The first to get close up and personal with the large poppies placed on the Peace and Remembrance Wall at Bainbridge Quaker Meeting House in Wensleydale  in March was a horse! The appearance of the 4ft diameter brightly coloured poppies (created at Gayle Mill)  spooked her and she had to be gently introduced to them.

The objective of the wall is to give people the opportunity to make their individual remembrances and expressions of their attitudes towards war and peace. They can post their own comments on the wall, as well as decorating it with ribbons or with poppies from the last Remembrance Day.

The Meeting House is open from 10.30am to 12.30pm each Wednesday with materials being available for posting messages on the wall. Some Friends will be there to answer questions and chat.

In the next few months displays will be developed illustrating the local involvement in the two World Wars. The first explains the Quaker views on peace and the work of the Friends’ Ambulance Unit (FAU).

The Bainbridge Quaker Meeting has its own special link with the FAU for during the 1st World War as John Leyland of Bainbridge was one of the 96 volunteers with the Unit to be awarded the Croix de Guerre for continuing to work when under fire along the Western Front. His son, Peter, served with the FAU in China in the 2nd World War. (See also A Bainbridge Family )

The poppies were created at Gayle Mill by David Pointon, a member of the Bainbridge Quaker Meeting. He was very grateful to those at the Mill who made that possible.

Below: David at work at Gayle Mill as seen through a 19th century water powered saw.  Ian Fraser (a Gayle Mill director) and Lynda Casserly assist David as he makes the first cut. And another director, Mike Thompson, used the 19th century saw to produce the poppy centres.

Below: Mounting the poppies on the railings outside Bainbridge Quaker Meeting House to start the Peace and Remembrance Wall.

And the first message to be placed on the Peace and Remembrance Wall:

What a great way to spend a sunny afternoon! A friend and I met at Berry’s Farm Shop and Cafe  at Swinithwaite and enjoyed the Meadow Walk created by the Thornton-Berry family. This walk passes through their farmland to Redmire Falls.  At the beginning there was a feeling of “follow the yellow brick road” – while a Swaledale sheep kept watch on us.

Looking back later we had a splendid view of Penhill – before carefully negotiating the steps down to Redmire Falls, where we saw some early primroses.

Above – Towards Redmire.

And then we realised we were being stalked! This dandy fellow decided he wasn’t going to let us out of his sight!

After a while he even decided it was his job to make sure we stayed on the footpath.

But as we drew closer to Swinithwaite Hall and the cafe (below) he got fed up with us and withdrew his attentions.

If you want to know more about how Adrian and Bridget Thornton-Berry transformed old barns into an award-winning farm shop and cafe see their website. We spent an enjoyable hour in the very restful, welcoming cafe enjoying afternoon tea and plan to return very soon after spotting some interesting items on the menu.

It is a gentle, half a mile walk from the Cafe to the scar above the river. The steps make it much easier to access the Falls. The uphill walk back to the Cafe is not difficult – and, of course, there are good facilities and good food at the end.

The funeral service for Margaret Knowles took place at SS Peter and Paul R C church in Leyburn on Thursday, March 13.  She was the wife of Tom Knowles, the founder president of the Association of Rural Communities, and was a member of the association since it began.

She was a popular Dales’ lady who had lived her whole life in the Aysgarth and Leyburn area. Her grandchildren especially remembered her for providing an important support centre in their lives.

As her granddaughter, Sarah Jayne Mitchell read her family tribute to this “beautiful lady” Margaret’s other grandchildren joined her and held candles in memory of her.

Margaret, who was born in May 1936, was one of three children of Horner and Alice Lambert. She attended West Burton primary school and then Yorebridge Grammar at Askrigg. She met Tom at a National Farmers’ Union dance in Leyburn in 1953 and they married in 1955.

In April 1958 the couple moved to a small dairy farm at Westholme, Aysgarth. Soon afterwards the then vicar of Aysgarth, the Rev John Benson, asked if they would be prepared to allow boy scouts to camp there for two to three weeks a year. This led to Margaret and Tom developing the farm into a very successful, well landscaped site for caravans and tents, which was also used by those taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

The discos in the restaurant and bar were very popular with local young people and Margaret’s hospitality was especially appreciated. Sarah Jayne commented: “Many of us (were) lucky enough to share those days – we now have fantastic memories of that beautiful place.”

In 1988 Margaret and Tom moved to Grayford near Carperby and established a thriving, successful bed and breakfast business with a restaurant. And yet again Margaret’s cooking was a big attraction.

Sarah Jayne said that her grandmother had been crowned Needle Queen at a national competition in London in 1972 and had gone on to become very well known over numerous years for winning cups, trophies and prizes at the Spennithorne and Harmby Village, Wensleydale, Reeth, and Muker shows for her knitting, crochet, dressmaking and baking. And last year in BBC2 ‘s Country Show Cook Off a celebrity chef was shown at the Wensleydale Show sneaking a piece of her prize-winning savoury tart to try and find out why his was only ranked third.

Sarah Jayne told the very large congregation at the funeral: “Grandma taught us (that) family is an important support centre to our lives. We are told constantly that our beautiful family is so unique – that is because we have excellent role models.

“Over her life our beautiful grandma was a strong lady overcoming a triple heart bypass and cirrhosis of the liver.”

Margaret and Tom had three children – Carolyn Bowe (who died in 2003), Jacquie Dinsdale and Tony Knowles as well as 13 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Tom commented: “I’ve loved working in each other’s company and we were a great loving team.”

Father Pat O’Neill officiated at the funeral mass and the bearers were her grandsons – Paul Knowles, Stephen Bowe, and Keith, Stuart, Ryan and Chris Dinsdale.

The collection of over £1,140 will be shared between Herriot Hospice Homecare and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Close family at the funeral: Tom Knowles (husband); Jacquie and Roger Dinsdale (daughter and son-in-law); Tony and Barbara Knowles (son and daughter-in-law); Rene and Stephen Hillary (sister and brother-in-law); Arthur Lambert (brother) with partner Eileen Richardson; Maurice and Margaret Knowles (brother-in-law and sister-in-law); David and Fiona Bowe (son-in-law) and grandchildren: Michelle and Andy Craggs with Harry and Olivia; Sarah Jayne and Kevin Mitchell with Zakk; Stephen Bowe; Helen Bowe; Keith and Mabel Dinsdale with Farah; Stuart Dinsdale with partner Angela Lambert and sons Jack and Charlie; Ryan Dinsdale; Lindsey Dinsdale and partner James Yeadon; Chris Dinsdale; Diane and Andy Barker with Alfie and Dylan; Susan; Samantha; and Paul Knowles. Plus many nephews and nieces.

Below: Margaret and Tom Knowles

It was an honour and a pleasure to have known Dorothy Walker who died at Brentwood Lodge, Leyburn, aged 108, on April 2. Her enjoyment of life, the twinkle in her eye and her Christian faith were inspirational. When she retired as a teacher from Bellerby School in 1971 (14 years before it closed) the vicar, the Rev T F Unsworth, said she had a Peter Pan like quality – and she retained that throughout her life.

She grew up in Selby and when she was 21 was appointed to teach the 20 or more children at the primary school in Bellerby. It was a cold, grey evening when she got off the train in Leyburn and, as she wasn’t able to find a taxi, she had to walk the two miles to the village. By then it was snowing and as she searched for accommodation she believed she would not stay long in Bellerby.

But she did and married a local man, Fred Walker, who died about a year after their golden wedding anniversary in 1995. “I have enjoyed all my years in Bellerby and I am very grateful for all the help I have been given,” she said. (Above – with school children at Bellerby)

She was 99-years-old when she retired as the organist at St John’s, Bellerby, and a year later young pianists were still going to her home for piano lessons. As the Rev Unsworth said, she awakened the love of music in several generations of children in and around Bellerby.

Dorothy told me that she loved children too much to want to be a head teacher. Instead she took on all the music teaching at the school as well as doing needlework with the seniors.

It was the sudden departure of a head teacher in 1928 that led to her long involvement with the Wensleydale Tournament of Song for she was asked to prepare the pupils for this annual event in Leyburn.

Just days before her 100^th birthday she said: “I love the tournament.” (Above: being filmed at the Tournament in 2006) She was delighted when she was made one its patrons in 2000. In Bellerby she had organised choirs for the ladies, the WI, the children, the church and the Glee Club to sing at the tournaments. By the time she was 100 she had trained the highest number of pianists who had taken part in its junior music classes.

She had celebrated her 96^th birthday in hospital after fracturing her hip. But that did not stop her attending the tournament to see her student, Laura Reeks (pictured with Dorothy in February 2006), win a cup for playing the piano.

In March 2008 her good friends, Mary and John Storr, held a birthday party in their home for Dorothy and Beattie Tupling  (above)as both were celebrating their 102^nd birthdays. Mrs Tupling’s son, Trevor, and her two grandsons were taught by Dorothy. “We have been friends for 80 years,” Mrs Tupling said. And Dorothy commented:“We only have happy memories – we have never had a wrong word between us. We have both found a lot of happiness in this village.” Mrs Tupling died in January 2009. (Below: Dorothy with her son Dick on the right and John Storr)

Dorothy was delighted when one of her favourite writers, Gervase Phinn, visited her in Bellerby in May 2009 and they swapped yarns about teaching local children.

In 2010, after her 104^th birthday she commented: “I don’t understand how I have lived this long. My doctor said I was not strong enough to train as a nurse and so I became a teacher instead.”

©P Land

Her chief mourners were her son, Richard (Dick), his wife, Ann, her grandchildren Tony and Rachel and her great grandchildren Logan and Blake. But as the Rev Graham Dear noted at the service of thanksgiving for her at St John’s, Bellerby  on Thursday, April 10, there were many others who had counted her as a special friend, and who had helped to care for her in the latter part of her life. He thanked the staff at Brentwood Lodge Care Home in Leyburn for the way they had made it possible for her to continue to be the person all knew and loved until she died.

Rev Dear’s address at the service:

Dorothy was born 108 years ago as Dorothy Mary Wilkinson in Caton Bay, near Scarborough and by the 1st World War she and her family had moved to Selby where they attended church at Brayton.

There she enjoyed being part of a very happy, church going family where music played a very strong part. Her mother was the first to teach her to play the piano. Her father, Wilfred, had a very fine voice and so, especially on a Sunday, they would gather around the piano to sing.

Her mother, Elizabeth, was always affectionately known as Mums. Mums was one of those people who was quietly there right to the end of Dorothy’s life as an example to her. After school and college at the age of 21 her first teaching post was here in Bellerby at the Church of England school.

When she came here in 1928 the village had three shops, two pubs and a post office. They were very hard days. People and families living in very cramped accommodation and it was difficult at first to find a place to live and to have room for her preparation, as well as later to find a home for her piano. It was a godsend when in the post office she learned that Miss Davison at The Lilacs was looking for a paying guest. This provided the ideal situation not just for herself but later for Fred and for Richard.

Aunty Madge – Miss Davison – remained was one of Dorothy’s lifetime inspirations. Her faithful attendance at Mass, her ability to always find something good to say about somebody strengthened Dorothy’s own faith and her character.

Coming to grips though with life in a somewhat insular community with its own particular dialect caused initial difficulties but the young Miss Wilkinson quickly began winning the children round. The headmaster was keen to include music and Dorothy was very soon taking children on the bus to Leyburn to take part in the Wensleydale Tournament of Song.

As the years went by she organised choirs both for children and ladies, the WI, St John’s and then the Glee Club. Often she saw these pick up awards as far away as Harrogate.The school children from Bellerby became very much the stars at the Tournament of Song and soon any rival didn’t have to give any other explanation for their failure than to just shrug their shoulders and say “Oh well you had Mrs Walker of Bellerby”.

For by then Miss Wilkinson’s heart had been won by Fred Walker of Wensley – they met at a dance in Leyburn. They had their golden wedding anniversary just a year before Fred died in 1995. From then on quietly whatever came she was ready to go home to be with Mums and with Fred – that gave her the serenity that we all marked and rejoiced in.

She was a keen walker all her life. She had walked with the children six miles to Richmond to visit the cinema. Fortunately for their sakes, if not for hers, they were able to catch the bus back. She also organised outings on the bus for picnics, walks and a paddle at Aysgarth Falls.

Distances on foot seemed no problem. Fred was a keen cricketer and she had gone to watch him play in a match at Masham. The game was still going on but she said “I think I’ll just slip away. You’ll catch me up on the road”. Well – he never caught her up. She walked all the way back to Bellerby from Masham.

Shortly before she left the village she was still walking around the village much to everyone’s concern. She remained independent to the last though appreciative to have somebody’s arm to lean on for the final lap home.

She was an early fan of flight and she went to France with one of her girlfriends quite early on. Sadly she never learnt how to drive. She had a rather interesting initial foray with Fred which nearly ended up in a ditch. However much Fred tried to persuade her to get behind the wheel again it wasn’t on.

It’s incredible to think that she retired from the school as long ago as 1971 after 44 years. She then taught music for another eight years music at the Convent of the Assumption at Richmond. She was still of course teaching her pupils at home way beyond her 100th birthday.

Dorothy loved to keep in touch with her old pupils and colleagues. As the years went by quietly but proudly Dorothy was rewarded by being made patron of Wensleydale Tournament of Song , by receiving cards from the Queen which she never dreamt she would receive, by opening the Leyburn Medical Centre, by the Swaledale Festival organising a violinist to play for her at her home; and by swapping yarns with Gervase Phinn.

She shared that marvellous childlike wonder that she had right about the world and all that went on in it to the end of her days.

St John’s was very much her spiritual home. She was very proud of having played the organ for over 70 years especially as she had initially been asked to stand in “just for a few weeks until they got a proper organist”.

Here at St John’s and later in Brentwood she was able to receive Holy Communion – following the pattern set in Selby which would last her all her life. No week was complete for her without sharing in Holy Communion. For the Vicar and me it has been my joy to see the look of gratitude on her face – a look of joy – when on each occasion this simple act so faithfully shared brought together over 100 years of experience.

In her later years the Methodist chapel at Bellerby proved a blessing to her as well. The Mothers’ Union also played a great part in her life, both in Bellerby and beyond.

I think everyone here will have a memory of Dorothy – that marvellous twinkle in her eye, the gentle pat on the back of the hand – she loved us dearly and we dearly loved her. She appreciated us graciously and perhaps made us more gracious people.

The prayer that she loved best alongside the Lord’s Prayer comes towards the end of the Holy Communion service and I think it summarises very well her experience of her Heavenly Father and her wish to share his love through Christ Jesus with others:

“Father of all, we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living he declared your love, gave us grace and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ’s body live in risen life. We who drink his cup bring life to others. We whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free and the whole earth live to praise your name through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Penhill Benefice celebrated Easter with many events in April 2014. But why is Easter so important?

Many years ago a Muslim man left me almost speechless when he asked one short but very important question.

I respected that man a great deal for he was a very sincere Muslim who prayed five times every day, fasted during Ramadan, and gave alms, as well as having been to Mecca.

And yet he asked me: “What can I do about the bad things inside me – the things I can’t seem to change no matter how hard I try?”

I replied:  “That’s why Easter is so important to Christians.”

He wanted to know more so I explained what Jesus had achieved for each one of us by choosing to be sacrificed on the cross for us. When he rose from the dead three days later he made it possible for us to also start a new life and to change those aspects of our life which we hated. (Above  – the cross of flowers at Aysgarth church after the Easter Sunday service.)

One of the people who lived a beautiful life was Dorothy Walker. I have added the Rev Graham Dear’s speech to my tribute to show why.

In Penhill Benefice we had a busy time celebrating Easter in 2014 – from the processions at Redmire and West Witton churches on Palm Sunday, to the Stations of the Cross throughout the benefice on Good Friday, to the Easter Sunday services.  At Aysgarth church many children enjoyed decorating eggs and biscuits – and then the egg rolling afterwards.

Pictured below: the Palm Sunday procession to Redmire church; and the procession to West Witton Church led by the Rev Penny Yeadon; Stations of the Cross at Carperby on Good Friday; egg rolling at Aysgarth Church on Easter Sunday. There are more photos – if anyone wants a CD contact me at pip.land@btinternet.com.

The Stewardship and Celebration Weekend in and around West Witton church (June 6-8) got off to a joyful and special start thanks to Cantabile – the young singers from the Wensleydale School (above).

St Bartholomew’s church was full for this thoroughly enjoyable “Concert for a Summer’s Evening” which began with a foot-tapping rendition of Rhythm of Life. This, and several other items that evening, revealed how well balanced this choir was. The harmonies were often enchanting.

But the most memorable song was Call your girlfriend which the choir leader, Kath Barker, had transposed for the choir, and to which Simon Chorley provided an entertaining accompaniment using a plastic pot. And there were memorable solos by Rachael Binks, Jessica Buck, Kate Chorley, Jo-Ann Lambert, Rayanne McGee and Anya Wagstaff.

The audience was delighted to be share in the end of term farewells to the choir members who were graduating from the school, and each received flowers. (Below – saying farewell with a hug and flowers)

Pimms and canapés were served afterwards and some wandered out into the bunting-bedecked churchyard to enjoy a beautiful summer’s evening. The collection that evening (£320) was shared equally between Cantabile (to cover the cost of new music and travelling expenses) and the school at the Bungokho Rural Development Centre in Uganda.

Not even heavy rain on Saturday could dampen the spirit of the weekend and many made their way to the village playing field where there was a plant and book sale with table top “Swop and Share”. All the stalls along with refreshments were hastily moved into the pavilion when the rain started – but the excellent array of plants and books and the welcome coffee and scones drew many from both the village and further afield. The funds raised went towards the cost of running St Bartholomew’s.

For this was a stewardship weekend aimed at raising awareness of the importance of the St Bartholomew’s within the community. After centuries of service it would be sad to lose it!

The community extends to Swinithwaite and on Saturday evening a merry group gathered at Berry’s farm shop for what was more like a charabanc ride up to Penhill. Adrian Thornton-Berry drove the tractor pulling a trailer load of people (including a granny armed with an ipad) while his mother, Caroline Gardner, drove the old Land Rover full of food and beverages.

After a day of torrential rain those who had signed up for the “Evening of Penhill” were amazed to find themselves bathed in glorious sunshine and with a clear blue sky overhead. It had turned into one of those champagne-like Dales’ evenings – perfect for a picnic up on the hills with Blaise Vyner and Adrian providing the commentary on the moorland birds and the history of the area.

“To stand in silence with only the sound of the birds; to experience the light of that June evening, as we gathered for a late picnic looking down on to Walden and Bishopdale and way into the distance was utterly stunning. We could only look and listen in wonder at such a truly awe-inspiring sight,” said Gillian Vyner.

She added that when they got back to Swinithwaite three hours later they all agreed it had been a privilege to have been part of that expedition and an absolute thrill. On their return Bridget Thornton-Berry served hot drinks in her kitchen.

The Songs of Praise service in St Bartholomew’s on Sunday morning provided both a joyful and thoughtful finale. It began with remembering those who died during the D-Day landings and many shared why they had chosen hymns. And it ended with a rousing rendition of Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord.

Gillian commented: “The singing was wonderful, led by Martin Hotton playing the organ. We also enjoyed Martin performing a couple of his own compositions on the piano.”

She told the congregation that stewardship meant giving time, talents and financial resources to maintaining the church’s service to the community – and she especially thanked all those who had helped to make the weekend so enjoyable.

She reminded them that it was Pentecost – when the church celebrated God making the life-changing gift of the Holy Spirit available to everyone whoever and wherever they were. And she thanked Jesus Christ for making that possible. Below – a floral display at St Bartholomew’s.

An album of photographs of the event, as originally posted in Pip’s Gallery, are available on CD. Anyone who wishes to have a good copy of any of the photographs (printed or by email) can purchase it from me. Contact me at pip.land@internet.com.

After months of preparation the cyclists in the Tour de France Grand Depart rushed through Aysgarth on July 5 – and left us all wondering where all the crowds were. Many communities like those in Bainbridge, Hawes, Muker, and Leyburn had worked hard to welcome this “once in a lifetime event” – as I saw when I went on a photographic tour a few days before the Grand Depart. This included seeing the new Hawes Post Office in operation, thanks to County Coun John Blackie.

Click on the photos to see the albums on Flickr:

Le Tour cyclists passing through Aysgarth:

Aysgarth on the day of Le Tour:

Hawes celebrates the Tour de France in style:

Carperby’s market cross was dressed for the occasion even though the village wasn’t on the Le Tour route. Here is an album of photos of the celebrations in Worton, Bainbridge, Muker, Reeth and Leyburn.

Wednesday, July 2

Like many others I thought it would be fun to go and see how our villages were celebrating this big event – and also make sure I did my shopping before the weekend before all those expected hordes of visitors descend upon us.

I was impressed at Worton and at Bainbridge by some wood carvings (pictures in my gallery). The residents of Bainbridge have definitely made a big effort to mark this “once in a lifetime” happening. There’s even a yellow “bike” on the Quaker Meeting House overlooking the Peace and Remembrance Wall.

On the A684 to Hawes I was soon confronted by yet more cyclists. These were trying to be considerate towards other road users which is more than I can say about several other groups I have had the misfortune to be on the road with in the past few weeks.  But on our narrow roads a long string of cyclists, even if in single file and well spaced, becomes an obstacle to other traffic. By the time I approached Hawes I was in an 11-car queue behind a cyclist.

The displays in Hawes were worth the effort. And it was also good to see the new community volunteer head postmaster, Coun John Blackie, at the post office which is now based in the community centre. Abbie Rhodes and Imogen Kirkbride were there, and so was the Post Office trainer, Ericka Williams.

And then I made the mistake of driving over the Buttertubs (the Cote de Buttertubs) to Swaledale. The steep hill climb had forced the cyclists into groups and many were not fit enough. One man nearly fell off his bike in front of me. I had to stop and pull the hand brake on hard to make sure I did not roll backwards into oncoming cyclists or motorists. And, of course, some cyclists overtook me on the inside. I decided I would not try and stop anywhere on that road because that would cause more chaos.

Once into Swaledale I did stop and take some photos in Muker but I noticed that local folks already looked pretty fed up with visiting photographers and all those cyclists. When I left Muker I got stuck behind a line of cyclists and realised that the situation was far worse in Upper Swaledale than in Wensleydale. I spent over ten minutes driving at 20mph or slower as it was impossible to overtake those cyclists in safety along most of that narrow, windy road.

And once I did get past them I didn’t want to lose my advantage and so drove through Gunnerside and Low Row without stopping. I made a brief stop at Reeth to witness residents putting up bunting before going on over the Moor Road to Leyburn. The Moor Road was dotted with blue temporary loos which definitely don’t blend in with the beautiful dales landscape (see my gallery)

In Leyburn I found that many other local residents had also decided to do their shopping early with some items either being out of stock or very low. It was also obvious that the cafes and pubs were doing a roaring trade thanks to all the cyclists needing refreshment after their long haul over the Buttertubs and along Moor Road. So at least some are benefitting from all this chaos.

By the time I reached Aysgarth the barriers had gone up. It’s a strange existence this with our lives and our beautiful villages are being so disrupted by this event. Will it be worth it?

Thursday, July 3

Like many others I was busy baking – both for the flower festival at Aysgarth church (June 4-6) and for the refreshment stalls being organised by Aysgarth Institute.  I did make a tour of Aysgarth to take some photographs – for as a friend pointed out to me in Hawes, I couldn’t leave my own village out.

The chocolate fudge cake I made was, in parts, too (gorgeously)  fudgy to cut up and take to either the church or the institute. We just had to eat much of it ourselves!

Friday, July 4

When I got up I found my son and Jade were already at work, with their cat, Simba, trying to catch their attention. Simba’s had a great time exploring my house. Eddie and Jade had come to Aysgarth early to miss all those crowds.

That morning I did a two-hour shift at Aysgarth church – welcoming anyone who came to see the floral displays that had been created to welcome Le Tour to Wensleydale.

On leaving the church I found the roads teeming with cyclists – they came from every direction on every road. And back at Aysgarth I found that a portaloo had been placed right in the centre of the village,  as planned by one of the parish councillors and originally with the approval of Aysgarth and District parish council. But not in accordance with the wishes of the villagers who very quickly took action to move it.

In the end it found a home beside another portaloo in the car park at the George and Dragon. Below: Unwanted of Aysgarth.

At 4pm many villagers converged on Aysgarth institute carrying bags of homemade cakes and cookies to join in a very happy communal event, expertly overseen by Karen. Within an hour or so 250 packed lunches had been prepared, with the sandwiches safely stored in fridges ready to be placed in the bags tomorrow, alongside bottled water, apples, and biscuits.

The big question was: just how many people would converge on the village before the roads closed at 7am the following morning.

Saturday, July 5

My first job was to check the secondary Community First Responder kit that had been delivered to me. Then I packed myself  some food that I could eat as I would be based at the institute as a community first responder for most of the day.

When I got into the centre of the village at 10am I found that all of those crowds of people we had been told to expect just hadn’t materialised. It certainly was easy to watch the Tour de France cyclists but sadly a lot of food did not get sold.

I was very grateful that there no medical emergencies and I could enjoy the spectacle. The ‘caravan’, however, was a big disappointment. The drivers may have honked their horns or blasted us with other unmelodious sounds, but they drove through our village as fast as they could and shared little with us. Just one police motorcyclist stopped to share a high five with a small girl. The  helicopters overhead as Le Tour cyclists passed through gave a better show than the caravan.

As a family we watched some of Le Tour on television that afternoon – and had a good laugh at the bad pronunciation of the names of Yorkshire towns and villages by the commentators who even confused the Yorkshire Dales with the North Yorkshire Moors. That, and the limited knowledge of Yorkshire revealed by the stewards brought in from southern England, said a lot about the North South divide in this country. Those poor stewards certainly did not expect it to be that much colder up in the hills of the North.

Jade and Eddie then set off for the drive back to York to see Le Tour there – and we went to Thornton Rust for an enjoyable barbecue meal at the institute.  The bring and share salads and desserts were as good as ever. Below – James and John busy barbecuing.

Sunday, July 6

David and I had a very enjoyable, restful day at the classic car rally at Corbridge, while Jade and Eddie battled through the crowds in York to get another view of Le Tour. Eddie commented later that it had been more enjoyable watching Le Tour in Aysgarth.

Monday, July 7:

My niece, Helen, and her son Jack, watched Le Tour as it left Cambridge – as a way of celebrating the memory of “Granddad Bob” , my brother who died at this time last year.

Click picture for more photos in Pip’s Flickr Photo Gallery.

St Andrew’s church, Aysgarth, celebrated Le Tour in flowers from July 4 until July 6. Members were there to chat with visitors and serve home-made refreshments although they did lock the doors for a few hours on Saturday afternoon so that they could go and see the caravan and the cyclists taking part in the Tour de France Grand Depart through Wensleydale.

Event organiser, Liz Piper, commented afterwards: “The flower festival served its intended purpose which was to make the church welcoming and attractive to visitors during Le Tour and to be pretty for Lynn’s welcome service. I think we achieved both of thee aims. I have received some good comments from those who went to see the displays.” Some funds were also raised for the church.

Click picture for more photos in Pip’s Flickr Photo Gallery.

Joy was the keyword at the service at St Andrew’s, Aysgarth, on July 8, when the Rev Lynn Purvis-Lee was inducted as the vicar of Penhill Benefice, in mid Wensleydale.  Left: Bishop James with the Rev Lynn Purvis-Lee.

After he had blessed her the Rt Rev James Bell, Bishop of Knaresborough, stated: “It is with joy – with joy – that I present to you your new vicar.”

All the congregations in the benefice were represented as well as those from the churches* Lynn had worshipped and ministered at before including the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust where she was chaplain for 12 years.

When Bishop James asked those who knew her to list the qualities which described her they said patience, sincerity, compassion, loyalty, enthusiasm and fun.

That fun could be seen in her response to the gift presented to her by Sally Stone on behalf of West Burton CofE School. She laughed with delight and said: “Oh a chocolate cake – with buttons on.” The other gifts from the benefice included a candle, fresh local produce, free-range eggs, and a picture of a local scene.

Bishop James had everyone in the large congregation laughing when a mobile phone rang and he joked: “A fanfare for my sermon.”

In his sermon he said that a rural ministry didn’t just involve maintaining historical buildings for their communities, contributing to the common good, giving practical help and pastoral care but also to manifest the character of Christ through their lives. This was through compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience as well a practising forgiveness and forbearance.

He thanked the clergy, laity and readers who had served the benefice faithfully during the interregnum after the Rev Canon Sue Whitehouse retired last September.

Lynn’s youngest grandchild, Olivia, was keen to participate in that joy and was very happy that her grandmother carried her in the procession alongside the Bishop at the end of the service. And afterwards Olivia took over the Bishop’s chair for the family photograph.  Below – Olivia proudly holding Lynn’s hand surrounded by, on the left, Alan, and (left to right) Lynn’s son Gregg Clark, Alan’s sister June Pennick, his daughter Joanne Stephenson, and mother-in-law Mary Nellist.

Below: Lynn with her parents, Norma and John Osborne (on the right) and friend Edna Wilson.

Lynn and Alan were married, with the blessing of the Prioress, at St Hilda’s Priory chapel in Whitby almost two years ago. Both are Friends of the Order of the Holy Paraclete which is based there. They met when she attended a seminar at which he was advising clergy and church members about pensions and investments. Between them they have four grandchildren aged between 22 and five.

In the weeks before the induction service Lynn and Alan were busy moving home from Crook in Weardale, Co Durham, to the newly refurbished vicarage in Carperby. “Alan and I have decorated, furnished, and carpeted the vicarage, and made it our new home, and we are grateful to all who have played a part in the preparation of the Vicarage,” she wrote in the latest Penhill Newsletter.

“I was born and bred in Consett and have always lived and worked and ministered in Co. Durham. My previous jobs before ordination included being a sewing machinist in a factory for Marks and Spencer; a waitress in a coffee shop and restaurant; a healthcare assistant; and an assistant physiotherapist.

“I was educated to degree level when I was 37-years-old at Cranmer Hall Theological College, Durham, and served my curacy in the Parish of Great Aycliffe before becoming full time chaplain.”

She added that she wanted the induction service to be full of joy and that “joy will be the foundation on which we begin our new journey together – filled with the Joy and Love of our faithful God.”

After the service there was an excellent bring and share supper thanks to members of the benefice congregations – and time to enjoy the floral decorations created to welcome the Tour de France Grand Depart.

Many who came to Wensleydale for Le Tour visited St Andrew’s to see the flower festival and afterwards Liz Piper, who organised the event, thanked all those who had helped with the displays, made biscuits and tray bakes,  and been there to welcome visitors. For photographs of that flower festival see Pip’s Gallery.

Below: Lynn with Sister Helen (left) and Sister Janet Elizabeth who represented the Order of the Holy Paraclete.

* St Catherine’s at Crook, St Mary and St Cuthbert’s at Chester-le-Street, and Great Aycliffe Parish especially  St Elizabeth’s where Lynn served as a curate. There were also her colleagues and friends from Durham Diocese and especially the Stockton Deanery. Sisters Janet Elizabeth and Helen from St Oswald’s Pastoral Centre in Sleights near Whitby represented the Order of the Holy Paraclete which Lynn has described as being a spiritual home to her and Alan.

At 100-years-old Anne Barlow of Aysgarth has a lot to teach us about enjoying life. This was very obvious at her birthday party at West Burton village hall on Saturday, June 21. And also in the way she so joyfully participated in all the fun of watching the Tour de France Grand Depart pass through her village.

Aysgarth and District parish council had ensured that the bench outside her home had been repaired and her friends and family made sure it was in the best place for her to view the peloton. She was even more impressed by the helicopters hovering over Aysgarth.

She was so pleased that over 90 friends and family, some from as far away as France, had joined her at West Burton village hall for her birthday party. Her close family there included her grandsons, Edward, William, Louis and Jed.

Her son, Roger, especially thanked his daughter-in-law, Helen, for the creative ideas which helped to make the party so memorable – and his son, Guy, and his wife, Sue, for assisting with the preparations.

One of his special memories of his mother was the amount of Eccles cakes she used to make – and so his wife had made a tower of them. He told those at the party: “You have to have at least one Eccles cake!”  The actual birthday cake was decorated so as to celebrate his mother’s dressmaking and gardening skills.

Roger told them that his mother was born into a coal mining family at Atherton in Lancashire – the sixth of eight children. After she left school she worked as a clerk and then as a secretary.

She married Edward (Eddie) Barlow in July 1939 just a few months before he joined the regular army. In 1945 she wrote to Winston Churchill: “My husband has been fighting in Europe for five years – how dare you send him off to India and Burma to fight the Japanese!”

After the war Mr Barlow worked as an electronics engineer in Leeds and she became a medical secretary at the neurological unit at Leeds General Infirmary.

“I had a very happy life with him,” Mrs Barlow said wistfully about her husband who died in May 1992.

While working in Leeds they bought a holiday cottage in West Burton, and when they retired they moved to Blades Cottage at Aysgarth. After 35 years living there her birthday wish was that she could continue to do so.

She is very grateful to all who are helping to make that possible. As her son said – she has continued to use her energy and enthusiasm to live life to the full, including going on a world tour when she was 84-years-old.

She’s still got a great sense of humour and a zest for life – and is delighted that she was able to witness such a “once in a lifetime event” as the Grand Depart coming to Yorkshire.

The theme “Music and Song”, as Lady Bolton said, gave those preparing for the Wensley Flower Show at Wensley church in mid August lots of scope to enjoy themselves. That enjoyment shone through every arrangement from the luxurious depictions of Swan Lake and The Blue Danube to those illustrating nursery rhymes.

But none more so than in Lord Bolton’s own pews for, hidden behind the red curtains was a life size cardboard cut-out of the “King” himself. Gary Lewis had lent this portrait of Elvis Presley and it was transported to the church in an animal trailer.

The celebration of rock and roll and the Swinging 60s was centred round Lord Bolton’s pews. Leading up to them was The Wedding March – so applicable seeing that the wedding of Gary and Sarah Simpson was held in the church hours before the flower show preview.

This meant that the couple walked along an aisle decorated to illustrate the hymn Love divine all loves excelling.

Their guests may have missed the preview but Lady Bolton was sure many returned during the weekend to see the flowers.

Over 15 women assisted Lady Bolton with preparing for the event and one of them, Doreen Moore, said: “We do enjoy arranging flowers and it’s a nice time for everyone.”

They were delighted that their efforts raised over £2,000 for the church. The Churches Conservation Trust maintains this 13th century church but not its organ. So the parishioners have been fund raising for several years to have this renovated.

As the church is officially closed there are only six services a year there but Mrs Moore commented: “For us it is a living church and we care for it a lot. We are trying to keep the church alive.”

That is very evident at the beautiful biennial flower festivals. Click on the photograph above to see more of this year’s festival.

The Leyland family of Wensleydale have links with the Battle of Waterloo, World War 1 and World War 2. John “Peter” Leyland‘s widow, artist Janet Rawlins, lent a bugle to Askrigg village for their commemoration of the start of World War 1. She commented afterwards:

“It was an amazing and very moving occasion – huge crowd all with lanterns, a still evening, Christine (Hallas) explained about James Preston and Mary Rose read a poem. The bugler blew, standing up on the cross (I cried my eyes out – doubt if it had been blown like that since Jim Preston). The King’s Arms provided free whisky for all – and a piper played. The church was full of candles and the two brass vases in memory of James Preston and another were filled with poppies.”

James Graham Preston of West End House, Askrigg, was a member of Askrigg church choir, a Sunday School teacher and a pupil teacher at Askrigg day school. He then attended the Beckett Park Teacher Training College at Leeds with his cousin, Dick Chapman, and won several awards for swimming and running.

He volunteered for the Army in 1915 and twice turned down a commission preferring to remain a private. He transferred from the Royal Field Artillery and became a bugler with the 18th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. On his 20th birthday on October 22, 1917, the Battalion was pinned down by enemy fire in the Houthulst Forest in the Ypres Salient. Preston’s lung was pierced by a bullet and he died in hospital on November 2.

His bugle was returned to West End House and is now in the care of Janet as her late husband, Peter, was James Preston’s nephew.

The bugle has been part of the peace and remembrance display at the Bainbridge Quaker Meeting House which is open from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Wednesdays. Messages can be left on the Peace and Remembrance Wall outside.

The first Wensleydale men to be killed during WWI were: Pvt Frederick Cockett from Hawes on October 29, 1914; Capt Hugh C Chaytor from Spennithorne on October 31 (both in and around Ypres); Lt Commander Percival van Straubenzee of Spennithorne, when his ship was blown up during a battle with German cruisers off coast of Chile on November 1; and Leading Stoker John R Leake from East Witton on November 3, whose submarine hit a German mine after protecting Great Yarmouth from an attack by German cruisers. Information about these men and James Preston from Wensleydale Remembered by Keith Taylor.

Peter’s father, John, (1890-1942) attended Ackworth School and became firmly convinced of the Quaker principles taught there. These became his way of life and when World War I began he registered as a conscientious objector and joined the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU).

In France he was a member of SSA (Sections Sanitaires Anglaises) 14.  Below – John with his ambulance.

But to many in his home village of Bainbridge John Leyland was just another “skiving” conscientious objector. It therefore came as a big surprise to them to hear, at his funeral, that he had been awarded the Croix de Guerre for his bravery. (95 other members of the FAU also received the Croix de Guerre including a nurse.Five convoy members were killed ‘in action’.)

John earned the Croix de Guerre by continuing to drive ambulances to the front line to collect the injured even when the road was being shelled.

“One day he could see shells popping up the road towards him As they got nearer he hopped out into the ditch and the next shell hit his ambulance,” Peter said.

(Left) John Leyland’s ambulance after it was hit. Photo belongs to J Leyland.

See also Peter Leyland’s story of his experiences with the  FAU China Convoy in World War II. And for details of the family’s connection with the Battle of Waterloo see Peter Leyland and the Tipladys.

Thornton Rust institute now proudly displays a public access defibrillator (PAD) box on the front of the building. And on Saturday, September 13, many residents attended the coffee morning in the institute to learn more about the defibrillator (defib) and how and when it could be accessed.

Left: Ian White (right) and Dave Jones beside the PAD box outside Thornton Rust institute.

Dave Jones, the community defibrillator officer for West Yorkshire, explained that the box containing the defib could be opened by obtaining the code for the keypad from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. So, in an emergency, the first step was to ring 999 and the ambulance call handler will ask a series of questions to ascertain what was required.

It is vitally important to give the ambulance service an address to which to send a fast response car, an ambulance and (if one was available) a community first responder. As a first responder I’ve often been very grateful that a Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) fast response car has arrived soon after I have reached someone suffering from chest pains.

Once the call handler knows where the patient is they will want to know how many people are available to help. Dave emphasised that it is important that one person stays with the patient and the call handler will give advice about how to administer chest compressions. “The call handler will talk you through it,” he assured everyone and warned: “The window of opportunity when there has been a cardiac arrest is just four minutes.”

But compared to administering chest compressions a patient’s chances of survival can be increased from below five per cent to over 50 per cent if a defib is used soon after someone has collapsed. So, if another person is available to help, they will be asked to run and get the defib, following the instructions provided by the ambulance call handler.

When encouraging residents to make use of the defib Dave commented: “You can’t get it wrong – just have a go.” He said that the defib provided both spoken and visual advice on how to use it.

Dave not only explained how the defib worked but also demonstrated how to give chest compressions using a dummy. Afterwards he had time to chat with residents and answer more questions while I, as member of the Carperby and Aysgarth volunteer community responder team, watched while some used the dummy to practise chest compressions. Practising chest compressions on ‘Little Anne’.

The Carperby and Aysgarth team is short of members now and is finding it harder  to provide almost 24/7 coverage in mid Wensleydale as we are willing to go beyond our four-mile radius.

Ian White organised the installation of the defib box at Thornton Rust. The  boxes and defibs for Aysgarth and Thoralby have been deliverd and that for Aysgarth has been installed on the front wall of the village institute thanks to Kevin Hails and James Metcalfe.

But, even though Thoralby was the first village in the Aysgarth and District parish council area to raise the funds for this equipment it is likely to be the last to have a box installed.

This is because Thoralby village hall is a listed building.  This means that permission has to be obtained to install a box on an outer wall and the Yorkshire Dales National Park planning officer has suggested it should be at the back of the building. This upset many people in the village who felt that the building was not “an attractive feature which contributes significantly to the quality of the village” and that equipment which has the potential to make the difference between life and death ought to be clearly visible. (See Aysgarth and District parish council report)

Dave, however, said that having the defib box at the back of the hall was not a problem as the ambulance call handler would give clear directions as to its location and signs could be provided.  When I asked him about this later he said that a PAD box had been installed on the back of another listed building in North Yorkshire.

The box needs to be on a publicly funded building with an electricity supply as the defib must be kept warm during the winter months.

The cost of the equipment at Thoralby and at Thornton Rust was met from the funding received through the Defra environmental stewardship schemes for Thoralby Moss and Thornton Mire. Aysgarth, as well as West Burton and Preston under Scar plus two villages in Swaledale received assistance from Richmondshire District Council’s Communities Opportunities Fund.

Many gathered at St Andrew’s church, Aysgarth, on Friday, April 10, to say goodbye to Hilary Kathleen Davies (1933-2015). The Wensleydale village of Thornton Rust where she had lived for so long, was almost empty as so many of the residents attended the service of thanksgiving for her life.

Here is what the Rev Canon Sue Whitehouse, former vicar of Aysgarth, told us about Hilary.

Several of Hilary’s friends have contributed their thoughts and memories to this service – not least Cordula from Germany. Over the last years she and Hilary have been very good and close friends and although Cordula is not able to be with us today I know that she is putting aside this hour to be here in spirit.

And so we come to say our farewell to someone who from 1972 – when the then headmaster of Wensleydale school took her on a tour of the outlying farms to show her where some of the pupils lived  – she was totally committed to Wensleydale: to its young people and families; to church and choirs; and to its countryside and nature.

The photograph on the front of the service sheet (above)  shows a Hilary of earlier days: always busy, coming home from school, taking Honey (her dog) up the Outgang in Thornton Rust, having tea with her parents, and then  out to meetings or choir practices.

And, in the early days of retirement she was still busy: at the Citizens Advice Bureau, as churchwarden at St Andrew’s, at the Mission Room in Thornton Rust, with the diocese and the deanery synod, and with various choirs, courses and expeditions abroad. Or she was looking after her parents in to their very old age. As she became more and more physically limited she found life very hard and frustrating and difficult to accept. And so it was, of course, difficult for those around her.

A sustaining faith

But throughout her faith sustained her and she was prepared for her dying. She often spoke with Cordula about death – peacefully and without fear.

I’m reminded of a painting by Salvador Dali where a girl stands at an open window looking beyond the familiar harbour to an unending vista. A description of the painting says of the girl: “Fully attentive she is ready to recognise and greet a hope-filled future.”

So as we come to hand Hilary back into the arms of her Maker we do so in sadness as we remember times past, in gratitude for having known her and in trust of God’s promise in Jesus’ death and resurrection of eternal life for her, now in God’s nearer presence, and for ourselves, as we continue our earthly journey.

Her early life

Hilary was born at Low Fell in Gateshead in 1933. During the war when Gateshead was in danger of being bombed she stayed with her Grandma Sharman in Stocksfield, County Durham. And, although her love of Wensleydale became deeply ingrained she still always held a light for the north-east and the Lambton Worm was one of her party pieces.

Animals were always an important part of her life, culminating in Sam (Samson) – rescued as a kitten from a wall, I think, along Thornton Rust Road, and (became) very much part of her life at The Bield (Hilary’s home in Thornton Rust).

Her love of music was fostered at Gateshead Grammar School according to her friend, Ann.  Hilary went on to read Botany and Bacteriology at King’s College which became Newcastle University. As a child Hilary had poor health and Betty Cawte remembers that her mother worried about her taking part in field expeditions. Hilary, of course, continued to organise school field trips when she was teaching.

Her first post was in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where she taught with Margaret Bottle. Margaret left some years before Hilary but she and Ted went back to visit…

On one occasion Hilary needed some flower specimens for a lesson at school and so took them to Ditton Priors. Nearby was a “hush hush” secret naval base which had been served by a now overgrown branch line. Ted, a railway buff, explored the line while Hilary and Margaret gathered the flowers.

The next day at school, Hilary was visited by two men who, on a tip-off, had travelled up from London in order to question her as to why she had been in the area of Ditton Priors. They fortunately accepted her explanation!

In 1964 Hilary moved to Cartwright School, Solihull, and then in 1972 to the Wensleydale School where she became a Deputy Head and helped to steer the school through some difficult and stressful times. She was always a devoted and loyal member of staff who was understanding and encouraging. She continued to take an interest in all her former pupils, several of whom recently cared for her in hospital and at Sycamore Hall (Bainbridge).

Her love for others

She was generally interested and concerned about people. She delighted in her family – her cousins and their families: Sybil and Michael; Donald, Christina, Joseph and Erin; Neil, Penny, Martha and Peter; Paul, Judith, Owen and Hugh; Valerie and Eric and their family, and latterly, in particular, enjoyed and talked about their visits. She was a kind and caring godmother and had a great capacity for friendship.

Margaret Carlisle from the States said that “though there were thousands of miles between our homes – when we saw each other we would share endless cups of tea from the little blue teapot, as we laughed and cried together, consoled and advised each other, and caught up with all our news.” And, for others too like Cordula, the “little blue teapot” was an important symbol of a special friendship.

Hilary always remembered people. When Jackie was helping her to sort out decades of theatre and concert programmes, Hilary would always know who had been performing in the play or concert and which friends she had been with to see a performance.

In her last years she was grateful to friends and neighbours like Ian at Thornton Rust and the staff at Sycamore Hall who helped her through difficult times.

Her vision of God’s Kingdom

Hilary’s faith was a constant throughout her life but it was not static. As a member of St Andrew’s and Thornton Rust Mission Room she worked indefatigably on practical matters but also had a vision of God’s Kingdom beyond the parochial. She looked to build on the past and move forward into the future. There was always an integrity and wisdom in her thinking and in all aspects of her life as sense of “One who serves”.

Her spirituality was, I think, both nurtured and expressed through her singing, her artistic talent and her love of nature – using her gifts in praise and thanks to God.

Her love of music

Over the years she sang with many choirs: the church choir at St Andrew’s where she encouraged youngsters in their RSCM awards; the North Yorkshire Chorus with whom she went on tours in Finland, East Germany, South Carolina and France; the Harp Singers; and in the 1990s there were special pilgrimages to the Ancient Churches of Asia Minor, Rome and in the footsteps of St Paul with the BBC Pilgrim Choir.

She missed her singing with choirs very deeply and used to sing along to familiar works on her CDs.

She was always interested in discovering and exploring the natural world. At Sycamore the birds coming to the feeder at her window gave her great delight every day and indeed she was sitting looking out of her window when she died.

Resurrection life

Her artistic talent was put to use in children’s work and displays for the church. The toddlers’ rainbow of glue and tissue paper was in her airing cupboard for three days before it dried out. It is poignant at this Easter season to remember that the egg rolling that took place this last Sunday was originally Hilary’s initiative – a symbol particularly for her of resurrection life.

For all of us the Easter message of freedom, release from the restrictions that hold us back from the full life that God offers begins in the here and how. For us there are still earthly boundaries but for Hilary (there is) the wide vista beyond the known harbour.

Psalm 126, in a translation from the German version, says: “When the Lord will release the prisoners of Israel, we will be like people who are dreaming, our mouth full of laughter, our tongues full of praise.”

We are called to lead our earthly lives within the dimension of the promised state – for Hilary it is now a reality.

Yet again the “Aysgarth Run”, organised by David Pointon, heralded the start of this year’s programme of events for members of the North East and Cumbria Mercedes Benz Club.

The convoy of cars from Scotch Corner drove via Richmond, Leyburn and Middleham to Coverdale. Quentin and Trish travelled the furthest as they came from just across the Scottish border.

The destination was the Saddle Room restaurant beside the Forbidden Corner at Tupgill Park. Several members said how much they enjoyed this venue – and the magnificent view across the dale from where we were allowed to park. The cars there included an AMG, Pagodas, 107s, 124s, an SLK, and a Smart Roadster and a ‘Smarty cab’. Click on the picture of  that cabriolet to see more photographs.

It was a gloriously sunny day for a drive through such lovely countryside. Let’s hope we get such good weather for the other events this year.

The next will be the Lunch in the Lakes on Sunday, June 7. Members will meet at Booth’s supermarket car park in Penrith and travel past some of the lesser known lakes to The Royal at Dockray.  The pub meet at Rusland Pool Hotel near Ulverston two days before is being organised by Phil Jones and Jane Russell.

The club will be represented at the classic car rallys at Corbridge (July 5) and at Whitley Bay (September 19), and at the classic car show at the Beamish Museum on September 27.  It is also organising a great display of SLs (including SLKs and SLSs) on Sunday,  August 23  at Wigton Motor Club’s classic car show at Dalemain House near Penrith.  Other Mercedes cars are also welcome!  For club members this is a weekend event as it starts on the Saturday evening with dinner, bed and breakfast in a local hotel.

There are also monthly pub meets at Burtree Inn, Burtree Gate off the A68 near Darlington. For further details of any events post a comment and it will be forwarded to the organisers.

David and his “double” outside the Forbidden Corner in January 2015. That was our first visit to the Saddle Room restaurant – and our first of three very enjoyable meals there.

In 2002 I interviewed the late  Alan Harker about the Burning of the Bartle tradition in West Witton.  The article I wrote was published in The Dalesman in 2003. Below is a slightly amended version.

Above: The “Burning of Bartle” Doggerel as written for me by Alan Harker.

Ghostly memories of harsher times when sheep stealers faced summary justice at the hands of local people are remembered each year in Wensleydale, with the ancient and unique ceremony of Burning the Bartle.

The oral history for the centuries-old event (was) held by 75-year-old Alan Harker who could remember following the Bartle when he was about four-years-old. In August each year he and his small team made the effigy of the Bartle, stuffing trousers and a shirt full of straw and giving it a head. Then, at 9pm on the last Saturday in August, the 45-minute parade through West Witton began, starting from the west end of the village and ending at Grassgill where the Bartle was once again ceremonially burned.

“Some have said it’s a harvest ritual which to me is daft because we had to plough out in wartime to grow corn and it didn’t grow because the climate wasn’t right. I believe he was a sheep stealer as what I was told by George Smorthwaite,” said Mr Harker.

The late Mr Smorthwaite had been born in the village but later worked in London as a schoolteacher. He had collected some historical records about the village and the Bartle but these were lost in a fire. Fifty-one years earlier, when Mr Harker was asked to help with the ceremony, Mr Smorthwaite told him that it was already over 400 years old.

By the time Mr Harker was seven he had learned the doggerel chanted at the ceremony off by heart from men like Bert Spence and George Stockdale who were then in their 50s. To him it spoke of a local man, chased down from Penhill and then executed.

The term ‘Bartle’ he believed came from St Bartholomew’s Church. He was told by Mr Smorthwaite that the man, once caught, was probably tried at the village church court and that was why his effigy was traditionally burnt during the patronal festival.

In the 1920s there were 70 children in the village school and all enjoyed the feast of St Bartholomew which included two sports days as well as the Burning of the Bartle. “It was a busy little village then,” Mr Harker remembered.

There were about seven shops including the post office, grocer, baker, cobbler and joiner and there was plenty of work around for the local men, whether in the quarries, with the railway company or on the farms.

“There was very little traffic then. There were only two or three motor cars in the village. It’s a bit dodgy now because of the traffic and some don’t keep the speed limit,” he said.

Not only does the Bartle parade now become entangled with cars but one year a vehicle was even parked in the middle of the burning site. It had to be moved because Mr Harker was determined that all aspects of the ceremony must be retained.

“It’s an old custom that’s gone on all these hundreds of years and it wants carrying on,” he said. “It’s quite popular now but the feast nearly fell through.” In the 1980s there were sometimes only three people at the meetings to plan all the feast activities, including Burning the Bartle.

Of the latter Mr Harker commented: “We don’t want it to die out. Gareth Robson is a new recruit. He’s been with us a few years now and is in training for the future.”

The team in 2003  consisted  of Mr Harker; his brother Robert, who had been helping for 26 years; his son, John, who after 16 years was the chief executioner, and Mr Robson.

Along the way they were  plied with drinks and chanted the doggerel, to the accompaniment of the Bartle’s flashing eyes.

“When I started he had just one eye and we used a flashlight for it, switching it on and off,” Mr Harker said. Now they have a battery poked in one of the Bartle’s back pockets and have two eyes peering out of a plastic mask.

Another innovation during Mr Harker’s 50 years had been to use a sheep’s fleece for the Bartle’s hair and beard. “It’s changed quite a bit but it is still a bag of straw when it’s done,” said Mr Harker.

Above: Alan Harker fixing the face on the Bartle in 2002, while his brother, Robert, holds the straw effigy. Below: Robert Harker and Gareth Robson testing the “eye lights”.

Below: John Harker burning the Bartle in 2003

I hold the copyright for this article and also for the photographs – even if some have been posted on other websites (without my permission).

I’ve had a fascinating couple of weeks searching my garden for herbs. It all began when I saw that among the schedule of classes for this year’s Country Show at Thornton Rust was a “bunch of mixed herbs with a list of names” and they had to come from one’s own garden.

At first I felt a bit sad because my parsley had disappeared, my nasturtiums had taken one look at my garden and decided on a “go slow”, and my rosemary bush had died a few years ago. I have one of those gardens in which plants either seed themselves and grow like weeds (like the violas) or make a quick, ungracious exit.

But this year the pineapple mint has decided to fight the violas for space – and the spearmint is as invasive as ever. In addition I do have apple mint, marjoram, lemon balm and chives. And aren’t stinging nettles a herb?

So I turned to the Collins Gem Guide on Herbs for Cooking and Health written by Christine Grey-Wilson. Suddenly a whole world of herbs opened up and some of the lowliest weeds became little treasures.

I ended up with a bunch of 26 herbs. Somewhat amazed I checked the Oxford Dictionary to make sure I had got it right. The definition given there is: Herb – any plant with leaves, seeds or flowers which can be used for flavouring, food, medicine or perfume.

Here’s my list:

Blackberry – has medicinal uses besides having nice fruit to eat.

Chives

Clover – leaves and flowers of the white clover can be used in salads

Dandelion – can be used for medicinal purposes, and the young leaves can be put in salads or in soups. You can even dry, roast and grind the roots to make a coffee-like drink.

Deadnettle – young leaves as vegetables, or with soapwort to make a shampoo

English Lavender

Feverfew – infuse as a hot bath to alleviate aches and pains… or in a tea for headaches

Fern (Male Fern) – ground dried rhizome as treatment for worms.

Foxglove – digitalis

Goosegrass (Cleavers) – eat as a spring veg or make a broth to cure overweight! Roast fruits ground to make something like coffee.

Herb Robert – dressing for cuts and wounds

Lady’s Mantle – a soothing bath herb, or use the dried leaves ‘to make a useful tea for all female complaints’

Lemon Balm

Lily of the Valley – produces a milder version of digitalis

Mints : Spearmint, Apple mint, Pineapple mint. I infuse apple mint in hot water to make my favourite herbal tea.

Nasturium – can use the leaves in salads and the seeds can be pickled.

Pot Marjoram – that’s definitely becoming a weed in my garden and the bees love it.

Rhubarb – originally grown for its ‘mild astringent and purgative actions’

Rough Comfrey – Comfrey oil is used to heal bruises, and pulled muscles and ligaments etc

Sage

Stinging Nettle – ‘tops are delicious as a vegetable and in soups’ (wrapped in a foxglove leaf – see below)

Yellow Flag – seeds once used for a drink similar to coffee. Roots used to make black dye, flowers for yellow dye

Yellow hopclover – good source of protein. Flowers and leaves can be eaten raw, drunk as tea, or the flower heads can be dried and ground into a nutritious flour.

Plaintain – medicinal uses as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Leaves and seed heads can be dried for tea. Young leaves can be used in salads.

After four years of searching for solutions West Witton parish council and village residents witnessed the official opening of their LN Communications microwave broadband network by Rishi Sunak MP on Friday, November 6. This is a first for Wensleydale – which like many other dales suffers from a “postcode lottery” when it comes to the provision of super fast broadband.

John Loader explained: “It was realised a couple of years ago that the BT fibre to the cabinet paid for by BDUK via SFNY (Superfast North Yorkshire) would not be any use for us as our cabinet was in Wensley and, therefore, too far from us to give any better speeds than we were experiencing – around 2 MB/s down to 0.75 with irregular down times.

“In June 2014 I spotted in the trade press that BDUK was sponsoring six trials of solutions that would enable super fast to reach the last five per cent of the population. With a great deal of help from North Yorkshire County Council and SFNY I managed to get one of the two North Yorkshire trials in West Witton, an ideal example of a linear village.

“From then it took until October 18 to get the first person connected via a chimney mounted book sized aerial to a mast in the pub car park to a mast a few hundred feet further up Penhill to an access point to the Virgin network in Darlington. I had the first installation and this was used to test the installation process using contractors. “

Dramatic increase in broadband speed

Since then, he said, the hard to spot rooftop aerials have been sprouting. Those who have benefitted include a graphic designer who now has 10 times the upload speed for his creations, an internet wholesaler of football souvenirs who has over 30 times the previous speed, and a B&B owner who wants his guests to get the same speeds as they do at home. In addition the Fox and Hounds pub is now a free WiFi spot.

Two of those who have signed up for this new service, including an 80-year-old, had not even had computers before let alone broadband. At least 28 have signed up for this improved broadband service so far but a lot of people are stuck with long contracts with wire-based companies that they can’t get out of*.

It is now planned to extend the microwave service to the North side of the river (Preston under Scar and Castle Bolton) and from there back to Swinithwaite possibly by the end of 2015.

LN Communications, trading as ilovebroadband, has now replaced Airwave Solutions as the provider of this microwave broadband service. LN Communications is funded by David Hood, the entrepreneur who started the set top box maker, Pace, and now has an executive jet and helicopter business.

The following is from the brief that Mr Loader gave Mr Sunak:

This village is around 8km from the telephone exchange in Leyburn which has meant historically poor speeds. The equipping of a fibre cabinet at Wensley had no effect as we are around 5km from that and BT has a policy they call “sweating the copper” which means that they have tonnes of cable in the ground they want the last penny from.

Service has also been generally unreliable given the length of lines and their age. BT did trial a cut down version of their one solution fits all of fibre and copper called Fibre to the Remote Node, getting the fibre closer to remote customers, and a pilot was installed at East Witton. However for the limited number of customers to be served, it proved very expensive.

DCM&S had recognised that getting high speed broadband, thought essential to rural and isolated communities, would probably not be possible using the current virtually 100 per cent BT solution and around five per cent of properties would miss out. So they announced in June 2014 that six different technology trials would be held around the UK and North Yorkshire would trial microwave to the property which was capable of speeds similar to fibre systems and £1.5m was allocated.

I immediately lobbied Ian Marr at North Yorkshire Council who oversaw their Company, NYNET, and Superfast North Yorkshire, and although he had no direct involvement as this was a BDUK rather than SFNY managed project, I think influenced the decision for West Witton to be one of the sites. Airwave Solutions, the provider of communications to the emergency services nationwide were the chosen network suppliers.

All started well and survey teams scoured the village and a presentation was made to the village in February of the solution. This required four masts and would be rolled out by May and triallists would encouraged to join with free access.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park wanted to refuse planning permission for two of the masts but with our County Councillor and District Council chair on the planning committee plus strong support from the then District Councillor and many residents, we won the day.

The first install, mine, took place on November 15, 2014, with a phone service included in the package. They are offering a choice of 10, 20 or 30Mb/s at increasing prices plus their phone service where existing numbers can be ported and very low call charges. Thus I pay £19.99 per month for broadband and £6 a month for “line rental” for my phone with called display included.

Town dwellers and those with a cabinet nearby can get Superfast speeds relatively cheaply comparatively with or without BDUK funds. And even, as with us, when this subsidy is provided, the cost of joining the internet Superhighway is a postcode lottery – West Burton, Kettlewell and Thoralby for example all have fibred cabinets that they can connect to at far lower cost than West Witton. BDUK should look again at this lottery and make it fair to all.

*Mr Loader was informed by BT when he terminated his agreement: “We can’t refund your upfront payment for BT Line Rental Saver. If you’ve paid up to £194.28 in advance for 12 months’ line rental, we can’t refund any of it as it was a special discount for paying upfront. Thanks for being a BT customer.”

Aysgarth and District Parish Council press release concerning the dangerous condition of the road through Thornton Rust in Wensleydale.

A narrow road, mostly single track with passing places, used as a diversion route when the A684 in Wensleydale is flooded is crumbling in three places beside a sheer drop down a scar.

For 12 months Aysgarth and District Parish Council has been asking North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to repair the road, particularly where a large boulder has fallen down the scar between Thornton Rust and Cubeck leaving the tarmac unsupported.

At the parish council meeting on Thursday, November 26 the clerk spoke of the chaos along that road during the recent floods:

“The A684 was flooded and everybody was going via Thornton Rust. A guy in a tanker that I was behind had to open a field gate and pull in because the road was gridlocked. He couldn’t reverse because there were cars behind him and the ones oncoming couldn’t reverse either.

“There’s a passing place where the road is subsiding. So people were trying to squeeze through and this was pushing them over the bit which is subsiding.”

A photograph (above) was sent to the highways department but no response had been received. The councillors agreed that was unforgiveable. The parish council has told the highways department over and over again about the dangerous situation but no repairs have been carried out.

In addition the heavy traffic along the road, which includes a very large whey tanker going to the Wensleydale Creamery, animal feed wagons and all the auction mart traffic, was mashing the verges. This has led to the drains being blocked and mud on the road.

The councillors asked if a one-way route through Wensleydale could be considered, with traffic also being diverted through Askrigg. Cllr Blackie pointed out that there was a 17 ton limit on the road through Askrigg. Aysgarth and District parish council had asked for a similar limit on the road through Thornton Rust but the highways department had refused as it was the diversion route when the A684 was flooded.

The highways department was criticised for the poor diversion signage and wondered if there could be gates on the A684 which could be closed when the road was flooded.

The councillors were amazed at the number of drivers who had driven into the floods. Councillor John Dinsdale reported that ten vehicles had been rescued including a highways department van.

It was pointed out that several months ago representatives from the highways department had inspected the road above the scar at Thornton Rust and also the bridge at Bishopdale and had agreed that something urgently needed to be done to repair both. North Yorkshire County Councillor John Blackie said he would take the matter up again with the highways department.

It was just an old, rather drab-looking candlebox from the collections at the Dales Countryside Museum  at Hawes– but on January 14 it was honoured with the full attention of the volunteers who were learning how to use a small lighting tent.

The tent, with two low energy lamps producing pure white diffused light, should be a great help to the volunteers who are continuing the long job of photographing objects in the museum’s collection.

John Turner, Tony Dobson and Lynne O’Hagan had a training session with Andy Kaye, the YDNPA website manager, on January 14 on how to use the new equipment. Marcia Howard wasn’t able to get there because it was snowing in Richmond. Above: from left, John, Lynne, Tony and Andy beside the lighting tent. Click on the photograph to see more pictures.

Debbie Allen (museum officer) explained that John had started the process of photographing objects because each item in the database needs an illustration.

John said he had been a National Park volunteer for a long time now. He not only helps at the museum but also leads walks and guided tours, as well as being involved with footpath restoration.

“I quite enjoy the guided walks and the footpath service, as well as working in here. I also do walks for Holiday Property Bond properties in Askrigg. A group of us do those walks every Monday – for the National Park. We charge and that makes money for the National Park.”

Tony joined the volunteers about six years ago after he retired as an electrical fitter. “I wanted to find something to do,” he commented.

And Lynne was an archaeologist with the National Park until she had to retire due to ill health. She commented that every time she visited the museum she learnt something new.

Andy encouraged them to use high resolution cameras so that the photographs could be used in various ways by the National Park and not just on the database.

When John pointed out they wouldn’t be able to photograph objects like manuscripts inside it they discussed ways to solve that problem – either by going outside on good days where the light was naturally diffused, or using as much natural light as possible when inside.

Then it was tea time accompanied with a cake that Debbie had especially baked for John, albeit a month after his birthday.