In October 2018, the Windy Gyle Band performed at Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum for visitors from North America, South Africa and Europe.

Each year in October Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum works with Northumbrians and Pipers to promote a museum visit and concert to pipers from around the world converging on the North East for a week of music lessons, socialising and seeing the sights of Northumberland.

This year, the Windy Gyle Band put on a fine performance for visitors to the museum before generously donating their entire fee in support of Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum.

“Full house for the Windy Gyle Band at the Chantry yesterday. Everyone who attended had a great evening!”

Facebook comment from Gracie Gray

Woodhorn Museum launched an exciting new season ‘Coal Forest’ in October 2018 (running until Spring 2019) which saw the site transformed through a series of magical and thought-provoking art installations in our colliery heritage buildings.

‘Coal Forest’ was complemented by an fantastic family friendly event programme that shifts with the seasons through Autumn (Let Go), Winter (Glow) and Spring (Grow).

‘Let Go’ during Autumn explored the Coal Forest Art Trail and enabled visitors to enjoy the dark side with our seasonal Halloween family event programme including pumpkin trails, birds of prey and ghost stories of Woodhorn Museum.

Coal Forest has featured artists: Brass Art, Crowe & Rawlinson, Laura Ford, Kelly Richardson, Thrussells, Bethan Maddocks

As part of the celebrations at Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum, Emily Inspires! and the Abbott Dance Theatre facilitated a workshop with local people to share stories which could contribute to a new dance piece in commemoration of the Representation of the People’s Act 1918.

The workshop focussed on what people know and can discover about the first women to vote in your family and community, with stories and discussion feeding into the storyline, choreography and design of the finished dance performance due to be performed in early 2019.

The final dance piece created by Emily Inspires! and Abbott Dance will shine a light on the physical and mental fight women have faced in their struggle for suffrage. Woven throughout the choreography will be references to the lives of particular suffragettes including Emily Wilding Davison, Dame Ethel Smyth and Emmeline Pankhurst.

Celebrating 100 years since the first women achieved the vote, Emily Inspires! brought a lively mix of music and conversation exploring women’s rights to Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum with a trio of performers.

A Concert and Conversation with Reg Meuross, Helen Pankhurst and Penni Blythe saw a performance by Reg Meuross of a collection of songs about inspirational women and thought-provoking conversations with Helen and Penni.

Reg’s song “Tony Benn’s Tribute to Emily Davison” told the story of local Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison who hid in the broom cupboard of the Houses of Parliament over the census weekend of 1911; Helen Pankhurst, women’s rights activist, academic and author is the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst; and Penni Blythe of Emily Inspires! is a feminist, activist, writer and storyteller.

The event combined historical facts with song, poetry and humour, and provided potent reminders of the people who have stood up for our rights.