Thee parade moves forward..

Flags of the four ancient nations flying, Knights in their diverse liveries.

  CAST of 18 Miles to Freedom. Public Records Office. CHARACTER ACTOR Jenny Meharg Karen Todd Robert Armstrong Paul Mateer REIVERS HERMITAGE Scene 1 Lechie Armstrong Peter Brady Johnnie Armstrong Barry Davidson Sandy Armstrong Beth Wickham Jock "Pear Tree" Graham Tom Croft, AUTHOR Richie Graham Adrian Hanna Morag Eleanor Whitla Heather Dorothy Jones Lizzie Margaret Austin Maggie Maggie Comer MONTGOMERY HOUSEHOLD Scene 2 Hugh Montgomery Harry Hamilton Thomas Montgomery Paul Whitla Elizabeth Montgomery Rae McMaster Old Nother Shaw Ruth Martin COURT OF KING JAMES Scene 3 Robert Cecil John Comer Herald / Announcer Lisa Duncan King James Adrian Hanna Queen Anne Sharon McConnell Sir James Fullerton Paul Whitla Lady in Waiting Lynette McClurg CROZIER HOME Scene 4 William Crozier Chris Currie, DIRECTOR Bessie Crozier Joan Steed Iris Crozier Jenny Cleland Catherine Crozier Aine Hennessy DONAGHADEE HARBOUR Scene 5 Lechie Armstrong Peter Brady Johnnie Armstrong Barry Davidson Sandy Armstrong Beth Wickham Jock "Pear Tree" Graham Tom Croft, Author Hugh Montgomery Harry Hamilton Cameron Bell Paul Whitla Written by Tom Croft with Paul Whitla & Rae McMaster PROMPTER Wendy McBride.

18 Miles to Freedom.... WHAT THE CRITICS SAID:- J.McD Theatre Critic, Amateur Historian Brilliant performance by all the cast, everyone without exception conducted themselves in a most professional manner and projected well. The only fault and a trivial one was that the King's wig was not the correct one for the period. That style of wig was not introduced until William III. ---------------------------------- H.S. Film Critic Español-Interlingua. Good performance to professional standards smooth, unstilted. The dance was excellent especially the ladies, the men could have been more haphazard and bungling in a country bumpkin way. ----------------------------------- W.R. TV Actor Part Player. An all round thumping good performance well up to TV and film standards. The actors in front would have found it easier to relate to the others at the rear if the set was less "C" shaped. Adrian go back to Archery. Ha Ha. ----------------------------------- D.R.M. Regular Theatre Goer I was uncertain whether to attend or not ..... Glad I did, Great effort by all of the cast, the music was good. ----------------------------------- B.Giff Regular Theatre Goer and Film Buff. One of the best performances I have ever seen on the stage. The costumes were excellent the men in particular were stunning. The standard of costume was better than other comparable groups would have used. I fell in love with Thomas Montgomery dressed in red in scene 2. ----------------------------------- M. B. Grumpy Old Man. I hate amateur dramatics and didn't want to go. I was forced to go by the Girl Friend. I was surprised, it was brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was informative and entertaining. I was happy one moment and sad the next. I was sorry that it was over so soon. ------------------------------------ M.G.H. Adrian's Wife. The closing scene, was poignant, and brought tears to the eye. As our forefathers came from Scotland so, in my own case, our sons are returning.

  Historical Walking Tours in Newtownards Where: Newtownards When: 5, 19 and 26 July and 2, 9, 16 and 23 August at 6.45pm Situated in the northern end of beautiful Strangford Lough, the town has a wealth of historical treasures to be uncovered. To tell the tale of Newtownards is to tell the story of Ulster in miniature. Starting point: Meet at the Town Hall, Conway Square, Newtownards. Notes: All tours take 60-90 minutes and must be pre-booked through the Tourist Information Centre in Newtownards. Tours cost £2.00 for adults and £1.50 for children or concessions. Sensible shoes are a must. Contact: Ards Tourist Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AD. Tel: 028 9182 6846. Historical Tour of Newtownards Leadmines Where: Whitespots Country Park When: 6 July, 10 August at 6.45pm Newtownards Leadmines are a valuable part of the industrial heritage of Ireland. As part of the walking tour you will see how men, women and children toiled to produce 30% of Irish lead in the 18th and 19th centuries. Starting point: The Somme Heritage Centre. Notes: All tours take 60-90 minutes and must be pre-booked through the Tourist Information Centre in Newtownards. Tours cost £2.00 for adults and £1.50 for children or concessions. Gravel terrain - sensible shoes are a must. Contact: Ards Tourist Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AD. Tel: 028 9182 6846. Folklore and Fairies Where: Scrabo Country Park When: 20 July, 24 August at 6.45pm Scrabo Country Park surrounds the tower built on the summit of Scrabo Hill. Overlooking Strangford Lough, it includes the woodlands of Killynether and the disused quarries where Scrabo stone was once quarried. Starting point: Scrabo Country Park. Notes: All tours take 60-90 minutes and must be pre-booked through the Tourist Information Centre in Newtownards. Tours cost £2.00 for adults and £1.50 for children or concessions. Hill and forest walk - sturdy shoes are a must. Contact: Ards Tourist Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AD. Tel: 028 9182 6846. 8 Themed Historical Walking Tour Where: Newtownards When: 30 August at 6.45pm Popular themed walking tour with historical characters telling their tales at points of interest along the route. Starting point: Town Hall, Conway Square, Newtownards. Notes: The tour covers a 2 mile walk around the town and must be prebooked through the Tourist Information Centre in Newtownards. Cost £3.00 for adults, £1.50 for children or concessions. Contact: Ards Tourist Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AD. Tel: 028 9182 6846. All tours are taken by an NITB approved blue badge guide in conjunction with Valhalla Street Theatre Their success inspired King James VI of Scotland and 1 of England's Virginia Plantation of 1607 - and his Ulster Plantation of 1610 May 1606, over ten thousand mainly Presbyterian Lowland Scots made the short voyage across the North Channel James I of England and VI of Scotland was born in 1566, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry, Lord Darnley. The Monastic Settlement of Movilla, De Courcey's Nove Ville Anglo-Norman town, The Black Friars. The creation of the Scottish Town. The 1798 Rebellion. Stewart v Ponsonby. The death of Lord Londonderry. The suicide of Castlereagh. The Tennant Right War. The Great Hunger. Often in the magnificent surroundings of Castle Ward, which have proven to be extremely successful. Add to this many historical interpretations and VST's versatility becomes visible. We perform from scripts that we create and develop ourselves and enjoyable times are guaranteed for all. We are always looking new recruits and new challenges, so don't hesitate to contact us. Remember, no job too big, no fee too big! The very welcome return to the Valhalla of our 'coach' Chris Curry, has given VST a huge lift and will see a return to more fun filled displays after the serious business of the Greyabbey pageant. Our Tuesday night rehearsals are once again full of laughs to complement the work. Chris's ideas and methods really bring out the best in the entire cast and this is paying great dividends ends. With the Greyabbey Pageant of 2005 a great success, we in Valhalla are currently developing a stage play of similar scale. All I will say is that this new script deals with some very colourful characters from an important phase of Ulster's development. The ancient link between Scotland and Ireland will come to the fore. Stay tuned.... Further Murder Mystery evenings, at Castle Ward and Carrickfergus Castle among other places, are already being planned. Don't hesitate to contact us at: tom5150@ntlworld.com or Paul on 07979511524 or Tom on 07765881006 We look forward to hearing from you! Coming soon: 18 Miles to Freedom.... Questions or comments? Get in touch with us at: tom5150@ntlworld.com

Formed in 2001 and based at Manor Court Hall, Newtownards, Valhalla Street Theatre have been putting on productions in various guises regarding the history and people of the Ards peninsula. Affiliated with Ards Tourism, and thanks to their invaluable assistance, Valhalla's walking tours, the groups bread and butter if you will, attract a large following and a backlog of ticket applications is testament to their success. The concept of Valhalla Street Theatre began with Paul Whitla, the founder of the group. He had an idea for a ghostly walking tour of Newtownards, his home town and so, armed with a rough script, his wife Eleanor and a few friends, Paul approached the tourist board with regard to putting the tour into action. Given the green light (and the use of a room in the town hall) the tour was a complete success. Paul realised there was a niche to fill and an audience to play to. The next year Valhalla formed, taking its name to keep the link between the Ards peninsula and the Vikings to the fore. A major step in putting the whole thing together was Valhalla's hiring of a drama coach. Enter Chris Curry, an actor in his own right and well versed in requirements of a theatrical performance. A recruitment drive of family, friends and friends of friends followed and quickly the pieces were in place. Valhalla was up and running. One of Valhalla's strengths is, certainly, the diversity of its membership. An amateur organisation, the group is populated with people from a wide variety of backgrounds; from security guards to museum guides, care workers to advertising executives, students to shop mangers, all Valhalla's roster are with the group because they really enjoy being a part of what is going on, and the enthusiasm is evident. Everyone brings their own perspective to each undertaking and this really helps the groups development. With Chris's guidance many of the cast have discovered abilities within themselves that perhaps they were unaware of, e.g. designing costume, makeup, script writing and, of course, acting before an audience! The fact that the group usually perform from scripts that they themselves create is an extra help, allowing the entire membership to have an input into what is eventually shown to the public. Over time, Valhalla's scripts have become more intricate and expressive, including movement into the realm of plays for the stage. Several members have thrown themselves into the scriptwriting side of things with much glee, and their abilities improve with each final draft. Indeed, Valhalla recently performed a full length play on stage, the first that a group writer has penned. The amount of work that goes on off stage can't be stressed enough with many of the cast going that extra mile for Valhalla. Events for 2006: APRIL Tue 18th - Historical Walking Tour of Newtownards Fri 21st - Murder Mystery Evening @ Castleward Sat 22nd - Murder Mystery Evening @ Castleward MAY Fri 5th - 18 Miles to Freedom @ Queens Hall, N'Ards Sat 6th - 18 Miles to Freedom @ Queens Hall, N'Ards JUNE Sat 24th - Titanic Drama @ Harbour Office, Belfast JULY Thu 20th - Historical Walking Tour @ Scrabo Hill TBA - Historical Walking Tour @ Lead Mines AUGUST Sat 19th - Murder Mystery @ Somme Centre SEPTEMBER Sat 16th - 1798 Drama @ Greyabbey Sat 23rd - Titanic Drama @ Harbour Office, Belfast OCTOBER Sat 14th - Murder Mystery Evening @ Castleward Thu 26th - Ghost Tour @ Newtownards Thu 27th - Ghost Bus Tour @ Ards Penninsula (Other events yet to be confirmed) Alongside our work on the stage, hysterically historic street tours continue successfully, as do small scale re-enactments. Showpiece turns at the Greyabbey Pageant and the Lough Lively festival have been great for the morale of Valhalla, as well as creating a deep sense of pride within the group. Murder Mystery evenings in the majestic setting of Castle Ward continue to prove to be enormously popular, both with the public and the cast members. On the subject of costuming, the kind sponsorship provided by Harlequin in Belfast has been of considerable help to the group. The notable range of outfits from several eras adds greatly to the Valhalla Street Theatre experience. Why not come along and see for yourself what we're all about, new recruits always welcome! Brochures regarding forthcoming events are available from Ards Tourist Centre, Newtownards. To find out more about Valhalla Street Theatre, contact the group at Manor Court Hall on Tuesday nights between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. Alternatively, telephone Paul on 07979511524

NEWTOWNARDS AND COMBER KEYWORDS OCCURRING VALHALLA SCRIPTS
Abbeydale Adomnan Andrews. John Anglo-Normans Arda. Uf Eachach Ardmillan Ards Historical Society Ards Peninsula Ards Recreation Society Augu.stinians Ballybarnes Ballynahinch Ballywalter Bangor Newtown Mining Co County Down Railway Blathmac Uf Blathmac Blood. Colonel Thomas Bradshaw. Rev. Joseph Bradshaw's Brae 105 Bully's Acre Castle Espie Caslleavery Castlereagh Barony of Cenel nEogain Chichester. Sir Arthur Clan Aedhe Buidhe O'Neill (Clannaboy) NEWTOWN A history of Newton-minis Hamilton. James Viscount Clandeboy Kempe Stone Kiltonga	Kirkubbin Mahee Island Milecross Moira. Lord Mount Alexander Mount Stewart Movilla abbey church monastery Movilla Ghost 3 Apr 1886 Blathmac and Uf Eachach Arda Colum Cille (Columba) Colvill family Conlig Cowan Craigantlet Crawfordsburn Cromwell, Oliver Cultra Dal Fiatach Dal nAraide De Burgh family dc Courcy. John De Halywoode De Lacy De Mandeville Donaghadee Downshire. Marquess of Lord Edwin Hill Drumhirk Dublin Dundalk Dundonald harvest failures Flannahhra Gladstone. William Ewart	Gransha Greengraves Gregstown Greyabbey Rosemount Groomsport NEWTOWN Monro's army Newtownards and Comber Cavalry Patriot Club Royalist rebellion of Scots plantation town Tenant Farmers Association Newtownards Chronicle, Ninian.St Poor Law Union, Ponsonby. Brabazon Portaferry Portavogie Portpatrick Reagh Island Rebellion of 1641 royalist rebel. Ringneill Robert Street Royal North Down Rifles St. Finian in 540 AD Saintfield Scots Gaelic Sidney. Sir Henry Six Road Ends Smith Sir Thomas Strangford Lough UfNeill Ulaid, the (Uladh) United Irishmen. Society of Whitespots

Probably the greatest strength of this Drama Group is its ability to research into the detail of the proposed historical re-enactment and ensure authenticity in the reproduction. Corporate groups wishing to have events themed to their specifications can be catered for if sufficient time is allowed to research, script, manufacture the necessary props, costume with a short period for rehearsal.
We are always on the lookout for new recruits and in particular men, and ugly men at that, or better still an ability to turn yourself ugly or back again quickly. On the other hand we won't turn away old crones or anyone else for that matter ... In fact anyone who is not afraid to get stuck into the work, and not be afraid to make a mistake in front of others. If you can play an ancient musical instrument that would be handy .... except in the case where it's an ancient church organ or grand piano, something you can stick in your pocket and pull out whenever the mood takes you. 19 November 2004 Costumed characters from the Valhalla Street Theatre group will tell of Donaghadee's past. Grace Neill herself, who owned the bar from 1866, Other historical characters - including the Delacherois family and Sir John Rennie who built both Donaghadee harbour and London Bridge - will also be on the tour route. The event is at 7.30pm on November 30. Tickets are £5 for the tour or £45 for the tour and meal. -->