By DAVID COULTER

Published at 09:11, Monday, 30 April 2012

A STRONG contingent of Tynedale folk musicians, dancers and budding bards gathered at Morpeth to celebrate all things Northumbrian.

The annual Morpeth Gathering, in its 45th year, saw first prize in the folk group section go to the Stocksfield Stompers, just ahead of runners-up, Tynedale’s own Canny Crack.

There was some consolation for the band’s members however when Chris Jones, of Wall, won the storytelling class and Anne Dolphin, of Ovington, won first prize for unaccompanied song.

Anne and Chris also tied for third place in the accompanied song category, which was won by Stocksfield’s Jane Oxnard and Sophie Lynch.

Stocksfield also produced winners in the junior ceilidh band competition, with Fetland Shudge impressing. The band finished third in the open ceilidh dance too.

In the fiddle classes, S. Lynch, of Hexham, won the intermediate section, while Peter Sloan, of Edmundbyers, finished second in the open fiddle class.

Wall’s Rebecca Adamson won the Northumbrian Clog Championship and the senior group clog dance with partner Tiffany Walker, of Durham.

It was a successful event for Hexham’s Peter Arnold and Nick Short, too, as they occupied many of the top three places in the writing and composition classes.

Peter came first in the stage sketch and essay, and second in the novice Northumbrian dialect verse.

Nick, meanwhile, won the open Northumbrian dialect verse and finished second in the Northumbrian prose fine Northumbrian speech class.

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