Council hope to emulate success of jubilee celebration
BERWICK Rotary Club has been approached about the possibility of staging a May bank holiday event at The Parade.
The approach has been made by Berwick Town Council who hope it could go some way towards emulating the huge success of last year’s Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations at the same venue.
The event, which took place under blue skies and warm sunshine, attracted hundreds of local residents and visitors who enjoyed a day of entertainment prior to the lighting of the jubilee beacon on the ramparts.
The event also raised funds for the north Northumberland branch of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
Mayor John Robertson said: “We’ve made contact with the rotary club to see if they want to do something at The Parade over the bank holiday weekend.”
Coun Jim Smith added: “If we could have a weekend similar to that which we had for the Queen’s diamond jubilee it would be fantastic.”
The council would like the event to form part of a revived May Fair, an idea the Portas town team have also been keen to explore.
Back in the 1980s and early 1990s the May Fair was one of the biggest events staged in Berwick with a wide range of attractions and entertainments laid on for residents and visitors.
The town council has allocated a budget for resurrecting the May Fair this year, including the traditional Walking of the May Fair by the newly installed mayor.
Coun Robertson, who attracted criticism from some quarters for his call to cancel the walk around the market stalls last year, still believes the tradition needs fresh impetus.
“If we are going to have a May Fair and a Walking of the May Fair we are going to have to do something about it and allocate the resources to do it properly,” insisted Coun Robertson who only agreed to perform the walk after persuasion from fellow councillors.
He has suggested inviting other guilds in the town to join the civic party in the procession.
“We’ve had some initial discussions on how we can improve that part of the event,” Coun Robertson told members of the council’s events committee.
“It could be the starting point for trying something out this year and taking it forward to the following year when we’re planning to mark the 900th anniversary of Berwick. We all know Berwick was around a long time before that but that is when the first documentary evidence of it dates to.”
Coun Smith said: “It’s a traditional feast day in the town and it would be nice to see it revived.”
The council also plans to approach the KOSB Association and regimental secretary Ed Swales to see if the 50th anniversary of the closure of the depot at Berwick Barracks in 2014 can be commemorated in some way.
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Weather for Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 8 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
