Hillam News Oct Nov 2011

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The voice of Hillam village, North Yorkshire. Delivered free to all residents. Volume 23, Issue 5. OCTober-NOVember 2011

Planning: houses head for Foundation Field

not included as it is too small to be classed as a ‘Designated Service Village’.

Respondents from Hillam and Monk Fryston were worried about flooding from Selby District Council (SDC) is inappropriate drainage systems serving recommending the building of 61 houses on Foundation Field and adjoining land in existing housing. In making recommendations, SDC countered that the the period up to 2026. The area includes area was outside ‘defined flood zones’ and two fields east of Foundation Field and ends up behind the former Thrust Garage. drainage would be prioritised only if There will also be 13 houses in the quarry service providers such as Yorkshire Water adjoining the railway in Monk Fryston. In and the Selby Drainage Board recognised a draft ‘Site Allocations Development Plan flooding as a problem.

Document’ (SADPD), Selby recommends In preferring development within the less than the 100 new homes suggested village, SDC made it clear that any project during the recent lively local consultations. on the Foundation Field and neighbouring land would have to include extra school SADPD was approved by SDC on 13th parking on Lumby Hill, an open space with September. It is now out for more consultation. Councillors had threatened to play equipment, and provision for the reject the whole document over the choice expansion of the cemetery. of a travellers’ site. Foundation Field SDC mentions, as if in passing, that to proposals have never been at issue. relieve congestion the Water Lane junction with the A63 would need to be one-way.

The number of new homes proposed for our two villages was trimmed by 5% due to Hillam residents might have something to lack of local facilities (sustainability), but say about that, although it is always possible that an exit to Austfield Lane boosted again because of green belt limitations in Brotherton and Byram. SDC following part of the original pre-war bypass route could be opened up. The has identified a local need for affordable question will still arise as to which housing in Hillam and Fryston. direction is restricted and how access by Only a few SADPD replies came from parents to the school is affected.

Brotherton and Byram. Burton Salmon is

Cricket news

The Burial Board has already welcomed what looks like a safeguard for the future of Monk Fryston cemetery, which is near capacity.

SADPD is part of SDC’s ‘Core Strategy’ covering the period to 2026 and replaces the 2005 Selby District Local Plan. Minor alterations may result from public examination and government scrutiny.

Greatest challenge to SADPD was always concern about provision of a site for gypsies and travellers, to the extent that other issues have been neglected. All 60 original sites were opposed locally. SDC has already rejected Hillcrest near the Boot and Shoe in South Milford parish. There have even been suggestions that the former A1(M) works site near Lumby Nurseries was next choice.

There was a groundswell of opposition to the SADPD over Selby’s original choice of Brotherton. This was suddenly withdrawn when the site owner cancelled in a deal which enabled him to store caravans on nearby land.

At their September meeting, amid angry exchanges over the treatment of Brotherton residents, councillors opted for Poplar Farm, Whitley Bridge.

Pavilion destroyed in arson attack

Burton Salmon cricket pavilion has been completely destroyed The first that many knew of Hillam’s sensational end of season achievements was in an arson attack, the second local outrage this year following major damage to the Cross Keys. from Twitter. Full story on page 10.

Tweeting for Hillam, Adrian Cundy broke the news: ‘Subject to confirmation we are going up. Couldn’t have been a closer finish, top work lads even if I was dubiously stumped at 20.’

Thirty years ago Hillam cricketers were also making the news. The Firsts played (and beat) the Seconds in the semi-final of the West Riding League Junior Cup. The final against Thorpe Audlin - we lost - was at Old Sharlston on the very Monday that Ian Botham was taking the Aussies apart at Headingley.

More highlights…

Fixed penalty: first ticket at Post Office "C'est si bon" at the Bon in Sherburn Harvest Festival: a day out for farmers

A shift worker on his way home alerted the fire brigade when he saw the blaze from Betteras Hill.

The score hut was damaged and the tea hut invaded. Even tea cups were smashed. Rollers and mowers, which had been stolen earlier in the year, are now in a safe lockup.

Messages of support have been received from members of Hillam and Monk Fryston Cricket Club.

Burton Salmon’s president, who lives in Hillam, recalled that when the Monk Fryston football changing rooms on Lowfield Lane were torched in 2000, the arsonist was tracked down and jailed for three years.

Cross Keys: dining in the Ridings with Hillam )ews foodies Birding: Graham Todd, Clive of Kippax and the Spoonbill

Richard Wright: he’s back, and stimulating as ever Hillam ews on Google, Facebook and now Twitter Hillam to be part of Castleford - shock!

Editor for this issue - David Atkinson http://www.issuu.com/hillamnews HILLAM EWS is financed solely by advertising revenue and the generosity of contributors, photocopiers and distributors. The Editor is solely responsible for the paper’s contents. If you have an article for publication, please phone David Atkinson on 684577 or email at dsa99uk@yahoo.co.uk.

Advertising enquiries to David Edwards on 682346 or exsite@talktalk.net.

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IN OUR VILLAGES A seasonal grouse I wonder whether ours is the only Hillam household where Hallowe’en is not anticipated with enthusiasm. At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, we feel resentful that this pumpkin-led invasion from across the Atlantic exerts an increasingly dominating influence, indoctrinating our children and blighting our peace.

Even Mischief Night and Bonfire Night, long-standing English traditions with an important Yorkshire connection, have undergone change in recent years. They can no longer be described as a two-day event. Unless the 5th falls on a weekend, there are now usually revelries somewhere in our vicinity on both the preceding and also the following Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – not to mention in-between. Maybe we have to accept that this is the twenty-first century way. However, add to

t’s Wha g with n wro nip r u a t rn? e n la t

A special service A year ago the Church had some work carried out to create an outside area for the Pre-school in the southwest corner of the churchyard. Whilst this work was being done under the supervision of an appointed archaeologist, a number of human bones was uncovered. The Diocese of York advised that it might be appropriate to have the bones examined before they were re-interred, and this was undertaken by palaeopathologist Dr Janet McNaught.

On Sunday 4th September two dozen parishioners participated in a rare ceremony at St Wilfrid’s. A short service, similar to that which might have been used when the deceased were first buried, began inside the Church.

Buried in the churchyard Four members of the congregation then carried the small boxes of remains into the churchyard and placed them in the ground.

The Rector invited all those present to shovel earth into the pit, just as members of the community would have done in mediaeval times.

Anglo-Saxon remains Afterwards Dr McNaught gave a presentation on her findings.

She estimated that the bones were those of thirty to forty individuals, some possibly Anglo-Saxon. She explained that, although a study of incomplete remains could not be conclusive, there was evidence of ailments consistent with the wear and tear of agricultural work prevalent in our parish for centuries.

Members of the villages’ two local history groups, Hillam Historians and Monk Fryston Time Team, were among those attending this unusual and moving ceremony.

this the imported high jinks taking place a few days earlier, and we can be under siege for a fortnight.

Requests for a “penny for the guy” don’t accost you on your doorstep – and when out and about, if so inclined, you can always pretend not to hear. Chants of “trick or treat” badger you on your own threshold. Children are positively encouraged to expect a reward at every port of call. Sometimes the youngsters receive their chocolates with undisguised displeasure. What more can they expect, when they are several to a group, with groups galore arriving in a steady stream, constantly interrupting your evening meal? Ten years ago the knocks at the door were few, and expectation was not so high – you could join in with good spirit. These days, on 31st October before darkness falls, we always make sure of being out.

And anyway, what’s wrong with lanterns made from good, honest, old-fashioned turnips?

Grouchy Traditionalist

Hillam ews Correspondent

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LOCAL SUPPORT FOR THE CROSS KEYS Dining very local

Parking ticket issued at Post Office

Eating with a group of visiting friends gave us the opportunity to review a goodly selection of the food on offer at the newly refurbished and managed Cross Keys.

The first £30.00 parking ticket has been issued outside Butcher’s Farm, next to Monk Fryston Post Office. Police checked the car before calling an officer to issue a parking ticket, and the motorist confirmed, ‘It’s a fair cop’. The dispute over parking in this area had gone on for over ten years. After the bus stop was removed, agreement was reached to secure access to the Post Office and a 20minute parking limit was introduced.

Any good meal starts with a friendly welcome, and our personable young waitress certainly provided that. Indeed we, his friends, muttered darkly at the long-winded indecisive member of our hungry group, whilst she continued to smile pleasantly as she waited – and waited – for him finally to decide.

Generous helpings of tasty steak pie with lots of gravy proved a favourite, as did that old traditional, liver and onions with mash, whilst well cooked steak and all the usual accompaniments was the choice of another member of the party. All were attractively and efficiently served with a side dish of fresh appetising veg.

Mr Undecided eventually went for the shredded duck salad.

Church walk nd

Saturday 22 October 2011 Venue: Harewood (’twixt Leeds and Harrogate) We welcome you to a pleasant 7-mile circular walk over grass fields, with a little road walking, returning by the River Wharfe, through open countryside. We also visit the villages of Kirkby Overblow and Kearby with Netherby.

Knowing that I intended to review our meal, our guests were asked to give a critical opinion, but one and all they offered a fulsome thumbs-up. Though really quite replete, two of our group, for the sake of the review (so they said), felt duty-bound to try a couple of puddings. So after they had finished sticky toffee and jam roly-poly with custard, we were obliged to sit a while with our coffee and biscuits, before they could even move.

Well done, Nicola and her staff: the food and atmosphere in the Keys is so much improved. Everything is definitely moving in the right direction. If you haven’t visited your friendly, welcoming local for a while, give it another try. I’m sure that you will enjoy the experience.

Hillam News Correspondent

Meet near Harewood Bridge at 10.15 am for a 10.30 am start.

The meeting point is about 50 yards down a track, which is the first turning on the right after the Harewood Bridge over the River Wharfe.

From Monk Fryston / South Milford take the A1(M) towards Wetherby; turn onto the A659 to Harewood via Collingham.

Turn right in Harewood at T-junction, towards Harrogate on the A61, down the steep hill to Harewood Bridge.

Allow 35 minutes from Monk Fryston.

Please bring food and a drink.

Any queries, please contact Kath on 683590.

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MONEY MATTERS - HOLD ON AND ENJOY THE RIDE Here’s the scenario. You sit down to watch the nine o’clock news. The credits roll, the music begins and there’s the presenter, slick and crisply turned out. There’s a big graph behind him with a huge red arrow pointing downwards, and then boldly the presenter announces, “Tens of billions have been wiped off shares today as the markets tumbled…”

I have never seen the same graph with the huge red arrow pointing upwards with the newsreader stating, “Tens of billions have been added to share prices today as markets steam ahead.”

It must happen because my investments are worth far more than they were ten years ago, and I have a high proportion in shares. It’s bad news that sells papers, and this is what puts a lot of people off investing in what I feel is the best form of asset in the world for the long term. Some people are convinced that “it’s far too risky” or “I could lose all my money” or “I just don’t understand it”. The problems are really simple. The novice usually buys high, sees the markets fall, panics, sells and then loses money. Then it’s once bitten, twice shy.

last 12 months, even after the market devastation of the last month or so, the fund has grown by 21%. Another favourite of mine is Standard Life UK Smaller Companies, which has doubled in value in ten years and grown by 12% in the last year.

First State Asia Pacific is the top performing Asia Pacific fund, and £10,000 invested ten years ago is now worth £38,410, a return of 28.41% per annum!

Yes, share prices fall as well as rise, but the longer you invest the less risk there is. Oh, and there are the tax advantages too. You can invest in all these funds via an ISA, but always, always, always use an independent financial adviser before you make a decision.

£

Of course, there’s buying shares and buying shares. I buy shares in individual companies for fun and as a bit of a gamble, and it’s a tiny percentage of my portfolio.

My serious investments in shares, or what we call equities, are in collective investments such as unit trusts or OEICs (open-ended investment companies) where my money is placed with thousands of other investors’ money and managed by a fund manager. His job is to get the best possible return, and is buying and selling shares for that fund every day.

Naturally there are charges, but if your fund is producing the goods you don’t mind paying. The most important thing is to have a long-term viewpoint, and I would say that should be ten years. You also need a decent spread, so look for a good UK growth fund and a UK income fund to start with. Then you need something in Europe (outside the UK), something in South East Asia and America, and a bit in emerging markets.

I guarantee that at least once during ten years there will be a major fall in the markets and the value of your investments will go off. At that stage, instead of looking glum, do what the professional investor does. Smile, because good opportunities don’t come along every day. That’s when to invest.

Don’t try to beat the markets. It doesn’t work. You will never get your timing right and anyone who has, has been dealt a great deal of luck. Markets fall but they do recover. In the last ten years we have had 9/11, the downturn in shares from 2000 to 2004, then the credit crunch and again the recent falls (which on a ten-year graph you can hardly see!), but even with all this happening, funds in general have done well. The top performing UK fund has almost tripled in value. £10,000 invested in the Marlborough Special Situations fund ten years ago would now be worth a whopping £28,178, an average annual return of 18.78%. In the

Recycling at the Community Centre Income from the recycling bins at the Community Centre over the last year was £688.

This is a valuable source of income for Community Association funds.

A big thank-you to all who bring their recyclable items to the banks.

I see people every day of my life with huge amounts of money in cash ISAs and deposit accounts that they will probably never spend.

“Why?” I ask them.

“Don’t like risk,” comes the reply.

I suggest that the riskiest place to keep money, unless it’s for the very short term or an emergency fund, is a cash deposit, cash ISA or National Savings. That’s because there is nowhere in the UK where you will find any account that will give you a better return than the rate of inflation (RPI). The RPI stands at 5.2% per annum, so if the interest you are earning is less than that, then in 12 months’ time, in real terms you have lost money. It’s a no-brainer!

Richard Wright Richard Wright is an independent financial adviser with Lighthouse Financial Advice.

He may be contacted without obligation on 01977 678066 or 07764923528.

Email: richard.wright@lighthousefa.co.uk

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Précis of PC minutes for the meeting August 2011 Community Association. Cllr Robertson reported that the extension to the Community Centre is progressing well.

Planning matters: Scarecrow event scheduled for September; Application Mr T Cannon - change of use / permanent PC financial contribution requested to support this event. Range of other events planning permission. Cllr Wright to clarify discussed, including race night and wine application and, after e-consultation with tasting after reopening of the Centre. the rest of the council, respond on behalf of the council, objecting to the planning Elmet Forum / CEF. Cllr Lorriman reapplication requesting change of status and ported that the Elmet Forum had ceased to making permanent that which is currently exist, having been superseded by the CEF Finances: Current a/c £443.46 temporary, for the site of 2 static and 2 initiative. Next CEF meeting September.

High interest a/c £6,401.32 touring caravans on Hillam Lane. Current information is that this will be considered Cheques drawn Showcasing local business by the Planning Committee in October.

HM Revenue and Customs £45.00 - PAYE Showmen’s site - appeal to be heard 18th The first (of many, we suspect) Monk MH Walton clerk £180.00 - salary August. Decision 1st October.

Fryston Christmas Market will be held in CSR Electrical £76.31 - street light repairs St Wilfrid’s Church Hall and Church on Environment: MF & Hillam CA £100.00 - donation Friday evening November 18th. The event Wind farms - no significant new £500 to be transferred to current a/c will highlight the work of businesses in the developments.

Correspondence in: Cllr Sadler to liaise with volunteer Edward area which produce crafts or speciality CA - request for donation towards foods. There will be stalls and plenty of Bedford on community projects throughScarecrow Festival: £100 agreed. gift ideas plus nibbles and mulled wine. out August. Potential projects: path NYCC - agreement re request for Austfield weeding, affordable housing questionnaire, At least a dozen exhibitors are committed, Lane to be included in winter gritting light-hearted posters re dog poo. with goods ranging from Fairtrade programme; corroded sign post in the Ragwort reported in several fields in the jewellery to wine, cheese and biscuits, to Square to be replaced; planning application village. Clerk to ascertain from Defra the bespoke cards and stained glass gifts. at the landfill at Betteras Hill Quarry now appropriate reporting/action to be taken. withdrawn; agreement to Hillam Rubbish at Hillam crossing to be reported Please see page 20.

Historians’ request for loan of Inclosure to Network Rail.

Award book for event.

Reports: Correspondence out: Burial Committee. Simpsons of York are Mr P Boothroyd and son - letter of thanks quoting for repairs and refurbishment work for their ongoing commitment to at the burial ground.

Matters arising: Possible replacement services to mitigate the removal of the mobile library service.

Cllr Robertson to take the matter for discussion to the Community Association and report.

Possible measures for minimising the use and costs of street lighting discussed.

No cost-effective measures were seen to be viable.

improving our environment.

SDC - requesting street cleaning.

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BOUNDARY CHANGES - IT’S NOT CRICKET Proposal to join Selby with Castleford Hillam could find itself in a new parliamentary constituency of Selby and Castleford if proposed boundary changes go ahead. After previously being in the Selby constituency held by John Grogan (Labour), Hillam is currently in the Selby and Ainsty constituency, which stretches past Tadcaster.

It is mostly rural and was new at the last election. Nigel Adams (Conservative) won the Selby and Ainsty seat with a large majority.

A review of boundaries has recommended that Tadcaster should be taken out and combined with York, leaving Selby combined with Castleford. The idea is to make constituencies a bit larger on average and to reduce the number of MPs. This seems fair enough, but the new constituency would be primarily industrial rather than agricultural, and the fear is that people living in villages like Hillam would be less well represented because Castleford would be the main centre of population. Our current MP Nigel Adams was brought up in the present constituency and still lives here, so he is very familiar with local matters. In the past couple of months he has opened the new cricket pavilion, and attended Birkin Church open day and the opening of the Community Centre. @igel Adams said he was ‘surprised’ that the Commission had decided to make significant changes to the boundaries of seven out of eight seats in North Yorkshire, considering there was no need to reduce the number of constituencies since they were already the required average size.

One of the major implications of the proposed change is that the new constituency would span the border between North and West Yorkshire. Could the next step be a change in the boundary between North and West Yorkshire to put the constituency entirely within West Yorkshire?

If the changes do go ahead it will be interesting to see which candidates stand in which constituencies. The MP for Castleford is currently Yvette Cooper (married to Ed Balls). It does seem like change for change’s sake. The changes would not come into effect until 2013.

Editor’s comment: The Selby Post reports former Selby MP John Grogan: ‘The Boundary Commission has done a good job. The Selby seat has a lot more in common with Castleford than it does with Ainsty.’

Yvette Cooper doesn’t see it that way. In the Pontefract and Castleford Express she says: ‘These changes will be expensive and highly disruptive and break local ties, which will cause anger and concern.’

Community Association – secretary required As anticipated, after 44 years of service, Tony Hudson resigned as secretary at the Association’s AGM held on September 21st. The members thanked Tony for his dedicated work which has seen it through many crises and culminated with the Grand Opening of the Centre and playground extensions. In recognition Tony was offered, and accepted, the new role of Honorary Life President of the Community Association (CA).

secretary until a replacement could be appointed. @ew chairman Ray paid tribute to Tony, saying that without his unstinting efforts as Mr Dependable at fundraising events, the redevelopment projects would probably still be ‘work in progress’. The committee was looking forward to working with a new secretary, and to a less frenetic period as the work of recent years was consolidated, and also to continuing discussions with parish councillors to secure their financial support to underpin the essential running costs of the community facilities.

The CA was congratulated by parish councillors for its long-term efforts to provide recreational facilities for the villages. Encouragingly, the vacant posts of If you are interested in filling the role of chairman and publicity manager were filled CA secretary, please contact Ray Newton by, respectively, Ray Newton and Ian on 682084, or any committee member.

Woods. Tony agreed to continue as

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HISTORY www.hillam-village.co.uk

200th birthday celebrations Hillam Historians’ recent celebration to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Hillam Inclosure Award was well attended.

led through the Square, past the shop and off to pasture. Jennifer says that her vivid recollections of those times have been developed and enriched by her return visits in recent years.

Jennifer reconnected with the village through the Hillam Historians’ website and revisited the first time, after a break of over forty years, to celebrate the reopening of the village pump in 2006. We were all delighted to welcome her back again for this Inclosure birthday event.

Guest speaker, eminent local historian and mediaeval archaeologist, Simon Tomson gave an illustrated talk about country life before the impact of the land Inclosure Acts on rural lifestyles. For this enjoyable and informative evening at the new Hillam cricket clubhouse, the forty-plus locals were joined by Jennifer Robinson.

You will be very welcome at the next meeting of Hillam Historians: Wednesday 23rd )ovember, 7.30 pm.

Come and join us at 11 Bedford’s Fold. Further details from Jenny Hoare, 683332 or hoarehsandj@btinternet.com.

She returned for the second time in a few years to join once again in Hillam Historians’ celebrations.

Freda Webster

Jennifer Robinson first visited Hillam in 1945 when she was three, and spent one or two weeks here every summer until 1956.

Each year she came with her parents to visit her Aunt and Uncle, Fanny (née Bedford) and Bill Brookes (her mother’s elder brother), who ran the village shop. An abiding memory of Hillam is waking every morning to the sound of cowbells as a herd was

Secrets of St Wilfrid’s and historic Fryston Learn more about your church and other village buildings on October 28th, when leading archaeologist Simon Tomson gives an illustrated talk in St Wilfrid’s Church. .

Within the church he will provide us with an insight which will enable us to understand and appreciate its development over the past thousand years as building styles changed and it evolved to meet the needs of our predecessors.

This illustrated talk is part of the Monk Fryston Time Team’s “Introduction to archaeology” course and will be of interest to all those who want to know more about their church or village, or to develop an appreciation of old buildings, as well as understanding how our forebears lived.

Recent test pits dug by Time Team members resulted in discoveries of shards of pottery from Anglo-Saxon and early mediaeval periods as well as more recent periods. No gold has been found yet, but we have dug only four pits to learn the skills.

If anyone is interested in joining the course, or the Time Team, please contact the Monk Fryston Time Team secretary, Sue Newton, on 682084.

The talk commences at 8 pm; refreshments will be available from 7.30 pm. Tickets £4, or pay at the door.

Hillam News reports with much sadness that Freda Webster died on 19th September.

A tribute to Freda’s long life and achievements will be published in the December-January issue.

The funeral service was in Selby Abbey at the end of September.

Burton Salmon village hall Following the closure of the chapel as a place of worship on 14th August, the building has been taken over by the parish council on a short-term basis, to see if the villagers will support its use as a village hall.

The Methodist Circuit is generously supporting this venture by not insisting on an immediate sale.

Three ‘open evenings’ have recently been held to discuss the potential for regular and one-off lettings but the response has been disappointing to date.

Suggestion from Hillam )ews: Could the former chapel be used as temporary changing facilities for Burton Salmon cricketers, whose pavilion has been destroyed by arsonists. It already has all the facilities to prepare cricket teas and is close to the Plough Inn, where cricketers tend to adjourn for après cricket activities.

Further details about St Wilfrid’s ministry in today’s world

www.stwilfridandstmary.org.uk

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OUR COMMUNITY Community Centre opens amidst optimism about more secure financial future

stalwarts who run the Community Association, councillors are agonising over whether to restore recently withdrawn payments to the Association which cover day-to-day running costs. In such an It may not be strictly true that Tony atmosphere of uncertainty it is quite Hudson retired early in order to devote more time to the Community Association, understandable that the position of but over the last twenty years he has been a Association chairman is currently vacant. remarkable servant.

The new hall and play area have been @igel Adams MP paid just tribute to Tony improved and updated at a cost of £75,000.00 and this has used up most of when he opened the Community Centre the Association’s reserves. Critics, who and its extension. claimed the Association could hardly ask With the headline ‘What exactly do we for financial support when it had a want from our parish council?’ Hillam substantial bank balance, may well have )ews earlier this year tapped into a debate been answered. which our two parish councils have been Recently members of both parish councils taking very seriously for some time. got together to discuss their approach, and In a context of discontent from the

at their last meeting Monk Fryston PC passed a resolution to provide financial support for 2012/2013. Against a background where many parish councils themselves supply parish hall facilities, this action is to be applauded, and Hillam )ews hopes Hillam PC will follow suit.

We are very fortunate to have the facilities and services provided by a group of volunteers, of whom Tony Hudson is but one. If, as now seems likely, our parish councils commit financial support from the council tax precept, all their work will have been worthwhile, and Tony Hudson can accept the offer of Honorary Life President of Hillam and Monk Fryston Community Association and look forward to another active retirement.

The scarecrows were unforgettable

Hello and welcome, whoever you are

A big thank-you from Hillam and Monk Fryston Community Association to everybody who took part in our Scarecrow Festival this year. The scarecrows brought much pleasure to a lot of people.

The two-day event and the official opening celebration party on the Saturday evening raised just under £2,000.00 for the Centre.

Over the past couple of months there have been several house moves within the village. Amongst others, Dorothy Atkins has moved to Brayton, and the Stelling family is now in Hambleton. We bid them all a fond farewell and wish them happiness in their new homes.

Prize winners: the Scarecrow Puzzler was solved by Lisa Childs.

There were 27 correct answers for the anagram, which was ‘Duchess of Cambridge’. The Lucky Number cash prize of £50.00 went to Mr Panton of Methley, whose family has come to all four of our Scarecrow Festivals and enjoys doing the trail around the villages.

The favourite scarecrow in Hillam was ‘The wizard and his magic tricks’ which was made by Philip Hill of Glenhaven, whilst the favourite scarecrow in Monk Fryston was ‘The snake charmer’ from Martin Kelly of Prebendal Close. Both winners received a large tin of chocolates and a scarecrow decoration to remind them of their achievements.

Our Centre is still short of funds to pay for the recent improvements, as well as repairs, and we ask you to support the Community Association in its bid to secure the future of these village facilities. Please let your Parish Council know that you are willing to do this by means of a small increase in the parish precept which is added to your annual council tax.

The cost of providing and looking after our village hall and playground comes to around £6,000.00 a year. Raising council tax would spread the burden more evenly.

Please consider contacting your Parish Council Chairperson: Hillam Parish Council Chair: Mrs Jean Collinson, The Cottage, Betteras Hill Road, Hillam. Tel 682391.

Monk Fryston Parish Council Chair: Mr Bill Holmes, 30 Deer Park Court, Monk Fryston. Tel 684507.

There are 751 ratepaying households in Hillam and Monk Fryston, and if each household contributes just £8.00 per year through the parish precept that would yield £6,008.00.

Please note that the scarecrows will be retiring for a year or two.

However, in the spirit of reuse and recycling, perhaps you could find a small corner of a shed to let them rest a while until next called upon.

Once again, many thanks for taking part in our family fun event.

We hope we can count on your support to keep the Community Centre and playground running into the future. Please tell your Parish Council your views on this important local issue.

Sue Newton

We have a bevy of new neighbours, including those at Meadowside and two families in Bedford’s Fold. To you, and to any others who have joined our community recently, welcome. You will recently have experienced the Scarecrow Weekend, the opening of the extended Community Centre and the Historians’ Inclosure celebrations, and now here is your copy of the Hillam )ews.

We hope you will have begun to be aware of the elements of life in Hillam which make our village a bit special. Local groups welcome the involvement of new people so, whoever you are, welcome to both your new home and, hopefully, to involvement in some aspects of village life.

Remember, remember the 4th of November This year’s village bonfire is on Friday 4th November at the Community Centre. (For the area’s biggest and best bonfire and firework display on the 5th, go to Milford).

The Community Association’s family event will get underway from 5.:30 pm with music, bar, food and fun. That is unless you would like to help: then please call Tony Hudson on 682693 as some of our regular bonfire volunteers cannot help this year.

Full details will be on posters and via Neighbourhood Watch, but put the date in your diary straight away.

All profits will go towards paying for the new hall extension and playground improvements.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD CRIME REPORT Lead thefts from local churches On successive days local police have reported lead thefts from church roofs, and the thefts are getting closer.

Overnight between 22nd and 23rd August, 42 ft of lead was stolen from the roof of Escrick Church.

Then Wistow Church roof was targeted by offenders.

Anyone spotted on a church roof should be reported immediately. Please remain vigilant.

Comment from John Hetherington: Clearly they are doing the rounds. Please keep your eye on St Wilfrid’s when you are passing. Anything suspicious, call North Yorkshire Police immediately.

And now the political stuff I urge everyone to sign a government e-petition on metal theft.

This is an increasing problem in the UK and a big issue for churches. In my time here we have had two lead thefts at St Mary’s Church in South Milford and three at St Wilfrid’s Church in Monk Fryston.

Cash in hand trading Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash-in-hand industry and there is no audit trail. Identification of individuals trading stolen metal or committing tax or benefits fraud is impossible. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or direct into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.

Burglaries On August 11th a resident of Lumby Hill, Monk Fryston, returned home to find the property had been broken into. Entry was gained by smashing a large window at the rear.

Numerous items of jewellery were stolen.

During a weekend in August, a property in Monk Fryston was entered. A laptop, an Xbox and a PlayStation game console were stolen.

Theft of gully lids There have again been several incidents of gully grate lids being stolen throughout Selby District. Please pay attention to any vehicles parked on rural roads near to such metal grates, and report anything suspicious to North Yorkshire Police.

Cold calling tradesmen A white Ford pickup has being cold calling, looking for building work in Selby. The vehicle was from Peterborough.

Considering the price of fuel at present, cold callers are likely to be charging at least £35 for a job. In these circumstances householders are entitled to a seven-day cooling-off period, during which they are entitled to have second thoughts.

Written quotes should clearly display the contractor’s name and address. Before paying you should be satisfied with the work and that the price charged is reasonable.

Sat Navs

In order for it to be debated in Parliament the e-petition needs 100,000 signatures. It can be found at:

Selby police are advising residents not to leave property on display in vehicles, for someone to steal, even when parked at a home address. This applies in particular to residents with sat navs. Police have recently received reports of sat navs being stolen from cars.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

Anyone seeing suspicious activity is asked to contact the police.

Sign the e-petition

John Hetherington

Leaving Hillam?

If you are leaving Hillam, Why not take out a hillam News subscription for two years? twelve issues — £12.00, Delivered or sent by post.

Please send payment and details to the treasurer.

@orth Yorkshire Police non-emergency telephone number: 0845 6060247

Volunteer service runs front desk Sherburn Police Station front office is looking for new volunteers so that the service hours can be extended.

Anyone interested please contact Nigel Drayton on 07775 947660.

Dion Wood

Tony Hudson

Police Community Support Officer

Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator

10

VIEW FROM THE BOUNDARY A season of Firsts and Seconds This has been one of the best seasons this club has enjoyed for many a year. On Sunday 10th April the club was opened to the village and the first game of cricket was played from the new pavilion, against Sherburn Eversley. The game was won by Hillam, the weather was sunny and many people attended. The day marked a new era for the club.

On Sunday 10th July the club hosted its first representative match, featuring a Joe Lumb U-17s game played between the Wetherby the season, which kept everybody on tenterhooks. Hillam Firsts Cricket League and the Doncaster Cricket League. The Wetherby had won the Division 3 Championship after the penultimate game League won, and the day was enjoyed by all. of the season. Hillam Seconds knew that they were promoted, and before the penultimate game were behind South Milford with The club members were then awaiting the big day, the Grand Opening. The day was not going to disappoint. The weather was no chance of catching them. However, an error by South Milford in fielding an ineligible player meant that they had their six points glorious, over 400 people attended the event and enjoyed a hog roast and BBQ, light refreshments and various side stalls, and of deducted, leaving the deficit of only four points going into the last match of the season. Hillam won, South Milford lost, Hillam course the obligatory beer marquee. Naturally, the highlight of were champions. This was not going to be the end: by a cruel the day was to be the Grand Opening, which was performed by our local MP Nigel Adams. It was accompanied by an interview twist of fate South Milford’s opponents Scholes had fielded two ineligible players. The points were awarded to South Milford, by our very own and BBC Look North’s John Cundy. The which now made them champions of Division 6. A cruel blow triangular cricket tournament between Hillam & Monk Fryston, indeed! Congratulations to Will Vaks’ 1st XI and Eric Sherburn, and South Milford was won by Hillam & Monk Frankland’s 2nd XI and their players for achieving the success Fryston. It was a remarkable day – one which will be they well deserved. Ian Patrick must also be thanked for running remembered for a long time. The event raised around £3000, the Sherburn Thursday evening side, who managed to fulfil all which will be used to complete some more building work. their fixtures and finished mid-table.

The club is sending five members on an ECB level 2 coaching The club grows from strength to strength – but it is still looking course this winter, so that next season we could have five for new players and also new funding streams to continue qualified coaches who will then set up junior coaching at the its development. club. It is our intention to establish a partnership with Monk Fryston Primary School to attract players and also with Monk Visit our website, www.hmfcc.co.uk, for match facts and Fryston Junior Football Club. Junior cricketers are the lifeblood stats and events announcements. of any club; through them we ensure our future.

Now the best news of the season is the double celebration of our 1st XI and 2nd XI gaining promotion in the same season – another first. It has to be said that it went down to the last two games of

More cricket news What does the MP for Hillam and Monk Fryston do between officiating at Birkin, opening our Community Centre and cutting the tape at Hillam’s new cricket pavilion?

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty, managed to fit in a game of cricket when he captained the Lords and Commons XI in a Twenty20 game with the Lashings World XI. What’s more, he was ‘Man of the Match’ with 1 for 7 and 22 runs.

Nigel told Hillam )ews that the highlight for him was facing an over from Devon Malcolm. He has also played at Paul Getty’s replica of the Oval cricket ground at Wormsley Park.

Earlier, Hillam’s MP featured fleetingly on the evening TV news which highlighted wicketkeeper Ed Balls diving in all directions.

The bowler was Nigel Adams.

Tonu Vaks Chairman, Hillam & Monk Fryston CC

11

LOCAL CRIME - AND A COMEDY THEATRE LUNCH STORIES at MONK FRYSTON HALL Performed by the Library Theatre Touring Company Sunday 16th October 2011

HAPPY JACK by John Godber Jack was at times a miner, father, brawler, poet, con man, lover, thug and comedian. In fact, Happy Jack is probably a character we all recognise. The central character of John Godber’s play is a typically Yorkshire mixture of tenderness, truculence, humour, pride and pig ignorance. Scenes of the drama of ordinary life, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, touch a chord of familiarity as Godber’s wry incisive humour comes through.

2-course luncheon, concluding with coffee and the theatre presentation (1.45 – 5.45 pm approx) £22.00 per person Sunday 13th ovember 2011 MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE by Geraldine Aron This is a hilarious one-woman tour de force. Wittily observant, side-splittingly funny and heart-breakingly realistic. The play explores what life is like for Angela Lipsky when her husband has a mid-life crisis and a mid-European affair.

2-course luncheon, concluding with coffee and the theatre presentation (1.45 – 5.45 pm approx) £22.00 per person The Mobile Police Station It will be in the village between 19:00 and 20:00 hours on 24th October and 14th November. It will be parked in the lay-by outside Monk Fryston School.

Recently we have had a couple of burglaries in the Monk Fryston and Hillam area.

Can all residents be aware that if you see anything suspicious you should report it on either the non-emergency police number 0845 6060247, or 999 if it is an emergency. It is also important if you do see something suspicious to try and get a description of the vehicle, ie model, colour, registration number – even a part number can be matched up if we have the model of the vehicle. Also a good description of the people who are acting suspiciously would help the police to build a better picture of them.

A related article from a resident in Chapel Street: Last night, Wed 31/08, between the hours of 11 pm and dawn we had a prowler around our property. Not immediately obvious unless you ‘know’ your property.

The gate accessing the main road left ajar was the first indication. This is usually closed to keep our dog from wandering off.

Upon looking around I found that the door handle to the caravan was tensioned – clearly had been tested to see if locked. Also the garage door handle was similarly

twisted and tensioned as it too had been tested to see if locked. These handles are normally in the horizontal position without any tension upon them.

I also noticed due to the damp morning air that there was a fingerprint on my car door above the handle, which is compatible with the lock having been similarly tested using the thumb as a lever against the bodywork – this is not something I do. May be a coincidence but I doubt it, especially in view of the other ‘clues’.

Upon telling my wife she mentioned that the rear security light had come on during the night which had disturbed her, so it is quite likely the same prowler was checking out windows, the rear door to the garage and the shed, all behind the house.

I hope this warning is helpful to others and encourages extra vigilance/care.

12

AUTUMN DAYS IN THE GARDEN Early October is a good time for dividing and moving perennials which have finished flowering, like hemerocalis (day lilies), shasta daisies or hostas. Cut them back hard and replant in ground which has been enriched with some compost, water well, and they will put on some growth over the next few weeks (as long as we are not plunged into premature winter again). They will be ready to flower better and longer next year. Remember, most perennials love to be divided. Plants which are flowering now, like asters, or plants which have just finished, like heleniums, or any plants which are a bit tender are better divided in the spring.

as a mulch, or mixed with shop-bought compost for pots to improve water retention, and it is so easy. A large chicken wire cage around four posts filled with leaves mown off the lawn (and therefore chopped up and mixed with a bit of grass, which gives you a head start) will be usable next autumn, and perfect by summer 2013.

My plant of the month is aster, but not the dwarf mildewed lumps with bright flowers most often seen.

Careful choice can give you plants which give good background foliage Although the modern approach is to leave many plants over effect throughout summer and be an winter to provide seedheads to look at and for the birds, some asset in the border, then provide a haze of dainty stars in pink, plants are much better cut back now. Hardy salvias which white or blue in September and October. Look out for Lady in Black with good tall dark stems and foliage, or Prince, which flowered in May, June and July need their long leggy stems cut right back so that new basal foliage grows. This survives is shorter, both with white flowers, Turbellinus with tall much better over the winter and makes a fuller plant for next graceful stems at the back of the border and blue flowers, or year. The same goes for many daisies, white shasta daisies Pink Cloud with nice dark green wiry foliage and a pretty (leucanthemum), helenium, asters, rudbeckia and echinacea. shape. All these like sun. Aster divariticus will grow in quite A selective tidy-up in early autumn will also leave fewer dry shade when established and has lovely dark stems and places for slugs to hide. white flowers in September. It doesn’t have the wonderful colours of the novii belgii asters, but doesn’t need spraying or I am sure seasoned vegetable growers will know this, but I dividing to look good all year. must write diary notes to myself for spring, not to plant so many courgettes and runner beans, and that we don’t really I have just come back from a few days in Warwickshire, eat as much salad as we think - so most of our, very pretty, where I visited Whichford Pottery. They encourage visitors lettuces are wasted. It has been a super year for outdoor and you can watch pots being made. Their demonstration pot tomatoes and I never have too many of those. I just slow roast gardens and selling area are fabulous and give lots of planting the surplus in the oven for pasta. ideas. Just hide your credit card. You will be tempted.

Even if you can’t be bothered to make compost it is worth making leaf mould because it is weed free, delightful to Susan Ferguson handle, wonderful for adding to planting holes. It can be used

13

ST WILFRID’S CHURCH Honesty is always the best policy Did you ever hear about the young naval officer who went down to the breakwater for a swim, but just as he was about to jump in he noticed a large jellyfish? The jellyfish spoke to him and said: “I wouldn’t dive in here, sir. It’s very rocky; there is a much better place lower down.”

He thanked the jellyfish, went for a delightful swim and, as he was returning, thought: “That’s very strange, a talking jellyfish.”

So he went back and engaged the jellyfish in conversation.

The jellyfish explained that it was rather a long story but that, in short, it wasn’t really a jellyfish but a beautiful young lady from the Wrens – the Women’s Royal Naval Service – and she was under a magic spell. The only way the spell could be broken would be to put the jellyfish, at the witching hour, on somebody’s pillow and it would immediately turn back into a beautiful Wren. He said that he would be delighted to help, and put the jellyfish, which was very, very wet and slippery of course, into his coat pocket, returned to his ship, and at the witching hour put the jellyfish carefully onto his pillow.

Unfortunately, at the court martial they didn’t believe the story about the jellyfish either.

Sometimes our fabrications of the truth can be just as outrageous and unbelievable to those whose eyes we try to pull the wool over. If we’ve screwed up or been caught out, then it’s normally best just to tell the truth and bear the consequences – it’s also a sign of maturity and prevents us from having to travel the dangerous path of constantly covering up, to the point where we can’t remember the story we’ve told. It’s inevitable that truth will come out in the end – if not in this life, certainly in the next.

Blessings, John nd

St Wilfrid’s Harvest Festival – 2 October This year’s Harvest Festival will take place in the morning service at 11.00 and will be a traditional harvest service whilst the children are in Sunday Club. Harvest produce is not encouraged, but we shall be taking up a collection to assist with the famine relief work being undertaken in the countries on the ‘Horn of Africa’. Do join us and support this work if you can.

St Wilfrid’s Harvest Concert In the evening there will be a concert in St Wilfrid’s by the ‘York Rose Singers’ who return for the second year, after a tremendously enjoyable and successful visit last harvest. The soloist for the evening will be the nationally recognised Heather Watts, who spent several years singing for productions in London’s West End theatres. The concert begins at 7.30 pm and light refreshments will be served at the interval. Entrance is free, but there will be a retiring collection.

Services at St Wilfrid’s 1 Sunday of each month st

8am Holy Communion at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston 9.30am Parish Communion at St Mary’s, South Milford 9.30am Sunday Club at St Mary’s Church (ages 2-8) 11am Parish Communion at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston 11am Sunday Club in St Wilfrid’s Church Hall (ages 2-8)

2nd Sunday of each month 9.30am Family Communion at St Mary’s, South Milford 11am Parish Communion at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston 6pm Evensong at St Mary’s, South Milford

3rd Sunday of each month 8am Holy Communion at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston 9.30am Parish Communion at St Mary’s, South Milford 11am Family Service at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston

4th Sunday of each month 9.30am Family Service at St Mary’s, South Milford 11am Parish Communion at St Wilfrid’s, Monk Fryston 6pm Holy Communion at St Mary’s, South Milford

PATRONAL FESTIVAL – 16TH OCTOBER On Sunday 16th October St Wilfrid’s Church will be celebrating its Patronal Festival – the feast day of St Wilfrid of Ripon. The morning service will begin at 10.30 and will be a Benefice Communion Service at which we shall be joined by the congregation of St Mary’s Church, South Milford.

The preacher will be Revd Susanne Jukes, previous Curate and Priest in Charge of Monk Fryston and South Milford.

The service will be followed by a ‘bring and share lunch’ in the Church Hall.

ALL SOULS’ MEMORIAL SERVICE – 30TH OCTOBER On Sunday 30th October at 11 am St Wilfrid’s will host its annual ‘All Souls’ Memorial Service’ where we seek to remember those from within our family and community who have been important to us over the years, but who are no longer with us. If you would like someone remembered by name at this service and would like to light a candle in his or her memory, then please forward the name of that person to John (the Rector) on 680788 or at hetherington556@btinternet.com, and that person’s name will be included in the service.

ST WILFRID’S IN NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 12TH AT 7.30 PM An evening of remembrance with music and interviews of war veterans as we raise funds for the ‘Help for Heroes’ charity.

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW

14

HILLAM HISTORIANS

www.hillam-village.co.uk

Geoff Woodall 1931 – 2011 Lyons used to have church garden fetes [at Hillam Hall] – they had Geoff had lived in the village since he was a small child. With a prodigious memory and a thorough understanding developed through extensive reading and research, he was a very well-informed local historian. This, plus his many years’ service on the parish council and as a school governor, ensured that he was a much respected and often consulted font of knowledge about all things local.

In his younger years he was a keen sportsman and in particular a committed cricketer. Indeed, it was through a game at Hillam that he met Beatie. She had come to the village to watch a game with a friend who was already courting another Hillam cricketer. How fitting that part of the retiring collection at his funeral was given to support Hillam and Monk Fryston Cricket Club.

Hillam Historians arose as the result of an article by then newcomer to the village Betty Wright, which was published in the Hillam )ews and entitled A walking tour of Hillam and a bit of Monk Fryston. It invited answers to questions about our village’s history.

Geoff Woodall provided an incredibly interesting detailed list of answers. These were published in the next issue and, subsequently, Jenny Hoare suggested that a local history booklet be compiled.

And it all grew from there. Thus, without doubt, Geoff was the catalyst who got it started.

Always generous with his time and knowledge, Geoff recorded one of the first interviews with Hillam Historians. So it seems fitting that through his own words we share, remember and celebrate his life.

some superb days down there in the grounds. During the war they used to have functions on and used the grounds for different things.

When the army were on manoeuvres they used to go into the grass park, and they used to camp there on a night. They used to do manoeuvres all over this area.

There was a beautiful setup in those days with all the gardens, flower gardens and ponds, then all the park area and all the trees.

They had horses and they had their own groom, and they used to go hunting and riding. They used to play the part as and when it was needed. Mr Lyon planted this tree [the Ringtree]; he planted it when he was seventy. Then of course after the war he allowed them to use his cricket field for the village.

At Rose Lea School there used to be gardens. Two or three kids would have a section for a garden and they were all little separate plots of garden, directly opposite the pub, and then they had a playing field up at the top end [Rose Lea Close] where they used to play hockey and cricket. Very nice setup at that place.

Some girls that were Methodist used to go to the chapel on a Sunday. The other children used to walk in twos with a couple of teachers all the way up to the church on a Sunday morning. Harry Roebuck’s wife, Pam, she used to go there when she was a little girl. Mary Denton, she went there as well.

Mary’s father, he was a representative on the district council – he was a parish councillor. She used to do her housework and then about ten o’clock on a morning she used to be off down to work in the fields until about twelve o’clock, then she used to come back and get the dinners ready for them all, and then when she cleared I used to live further up the street, just past Hillside Close. It used the dinners up she went back into the field until half past four. Her to be two houses, but it’s one now – it’s the white one. From there sister, Marjorie, she used to do all the work at home on the farm, I went into Mill Close, number five. I was there since they were feed the hens, milk the cows, whereas Mary worked on the land. built. Ruth Kelsey was also there from new; they were all local Marjorie was a very nice person. She used to be a Sunday school people that went in there then. teacher; she used to play the piano, a very intelligent woman. She’d All this [Lilac Oval] used to be a beautiful orchard; there was every carry straw – she worked hard. type of fruit you can think of. Different types of fruit trees: pear trees, apple trees. Then there was the pig farm [Lilac Farm] but he I was involved with the farm. When I was about twelve I used to go [Claud Longbottom] didn’t used to just have pigs; he used to have a down on a night and at weekends. I went there every night; they’d all sorts of animals – cows, pigs, and calves in the fold yard. Last milk herd, Jerseys. We used to go to the farm with a jug or a milk can and get what you wanted, a pint or a quart or whatever. Every couple of years when I was thirteen or fourteen you got so many farmer had cows; some had one or two for their own use and others half-days allowed through the education system where you could go had several more. Billy had quite a big herd. He lived down where out with the farmers. We used to go to school in the morning and go David’s parents [David Smales] live, down Chapel Street, opposite to the farmers on an afternoon. We had about twenty half-days or something. We used to get time off for harvest and potato-picking so where Chantries Cottage is. He had a great big herd of Friesians. that was August, September, October. Each day the farmer had to )ow things have changed in farming; they’ve changed sign on the days that we’d been there; then the head teacher used to dramatically. Of course, everything was horse-drawn then; there sign it as well, so she used to get you back on an afternoon then, were no tractors. you see.

15

CHANGE OF USE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE Showmen’s Public Inquiry – a personal view

Ten Acre Farm

Along with a sizeable contingent from Monk Fryston, I was one of two Hillam residents who turned up at the Public Inquiry into the rejection

by Selby District Council (SDC) of the showmen’s application to establish eight caravan pitches in Lowfield Road, Monk Fryston.

Mr Thomas Cannon has applied for change of use for land he has owned since 2005 near Hillam Feeds, to site four caravans and outhouses.

The Parish Council under Bill Holmes employed two consultants, and the appellants were represented by two consultants plus a barrister.

Last year a Planning Inspector granted him twelve months’ temporary permission ‘to use his field for mixed residential purposes and the keeping of horses’.

The residents’ and Council’s case was firmly put by Cllr John Mackman, former chairman of SDC Planning Committee. Cllr Carol Mackman highlighted inconsistencies in North Yorkshire Highways’ input between this case (they recommend acceptance) and an earlier application to site kennels using the same A63 exit, which was opposed.

At the time Hillam )ews commented: ‘In twelve months’ time, when temporary permission runs out, Mr Cannon should have moved to an official Selby District Council (SDC) site. If Selby has not provided one, it is open to Mr Cannon to apply to extend the temporary permission.’

I hope the result will be the one demanded by the 200 people who registered their opposition with SDC at the time of the original application. However I have to mention what the chairman, James Ellis, jokingly said to me as we walked down Lowfield Road with Mr Johnson, the field owner: ‘You two may have to get to know each other better, as you may soon be neighbours.’

The SDC has not even decided where a new gypsy site should be.

Houses built in the green belt

In a letter to the SDC, which accompanied his application, Mr Cannon claims that gypsies and travellers were led to believe that they should buy their own land, which he has The decision (due October) will depend on intricate interpretations of done. Now he cannot get it passed for his family to live the law. Why otherwise pay a barrister? But as a layman I cannot under- on, and he knows of houses being built on green belt and stand why the Inspector refused to consider the earlier refusal of the dog no one complained. kennels. Apparently each case has to be treated on it own merits. The traffic consultants ‘agreed to differ’ over whether it was possible to build an exit onto the A63 without intruding onto neighbouring farmland – a point which the barrister insisted was irrelevant anyway. And the Inspector did not want to be told that the owner of an adjoining site had recently been ordered at a Public Inquiry to remove stable blocks.

My only relevant expertise was land drainage and I told the Inquiry, as a farmer in the area for forty years, that the appellants’ plan to deal with winter surface water using soakaways and temporary storage was nonsense.

I came away remembering the words of John Mackman: ‘It’s about time the rights of the settled community are taken into account.’

David Atkinson

Remember the Community Centre is available to hire for private gatherings and parties (contact Becky on 689230).

If it’s chairs, tables, marquees, gazebos or even crockery you want to borrow, give Kath Ratcliffe a call on 683590.

BOARDI@G KE@@ELS A@D CATTERY Common Lane, South Milford, Leeds, LS25 5BX Come and see our spacious purpose-built accommodation

“YOUR PET’S HOLIDAY HOME”

Phone Kathryn Parkin on 01977 685404 Open 9 am - 6 pm daily VISITORS WELCOME

16

BANKING ON THE POST OFFICE Ringtree Christmas lights 2011 This year’s event will be held on Saturday 3rd December, with the ‘switch-on’ at 7 pm. Make a note on your calendar so you don’t miss our annual festive gathering, complete with Santa, mince pies, mulled wine, brass band and carols. We hope supporters old and new will rally to make the night the usual enjoyable event.

Seasonal update from your Village Store and Post Office With Christmas fast approaching, the village is gearing up with a Christmas craft market at St Wilfrid’s church hall, with stalls selling local handmade crafts and foods (18th November 6 – 9 pm). Kevin and I will also be there selling Yorkshire handproduced cheese and a selection of international wines.

As well as our usual array of goods, the store again will be stocking seasonal goods for the Christmas/winter period.

Seasonal foods will include local handmade cheese, Brackenhill jams and preserves, cakes by Botham’s of Whitby, Botham’s This is the Committee’s first year flying solo without Resolution Tea, organic Colombian coffee, a selection of Mary and Gordon Little – there is some nervousness in the chocolates, speciality gravies , stuffings and goose fat, ranks that we may forget something vital. We need all the Christmas decorations and cards, cakes by Mill Farm, and help you can give, and look forward to our regular helpers Starkey’s popular stand pies and sausages. We will also again making sure we do everything properly! be taking orders closer to Christmas, for hams, pork pies and Christmas puddings, etc.

100 Club

The main means of funding the event and paying for the village’s Christmas lights comes from the 100 Club, which is a group of people who each pay £12 a year. Without these people the village wouldn’t have any Christmas adornments. Numbers still fall short of the 100 needed for the 100 Club to fully fund everything that makes Hillam’s Christmas lights such a feature of our village.

As well as providing the vital funding for our village tradition and ensuring that the ‘switch-on’ event remains free for every villager to enjoy, 100 Club members are entered in a monthly draw, with cash prizes of £20, £10 and £5 to be won. There will be an application form in the next issue of Hillam )ews.

Congratulations to recent 100 Club winners July: 1st (£20) Mr S G Timson (no 29) 2nd (£10) Tony Hudson (no 45) 3rd (£5) Pauline Styles (no 28) August: 1st (£20) Stuart Proctor (no 42) 2nd (£10) Mrs A Heptonstall (no 10) 3rd (£5) Mike and Diane Thornton (no 41)

The Ringtree Christmas Lights Committee

Garden tools Fertilisers and pest control Trees and shrubs

We have just received news from the Post Office that from 23rd September we are able to offer cash withdrawals from the Post Office for RBS and NatWest customers as well as for our existing banks and building societies. These include Yorkshire Bank, Lloyds, Barclays, Halifax, Santander, Smile, Co-operative Bank, Northern Bank, Nationwide Building Society, Clydesdale Bank and Bank of Scotland.

This means that 80% of people now have a convenient, fast and free way to withdraw money locally.

We would like to thank our customers once again for their continued support and we send you our early best wishes for the Christmas season!

Kevin and Faye

17

WIND FARM UPDATE OCTOBER 2011 Hook Moor - £30M subsidy spurs developer to another appeal.

A final appeal about Hook Moor wind farm will be heard on 11th October in Leeds. Banks Development are determined to build the wind farm, in spite of the residents of Micklefield, Aberford and Garforth not wanting it. So much for localism and a promise to give communities a greater say about planning.

If approved, Hook Moor would mark the end of an almost continuous line of wind farms passing Hillam and stretching from Scunthorpe to Hook Moor at the edge of Leeds, via Selby and Goole.

With an annual subsidy of about £1.25 million for the fiveturbine scheme, which we will pay via surcharges hidden in our electricity bills, it is not surprising that Banks are prepared to spend so much money trying to get it approved. £30 million subsidy over the planned 25-year life will pay for the wind farm several times over and provide Banks with handsome profits.

The saga started in 2006 when Banks began work on their plans.

An application in 2007 for a test mast was rejected and then approved after appeal to a Planning Inspector sent from Bristol.

Next came the wind farm application which was rejected by Leeds City Council. Banks appealed and were represented by Marcus Trinick QC, whom you may have seen in Wind farm wars on BBC TV. He is one of the most formidable wind farm planning lawyers in the UK and probably the most highly paid.

The Inspector rejected the appeal for a variety of reasons including Green Belt. Banks then appealed again, on a technicality.

Leeds City Council is not contesting this new appeal so it will be up to a member of Micklefield Parish Council to put the case against the development. Something of a David and Goliath contest if there ever was one. The Inquiry is open to the public and a good presence in the public gallery will be very helpful in showing the level of opposition to 5 x 400-foot industrial turbines in a prominent position in the Green Belt - which was created to prevent urban sprawl and industrialisation from Leeds spreading into the countryside. If you can attend, please do so.

While this wind farm is a few kilometres from Hillam, it is important because it will set the scene for other wind farms and define the character of our area - power stations and turbines.

When approaching Hillam from the north, or the south via the A1, or from Leeds via the A63, the wind farm will be the most prominent feature which will set the character of the whole area.

It is also very relevant to us because Byram wind farm is in the Green Belt and Woodlane abuts the Green Belt.

Wind farms - remember it is your money that pays the multi-million pound subsidy

The balloon and Birkin Church So what would does 125 metres look like?

How high is it compared with local landmarks?

It is difficult to visualise and even more difficult to explain the size of the turbines proposed around Hillam. It was for this reason that we flew a balloon alongside Birkin Church on the recent “Open Day”.

The idea of flying a balloon is simple enough, but like everything else it turns out to be more complicated than expected. First and foremost, a balloon flown at 125 metres represents a hazard for aviation, and for that reason the Civil Aviation Authority has to be consulted and has to issue a licence.

This part of the process takes up to four weeks. The licence is for one day only and has a set of conditions attached. The main concern is that the balloon may break away from its mooring rope and cause a hazard to aircraft, especially if it is blown into a flight corridor used by commercial aviation.

A balloon capable of flying to 125 metres needs to be visible and has to be quite large; our balloon was nearly 4 metres long and filled with helium. Filling the balloon is easy, provided that you have the correct valves and pipes to connect the compressed gas cylinder to the balloon. We didn’t, and it took some last-minute engineering to solve the problem! The helium gas is quite expensive and at the end of the day it is allowed to escape back into the atmosphere.

Once the balloon was filled, flying it was easy. It had a few pounds of lift and rose to the end of the carefully measured rope without any further problems. We had a light breeze all day and so the actual height attained would have been a bit less than 125 metres because the rope was dragged sideways. While the balloon was up a set of photos was taken from local vantage points. The balloon was clearly visible from Hillam, Kellington, Beal and Burton Salmon. Our biggest surprise was that it could also be seen from Gateforth over the top of the wood, and then all the way along the road from Gateforth to Hillam, even though it was over 3 km away.

Reaction to the balloon was very interesting. Most people could not believe that the turbines were so high. While we were very pleased with the success of the day, a side benefit was the record number of visitors to Birkin Church, including Nigel Adams MP. The church and the balloon certainly made a good impression on Nigel because the visit to the Church and the proposed turbines were all included in a statement made by Nigel in a House of Commons debate on tourism in Yorkshire.

Further information available at

www.stopwoodlanewindfarm.co.uk - on the news pages which have photos taken on the day and links to the House of Commons debate.

18

THE BIRDING COLUMN First of all, thanks to Paula Maher, who wrote in the last )ews about spotting Red Kites in the Micklefield area. Kites have also been seen frequently over Kippax, especially around the Co-op, where there may occasionally be some tasty scraps to feed on? All is now quiet on the kite front, with all the birds in my “territory” having fledged.

Our tame Blackbird has gone as well, but is presumably now having a good time in Ireland, after migrating across the Irish Sea. She has left us with a tame Starling however, a young bird that latched on to her opportunistic feeding technique, frequently appearing with her to feed on the dates that Jenny puts out. He or she still regularly appears, sometimes looking for his/her erstwhile foster parent.

and looking up I was amazed to see two flocks of Avocets in their dazzling predominantly white and black plumage, against the backdrop of a dark grey sky, lit up by a watery sun. I counted thirty-two birds in all.

Our cup runneth over at this point, and mine certainly did when I spilled Spoonbill my drink on my new field guide!

Putting down my fourth Eccles cake, I thought I would scan the muddy banks of Whitton Sands to see what I could find, not expecting to see much. Directly opposite us was a roosting party of large white birds with long black legs.

One had just started to preen with its long strangely shaped bill. th Today it is 30 August, and not having done any birding this What a sight; it was a veritable “canteen” of ten Spoonbills! Until summer apart from kite-watching, I have been a little worried that today, I haven’t seen Spoonbills in this country for many years, I might not have much to write about. How wrong could I be, as so to see such exotica in these numbers is an unprecedented event today must go down as one of my best birding days in England for me. They breed in numbers in the Netherlands, but have also ever? Well, certainly from a local standpoint. Having not seen my started to breed in North Norfolk from last year, though I guess friend “Clive of Kippax” since spring, I thought we might have these will be Dutch birds. an excursion to Alkborough Flats, the large area of wetland where the Trent joins with the Humber. It was a grey “Lincolnshire type It hadn’t finished there, because as I was scanning beyond the Spoonbill flock, my binoculars lingered on a pair of unfamiliar of day”, and certainly not a day when one expects to see much, with a cold wind coming across the flatlands from the northwest; large ducks, rusty-coloured with pale cream heads. They were however, we soon spotted hundreds of Shelduck dotted about the Ruddy Shelduck, which is a different species from our Common marshes. The Humber is a famous gathering point for these birds, Shelduck, seldom seen in these parts as they breed in Turkey and other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. I continued with my where they assemble in their thousands for their annual moult. scan, and there were seven Ruddy Shelduck in all. I have seen Continuing along the straight raised embankment, we spotted a lots abroad in Greece and Turkey, but I had never seen one before snow-white bird in the distance – a delicate Little Egret with its in the UK, other than at Lotherton Hall. Also, there would have long head plumes blowing in the wind. Soon, another flew been at least five hundred Common Shelduck laboriously overhead to join it as the tide was starting to go out, and during plodding about in the mud, with a score or more of Barnacle the course of our two-mile walk I estimate we would have seen Geese walking along in the grass, amongst the many Greylag and about ten birds, mostly in pairs.

Canada Geese.

A male Sparrowhawk flew low overhead, so we could see the We thought we might call it a day then, but as the tide was bold red barring on his chest against the dark foliage of the rapidly falling, I was keen to hang on a bit longer until the mud nearby wood. A male Marsh Harrier quartered the reed beds, its became visible on the lagoons, hoping to spot more waders. Our light grey wings contrasting with the black wing tips and chestnut-coloured belly. We thought it couldn’t get much better, patience was duly rewarded when a large flock of Avocets flew in, to be joined soon after by no less than eighty-two Black-tailed but it certainly did, because on the far shore of the next lagoon I could see a large white bird feeding, with a long, oddly shaped Godwits, some still sporting the strong reddish-brown tint of summer plumage on their breast. It was a real spectacle to see this bill. This could be only one species, and upon raising my compact group all feeding together. We still hadn’t done then binoculars I could see that it was a Spoonbill, with its enormous though, as I found a Spotted Redshank amongst a small flock of spatulate bill which it swept back and forth continuously, like a about twenty Ruff and three Greenshank. soldier with a mine detector.

It was a memorable day that neither of us is likely to forget for a We eventually reached the end of the reserve, but decided to continue across the short grazed turf to the bank of the Trent, at a long while. point where it overlooks Whitton Sands, a haven for wintering wildfowl. We were sitting eating our lunch on a dead tree washed Graham Todd up with the tide, when I heard the high whistling call of waders,

19

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY Heat pumps – A Hillam News special Would one suit you?

loop. A typical installation is from 6 to 12kW. You’ll need trenches that are 1.5 to 2 metres deep, and long enough for 50 to 80 metres of pipe per kW. As a rule of thumb, you'll need twice Heat pumps take heat from the ground, air or water and use it for the area of the property for the ground arrays. space heating or to heat water. They are like a fridge in reverse.

The fridge takes heat from food and pumps it into the kitchen. Boreholes use less land, but are expensive to drill. They tend to The heat pump takes heat from the ground (air or water) and need between 20 and 50 metres of pipe per kW. Boreholes are pumps it into your house. Some can be reversed in summer for usually 100 to 150mm in diameter and up to 120 metres deep.

More than one pipe can be put in each borehole, but bigger syscooling. tems need more than one borehole.

Heat pumps aren’t suitable for every home. They work best in houses off the gas grid, or in a new build. You also need plenty of Air source heat pumps work in a similar way, but instead of outside space for the pipework (for ground source heat pumps), taking heat from the ground, they extract heat from the air outand a bit of space between you and your neighbours (for air side, using an evaporator coil. This looks like the big fans on air conditioner units and is fixed on an outside wall of the buildsource heat pumps). ing. Because they do not take up much space, air source heat Heat pumps heat water to a lower temperature than traditional pumps are more likely to be used in flats and in urban areas, parboilers. So they are best in well insulated houses with underfloor ticularly where there is no mains gas supply. The fan can be noisy heating. It is possible to use a heat pump with radiators, but to get – described by one proud owner as ‘about the same as a modern the same level of heat they need to be larger. Many older build- washing machine on spin cycle’. The noise can be a problem for ings are not energy efficient enough to use underfloor heating or neighbours, and you wouldn’t want to site it too near to windows low temperature radiators. or doors.

Heat pumps don’t heat water hot enough for washing and bathDavid Edwards ing. The hotter you heat it, the more electricity you use (which means higher running costs). You can use a heat pump to pre- Editor’s note: Hillam )ews knows of at least two heat pumps in heat water, and then boost it. Some heat pumps come with an Hillam, both in new houses. The idea may have been around for a integrated immersion heater. while, but has attracted new interest as strategies are developed to Ground source heat pumps circulate a mixture of water and confront our developing energy supply crisis. We would love to antifreeze around a loop of pipe buried in the garden. Heat from hear about users’ experiences. The above is a shortened version the ground is absorbed and goes through a heat exchanger. Low of David’s contribution. grade heat enters the heat pump and is concentrated into a higher Hillam )ews has placed a document on its website with more temperature for domestic use. The ground loop fluid, now cooler, information, http://www.issuu.com/hillamnews, or get passes back into the ground where it absorbs further energy in a it by email from dsa99uk@yahoo.co.uk. It covers all the continuous process. technical stuff, together with costs, planning, grant information.

You need space to dig a trench or sink a borehole for the ground

Buy local produce - eat well and cut food miles

October 7th at 7:30 pm

Milk in the post office travels just a few miles from Hambleton. The vegetables and fruit you can get on Austfield Lane are all local.

Hillam )ews is pleased to announce that you can now buy organic lamb from a farm in Monk Fryston. The farm uses natural pasture with fields down Monk Fryston Common and near Fairburn nature reserve. Mandy told us the secret of producing best quality meat, with unrivalled taste and texture, is keeping the lambs really happy.

To safeguard quality right up to your door they use a local ‘Master Butcher’. Meat is individually prepared and packed, so you can specify how you would like it jointed, or you can leave it to the butcher to supply as a standard pack of individually packed joints. The most popular pack includes chops, steaks, leg and shoulder - half a lamb.

To ensure that the lamb is delivered in perfect condition it is all supplied subject to customer order. It is delivered free to residents of Hillam.

For contact details see the advertisement on page 4.

MONK FRYSTON Pre-SCHOOL We welcome children from two years to school age* We provide lots of different activities including: Toys, Songs, Rhymes, Stories, Painting, Modelling, Sand and Water Play, Cutting and Glueing, Playdough, Puzzles and much more…!

Monday to Friday 9:00 – 12:00 am Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 – 3:00 pm Contact Jayne Wood 681050 Church Hall, Monk Fryston We are OFSTED inspected and LEA funded and we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum *places are offered subject to availability

The King’s Speech Colin Firth

Geoffrey Rush

Helena Bonham Carter

BOX OFFICE AND VENUE MONK FRYSTON PRIMARY SCHOOL Tickets £3.00 www.selbyglobe.co.uk

20

LOCAL NEWS AND SOMETHING FROM THE ETHER Dangerous level crossing I have been notified by one of our members that some “joggers” using Betteras Hill Road have been seen to vault over the railway crossing gates when they are down, and are not prepared to wait until it is safe to cross the lines.

From the Hillam News Facebook page Tracey Bastow-Norris writes: Does any one know anything about Cherry Tree Farm? I got as far as being in a position offer cash to buy and renovate the property, only to be told it had been sold. Do you know who bought it? I would hate to see it pulled down and several houses built on the land. Any information appreciated.

George Bernard Shaw slept here

Not only is this a criminal offence but it is only a matter of time before there is a fatality. The line speed is 70 mph, and it is possible for four trains to be approaching the crossing within seconds of each other.

It is highly likely that the “joggers” in question are from Hillam or Monk Fryston, doing a circular trip. Whoever it is, please curb your impatience as no one wants to see Hillam featured in the press for the wrong reasons.

The crossing is under surveillance by the Milford Junction signal cabin crew, and action can be taken by British Transport Police if this practice persists.

When the Antiques Roadshow visited Museum Gardens, York, Pat Shaw of Monk Fryston took along a postcard from playwright George Bernard Shaw. Pat’s late husband, (George) Bernard Shaw, was known Tony Hudson universally as ‘Bernard the Baker’ and his shop was in Cornmarket, Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator Pontefract. Bernard and Pat became well-known breeders of golden retriever dogs. When Bernard was born, a card was sent to his namesake jokingly asking permission to name the child George Bernard Shaw.

Back came the reply – valued on the show at £400.00 – that ‘it was a shocking outrage on a defenceless infant’.

Editor’s comment: I have a coffee-stained postcard from Alan Bennett. I wonder how much that is worth.

Monk Fryston Christmas Market 18th November 6 to 9 pm at St Wilfrid’s Craft stalls, hot food and more Further information from the Post Office and page 5

21

FOOTNOTES Waking up in South Milford Speed humps between the Swan Inn and Southlands in South Milford have been made ‘less severe’ according to Councillor Mike Jordan’s website.

In a recent ‘post’ the district councillor wrote that there would be a two-stage improvement in the condition of the ‘sleeping policemen’.

1) Removal of the existing offenders 2) Their replacement More in fun than expectation, he said he supported stage 1 but hoped that stage 2 would be delayed as long as possible. http://www.mikejordan.org.uk

About Hillam News The Hillam )ews is a free newspaper produced by volunteers.

We make reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy of the content but we do not guarantee the accuracy of nor endorse the opinions of third-party contributions including adverts.

We publish our material in good faith and strive to comment fairly. If we make a mistake we are willing to correct it when it is pointed out to us.

Because the paper is free we do not permit copying for gain but we are happy to grant permission for reproduction.

Further details about Hillam News on our website http://www.issuu.com/hillamnews

Garden Route Gourmet BEST QUALITY READY MEALS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR VISIT

www.gardenroutegourmet.co.uk Or call Robert on 07717 354112

NEW MENUS Individual meals, complete dinner parties, delivered buffets

STOP PRESS: Arson attack Burton Salmon cricketers have launched a £2,500.00 appeal to help the club survive through next season.

A Burton Salmon villager has offered a £1,000.00 reward for information which leads to a conviction.

Brownies travel back in time Working towards attaining their Culture Badges, with three magic twirls, and supported by pictures of the villages a century ago, Hillam and Monk Fryston Brownies transported themselves back in time before setting off for a visit to Hillam.

When passing the old school they were reminded how different their school days would have been. They stopped at Mill Close to learn about the mill which would have stood there, before moving on to find the location of the Quaker burial ground.

There they learned about the good works of Quakers, notably the chocolate Quaker families. Appropriately sustained with pieces of Terry’s chocolate orange and Cadbury’s Roses, and looking at the old village houses and farmhouses as they passed, they then headed for the experience of drawing water from both Hillam village pump and the well at Rose Lea Cottage.

The return in the dark, along the footpath they would probably have used to go to church a hundred years ago – most of the time with the concession of 21st century torchlight – added further to the general excitement of the evening.

This is how Twitter works The Bon Restaurant tweeted on 25th September: ‘Join us for a fabulous lunch today, live piano, mention you saw this tweet and Shaun will sort you a free glass of house wine!’

The editor was there in a flash, and tweeted his satisfaction.

22

IN-NEWS

SPORT-

of investment. If a team which regularly attracts 15,000 (almost double the figure at Castleford) for home games cannot find the you consider we are now at the beginning of a new football cash, then plenty of lower clubs must be struggling to make any season, the Rugby World Cup has started and we are already waving goodbye to another cricket season. I guess it doesn’t help investment in their infrastructures, which cannot be a healthy position for spectators in the medium-to-long run. that we hardly seem to get any summer weather at the moment, but still our thoughts are turning towards dark winter evenings Final thoughts in this column go to Andy Murray, who has watching Champions League football, or wet Saturday mornings once again battled bravely to try to gain that elusive first grand cheering on the local kids’ team – bring it on! slam win in the US Open Tennis at Flushing Meadow, only to The one key issue to catch my eye over the last few weeks fall again to Rafael Nadal. Many respected commentators are saying Murray is unfortunate to be playing at a time when so has been the continued spending spree of our leading football many other greats are playing at the top of their game. With the sides as they chase the hallowed prize of lifting a trophy during the coming season. It’s ridiculous to think of the transfer fees and likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic dominating the game, there is very little margin for error within Murray’s game if he’s to land salaries now being awarded, in some cases to very mediocre players. One place where the spending has been a little thriftier is a grand slam. Whilst I appreciate we may well be living in a at Elland Road, where Ken Bates has kept his hands firmly on the ‘golden era’ for men’s tennis, was that not also said in the cheque book. One friend told me that he’d been informed from a eighties, when the likes of Becker, Lendl, McEnroe dominated? ‘good source’ that Mr Bates had allegedly given Simon Grayson The truth for me is that there’s always likely to be a small number of really top-class players featuring in the finals of these a budget of £800k for his summer spending – and this included major tournaments, and the simple fact is that Murray is not quite the yearly salary of any player he purchased. Whilst I am all for curbing the ridiculous amounts earned by many of these players, good enough to scale those heights, at least not at the moment.

The other good point to make from the US Open was the strong you have to say that this approach will put Leeds at complete performance of the British boys, who took three out of the four odds with the rest of the football industry, if it’s true. As ever, semi-final places before young Oliver Golding eventually lifted time will tell whether the team can still produce the results that the prize. Now, whisper this quietly, but could this mean we’ll will see them make a challenge for promotion to the highest league in the country, but if results don’t go their way in the first have more than one player in the top twenty of men’s tennis in the next decade? couple of months, I wouldn’t expect the fans to keep quiet for

YOU simply cannot believe how quickly time has flown when

long. Whilst Mr Grayson may well have a stay of execution (in the eyes of the supporters) I would not expect the same courtesy to be given to Mr Bates.

Meanwhile the Rugby League season is drawing towards a conclusion with the play-offs now starting, as teams chase Grand Final glory at Manchester in October. One team not partaking in those games will be Castleford, after failing to claim a top eight spot despite occupying one of those places since the first week of the season, only to drop outside on the last weekend. It must be heartbreaking for the players and supporters of the famous old club and, with coach Terry Matterson now heading back home to Australia, it will be interesting to see how the replacement Ian Millward fares next year. With problems continuing over a move to a new stadium, the next twelve months may well prove pivotal for the Tigers. The only comfort coming their way is that Wakefield already head the queue to drop out of Super League when the licences are next renewed, but you sense Castleford should not become too complacent, should their own quest for a new ground come up short. To be fair, it’s not just Castleford facing problems with updating their facilities. It’s a similar theme across at Headingley, where Leeds Rhinos still cannot complete their intended upgrade of the famous South Stand, due to a lack

Yours in sport

Doug Hought

23

THAT’S IT FOLKS Dear Hillam )ews I was wondering if you could help me. I am researching my family history and my Greatx4Grandad was an innkeeper in Monk Fryston in 1861.

In your latest issue of Hillam )ews I saw mention of the Chequers Inn. I believe this is the inn I am looking for, but I have not been able to find it. I have visited Hillam and Monk Fryston a couple of times in the last few years to photograph the properties where my relatives lived, including Mount Pleasant Farm at Betteras Hill, the Mill House at Hillam, and Milford Lodge at South Milford, but as the Chequers is no longer a pub I couldn’t find it, and the people I asked didn’t know.

I thought it may have been the house which is now at 33 Main Street. Would you be able to help me or put me in touch with someone who may know? I would be very grateful for any help.

Lorraine Hodges-Chant Editor’s note: This email was received from a reader who found Hillam )ews on the web. If you haven’t seen our web edition, have a look: http://www.issuu.com/hillamnews We are also on Facebook.

Not so much a job description...

Hillam )ews is only as good as its last issue. We want new blood, new ideas, but most of all new faces to reduce the average age of our team. We are particularly short of editor/ compilers. If you enjoy Hillam )ews and are working or newly retired, resting or at home with a young child, you could become an occasional editor and have some fun at the same time. No pay or expenses but extensive training offered, and all this without leaving Hillam. Just contact a team member.

David Atkinson Acting temporary editor, Hillam )ews T J Jones Automobile Engineers www.pontefractmottestcentre.com All makes of vehicle serviced, repaired and MOT tested.

Citroen specialists. Collection and delivery at no extra cost.

01977 792857

ZUMBA at Fairburn Mondays at Fairburn Parish Hall, 6:15 to 7:00 pm. £4 per session. Come and join me for a fun fitness class featuring Latin-inspired music and moves. Just move your body and follow my lead. It’s easy! Come along and try it!

Tel: 07717 045112

Only £1.00 per issue: please contact David Edwards on 682346

Walking on Air Foot Care In the comfort of your own home

Amanda Hornshaw Foot Health Practitioner Dip CFHP, MPS Pract Corns/callus removed, nail cutting, verrucas and general foot care Home visits only: phone 07740 090368 Fully insured and CRB checked

ZUMBA Latin-inspired dance fitness workout St Wilfrid’s Church Hall Every Thursday, 6:45-7:30 pm, £3 For more details contact Hannah Howcroft (Qualified Fitness Instructor) 07707 929393

24

CLUBS & GROUPS To amend or to add to the information below, please phone Jenny Hoare (683332)

CLUB OR GROUP

LOCATION

DAY & TIME

Community Centre

Bi-monthly 3rd Wed 7.30pm

Ringtree Lights Committee

Cross Keys

Occasional

Karen Merry

Monk Fryston & South Milford Mothers’ Union

Church Hall

Apr-Sep: 3rd Tue 7.30pm Oct-Mar: 3rd Wed 2pm

Paddy Twidale

Women with Interests

Usually at Community Centre

3rd Thurs 7.30pm

Kath Ratcliffe

683590

Community Association Luncheon Club (for anyone over 70)

Community Centre: for catering purposes, please book your place

1st Wed from 11.30am

Kath Ratcliffe

683590

St Wilfrid’s & St Mary’s Youth Fellowship

Variable 2nd & 4th Sat (term time)

Ages 8-11: 6.30-8pm Ages 12-16: 7.30-9pm

Alison Holmes

682450

S Milford Youth Club

SM Church Hall

Wed 7-9pm (term time)

Jean Gibson

682751

Breakfast & After-School Clubs

Community Centre & Hambleton Play Safe Club

7.30am-6.30pm

Monk Fryston & Hillam Community Association Church Hall booking

CONTACT Booking: Becky Gatenby 689230 Secretary: Tony Hudson 682693

Paddy Twidale

07766 097520 685694 07766 097520

Rachael Peacock 01757 229910

Mon-Fri 9-12am Tue & Thur 12.30-3pm Tue 9.30-11.15am (term time)

Jayne Wood 681050 (Playschool hours only)

MF Pre-school

Church Hall

Little Monkeys (Mothers & Toddlers)

Community Centre

Rainbows (girls 5-7)

Church Hall

Friday

Becky Gatenby

689230

1st Hillam & MF Brownies

Church Hall

Fri 6.30-7.30pm

Marie Parkin

680363

Sarah Force

07879 452293

S Milford Guides 682506, Hambleton Guides 01757 705535, Sherburn Cubs and Scouts 07913 158839 Air Cadets (ages 13-21)

RAF Church Fenton

Mon & Fri 7-9pm

Chernobyl Children’s Project (UK), MF Group MF, Hillam & Burton Salmon Defibrillator Group

Crown Inn

Hillam & MF Cricket Club

www.hmfcc.co.uk

Occasional Tues 7.30pm

01937 557340 Paula Spencer

682506

John Colton

671172

Kate Vaks

Burton Salmon Cricket Club

John Nesbitt

07747 045060 684444

Monk Fryston United FC

Stocking Lane

Steve Tope

07970 868288

Innter Crown FC

Lowfield Road

Lee Hammerton 07774 048913

Castleford & Dist Society of Anglers

Hillam Pond, Betteras Hill Road

D Malanczac

St Wilfrid’s Parish Walks

Variable

4th Sat 10.15am

Stuart Twidale

Hillam Running Club

Ringtree

Various

Lisa Sage

689206

Circuit Training (children & adults)

MF School

Mon & Thur 8-9pm

Pat Birch

680580

Dancing (ages 3 to adult)

Church Hall

Tue 4-7.30, Wed 4-6.30pm

Lucie Fox

01757 228841

Dancing for Tots

Community Centre

Thur 10-11am

Claire Collins

07936 766420

Zumba fitness workout

Church Hall

Thur 6.45-7.30pm

Hannah Howcroft 07707 929393

Pilates

Community Centre

Mon 9.30-10.30am (term time)

Beverley Fletcher 01937 530079

Hillam Historians

Hillam Nurseries

Bi-monthly 4th Wed 7.30pm

Jenny Hoare

683332

MF Art Club

Church Hall

Mon 1-4pm

Jean Dearn

682611

University of the Third Age, Sherburn and Villages branch

Various groups, locations and times detailed at: www.sherburnu3a.co.uk

Lorna Pope

683514

Local evening & daytime classes

Adult Learning Service, Selby & Sherburn

0845 3006686

Sherburn Library

Has a list of local societies covering a wide area

0845 0349443

557715 07766 097520