the name check.

As I begin to write this I’m on an East Coast train with the Tyne Bridge to disappearing to my left. When heading back down south there’s always a sense that I’m leaving behind a special place. I guess many people feel a close connection with where they were born, but above and beyond that the reason I bang on (and on and on) about Northumberland to people from further afield is that I really think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the country.

So if you’ve never been, I thought I’d try and lure you with five possible reasons why Northumberland might one day win you over, with the aid of the interweb:

• PUFFINS, on the Farne Islands – who could resist? Northumberland is also one of the last remaining places in the country where you can see red Squirrels.
• A thriving regional music tradition, centred around the Northumbrian small pipes
• If you spend a lot of time in the cities, you might want to experience the empty open spaces of the Cheviot Hills or the North Pennines
• After you’ve had a Stottie, a regular sandwich will never seem quite as filling (and you can pick up a Greggs Steak Bake for 80p!)
• And finally, who can forget Hadrian’s Wall? I don’t think it’s possible to truly understand the history of the United Kingdom without standing on one of the high vantage points and taking in the scale of the construction. On that note, on 13 March the good people of The North will be illuminating Hadrian’s Wall – definitely a spectacle worth seeing.

If I can be cheeky and squeeze in a sixth, and one you can’t easily prove online, I’d say one of the defining characteristics of Northumberland and the North East is that though life is still hard for a good many people (and there are parts of the area where you can see poverty deeply etched on the faces of the residents) you’re never too far from a smile from a stranger. We were brought up proper, we were.

Francesco Mazzei launch @ Pizza Express

Originally uploaded by 1000heads

I had a great night on Monday at the launch of the Francesco Mazzei menu at Pizza Express, courtesy of Mark Pack, and the lovely ladies of 1000heads. Lisa, one of the said lovely ladies, handled my tipping half a flute of Champagne over her with admirable grace and professionalism.

Each of the Franceso Mazzei menu additions were a delight in their own way, though the Calabrese should come with a health warning. HOT. I was stunned in to silence for upwards of a minute, and that is quite something.

I believe the menu is being rolled out nationwide from today – try the Rustichella. To die for. In time it may even tempt me from My Usual.

But then again, perhaps not… why break a habit developed over 10 years?

It’s been a beautiful white Christmas in north-east Northumberland, so I thought I’d share some photos of the area around Alnwick:

If you haven’t visited/ holidayed in Northumberland before, you don’t know what you’re missing. This article provides a great introduction.

To the Church of St Peter, Chillesford today. There’s always a slight moment of apprehension when you try the door of a rural church – you never know whether or not it’s open to the public. This church had an approach which was simple, but put the visitor at ease straight away.

I’ve been looking for an opportunity to try out the video camera on my new phone (HTC Hero), and though I’m a bit disappointed with the recording quality, here’s the resulting vlog on that church, and some thoughts on opening up public buildings.

I’ve always said that some day I would compile a book of unexpected sentences, the sort of things that make you say “well, I never thought that would come out of my mouth”, but I like to start small and pilot first – so before the book comes www.twitter.com/adventitiously

Adventitiously will be a 24 hour stream of consciousness, taken completely out of context. It will launch without warning (even I don’t know when I’ll do it), it will consist completely of passing thoughts of mine, things I overhear, or things I say. Nothing will be explained, it’s for you to imply your own meaning to the moments. An example from today might’ve been:

“If it had to be that big, did it have to be that colour?”

It might be hilarious, it may be profound, most likely it will be a complete waste of time.  We’ll never know unless we try. Whatever happens, I’d like to gather your reactions around the hashtag #adventitiously. So, if you fancy a day out of context some time soon, please follow @adventitiously now.

“All human knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use.” – A.E. Housman

Mike Fry

How many people do you know whose influence on you has lasted more than a decade? Your parents will probably come top of the list, and I’d guess for many a teacher comes close second.

One of those who will stay with me forever was Mike Fry, my drama teacher at Haydon Bridge High School in Northumberland. He died in a nursing home in Witham early on Friday morning of cancer, having also suffered a stroke.

Those of us who were so deeply fortunate to have been taught by Mr Fry remember his passion for his subject, and his desire, sometimes desperate, to see his pupils succeed. Those who weren’t taught by him remember him too – for who he was, for his values. An old school friend said today “I never knew him through drama, but through his amazing ability to walk up and down mountains all day and do fell-runs in the evening, all the while shouting “Well done chaps!”"

There was no front with Mike Fry, no act when he was teaching – he was sincere and generous with his praise, quick too to show when he was feeling dark. He had an incredible ability to carry his entire class along with his mood. When he was excited, and inspired, and enthusiastic – which was most of the time – so too were his pupils.

As well as an extraordinary teacher, I knew Mr Fry to be a batchelor who professed eyes only for Judi Dench and Maria Callas; a clergyman;  a pillar of the community; and a friend to those who needed a friend. A complex man with simple, admirable values which shone through in all he did – Generosity. Admiration. Humility. Passion. Kindness. Sincerity. Care. He couldn’t even walk to school without stopping to pick up every bit of litter he could see.

Whenever I have seen or heard Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, I have been tempted to draw  parallells between aspects of Bennett’s character Hector, and Mr Fry. He brought scripts and books to life so that his pupils would know drama and literature, but more importantly he  taught us the importance of believing in what you do, of daring to be passionate, to stand out from the crowd, and to do what you believe to be right. Above all, he taught us that life is precious, that we should use whatever gifts we have to the full, and that we must never let life slip through our fingers. Don’t waste a single day. He never did.

Finally, I’m not as prone as I used to be to quoting scripture, but this passage from John 14 seems fitting:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. You heard me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving at 11.00 on Saturday 19 September at St. Cuthbert’s church, Haydon Bridge. Tributes are flooding in on Facebook. Thanks to Bex Holliday for posting the photo I have used.

Take my word for it – if you see these on your local supermarket shelf, don’t listen to any little voice which says “hey, maybe it isn’t as bad as it looks.” Vile, and then some.

Posted via email from rfenwick’s posterous