THERE are just a few days left to see a photographic exhibition exploring the Durham Miners’ Gala.

The Big Meetings exhibition by photographer Julian Germain is at Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives, near Ashington, Northumberland, until Sunday, December 23.

The exhibition was jointly commissioned by Woodhorn and the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Durham Art Gallery, in Durham City, where it was on display this summer.

Attended by more than 100,000 people, the Gala is one of the largest political events in Europe. This year’s was addressed by Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.

Mr Germain was invited to document the Gala and capture some of the human stories behind it. In doing so, he visited former pit villages including Chopwell, Easington and Esh Winning to meet residents, brass bands in their practice rooms and activists.

Woodhorn director Keith Merrin said: “It’s a fantastic exhibition. Woodhorn is such an appropriate location for this Julian Germain exhibition too.

"It was an operational colliery for more than 80 years before it became a museum and in the past has been the location for the Northumberland Miners’ Picnic with bands, banners and speeches.”

Admission to Woodhorn is free. All day parking costs £3. For more information, call 01670-624455.