On 8 May 2025 the country will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.  The nation will unite to celebrate 80 years of peace since the end of World War II in Europe It is not only a tribute to those who fought for freedom but also a powerful reminder of the resilience and unity that have defined our country ever since.  is holding a Commemorative Service at Hexham Abbey on 8 May.     The Service will commence at 8pm and will conclude with the lighting of a Beacon in the Abbey grounds at 9.30pm by Dr Caroline Pryer A limited number of free tickets are available to the general public © Northumberland County Council Sixty events over 10 days is the boast of the Hexham Book Festival team – headed by founding director Susie Troup and manager Gill Pugh - ahead of the 19th edition. A festival that has grown in stature and popularity over the years has many friends and supporters, including the peerless David Almond who has called it “a leading creative force in the Northumbrian cultural landscape”. Nobody could hope to get to everything – unless, perhaps, you’re book mad comedian Robin Ince, who kicks things off… but we’ll come to him shortly. And it goes without saying that everyone will have their own list of the not-to-be-missed. Actually, such a list is hopeless… there is simply SO much. And every participant is a big name in someone’s reading world. Leaving out those whose events are already sold out – including North East crime-writing phenomenon LJ Ross, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut, Holy Island – here’s a personal Six of the Best of the Best… Andrew Ziminski with Church Going6) Andrew Ziminski is a stonemason with four decades of experience and he is coming to Hexham to talk about Church Going: A Stonemason’s Guide to the Churches of the British Isles this is not a title put out with a covetous eye on the bestseller lists but my hunch is that here’s a guy who knows his stuff and can share his passion with an audience Ziminski can see stories where the layman will see well… a fancy (or not so fancy) bit of a building mostly taken for granted He has worked on famous cathedrals and visited more than 5,000 of Britain’s medieval churches many of them the receptacles of awe-inspiring art on the doorstep He will be sharing some of the secrets they hold in what promises to be a fascinating talk But there are many other potential lists of equal appeal. To find your own highlights go to the Hexham Book Festival website. Clockwise from top left: Pam Ayres, Jonathan Coe, Andrew Ziminski, Alan Johnson, Lucy Mangan and Robin InceYou can\u2019t beat a book festival for the sheer range of topics covered in a short period - nor for the number of authors gathered in one place. Sixty events over 10 days is the boast of the Hexham Book Festival team \u2013 headed by founding director Susie Troup and manager Gill Pugh - ahead of the 19th edition. A festival that has grown in stature and popularity over the years has many friends and supporters, including the peerless David Almond who has called it \u201Ca leading creative force in the Northumbrian cultural landscape\u201D. Nobody could hope to get to everything \u2013 unless, perhaps, you\u2019re book mad comedian Robin Ince, who kicks things off\u2026 but we\u2019ll come to him shortly. Actually, such a list is hopeless\u2026 there is simply SO much. And every participant is a big name in someone\u2019s reading world. Leaving out those whose events are already sold out \u2013 including North East crime-writing phenomenon LJ Ross, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut, Holy Island \u2013 here\u2019s a personal Six of the Best of the Best\u2026 Andrew Ziminski with Church Going6) Andrew Ziminski is a stonemason with four decades of experience and he is coming to Hexham to talk about Church Going: A Stonemason\u2019s Guide to the Churches of the British Isles but my hunch is that here\u2019s a guy who knows his stuff and can share his passion with an audience well\u2026 a fancy (or not so fancy) bit of a building mostly taken for granted He has worked on famous cathedrals and visited more than 5,000 of Britain\u2019s medieval churches But there are many other potential lists of equal appeal. To find your own highlights go to the Hexham Book Festival website The information on this page is intended for journalists If you click NO you will come back to Mynewsdesk.com found in Hexham Abbey after being lost for more than 30 years could be the missing part in a series of medieval panel paintings – according to art conservators using state-of-the-art multispectral imaging technology The painting is believed to be part of the Dance of Death sequence, a series of four surviving wooden panel paintings dating back to around 1500 which illustrate Death visiting powerful figures scholars and art historians had speculated about the existence of a fifth panel thought to depict the ‘introducer or caller’ introducing the sequence following a 1790s sketch by antiquarian John Carter was discovered in Hexham Abbey’s triforium – an area of the Abbey rarely visited due to its inaccessibility and so the Hexham Abbey Conservation Group enlisted the expertise of Dr Charis Theodorakopoulos a heritage scientist at Northumbria University Dr Theodorakopoulos carried out a non-invasive examination of the panel using a camera developed by spectral imaging specialists XpectralTEK Using a wide range of wavelength bands from across the electromagnetic spectrum XpeCAM imaging solution is designed to capture different layers of an artwork through the various paint layers to the underdrawings beneath confirming which materials have been used to produce the colours By merging images of the panel taken at three wavelength bands representing red Dr Theodorakopoulos was able to identify the image hidden beneath decades of grime – that of a figure in Tudor dress thought to be the ‘caller’ featured on the introductory panel in the Dance of Death series the XpeCAM camera was also able to provide insight into the layers of medieval pigments hidden beneath centuries of discoloured varnish By comparing these spectra with established pigment databases Dr Theodorakopoulos was able to identify the panel's original colours and strengthen the theory that it is connected to the other panels in the Dance of Death series The study also involved statistical analysis to simulate the removal of discoloured varnish enabling the team to virtually restore the painting's vibrant colours Dr Theodorakopoulos said: “The investigation involved non-destructive multispectral imaging which allowed us to examine the paint layers without extracting samples from the panel The discovery of this panel that may belong to the Dance of Death series of paintings is a monumental achievement for Hexham Abbey and for art conservation This is not only a rediscovery of an important piece of art history but it also demonstrates the potential of modern technology in unlocking the secrets of our cultural heritage." Dr Tom Kelsey of Hexham Abbey added: “The technical skills that Dr Theodorakopoulos and Northumbria University brought to our investigations cannot be underestimated Melding together the spectral analysis and the history of the Abbey’ s mediaeval art collection has proved so helpful – and will be of enduring interest to many academics and interested observers.” The research was carried out in 2018 in partnership with Hexham Abbey Conservation Group and will now feature as a case study in a webinar being given by Dr Theodorakopoulos and XpectralTEK, taking place on Wednesday 30 April at 3pm Speaking about the technology and its potential for use across a wide variety of sectors CEO and co-founder of XpectralTEK said: Spectral Imaging linked to AI as a cloud-based solution is today used from agriculture to materials identification and study in a surface In this particular case XpeCAM contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the materials surface bringing to light most of the information hidden by time.” The possible existence of a fifth painting in Hexham Abbey’s Dance of Death series had been discussed for hundreds of years A sketch by John Carter from the 1790s depicts an identical figure to that hidden on the rediscovered panel and in his 1888 book The Abbey of St Andrew Hexham Charles Clement Hodges describes a visit by a Mr Hutchinson in 1774 who admired the panels in the north end of the church and in particular “...the five centre ones...” which “… are a portion of the scenes from the Dance of Death and have frequently been commented upon.” It is not known for certain whether there were originally additional images in the sequence in addition to those housed in Hexham Abbey offer a striking and poignant depiction of the medieval perspective on life and death with Death represented as a skeletal figure visiting individuals from various walks of life Hexham Abbey's Dance of Death panels are considered some of the most important surviving examples of medieval English panel painting a genre that was particularly vulnerable to destruction during periods of religious reform such as the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century Dr Charis Theodorakopoulos will discuss this research during an online talk entitled, Multispectral imaging analysis in cultural heritage: The Hexham Abbey panel case, with reference to future AI data validation Find out more about studying Conservation of Fine Art MA at Northumbria University. Read the paper Recent studies of the Hexham Abbey painting collection by Dr Thomas Kelsey and Dr Charis Theodorakopoulos to find out more about this research and other paintings housed within the Abbey UNIVERSITY OF THE YEAR 2022 (Times Higher Education Awards) Northumbria is a research-intensive university that unlocks potential for all Two thirds of Northumbria's undergraduate students come from the North East region and go into employment in the region when they graduate demonstrating Northumbria's significant contribution to social mobility and levelling up in the North East of England Find out more about us at www.northumbria.ac.uk --- Please contact media.communications@northumbria.ac.uk with any media enquiries or interview requests --- A painting of two daughters from one of the North East’s most well-known families has been brought back to life – with some surprising discoveries made in the process by art conservation experts from Northumbria University The mystery of who painted a centuries-old artwork is closer to being revealed thanks to the work of art conservation and forensic science experts from Northumbria University Art experts have experienced something of a Christmas miracle after discovering what could be a 16th century painting of a nativity scene hidden under another work of art a nativity painting was uncovered beneath a work depicting John the Baptist Musician Hank Sullivant chose it for his new album The painting's discovery sheds light on the power of art and the history of conservation efforts at The Bowes Museum and Northumbria University Professor Kerry Howell from Northumbria University’s Newcastle Business School has been elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (LSW)—joining a distinguished group of leading academics and professionals recognised for their contributions to research Northumbria University is a research-intensive university that unlocks potential for all When you choose to create a user account and follow a newsroom your personal data will be used by us and the owner of the newsroom for you to receive news and updates according to your subscription settings To learn more about this, please read our Privacy Policy, which applies to our use of your personal data, and our Privacy Policy for Contacts which applies to the use of your personal data by the owner of the newsroom you follow Please note that our Terms of Use apply to all use of our services You can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing or deleting your account.