TONY HENDERSON on the night that history was made once more on Hadrian's Wall

Calls were made yesterday for the Illuminating Hadrian's Wall event to be an annual happening after more than 25,000 people turned out on Saturday night to witness the spectacle.

Around 1,200 volunteer illuminators manned gas beacons or held flares at 515 points along the 84-mile Hadrian's Wall National Trail Path.

Pont inflict more misery on Heddon

As a mark of respect to the Northern Alliance League Chairman, George Dobbins, who sadly died on Friday evening both teams were wearing black armbands and held a minutes dignified silence before the game. George was a highly respected figure in local non league football and will be greatly missed.

Although struggling at the bottom of the league Heddon are under new management and have changed their playing personnel entirely since the teams last met back in Sept bringing in some quality players with experience. Pont were without the suspended Glenn Ford and captain Craig Brown with flu and recalled Lewis Shiels into the starting line up after a six month absence through injury.

A North East equine school team Combined training event at Northumberland College's Kirkley Hall Equine Unit has been praised by organisers and competitors.

The event brings together school and college riders.

Northumberland College Kirkley Hall Equine Unit team members from left: Emily Rawnsley, Hayley Ogle, Nicola Wilson and Leanne MacBeth

Three four-member teams from Ponteland High School, King Edward VI, Morpeth and Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham joined a fourth Kirkley Hall team to compete in a friendly two-member split show jumping/dressage event under affiliated rules and on penalties.

Vivid childhood memories of first visits to Hadrian's Wall have inspired two women to take part in tomorrow's illumination of the 84-mile long monument.

More than 1,000 volunteer illuminators will use flares and man gas beacons to light up the wall.

Lesli Godfrey with her grandfather Tom Lee when she was just 13

There will be 500 individual points of light at roughly 250 metre intervals along the route of the Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail.

Householders and businesses along the 84-mile Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail are being urged to take part in a voluntary blackout on Saturday night as the monument is illuminated.

Organisers of the event, which will see 1,000 volunteers lighting about 500 beacons and flares from coast to coast, are hoping that as many people as possible will switch off for an hour to help show the line of light along Hadrian's Wall to its full effect.

They claim that Illuminating Hadrian's Wall will put Britain's longest historic monument into the national and international spotlight.

A children's play service is hitting the road to help those living in rural parts of Northumberland.

Sure Start is sending out three of their play vans into the rural areas of west Northumberland to improve the outreach services in villages and hamlets.

From left: Ian Brown of Flashlight Films; Jackie McCormick, Sure Start Childrens Centres Locality Manager and Keith Laidler, Hexham Fire Station Manager

They have also created banners and an information DVD about the services offered through the children's centres in the west of the county.

Kind-hearted pupils worked hard to persuade friends and family to give a better deal to farmers as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.

Students at Ponteland High have been promoting the message of a fair deal to classmates, parents and teachers in order to improve the lives of farmers and workers in the developing world.

Student-run enterprise project LV Events, organised by post-16 students Vicky Watkins, Laura Boyd and Nicola Ryan, kick-started their bid during the school's recent Year 12 parents' evening.

Pin Point Recruitment Northern Alliance Premier Division bottom club Heddon were left still seeking their first victory at Bullocksteads after sharing eight goals with Seaton Delaval.

This was a second stalemate featuring these two sides in this campaign, but Heddon threw away a three-goal interval lead provided by Ben Haddock, Kevin Urwin and Mark McEwan.

Delaval hit back strongly to snatch the lead after the interval with replies from John Fitzpatrick, Conal Reed, Stephen Howes and Jordan Fry.

Urwin's late second goal of the game salvaged a point for Heddon, who are yet to win at their Bullocksteads base.

Ponteland United match report »

A social club will be hosting a Night at the Races evening this week.

The event will be hosted at the Swan pub in Heddon on Friday March 12. Visitors are invited from 7pm onwards. For more information call 01661 853161.

There are less than two weeks left for people to sign up for our fantastic Tokens for Schools competition.

The Journal, in partnership with Barclays Money Skills, has £20,000 to give away to schools across our region.

But time is running out to register to take part, so we are reminding people to fill in the form (see below) and be in with a chance to win some cash.

A number of schools in the region have already registered, including Cambo First School, in Cambo, near Morpeth (pictured). The prize money can be used to fund any educational project the school chooses - like a school trip, new books or a garden.