By REBECCA DIXON rebecca.dixon@hexham-courant.co.uk

Published at 13:27, Thursday, 06 March 2008

A DYSLEXIC dog and a human combine harvester were part of the winning sketch at the Northumberland Young Farmers’ entertainment final last Saturday.

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Ponteland and Stamfordham Young Farmers joined forces this year with winning results as their piece, That’s your lot, took first place during the competition at the Queen's Hall, Hexham.

The sketch was packed with energy and must have ticked all the right boxes for the judges with its auction mart setting.

The human combine harvester was brilliant and the dyslexic dog and bandy-legged rooster equally entertaining.

The singing was unashamedly out of tune, perhaps due to the fact that the cast shouted rather than sang their selection of songs, but the dancing heifers (each bedecked in bovine masks) and their male counterparts gave their all, unabashed and with vigour.

However, while Ponteland and Stamfordham took the top slot, for me the real winners were second placed Whitely Chapel, whose production Whitley Road was excellent, particularly in light of the cast's tender age.

With an innovative introduction set in the pitch black, with dancing torches to imitate car headlights, it was both well constructed and presented.

The mime artist and mini-man provided segments of rib-tickling fun and the whole cast executed some good dance routines.

The two central council workers gave strong performances, especially Mark Reed, who won an award for his acting.

Cambo came third with Hey Mama, welcome to the city, a Geordie piece packed with Northern humour.

Ben Robson made a disturbingly convincing woman, mastering the female poses well, while the tramps and “charvas” provided an element of fun.

Leading the group with panache and a strong vocal presence was the talented Jenni Cowan, while all the character parts had clearly been carefully studied with great attention to detail.

Alnwick came fourth on the night with its sketch, Just another business meeting.

The title proved fitting as the sketch had all the tedium of a business meeting, but while the talents of individuals shone through, some of the action failed to truly gel, leading to a disjointed performance in places.

There was a lot going on in this sketch and perhaps a more structured entry next year will win more points.

Worthy of particular note, however, were the boys, whose traditional New Zealand Haka was keen and aggressive.

Overall the entire evening was a fine piece of entertainment and it was fantastic to see so many youngsters pooling their talents in such a positive manner.

The clubs had clearly worked hard on their sketches and it was a pleasure to see their members enjoying themselves while entertaining such a big audience.

Ponteland and Stamfordham will now go forward to the National Federation of Young Farmers' Northern area final hosted by Lancashire YFC at Blackpool on March 29.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk