Northern Life March April May 2024 Iss 114 Digital Edition

READERS’ STORIES, POEMS, PICTURES & MEMORIES

NorthernLife THE AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE CELEBRATING YORKSHIRE AND LANCASHIRE

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LOST PLACES & FORGOTTEN FACES RAMBLING IN

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WHA g T ON ’S GUID

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SHORT STORY COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED

A-Z of

HALIFAX

Caricatures with Attitude

PHOTO NORTH

FESTIVAL RETURNS TO LEEDS

P l u s . . . FOOD & DRINK • HEALTH & SELF • HOME & GARDEN • ART & CULTURE

EDITOR’S LETTER

IT’S ALL GOING ON!

I

have exciting news to share.

Northern Life magazine is moving from being published bi-monthly to quarterly so we can keep up with its online content’s increasing demand and readership. By going quarterly, we can encapsulate the best of Northern Life with more of your stories, memories, pictures and poems - committing to providing a more in-depth and comprehensive reading experience and extra time for you to read it at your leisure. For those who like to be ‘in the know’ and ‘go, go, go’, we’ll keep you in the loop with the latest northern news, stories, competitions and events as they happen at northernlifemagazine.co.uk So, get ready to enjoy even more engaging, inspiring and informative content from your favourite magazine, both in print and online.

Now, let’s get back to print as we join photographer Matt, the UK’s foremost urban explorer, as he uncovers forgotten realms. He was the first to explore ‘The House That Time Forgot’ in Bradford, an abandoned two-bedroom home untouched for two decades. Its contents were frozen in time, including meals over 20 years old in the fridge! He may have stumbled into my old student digs.

We get in the frame as we capture a few of our favourite shots featured at the Photo North Festival at Leeds Carriageworks this April, featuring Carolyn Mendelsohn’s ‘Hardy and Free’, inspired by the Brontës and celebrates contemporary women’s connection to the land.

Discover the rich tapestry of historical Halifax with our A to Z guide, which takes you on a journey from the awe-inspiring beauty of the Minster to the intriguing tales of scandal and intrigue that echo through the corridors of Shibden Hall.

Northern author Marianna Mitchell’s book, ‘Telling Tales’ takes us on a nostalgic journey to Lane Bottom village, and shares childhood memories of Pendle’s Jerusalem Farm and the fascinating tale surrounding the remnants of an old house on the Pennine Way.

Do you know your Urtica dioica from your Allium ursinum’? Thought not. Well, be sure to read Pete Compton’s latest piece, shedding light on the benefits of seemingly familiar plants like cleavers. Nope, I’ve not heard of them either!

Nature beckons as we join the Pendle Walkers for a ramble up Noggarth amidst the relentless downpour of rain, embracing Wainwright’s philosophy of ‘No bad weather, only inappropriate clothing’.

Don’t believe a word of it!

We chat with ‘Caricatures with Attitude’ duo Chris Knapman and Sara Rovetto. Hailing from Blackpool and Colne, respectively, discover how encounters with people inspire their caricatures.

Former NorthernLife writer Josh Swarbrick popped into NorthernLife HQ to share his tales of Cambridge University, from eating guinea fowl in a gown to midnight pot noodles.

I have spent the past few weeks eagerly reading your submissions for our short story competition, where I appealed for stories themed ‘New Beginnings’. After much deliberation (I loved them all!), the winner is Finding Grandma by Aly Rhodes, and the runners-up are Scott Davies and Corinne Harrison; read them on page 72.

Mysteries is the theme for the summer edition, and I’m appealing for 800 word stories. Enter by submitting your story to stories@ looppublishing.co.uk or go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/ contribute. The deadline for entries is April 1st, 2024.

I hope you enjoy our spring offering; don’t forget to send in your memories, stories, pictures and poems for the opportunity to appear in our next edition.

Karen Shaw | Editor | 01282 861982 Northern Life | Family Craven and Valley Life | Colne Life Loop Publishing

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Matt - Lost Places and Forgotten Faces

Carolyn Mendelsohn

Josh Swarbrick

Chris Knapman

THIS EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Editor Karen Shaw editor@looppublishing.co.uk Design Manager Chris Pearson chris@looppublishing.co.uk Designer Vikki Lawton vikki@looppublishing.co.uk Sales Manager Rebecca McGhee rebecca@looppublihing.co.uk Sales Lee John Banks Katie Balme katie@looppublishing.co.uk Reece Farrar reece@looppublishing.co.uk Accounts Clare Smith accounts@looppublishing.co.uk Subscriptions Frank Shaw frank@looppublishing.co.uk What’s On Guide Jenny Shaw jenny@looppublishing.co.uk Editorial Laura Storey laura@looppublishing.co.uk Zainab Shah If you would like more information about NorthernLife please contact us at: Loop Publishing Limited, 2B Standroyd Mill, Cotton Tree Lane, Colne, Lancashire. BB8 7BW. 01282 861982 info@looppublishing.co.uk northernlifemagazine.co.uk looppublishing.co.uk

Cover image: Leeds Newsagent by Peter Mitchell courtesy of Photo North Festival 2024

NorthernLife Issue 114

Published by Loop Publishing Limited

WHAT WE GOT HERE THEN? M A R C H /A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 4

23 12 Features 12

Lost Places and Forgotten Faces

19

The City Dairy

78

23 The A-Z of Halifax 30 Spaces...

34 Caricatures with Attitude 38 Witch is the Real Grave?

41 A Northerner at Cambridge

77

61 READERS’ SUBMISSIONS 44

The Anarchy

62

Readers’ Gallery

65

Readers’ Poems

70

Reader’s Memory

72

Readers’ Story Competition –

34

Winning stories 77

Readers’ Pet Pawtraits

78

Travelling Troupes: The Actors

78

Who Came to Colne 84

The Clock Men NL 5

CONTENTS

88

REGULARS 8

Good News and Views

33

Easter Quiz

80

Subscribe here!

81

Competitions

119 What’s On Guide

48

87 HOME AND GARDEN 88

Chuck in the Chintz

91

Grandma’s Ways for Modern DaySpring Cleaning Tips

93

Blossoming Flowers Bring Wealth, Or So They Say…

47 FOOD AND DRINK 48

Eggs!

51

Hot Cross Pudding

53

Hop into Easter

55

Here’s to You, Mum

57

Exploring Early Spring’s Wild Edibles

97 HEALTH AND SELF 98

Dr Milli: Sweat Smart

101 Spring Clean Your Self-Care Routine 102 Rambling in the Rain with the Pendle Walkers

102

108

107 ART AND CULTURE 108 Pic of the North 113 Antiques - All the Fun of the Fair 114 Hitting All the Right Notes with Burnley Municipal Choir 117 Northern Life Book Club NL 7

READERS’

V I EWS & GOOD NEWS

Send us a letter and if we print it you’ll receive a free copy of NorthernLife Write to us or email editor@looppublishing.co.uk or go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute

ROYAL RECOGNITION The Princess Royal is coming to Trawden!

Visit Trawden! On April 10th, Her Royal Highness will be at the Trawden Forest Community Centre, Shop & Library. The charity is being honoured with royal recognition for the exceptional dedication and hard work of its volunteers, as well as its significant contributions to the Trawden community. Stay tuned to NorthernLife ‘s Facebook page for potential glimpses of the royal visit.

NEARLY WHATS? Hi Karen, I was reading the page on Neologisms with my mum, and she was so surprised that ‘nearlyweds’ are a thing! I guess the concept wasn’t around back when she was younger- her reaction was priceless.

Steph Green, Burnley Hi there, Having recently moved up north, I’ve just discovered NorthernLife. Not only is it a fascinating read, the What’s On section provides me with plenty of venues and events to spend visiting now that I’m retired. ideal for an offcumden!

Lisa White, Skipton

FLYING HIGH Dear NorthernLife., I’m currently heading into my 30s, and recently I’ve been feeling the need to push myself to find a new hobbysomething that helps me feel energised.

In the recent edition of NorthernLife I read about the Pennine Soarers, and it made me think. I’ve never been particularly afraid of heights, but I’d never considered something like paragliding. The description of how it feels to be in the air was very excitingenough that I’ve just signed up for my first lesson!

Oined!

Thanks!

Jane Ward, Bradford

By Eddy Rawlinson

W

e have a word in Lancashire, ‘oined’, which means hard done too, and the lady in the top photograph certainly looks ‘oined’.

It is a family picture, and look how close the difference is in the children’s ages, poor woman. In old photographs, due to the film on the glass plates being slow and expensive, the sitters had to remain still and having a smile could cause movement.

Don’t you think the vicar should have worn his trousers the same way as his collar?

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VIEWS & GOOD NEWS

THE BLUEBIRD RETURNS TO CONISTON

The Ruskin Museum is delighted to announce that it has finally managed to secure the future of Donald Campbell CBE’s world record-breaking Jet Hydroplane, Bluebird K7.

Bluebird K7 will find its permanent and cherished home within the museum’s Bluebird exhibit, which marks a monumental milestone in preserving the legacy of Donald Campbell and celebrating the remarkable achievements of Bluebird K7 for generations to come. The museum spokesperson expressed their enthusiasm, stating, “Bluebird K7 will soon grace Coniston once again, ready to be conserved and proudly showcased in her forever home within the Bluebird exhibit at the Ruskin Museum.”

Mysterious Postcards

Ethan

O

n a bitterly cold January evening, just before the snow began to blanket the cobbles, postcards discreetly found their way into the letterboxes of Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall.

Locals marvelled at the beautiful handmade lino prints left on their doormats. The HX7 in the corner of each picture hinted that the location in each postcard was somewhere in the area. Neighbours engaged in animated discussions, speculating on the picturesque locations depicted in each postcard. Surprisingly, friends on opposite sides of town discovered they had both received one. The origin of these enchanting postcards

LEE LEAVES LOOP

W

e say a fond farewell and a huge thanks to ‘Our Lee’ (Banks), who is leaving Loop Publishing after almost 20 years of loyal service and fleeing to Thailand, where he intends to spend his days exploring the country and spending time with family.

I’m sure he’ll be keeping us all up to date with his adventures (well, maybe not all of them!).

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remained shrouded in mystery, as if they had materialised by magic, leaving no trace of the elusive artist.

And that, precisely, was Ethan Medd’s intention.

“I wanted to get people talking,” architecture student and mystery maker of postcards, Ethan Medd, smiles. “I wanted it to be something neighbours could chat about. To ask about the potential locations, to speculate on the motives behind it, and to savour the mystery of having this little piece of art in their homes.

“As part of my master’s project, I was thinking about an idea called ‘bodily engagement’ - appreciating that we need daily physical interactions with people. As technology, supermarkets, Amazon, and phones separate us further, we lose physical connection. Through the postcards, I wanted to remind people of the importance of physical connection.”

The strong sense of community led Ethan, originally from Saltaire, to complete his project in Hebden Bridge. “It does feel like a community there. There’s almost a magnetism that seems to attract people to it. There’s an understanding of the importance of connection.”

In all, Ethan handmade and posted 783 postcards. Many ended up on fridges, stuck to walls, and put in places where you can easily spot them.

They’re there not only as beautiful art but hopefully to spark a chat, build connections, and foster a sense of community.

Lancashire Lionesses with World-Class Attitudes On Sunday, January 21st, the prestigious International Football Winter Tournament was held in Wassenaar, Holland.

Barnoldswick Town Girls Junior Football Club was the only English team competing against some of the best teams worldwide. Despite being in the U14s age group, the Barlick girls decided to compete against boys due to a shortage of girls’ teams. It was a bold decision, but they were determined to make the most of the opportunity. Manager Andrew Morgan described the group they were placed in as “the group of death! Their first match was against Rijnvogels, a formidable boys’ team, resulting in a 0-1 loss. Their second match, against Buitenboys, a slick girls’ team also ended in a 3-1 defeat. After a rousing team talk from Barlick coaches Sean

Macy

Fitzpatrick and David Patrick they took to the pitch for their third match with fire in their bellies, earning a well-deserved 1-0 win. Their final game was against Blauw Zwart, a boys’ team that had won all their games without conceding a goal, despite a good performance from the Barlick girls, the final score was 1-3 in favour of Blauw Zwart who went on to win 6-0 in the final.

“The tournament was an excellent experience for the girls, despite being placed in the ‘group of death’ said Andrew, “we’re all so proud of their efforts and the respect they showed everyone, regardless of whether they won or lost.”

These future Lioness lasses were awarded the Best Sportsmanship trophy out of 45 teams who competed in the tournament in recognition of their professionalism and positive attitude, which was a testament to their character and true northern spirit.

Rising Star

M

acy Burrow, the eldest daughter of Rob Burrow, CBE, and the recipient of the Yorkshire Choice Young Achiever of the Year Award in 2022, will return to the Yorkshire Choice Awards stage to perform at the Awards Gala Dinner in June.

Currently a Scala Performing Arts School student in Yeadon, Leeds, Macy delivered an outstanding performance on the Yorkshire Choice stage last year.

At just 12 years old, Macy has left her mark on stage and screen. She has appeared in various productions at the Theatre Royal,

Wakefield, including Dick Whittington, School of Rock, and Sleeping Beauty. Beyond her acting talents, Macy is known for her heartfelt fundraising efforts, supporting her father, Rob and the family in raising awareness for MND, even participating in events like the Leeds Fun Run, pushing Rob around the course.

Rob Burrow expressed his pride, saying, “Seeing Macy perform last year at the Yorkshire Choice Awards made me the proudest Dad on the planet, and I can’t wait to see her on stage once again.”

Manchester Jewellers Timeless Promise: A 70-Year-Old Lifetime Guarantee Comes Full Circle

T Shan with wife Josephine

he story begins in the 1950s when Thiagaraja Shanmukhanandam, a student from Sri Lanka, chose Hancocks for an enduring symbol of love—a diamond-stepped blue sapphire cluster ring.

Spanning 63 years until Shan’s passing in 2020, the sapphire’s symbolism of honesty and faithfulness remained true. In 2023, Tia Wilkinson inherited the cherished ring and turned to Hancocks, sceptical of its 70-year-old cleaning policy.

To Tia’s astonishment, Hancocks upheld the decadesold policy. The icing on the cake was the discovery of the original receipt.

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VIEWS & GOOD NEWS

YORKSHIRE’S FIRST-EVER COMMUNITYOWNED PUB CELEBRATES 10TH BIRTHDAY

GOLDEN CELEBRATIONS HAPPA (Horses and Ponies Protection Association) are celebrating a milestone in the Charity’s history this year, its Golden Anniversary of its time in Burnley.

T

he Fox and Goose in Hebden Bridge is marking the milestone with celebrations from 21st to the 25th March.

Customers old and new are invited to events, including a mini beer festival showcasing the pub’s favourite local breweries, DJs, live music, food, and a quiz.

The pub was saved in March 2014 when a group of regulars raised £130,000 to buy and repair the

much-loved local, whose future was threatened by the landlady’s deteriorating health.

The Fox & Goose Manager, Hannah Thurman, said: “The Fox & Goose team is excited to be celebrating the contribution of Fox and Goose members, staff, customers and suppliers to the success of the pub over the last ten years. The 10th birthday is a chance to say ‘thank you’ to the community who saved the pub together and welcome new members and customers.”

Those wishing to join the 10th birthday celebrations can keep upto-date by visiting foxandgoose.org

2024 marks the 50th year of the Charity’s headquarters and operations based in Burnley. When the Charity began to struggle to meet the demand for its service at their first home Capel Manor, London, HAPPA made the much-needed move to Greenbank Farm in Fence, Burnley, Lancashire in 1974. A local horsewoman and avid HAPPA supporter, Pam Wood, offered her own farm as the Charity’s rescue centre.

A move to the Charity’s very own premises, Shores Hey Farm, in Briercliffe, in 1984, cemented HAPPA’s place in the town.

HAPPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Arthur, “This year is such a significant milestone in HAPPA’s history. Having a secure and steady future was key to the Charity coming to Burnley. Fifty years ago, Pam and local HAPPA supporters and friends made this happen, and we want to recognise and celebrate just how much has been achieved.

I know that there are so many people who remember our time at

“An impressive 2,000 horses, ponies and donkeys have been helped by HAPPA over the last 50 years”

Shores Hey Farm, Briercliffe

Greenbank Farm, and those who have watched the Charity grow at Shores Hey Farm. This year we want everyone to get involved in making sure HAPPA can be here for another 50 years, and more, to give a second chance to neglected, abused and unwanted horses, ponies, and donkeys.”

Many hooves have graced the ground of Shores Hey Farm. A rescue the Charity will never forget is the Gisburn 16. HAPPA removed 16 severely emaciated Thoroughbred equines from a property in 1997, resulting in a prosecution case. An impressive 2,000 horses, ponies and donkeys have been helped by HAPPA over the last 50 years.

There will be lots of activities and special events from HAPPA during 2024, the Charity looks forward to celebrating with supporters, businesses, and friends. Here’s to another 50 years in Burnley for this special Charity doing such important work.

See our What’s On Guide on page 119 for more details of their upcoming events.

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Abandoned items at The House of Sadness, Hirst Courtney, Yorkshire

LOST PLACES AND FORGOTTEN FACES

YORKSHIRE LAD AND SOLO EXPLORER MATT DOCUMENTS ABANDONED PLACES AROUND THE WORLD.

B

etter known as the man behind Lost Places and Forgotten Faces, Yorkshire lad Matt is renowned as the UK’s leading solo urban explorer. His captivating adventures unfold on social media, offering a glimpse into the strangely beautiful abandoned structures of the North and further afield.

The unconventional hobby began for Matt after watching an episode of Bear Grylls surviving in an urban environment. Intrigued by the filming location in Gdynia, northern Poland, he embarked on his first exploration in November 2019. Although initially thwarted by Polish security guards,

he managed to document a large, abandoned manor and a derelict seaside hotel during that first trip.

It started a fascination for discovering what happens to places once people disappear from them.

“When I returned home, I began searching for abandoned places in my town. It turns out there were quite a lot!”

For fans of HBO hit The Last of Us, Matt’s photos are eerily reminiscent of the post-apocalyptic world depicted in the show. In many of his images, nature is boldly asserting its dominance branches contort through windows ferns tenaciously emerge from concrete crevices, and thorns form a NL 12

formidable barrier against those daring enough to impede their advance.

Despite nature’s desperate fight to reclaim these abandoned spaces, human footprints endure. In some, only a few signs remain of the building’s previous life – a tabloid flicked open on a lunch break and forgotten, or a half-drunk bottle of pop on a window ledge, sealed and undisturbed for decades. In others, a lifetime of belongings awaits the eager explorer, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who once occupied it.

“When I explored the Polish ExCombatants Club in Manchester, which had been derelict since 2007, I expected to find an empty and ›

“IN MANY OF HIS IMAGES, NATURE IS BOLDLY ASSERTING ITS DOMINANCE”

A derelict corridor at St Joseph’s Orphanage, Preston

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“A LIFETIME OF POSSESSIONS, THAT ARE NOW RENDERED MEANINGLESS” The House of Sadness - Hirst Courtney

completely stripped building. Instead, I discovered forgotten Polish flags, bibles, photo albums, posters, school books and other items that had long been forgotten. It was a treasure trove of culture. I contacted the Polish Embassy in Manchester so they could recover the items.”

While old factories and social clubs preserve community memories, abandoned homes often harbour the most poignant relics, capturing the essence of lives lived within.

The House of Sadness, near Selby, North Yorkshire, has been abandoned since 2003 when the owner died

Whinburn Hall Gatehouse, Keighley

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apparently very haunted. Me being me, I took it upon myself to check it out anyway,” he laughs. He found himself in the pitch dark with his torch playing up.

“Inside, I felt extremely cold and felt I was being watched the entire time. I could hear strange noises upstairs, but no one was there when I reached the top floor. Safe to say, it was one of my shortest ever explores!”

Despite this experience, Matt persevered, continuing to explore the

landscapes of Yorkshire and Lancashire in pursuit of abandoned spaces.

A prolific explorer, he has visited approximately 1,000 places since embarking on his journey in November 2019.

He believes he was the first to explore an abandoned house in Heaton, Bradford, which he aptly named The House That Time Forgot. Hidden in plain sight, the two-bedroom home has been abandoned for over 20 years.

Frozen food is ready to be eaten in the ›

Clifton Fever Hospital, Brighouse

Matt at The Polish Ex-Combatants Club

“INSIDE, I FELT EXTREMELY COLD AND FELT I WAS BEING WATCHED THE ENTIRE TIME”

and the house was left unclaimed.

Matt explored the property in 2020, finding it a time capsule with ornaments, photographs, wedding albums, calendars and early noughties newspapers scattered through it.

“Her clothes are still hanging up in her wardrobe, her dressing gown is still on the back of the door, and false teeth remain resting above the decaying sink. Seeing everything left behind, a lifetime of possessions, that are now rendered meaningless. That one was truly heartbreaking,” Matt admits.

Despite frequently encountering moments that left him feeling saddened, there were occasions when Matt experienced genuine fear. It wasn’t the deteriorating floorboards giving way beneath him or the prospect of getting caught by security that unsettled him. Instead, what truly unnerved Matt was an unsettling experience in Clifton Fever Hospital in Brighouse, Yorkshire.

The hospital was built during an epidemic of smallpox that raged through the area in the summer of 1892. It later became a residential home before closing in 2008. The building was sealed with breezeblocks to put off those wishing to explore.

“When I explored Clifton Fever Hospital, I was warned by other explorers not to do it alone as it is

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Perished gas masks at Chernobyl, Ukraine

“I HAD TO CUT THE TRIP TO CHERNOBYL SHORT DUE TO THE IMPENDING MILITARY CONFLICT”

Train graffiti at Chernobyl, Ukraine

Matt outside the Red Zone, Fukushima, Japan

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freezer, the early noughties branding oddly nostalgic.

Venturing beyond the North, Matt has explored over 30 countries, documenting sought-after places for urban explorers.

Last September, he snuck into the red zone in Fukushima, Japan, and was able to roam around the many abandoned schools, hospitals, care homes, shops and restaurants.

“Many of the overgrown, spiderinfested buildings were time-capsules of Japanese trinkets, left behind by those who once lived or worked inside but had to evacuate in 2011 due to the nuclear accident.”

“Exploring overseas always feels different as it requires me to step out of my comfort zone. Travelling alone across Japan without speaking the language was extremely challenging but worth it for the once-in-a-lifetime experience!”

He was also the last urban explorer to document Chernobyl before the Russian invasion. “I had to cut the trip short due to the impending military conflict,” Matt explains. “That being said, exploring abandoned places worldwide is unbelievably fulfilling and an amazing hobby!”

Despite the incredible places he has visited globally, he is still fascinated by the north’s abandoned places.

“As a Yorkshire lad, finding and documenting forgotten buildings here is always fulfilling. I love retelling the stories of these abandoned places and reminding locals of the history on their doorsteps. Often, places I post create a forum of conversation between people, putting people who may have worked in the building or went to school there once upon a time back in touch. It always makes me feel that what I do has a purpose and can make people happy!” NL

If you want to see more of Matt’s adventures, follow his social media: Insta: @lostplacesforgottenfaces Facebook: Lost Places & Forgotten Faces Or check out his books: Abandoned Sheffield £11.99 and Abandoned Yorkshire £11.99. Both are available from sheffieldbooks.co.uk

THE

CITY DAIRY

Dave Joy, a Garston-born author, sheds light on the unnoticed efforts behind each milk delivery in his latest book, “The City Dairy.” Growing up at the family’s Wellington Dairy, he vividly recalls the crack of dawn rituals. ›

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F

or generations, the routine delivery of milk was an overlooked daily occurrence. Like magic, a bottle or two would appear on every doorstep just in time for the morning tea. Those early risers might catch the clip-clop of a horsedrawn cart or, in later years, spot the electric milk cart making its rounds.

“The horse would be tacked up, the milk loaded, and off we’d go, often unnoticed by our would-be customers.

Perhaps the most important thing to share was that this was not merely a job; this was a way of life.”

Nevertheless, this lifestyle started to wane as convenience shops, enhanced refrigeration, and the surge in automobile usage became prevalent. By the mid-2010s, the once widespread milk round teetered on the edge of extinction. Motivated by a desire to preserve the memories of this vanishing way of life for future generations, Dave has penned several books that vividly capture the essence of daily life in a dairy.

In his most recent work, “The City Dairy,” Dave Joy meticulously traces the history of the milk round,

The family milk cart

“Gone were the fields and pastures, to be replaced by a cattle shed and yard” chronicling its evolution from the inaugural City Dairies. The tale begins ironically in the countryside, as farmers of the Industrial Revolution migrated to cities like Liverpool and Manchester, bringing with them the tradition of dairy farming.

“Gone were the fields and pastures, to be replaced by a cattle shed and yard,” Dave explains. “At each milking, there’d be a queue of housewives at the dairy counter, waiting for the fresh, warm milk to be dispensed into their white, quart jugs. Between rounds, the cows would be turned out into the yard for some exercise, while the shed was cleaned out and fresh fodder prepared.

“The demand for milk was so great that some cities boasted a dairy at the end of every street. For the next

Wellington Dairy

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hundred years, the cow keepers fought a rear-guard action against the mighty corporate dairies and their attempts to monopolise the liquid milk market.

The cow keepers continued to produce their own milk, selling it ‘fresh from the cow’ over the dairy counter and out on the milk round. These dairies were kept in the family, handed down

“At each milking, there’d be a queue of housewives at the dairy counter, waiting for the fresh, warm milk” through successive generations.”

Dave’s family, originally Yorkshire farmers, established their dairy in Liverpool, creating a time capsule at Wellington Dairy. While societal and technological advances raced forward, the Joys clung to tradition, delivering milk in a horse-drawn van even as the world marvelled at space exploration.

As a child working in the dairy, Dave found it magical - a haven removed from the modern world. The Joy family still relied on horses - Danny, Rupert, and Peggy - for their milk rounds. Horses became essential team members, delivering milk to the streets of Garston in perfect partnership.

“We did two rounds per day. Dad would leave Rupert standing at the bottom of the street while he delivered the milk to the doorstep using a hand crate. Then there’d be a call of “Come on!” and Rupert would set off on his own, no one at the reins until he caught up with Dad, who would then refill the hand crate ready to deliver to

the next block of houses. In this way, they delivered to the terrace streets of Garston, day-in-day-out, working in perfect partnership. The horse was an essential member of the team and was more than likely why the business was able to remain viable for so long.

“Interspersed with that were other jobs such as visiting the docks to collect giant sacks of sawdust from the quayside timber yards, or going to the cemetery to rake off the cut grass as a dietary supplement for the horses, or, my favourite, visiting the Smithy to have the horses shod.

My Dad carried out this work with knowledge, experience and passion honed over a lifetime. I felt so proud sitting in the milk float with him. It felt right like I was part of A Joy & Sons, part of Wellington Dairy. There is something special about the sight, sounds and smells of working horses, something that by then was already becoming novel. Today, I’m fortunate to have a bridle path pass my property, and the sound of a trotting horse still gives me goosebumps.”

F

“Dad carried out this work with knowledge, experience and passion honed over a lifetime”

ollowing the success of his previous book, “Liverpool Cowkeepers,” Dave received an outpouring of stories from readers discovering their cow-keeping ancestors.

“The City Dairy” weaves these tales, featuring handwritten memoirs and photos of a bygone era, celebrating the enduring legacy of the milk round.

In celebrating the tradition and nostalgia of the milk round, “The City Dairy” invites readers to savour the timeless charm of a bygone era, where the clink of milk bottles and the steady trot of horses symbolise a simpler and more connected way of life. However, it’s not just a stroll down memory lane; it’s a glimpse into the future. The resurgence of the milk round, fuelled by a desire for sustainability and a return to authentic, community-centric experiences, paints a promising picture. Today, many of us are seeking the comfort and reliability of the morning milk delivery and the clink of milk bottles, once fading into the The City Dairy is available now. £16.99. background, is now poised to leave its mark on the modern world. NL Published by Pen and Sword.

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The

C

A-Z of

HALIFAX

BY ZAINAB SHAH

radled by moors, the largest town in Calderdale flourished during the heyday of the cloth trade and gained renown as the birthplace of Mackintosh’s Toffee. Today, Victorian mills coexist beside towering flats, creating an eclectic mix of old and new that is ideal for exploring this spring. ›

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Photo by Matt Radcliffe

Photo by Matt Radcliffe

Photo by Ellis Robinson/The Piece

Hall Trust

Photo by Matt Radcliffe

AREA FEATURE

Mills. These Grade II listed mills were constructed in around 1840 by the Crossley Family. Originally housing their carpet manufacturing industry, these mills underwent a transformation in 1983 amidst the industrial decline in Halifax. Discover your cultural side at Crossley Art Gallery, enjoy a warm northern welcome, and enjoy delicious food at the True North restaurant. You can even tie the knot at The Arches.

EKids-Eureka! driving you up the wall? Head to Anne Lister framed portrait - Calderdale Museums

AEmbark – Anne Lister on a journey to Shibden

Hall and step into the world of Halifax’s celebrated diarist, Anne Lister, whose journal entries were only deciphered in the 1980s. Helena Whitbread, a local historian from Halifax, was astonished to uncover the explosive contents of the diaries, primarily chronicling Anne’s romantic relationships with other women.

For enthusiasts of the BBC TV show inspired by Anne Lister’s life, Gentleman Jack, visiting the hall is essential to catch glimpses of props from the series, while the 1420 house itself is a marvel worth exploring.

Eureka! The award-winning national children’s museum houses 400 interactive exhibits. Learn about the human body by having a peek inside a giant nose, exploring the child-sized town square, and trying your hand at working in the post office and shop.

There’s plenty for little ones, with a sensory garden and a discovery den.

It’s not just for kids either!

FHalifax – Famous Folk boasts a legacy of influential

figures, from industrial pioneers to cultural icons. It may or may not surprise you to learn that Ed Sheeran, though raised in Sussex, spent his early years in Halifax. Other famous sons and daughters of the town include inventor Percy Shaw, who patented the ‘Cat’s Eye’; William

BThe–history Blue that Plaques has seeped into

The Piece Hall is said to be the most important secular structure in the UK Photo by Ellis Robinson/The Piece Hall Trust

Plaza, Confident Denture Clinic caters to everyone, from teething toddlers to denture wearers. Its cosmetic dentures incorporate the latest technology to tear down the stigma around the artificial ‘denture look’ and provide bright, natural-looking smiles to people around town.

GDon’t – Gala miss the 66th Halifax Charity

Gala on Saturday, 8 June 2024. The parade kicks off at Eureka! and heads through the town to Manor Heath Park, where rides, stalls, and fun will be. The best part? The gala raises money for causes that help the local folk of Calderdale.

Sports sensation Hannah Cockroft hails from Halifax

Halifax Piece Hall

the ash-coated stone buildings of Halifax is evident from the blue plaques dotted around the town. They are dedicated to Halifax’s famous sons and daughters, from historical figures such as diarist Anne Lister, John Mackintosh, Colonel Edward Akroyd, and carpet manufacturer John Crossley.

CConveniently – Confidence located on Broad Street

Booth, the Salvation Army founder; former professional wrestler Shirley Crabtree Jr, aka ‘Big Daddy,’ known for his record-breaking 64-inch chest; and Paralympic star Hannah Cockroft, who defied perceived limitations to become a sports sensation.

Photo British Athletics Getty Images

DMake– aDean Clough Mills day of it at Dean Clough

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AREA FEATURE

HBeacon – Hills Hill looms above the town,

reaching a height of 850 ft. It provides an ideal vantage point to survey Halifax’s skyline - a juxtaposition of historic mills and modern tower blocks. But it also has a dark history.

In the 1600s and 1700s, the beacon atop the hill served as a display for executed criminals, including the notorious coiners. Various footpaths lead to the top, but history buffs will appreciate the ancient packhorse route, tracing back at least a millennium. Head down Norcliffe Lane to discover the path.

IThe– Calderdale IndustrialIndustrial Museum Museum

on Square Road, Halifax, was first opened in 1985 to promote the industrial heritage of the Calder Valley. The museum displays the area’s industrial heritage, which includes its engineering and textile industries.

It has a vast collection of artefacts, machinery and exhibits relating to industrial development.

JCalling – Jump on! all cycling lovers! Make

the most of the wonderful roads and routes by setting out on a bike ride. Calderdale Council has also partnered up with Cycle Calderdale to promote the best cycling destinations around the valley, which means you can discover some of the most outstanding mountain biking routes around Halifax.

KToday, – King’s Cross King’s Cross is just a part

MMackintosh’s – Mackintosh’s is a British

confectionary firm founded in Halifax in 1890 by John and his wife Violet, whose special toffee recipe attracted many customers. Violet’s recipe introduced a blend of the traditional, brittle English butterscotch with soft, American caramel, and the result was so successful that it ultimately brought a whole new meaning to the popular understanding of the term ‘toffee’.

Mackintosh chocolate and toffee is now owned by Nestle, preserving the northern flavours that the original toffee brought.

NNorthowram – Northowram is a village northeast

of the town of Halifax, and every year, they host a delightful tradition, The Northowram Scarecrow Event, which promises a whimsical display of scarecrows, food and drink, family entertainment and more. Once again, this year’s event will take place over the May bank holiday weekend, so don’t miss out!

OAbove – Overhead Halifax Borough Market are

two hidden streets that run alongside the market roof and look out onto the streets of Halifax. Although usually not open to the public, the Halifax Borough Market will offer a ‘Streets in the Sky’ tour starting in April this year.

The guided walks will include a tour of the unique architecture of the market.

John Mackintosh

PThe–Piece PieceHallHall is said to be the most

important secular structure in the UK. Built in 1779 as a trading hub, the stunning grade I-listed building fell into disrepair following the town’s cloth trade’s disappearance. It was transformed in 2017, and one of the country’s finest examples of Georgian architecture is now open to the public.

Spend a day wandering around the quirky shops, restaurants and bars that line the building.

QEnjoy – Quiet the spectacle of the Halifax

Minster, and rest for a while in the quiet surroundings. The Minster contains almost 900 years of history, and its four gargoyles on the west tower have enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of Halifax since the 15th century. Anne ›

Halifax Minster

of town where the region’s buses terminate; originally, it was the site of an ancient stone cross and a royalist outpost defending against the parliamentarians that had taken parts of the Calder Valley.

L – Lairy

The tradition of the great British pub is alive and well in the town. There are plenty of historic watering holes to wet your whistle. Among them is the Three Pigeons Inn, a charming venue that traces its origins back to the 15th century. As you savour your pint, remember that travellers traversed the ancient packhorse route centuries ago, seeking refuge in the same inn.

›

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AREA FEATURE Lister worshipped in Halifax Parish Church, now the Minster, and both her baptism and funeral services were held in the church. Her tomb can be seen inside.

footpaths. Along your walks, you’ll be met with various plants and birdlife, with over 60 bird species recorded in the woods.

XHalifax, – X-perience prides itself on some of

RLocated – Reservoir on the outskirts of Halifax,

Mixenden boasts a tranquil reservoir surrounded by beautiful countryside and natural beauty. Historically a rural area with farming as its main occupation, Mixenden’s distance from Halifax makes it the perfect place for some quiet time away to reconnect with nature. Visitors can go hiking or strolling in the nearby surroundings, and the reservoir provides an excellent location for fishing.

“Wainhouse Tower is the tallest structure in Calderdale.”

the best entertainment x-periences boasting two ulti-purpose venues.

Built in 1901 as a concert hall, the Victoria Theatre is steeped in history and has the size and magnificence for a sensational experience. The Square Chapel, designed by Thomas Bradley and James Kershaw and constructed in 1772, is renowned for its intriguing square base design and red brick build.

SLocated – Shibden Hall in the Shibden Valley near

TQuite – TVa fewShows famous shows have ties

to the Calder Valley - the compelling crime drama ‘Happy Valley’ starring Sarah Lancashire, set and filmed in the Calder Valley, received critical acclaim for its gripping storytelling. You can visit some of the show’s filming locations around Calderdale, such as the Holdsworth House Hotel or The Engine Room at Dean Clough. Also created by Sally Wainright and set in Calderdale is the historical TV drama series ‘Gentleman Jack’ based on the collected diaries of Anne Lister and the award-winning drama, ‘Last Tango in Halifax.’

Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley

U – Unique

At 84 metres, the Wainhouse Tower is the tallest structure in Calderdale.

Originally commissioned as a chimney for local dye works between 1871 and 1875, the dye works were sold to a new owner by the time the tower was complete due to disruptions in the building process. Now, in its wellpreserved condition, the folly provides a unique view from the viewing gallery at the top, unlike any other. Although previously, it has only been open to the public on select days of the year, the Calderdale Council plans to open it much more in 2024.

VThe–Arches Venueis a spectacular and

stylish industrial venue. At the forefront of contemporary wedding and event planning, it is one of the most innovative venues in the area.

The beautiful red brick ceilings and Yorkshire Stone floors create a sophisticated venue that adds a luxurious essence to any event.

WIf you’re – Walking routes looking to get away from the

bustle of the busy town centres, taking a hike through some of the scenic trails around the Calder Valley is the perfect escape. North Dean Woods, on the outskirts of Greetland, Halifax, is an alluring woodland with extensive

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Photo by Matt Radcliffe

Halifax, West Yorkshire, Shibden Hall is a historic house dating back to the 15th century. The hall has undergone many expansions and renovations over the centuries. However, its historic rooms, grounds and gardens have been well-preserved for visitors to come and explore. One of its most famous residents was diarist Anne Lister, and today, you can visit the hall to discover her life and how it intertwines with the history of Shibden Hall itself.

YThe–Yorkshire Yorkshire Gallery Art Gallery, located

in one of Britain’s most outstanding Georgian Buildings, proudly showcases some inspiring works by many talented artists, designers, and makers all connected to the beautiful county. Visit the gallery for a tour of the brilliant exhibition ‘Toffee Town’

by Kate Lycett, a celebration of the beautiful buildings of Halifax.

ZOgden – Zen Water Country Park is the

perfect place to escape it all. A few miles north of Halifax, it was voted Yorkshire’s favourite reservoir in 2018 by public vote. Pack up a picnic and have lunch overlooking the beauty of the Yorkshire countryside. A walk around the reservoir will lead you to Boggart’s Grave and the ruins of an old ale house. Ramble a little further, and you’ll discover the giant’s tooth, a white standing stone, and Ogden Waterfall. NL

Author Marianna Mitchell shares memories from her childhood living in the village, Lane Bottom in the borderlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Spaces...

O

BY MARIANNA MICHELL ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAROLD GOSNEY f all the farms in that district, Jerusalem Farm seemed ominous, enticing.

Visible from the highest point of the ridge, the farmhouse was no more than an outline by that time. We cannot say how quickly the stones had been scavenged for wall-repair or for new buildings, because those who knew the final occupants, or recalled what year they left, are also gone.

There’s a story about the brothers who worked the farm. Alone for months on end, from time to time they

would stock up on food basics which they could not raise themselves. And so it was they arrived at a corner shop in Lane Bottom, one of only two shops serving the area.

We’ll ev a sack o’ meyl.

“Yer can’t ‘av an ole sack! Weer’s yer ration cards?”

Ration cards?

“Aye, don’t yer know the’s a war on?”

“Wot waar?

That was the story I would hear as a child. Was it the first war, or the second of which they lived in NL 30

ignorance? The ruins were referred to as ‘Jerr, even decades later as if the farm still existed; and the shop story was still told. How distant in time do events need to be, to become the past and recognised as such? Stories take on their own life. With increased mobility, we lose these stories, and with it the ongoing culture of a place and people.

We may lose it from living memory, but I believe the spaces hold their own memory, that there is no time nor space at all between them and us. In childhood I would reluctantly assume my thoughts to be only fanciful, but now? Quantum theory, I would claim,

“Mysteriously alone, a monument to the past stands in the middle of a field.”

Bridge. And just as mysterious as Jerusalem Farm are the remains of ‘New House’, around the bend from the ridge where I would stare over the valley.

The stone archway of ‘New House’ becomes visible from a corner where you choose either the Trawden direction, or the moors. Mysteriously alone, a monument to the past stands in the middle of a field. Approaching the stone arch, we realise it formed the entrance to a former large dwelling.

It was known in my time as either ‘t new airse,’ (The New House) or ‘Purs Airse’ (Purse House). Let’s look at New House (I did so in awe!) Aged 18, the

carved lettering of the enormous stone laid flat on the grass became etched in my mind.

My Around Briercliffe* pictorial map of the area words it thus: *“Robert Parker and Jane his wife, Robert and Henry their sonnes built this hous. May 2nd 1672”. That’s what it says. My memory carried with it the year 1606 and there’s a thought that the place was rebuilt later. Whichever is correct, New House has not been new for 350 years, but I remember it still referred to as such. Did anyone ever question the name as they uttered it, I wondered.

How about the alternative name,

New House

“How distant in time do events need to be, to become the past and recognised as such? supports my intuition.

From time to time, I would walk or cycle from Lane Bottom both to stare across the valley to ‘Jerr’, or to explore further afield. The route was all uphill but worth it for the return journey.

This roadway leads to the moors and the Yorkshire border, then - and now perhaps - an unmarked county transition; unmarked except in its effect. Views change dramatically from the Lancashire side. Pastoral landscape turns to moorland and heather. The boundary forms the highpoint of any journey between Burnley and Heptonstall, then down into Hebden

Inscription above the door reads Robert Parker and Jane his wife, Robert and Henry their sonnes built this hous. May 2nd 1672” ›

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Lane Bottom (Hill End Mill), with view up to Holt Hill and the moors

rounding a bend where, at the bottom of the hill the old mill faced us with its rows of blank eyes. We would shout down the hill to hear the echo of our own voice. Hill Factory dated from 1777. Unlike its descendent, the 1848 Hill End Mill which was demolished in the 1960s, Hill Factory had been built for local handloom weavers to work in, each having their own window and a

“Mysteriously alone, a monument to the past stands in the middle of a field.” large wooden loom. Quaintly, there’s a reason why the old row of houses next to the mill was known as Cop Row. At the heart of a bobbin of yarn is a ‘cop’ made of board. These and other scraps of history remained in the building for us kids to kick and chuck around.

In the 1960s, Hill Factory was bulldozed and replaced by a PoliceHouse, so with sad irony we might say the space was suitable only for a ‘cop-shop’! Later, that was sold as a private home. But what sounds might still be heard there, where formerly the airy space around it was once occupied by a busy three-storey mill? What we see in the here-and-now is just today’s incarnation of a space with its own memory.

Looking out to Jerusalem Farm

Purs Airse? With no firm guide except imagination, I hear it as said in its own day as “Parker’s House”. Later generations would forget the Parkers and speak of the building as they heard it said by the older generation: a more cursory reference, diminished over the generations until we arrive at “Purs…..” Is this why more recent documents refer to it as Purse House?

Has time morphed its original name, and forgotten the man Parker, with all his achievements? And what might he think of that? Curiosity prompts imagination.

The house backs onto moorland, often referred to as Boulsworth Hill, though rightly, from the valley we see Red Spar. I would sit on the fringe of these wilder lands, silent, with the

most inspiring view I ever found in my life: far in the distance, a tiny Pendle Hill - a glorious vale filling the space between. I would take my seat by a mound in which I fancied was a dead chief, buried seated upright with the best view anyone can take to the next world. My position, gazing across the scene, mimicked his. The greater mound further to my right was a barrow. I have never learnt otherwise, so imagination again fills the space.

Buildings come and go. A new respect for the past led our local authorities to cease their habit of tearing down historic buildings without a glance to their past. My last lamented space is in Lane Bottom.

We children on our way down the hill from Haggate School had a tradition of NL 32

*Around Briercliffe was produced by Briercliffe Parish Council, and was the work of the Briercliffe Art Group, May 1992.

The author is happy to be corrected as to her knowledge of the history of Briercliffe.

Telling Tales From A Corner Of Lancashire by Marianna Michell with illustrations by Harold Gosney Published by Quacks Books

EASTER QUIZ

NORTHERN

Coal carrying

TRADITIONS QUIZ Do you know your egg rolling from pace egg or your buckle stealing from your coal carrying? Why not give our quiz a go and test yourself...

1 EGG ROLLING

The idea is to hard boil an egg, paint it in bright colours, and then chuck it down a hill. The first one to reach the bottom intact wins. l Lancastrian superstition dictates that witches use broken eggshells to make boats. What should you do with your broken shells to avoid this? l What Century did this tradition begin? 1600s, 1800s, or 1900s? l What signifies good luck in egg rolling? l Which park in Preston popularised Egg Rolling?

2 PACE EGGING

Pace eggs were simply eggs decorated for Easter. Traditionally,

these decorated eggs were given to pace eggers, who dressed up and performed plays in the street. l What were the eggs traditionally boiled in for a nice golden sheen? l In which Calderdale village does the traditional pace egg play take place? l ‘Pace Egging’ gets its name from the Latin ‘Pascha’, but what does ‘Pascha’ mean? l In Pace Egging Plays, which Patron Saint often appears at the end?

3 BUCKLE STEALING

A forgotten tradition where men would steal ladies’ buckles from their shoes on Easter Sunday. l When would the women take their revenge and steal the men’s buckles? l What day would everyone be reunited with their buckles? l In some towns, the tradition involved a different item of clothing; what did ladies steal in Filey? l How did some people exploit the tradition of buckle stealing?

Image by Craig Shaw

4 DIGGING DEEP

Egg pacing

The World Coal Carrying Championships takes place each Easter Monday, with contestants racing while carrying coal. l Where do the championships take place?

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Image by Stephen Bowler

EASTER

l How much is the prize sum for the men’s coal-carrying race? l What year did the first race take place? l The hearty debate between friends that eventually inspired the World Coal Carrying Championship took place where? Was it at the local pub, in the churchyard, or school?

5 NUTTERS

Every Easter Saturday, a troupe of folk dancers called the Nutters dance seven miles through Bacup and the surrounding areas. l What is another name for the Nutters? l Why are they called the Nutters? l What type of shoes do they wear? l What do the Nutters have to do at every pub they pass along their journey through Bacup?

6 RIVINGTON PIKE

Each Easter, hundreds of eager walkers turn up to ‘hike the pike’. l What day does the walk take place? l In 2009, at the annual Rivington Pike walk, there were memorable two costumed charity fundraisers. One was dressed as the Queen, but who was the other dressed as? l The Rivington Pike Good Friday Walk, which started in the 19th Century, began as a Christian Pilgrimage to re-enact, which part of Holy Week? l Why was the fair moved from the slopes of the Pike down to the road?

SCAN HERE FOR THE ANSWERS

Caricatures with Attitude THE DYNAMIC DUO FROM CARICATURES WITH ATTITUDE, CHRIS KNAPTON AND SARA ROVETTO, ARE BRINGING LAUGHTER TO THE NORTH WITH THEIR DRAWINGS.

Chris Knapton

C

Sara Rovetto

“

hris brings the caricatures, I bring the attitude,” Sara Rovetto laughs. Her business partner, Chris Knapton, started the business back in 2016, drawing caricatures from photographs for commissions before branching out into weddings and other live events.

While Chris loved the art side of the business, the admin side of things weighed him down; luckily, he met Sara seven months ago.

“We met online through artist friends and we got along really well,” Sara explains. “I was working in Earby as an admin. Chris was struggling with that side of his business, so I started helping out a couple of times a week,” Sara explains. Born in Milan, Sara had previously studied art in Paris and London before life got in the way. Joining Chris helped spark her creativity once again. “Being the bossy Italian I am, I wanted to get involved in the fancy artistic side of the job as well.

So we started offering coloured caricatures. It would take too long for

Chris at work on a portrait

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“When I met the wife at the wedding, I realised that he’d given me a really terrible photo!”

ART & CULTURE

Book cover illustration by Chris

Happy couple with their caricature

one person by themselves to do the line work and the full on colouring when at live events, so this works really well..”

While Sara has settled happily in Colne, Chris was born and bred in Blackpool, so the two have thoroughly acquainted themselves with the M55.

As well as travelling to see each other, the job also involves travelling across the North to different events.

“The variety is incredible,” Sara explains. “Every day is different; Monday, you could be at freshers’ week at university, then a fancy wedding, then a children’s party.”

The team try to attend all the events together. “It doesn’t feel quite right when I’m doing it by myself now,” Chris admits. “Even when Sara isn’t there though, I still hear her voice in my head saying ‘no double chins!’.”

“That’s a firm belief of mine,” Sara laughs, “if there’s one lady, there should be one chin!”

While Chris and Sara do their best to create laughter, caricature is one medium where offense is almost guaranteed, though luckily for them, only one person has been visibly affronted.

“For each wedding, we do a picture of the bride and groom in advance,” Chris explained. “There was one time when the groom booked us, but I’d never met him or the bride. He’d sent me a picture of him and his wife-tobe. They looked around 50 years old,” Chris explains. “When I met the wife at the wedding, I realised that he’d given me a really terrible photo! She had a daughter who was about six, and

the little girl thought the drawing was of her grandma!”

Mostly, though, Chris and Sara bring plenty of laughs with their drawings. “This is our calling. It’s something that makes people smile, there’s not many jobs where you can make someone smile on a daily basis,” Chris beams.

The drawings don’t just represent a moment of laughter. They act as keepsakes that bring back memories of special days. “Our work is on

people’s walls. We’re on many fridges!” Sara says. “Some people might think it’s not true art, but it makes me happy. You get to mess about with paints and colours. I love the experience; if I won the lottery tomorrow, I would still do this job.”

For Chris, his love of caricature began as a teenager. “I remember my first caricature was of Margaret Thatcher at college in about 1988.

Then, in the early nineties, I was out of work and got involved in ›

“No double chins!

That’s a firm belief of mine, if there’s one lady, there should be one chin!”

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ART & CULTURE

Mary Berry

The Prince’s Trust. They had a convention near Great Yarmouth, and I represented the Lancashire group. I met Phil Collins, who was an ambassador, and he quite liked my work. I ended up doing a drawing of him, and he liked it. He got me some work with a company in London that designed record sleeves – Genesis, Radiohead, and lots of big artists. It was my first jaunt to London and it was on the basis of this one drawing.

That was a good starting point!”

HRH King Charles and Queen Camilla

In 2010, Chris approached his friend Steve Marsh about writing a book on the Premier League. The plan was for Steve to write it and for Chris to provide the illustrations. They expected to have it finished for the Premier League’s 20th anniversary.

The book’s title, La Prem De La Prem: A Celebration of 30 Years of Premier League Football, should show that things went awry and that the book took longer to complete than expected.

“Bringing smiles to people’s faces is great. It’s the best job in the world.”

Drawing by Chris for ISCA 2020 (International Society of Caricaturist Artists)

“Steve got quite poorly towards the end,” Chris explains, “When we eventually got it published, it was bittersweet, as Steve’s health had deteriorated. A couple of days after I showed him the first printed copy, he passed away. We owed it to him to get it out in the world. It’s a labour of love.”

Caricatures have given Chris and Sara “the best job in the world”, hurrying to and from castles and stately homes up and down the UK and helping to create special memories through art. Not bad for someone who only got into caricature as he was, according to Sara, “a rubbish portrait artist” due to his tendency to exaggerate features – a perfect quality for a caricaturist.

“I’m working with my best friend now. That’s the nicest thing. It doesn’t seem like work. We’re a good team and we love what we do,” Chris explains. “Bringing smiles to people’s faces is great. It’s the best job in the world.” NL

To book Caricature With Attitude for your event, go to caricaturewithattitude.com NL 37

Meg Shelton's grave?

‘WITCH’ IS THE REAL GRAVE ?

S

Graham Dugdale asks the pertinent question that dominates the Lancashire village of Woodplumpton

trange tales of mystery and imagination have long played a fascinating role in our country’s rich and varied heritage. This is certainly relevant to the county of Lancashire. Such myths and legends have long stimulated feverish debate about their veracity, none more so than when fact and fantasy merge into a nebulous homogeneity. Many of the more eccentric occurrences can be explained logically. A trick of the light or the sound of wind howling through the trees.

When recounted over a tankard of ale, such experiences can, however, assume exaggerated proportions. Passed down through generations, often by word of mouth, these folktales become ever more outlandish.

Lancashire smugglers were especially fluent in the invention of ghosts to scare off the over-curious from delving into their sphere of operations. This was in times when unlikely situations were readily accepted by a gullible populace. Those involving real people with colourful pasts, however, cannot be taken with a pinch of salt, even when their escapades have been embellished under changing circumstances over time.

So, what is the fine line which irrevocably marks the divergence of truth from fiction? It remains a question that has been posed many times since stories of ghosts, boggles, and murky characters were first conceived by those who claim to have experienced their appearance first-hand.

Such quaint and unusual phenomena have become an established feature of our Lancashire heritage, just as much as

hot pot, Eccles Cakes, Bury black pudding or clog dancing.

The village of Woodplumpton, hidden away in the expanse of flat land north of Preston known as ‘The Fylde’ harbours just such a conundrum. Originally situated close by a plum tree, the settlement has a much more ancient pedigree than a cursory glance might suggest. First mentioned in the Norman Domesday Book in 1086, the name of Wode Plumpton was adopted in 1336. Driving down the main street, there is little to interest the casual visitor until the church of St Anne is reached. Approached through an august lychgate, with the old stocks close by, a potent cognizance of antiquity immediately assails the senses. Christian worship has been conducted on the site since the 11th century. The church is relatively recent, dating from 1639, being refurbished in the early 20th century. The unusual bell cote further augments the church's architectural appeal.

But what marks St Anne’s apart from its counterparts in other nearby villages is to be found at the side of the path close to the main entrance. Look more closely, and

Who left the flowers in the grave yard?

St Anne's Church

" One farmer who suspected her

of stealing corn lay in wait numerous times but was never able to catch her in the act. "

you cannot fail to notice a prodigious boulder under which lie the remains of Marjorie Hilton – better remembered hereabouts as ‘The Fylde Witch.’ More commonly referred to as Meg Shelton, any underhanded chicanery occurring in the district was inevitably laid at Meg’s door. Perhaps she was a cantankerous old crone, also prone to fits of bad temper. ‘Crafty, deceitful, sly and grasping’ are just a handful of the epithets heaped upon the poor woman. That said, she was never actually caught in the act of turning milk sour or encouraging stillborn calves.

One farmer who suspected her of stealing corn lay in wait numerous times, but was never able to catch her in the act.

One night, he did see her enter the mill and, on counting his sacks, found that there was one too many. Seizing a pitchfork he began thrusting it into each sack until a frightful yelp of pain rent the air. Meg leapt from the sack, allegedly jumped on her broomstick and flew off.

A nightmarish event, doubtless regaled to his pals over a noggin or three as they gleefully pulled his leg. But at least the farmer never had any more corn stolen.

Locals probably still mull over this mythical happening on a rainy afternoon in the Wheatsheaf Inn at Woodplumpton.

But Meg Shelton was certainly no figment of an over-imaginative populace.

She actually did live at Cuckoo Cottage in Wesham but spent most of her life in nearby Catforth where she is said to have arrived in bizarre circumstances. Meg supposedly struck a bewitching bargain with her landlord that involved her changing into a hare. If she succeeded in evading the chase by his dogs, the Catforth cottage would be hers. The scheming fellow released an unduly rapid hound that snapped at her 'harey heels', resulting in the distraught harridan sporting a limp thereafter.

In the event, Meg did acquire the cottage remaining there until her death in 1705. Crushed it is said betwixt a barrel and a wall, she was nonetheless adjudged to be worthy of a Christain burial, never having been ‘examined as a witch.’ In essence, this involved a dubious meeting with the infamous ducking stool specially reserved for those dabbling in the

black arts. Those who sank and drowned were innocent.

Lucky Meg! But she didn’t get off Scot-free. The good citizens of Woodplumpton determined that the funeral ceremony should be in keeping with her suspect lifestyle. Accordingly, she was buried at dead of night.

But Meg was to cause more skulduggery in death than she ever did in life - to such an extent that a priest from nearby Cottam was called to perform an exorcism. And this time, she was buried head down in a hole covered by the titanic rock that still bears witness to her antics today. The ruse appears to have been only partially successful in keeping the Fylde Witch incarcerated. Rumours abound of sightings in the vicinity of the church. One youngster entering ahead of his parents suddenly burst forth in terror, claiming that a haggard old woman had chased him out.

So, what can we make of these strange occurrences?

It is most likely that the poor soul did not fit the normal behaviour expected of such people in the 17th century. Too many old woman who lived alone were subjected to the same unfortunate mistrust. And such was the superstitious nature of the general population in those distant times that labelled them as witches. Living in a more enlightened age, we tend to brush these singular events aside as mere fantasies. But there is no denying the fact that an actively mysterious past does indeed encapsulate Woodplumpton. And Meg Shelton still appears to exert a mesmeric influence over the present congregation.

On the day I visited the grave, a bunch of flowers to the memory of Marjorie Hilton had been laid against the rough-hewn boulder. So, who had left them? A supposed relative, sympathiser, or merely an interested spectator? It's definitely a fascinating conundrum worthy of consideration as you drive home, back into the 21st century, secure in the knowledge that no such outlandish happening could ever affect you. Or could it?

But whatever your conclusion regarding this enigmatic mystery still prevalent in the village of Woodplumpton, the truth of the matter has never been exhumed. And long may it remain locked away in that enchanting graveyard. NL

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A N OR T H E R N E R AT CAMBRIDGE Josh Swarbrick, a former writer for NorthernLife, shares his adventures as a fresher at the University of Cambridge. From reluctantly devouring guinea fowl at formal dinners to indulging in midnight pot noodles…

I

t feels like an entire lifetime has passed since I was last asked to write a story for Northern Life.

In reality it’s only been about four months. Time moves differently at university; I’m convinced of it – and to be honest I’m still not sure if it goes uncomfortably quick or painfully slow. Either way I made it through the first term, I

suppose that’s the most important thing. Against the odds I survived 10 weeks of relative independence without being poisoned by my terrible culinary skills, getting lost in the narrow winding Cambridge streets (that one’s a particular miracle), or, God forbid, accidentally dropping a coloured sock into my white laundry. I hope I’ve not spoken too soon though; I’ve still got another two and a half years to go!

I think it’s fair to say that Cambridge, for the most part, operates almost in its own little world. Comparing my experiences to my friends’ at other unis, though, I do think Cambridge (or, rather, my college, as they all sort of function independently from each other) is a lot more ‘normal’ than I was anticipating, at least my experience of it has been. That being said, the Hogwarts comparisons are, understandably, NL 41

inevitable. There are colleges that, like Hogwarts houses, can get very competitive with one another (my college, Trinity Hall, is objectively the best one, of course); there are dozens of the most gorgeous old libraries; many colleges have sprawling gardens and greenhouses; and, probably most famously, we do have gowned formal dinners in huge portrait-lined, candlelit dining halls. In the case of the latter, though, I’ve managed to avoid them for the most part. ‘Formals’ where you wear a gown are very much optional (I’ve only actually worn my gown once

"There are colleges

that, like Hogwarts houses, can get very competitive with one another" ›

The view from Josh's room

Josh

Old Library, Trinity Hall

so far) and, whilst we will sometimes have tea in our college’s gorgeous dining hall, it’s all really informal.

The food itself is also, thankfully, very normal – we did have guinea fowl once at Matriculation Dinner but (again, thankfully) that’s been the one exception, and even then, it was basically just glorified chicken masquerading itself as fancier than it actually is. That’s about as far as the Hogwarts similarities go though: to my disappointment it turns out we don’t play quidditch, we’re not allowed pets (so that rules out me having an owl), and I’m yet to run into a dragon or centaur or any other magical creature.

I think I’d definitely prefer Silly, our much-loved college cat, anyway.

I have been – and, to tell the truth, continue to be – very worried about a lot of the Cambridge stereotypes (I don’t need to list them off here, I’m sure you’re aware of them): worried, mainly, that people would see me as trying to conform to them. Maybe it’s just my college (being one of the smallest colleges in Cambridge, it also feels like one of the friendliest), maybe it’s even just my friends, but those stereotypes are, in my experience, a lot less prevalent than I was expecting. I’ve met quite a lot of fellow northerners, for example, and – at least so far – I’m yet to have my (admittedly pretty weak) northern accent made fun of by a southerner. There is definitely some truth to some of the

stereotypes I think but, a bit like the guinea fowl, they are undoubtedly the exception rather than the norm. To my delight you can also quite easily avoid a lot of ‘Cambridgeisms’, like gowned dinners, in favour of a generally more relaxed and informal time.

‘A Week in the Life of a University Student’ is, then, about as interesting as you’d expect to be honest: just a lot of reading (like, a LOT of reading), essay writing, completely healthy sleep schedules, and the occasional night out that always leaves you wishing you’d just stayed in with a hot chocolate and a movie. I’m really lucky to be able to say I have, so far at least, quite enjoyed my course

and sort of unfamiliar environment.

As soon as you’re done with one task it’s straight onto the next, and then the next, and the next. It’s fascinating, but often draining. But whilst that rhythm of work has been (and felt like) the bulk of my first term, I think it’s the little social things I’ve done in between the daily cram of academic articles and lectures that have been my favourite memories of my first 10 weeks.

Ahead of going to university, it was actually the social side of things that worried me most. Work itself would undoubtedly be challenging, yes, but I at least felt I knew where I was with it; university social life was new and scary and unfamiliar. I’m a massive introvert,

"A Week in the Life of a University Student’ is, then, about as interesting as you’d expect it to be honest: just a lot of reading (like, a LOT of reading)"

though. I’m a history student, at the moment mainly focussing on 16th and 17th century British history, and 18th century global history, and to me that is heaven – I’ve found both the deeper dive into centuries that have long interested me and the exploration of new periods and places to be equally really interesting. But (as with any work I think) there are times it can feel a bit like Groundhog Day, probably not helped by being in a completely new NL 42

I don’t drink, and to be quite honest I couldn’t think of anything worse than pulling an all-nighter in a loud and overcrowded club. None of that has really changed, but the friends I’ve made have ensured that it didn’t need to. We’ve been ‘out out’ a few times for sure, and had a nice time when we did, but we’ve also had film nights, pizza parties, definitely-not-unhealthilycompetitive Mario Kart competitions, and even nights where we just sit

Wren Library, Trinity College

Sunset at Trinity College on Matriculation Night

by the river and talk. There’s been days where we’ve all gone shopping (particularly dangerous for me is the four-storey Waterstones about five minutes away from my college); days where we’ve gone to the pub to watch football, to the surprise of everyone who knows me; days where we’ve explored other colleges and, naturally, judged them against our own. On probably my favourite day I took a few hours out to visit Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, touring (and almost getting lost in) rooms filled with Egyptian sarcophagi, Renaissance paintings, Japanese woodblocks, Medieval weaponry, Chinese porcelain and, my personal favourite, Greek statues, before then heading to an evening concert celebrating the music of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. Work is undoubtedly the foundation for everything – of course it is, it’s university – but I think it’s important to mention there are times where you can escape all that, and I feel so lucky to have found some really close friends to have a break from work with.

I also feel really lucky to not only be in such a beautiful city, but to be in a city so steeped in history. No matter where you go in Cambridge you’re surrounded by gorgeous historic buildings, huge churches and chapels, tiny bookshops in cobbled alleyways, old bridges, labyrinthine libraries, massive green spaces - the list really

Greek Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum

does go on! As a city I really do feel at home there. That was always what drew me to Cambridge. I don’t care for the prestige of the university or the history of renowned alumni or anything like that. I never did. It’s the city itself that I wanted to live and study in more than anything, and I feel immensely grateful to now be there.

That being said, I have missed being up north though. A lot actually. It’s Christmas break as I’m writing this and, as much as I’m looking forward to returning to the world of microwave dinners, decoding confusingly written academic articles, pot noodle teas, frantic bike rides to a lecture you’re 10 minutes late too, and pot noodle midnight snacks, I am trying to savour being home as much as I can. It sounds painfully cliché, but really there is something special about being up here.

Cambridge is absolutely gorgeous, and I really do feel at home down there, but there’s a warmth to Lancashire and Yorkshire (figuratively speaking… it’s chucking it down outside as I write Silly the Cat

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this) that you don’t get in quite the same way elsewhere. Plus, unlike down south, there’s a chippy on nearly every street corner here, and that’s always a bonus.

Cambridge is different, absolutely, but I think in a way that’s part of its charm. It’s definitely not for everyone – it can be really academically intense, pressurised, overwhelming, and I would be lying if I made it sound like there haven’t already been some really tough times. It’s hard not to feel like an imposter in that kind of an environment, it’s hard not to doubt yourself and your choices, to find motivation, or have confidence.

I’m still working on that, and I think I will be throughout my whole degree.

But I suppose I’ve been reassured in knowing I’m not alone in feeling this way, not only from my lovely friends and endlessly supportive family, but from tutors and college staff too.

It’s university after all, it’s not going to be easy, but that’s okay. For every bad time there has been about three good ones. I feel indescribably lucky to be in a place that I feel comfortable in, with friends that I feel comfortable with, and the knowledge of having that to fall back on will, I am sure, help me get through what I can only imagine will be an incredibly challenging, draining, uncertain, confusing, self-doubting, but, ultimately, exciting and rewarding next few years. NL

The Anarchy

Y

BY RODNEY LAUDER

ou are always guaranteed a good read when you buy Northern Life.

From cover to cover, it is packed with excellent articles, enthralling stories, and nostalgiainducing poems. A past edition contained the A to Z of Clitheroe article. The first letter, A for Anarchy, awakened a nascent memory of a conversation I had some 50 years ago in Berwick upon Tweed.

I was returning home after working in Aberdeen when my car juddered to a halt just as I crossed the border.

“I think the problem must be the electrics,” said the AA man after several unsuccessful attempts to get me started. “I will tow you to a garage to check it out.”

To wile away the hours while it was being worked on I decided to explore the town; my last port of call being a museum in a former military barracks.

I had barely begun browsing the exhibits when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder followed by a polite “Excuse me, sir.” I turned and found myself facing a middle-aged lady. She introduced herself as the curator, and

after warmly welcoming me to the museum asked me to sign the visitor’s book, adding, “We are very proud of our museum. We get visitors from all over the globe. It is lovely to see where they come from. Last week we had someone from Bannockburn.

I was about to say that Bannockburn is not all that far away when with a chuckle, she said, “That is Bannockburn in New Zealand, of course!”

After seeing that I lived in Clitheroe, her eyes lit up. “Good heavens,” she

“‘Clitheroe! Ruled by Scotland,’ I spluttered.” said, “what a coincidence Mr Lauder.

Do you realise that our towns have a shared history?”

“How do you mean a shared history?” I replied, looking somewhat perplexed.

This time a mischievous smile played on her lips. “Down the centuries we have both been ruled by Scotland;

Clitheroe Castle flying the Scottish flag

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thirteen times in Berwick’s case.

England finally wrested back control of the town in 1482, and the fortifications you will have seen as you came into the museum were built to show they meant to keep it.

“Clitheroe! Ruled by Scotland,” I spluttered. “Berwick, I can understand with you being close to the border, but we are almost two hundred miles south.”

At this point, she invited me into her office and, over coffee and the most delicious homemade shortbread biscuits I have ever tasted, patiently explained that between the years 1135 and 1153, England was wracked by a civil war. On the death of Henry the

First, his daughter Matilda and his nephew Stephen battled for the throne.

Stephen eventually emerged as the winner. Locals called this period the nineteen-year winter. Historians called it the Anarchy.

Seeing the country in such disarray in 1141, David the First of Scotland decided it was the ideal time to extend his rule into England.

Many bloody battles were fought, but eventually, David got the upper hand and held dominion over Cumbria, Northumberland, most of Yorkshire, and the North West of England down to the river Ribble and the Pennines.

“So, why are we not still part of Scotland?” I queried.

“That,” replied my host, “is due to David’s son and heir, Henry, dying.”

“For the life in me, I cannot see why that should make a difference. After all, his father was still on the throne, wasn’t he?” I said, “I’m intrigued.

Please tell me more.”

Realising she had a willing listener, she warmed to her subject. Henry died in 1152. Unfortunately, David died a year later, and because of the loss of his son, he was succeeded by his 12-yearold grandson Malcolm, who would be Malcolm the Fourth.”

“Ah, I see now. It was Malcolm who gave back the territory his grandfather

“Many bloody battles were fought, but eventually, David got the upper hand.” had craftily taken during the Anarchy,” I said.

“Well, not quite. Several years later, it was Henry who was responsible for Scotland relinquishing its rule over England.”

“But I thought you said Henry had died?”

“I did, but this was another Henry.

Henry the Second of England.”

“Now my head is really spinning.

Didn’t you say earlier that Stephen was the king?”

“He was, but in 1153, Matilda’s son Henry looked over the water from his home in France and decided to invade England.”

After the initial panic, there were only skirmishes rather than pitched battles, and even these became spasmodic when Henry’s troops found he had run out of money to pay them.

Unable to return to Normandy, he appealed to his mother for money, but neither she nor his uncle were prepared to help him because they had NL 45

not approved of the expedition in the first place.

The two sides finally met at Wallingford, but to stop the country from being dragged into another civil war, the church stepped in and brokered a truce. Stephen met Henry in Winchester, and it was agreed that Stephen would be allowed to rule the country until his death, after which Henry, not Stephen’s son William, would succeed him.

Henry didn’t have a long to wait because Stephen died the following year on the 25th of October.

After securing the throne, Henry became extremely averse to having part of his country under Scottish rule and forced young Malcolm to give up his English dominions in return for confirming his rights to the Scottish Earldom of Huntingdon.

As I drove home later that day, I could not help but muse about how different my life would have been had it not been for this series of events. I am glad it worked out as it did, though.

It is not that I have anything against Scotland; on the contrary, I have both holidayed and worked there several times over the years; it is just that somehow, I can’t see myself wearing a kilt, and I certainly could not play the bagpipes! NL

FOOD & DRINK 48 EGGS! 51 HOT CROSS PUDDING 53 HOP INTO EASTER 55 MOTHERS’ DAY DRINKS 58 WILD EDIBLES

Coddled Eggs With Truffled Mushrooms and Potato Purée For recipe see pg 48

fairburnseggs.co.uk

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from previous page

Coddled Eggs With Truffled Mushrooms and Potato Purée Makes 6 pots Ingredients 4 Fairburn’s Famous British Blue eggs 450g mashing potatoes sea salt flakes 100ml double cream, plus 6 tbsp to serve 2 tbsp milk 150g butter, cubed 1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced 150g mixed wild mushrooms, sliced 25g dried Porcini, soaked in warm water and drained 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp chopped chives white truffle oil (optional) 6 eggs grated Parmesan chopped chives, to serve Method Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

Peel and quarter the potatoes, making sure they are all roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Place the potatoes in a pan of cold water, season with a little salt and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Drain the cooked potatoes and leave in the pan to steam dry for a few minutes.

Heat the cream and milk in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. While the potatoes are still hot, push them through a mouli or potato ricer and then fold the cream mixture into the potatoes along with 125g of the butter.

Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the remaining 25g of butter to the pan along with the shallot, mushrooms, drained Porcini, thyme leaves and season with a little salt and pepper. Fry until soft and then stir in the Dijon mustard, chopped chives and a good slug of white truffle oil (if using).

Place the potato purée in a piping bag and pipe the purée into the bottom of six glass ovenproof jars or ramekins, top with the mushroom mixture, crack an egg into each jar on top of the potato and mushroom mixture and drizzle over a tablespoon of double cream. Sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan.

Place the jars in an oven tray of simmering hot water and cook until the egg whites are set: this should take about 15-20 minutes. Carefully lift the jars out of the water. Garnish each jar with a sprinkle of chives and sea salt flakes and serve with toasted soldiers of sourdough.

fairburnseggs.co.uk

Best Ever Eggs Benedict Serves 2 Ingredients 4 large rashers back bacon ½ tbsp white wine vinegar 4 Fairburn’s Famous British Blue eggs 2 muffins halved and toasted Sea salt and black pepper

For the hollandaise: 2 egg yolks ½ tbsp lemon juice 1tbsp of cold water 150g unsalted butter cut into cubes Dash of white wine vinegar To decorate: Smoked paprika Rocket leaves

Method Firstly, grill the bacon until golden and crispy and set aside whilst keeping it warm. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil; add a good pinch of salt and a good dash of white wine vinegar. Swirl the water around, crack the egg into the boiling water one at a time for just a few minutes till just set and then gently remove the egg with a large slotted stainless-steel spoon and set aside on a plate.

Next make the hollandaise sauce. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice and water in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and season. Whisk all the ingredients until they have blended together. Place over a pan of just simmering water, making sure that the bowl is not in contact with the water. Whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time, until the sauce begins to thicken. Continue adding the butter, whisking all the time and adding a splash of water if the hollandaise looks like it is becoming too thick.

If the sauce begins to separate, remove from the heat immediately and add a teaspoon of cold water to the mixture. Once all the butter has been incorporated, season to taste with sea salt and a dash of white wine vinegar. Remove from the heat and keep the hollandaise warm whisking occasionally.

Lay 2 plates out and put 2 halves of toasted muffin on each plate followed by a rasher of crispy bacon. Carefully scoop up an egg and gently place on top of the bacon and repeat. Now generously spoon over your warm hollandaise onto each muffin, and then sprinkle over a pinch of smoked paprika, followed by sea salt and black pepper and scatter with a few rocket leaves.

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FOOD & DRINK

Eggs!

This amazingly simple, yet incredibly versatile ingredient is elevated to the sublimely decadent in these eggstra special dishes

fairburnseggs.co.uk

Egg, Hummus & Avocado Sourdough Tartine Serves 4 Method Gently lower the eggs into a large saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 6 minutes.

Transfer the eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of iced water and leave until cool enough to handle. Drain and peel the eggs, cut into large pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the Hummus onto the toasted bread slices and top with the egg.

In a small bowl, toss the avocado, spring onions, basil, dill, chives and lemon zest together. Add the lemon juice, drizzle with a little olive oil, season with a little salt and toss lightly. Pile this mixture on top of the egg and scatter with a little black pepper.

Serve immediately with some watercress or other green salad leaves.

Ingredients 4 Fairburn’s Famous British Blue eggs Sea salt flakes Freshly ground black pepper 1 x 300g tub Hummus 4 slices sourdough bread, toasted 2 ripe avocados, peeled, stone removed and roughly chopped 4 spring onions, sliced very thinly A handful of basil leaves, torn A handful of dill fronds, torn 2 tbsp chopped chives ½ a lemon, finely grated A good squeeze of lemon juice Good quality olive oil, for drizzling A small handful of watercress or other green salad leaves, to serve

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FOOD & DRINK

Hot Cross Bun And Chocolate Butter Pudding Mix up your traditional Easter feast with this delicious take on traditional bread and butter pudding - extra servings of mini eggs are essential!

Serves 4 Prep time: 20mins Cook time: 1hr Ingredients 4 hot cross buns 2 large eggs 200ml full fat milk 25g caster sugar 25g butter (add a little extra for greasing the dish) 100ml double cream 1 tsp grated nutmeg 6-8 hollow mini chocolate eggs (this allows the chocolate to ooze into the dish) 1 tbsp caster or icing sugar for dusting 1 tsp vanilla essence

dualit.com

Method Preheat oven to 180º/160º fan.

Slice the buns, lightly butter and sandwich back together.

Slice each bun into 3 pieces, keeping them uniform (formed back with crosses on top).

Grease a baking dish (9 inches x 6 inches approx) and carefully place the buns in neatly. Be sure to leave a small space between each bun.

Place a chocolate egg into every other slice inside the bun and sandwich back together.

Make the custard by mixing together the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk until pale. Then add the milk and cream, continuing to whisk for a minute to combine.

Pour half the custard over and between the buns, allowing the liquid to settle for a minute or two before adding the rest over the top. This allows the custard to soak into the buns.

Combine the nutmeg and sugar and sprinkle over the top.

Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 50-60 minutes.

The pudding will rise and puff out whilst baking, check halfway to ensure the top is not burning. If you find it’s a little too brown at this stage, loosely place a piece of foil over the top until the last 10 minutes, then remove and continue baking.

Place a skewer into the pudding to check the custard has set; the inside should be soft and will wobble, if it is runny or loose it needs to cook for slightly longer.

The pudding will deflate when you remove it from the oven.

Allow to cool a little before serving as the middle can be very hot.

Dust with a little caster or icing sugar before serving.

Top Tips: Cut into squares or slices and serve with a dollop of cream, vanilla ice cream or custard.

We have used hollow eggs, but cream eggs also work well.

Mint chocolate or chocolate spread is especially nice too.

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FOOD & DRINK

Hop Into

Ea st e r !

From tasty Easter treats to decadent chocolate eggs, we've got something for everyone to enjoy.

Don't miss out on our egg-straordinary selection of the latest Easter delights!

Extra Special Extra Thick Raspberry & Marshmallow White Chocolate Egg £8 asda.com Hot Cross Bun Loose Leaf Tea £7.55 birdandblendtea.com Lindt Gold Bunny Salted Caramel Easter Egg £5 amazon.co.uk Divine Flat Egg £5 amazon.co.uk Moo Free Rocky Road Easter Egg £4.50 Tesco.com Tony's Chocolonely Milk Caramel Sea Salt Chunky Egg £10 asda.com Lily O’Brien’s Desserts Collection Egg £10 asda.com Thorntons Classic Milk Chocolate Easter Egg £10 tesco.com

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FOOD & DRINK

Here’s to You, Mum

Let’s celebrate mums this Mother’s Day and raise a glass to those who have guided us, inspired us and been driven to drink because of us.

FOR THE SPLENDIDLY SOPHISTICATED

FOR YORKSHIRE LASSES WITH A SWEET TOOTH

FOR MUMS THAT LOVE A BREW

Gibson’s Organic Liqueurs Sloe Gin £24.95 shop. ashmolean.org

Ellers Farm Distillery Cherry Liqueur £16 ellersfarmdistillery.com

Masons Of Yorkshire Tea Edition Gin £33.95 masonsofyorkshire.com

DRINK YOUR GREENS!

MUMS FRUITY FAVOURITE

Pod Pea Vodka £38.25 thewhiskyexchange.com

Whitley Neill Japanese Yuzu and White Strawberry Gin £30 tesco.com

FOR MUMS WHO LOVE LOCAL, FIELD TO BOTTLE IN NINE MILES Nine Tines Potato Vodka £39 ninetines.co.uk

CIDER FOR ROSIE

Cranes Cider Gift Set £15.99 drinkcranes.shop

FOR THOSE WHO APPRECIATE THE MORE FLORAL THINGS IN LIFE

FOR YUMMY MUMMIES WHO WANT GUILTFREE FUN

Lanique Spirit of Rose £32.99 masterofmalt.com

CleanCo £16 sainsburys.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK

Exploring Early Spring’s

Wild Edibles

BY LAURA STOREY

Silver birch forest in early spring

As winter relinquishes its grip and nature begins its slow awakening, early spring brings forth a treasure trove of wild edibles, each carrying unique flavours and healthful properties. In this edition, we embark on a journey through the landscapes of just a handful of the many early spring wild edibles, uncovering their remarkable attributes and culinary potential.

FORAGING FANATIC PETE COMPSTON TAKES US ON A WILD SHOPPING TRIP ON OUR DOORSTEP AND SHOWS US THE WONDERS OF NATURE’S LARDER

W

e made it through that long winter.

We can now allow our hearts to thaw and heal. As we head toward Spring, bringing forth a vibrant display of plants. As the seasons change, so can our diets, embracing the delicious and energy-boosting wild foods that nature offers. This transition and with all the plants around with antioxidant properties, allowing us to cleanse our systems, beginning the year anew and aligning with the natural rhythm to enhance our gut biomes.

By incorporating these wild foods, we NL 57

contribute to biodiversity, fostering simplicity and fluidity both in our surroundings and within ourselves.

Remember, we are not just observers of nature; we are an integral part of it, intricately connected to the very essence of the natural world.

Please remember, personal responsibility is paramount, as discussed in the last issue. Ensure 100% confidence in your ID before using any wild plant, check for contraindications, as many wild foods have medicinal properties, and always try a small amount before incorporating any wild food into your diet. ›

“Birch sap, a clear and sweet liquid, flows generously in early spring” Cleavers (Galium aparine):

Sap being extracted from a silver birch tree

Silver Birch (Betula pendula):

Amidst the stirring woodlands, the silver birch offers a source of nourishment unique to this time of year. As the sap begins its ascent in the birch trees, foragers can tap into this liquid gold. Birch sap, a clear and sweet liquid, flows generously in early spring, providing a refreshing and vitamin-rich beverage. Tapping into the age-old tradition of birch sap collection, we explore the process and savour the essence of this seasonal delight. It is only a short window of time that this is safe to do for the tree. As soon as the buds on the tree start to open up into the unfurled leaves, the tree needs all the nourishment it can get. There are plenty of how-to videos on YouTube that will safely instruct you on the best ways to do this without harm to the tree. The betulinic acid in the sap is an absolute tonic for humans, but only to be used sparingly. In addition to meeting the trees’ nutritional needs, it’s crucial to be aware of potential side effects. Excessive consumption may lead to liver damage, and while the anticoagulant properties can be beneficial for blood clots, there are potential risks associated with thinning the blood.

Cleavers tea

Known for its tenacious growth and clinging nature, cleavers reveal a different facet of their existence in the world of foraging. These seemingly ubiquitous plants are valued for their detoxifying properties. Traditionally used to support the lymphatic system, cleavers are believed to assist in purifying the blood, making them an excellent addition to your early spring foraging repertoire. While young, before the velcro hooks develop, they are a nice edible, straight from the plant. Once they develop, they become too rough in texture to enjoy in salads but are still great in soups, etc. They have many other uses throughout the year (they are related Cleavers to coffee in the Rubiaceae family, so the sticky (Galium buds, once roasted and ground down, make a aparine) great and really healthy coffee). This time of year, they are steeped in folklore about starting the year fresh. As with much folklore, when science catches up, we learn the scientific truths of the folklore. I have to say, of all the reports I get back about people’s improved health when including wild foods, this is one of the most prolific. Many people report improved cognitive function, alertness, and a much better sleep pattern. Simply add a handful to water, leave it in the fridge overnight, and swish it about like you would a tea bag. Then, enjoy the sweet, cucumber-tasting water to start your day.

“The sticky buds, once roasted and ground down, make a great and really healthy coffee” Nettles (Urtica dioica):

My absolute favourite plant. I love talking about it and have done so for full days at work, never running out of things to say. Foragers can harvest these nutrient-packed greens that offer a huge wealth of attributes for well-being. Nettles are known to support joint health, boost immunity, and even combat seasonal allergies. Being mindful of the stingers, we discover bountiful rewards, opening up possibilities for culinary creations that extend beyond our imagination. The sting is also a very beneficial part of this plant to learn about.

Really useful against rheumatism and arthritis, containing histamine for seasonal allergies. The neurotransmitter that causes the ‘pain’ is, in fact, serotonin too. Urtication, the act of stinging yourself to retrieve the benefits, is certainly something I recommend researching. Obviously, there are people who react badly to nettle stings, as with any of these wild foods/medicines.

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FOOD & DRINK

RECIPE:

Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum):

Carpeting woodlands with its pungent aroma, wild garlic announces the arrival of spring. Also known as Ramsons, this flavourful herb is a culinary delight with medicinal benefits. Rich in allicin, wild garlic exhibits antibacterial and antiviral properties. Beyond its culinary uses, we’ll unravel the medicinal magic hidden in its Nettle vibrant leaves, making it a must-have in our spring foraging repertoire. It is a plant to be mindful of harvesting, which gives me the opportunity to talk again about learning how to be mindful towards nature. It is a good way to stay safe when foraging.

Amongst the wild garlic, you will commonly find a plant called Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum) that, although it has a different-shaped leaf, is of a similar texture and colour.

When grabbing handfuls, it would be easy to grab a Lords and Ladies leaf or, even worse, a small part of the leaf. Although not toxic as such, it is an incredibly nasty irritant and will cause serious discomfort.

It is always good practice, when harvesting anything, to pick one leaf at a time. There is something incredibly meditative about this and all things foraging, where spending that little extra time on something repays us with huge benefits.

In conclusion, the palette of early spring’s wild edibles is vast and diverse.

These plants, often overlooked as mere ‘weeds,’ hold the key to a more profound understanding of our natural surroundings.

Wild garlic As we embrace the seasonal shift and delve into the world of foraging, let these plants be our guides toward a more sustainable and connected way of living.

Join us on our free foraging and well-being walks

or our vibrant and extremely helpful Facebook community to learn more about foraging etiquettes and safety. Discover the wonders of nature, our connection to it, and the various uses of the wonderful plants, trees, and mushrooms throughout the year. Completely free of any cost or pressure, we are just a group of friends learning together on our land, a blissful haven, and at the wonderful cabin at Lomeshaye Nature Reserve, gifted by Pendle Council, where we cook and craft together, hosting truly magical gatherings and seasonal celebrations.

Contact us to find out more about what we do. You can find us on Facebook or Instagram at Pendle Plant Craft (we share daily stories on Instagram all about foraging for those who can’t join us on the walks). If you don’t use social media, you can email us at pendleplantcraft@gmail.com and be added to our mailing list. NL NL 59

Wild Garlic and Nettle Pakoras Ingredients: 1 cup nettle leaves (blanched and finely chopped) 1 cup wild garlic leaves (chopped) 1 cup gram flour (besan) 1/2 cup rice flour 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder Salt to taste Water (as needed) Oil for frying

Instructions: In a mixing bowl, combine gram flour, rice flour, cumin seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and salt. Gradually add water and whisk to form a smooth, thick batter.

Add the chopped nettles and wild garlic to the batter and mix well. Heat oil in a pan for frying.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown and crispy.

Remove pakoras and place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve hot with your favourite chutney or dip.

Birch Sap and Cleavers Juice

Why not try the idea of cleavers water we talked about here but with birch sap instead of water to go with your pakoras? It is not something you can do daily, like you can with the water, but it is a special treat because the trees need the sap, too.

YOU, YES, YOU!

NorthernLife are looking for poets of the north,

photographers with a keen eye, writers with wild imaginations, artists or even someone with nostalgic memories of the past...

Be it funny, poignant or simply quite interesting, we’d love to know what you have to say or show... northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute

northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute

READERS’ SUBMISSIONS 62 GALLERY 65 POEMS 70 MEMORY 7 2 S TO RY C O M P E T I T I O N - N E W B E G I N N I N G S 7 7 P E T PAW T R A I T S

GIVE US A KISS • LEE MANSFIELD

Follow Northern Life Creative on Facebook and Instagram and share your work NL 61

To share your pictures email gallery@looppublishing.co.uk or go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute

THREE WISE SHEEP • TRACEY O’ CONNOR

HERD GROYNE LIGHTHOUSE • CES_LANDSCAPE

WHAT’S ‘APPENING ‘ERE THEN? • JOHN ROBINSON

NL 62

READERS’ GALLERY WEETS HILL • ZOE HODKINSON

THERE ONCE WAS AN UGLY DUCKLING LUCAS ASHTON

CATKINS • STEPHEN JOHNSON

TIME FOR A REST • JASON LEE HUDSON

NL 63

Readers' Poems

READERS’ POEMS

Are you a budding poet who would like to see your verse in print? Then, share your work and send your words to poems@looppublishing.co.uk or go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute

PUT OUT TO GRASS

BY ERIC HARVEY

Restlessly he leans upon the picket gate clutching fresh picked carrots, standing there in wait,

Today it was different, another friend retires, the horse he worked twenty years, Trooper was a Shire,

Sporting his best waistcoat, best Sunday cap on head, sixty years a farmhand and fifty-five years wed!

So patiently he's waiting, standing there alone, In the garden of his cottage built with Yorkshire stone.

The dirt of sixty seasons ground into his face, he'd still be out there working, but couldn't stand the pace,

Then a familiar noise, heard coming down the lane, those sounds of clippety-clop good to hear again,

They fed old Trooper carrots his nose upon the floor, the Grandson knew his Granddad wanted nothing more,

In all those laboured years, he'd never left the farm, now he stands there at his gate.. away from any harm.

Into view his Grandson came, holding Trooper's rein, they stopped outside the cottage, his wait was not in vain.

He wiped away a stray tear and let the moment pass, as two trusty working friends... were put out to grass.

A Love of Walking

Sweet Memories

BY SUE WILSEA

BY JULIE CROSTON

Sherbet lemons, pear drops mint humbugs, chocolate limes, Nanna kept them by her for us to dip in to anytime.

I love to go out walking in the fresh morning air, Come rain or shine nothing can quite compare.

Taking in the beautiful, lush Lancashire landscape, This breath-taking scenery is my joyful escape.

Sucking hard, our mouths fizzed lips puckered, tongues furred, teeth were chocolate coated.

We raked through the jar, sulked if favourites were gone.

Her brother, fourteen, knocked down by a car on his way to the corner sweet shop. Killed outright just before the Great War. ‘Have another!’ she’d urge, ‘Take some away with you for later.’ Cheeks bulging, we greedily obliged. She kept us sweet, kept us close.

Walking is the best thing for my heart and for my head, And a great way to get me out of my warm sleepy bed.

Keeping the body fit, looking after my mental health, No need for money and fast cars when you’ve got that kind of wealth.

Passing other walkers counting greetings along the way, Especially when the sun shines, we have so much more to say.

Seeing the season pass, watching nature grow, Setting a fast pace or taking it nice and slow.

Walkers are a plenty with dogs every size and breed, Owners sauntering calmly, dogs pulling on the lead.

Back home so soon, happy smile and cheeks so pink, Looking forward to tomorrow, will be back there in a blink. ›

NL 65

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Share your work and send your poems to poems@looppublishing.co.uk or go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/contribute. If you'd like to read more poems and can't wait until the next edition, then go to northernlifemagazine.co.uk/poems

McGough in Morecambe

Remembering Grandad

BY ALLAN BOLTON

BY VIVIEN FOULKES-JAMES

So you’re eighty-five, still writing and gigging.

That does impress me, very much.

You didn’t die a young man’s death and wrote on, never lost your touch.

I last saw you sitting in one of the armchairs that lined the walls of the featureless drab room.

The atmosphere was hushed, resigned, you puffed on your pipe and didn’t seem unhappy.

Stomping on the scaffold — my theatre’s hollow stage, with deep-voiced harmonies you, Mike and John intoned your big hit Lily the Pink at my first gig.

You were the stranger who came to stay, my father’s father, the only grandparent I got to meet, the others, all long dead.

My father had said you were cold and distant, there was no close bond between you.

In your old age, my parents took you in you needed care, my father felt obliged.

My poor mother was soon worn down by the demands of the increasingly frail stranger.

That joyful song, a parade of afflictions physical and mental, imagined and ‘cured’ (or not) by medicinal compound, could never be played today: Seen to make light of real sickness evoked in vivid words and killer rhymes, its authors censored and denounced in these scared, humourless times.

I remember we played board games together, I was at a loose end, my older sisters at school.

My favourite was a game called ‘Sorry’ which I’m sure you let me win.

My elder sister had been unkind, she said that you were too fat, said that you should move around.

Then one day she presented you with one cornflake for breakfast.

Eventually your needs became too great.

I remember our weekly trips to visit you, my father and I, your only visitors.

The memory stays with me, residents sitting round the edge of a large room.

You told my father I was a good little soul, I remember being pleased by that.

I wish I could have talked to you about your life, the experiences you’d had, but I was too young and then - it was far too late.

You still inspire youngsters, as you did me, with Tomorrow has your name on it, Kipling’s If poem for the twenty-first century.

AN EARLY BLOOM

BY LUCIA KENNY

On a dark gloomy day in January I seek the outdoors, these weary winter days do nothing to raise my spirits, as I jog along the wind and rain join forces to batter my body, but I defy their strength and run faster, the adrenaline is with me, my mind and body are as one.

I feel good.

Suddenly I see something that stops me pounding the pavement, for there under the hedgerow is a solitary daffodil, tall and in full bloom.

Like the return of the prodigal I feel joy, my spirits soar for this golden flower reminds me that soon these sunless days will pass and a brighter season is fast approaching.

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READERS’ POEMS

DREAM OLD MINER

BARSTOOL KNOW-IT MAN

BY JOHN PLATTEN

BY DAVID DRIVER

He is the barstool know-it man The CEEFAX of all knowledge sought He`s been in every World War, and every battle and every campaign fought Spoke at leading universities and every Professor taught, He's welded up the Titanic, been James Hunt's Formula 1 mechanic, tamed a Bengal tiger and didn't panic.

He knows your mum He knows your dad He knows where you have worked

Dream old miner as you catch your breath, from the wheeze and rattle of your coaly chest.

He knows your brothers He knows your sisters, even though you don't have any And says that you look like his best mate, which would be 'Allotment Benny',

Dream old miner of the father, you followed down the pit, and the career you would rather have had, if, you hadn’t made the best of it.

Barstool know-it man has a Woodbine aged old face, with nicotine fingers that remind him to light up once more His suit's not bad, but fashion dates, maybe needs a good dry clean Memories flit within his eyes, a loss of wife, who went by the name of Jean

Old miner, is it a dream or a nightmare?

This life over which you had no choice, this job that used you up without a care, taken, when you were young, and had no voice.

Dream old miner of your work at the face, in the dark, the dust, and the dangers.

Hewing coal with your marras in grace, when accident and injury were no strangers.

Conversations never empty, but his pint glass never a matching pair A nod, a smile “Aye lad, right lad, cheers. I'll get the next round.”

But you never will, because you are the barstool know-it man; with conversations, occupations, folk alive, folk dead, cars bought, latest fashion, the war and the ration All lived through a pint and a cig, down at the local pub, with the bar as your constant gig.

Dream old miner of these days gone by, and the long hard hours underground.

The relief of a blue, grey or cloudy sky, safe in the knowledge you were homeward bound.

Dream old miner of happier times, with your marras in beer at the Club.

Living in the moment, not reading the signs, the future was shrinking, there’s the rub.

Old miners didn’t want to leave the pit, but leave you must when it was shut.

MacGregor and Thatcher made sure of it, and left our communities in a rut.

Dream old miner of a world that’s lost, Newton, Lancs closed in ’93.

Who was counting the cost to the community, when Yorkshire shut with Kellingley*.

Dream old miner of work extinct, now preserved in Coal museums.

Along with fossils from your precincts, so, people can come and wonder at them.

Dream old miner as you catch your breath, from the wheeze and rattle of your coaly chest, of the days and the times when you cheated death, as you lie and wait for your final rest.

›

NL 67

GREAT UNCLE ALBERT’S FORTUNE

BY DAVID BUXTON

My Great Uncle Albert were German, 'e lived in Berlin – that’s abroad. 'e wasn’t your typical Prussian, As 'e 'ad no spiked 'elmet or sword.

'e lived in a flat in a suburb.

A smart little sign on the door Warned off salesmen and other such callers, And showed me 'e lived on t' top floor.

Now you’re wonderin’ why my great uncle Were foreign – not English like me. 'e married my grandmother’s sister, A free-thinkin’ woman were she.

I’ve no idea what I expected My first glimpse of Albert to be, A ninety-year-old in pyjamas?

And what would this chap make of me?

'e were strollin’ down Unter den Linden They say it were love at first sight – 'e paused, raised 'is 'at, and said shyly, “Good day to you, Miss.” So polite!

I were pleasantly surprised when I entered, 'cause Albert were really quite neat. 'e were wearing a suit with a waistcoat, And polished brown shoes on 'is feet.

Of course 'e addressed 'er in German, With words she could not understand.

She blushed, looked all coy, dropped 'er 'ankie – 'e retrieved it – just as she 'ad planned.

I stood in the door, feeling awkward, Till Albert, a smile on his face, Said, “Come in, my lad. Tha’s right welcome!

I can see my dear wife in thy face.”

She thanked 'im and said she were English. 'e answered with accent most clear, “I know a few words of that language.

Would you care for a coffee, my dear?

With a tear in his eye, 'e embraced me, Gave my 'and 'alf a dozen firm shakes.

Sat me down in an upholstered armchair, Then Albert brought coffee and cakes.

“I’ll show you a really nice café – It’s where all the best people go.

Café Kranzler is quite a swish venue – It’s the best in Berlin. That I know.”

“Ee, I’m ever so 'appy to meet thee – I thought I would die all alone.

There’s something I’ve just got to tell you, Best not done by letter or phone.”

So that were the start of their friendship, And when people asked, “Where’d you meet?”

They both said 'twere at a fine concert – They couldn’t say “out in the street.”

I thought that that sounded dramatic, But decided to 'umour the bloke.

“Pray tell me what that is, dear Uncle.

I take it it isn’t a joke?”

They married, but didn’t have children, And sadly she died in the War. They’d lost touch with us during conflict.

No letters changed 'ands any more.

“Far from it, young man,” said my uncle, “I assure you I’m perfectly sane.”

Sat back with a look of contentment And fingered 'is waistcoat and chain.

Imagine our shock when we got one Some fifty years after the War. It were sent to my parents in Bradford, And written in German, what’s more.

“This isn’t a watch-chain I’m wearing, And this box on the end’s not for pills, But you might find the contents quite useful For curing your financial ills.”

My mum and my dad don’t read German, But saw Albert’s name at the end.

They asked me to read all the letter To see what 'ad caused 'im to send.

'e noticed my sceptical manner And smiled to 'imself once again. 'e were 'aving a great deal of pleasure In teasing me. That much were plain.

It turned out that Albert were ninety And now felt the need for some kin. 'e’d no-one to turn to in Prussia, And didn’t know where to begin.

“For forty-six years in this city I worked in the 'airdressing trade.

I’d a shop just off Unter den Linden, And that’s where my fortune were made.”

'e wrote of 'is wonderful marriage And 'ow 'e were sad we’d lost touch, Perhaps 'e’d got someone in England 'e was hoping so, ever so much.

I looked round the flat in amazement – 'is riches were not plain to see.

The furniture all looked old-fashioned And not that expensive to me.

Now I’d 'eard about yon Philharmonic, Seen pictures of Brandenburg Gate, But I’d never set foot in that city, And they say that it’s never too late.

'e noticed my look of appraisal And pulled out the pill-box again.

“This 'ere is the fortune I mentioned Try to guess what this box might contain.”

I decided to go and see Albert I’ll admit I were curious as well As to what sort of man I would meet there, And what sort of tales 'e would tell.

This old man was starting to bore me – I thought 'e were losing 'is mind.

The contents of that blasted pill-box For my part could stay undefined.

NL 68

READERS’ POEMS

'e could see I were losing my patience, So decided 'e’d teased me enough.

“Come sit thyself down 'ere beside me – I’ll tell thee some int’resting stuff.

“I told thee I’d worked as a barber.

My business became quite well known, When one day, t’was in the late thirties My peaceful existence was blown.

I’d occasionally look in the mirror To work out this customer’s mood, But there wasn’t a clue to 'is thinking 'e continued to sit there and brood.

The door to my shop were thrown open, And two great big chaps all in black Went and stood either side of the doorway - No doubt 'e 'ad plenty to ponder, I were thoroughly taken aback.

So small talk was not for today.

The bodyguards stood there like statues A third man then entered the building, And clearly 'ad nothing to say.

Much smaller than either of those.

I recognized 'im from his pictures When I’d finished, 'e grunted a little A face I think everyone knows.

And gestured to one of 'is men, Who told me to sweep up the cuttings Two customers stood up with fervour And gave me a paper bag then.

And gave 'im that stiff arm salute: “'eil 'itler!” they cried as one person.

I recalled that I’d 'eard that our leader 'e waved limply back, but stood mute.

Were most superstitious as well. 'e were scared that 'is 'air could be taken I were shavin’ a regular client, And used to concoct some bad spell.

But when I looked round, ‘e ‘ad fled With ‘is face still all covered in lather – 'e must 'ave been 'appy wi' haircut, I’m sure it were nowt that I’d said.

Though 'ardly a word did 'e speak. 'e would come two o’clock on a Tuesday Now seeing the chair standin’ empty, Without fail, and ev’ry third week.

The newcomer went and sat down.

And nobody raised an objection – 'e would sit there without even blinking Not even the trace of a frown.

Just once 'e were jumpy and sore. 'e’d brought extra bodyguards with 'im “So, 'ow does tha want it, mein Führer?”

That were end of July forty-four.

I asked with appropriate charm.

Would “short back and sides” be his answer? I were stropping my razors beside 'im – It were strange I were acting so calm.

Two cut-throats of Solingen steel.

Our eyes met for t' first time in t' mirror. 'e first held my gaze in the mirror I could tell that 'is terror were real.

And gave me a witherin’ stare – “Tha’s seen postage stamps with my picture? And that were the last time I saw 'im – Well, that’s what I want for my 'air.” 'e’d taken 'is business elsewhere.

I 'eard about bomb plot much later Now I’m proud of my skills as a barber, 'e’d clearly received quite a scare.

So I started to comb and to clip.

I knew there would be repercussions It were on that last visit 'e paid me If the scissors should 'appen to slip.

That after 'e’d gone and paid cash, I noticed an 'air on my work coat – An 'air from the Führer’s moustache!

“And that’s what I’ve got 'ere in t' pill-box – A souvenir worth lots of cash.

There’s only the one in existenceThis 'air from the Führer’s moustache!

So I shook 'ands with Uncle and took it, Not knowing quite how to proceed.

But one thing that got me excited: The life I’d be able to lead.

Great Uncle 'ad signed affidavit To say what the pill-box contained.

That should 'elp when I got round to selling, Now that provenance 'ad been explained.

I could take it to yon Antiques Road Show – That nice 'enry Sandon might know.

But 'e spends 'is time dealing with vases And pots dug up ages ago.

And how about that lovely lady?

You know who I mean – 'il’ry Kay. I doubt she’s an expert on taches, But I’d love to 'ear what she might say.

Or the internet might be the answer – 'cause on E-bay 'bout anything goes.

Yes, even the 'airs of moustaches I’ll bet they’ve not 'ad one of those!

But 'old on a minute – I’m thinking Just what sort of buyer I’d get.

Not military memorabilia – Political weirdoes, you bet.

I don’t want no contacts with Nazis.

The past should be buried, I feel.

This 'air could attract much attention – From people who 'old no appeal.

------------------------

“I would like thee to have this memento – Tha's all that I’ve got for an 'eir, And play thy cards right with this pill-box – In no time tha’ll be millionaire.”

I’m writing this many years later – Decided my story to tell.

In spite of the wealth I might muster, I realised no way would I sell.

I asked Uncle why 'e’d still got it, ‘cause surely 'e could have been rich.

It were burning an 'ole in 'is pocket Much greater than simply an itch.

I took the box out in the country, And once the wind started to blow, I opened the box and let 'air out And Great Uncle Albert won’t know.

“In years after War in this city Denazification were rife.

I were scared they would think me a Nazi And shove me in Spandau for life.”

So next time tha's out for a picnic, Remember that out there somewhere Is the last souvenir of old 'itler.

Thou’ll not find it – it’s nobbut an 'air. NL

NL 69

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Robin in 1963

Robin of Robin Hood's Bay Reader Robin Broadbank shares his memories of his first job as a teenage errand boy delivering newspapers in Robin Hood’s Bay.

I Robin today

was 14 when my parents retired to live in the Bay. In 1963, they bought and renovated Gasworks House, a cottage behind the old gasworks site. At that time, you could buy a run-down cottage for less than a thousand pounds and probably spend half as much again doing it up. Before the new protective sea wall was built you could buy a cottage at the edge of the cliff for a couple of hundred.

This was a working village with a railway station, two post-offices, a doctor, butchers, a bakers, two grocers, newsagents, a sweet shop, a haberdashery, a fish and chip shop, a wet fish shop, three pubs, a coast-guard station, a reading room, Methodist chapel, snooker room, marine laboratory, pottery. It was possible to NL 70

work locally, rent a cottage, join in or drop out. And there was me, an errand boy with a wicker basket.

I started delivering evening papers to the Bay in ‘64. There were two, the Yorkshire Evening Post and the Yorkshire Evening Press. I carried about 25 of each, no bag, and by the end of the round fingers, clothes would be stained black by the ink. The route

"Jack used to spend

a day walking the whole of the surrounding countryside collecting orders."

READER’S MEMORY

took about half an hour. The papers arrived by bus and were left in a bus shelter, tied up in a bundle with string.

I’d start at the big houses at the top of the bank, then down into the village.

Any spares I’d drop off at Browns’ newsagents. I think I was paid 10/- a week for six nights’ deliveries, plus 10/- which old Mrs Brown used to give me surreptitiously, so together with my £1 pocket money, I was pretty well off.

At that time, £20 a week was thought to be a decent wage, so earning £1 for around three hours work was quite good for a teenager.

In the summer, in the early evening, after the visitors had gone, there was a calm interlude when sounds were minimal; as if the village was drawing breath, now the shops were shut, the voices stilled, and the alleyways were silent. What does peace sound like?

Something like this?

I did the paper job for about a year before going to work at the grocers cum post office down in the Bay. I was there during 1965 and ‘66. Dan Russell was the postmaster; he and his wife lived above and behind the shop. The main serving area was an L-shaped counter, marble-topped, with decorative painted wooden figures on the panelling. The post-office counter was a solid wooden affair with a metal grill. Down below was the cool and dark cellar, smelling of over-ripe fruit and empty lemonade bottles. In a little dark store room up near the yard was a huge metal tank of paraffin, with a big tap for drawing off the stuff into gallon measuring jugs.

I went in for a couple of hours twice a week during school term, plus Saturday mornings. I was there all week during the holidays, except for Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

My jobs included delivering groceries, keeping the shelves in the shop stocked up, unpacking and sorting the weekly delivery from the wholesaler, and occasionally delivering a telegram. The shop employed a lot of people. Selfservice was becoming the norm, but you waited to be served in Dan’s shop.

On Saturdays, there would be seven of us: Dan and an assistant behind the P.O. counter, Jack and young Elaine and two older ladies serving in the shop, and me. Boxes of tinned food, cereals, biscuits, and all manner of stuff delivered by the wholesaler on Friday would have been dumped in one of the store rooms, together with sacks of flour, wheat, sugar and dried

fruit. Sorting it out took most of the morning. By midday, a couple of dozen empty cardboard boxes would be lying around the little yard at the edge of the sea wall. Just after the next high tide, I would be expected to sling these over the rail into the sea, and a trail of cardboard, plastic bottles, rotten fruit and so on could be seen slowly floating away from the village.

The shop delivers anywhere in the Bay. Apparently, Jack used to spend a day walking the whole of the surrounding countryside collecting orders, and even items like old-style wicks or gauzes for paraffin lamps would be kept in stock, just in case someone in some out-of-the-way farm needed one. A lot of effort went into ‘doing up’ these orders, packing everything neatly into cardboard boxes for delivery by a local carter with a pick-up truck. I delivered the smaller village orders in a wicker basket twice a week or would run around with any item missing from the previous week’s order.

I liked the bustle of Saturday mornings when the shop was busy and I had plenty to do. I picture Jack at the scales weighing up sugar and dried fruit into little blue or brown paper bags, patting lumps of ‘farmhouse’ butter from a big tub into neat little packages, or cleaning the hand-driven bacon slicer at the end of the day, or throwing empty boxes out to sea, gazing over the rail for a couple of seconds and then scurrying back down to his counter.

My wages were about four pounds,

The Bay 1960s

NL 71

"Just after the next

high tide, I would be expected to sling these over the rail into the sea, and a trail of cardboard, plastic bottles, rotten fruit and so on could be seen slowly floating away from the village." ten shillings a week. I imagine the adults in the shop were paid twice that. I remember Dan complaining when the selective employment tax was introduced. This was an extra level of national insurance paid only by those employing service sector staff instead of manufacturing. It must have made many small shopkeepers think twice about employing anyone at all, and I guess Dan must have realised that, in the mid-sixties, it was no longer possible to run a business that way, but he kept staff on out of loyalty, I suppose. When he retired and went to live up in Thorpe, the shop carried on, but oh, how quietly. It had become yet another struggling post office with a staff of one. No more delivering or errand boys throwing rubbish out to sea. NL

nLife Norther NG

I WINNRY STO

New Beginnings: Short Story competition

A big congratulations to Aly Rhodes, whose work titled 'Finding Grandma' has been chosen as the winner of NorthernLife's Short Story competition. We were captivatedby the evocative narrative, the vibrant voice, and, of course, the northern backdrop. Fantastic job, Aly! FINDING GRANDMA

T

BY ALY RHODES

he mill town of Saltaire heaved with tourists - bargaining at street bazaars, eating chilli tacos in the bunting-laden streets, sinking pints outside Titus Salts’ bar and posing by the stone lions.

A kite snagged in a tree, a child cried and, inside the antiques shop, Lou discovered a fragment of her family buried in a box.

The street fair, the cheery music and the wafting food smells, tempted Lou into the warm May sunshine. The neighbour’s cat, a black and white with a trompe l’oeil eye patch, wove around her ankles, purring. Lou had been renting in Saltaire for a handful of months, but had still barely unpacked.

She’d felt lost after splitting up from her ex, so she’d followed her heart back to Yorkshire, to the family’s roots.

Lou bought a latte-to-go, then wandered down to the River Aire, towards the flower-painted barge which sold ‘the best ice cream on the water’. A pair of swans stalked the tourists. Lou preferred the waddling, quacking ducks.

On the return walk she lingered outside the antiques shop, Kat’s Curios. At the door, a life-size, cerise-lipped, Betty Boop welcomed customers, with a wink.

Lou nodded ‘Hi’ to the lady on the till and browsed along the shelves, burrowing into boxes. Myriad sepia images of Bradford, several moors and mills, the Bronte’s Haworth – riffled past her fingers, flurries of dust motes flew upwards, and clusters of monochrome faces peered at her.

Men in flat caps wearing luxuriant moustaches, in tweed jackets, standing outside pubs; women in aprons on bicycles, amidst yards heaped with laundry, in the mills. There were ladies

corseted into Edwardian gowns, posing arm-in-arm under hats as large as trays.

There were amateur dramatic groups posing on stages, theatrical backdrops . . . Lou paused, double-checked the face, gawping in surprise as she mouthed the name printed on the postcard - Edith Van Morris, Actress, 1941.

A dark-eyed woman stared at her, perched on a chair, long brunette hair twisted up and decorated with flowers, lips wide and lush. She was dressed in short velvet pantaloons and a daringly low-cut white chemise, obviously costumed for a role in some longforgotten production. She radiated confidence and glamour. Edith had autographed the card, ‘To Oliver, my darling, with love xxx’.

Lou handed over three one pound coins at the till, and, in a daze, wandered home. The eye-patch pirate cat greeted her vociferously.

Inside, Lou dragged out a battered box labelled ‘Family Albums’, dug down deep and pulled out one of cream, foxed linen.

Yes, this one. Mum’s family.

Lou remembered scraps of gossip drip-fed by her mother; wisps of a scandal, a rich, titled gentleman, rumours of a baby born out-of-wedlock, an adoption, an abandoned career, a hasty, loveless marriage blighted by alcoholism. It had been a tale echoing from another era, ancient family history and nothing to do with Lou…or her fierce ambition to work as an actress.

This ambition had led to a hard-won drama degree, driven her through the highs and lows of touring, studded with fallow ‘resting’ periods, when waitressing paid the bills. Only in this last year, under pressure from her thenpartner, had she gotten ‘a proper job’.

They’d split up anyway.

Lou sat, running her fingers over the faded postcard. “Grandma? Wow! Is that really you?”

NL 72

Edith, with her defiant gaze, didn’t look as though she’d ever give in or give up. Family lore however told another story.

“Was this ‘Oliver’ your true love?”

Lou leafed through the creamy pages, the years whisking past. There!

Found you. At a post-war family picnic in Halifax, the still-lovely face shaded by a hat – was her grandmother, now Mrs Edith Lomax. The face had the same high cheekbones, those wide lips, but she was looking away from the man beside her.

The man was Edith’s husband, Dickie Lomax, somewhat portly, one proprietorial arm resting on his wife’s skirt, cigar clamped in mouth. Children of various ages, including Lou’s mother, here just a chubby toddler, sprawled around the couple.

Lou pinned the two photographs of Edith on the cork-board. Only a decade or so apart, yet revealing a chasm of change in her Grandma’s circumstances.

Lou flicked on the kettle, picking up a ‘To Do’ jotter. In neon pink pen she scrawled, Reactivate acting ad in ‘Spotlight’.

She wrote some more things down on the whiteboard, before she got busy chopping up vegetables and peeling potatoes for supper. She took the trouble to lay the table, placing flowers in a vase.

Supper for one was fine. In fact, it was perfect.

Above her on the board, in block red capitals- WRITE EDITH’S STORY – ONE WOMAN SHOW? TOUR? Beneath that in smaller letters - Adopt a cat.

Fun storyline, the writer employs vivid language that transports the reader into the character’s mind, and delivers a satisfying resolution from a welldeveloped plot.

WRITERS' COMPETITION TIME - THE WINNERS And a huge well done and congratulations to runners-up Corinne Harrison (Lerwick Bay) and Scott Davies (The Improbable Meeting).

What a talented bunch you are!

LERWICK BAY

BY CORINNE HARRISON

I

t was the kind of early hour on a Saturday morning Emily used to loath. Waddling over the pebbled sand of the Sletts and cringing at the dank cold under her soles, she pulled at her heavy wetsuit.

Her two new friends had insisted on this morning venture, two women who were well accustomed to the wild ways of island life. They walked ahead of her; Annie, a dentist with a hanger-like smile, and Lillian, a tall woman who taught PE at Lerwick’s high school.

Bay water tittered with ripples.

Seagulls trailed across the heavens. Under it, Lerwick Bay looked ethereal, as though glazed over with delicate blue glass.

Emily’s friends stopped by the toes of the water and she joined them to face the January waves.

If things don’t go right…

Go Left.

Emily had been sitting in Joe and the Juice in Wimbledon Village, perched on an uncomfortable wooden stool, listening to the blender rage.

She’d been rubbing the third finger on her left hand, on the band of skin that was now smooth and indented, when the sign on the wall caught her eye.

People bundled into the shop to queue in front of the sign. She leaned around them. Someone called her order, scanning the heads of the customers.

The words peeled from the canvas and burned in the air.

The sight of her mother waiting for her outside the Dog & Fox made Emily take a large gulp of her shake. Her mother folded her into her arms, gold rings pressing hard on Emily’s back. She smelt of heady Chanel and coconut butter.

“How are you doing darling?”

Her mother asked. She had a crooning voice, like the thrum of a

purr. Green eyes went to Emily’s hastily scraped up ponytail, and she ran her palm over a flare of hair.

“Please don’t ask me that, mum.” Emily said.

“Well what do you expect me to do? You’ve shut me out for weeks. You haven’t let me help you through this.”

“I just needed some time.”

Her mother pulled Emily’s arm in and started to walk them down the street. It was Sunday, a day Emily habitually set aside for brunch with girlfriends, for the gym, or for afternoons with hers or Daryl’s families. But Emily had kept to herself, alone in her house for weeks. She was now starting to wonder if she should have stayed there.

“Well don’t wallow. You must keep yourself busy – you couldn’t be in a better place for it. London’s got all you need here.”

Emily sucked in her top lip. That had been her mantra too, but now she wasn’t quite sure why. She’d swallowed the busy city life whole – but look where it had left her.

She made to carry on across the road, but her mother held her back.

“No, let’s go left here. I want to take you for some real food.”

Go left.

Emily had lived in South London all her life. A place where the hollow call of commercial planes pierced the sky, where close hugging buildings fell like stairs upon each other, where streets bustled and traffic continued underground like caterpillars scuttling under foliage.

But now, Emily sold most of her belongings. Quit her job. Packed a large suitcase.

She went left.

And headed for the northernmost point of the UK. “You’ll enjoy it – eventually. You might even come back next year,” Lillian said.

Emily gave a breathy laugh.

“I’m only here for a year. Not sure if I’ll be here next January.”

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Life NorthernER

RUNN UP Lillian grinned.

“That’s what I said.”

The cold screamed along the tracks of her feet. Then, up her legs as she waded further in. She fought the urge to retreat and splashed forward.

She saw Daryl packing his suitcase, saying something about her never being home, that he no longer felt like they were a couple.

Her body had forgotten how to breathe. She fought to take in sharp sips of air.

He’d left. And she’d festered with the feeling of everything else going with him.

The water was now at her waist.

She gritted her teeth and swung another leg forward. Her friends’ heads bobbed far ahead, so she launched herself into an awkward

" The water was

now at her waist.

She gritted her teeth and swung another leg forward " front stroke. The shock was starting to subside, and soon, the water felt marginally warmer.

She was several metres in when her limbs stilled. Her eyes fell on the pale thin line of the horizon.

There was something about the way Lerwick bay gaped into the North Sea, about how the endless stretch of blue obliterated any sense of existence. She felt – suspended.

“Swim,” Annie shouted back.

A fog of air billowed from Emily in a long, tumbling stream. She felt like she’d been holding it in all her life. She took a breath in.

And plunged under the waves.

The writer portrays strong themes of loss and new beginnings, using the description of the water to imitate the character stepping forward in her life.

›

WRITERS' COMPETITION TIME - THE WINNERS

THE IMPROBABLE MEETING OF HOWARD & TRACEY

BY SCOTT DAVIES

T

he way in which Howard and Tracey met was incredibly improbable.

Improbable in the same way that a man eating a taco, only to find it is the bad kind of taco, would find it improbable that he might vomit over a third-storey balcony and have said vomit land on, for example, the manager of a Pret A Manger out walking her dog after a long and tiring day of dealing with the general public.

Of course, if one thing is for certain, it is that the big man upstairs, by whatever name He might go by in your house, has a panache for the improbable, especially when it comes to the final resting spot for a mouthful of vomit.

It, therefore, stands to reason and becomes far more probable than it does improbable that if a man is to vomit over a thirdstorey balcony after consuming a taco of the bad variety, he will hit the manager of a local Pret A Manger squarely on the head, but thankfully miss the small terrier she is walking entirely.

And so this is how they had met.

Howard, a chubby freelance web designer who only shaved twice a month, had ordered a taco to be delivered to his house while he sat in his dim living room, ate it over the sink to save on the washing up, and almost instantly regretted it.

Some 30 minutes later, he found himself with a choice to make: rush through his living room door, up the corridor, through the bathroom door, lift up the toilet lid and hope that nothing escaped from any opening of his body en route, or swing the patio doors open in his living room leading directly onto his small balcony and heave his guts over the balcony and down to the pavement three floors down.

‘Well,’ he thought to himself

as a solitary bead of sweat trickled down his temple, ‘option two saves on washing up.’

The decision was made, and the taco received the old heave-ho over the balcony, landing, as has been covered previously, on the head of the manager of a Pret A Manger.

This manager of a Pret A Manger was not named Tracey.

He was called Duncan, and for him, this was the final straw. He slopped himself home, showered, put a suit on, popped Derek in the passenger seat of his Seat Ibiza, drove 86 miles to Whitby Bay, tied Derek up outside a fish market, and hurled himself into the sea.

dental hygienist who once, by her mere audacity of existing, caused a cyclist to dismount against his will as he slammed into the post of a traffic light. It was even more improbable that they would fall in love, but here we are. This is the scenario we find ourselves in.

But how?

This, you will recall, was the improbable part of the story.

A quirky tale that draws the reader in immediately. The piece stood out for its unconventional humour and unique voice. NL Life NorthernER

RUNN UP

" She was the kind

of woman who stopped work on building sites when she walked by them and caused minor motoring incidents whilst she waited for the bus. " Tracey was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and straight white teeth. She was the kind of woman who stopped work on building sites when she walked by them and caused minor motoring incidents whilst she waited for the bus. As a child, she had been handpicked to model knitwear for a magazine, and she has been on the up ever since. As a grown woman, modelling has fallen by the wayside. Instead, she is turning her hand to dental hygiene, a job that pays well and lets her set her own hours. As I say, she has been broadly on the up.

It was, therefore, improbable that a slightly overweight hermitted web designer who rarely wore anything that wasn’t made of flannel would meet a beautiful

NL 75

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ALF

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Travelling Troupes:

John and Dorothy at The Muni

The Actors Who Came to Colne

BY LAURA STOREY

TAKE ANOTHER STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH RESIDENT HISTORIAN GEOFF CRAMBIE AS HE REMINISCES ABOUT THE THEATRE TROUPES THAT STAYED AT HIS HOUSE DURING SUMMER SEASONS AT THE MUNICIPAL HALL

I

n the post-war years, the Crambie family threw open the doors of their home to provide digs to groups of travelling actors performing at the Municipal Hall.

Heading up north from London, travelling actors found a home from home at No.8 Hall Street. Geoff’s parents had moved up to Colne from Coventry after their house was bombed in the Blitz.

“They had lost everything,” Geoff explains sadly. “But they were tough in those days.” To make a little extra

money, Geoff’s parents offered lodgings to the actors who arrived in Colne, fresh from the big city and ready to shine in the summer season of popular plays at the Muni. Colne welcomed a troupe of twelve actors each summer for a remarkable 18-week stay.

“I used to go to at least 10 out of 17 productions. Mum and Dad would take us because we got complimentary tickets, so we never paid,” Geoff smiles.

Despite emerging from the bright lights of London, the little northern town of Colne had something that kept NL 78

John and Dorothy on their wedding day with Geoff’s mum and dad

the actors returning year after year.

Colne was the only town outside of London that the players performed in.

“They loved coming to Colne. They said they had an affinity,” Geoff smiles.

The theatrical journey commenced in 1946 when actor John Evans graced Colne’s stage and became a fixture

in the Crambie household for five seasons until 1950. Roy Luscombe soon followed, sharing the attic with John.

“My bedroom was just below; I’d hear them return after the stage shows.”

Amidst the glittering performances, the actors’ off-stage demeanour was decidedly untheatrical.

Returning home after each show, the professionals only stayed up long enough to finish supper before retiring early for rehearsals the next day. “They were professionals,” Geoff affirms.

Despite their unassuming routines, the actors gave Colne an air of sophistication, appearing almost “posh” to young Geoff. Notably, John Evans celebrated his wedding at the Crambie residence, with Geoff’s parents serving as best man and matron of honour, creating lasting

“Amidst the glittering performances, the actors’ offstage demeanour was decidedly untheatrical.” memories of a splendid day.

Geoff vividly recalls the jubilant celebrations that marked each of his birthdays. After arriving in Colne with nothing, the Crambies found success with their pet shop, the Colunio Pet Stores. For each of Geoff’s birthdays, his dad would throw a party for all of the street and the players.

The Repertory Players’ very last season took place in the summer of 1950; Geoff kept hold of the rare “Peg O’ My Heart programme; the play starred his lodger John Evans. The last play the Players performed was ‘Little Lambs Eat Ivy’ on Friday, 11th of August 1950. “There were eleven curtain calls and not a dry eye in the house as Bonnie Colne bid farewell to these celebrated performers of those postwar years.”

After the final bow, John Evans returned to London, where he became a celebrated theatre and radio actor.

“All our family were most proud to have our friendship with John and his family,” Geoff smiles. As well as a glamorous headshot John posted to the family following his success, Geoff

John Evans’ promo photograph

has even more mementoes from John and his friends, including lead animal toys bought for little Geoff from Colne Market for a shilling each. The players bought him about 80, and he’s kept them since 1948.

Geoff’s collection also includes various programs from the Repertory Players’ shows, a colourful testament to the dozens of performances that once captivated audiences. “They were marvellous,” Geoff beams. “I am so glad these have survived. I don’t know if anyone else kept them.”

In 1951, the London Repertory Players assumed the theatrical mantle, with John Evans making occasional guest appearances. Two years later, Gayfayre Productions took charge, introducing one of their most successful productions, The Ghost Train. “It was a great success, bringing A selection of Geoff’s theatre programmes

NL 79

full houses for the entire week. The famous Arnold Ridley, who was in Dad’s Army, apparently got the best income from anything he ever did from the Ghost Train.”

“The travelling repertory companies’ days were sadly at an end.

The coronation killed it as everyone bought a television set,” explains Geoff.

“It was life-changing.”

As television screens entered homes and the coronation beckoned a new age, the travelling repertory companies took their final bow, but seven decades later, the enchantment of their performances endured. Those who generously opened their homes still hold cherished memories of these charismatic performers. The legacy of those bygone days lives on, a testament to the enduring magic that once graced the stages of Colne. NL Geoff with Gayfayre Productions poster from 1953

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NL 81

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NL 82

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Me and my clock

TH E CLOC K M EN

Take a stroll through time with a husband consumed by clock work, a lost key and a new-found connection with inventor John Harrison.

T

wo men living three miles and three hundred years apart. I might never have made the connection between them had I not been sitting in traffic when something compelled me to turn and read the Blue Plaque affixed to a nondescript house on Doncaster Road.

And just like that, everything clicked.

The plaque, the clock, the book.

My husband’s obsession with John Harrison. My husband’s obsession, how this all began.

BY VICTORIA SPINDLER My husband and his watches were enough to drive a girl insane. Each one is special and meaningful in its own way. A sentimental favourite, a business award, an antique with springs and mechanisms no longer made.

Bored to death with the subject, I’d made a habit of tuning everything horological out, which is why I paid little attention to the grandfather clock in the billiard room at Nostell, in spite of the fact that each time I visited, the docent went out of her way to point it out.

Or the book on my husband’s nightstand for the past two months.

A book I shifted around daily when tidying up, and yet still I didn’t take it in.

Not even when my husband announced he wanted to visit Nostell, that there was a clock there he’d wanted to see.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” My husband whispered, staring at one of the three 'longcase' clocks made by Harrison and his brother nearly three centuries before.

“He was barely 20 years old when he made this,” he exclaimed, telling me the eight-day clock with its wooden key was made from self-oiling woods and had NL 84

an escapement that prevented the clock from stopping when wound.

“There’s a metal strip affixed to its pendulum, so changes in temperature and humidity won’t affect its swing,” he told me smugly. “Genius! Sheer genius! Not bad for a man with hardly any education,” he waxed on, telling me Harrison’s father, a carpenter at Nostell, taught him everything he knew.

“And did you know Harrison was born and baptised at Nostell?”

I looked at my husband; this was not an obsession we shared. Not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm, I told him to take his time admiring the clock and that I’d meet him in The Stables for lunch in an hour’s time.

“I don’t get you,” my husband began as we sat in Trusty’s Den with bowls of mint pea soup. “There’s more to history than castles. This is the man who invented the H4!”

“The hydrogen bomb?”

“No, the marine chronometer. The sea watch, Captain Cook took on his second and third voyages worldwide, the first reliable method of establishing longitude at sea. A pocket-sized watch that lost only five seconds every six

months. Surely you’ve read about the contest and the prize?”

Over lunch, I learned about the contest established by Parliament in 1714 that consumed the next thirty years of Harrison’s life. A contest with a 20,000-pound prize to the first person to devise an accurate way of telling time at sea, so important to an expanding Empire. Without an accurate way of telling time and measuring distance, there was no way to know your exact location, making latitude and astronomical sightings essential issues of the day.

Over coffee, I heard about the H1, H2, and H3, Harrison’s initial attempts. Successful, but needing refinement- something to do with “balancing issues.”

A second cup of coffee was dedicated to The Transatlantic Crossing, the trip that put the H4 to the ultimate test. The trip that secured the prize - except it didn’t, the academics in London refusing to believe that a man with no formal education, a tinkerer from Yorkshire, had done what they could not.

“Professional jealousy,” my husband remarked as we progressed to cup number three. Hyper-caffeinated, he continued relating the Odyssey, explaining that it wasn’t until a petition was made to King George III that Harrison could finally claim his prize.

“How do you know all this?”

“That book I’m reading, the one on my nightstand, you keep moving it around and losing my place.”

And so, we returned home and went about our life and forgot about anything horological, at least as far as I was concerned. Until one day when I lost the key to a French antique clock I once bought for my husband as an anniversary present; knowing his obsession, I was sure he would be pleased. Except he wasn’t.

And thus, the clock was designated mine. It was me who put it on the mantle, me who held the key. I stared at its tiny parts and mused over what it had seen on our many journeys. The Colorado Rockies were covered in snow, and the Connecticut woods were with turkey and doe. And now, standing in Yorkshire suspended in time, it needed a key to make it chime.

“Not a problem,” the clock man from the Yellow Pages told me.

The clockman’s house was stunning and fine, full of hundreds of pieces keeping the best of time. A world is full of splendour, wonder, and beauty,

Maggie and Trusty, with whom I’d walk daily at Nostell

a world full of delicate ringing and mechanical song.

Taking my clock wrapped in a frayed towel, the clock man scuttled off to make tea and to find me a key, leaving me alone to peruse his gallery. I’d been wandering around, admiring his clocks, when suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks, having come across the one.

“It’s just like mine,” I told the clock man as he came through a door, balancing a tea service in one hand and my clock in the other.

“Not quite,” he replied.

possible when we’d just met.

The clock man didn’t answer. He merely looked at his watch, told me he was “late for an important date,” and promptly showed me to the door.

Strange to say the least, nevertheless, I soon forgot about it until that day when I was stuck in traffic and saw that blue plaque mounted above the door.

And that’s when it hit me; I’d been walking in this great man’s footsteps in a place he once called home. At Nostell, where I walked with my dogs daily.

I first met him in the parish church

" And that’s when it hit me when I realised

I’d been walking in this great man’s footsteps in a place he once called home."

“You mean my clock is a fake? It’s not real?” I asked, picking at a raspberry scone.

The clockman nodded and told me the one in his cabinet was the real McCoy, a French antique, while mine was but a mediocre imitation from a clockmaker in Albany, New York, a company that’d long ago gone belly up. It is pretty to look at, keeping good time, but not much in the way of a long-term investment, unlike owning a Turner.

A comment that made my ears perk up. Turner? I had a faux Turner, one I loved as much as if it were real. My faux Turner, which I’d purchased at the Pontefract Art Show, is a tableau I’d bought at a fraction of what it might have cost had it been real.

“I know, you’ve told me.”

I stared inquisitively at the man across the table and asked how that was NL 85

cemetery, running his hand over the old weathered stone. A stone angel guarding the soul of someone neither of us knew. Someone so ancient, so long ago forgotten, the tombstone inscription illegible, yielding no clue.

Months later, standing beneath the Pyramid on the old carriage road, the portal to this magnificent estate, I thought about my two clockmen living three miles and three hundred years apart. I considered the connection between them, the plaque, the clock, and the book, then decided I had it all wrong.

I was the linchpin; I was the key.

I was married to a man with a time obsession who bought him a clock, then proceeded to lose its key. If it weren’t for me, none of our paths would’ve crossed; instead, now we’re linked for eternity. NL

HOME & GARDEN 88 CHUCK IN THE CHINTZ

9 1 G R A N D M A' S W AY S F O R M O D E R N D AY S

9 3 B L O S S O M I N G F L O W E R S B R I N G W E A LT H

PRIMARK HOME PAINTED STRIPED TABLEWARE From £3 primark.com

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KAYO UPHOLSTERED SOFA £1329.99, wayfair.co.uk BLUE FLORAL HAND PAINTED WOODEN CABINET £435, theroost.com

Chuck in the

Chintz

Moving away from neutrals and minimalism, 2024 is the year of individuality. It's time for a much more eclectic look - Chintz is back!

FLORAL EASTER BUNNY WREATH £24.99, lights4fun.co.uk

PINK FLORAL TABLECLOTH WITH STRIPED BORDER £105, joannawood.com

Combine vintage florals with stripes for a contemporary twist.

VINTAGE FLOWER HAND PAINTED METAL TUMBLER £ 16.99, prettytiffin.co.uk

FESTIVE GARLAND LADDER WITH LIGHT UP STAR £PRIDE 15.99, lights4fun.co.uk & JOY dunelm.com

TUFTED ROUND FLORAL COCKTAIL OTTOMAN £96.99, wayfair.co.uk

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Try adding retro design to contemporary schemes

FOXMOOR DINING TABLE £899, WOVEN CANE DINING CHAIR £179, VELVET FRILL CUSHION £40, johnlewis.com

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FRIDA KAHLO PEACH FUZZ PORTRAIT £13 inkanddrop.com

FLORAL PRINT BY CATRIN WELZ-STEIN £18, wallsauce.com

HONEY YELLOW RETRO FLORAL PRINT COASTER £4, enamelhappy.co.uk

PALACE FABRIC 4 SEATER SCATTER BACK SOFA £2,195, BOUTIQUE PALACE STOOL £545, furniturevillage.co.uk

ATHENA TERRACOTTA VASE £ 99, cultfurniture.com STRIPE PLATE £ 15, reimaginedbyannastark.com STONEWARE MUG - CORAL BELLIS DAISY £8.49, giselagraham.co.uk

FLORAL EXPLOSION - ART LAMPSHADE £59, welovecushions.co.uk

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SOPHIE ALLPORT NATIONAL TRUST BLOSSOM NAPKINS £19, sophieallport.com BLUE BOUQUET CERAMIC WALL ART £30, reimaginedbyannastark.com

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HOME & GARDEN

Grandma’s Ways, For Modern Days!

Discover the cleaning secrets passed down through generations.

Our thrifty and natural solutions will save you money and contribute to a healthier, cleaner home.

Universal Cleaner: Ditch expensive supermarket cleaners and go for a hunt in your kitchen cupboards. Mix 50g bicarbonate of soda, 50ml lemon juice, one tablespoon salt, and a litre of cold water.

Pour into a spray bottle and get to work.

steam loosen the grime. Wipe away effortlessly for a spotless interior.

Shiny Taps: Combat water stains on taps with a simple solution. Rub a cut lemon over the fixtures, let it sit for a few minutes, and then rinse. The acid works wonders for removing mineral deposits.

Drain Unblocker: Are you tired of chemical-laden drain cleaners? Try a natural solution. Mix water, Borax, and washing soda to create a robust, eco-friendly remedy for regular maintenance and stubborn blockages. For regular cleaning, mix four tablespoons of Borax with 200ml water.

Gleaming Glassware: Restore the sparkle to your glassware by soaking it in a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar. Let it sit for a few hours, then rinse thoroughly for a crystal-clear finish.

Rust Removal: Say goodbye to rust on

Get the grout out! Bid farewell to bathroom mould

metal surfaces. Add a paste with lemon juice and salt to rusted areas, and let it sit for a couple of hours. Scrub away the paste to reveal a rust-free surface.

with a homemade paste. Bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar work wonders. Your bathroom sealant will look brand new with a bit of patience and a scrub.

Natural Air Freshener: Banish stale odours from your home by simmering a pot of water with citrus slices, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. This natural concoction will infuse your space with a delightful, inviting fragrance.

Toilet TLC: Forget abrasive cleaners.

Opt for a can of fizzy cola to tackle hard water marks in your toilet bowl. Let it sit, scrub away, and revel in a sparkling, eco-friendly result.

Grab a Grapefruit: Remove tough grease stains

Dishwasher Loading Tips: Add scrunched

from pots and pans with grapefruit juice. Not only does it leave stuff sparkling, but it also contains antiviral and antibacterial properties.

foil for sparkling cutlery and use white vinegar as a rinse aid for machine cleaning.

Stainless Steel Shine: Reveal the brilliance of stainless-steel appliances with a mix of olive oil and vinegar. Apply the concoction with a soft cloth, and watch as smudges disappear, leaving a pristine shine.

Sparkling Silverware: Revive tarnished

silverware effortlessly. Line a basin with aluminium foil, add boiling water, a tablespoon of salt, and a dash of white vinegar. Immerse silverware for a few minutes, then witness the tarnish disappear.

Wooden Furniture Elixir: Nourish wooden furniture with equal parts olive oil and lemon juice.

Wipe the mixture onto surfaces and witness a natural glow while the lemon adds a subtle, fresh scent.

DIY Air Purifier: Enhance indoor air quality by creating your own air purifier. Combine baking soda and a few drops of essential oil in a jar with holes in the lid. Place it strategically in your home to enjoy continuous natural freshness.

Treasure Your Towels: Don’t waste money on kitchen papers; invest in some hardy absorbent cloths that you can clean with, then stick them in the washing machine when needed.

When Life Gives You Lemons:

Microwave Magic: Tired of battling microwave

stains? Fill a bowl with water and add a few slices of lemon. Microwave for five minutes, and let the

Use them to brighten your white garments.

Soaking faded whites in lemon juice and hot water will leave them looking as good as new. NL

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HOME & GARDEN

✂

T

Blossoming flowers bring wealth, or so they say…

he Chinese New Year is a traditional celebration that signifies To celebrate Chinese Year the start of the lunar of the Dragon it is traditional to calendar year. This year, people gift lucky plants.. worldwide will celebrate the Year of ideal plant to the Dragon by treating their nearest and gift. The popular dearest with flowers and houseplants that houseplant is known for its strength, are believed to bring good luck; here are a flexibility, and resilience, with its hollow centre few of our favourites… of bamboo representing openness and the ability to receive. Lucky Bamboo prefers bright, indirect light, and the Fertility and Abundance roots like to be consistently moist to bring positive energy Nertera ‘Coral Beads’ - Thought to represent fertility and for the Year of the Dragon. abundance, this plant boasts gorgeous orange berries in a colourway that perfectly complements the Lunar New Year. Happiness and Eternal love A low-growing houseplant with small, oval-shaped leaves, Chinese Jasmine – This beautiful blooming plant Nertera prefers bright, indirect light, so it would thrive on showcases tiny white star-like flowers with delicate yellow a windowsill with regular watering. This centres. Symbolising happiness and small, easy-to-maintain compact plant eternal love during the Lunar New Year, would be ideal for those wanting colour in the Jasmine perfume will fill your home their homes. with a sweet scent over the celebratory period. A decorative and fitting addition Good luck and Prosperity to celebrations like the Lunar New Year, Lucky Bamboo is often associated with we recommend you keep jasmine good luck and prosperity in various plants in a location with plenty of cultures, particularly in Asia, so it is the filtered sunlight.

Lucky Bamboo

Nertera ‘Coral Beads’

Elegance

Clivia minata – It is loved for its lush green foliage and vibrant, trumpetshaped flowers that come in orange, red, or yellow shades. Clivia is believed to bring both rarity and elegance, making it a symbolic and decorative choice for the lunar season. Place it in a well-lit room, but avoid exposing it to direct sunlight, especially during the hottest part of the day. ›

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HOME & GARDEN

✂ Clivia minata Flowering Azeleas

Chinese Flowering Jasmine

" Azaleas, known for their

vibrant and colourful flowers, are considered a symbol of success and auspiciousness."

Pilea ‘Coin Plant’

Wealth and Fortune

Pilea ‘Coin Plant’ – Pilea peperomioides, commonly known as the Chinese Money Plant, Coin Plant, or Pancake Plant is perfect for the Chinese New Year and is well associated with bringing wealth. The plant boasts round coin-shaped leaves, symbolise prosperity. It can tolerate lower light conditions, but it thrives in a well-lit spot without direct sunlight and will be a welcome addition to in an attractive pot or container.

Success

Azaleas, known for their vibrant and colourful flowers, are considered a symbol of success and auspiciousness. It is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts; with their blossoming flowers, Azaleas symbolise the renewal of life and the promise of positive things to come in the new year, they like well-draining, acidic soil to grow in.

Jade Plant

Fortune

In Chinese culture, the Jade Plant is believed to attract great fortune. Jade Plants are relatively easy to care for, making them accessible to a wide range of gardeners, including those who may not have a green thumb. They will thrive in welldraining soil, moderate sunlight, and soil allowed to dry out between waterings.

Bromeliads are known for their unique rosette-shaped foliage and striking flower bracts, which can come in various colours, adding a lively and celebratory atmosphere during the Lunar New Year. They are believed to bring good fortune to those who receive them. They generally prefer well-lit areas without direct sunlight for extended periods and must be protected from drafts and sudden temperature changes. NL NL 95

Collect rainfall in winter for use in summer

Bromeliads

H E A LT H & S E L F 9 8 SW E AT S M A RT W I T H D R M I L L I 1 0 1 S P R I N G C L E A N YO U R S E L F- C A R E R O U T I N E

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102 PENDLE RAMBLERS

Dr Milli Sweat smart:

the role of exercise as a lifestyle medicine pillar

W

Meet Dr Milli, a North-West based GP, lifestyle medicine doctor; here she shares her thoughts on nutrition and mental health.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE SHOULD YOU DO?

e all know how beneficial exercise is, not just for our physical health but also for our mental health. Studies show that exercise and walking 8,000 steps a day are linked with a 51% lower risk of death, with this figure rising further the more steps we take in a day. We also know from studies that even in those who are overweight and obese, there is still a myriad of benefits from exercising to our health.

WHY SHOULD WE EXERCISE?

Everyone has different exercise goals and a ‘why’ for exercising. People exercise for many reasons, and it is crucial that we understand someone’s goals, as this will impact and determine the type and amount of exercise someone should partake in. People may exercise for various reasons, some of which can include the following: l Fat loss l Muscle gains l Mental health benefits l Improving their sleep l Improving their fitness l Increasing their lifespan

The guidelines in the UK are that we should engage in: Two and a half hours a week of moderate-intensity exercise OR One hour and fifteen minutes of highintensity exercise a week A subjective way to ascertain if your exercise is moderate or high intensity, is your ability to talk or sing when you are exercising. More objective ways include monitoring our heart rate and heart-rate zones. With the hype and boom of wearable technologies, from heart monitoring belts to watches, this is a straightforward measure to see if you are exercising in the correct zone to meet your goals/needs.

WHAT ARE HEART-RATE ZONES?

Five heart-rate ‘zones’ relate to the percentage of your maximum heart rate.

Zone 1 – grey zone training is when your heart rate is 50-60% of your maximum heart rate and is considered the zone to be in when warming up prior to exercising to help prevent injury.

Zone 2 – blue zone training is when your heart rate zone

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HEALTH & SELF is 60-70% of your max heart rate, is considered light exertion, and is a great zone for utilising fat stores and fat loss/burning.

Zone 3 – green zone training is when your heart rate is 70-80% of your maximum heart rate and is considered the zone to be in when wanting to increase your aerobic fitness.

Zone 4 – yellow zone training is when your heart rate zone is 80-90% of your max heart rate, is considered hard exertion and is a great zone to be in for increasing your anaerobic threshold.

Zone 5 – red zone training is when your heart rate zone is 90%-100% of your max heart rate, is considered maximum exertion and is a great zone to be in for increasing your power, maximum oxygen intake and cellular health.

WHAT EXERCISE SHOULD YOU DO?

We can think of exercise in different categories and different forms.

Cardiorespiratory exercise – this can be in the form of swimming, running, walking, cycling and/or rowing, to name a few. As the name implies, this type of exercise is great at training your heart and lungs to be stronger.

Strength training – the UK guidelines are that adults should partake in at least two weekly strength training sessions on non-consecutive days. Strength training can be lifting weights in the gym, but it can also be bodyweight exercises. There is a misconception, especially amongst some women, that strength training can make us ‘bulky’ - but this is difficult to achieve unless we are specifically fuelled for this.

High–intensity interval training is where you do

" Some women exercise

according to their menstrual cycle to help support and balance their hormones "

brain health. So don’t forget to incorporate this training style in your exercise plans; it helps with balance as we age and is becoming well known, and more research is being done on its role in longevity.

HORMONAL CHANGES WHEN WE EXERCISE.

Some women exercise according to their menstrual cycle to help support and balance their hormones; in the follicular phase, they are more energetic and are more tolerant of HIIT and stress, whereas, in the luteal phase, exercises such as Pilates and yoga can help support progesterone by activating the calming parasympathetic nervous system.

Excess exercise and over-exercising can cause an increase in cortisol, the stress hormone and can have a knock-on negative effect on sex hormones (oestrogen and progesterone).

However, exercise has many positive benefits on our hormones and chemicals. We know exercise can help release and support the function of: Serotonin – our happy hormone and the body’s natural antidepressant Dopamine – the feel-good motivating chemical Endorphins – our body’s natural painkiller

Growth hormone Testosterone.

short periods of high-intensity exercises with some rest in between. This can be cardio, e.g. running or strength training, i.e. lifting weights to achieve it.

Flexibility exercises, e.g. stretching Balance exercises, e.g. tai chi, yoga, hot yoga.

Everyone is different in their likes and wants when it comes to exercise; running is like Marmite to some people; you either love it or hate it. But a balance of various exercises is crucial to get the variety of benefits each style offers.

I talk more about the concepts in this article in my Amazon best-selling book (Happy Hormones, Happy You; Beaten Track Publishing 2023) and how to exercise with your menstrual cycle and in the menopausal phase to help with stubborn weight loss.

Exercise plans are also included.

But as sedentary behaviour is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society, getting some daily movement that we enjoy and can incorporate into our daily living to help improve our physical and mental health is pivotal. Let’s all get moving!

Until next time.

Out now Dr Milli x £13.99. Amazon.co.uk

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR LONGEVITY?

As we age, we lose about 3-8 % of muscle mass every ten years. The muscle is a vital organ; it’s the body’s largest organ. Our muscle determines our metabolic rate, and building this up can assist with fat loss, especially in post-menopausal women. Muscle also releases many substances and proteins linked to and vital in supporting NL 99

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TREAT YOURSELF ON THE TRAIL

AllTrails+ app £35.99 per year / £2.99 per month alltrails.com

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LIGHT UP YOUR MORNINGS

Lumie Bodyclock Rise 100 Light Alarm Clock £79.99 amazon.co.uk

RAMBLING

IN THE RAIN WITH THE PENDLE WALKERS

BY LAURA STOREY

The Pendle Walkers are approaching their 117th year of ambling through the wild moors, forests and fields of the Pendle countryside.

T

he club’s story began when, in 1892, a Colne reverend – Thomas Arthur Leonard, decided to take a group of the town’s young men to the Lake District to experience the beauty of nature.

The trip was a great success and led to the formation of the Co-operative Holidays Association (CHA) in 1907.

18 years before the famous Ramblers

Association was formed.

Over a century later, and the club is still walking – around Pendle, into the Ribble Valley, across the border into the Yorkshire Dales and Calderdale and back to the Lake District, where the first walk was held.

They head out each Saturday and Tuesday for the longer walks (eight-13 miles) and each Tuesday for the shorter walks (five miles). As well as

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hosting the Tuesday strollers, a group that meets every Tuesday at Colne Asda for shorter, slower walks.

As a keen walker, I should have already been a regular member of the Pendle Walkers, but I was a bit nervous about walking in a group. I’m not the type who steams ahead, occasionally checking their watch to see how many miles they’ve forged. Instead, you’d more likely find me dawdling as I try to

HEALTH & SELF

The Pendle Ramblers set off

“I expected the walk to be called off due to the bad weather.

Of course, I had underestimated the hardy Lancastrian Pendle Walkers”

in Wainwright’s old adage – “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing.”

“Just bring your waterproofs!”

Tony Helmn, the walk’s leader, advised as I hurried back into my car from the office, soaked already, to drive to the meeting point – the car park in Nelson’s Victoria Park.

It was easy to spot the Pendle Walkers as I arrived, a group of nine hardy ramblers in walking boots and waterproofs.

“We’d usually have around 20 walkers,” Tony explains as we set off across the B6249 and continue through Victoria Park along Pendle Water’s banks. The weather has deterred some, it seems.

After a short stroll through the park, we head back on ourselves slightly, turning up Lower Parrock Road and crossing Barrowford Road at the pedestrian crossing, down a path next to a huge newly built estate. “This used to be all trees,” Tony reminisces sadly.

Luckily, it’s not too far before the path becomes lined with beautiful elms and birch trees. We’re climbing up and away from the town of Nelson. It’s a forgiving slope, and as I am chatting to Tony, we walk at a comfortable pace, stopping occasionally for those who need more time to make their way up or avoid the muddy stream that has emerged down the bank.

We end up on Wheatley Lane Road, and Tony leads us to a stile next to All Souls RCC Cemetery. He hitches himself up, then stops. A pause. “We may need to go another way.”

The small stream that had trickled

decide on the best place for a spot of lunch.

With all this in mind, I decided to skip past the longer walks, which I’m told are for people who like to get their miles in while still having a bit of a natter and decided on a short five-mile hike around Noggarth above Nelson.

The walk took place on a rainy Tuesday morning, and, as I was driving to Northern Life’s offices with my windscreen wipers on full whack, I expected the walk to be called off due to the bad weather. Of course, I had underestimated the hardy Lancastrian Pendle Walkers, who certainly believe

“The small stream that had trickled down the rocky path was nothing compared to the lagoon that had built up behind the stone stile”

The ‘Lagoon’

down the rocky path was nothing compared to the lagoon that had built up behind the stone stile. Another member leans over, lowering their walking pole into the murky swamplike water. It covers almost half. The water would be up to our knees.

Luckily, Tony has lived in Nelson his ›

›

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whole life and has been a member of Pendle Walkers since 1985. We’re on his home turf, so he knows plenty of routes. We head further along the road before turning just before the junction of Carr Hall Road, which heads back down to Nelson. I’m told the huge trees that line Carr Hall Road were planted to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. We don’t head down but up.

Along Sandyhall Lane, Nelson comes into view as we rise higher and higher.

Photos never do nature justice; it’s hard to explain the magical feeling of looking down over empty fields at houses that now look like tiny specks in the distance.

We reach Noggarth Tea Gardens, a beautiful spot for a brew that looks out over Pendle Hill. But it’s not time for lunch quite yet, and Tony leads us onwards down a path to the right of the cafe, over a stile and into a field with mud that quelches and sucks your boots into it. You can’t deny that view, though. Pendle Hill’s familiar slope and straight ahead a prominent round lump in the ground on top of which sits a stone tower.

“That’s Blacko Tower,” Tony explains, “Or Stansfield Tower, as a man called Jonathan Stansfield built it in the 19th century.”

No one was quite sure why he built it. “One story said he built it so he could see into the Ribble Valley and wave to his lover, but you can’t imagine that would work – apart from anything, he was ancient when the tower was completed; you can’t imagine his

“We followed the dog walker, skirting bogs that would steal our boots from off our feet” eyesight would have been anywhere near good enough!” Tony laughs.

After walking along the ridge with Pendle Hill to our left and Nelson down to our right for a mile or so, we came across an abandoned farmhouse with a stunning view of the valley below. The ground was treacherously boggy, leaving Tony once again to go ahead, sacrificing his boots to the mud for the good of the group. A dog walker called out a warning. It was far too muddy to proceed. Another detour was required.

We followed the dog walker, skirting bogs that would steal our boots from off our feet, down the field that led away from the farmhouse and over a small bridge.

“Nothing but downhill now!” Tony called.

“He always says that!” Another member laughed. “Then he realises he’s forgotten another hill.”

This time, it seems Tony is correct.

We’re heading down into Barrowford along Pastor Lane, passing Booths the supermarket and into Barrowford Memorial Park, where we sit down for a well-earned break and some lunch.

We sit for half an hour or so, watching the ducks on the pond and chatting.

Some members have attended these walks weekly for years; others are relatively new, and I’d never have guessed which. Everyone chats to everyone; it’s a remarkably friendly group.

“We all love a chat,” Tony smiles.

“And it keeps us active. It’s something I love to do.”

After the break, we headed down through the park along Pendle Water.

The rain has washed away the path in parts, and there are signs to keep well back from the edge. Nevertheless, we follow it back to the car park. It’s been six miles, including the detours.

The other walkers don’t seem fazed, discussing their plans to play bridge or attend a dance class. I am caked in mud, soaked and tired, but have thoroughly enjoyed the walk.

If you would like to join a walking group but are unsure whether you’d be able to keep up or are worried about being welcomed, I would definitely recommend the five-mile walks with the Pendle Walkers. Tony ensured everyone was safe and happy on our walk and that no one was left behind.

“People can start with us, then go on to the longer walks if they’d like to,” Tony explains. “Our members tend to be over sixty, but we do have a few that are younger.”

If you want to get involved, contact cha.pendlewalkers@gmail.com for a list of walks and times. NL

“Everyone chats to everyone; it’s a remarkably friendly group”

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A R T & C U LT U R E 108 PIC OF THE NORTH 114 BURNLEY CHOIR

Leeds Cinema by Peter Mitchell

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113 ANTIQUES

117 BOOK CLUB

Shanaz Gulzar at Keighley Moor by Carolyn Mendelsohn

PIC OF THE NORTH THE FIFTH EDITION OF THE PHOTO NORTH FESTIVAL RETURNS TO LEEDS THIS SPRING.

O

n April 12th-14th, the photography world will converge on the Carriageworks in Leeds for Photo North Festival.

The festival unfolds as a diverse and thought-provoking exploration of photography, offering attendees a chance to be inspired, challenged, and immersed in the visual narratives created by talented photographers from various backgrounds and perspectives.

Here we showcase three of the featured photographers.

Carolyn Mendelsohn

I

nspired by the Brontës, Carolyn Mendelsohn’s ‘Hardy and Free’ celebrates contemporary women’s connection to the land, showcasing stories of farmers, artists, athletes, and gardeners. The exhibition transports viewers to the magnificent Yorkshire landscape, telling the unique stories of extraordinary women.

Carolyn said: “This was so much more than a commission to me and became a big life-enhancing adventure.

This creative journey took place in the shorter days of winter, the kind of days NL 108

I find challenging, dark and depressing, and finished as the sun rose and set slightly later in the spring. In the process, I met with 12 extraordinary women: women who work on the land, women who are inspired by it - women who find that landscape gives them a place of freedom to explore and express their thoughts, their creativity, to be physical to take one step after the other - or that their lives were influenced by the surroundings they had grown up in, or that the landscape gave them a pathway to freedom they hadn’t experienced before.”

ART & CULTURE

“The exhibition transports viewers to the magnificent Yorkshire landscape, telling the unique stories of extraordinary women”

Kemmi Gill at Goit Stock by Carolyn Mendelsohn

Anne Worthington

W

e move from wild moors to a changing city with Anne Worthington’s powerful photographic series, ‘East Manchester’, which offers a poignant look at the last moments of Manchester’s industrial areas.

“I photographed the daily lives of the people here before it was regenerated,” Anne explains. “The collapse of the jobs in East Manchester made this one of the poorest parts of the country, ranking highly in terms of deprivation across factors including health, income, education, employment and housing. Yet people worked hard to maintain their community when so much had fallen away. I saw what can be overcome with this sense of belonging.”

Living in the inner city of Hulme at a time when Manchester was at the centre of the UK music scene, she became part of the mix of artists, ex-students and squatters that made the partly abandoned blocks of flats their own. Concerned with housing and housing issues, she and a group of

“The area is still dislocated, and the people are still kind, enduring, wise, and angry.” tenants campaigned for, designed and developed a building of fifty flats for social rent together.

During this time, she picked up a camera and taught herself photography.

“I would walk down streets emptied and ready for demolition and find the occasional house that was still occupied.”

“Two decades on, lives have changed, family members have died and been born, people have moved, and some of the children in the photographs are parents themselves.

The regeneration scheme came and went, and what had been built during this time - housing and elite sports facilities such as the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City’s new home ground encapsulate a vision of Manchester as a modern city. But the industrial past still figures here, and two versions of the city collide in one place. The area is still dislocated, and the people are still kind, enduring, wise, and angry.” › NL 109

From the series East Manchester

by Anne Worthington

From the series East Manchester by Anne Worthington

Peter Mitchell

H

eading down the M62 from Manchester to Leeds for Peter Mitchell’s exhibit.

These captivating images often capture the mundane and overlooked aspects of urban life. Born in 1943 in London, Mitchell’s career spans several decades, making him one of the prominent figures in colour photography, particularly during the latter half of the 20th century.

Mitchell’s work is characterised by a keen observation of the urban environment, focusing on everyday scenes that many might consider ordinary or unremarkable. His photographs, often taken in and around Leeds, where he has spent much of his life, showcase a unique perspective on the city’s changing face and its people.

One of Mitchell’s most notable projects is his documentation of Leeds during the 1970s and 1980s. During

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ART & CULTURE

His images often carry a nostalgic quality, preserving moments in time that may have otherwise been forgotten.

this period, the city was undergoing significant transformations, and Mitchell’s lens captured the evolving landscape, from construction sites and architectural changes to the subtle shifts in daily life. His images often carry a nostalgic quality, preserving moments in time that may have otherwise been forgotten.

What sets Peter Mitchell apart is his ability to find beauty and interest in the seemingly ordinary. His photographs can evoke a sense of familiarity, making viewers reconsider the details of their surroundings. Mitchell’s work has been exhibited widely, gaining recognition for its unique perspective and contribution to the world of colour photography.

Peter Mitchell’s legacy in photography lies not only in his technical skill and aesthetic sensibility but also in his ability to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, allowing viewers to see their surroundings with fresh eyes.

Photo North Festival 2024 emerges as a celebration of diverse stories told through the lens of talented photographers. From Mendelsohn’s homage to contemporary women connected to the land to Worthington’s poignant documentation of East Manchester’s transformation and Mitchell’s timeless reflections on the city of Leeds, the festival promises to inspire, challenge, and immerse audiences in the rich tapestry of visual narratives. NL

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ART & CULTURE ANTIQUES Known for regular appearances on Flog It!, Bargain Hunt, Dickinson’s Real Deal and Cash In The Attic, and one of the UK’s finest antique experts and auctioneers Adam Partridge looks at the works of Blackpool artist Leonard Rodwell

A selection of works by Leonard Rodwell

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR

A

rt is a wonderful thing, one painting will divide opinion – some will love it, some will not like it at all. A painting can make you feel happy or sad. It can give you insight or it can just look pretty. Some have intense depth and meaning, with the artist telling a story or portraying political or social views, while some are simply a lovely landscape. Basically, we all have our own views on what good art is.

The reason I mention views on art is because I am going to discuss a past Blackpool artist, Mr Leonard Rodwell. Leonard spent most of his life as a plumber and heating engineer.

When he retired, he visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a place he confessed he hadn’t been to for over 30 years. He noted the vibrant colours of the rides and that the air was packed with fun, happiness and enjoyment. As though hit by divine inspiration, he wanted to capture this atmosphere and decided to paint a picture to hang over his fireplace. He took some snaps with a disposable camera, bought some paints

and set to work.

Later he joined the local art society and it was there that someone offered to buy his work. The more he painted, the more he sold. So, he set himself a task to paint 100 paintings capturing the fun colours and ambiance of Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach. Sadly, Mr Rodwell passed away a couple of years

“The more he painted, the more he sold” ago and we found the paintings in the studio of his Blackpool home.

We are having an online timed auction in April which is a little like eBay in the format of the bidding. All details will be on adampartridge.co.uk and the estimates will be modest £30 £50 for each painting.

I have seen works like this from local artists sell for low sums, then years later they have doubled or tripled. I believe Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime, so it is well worth having a look.

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While we are on the topic of The Pleasure Beach, one painting worth mentioning, although it is not in the auction, is ‘The Fairground’ by L S Lowry painted in 1938. Originally, this was thought to depict Beswick, Manchester, but was later found to depict Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach. The painting was discovered in 2007 and sold at Sotheby’s for £1.42m. NL

The Fairground by L S Lowry discovered in 2007 and sold for £1.42m

Hitting All the Right Notes Burnley’s century-old choir is still getting the north singing.

I

BY LAURA STOREY

n 1920, the decision was made at Burnley Town Hall to introduce a choir to the community.

Advertisements in local press beckoned aspiring vocalists to join the venture, resulting in 101 singers in the augural show. Hosted at the Palace Hippodrome in Burnley, the performance began with the timeless Christmas hymn ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ended in traditional style with the National Anthem.

It was the start of one of the north’s leading community choirs, Burnley Municipal Choir, attracting both amateurs and professionals from across Lancashire. Since its inception, the choir’s beloved shows have entertained and fostered a sense of unity within the community, celebrating a shared passion for music.

“We have a lot of experienced musicians in the choir, and they come from various professions,” Press Officer Hilary Wood explains. “Our dynamic musical director, Nigel Wilkinson, has developed an exciting partnership with

East Lancs. Sinfonia, who accompany us at most of our concerts. The choir is fortunate in attracting outstanding international soloists, and tickets for the choir’s concerts are in great demand. We sold out completely for the Messiah concert. The audience has grown to expect a very high standard performance, which provides an amazing experience for everybody.”

Despite inviting accomplished musicians such as Soprano Soloist Grace O’Malley and award-winning Mezzo Soprano Samantha Oxborough, the choir remains a welcoming space for both amateurs and professionals, bringing together individuals from different backgrounds and ages.

With a history spanning over a century, the choir has become an integral role of Burnley locals’ lives, playing a part for generations. With a family connection dating back to the 1920s, Treasurer Maureen Howarth attests to the choir’s enduring legacy.

She discovered her connection after joining the choir when one of the NL 114

members found some old programmes, and she uncovered her grandparents’ names within them. “My grandmother was recorded under her maiden name so they may have even met in the choir,” she explains. Her father followed in her grandparents’ footsteps and sang

"With a history

spanning over a century, the choir has become an integral part of Burnley locals’ lives, playing a role for generations." as a soloist. Maureen’s participation, beginning six years ago, has added another chapter to this rich history.

While classical pieces dominate the choir’s repertoire, popular pieces take precedence in the summer, celebrating

ART & CULTURE

The choir in times gone-by

Rehearsing at the Life Church, Burnley

The Choir at Burnley College

the pop opera of ‘Les Misérables’ or the romantic magic of the Phantom of the Opera. For the choir, ‘Handel’s Messiah’ is a winter favourite and performing the staple to a packed St Peter’s Church is a highlight of the year.

“My favourite piece is ‘Handel’s Messiah,’” Maureen smiles. “My dad passed away in October 2020 before I sang the piece for the first time with the choir, but I always remember him singing the solo tenor part. My father was an outstanding tenor and a far better singer than I could ever hope to be.”

Her love of singing first drew her to the choir, but the community found there kept her going back. “I have made new friends and connections; getting to know people who knew my dad has been great.”

Amidst the classics, the choir’s warm atmosphere is a standout feature. Vice Chairman Barry Harper reflects on the friendly and inclusive environment, providing a haven for locals and newcomers. Barry joined the choir after relocating from Leeds, finding a musical outlet and a community of friends.

Hilary says, “It’s friendly, inclusive, welcoming, and there are no auditions to join. It is open to anybody. The membership now is well over 100, and it seems to grow in numbers and

popularity – it’s incredible.”

The choir meets each Wednesday evening at Burnley College. “We’re privileged to practise there,” Barry explains. “It’s a very nice environment; it engenders the social side of the choir with the café and all its facilities. We are fortunate and indebted to Karen Buchanan, the Principal, for allowing us to use it. It’s very difficult to find places suitable for people to sing, so the lecture theatres at the college are fantastic.”

As the choir gears up for future performances, including Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace’ and Haydn’s Mass for Troubled Times in April, the invitation stands strong for potential members. Maureen says, “Just come along! There is no audition.” She adds, “Someone is always around to help, and there are plenty of online resources to help members learn their part. You can see if it suits you, and not everybody likes every piece of music we do, but it does broaden your horizons!”

With a smile, Hilary concludes, “Most people that come to try don’t ever leave.” For those seeking more information about upcoming performances and events, the choir’s Facebook page, facebook.com/ BurnleyMunicipalChoir is the place to be. NL NL 115

BURNLEY CHOIR MEMBERS...

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

NIGEL WILKINSON MEMBER FOR OVER 10 YEARS

VICE CHAIRMAN

BARRY HARPER MEMBER FOR OVER 10 YEARS

PRESS OFFICER

HILARY WOOD MEMBER FOR 5 YEARS

TREASURER MAUREEN HOWARTH MEMBER FOR 6 YEARS

ART & CULTURE BOOK CLUB

NorthernLife

BOOK CLUB

As 2024 unfolds, we’ve handpicked the finest northern literary treasures. From a trip down memory lane with Lancashire lass Mariana Michell, to delectable new fiction crafted by bestselling author Stacey Halls, there’s plenty for northern bookworms to enjoy!

NICOLE’S WAR

BY ANDRÉE RUSHTON

Set against the backdrop of France during the Second World War, University of York alum Andrée Rushton took inspiration from the stories her mother told her about her escape from Paris, only days before the Nazis arrived. Through the novel, Andrée explores the question: what if her mother had never escaped? £9.99. Published by Troubador Publishing. Out now.

LOST IN THE LAKES

BY TOM CHESSHYRE

Join travel writer Tom Chesshyre for a Lakeland adventure like no other. Explore towering mountains, wide-open valleys and magnificent lakes - stopping off at a cosy inn or two along the way – as you hike with Tom across landscape that so inspired the Romantic poets. Take in remote parts of the parkland that many tourists miss, and enjoy encounters aplenty with farmers, fell runners and fellow hikers and even going for a (chilly) dip in Derwentwater. £10.99. Summersdale Publishing. Out Now THE MYRTLE TREE

BY KABER BARRAS

In the Turkish mountains, twenty-first-century espionage clashes with biblical tales. Ed Bennett retires from the Forces and is headed for a well-earned vacation with his fiancée, Esther. Under surveillance and only days into their stay, Esther is abducted. Kaber is from a small town not far from Blackpool and started writing after suffering from PTSD and depression. £10.99. Published by Matador.

Out now.

TELLING TALES

BY MARIANA MICHEL

THE HOUSEHOLD

BY STACEY HALLS

In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women.

The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in common: they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life - but how badly do they want it? £16.99. Published by Manilla Press.

Out 11th April.

Marianna Michell was brought up in a corner of Lancashire in the 50s and 60s. The largely rural district of Briercliffe links Burnley and Nelson, though her ill-named village of Lane Bottom is on th’edge o’t moor. In this delightful little book, Marianna tells tales of her memories of this pastoral landscape merged with moorland that remains as beautiful now as they were back then. £9.30. Published by Quacks Books.

Out now.

WHEN GRUMPY MET SUNSHINE

BY CHARLOTTE STEIN

An ‘opposites-attract,’ steamy romance, featuring undeniable chemistry between a grumpy retired footballer and his fabulous and very sunshine-y ghostwriter, from Leeds-based author Charlotte Stein. When grumpy ex-footballer, Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he will never be able to write them. And so, in walks curvy, cheery, cute-as-heck ghostwriter Mabel Willicker. £8.99. Published by Pan. Out now.

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DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS

March Fri 1st BRADFORD BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL 2024 Victoria Hall, Victoria Road, Saltaire.

Bradford CAMRA is proud to present the Bradford Beer and Cider Festival 2024. There will be over 110 real ales, real ciders and perries, wines, global beers, and craft keg beers, as well as great food and live music. 29th Feb 2nd Mar. bradfordcamra.org.uk Sat 2nd ART OPEN 2024 EXHIBITION Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, Museum Street, Blackburn.

Ends 13th Apr. blackburnmuseum.org.uk KEIGHLEY MODEL RAILWAY CLUB EXHIBITION 2024 Woodbank Garden Centre and Nurseries, Harden Rd, Harden,

Bingley.

A model railway exhibition hosted by the Keighley Model Railway Club. 15 layouts, trade support, refreshments and parking. 2nd - 3rd March.

Adult £10, child £5, family £20. keighley-mrc.org.uk Sun 3rd TABLE TOP SALE Kelbrook & Sough Village Hall, Dotcliffe Road, Kelbrook.

Table top sale. Come along and sell your unwanted items in the village hall - perfect for your ‘Spring Clean’. kelbrookvillagehall,org.uk SKIPTON ARTISAN MARKET Skipton Canal Basin, Coach Street, Skipton.

Skipton Artisan Market takes place on the 1st Sun of the month on the Canal Basin. 10am - 4pm. welcometoskipton.com

Tues 5th

Wed 6th

RUBY TINGLE - AFTERLIFE EXHIBITION The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery, Haslington Road, Rossendale.

Ruby Tingle presents her new work Afterlife, resurrecting The Whitaker’s off show taxidermy collection as new dioramas in a temporary ‘swamp heaven’. Runs until 10th Mar. thewhitaker.org

THREADS THROUGH CREATION - EXHIBITION Blackburn Cathedral, Cathedral Close, Blackburn.

See the amazing panels of textiles

by Jacqui Parkson. ‘Threads Through Creation’ panels of spectacular stitching tell the Christian story of ‘Creation in the Bible’. The eight million stitches express God’s love!

Free. 6th Mar - 14th April. blackburncathedral.com

DISCOVER THE MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES OF LANCASHIRE BY LANCASHIRE ADULT LEARNING Clitheroe Castle & Museum, Castle Hill, Clitheroe.

This session is designed to give the learner an introduction to the life and times of the Medieval Monastery. Free. Booking essential. 1.30pm - 4pm. events. apps.lancashire.gov.uk

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Thurs 7th YORKSHIRE GAMES FESTIVAL The National Science and Media Museum, Pictureville, Bradford.

Celebrating games culture, design, and production with special industry guests. From masterclasses to networking events, to free gameplay and workshops, there’ll be lots for everyone to enjoy. 7th - 10th Mar. scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk ›

Fri 8th FLOTILLA - 100 YEARS OF GETTING OUR SHIPS TOGETHER. Lancaster Maritime Museum, St George’s Quay, Lancaster.

This lovely exhibition showcases our Centenary Flotilla, vessels of all shapes and sizes that feature in their collection. Runs until 31st Mar 2024. Closed Tues, Wed & Thurs. £3, concs £2, children free. visitlancaster. org.uk DIAMONDS IN THE LANDSCAPE - EXHIBITION Clitheroe Castle & Museum, Castle Hill, Clitheroe.

Originally designated in 1964, the Forest of Bowland celebrates 60 years in 2024.

This exhibition in the Steward’s Gallery showcases talented photographers who have perfectly captured the beauty of the Bowland landscape.

Exhibition ends 28th April.

Free. Closed Wed & Thurs. ribblevalley.gov.uk Sat 9th WILLOW DRAGONFLY CLASS Leyland Studio, Leyland, Preston.

Learn the art of willow weaving with added design elements of beads, foliage and wire work in this session. Suitable or age 14+. £30 as a special offer which includes everything to make a special feature for inside or out £30. 10am to 1pm. visitlancashire.com MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION Pudsey Civic Hall, Dawson’s Corner, Pudsey, Leeds.

A model railway exhibition hosted by Narrow Gauge North.

Features, Layouts, trade support, refreshments, parking and disabled access. 10.30am. Adult £10, child £1. narrowgaugenorth. org.uk Sun 10th KEIGHLEY 10K & 5K 2024 Victoria Park, Hard Ings Road, Keighley.

The Keighley 10k & 5k are both challenging events at the start of the running season. Both the routes for 2024 start and finish

in Victoria Park, Keighley. Run or walk the exciting new routes with hundreds of others to raise money for Sue Ryder’s expert, compassionate end of life care.

9am. sueryder.org

New and used models from local and national dealers.

Free talks throughout the day from industry experts and personalities. 15th - 17th Mar. Adult £10, children free.

MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM BRADFORD ACCORDION BAND Cliffe Castle Museum, Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley.

Enjoy music from local bands.

A season of monthly Sun afternoon concerts. 2pm. bradfordmuseums.org

HEBDEN BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL Hebden Bridge Town Hall & Hebden Bridge Picture House, Hebden Bridge Celebrating films by or about those who exist in the margins, sit outside the mainstream or just plain don’t fit in. From £27 for full festival access. hebdenbridgefilmfestival.org

Thurs 14th LIANE LANG - TOUCH STONE EXHIBITION The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery, Haslington Road, Rossendale.

Liane Lang’s project Touch Stone talks about human industry and activity in the landscape, showing traces and materials from bark to lead, stone to rusty industrial salvage.

14th Mar - 26th May. Wed - Sun, 10am - 4pm. Free thewhitaker. org BASIC BIRDWATCHING Denso Marston Nature Reserve, Otley Road, Charlestown, Shipley.

The walk will commence on Otley Road next to the public footpath that leads to the reserve. Free event. Further details contact Steve on 07572 771549. 10am - 12pm. visitbradford.com Fri 15th LEGENDS OF STEAM East Lancashire Railway, 23a Bolton St, Bury, Celebrate the crowning glory of British industry, personified by these three incredible and iconic mainline steam locomotives, BR Standard, Class 7, 70000 ‘Britannia’, LNER, A4, 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ & LMS, Jubilee Class, 45690 ‘Leander’. These locomotives will be running an intensive public timetable for the whole three days. 15th - 17th Mar. eastlancsrailway.org.uk THE YORKSHIRE MOTORHOME & CAMPERVAN SHOW 2024 Great Yorkshire Showground, Railway Road, Harrogate

Sun 17th STEAMING DAY AT BANCROFT MILL ENGINE MUSEUM Bancroft Mill Engine Museum, Gillians Lane, Barnoldswick.

Established in 1982, our aim is to maintain a link to the town’s cotton heritage, by preserving and demonstrating the engine which powered over 1,000 looms in the mill from 1920 until its closure in 1978. 11am - 4pm.

Adult £6, concs £5, children under 6 free, Ages 6 - 14 yrs £3. family £15. bancroftmill.org.uk Mon 18th HANS REY - MISHAPS AND MAYHEM Carriageworks Theatre, The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds.

Untold stories, chaos and legendary tales from mountain bike icon, Hans Rey. Mountain Bike pioneer, adventurer, former Trials World Champion, Hans ‘No Way’ Rey will reveal, the crazy and whacky that accompanied him on some of his adventures. 7 30pm. £19.50, concs £17.50. carriageworkstheatre.co.uk Thurs 21st GUIDED WALK - BALL GROVE NATURE RESERVE Ball Grove Nature Reserve, Colne.

Each walk is led by a volunteer who has been trained by Pendle Leisure Trust. Meet at upper car park at Ball Grove Nature Reserve at 10am. Free. Contact Ron Whalley Tel: 01282 613282. pendle.upandactive.co.uk

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DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS THE FOX & GOOSE 10YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND The Fox and Goose, 7 Heptonstall Road, Hebden Bridge.

West Yorkshire’s first community-owned pub is hosting a weekend of celebrations to mark 10 years since its customers successfully joined together to secure its future. Mini beer festival, live music, food, DJs and more. Until 25th March. foxandgoose.org/ anniversary Fri 22nd LAST CHOIR SINGING 2024 HEATS King George’s Hall, Northgate, Blackburn.

Come and watch as Lancashire children sing their hearts out in the regional heats to try and win a place in the grand final. 22nd 28th Mar. Adult £19, children £9. bwdvenues.com Sat 23rd DUCK RACE AT KELBROOK Kelbrook & Sough Village Hall, Dotcliffe Road, Kelbrook.

Come along and watch the antics of the plastic ducks bobbing down the beck with a delicious lunch in the village hall. Fun for all the family. kelbrookvillagehall.org.uk EASTER EGG HUNT AT EAST RIDDLESDEN HALL East Riddlesden Hall, Bradford Road, Riddlesden, Keighley This spring, treat the whole family to an Easter adventure at East Riddlesden Hall. Make your way along the trail and find nature-inspired activities for the whole family. Until 7 April.

From 10 am to 4 pm. £3 per trail visitbradford.com Wed 27th GIGGLESWICK RAILWAY CIRCLE: DW CASTLE SHOW NO.3 FROM MANCHESTER VICTORIA ON L & Y LINES Settle Victoria Hall, Kirkgate, Settle.

Images from the D W Castle collection, they will be reasonably close to home with a trip on Lancashire and Yorkshire lines. 7.30pm - 10pm. £5. settlevictoriahall.org.uk

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Thurs 28th THE CASE OF THE MISSING BUNNY Skipton Town Hall, High Street, Skipton.

Their Easter show certainly takes you on a wild goose chase. Well Rabbit chase! 11am & 2pm. £7.50. skiptontownhall.co.uk GUIDED WALK FROM PENDLE HERITAGE CENTRE Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford, Colne.

Meet in car park at Pendle Heritage Centre at 10am. Free.

Further details contact Ron Whalley Tel: 01282 613282. pendle.upandactive.co.uk Fri 29th INTERNATIONAL JOUSTING TOURNAMENT Royal Armouries Museum, Armouries Drive, Leeds.

Teams from the United Kingdom, France and Italy will compete for honour and trophies in this spectacular live sporting event from Medieval times.

29th Mar - 1st Apr. £5 - £20. royalarmouries.org GUIDED WALKS - CALVARY ON GOOD FRIDAY Ilkley Manor House, Ilkley.

Meet Barbara Walker at 11am at Ilkley Manor House for a gentle circular walk on field and woodland paths and along country lanes, Calling at Calvary and returning via Middleton Woods. 3.5 miles. Packed lunch required. Free. 11am - 1pm. bradford.gov.uk TOP SECRET - THE MAGIC OF SCIENCE Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

Inspiring and educating every young budding magician and scientist. 2.30pm. Adult £13.50, child £11.50, family £31.50. blackburnempire.com THE GIANT EASTER EGG HUNT AT RHS BRIDGEWATER RHS Garden Bridgewater, Worsley, Salford Follow the hunt around the garden to find the hidden giant Easter Eggs. Once you’ve found

all the eggs, you’ll be rewarded with a free chocolatey treat from NOMO - The UK’s No. 1 Vegan & ‘Free From’ Chocolate Brand.

Until 14th April. 10 am – 4 pm.

General admission applies. rhs. org.uk

Memorial Hall, 34 Potter Hill, Pickering.

Three floors of model railways, demonstrators and traders. £7 for adults, children free when accompanied by an adult. 6th 7th April. sdrmweb.co.uk

Sat 30th

SALTAIRE VINTAGE HOME & FASHION FAIR Victoria Hall, Victoria Road,, Saltaire 45 stalls of genuine vintage fashion and homewares from the 1920s to the 1980s. 6th -7th Apr. £3. roseandbrownvintage.co.uk

EASTER IN COLNE 2024 Colne Town Centre, Colne A fantastic day filled with family friendly fun including free face painting, free donkey rides, free Easter egg hunt, free visit from the Easter Bunny, funfair rides plus so much more! A great family day out. 11am - 4pm. allevents.in

April Tues 2nd ALAN TITCHMARSH EARTH MAN King’s Hall, Station Road, Ilkley.

Alan Titchmarsh chats about his life as a gardener, writer, broadcaster, novelist and poet.

7 30pm - 10pm. £20, meet and greet £38.75. bradford-theatres. co.uk Wed 3rd ‘SAVING AMY’ A TALK BY ERIC WATKISS The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport.

Amy Johnson was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. 7pm. Free for members, £5 for public. theatkinson.co.uk Sat 6th FAMILY ANTICS AT THE MUSEUM The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery, Haslington Road, Rossendale.

Join us for our April antics and expect the un-‘egg’-spected with some Easter themed crafts and activities. 11am & 1pm. booking required. Recommended for age 6+. £3. thewhitaker.org PICKERING SPRING MODEL RAILWAY SHOW

Sun 7th NGS SPRING GARDEN OPENING AT GOLDSBOROUGH HALL Goldsborough Hall, Church Street, Knaresborough.

Garden highlights include 50,000 daffodils along the quarter mile long Lime Tree Walk, planted by Royalty in the 1920s. 11am - 4pm. £7.50, child free. goldsboroughhall.com Wed 10th STORM THE CASTLE East Lancashire Railway, 23a Bolton St, Bury.

4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’ will be visiting the East Lancashire Railway in Spring 2024, courtesy of Didcot Railway Centre, as part of her 100th anniversary celebrations! 10th - 28th April. eastlancsrailway.org.uk Thurs 11th FIREMAN SAM THE GREAT CAMPING ADVENTURE King George’s Hall, Northgate, Blackburn.

Norman wants to go on an adventure to impress his friends, so when two famous animal explorers arrive, he decides to follow them into the mountains.

12.30pm & 3.30pm. £17.50 - £19. bwdvenues.com TRAVEL TO WONDERLAND East Lancashire Railway, 23a Bolton St, Bury.

Your adventure includes a steam train ride from Bury to Rawtenstall and back, a roughly two hour curious adventure

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DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS through Wonderland with Alice and her friends, with colourful characters, themed activities and plenty of photo opportunities. £17.50 - £21. eastlancsrailway. org.uk Fri 12th CREATE WITH CAROLINE - INK DRAWING & MARK MAKING The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery, Haslington Road, Rossendale.

Come and learn the art of inky drawing, exploring mark making and drawing inspired by people and places, and create a masterpiece to take home with you. 11am & 1.30pm. Activities recommended for age 6+. £8. +thewhitaker.org PHOTO NORTH FESTIVAL The Carriageworks, Millenium Square, Leeds Sensational display of exhibitions from celebrated and emerging artists is a stimulating Live Lounge of talks and screenings.

Until 14th April. General Admission - Daily £20 | Full Festival £50. photonorthfestival. co.uk Sat 13th SPRING FOOD, HOME AND GARDEN SHOW 2024 Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road, Ripon.

A day filled with incredible food, inspiring home furnishings, and stunning garden plants and accessories. 10am - 4pm. £5. riponcathedral.org.uk Wed 17th EARLY YEARS EXPLORERS - APRIL 2024 Skipton Town Hall, High Street, Skipton.

Through these explorative play sessions, we aim to foster a sense of wonder and appreciation for our rich cultural heritage. Ages 5 and under. 10am - 12pm. £3. skiptontownhall.co.uk Fri 19th ANNUAL FLOWER FESTIVAL Lytham Hall, Ballam Rd, Lytham St Annes.

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A wonderful event that encourages everyone to enjoy this heritage attraction filled with the floral joys of spring. 19th 24th Apr. Adult £12, child £7. No need to book, pay on entrance. lythamhall.org.uk THE BRONTËS AND THE 19TH CENTURY ART WORLD Bronte Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth.

Discuss how important art was to the Brontës’ lives, and how the Brontës utilised art in the novels Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 2pm. bronte.org.uk ROH LIVE - SWAN LAKE Settle Victoria Hall, Kirkgate, Settle.

Live broadcast from the Royal Opera House stage. 2pm - 5pm. £11 - £17. settlevictoriahall.org.uk Thurs 25th HARROGATE SPRING FLOWER SHOW Great Yorkshire Showground, Railway Road, Harrogate.

This prestigious event features stunning show garden features, live talks and demonstrations, great garden shopping, and the biggest exhibition by florists and flower arrangers in the country.

A great family day out. 25th 28th Apr. £22 - £25. flowershow. org.uk Tues 30th BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL Carriageworks Theatre, The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds.

A brand new collection of short films filled with extreme journeys, untamed characters and captivating cinematography!

30th April - 2nd May. £18. carriageworkstheatre.co.uk

May Wed 1st SAMLESBURY HALL Samlesbury Hall, Preston New Road, Preston Events include regular free tours around the hall and entertainment throughout school breaks. Closed Mon & Sat. samlesburyhall.co.uk

THE FORBIDDEN CORNER The Forbidden Corner, Tupgill Park Estate, Middleham, Leyburn.

A day out with a difference that will challenge and delight children of all ages. Booking essential. See website for dates & times. theforbiddencorner.co.uk.

LANCASTER CASTLE Lancaster Castle, Castle Parade, Lancaster.

See history come alive in the heart of Lancaster. England’s dark history, with tales of persecution, incarceration, punishment and execution, has been lived out over the centuries within the confines of Lancaster Castle. Adult £8,concs £6.50, family £22.50. lancastercastle. com Sat 4th SALTAIRE ARTS TRAIL Saltaire Village.

Explore the Open Village to see high quality contemporary artwork in the unique spaces of Saltaire, in homes, businesses, creative spaces and windows. 4th - 6th May. saltaireinspired.org.uk Sun 5th VINTAGE FAIR The Clarke Foley Centre, Cunliffe Road, Cunliffe Rd, Ilkley.

24 Stalls selling a great variety of antiques, vintage and collectables plus a cafe with delicious refreshments. £1. All day. visitbradford.com HOGHTON TOWER MOTORCYCLE SPRINT Hoghton Tower, Hoghton, Preston Experience the excitement as bikes of all classes take on the challenge of the spectacular driveway at Hoghton Tower against the clock. 9.30am 5pm. Adult £10, children free. hoghtontower.co.uk THE NATIONAL COAL MINING MUSEUM FOR ENGLAND National Coal Mining Museum, Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, Wakefield.

A great day out and a unique opportunity to travel 140 metres underground down one of Britain’s oldest mines,. Open Wed - Sun. Free, donations welcome.

Thurs 9th CLITHEROE BEER FESTIVAL The Assembly Hall of St Michael & St John’s, Lowergate, Clitheroe.

The festival theme for CBF24 is ‘A Day at the Races!’ We’ll have beers sourced from breweries near racecourses or with horse racing related names. 9th - 11th May. Entry £4, after 6pm. £5. clitheroebeerfestival.co.uk Sat 11th SCARECROW TRAIL & GIFT FAIR Kelbrook & Sough Village Hall, Dotcliffe Road, Kelbrook.

The theme this year for The Scarecrow Trail is ‘Children’s Books.’ Also a gift fair in the village hall. 11th - 12th May. Kelbrookvillagehall.org.uk THE ABSOLUTE ABBA BRUNCH Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford, Colne.

Join us for an afternoon of Abba hits with our live tribute act ‘Absolute Abba’ whilst enjoying afternoon brunch buffet. Hear all your favourite Abba hits and get ready to rock out in the barn in this 2½ half hour amazing experience! 2pm - 4pm. £22.50. ticketsource.co.uk Wed 15th BLACKPOOL DANCE FESTIVAL Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

The Festival covers Ballroom and Latin American dancing, incorporating the British Open Championships for Adult Amateur and Professional couples, plus Formation Teams. 15th - 31st May. wintergardensblackpool.co.uk Sun 19th CLASSIC & PERFORMANCE MOTOR SHOW Lytham Hall, Ballam Rd,, Lytham St Annes.

10am - 4pm. Adults £12.50 accompanied children 3 - 15yrs £5, family (2 adults + up to 3 children) £30. lythamhall.org.uk

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TIME OUT

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS RUDDING PARK - OPEN GARDEN FOR NGS Rudding Park, Harrogate.

20 acres of attractive formal gardens, kitchen gardens and lawns around a Grade I Regency House.. £6. children free. 1pm 4pm. findagarden.ngs.org.uk Sat 25th VINTAGE 1940S WEEKEND East Lancashire Railway, 23a Bolton St, Bury.

Enjoy the celebrations and the music of those bygone days, as well as the enormous pride everyone felt and continues to feel for the British and Allied forces for their sacrifice. 25th 27th May. eastlancsrailway.org.uk MEET THE GOVERNOR Skipton Castle , Skipton.

Come and meet Sir John Mallory Governor of Skipton Castle during the English Civil War. Hear about the castle’s siege and skirmishes its garrison have already fought and how the King’s cause is faring in Yorkshire. 25th - 26th May. skiptoncastle.co.uk Sun 26th BROCKHOLES WEDDING FAIR Brockholes Nature Reserve, Preston New Road, Samlesbury, Preston.

Perfect for the couples looking for that something a little bit different for their big day, we have around 30 fabulous local businesses joining us too. You can’t help but fall in love with this impressive floating wedding venue! Free entry. 12pm - 3pm. brockholes.org Tues 28th HIGH JINX Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

A show jam packed with amazing tricks, grand illusions and crazy circus thrills, presented by Michael Jordan and the fantastic High Jinx dancers. 2pm - 4pm.

Adult £12, family £45. alberthallsbolton.co.uk ›

M A R C H / A P R I L / M A Y

THEATRE

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS

March Fri 1st BLT PRESENTS BLACKBIRD Bingley Little Theatre, Bingley Arts Centre, Bingley.

Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Play, Blackbird is a deeply complex portrayal of two people whose ruined lives are inextricably intertwined.

26th Feb - 2nd Mar. £10. bingleyartscentre.co.uk OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Oh What A Lovely War is an extraordinary theatrical journey bringing to life the folly, farce and tragedy of the First World War. 1st - 2nd Mar.7.30pm, Sat mat 2pm. £15 - £29.50. blackpoolgrand.co.uk AN EVENING IN BUENOS AIRES Ilkley Playhouse, Weston Road, Ilkley.

Starring Celeste Cimino and Luciano Millaqueo. Back by

popular demand, professional Argentine Tango dancers, Celeste Cimino and Luciano Millaqueo, return to stage. An Evening in Buenos Aires. 1st 2nd Mar. £15.

iconic tragedy. 5th - 23rd Mar. Various times & prices. leedsplayhouse.org.uk Wed 6th

Sun 3rd IRELAND THE SHOW Lowther Pavilion, Lowther Terrace, Lytham St, Annes.

‘Ireland The Show’ is back!

Featuring an all star Irish cast of the Emerald Isle’s most talented award winning performers including Gary Gamble, Ritchie Remo, Elaine Boyle, Keltic Storm and the Gael Force Irish dancers with their high energy jigs and reels! 7.30pm. £27. lowtherpavilion.co.uk Tues 5th MACBETH Leeds Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds.

Corruption and an insatiable greed for power, lead to death and destruction in Shakespeare’s

RAILWAY CHILDREN BLACKBURN DRAMA CLUB Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

The children’s classic by E. Nesbit centres on the lives of three children whose comfortable, middle-class existence ends when their father is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. £12.50. blackburnempire.com PIRATES OF PENZANCE Preston Playhouse, Market Street West, Preston.

Preston Gilbert & Sullivan will be performing ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ Join us as we climb over Rocky Mountains, as we prepare to set sail with the Pirates of Penzance on our 70th anniversary show. 6th - 9th Mar. £13. prestonplayhouse.co.uk

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Thur 7th JEEVES & WOOSTER IN ‘PERFECT NONSENSE’ Ilkley Playhouse, Weston Road, Ilkley.

A night of pure entertainment based on a novel from the pen of P.G. Wodehouse, this ‘Theatrical delight’ will have you rocking with laughter. 7th - 16th Mar. £5 £13. ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS Square Chapel Arts Centre, 10 Square Road, Halifax.

Delve into depths of Sherlock Holmes that we haven’t seen before. 7th - 21st Mar. £18. squarechapel.co.uk Fri 8th NORTHERN BALLET’S ROMEO & JULIET Leeds Grand Theatre, New Briggate, Leeds.

With glorious dancers, eye catching sets and Prokofiev’s timeless score performed live

›

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS ventures into the perilous world of parenthood in this rollicking new stand up show. 8pm. £24.50. blackpoolgrand.co.uk

SAO PAULO DANCE COMPANY The Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford.

Dance Consortium Presents São Paulo Dance Company.

Brazil’s finest dance company make their highly anticipated UK debut. 8th - 9th Mar. £18.75 £33.75. wbradford-theatres.co.uk

TEACH REX LIVE VELOCIRAPTORS Carriageworks Theatre, The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds.

Meet various velociraptors (including the only fully feathered velociraptor in the world!) Ages 3 plus. 10am & 12.30pm. £10, concs £9. carriageworkstheatre.co.uk

Sat 9th JUSTIN MOORHOUSE STRETCH AND THINK The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

Justin is back! Still funny, yet middle aged. Come it will be fun.

8pm. £16. dukeslancaster.org THE BIG GRAND COMEDY SHOW The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

Join MC Tony Vino as he introduces four of the most celebrated names in UK comedy, performing cutting edge stand up for a night of unforgettable hilarity. 8pm. £15. lancastergrand.co.uk

Sun 17th

EXPRESS ‘24 Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

EXPRESS ‘24, is a two act celebration of inclusive dance presented by award winning charity DanceSyndrome. 3pm. £11.50. blackburnempire.com

BILLY PEARCE Silsden Town Hall, Main Street, Silsden National treasure, and undoubtedly one of Britain’s most talented and best-loved comedians and performers.

Multi-award winner, Billy has won just about every comedy award going. 23rd - 24 Mar. £24.40 - £32.50. £24.50. silsdentownhall.org.uk

Tues 19th

Tues 26th

THE WIZARD OF OZ MUSICAL The Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford.

19th - 23rd Mar. Various times & prices. bradford-theatres.co.uk

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN The Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford.

Prepare to be swept off your feet with An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical, based on the award winning 80s movie. 26th - 30th Mar. 7.30pm, Wed mat 2pm, Sat mat 2.30pm. £24.75 - £51.75. bradfordtheatres.co.uk

Tues 12th TWIST - THE HALIFAX THESPIANS Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Twist is a hilarious spoof of the much loved theatrical thriller where nobody is what they seem, and nothing is what it should be! 12th - 16th Mar. 7.30pm. Sat mat 2.30pm. £6 £12. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk

LADIES DAY - LANCASTER FOOTLIGHTS The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

In 2005, for one season only, Royal Ascot came to York and four workmates from a fish factory in Hull decided they would go to ‘Ladies Day’! 19th - 23nd Mar. £11. lancastergrand. co.uk

Thurs 14th

Thurs 21st

SOPHIE MCCARTNEY IS TIRED AND TESTED The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Join award winning comedian Sophie McCartney as she

IRISH ANNIE’S The Grand Theatre Blackpool Come on down for a session at Irish Annie’s pub, a brand new musical play by Asa Murphy

YES, PRIME MINISTER Keighley Playhouse, Devonshire Street, Keighley.

Comedy by Anthony Jay & Jonathan Lynn. Directed

by Robin Martin. 11th 16th March. £10, concs £9. keighleyplayhouse.co.uk

PAUL FOOT - DISSOLVE The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

Multi award winning and trail blazing comedian, Paul Foot, is back on tour with Dissolve, his most personal, surprising and ground breaking show ever.

8pm. £17. dukeslancaster.org Sat 23rd

MACK & MABEL Pendle Hippodrome Theatre, New Market Street, Colne.

Mack & Mabel depicts the days of the silent film era ‘when movies were movies’.

Based on the real life story of the director, Mack Sennett, and his star and lover, Mabel Normand. Presented by Pendle Hippodrome Theatre Company. 19th - 23rd Mar. 7.30pm, Sat mat 2pm. £12 - £15. pendlehippodrome.com

Mon 11th

celebrating the best of Irish culture. £30.50. blackpoolgrand. co.uk

UNHOMELY The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

The show combines chilling storytelling, an original score and fully integrated BSL to create an unforgettably thrilling theatrical experience. 26th 30th Mar. £18. dukeslancaster. org Wed 27th SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Presented by Blackpool Operatic Players. 27th - 30th Mar. 7.30pm. Fri & Sat mat 2pm. £17 - £27 blackpoolgrand.co.uk DISCOVERING ANTARCTICA - HEROIC TALES OF SHACKLETON, SCOTT & CREAN The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport.

Tom Crean, the intrepid Antarctic explorer and one of Ireland’s unsung heroes, is

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brought to life in this dramatic and humorous solo performance

by Aidan Dooley. 8pm. £14. theatkinson.co.uk

THEATRE

by Northern Ballet Sinfonia at every performance, this is ballet at its most dramatic, romantic and intense. 8th - 16th Mar. 2.30pm & 7.30pm. £21 - £65. leedsheritagetheatres.com

Thurs 28th CAN’T GO BACK - A ‘PROPER’ YORKSHIRE MUSICAL Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Described as Victoria Wood meets Phoenix Nights, Can’t Go Back is an all singing, all dancing new musical with a cast of fantastic characters and a collection of hilarious original songs. 28th - 30th Mar. £22. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk

April Wed 3rd MURDER ON THE NILE AGATHA CHRISTIE Preston Playhouse, Market Street West, Preston.

Presented by Preston Drama Club. Kay Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth, and a new husband, she embarks on a honeymoon voyage down the Nile. 3rd - 6th Apr. £12. prestonplayhouse.co.uk Thurs 4th DIANE’S DELI - A TALE FROM PARADISE HEIGHTS The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Diane’s Deli, from the award winning writer/director of The Haunting of Blaine Manor, written and Directed by Joe O’Byrne. 4th - 6th April. £17.50. blackpoolgrand.co.uk Fri 5th ROBIN HOOD Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

Prepare yourself for an all singing, all dancing, laugh a minute ride through the fun and frolics of panto land. Star cast to be announced! 2pm & 6pm. £16 - £18. blcgroup.co.uk GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Roll up, Roll up one and all for the Bolton’s Easter pantomime as Ringo the ring boy brings Circus Wonderland to the village of Boltondale. 3.30pm. £15. alberthalls-bolton.co.uk

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Sat 6th

Wed 17th

THE LAS VEGAS EXPERIENCE Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

This extraordinary show is designed to transport you back in time and give you a taste of the legendary entertainment that has made the city famous.

7pm. £22. halifaxplayhouse.org. uk

CHARLIE COOK’S FAVOURITE BOOK The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

Come and delve into a range of books with Charlie Cook, brought to life with puppetry and enchanting songs. 17th 18th Apr. Various times. Adult £15, child £13. lancastergrand. co.uk

Mon 8th BLT PRESENTS - A TASTE OF HONEY Bingley Little Theatre, Bingley Arts Centre, Bingley.

It is a powerful, comical, yet poignant play which is set in 1950s Salford and follows the gritty misfortune of a working class single mother Helen and her rebellious teenage daughter Jo. 8th - 13th Apr. £10. bingleyartscentre.co.uk Tues 9th GRAZIANO DI PRIMA BELIEVE St. George’s Hall, Bradford.

Strictly Come Dancing, Graziano Di Prima and his wife Giada Lini will take to the stage in a brand new show. 7.30pm. £29.75 - £37.75. bradfordtheatres.co.uk Thurs 11th TOM ALLEN COMPLETELY The Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax.

Tom Allen has finally moved out of his parents’ house, which has been great news for him, better news for department stores and even better news for his latest stand up tour as he’s eager to share his life updates. 8pm. £27.25. victoriatheatre.co.uk Fri 12th SHARK IN THE PARK The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

See all 3 of Nick Sharratt’s ‘Shark in the Park’ books live on stage!.

12th Apr, 1pm & 4pm, 13th Apr, 11am & 1pm. £14. dukeslancaster. org Tues 16th WICKED The Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford.

16th Apr - 19th May. Various times & prices. bradfordtheatres.co.uk

demand comedians, Simon Marks as Peter Kay and the outstanding comedy vocalist Marc Bolton. 7.30pm. £25.50. blackburnempire.com Fri 26th GEOFF NORCOTT King’s Hall, Station Road, Ilkley.

On this his sixth UK tour, Geoff Norcott will be trying to make sense of the current cultural and political scene with his playfully provocative brand of humour.

8pm. £20.25. bradford-theatres

Thurs 18th KAY MELLOR’S THE SYNDICATE Leeds Grand Theatre, New Briggate, Leeds.

18th - 28th April. Various times. £27 - £49. leedsheritagetheatres. com Tues 23rd 2:22 A GHOST STORY The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Winner of Best New Play at the Whatsonstage Awards, this edge of your seat, supernatural thriller written by Danny Robins. 23th - 27th Apr. 7.30pm, Thurs & Sat mat 2.30pm. £15.50 - £40.50. blackpoolgrand.co.uk WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE, PLEASE INVADE CAREFULLY Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Katrina Lyons only visited Cresdon Green for the weekend to see her parents, unfortunately, this happened to be the weekend when aliens launched an invasion of the village and put a force field around it.

23rd - 27th Apr. 7.30pm.

Sat mat 2.30pm. £6 - £12. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk

Mon 29th TWELVE ANGRY MEN The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

A life in the balance. Twelve men. One verdict. 29th Apr - 4th May. 7.30pm. Thurs & Sat mat 2.30pm. £17.50 - £44. blackpoolgrand.co.uk

May Mon 6th BUSYBODY Keighley Playhouse, Devonshire Street, Keighley.

This hilarious play centres on a voluble cleaning woman who keeps telling the cops how to mind their business and who steps forward with the right evidence in every pinch. 6th 11th May. £10. keighleyplayhouse. co.uk SUNSHINE ON LEITH Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

A story about the power of home, family and love, featuring the songs of The Proclaimers.

6th - 11th May. £14.50 - £16.50. blackburnempire.com

Wed 24th

Tues 7th

CARELESS MURDER Preston Playhouse, Market Street West, Preston.

Is there a killer on the loose or is this a case of careless murder? 24th - 27th Apr. £12. prestonplayhouse.co.uk

ANYTHING GOES - LADOS The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

7th - 11th May. 7.30pm, Sat mat 2pm. £12. lancastergrand.co.uk

Thurs 25th

LITTLE WOMEN BROUGHTON PLAYERS Preston Playhouse, Market Street West, Preston.

This is a faithful adaptation of the well loved story of the four March sisters. 8th - 11th May. £12. prestonplayhouse.co.uk

THE PETER KAY EXPERIENCE Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

Carlton entertainment presents an evening of comedy with two of the UK’s most in

Wed 8th

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THEATRE

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS Sat 11 JO CAULFIELD - HERE COMES TROUBLE Skipton Town Hall, High Street, Skipton.

90 minutes of razor sharp observations and scandalous one liners, as Jo gets her claws into everything (and everyone) that annoys her. 8pm. £18. skiptontownhall.co.uk Wed 15th FRANK SKINNER 30 YEARS OF DIRT King George’s Hall, Northgate, Blackburn.

Frank Skinner is back with his critically acclaimed new show ‘30 Years of Dirt’. 7.30pm. £29.50. bwdvenues.com Sun 19th DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

Pendle Academy are proud to present their next exciting showcase, Dance The Night Away! Immerse yourself in an evening of dazzling entertainment, as our talented dancers take to the stage for one night only to celebrate their love of dance. 6pm. £17. blcgroup. co.uk Sat 25th BEATRIX Lowther Pavilion, Lowther Terrace, Lytham St, Annes.

Enjoy the surroundings of the beautiful Lowther Gardens in the company of Peter Rabbit, Jemima, Jeremy Fisher and Squirrel Nutkins. 25th May - 2nd June. 11.30am & 2.30pm. £10. lowtherpavilion.co.uk Tues 28th MILKSHAKE LIVE ON HOLIDAY St. George’s Hall, Bradford.

12pm & 3.30pm. £20.25. All day. bradford-theatres.co.uk HIGH JINX Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

A show jam packed with amazing tricks, grand illusions and crazy circus thrills, presented by Michael Jordan and the fantastic High Jinx dancers. 2pm. Adult £12, family £45. alberthalls-bolton.co.uk

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M A R C H / A P R I L / M A Y

MUSIC

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS

March Fri 1st THE ELO EXPERIENCE Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

Celebrating the great music of Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra. 7.30pm. £29. blcgroup.co.uk THE BEST OF QUEEN MAJESTY The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport.

The Break Free Tour! Join Freddie, Brian, Roger and John as they take you on a magical journey performing The Best of Queen, whilst celebrating the music and showmanship of the UK’s favourite rock band.

7.30pm. £31.50. theatkinson. co.uk SIMON & GARFUNKEL THROUGH THE YEARS The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate , Lancaster.

Critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest tribute shows, Simon & Garfunkel

Through the Years continues to delight audiences across the globe. 7.30pm. £22. lancastergrand.co.uk

swing from award winning jazz vocalist and long time Radio2 and Jazz FM broadcaster Clare Teal and her marvellous band.

7.30pm. £28. gicac.org.uk

Sat 2nd BOOTLEG BLONDIE The Grand Theatre, 18 York Street, Clitheroe.

Bootleg Blondie is the official Debbie Harry & Blondie tribute band. 7pm. £20. thegrandvenue. co.uk KILLER RHAPSODY - A NIGHT OF QUEEN Marine Hall, The Esplanade,, Fleetwood.

For over a decade, Killer Rhapsody have been blowing people’s minds with the hottest and most riveting tribute to Freddie Mercury and Queen.

7.30pm. £18. wyretheatres.co.uk CLARE TEAL & THE CLARE TEAL FOUR Glusburn Community & Arts Centre, Colne Road, Glusburn.

She’s back! Expect exhilarating

SOMETHING ABOUT GEORGE Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn Starring West End actor and musician Daniel Taylor, Something About George, The George Harrison Story tells the truly remarkable tale of one of music’s most understated icons. 7.30 pm. £25.50. blackburnempire.com THE ILLEGAL EAGLES The Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax.

This critically acclaimed show features the very best from the Eagles’ catalogue of classics.

7.30pm. £34.75. victoriatheatre. co.uk Wed 6th LEON MCCAWLEY-PIANO

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Clitheroe Grammar School Sixth Form Centre, York Street, Clitheroe.

Piano recital by Leon McCawley.

7.30pm. £20. clitheroeconcerts. org Sat 9th GO YOUR OWN WAY THE FLEETWOOD MAC LEGACY Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

A brand new spellbinding show featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac. 7.30pm. £28.50. burnleymechanics.ticketsolve. com BBC PHILHARMONIC STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester.

Anja Bihlmaier conductor, Steven Osborne piano, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, ‘Emperor’ Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major. 7.30pm. £14.50 to £29. bridgewater-hall.co.uk

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DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS

Sun 10th MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM BRADFORD ACCORDION BAND Cliffe Castle Museum, Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley.

Join us inside the Bracewell Smith Hall and enjoy music from local bands. A season of monthly Sunday afternoon concerts. 2pm. bradfordmuseums.org 10 March CARMEN PRESENTED

BY THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL OPERA The Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax.

Performed by the Dnipro Opera, from Ukraine. Featuring an impressive cast and accompanied by a live orchestra of over 30 musicians. 7.30pm. Various prices. victoriatheatre.co.uk Thurs 14th STORY OF GUITAR HEROES St. George’s Hall, Bridge Street, Bradford.

The Story of Guitar Heroes has garnered critical acclaim both at home and abroad for its incredible homage to some of the most influential and iconic guitarists from the past 50 years of popular music. 7.30pm. £29.25. bradford-theatres.co.uk THE SYD LAWRENCE ORCHESTRA King’s Hall, Station Road, Ilkley.

Directed by Chris Dean, the world renowned Syd Lawrence Orchestra take to the stage to recreate the incredible sound of Glenn Miller, whose music brightened those dark days of the 1940s. £29.50. bradford-theatres. co.uk Sat 16th YORKSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & BFD FESTIVAL CHORAL SOCIETY St. George’s Hall, Bridge Street, Bradford.

Mendelssohn’s powerful

oratorio Elijah raises the roof at St George’s Hall as Bradford Festival Choral Society, Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra and a glittering array of soloists bring this magnificent music to life. 7.30pm. £17 - £34. bradfordtheatres.co.uk LET’S DANCE BY BLACKPOOL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Blackpool Symphony Orchestra makes a welcome return to the Grand with a whirlwind journey through music inspired by dance in all its many and varied forms. £21, concs £11.50. 7.30pm. blackpoolgrand.co.uk NIGHT OF THE STARS Preston Playhouse, Market Street West, Preston.

A stylish celebration of music from some of the most legendary Artistes of all time. From Shirley Bassey, Barbara Streisand, right up to Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Abba Queen and many more. 7.30pm. £12.50 - £14. prestonplayhouse.co.uk Thurs 21st THE BON JOVI EXPERIENCE Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Celebrating 30 years on the road this year, The Bon Jovi Experience is back. Get ready to rock your way through an unforgettable journey with the only show to be endorsed by Jon Bon Jovi himself! 7.30pm. £24.50. alberthalls-bolton.co.uk Sat 23rd PUCCINI’S MADAMA BUTTERFLY The Grand Theatre Blackpool.

Senbla presents Opera International’s award winning Ellen Kent production featuring the Ukrainian Opera; Ballet Theatre Kyiv with international soloists, highly praised chorus and full orchestra. 7.30pm. £14 £41. blackpoolgrand.co.uk Sun 24th THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR - A CELEBRATION OF GLADYS KNIGHT AND DIONNE WARWICK Lowther Pavilion, Lowther Terrace, Lytham St, Annes.

A sensational walk down memory lane celebrating the two iconic soul sisters, Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick. 7.30pm. £26.50. lowtherpavilion.co.uk

Thurs 28th GO YOUR OWN WAY - THE FLEETWOOD MAC LEGACY The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

Go Your Own Way is a brand new spellbinding show featuring the music from Fleetwood Mac. 28th - 29th Mar. £26.50. lancastergrand.co.uk SWEET CAROLINE - NEIL DIAMOND King’s Hall, Station Road, Ilkley.

The Ultimate Tribute. The show will take you for one special evening, back to where it began.

A musical journey celebrating 50 years of some of the greatest songs ever written. 7.45pm. £30.75 - £34.75.

Fri 29th SUPREME QUEEN Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Scott Maleys’ incredible vocal and visual resemblance to Freddie Mercury has seen Supreme Queen become one of the most respected bands of their genre anywhere on the earth today. £27. 7.30pm. alberthallsbolton.co.uk Sat 30th NEARLY ELTON - THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE SHOW TO ELTON JOHN Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

Nearly Elton is a stunning celebration of the music and life of one of the greatest showmen of our time. Starring Lee Brady as Elton and an outstanding full live band. 7.30pm. £25.50. blackburnempire.com BEYOND THE BARRICADE The Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax.

Features past principal performers from Les Miserables and delivers over two hours of the best of Broadway and the West End, ending of course with a stunning finale from Les Mis. 7.30pm. £28.50. victoriatheatre. co.uk Sun 31st SOUL TRAIN Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Harking back to the wonderful days when the dance floor was king, performers deliver a fun presentation of 60s and 70s soul classics. Great atmosphere,

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wonderful memories and always a fun night out! 7pm. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk

MUSIC

THE MUSIC OF THE BEATLES BY CANDLELIGHT Bradford Cathedral, 1 Stott Hill, Bradford.

Featuring a cast of West End Singers and epic live band, ‘Come Together’ for a ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, jam packed with over 40 Beatles hits as you have never heard them before! 7.30pm. £10 £45. visitbradford.com

April Fri 5th NORTHERN LIVE: DO I LOVE YOU The Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax.

Keeping the Faith to the original sounds of the underground movement that started on the dance floors in the North.

7.30pm. £28.75. victoriatheatre. co.uk Sat 6th SWING CITY BIG BAND Settle Victoria Hall, Kirkgate, Settle.

Bringing its special mix of classic big band and modern favourites.

7.30pm. £13. settlevictoriahall. org.uk Sun 7th THE OPERA BOYS - A NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

Aa fabulous evening of power house vocals, immaculate 4 part harmony, breath taking musical medleys, stunning solo performances and a few surprises! 7.30pm. £23. lancastergrand.co.uk Wed 10th WE WILL ROCK YOU Pendle Hippodrome Theatre, New Market Street, Colne.

Stage Door Youth Theatre present this classic rock musical featuring more than 20 hit Queen songs. 10th - 13th Apr. £12 - £14. pendlehippodrome.com Fri 12th A MUSICAL CELEBRATION Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

This concert is not just a celebration of Burnley Light Opera Society’s remarkable legacy but also a tribute to the enduring spirit of musical theatre itself. 7.30pm. Sat mat 2.30pm.

12th - 13th April. £18. blcgroup. co.uk ENDLESS LIONEL - LIONEL RICHIE & MOTOWN TRIBUTE NIGHT Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford, Colne.

A night of soulful melodies and

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MUSIC

DON’T MISS OUT - CHECK OUT NorthernLife’s WHAT’S ON GUIDE - UPDATED REGULARLY GO TO NORTHERNLIFEMAGAZINE.CO.UK/EVENTS timeless classics at Park Hill Barn with “Endless Lionel”! 8pm. £20. ticketsource.co.uk Sat 13th LINDISFARNE The Grand Theatre, 18 York Street, Clitheroe.

Legendary 70’s Tyneside folk rock pioneers Lindisfarne present a classic five piece line up of long time members fronted by founder member Rod Clements on vocals, mandolin, fiddle and slide guitar. 7pm. £28. thegrandvenue.co.uk STEETON MALE VOICE CHOIR & BRADFORD CONCERT BAND Skipton Town Hall, High Street, Skipton.

In a first time collaboration, Steeton Male Voice Choir joins forces with Bradford Concert Band to present “A Spring Celebration”. An evening of music and song that promises something for everyone. 7pm. £10 - £15. skiptontownhall.co.uk NEARLY ELTON Settle Victoira Hall, Kirkgate, Settle.

Nearly Elton is a stunning celebration of the music and life of one of the greatest showmen of our time. Starring Lee Brady as Elton and an outstanding full live band. 8pm. £21. settlevictoriahall. org.uk Wed 17th ENSEMBLE RENARD-WIND QUINTET Clitheroe Grammar School Sixth Form Centre, York Street, Clitheroe.

This wind quartet will put on an exciting and varied programme for audiences of all backgrounds.

7.30pm. £20. clitheroeconcerts. org Fri 19th TWO PIANOS Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Join the sensational David Barton and Al Kilvo, along with their top class band as they battle it out to deliver the best rock ‘n’ roll piano experience audiences have seen. 7.30pm. £18, £16, £10. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk Sat 20th SHOW OF HANDS - FULL AN AUDIENCE WITH NIAMH KAVANAGH

Silsden Town Hall, Main Street, Silsden.

The Commitments, Niamh Kavanagh is one of Ireland’s national treasures. Having won the Eurovision Song Contest for her country in 1993 and represented them a second time in 2010, Niamh’s international success has seen her perform worldwide. 8pm. £20 - £28. silsdentownhall.org.uk

May

Thurs 25th

Fri 3rd

THE CAVERN BEATLES King’s Hall, Station Road, Ilkley.

The show is a magical history tour through the works of the greatest pop music phenomenon.

7.30pm. £29.25. www.bradfordtheatres.co.uk

THE ULTIMATE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Over two hours of classic rock anthems from artists including Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Free, The Eagles and Jimi Hendrix to name but a few! 3rd 4th May. £26. alberthalls-bolton. co.uk

Sat 26th NEWTON FAULKNER FEELS LIKE HOME TOUR 2 The Grand Theatre, 18 York Street, Clitheroe.

Newton’s going old school, solo, mainly acoustic with the occasional splash of something of the beaten track. 7pm. £28.50. thegrandvenue.co.uk LUTHER Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Luther Vandross tribute Harry Cambridge and his 8 piece band.

7.30pm. £26.50. alberthallsbolton.co.uk Sat 27th HALLE St. George’s Hall, Bridge Street, Bradford.

The Hallé close the 155th Orchestral Music Season at St George’s Hall. 3pm. £17.75 £34.75. bradford-theatres.co.uk SHOWADDYWADDY - 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR The Grand Theatre, St. Leonardsgate, Lancaster.

This tour celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Showaddywaddy.

7.30pm. £28.50. lancastergrand. co.uk Tues 30th COME FROM AWAY Leeds Grand Theatre, New Briggate, Leeds.

7,000 Stranded Passengers.

One Small Town. A Remarkable True Story. 30th Apr - 11th May. 7.30pm. Thurs & Sat mat 2.30pm. £25 - £60.

Thurs 2nd STEELEYE SPAN Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

Enjoy one of the most creative periods of their history over the past two decades. 7.30pm. £30. blcgroup.co.uk

Fri 10th NORTHERN LIVE - DO I LOVE YOU Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

Keeping the Faith to the original sounds of the underground movement that started on the dance floors in the North.

7.30pm. £26.50. alberthallsbolton.co.uk Sat 11th ABSOLUTE BOWIE The Grand Theatre, 18 York Street, Clitheroe.

Absolute Bowie will take you on a musical journey through the greatest hits of David Bowie with their huge stage show. 7pm. £20. thegrandvenue.co.uk Thurs 16th CELINE - MY HEART WILL GO ON Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

Starring Alexandra Darby and an outstanding live band. 7.30pm. £25.50. blackburnempire.com THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley.

Direct from its success in London’s West End, a sold out tour and standing ovations at every performance! 7.30pm. £29.50. blcgroup.co.uk

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Fri 17th ILLEGAL EAGLES Albert Halls, Victoria Square, Bolton.

The Illegal Eagles make a welcome return with a brand new production. 7.30pm. £34.50. alberthalls-bolton.co.uk Sat 18th THE REAL THING The Grand Theatre, 18 York Street, Clitheroe.

The Real Thing with original vocalists Chris Amoo & Dave Smith are on tour promoting their first new album of original material in 44 years ‘A Brand New Day’ No 3 in Amazon best sellers. 7pm. £30. thegrandvenue. co.uk Fri 24th 50’S & 60’S ATLANTIC HITS Halifax Playhouse, King Cross Street, Halifax.

Songs and instrumental pieces from the many great artistes of the 50’s & 60’s, both from the UK and the USA. 7.30pm. £17. halifaxplayhouse.org.uk Sat 25th SWEET CAROLINE - A TRIBUTE TO NEIL DIAMOND Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

A musical journey celebrating 50 years of some of the greatest songs ever written.

7.30pm. Various prices. wintergardensblackpool.co.uk Thurs 30th THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY Blackburn Empire Theatre, Aqueduct Rd, Blackburn.

A must see international sensation. 7.30pm. £25.50. blackburnempire.com

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