Ian Hall - Causeway Legend

However, all good things come to an end, and after twenty years on the job, Ian has decided to pass on the baton. John Pendleton, who has been the designer and publisher for almost ten years, will add the position of Chair to his job title (as well as Advertising Manager), and Andrew Crossley has volunteered to handle the finances.

Ian reckons it all began around the year 2000, when Colin Wormald was in charge of procuring advertisements for the Causeway; as Colin wanted to ease out of that position, he asked Ian Hall if he would mind taking over the Wetherby patch. Back then, with the internet still in its youth, it was a matter of knocking on doors, seeing people, and hopefully walking out – maybe a few visits later – with a cheque in hand. Tom Smithson was at the helm at that time, and Ian recalls that Tom printed the magazine free of charge in his printing company, with proceeds from the ad sales going into a church fund (which, eventually, left a healthy balance that was divided equally between Thorp Arch and Walton churches. “It was some £1,600 each,” Ian said). Sometime after the Smithsons moved away from Thorp Arch, Ian took over as Chairman and Treasurer, a role he has held for the last 8 years. He has seen the magazine evolve from a black & white church news to a full-colour community magazine, which is distributed free of charge to some 500 households in Thorp Arch and Walton. The printing costs have more than doubled during that time. At one point the magazine grew to over 40 pages but has since levelled out at 32, with advertisers keeping pace with costs – so far, at least.

It is, of course, also a feather in the cap of the various advertising managers (including David Watts, John Clayton, and Emma Shellard) and their success in selling ad space in the magazine. During his tenure, Ian has worked with seven editors – Rob Trenholme took over from Justine Clayton, then Ken Melber was followed by Anne Watts, and just when hope was failing that new editors could be found, Gaby Morrison and Paula Letts stepped forward. Rachel Bentley similarly stepped into the fray (and won Best Editor and 3rd place in the prestigious Community Magazine Awards in 2019), followed by the current editors – who, like Rachel, are also from Walton, – Victoria Etherington and Lisa Sherratt. It has worked out well for each of the editors to serve a 2-year term (starting with Ken), and reducing the number of annual issues from 12 to 10 five years ago has also made the job easier. But back to Ian. He provided us with a brief overview. He is Yorkshire to the core: he was born in Doncaster, moved to Wetherby in 1950 and then to Boston Spa. He and his wife Anne have lived in Thorp Arch since 1977. Ian qualified as Chartered Surveyor in 1958 and has worked in private practice, civil service, Yorkshire Electricity Board, BP, and private practice again before retiring in 1995. Ian and Anne have two children, a son and a daughter. Richard, now 51, lives in Wymondham-Norfolk, and Sally (aged 48) is in Plumpton Green, East Sussex; between them they have produced 5 grandchildren. Ian also has more civic positions on his resume, including eight years on the Thorp Arch Parish Council, and he has been Speaker Liaison for the Boston Spa Men’s Forum, though this is currently suspended due to Covid. However, twenty years is a long time, and disengaging himself from the Causeway has proved to be less easy than one might think. He says he is “gently easing” out… “When you have a long-standing relationship with an advertiser, it’s hard not to have a conversation with them about renewing their ad….” What will he miss most about the Causeway? “I’ll miss the enthusiasm and interest of all who have been involved in any role, from editors to designers to advertising managers – as well as the long-serving distribution team, who hand-deliver the magazine to each household.” He said he is not quitting completely – he hopes to continue with proofreading and local distribution.

I’m sure Ian will be missed, and on behalf of the community he has served for such a long time, can I say a big Thank You.