A family fun day takes place early next month.

Seaton Sluice Harbour Day is on July 9, from 11am-4pm, and will be opened by Toon football legend Malcolm Macdonald.

It will be a fun day for all the family with rides, stalls, refreshments, music, ponies, StarWars characters, games and tombola, at Memorial Park on West Terrace.

Last year the Marine Corps took along an inshore lifeboat, and Red Seal Marine Rescue went as well as Seaton Valley community dance and Blyth Football Club who organised children's football on a portable pitch.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell's weekly column in the Blyth & Cramlington Extra

I may be wrong but at times I wonder what our Government's foreign policy means and why we always seem to get embroiled in so-called 'actions' abroad such as we are currently involved with Libya.

Now I am not going to try and stick up for Gaddafi as he has suppressed political freedom over the years until he has created a mountain of opposition to his rule.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell's weekly column in the Blyth & Cramlington Extra

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse they do! If you are one of the millions of people in this country who are enjoying a longer life span thanks to better diets (arguably) and definitely better medical care you will have had a shock at the goings-on at Southern Cross.

31,000 residents of their residential homes now face being turfed out of their homes. What is it about older people and the Tories that they cannot see the underlying greed motive in everything they do?

Dark clouds loom over the hall in this view added to our Northumberland Communities Flickr group by Olive Taylor.

Join the group to share your photos or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk to see them on this site.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell's weekly column in the Blyth & Cramlington Extra

Housing: now there's a word which used to be part of what I considered to be an essential in anyone's life - good-quality housing.

Linked with good education, an excellent health service and access to decent employment opportunities, these are my four prerequisites for a decent society we could all be proud of.

Paul Sproat added this picture to our Northumberland Communities Flickr group. The castle was constructed in 24 hours by Sir Francis Delaval as part of a wager. You can see more of Paul's local photos on our Blyth community site.

Join the Flickr group to share your photos or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell's weekly column in the Blyth & Cramlington Extra

The big news around Parliament is of course the proposed changes to the health service and how this is splitting the coalition government.

Now it doesn't take a brain surgeon (pardon the analogy) to work out that every time you hear a Tory leader say the health service needs 'modernising' or that it is 'inefficient' or can be 'improved by cutting management' there are massive risks and cuts facing the people who deliver a brilliant service.