Talk of the Town January 2021

EDITION 235

CIRCULATION 4,600

JANUARY 2021

SALTBURN’S FREE MONTHLY MAGAZINE 1

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SALTBURN’S TOWN TALK Letter from the Editor

Happy New Year everyone! As I said last month about There is nothing that humanity can’t achieve if we put our Christmas, the New Year seems to have greater significance differences aside and work together. than usual. It is always a time of wishing for renewal and A small difference I’ve made this month is a change to making positive changes with our resolutions, but this year the postal address in the box below. I have finally replaced we all feel the hope of a return to normality and the end of Cleveland with North Yorkshire. I had actually intended to do this dreadful pandemic. I know I’ll be accepting the vaccine it last month but forgot with all the other things I have to as soon as I am offered it and I certainly don’t believe any of remember while putting the magazine together. It was a long the nonsense that is being said on the internet and so called overdue change and appropriate for the New Year. May the social media about it. I think it should make us proud to know New Year be a positive change for the better for all of us. what humanity can achieve if we have a will to do so. I was Some good news is also long overdue! Love, Ian impressed by the way aerosol propellants were banned so Send letters, adverts and contributions for the next issue (by quickly in the 1990s when it became obvious that chlorine- Friday, 15th January 2021) to: The Editor, Talk of the based gases were destroying the ozone layer that keeps us all Town, Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, safe from solar radiation. The science was irrefutable and North Yorkshire, TS12 1AQ. Telephone: 01287 623903 (or vested interests were dumped in favour of international email: talkofthetownsaltburn@gmail.com). cooperation. The same spirit needs to be applied to tackle Talk of the Town can be read online at global warming but that is a problem that will take many www.saltburnbysea.com and found on a new Facebook years to solve. Now, in record time, the world will have about address at www.facebook.com/talkofthetownsaltburn.

20 different vaccines against this Coronavirus available. Random Stitchers of Cleveland: We held a zoom meeting on Saltburn Studios and Gallery: If you’re passing, take a peek Saturday, 5th December. Some of us had knitted pixie boots at our ever evolving Gallery Window Exhibition, with artwork and cushion stitch canvas parcels with patterns provided by from all of our 17 Studio Artists. You can also keep updated Beryl and a snowman card with a pattern from Carole. Some of with what our Studio Artists are creating in their studios on us were more productive than others. It was lovely to see our Facebook and Instagram pages. everyone and have time to catch up and talk about other items Santa rides: Saltburn firefighters kept up their tradition of members had been working on. We are having a Monday giving Santa a lift on an engine and parading round town, workshop meeting ‘coffee and mince pies’ also over zoom to despite pandemic restrictions. A well-lit engine toured all carry on stitching. In January it’s a ‘show and tell’ via zoom areas of the town in early December, horn blaring, and it was and in February our first speaker will be Joanna O’Neill, again much appreciated by pockets of people, including many via zoom. Hopefully when others see how well zoom is children, who waved enthusiastically. working then more members will join us. We hope you all had Churches back in action: Saltburn’s churches returned to a Merry Christmas and wish you all the best for 2021.

Random Stitchers of Cleveland (Embroiderers’ Guild) are being open for services after being shut because of the Hopefully it will be a more ‘normal’ for everyone. in Saltburn Library this month on 12th June at 2.00pm. Linda See pandemic. Emmanuel ran a successful ‘Advent walk’ with WI Report: It hardly seems possible that it is 9 months since Library article on page 10 for further details. people touring 25 houses and residential homes in December we were last able to meet as a WI in person. However, such are up to Christmas Day. Singers gathered outside Hazelgrove the strong friendships that have been made through the WI, care home, Randolph Street, to sing carols. even a global pandemic has not stopped us. Through the past Christmas Hope: A banner poster put up outside Emmanuel few months we have kept in touch with our members by phone, Church showed a blown-up version of a traditional scene by a email, Facebook and our webpage. Wherever possible hard seven-year-old at Saltburn primary school pupil. The word copies of quizzes, newsletters etc have been delivered to ‘HOPE’ was shown in large lettering, near the church’s large members who do not have internet access. As I write this I have Christmas tree. See article on page 32. just come from a zoom meeting, out 3rd monthly meeting with Saltburn Farmers’ Market: We are taking a break during an invited speaker. Tonight John McCue, a local astronomer, January but hope to start the markets again in either February gave us a fascinating talk about the night sky and how if we or March. See next month’s magazine for further news. are lucky we can see the Star of Bethlehem 4 days before Emmanuel Church Hall Table Top and Collectors’ Sale: Christmas for the first time in 800 years. We are now looking We are still not doing anything at table top and we don’t have forward to our zoom Christmas party next week. Although we a clue when we will be back so there is nothing new to say are still unable to hold physical meetings you can find out more other than we wish you all a happy new year and stay safe. about us and our activities on our website Another year has gone and things will hopefully be getting www.Saltburnbytheseawi.wordpress.com or on our Facebook better. Just give me call if you want to order anything and we page. If you would like to contact us our new email is will deliver or you can collect. I have managed to cater for a saltburnwomensinstitute@ outlook.com. We hope it will not be few customers that I had phone numbers for, but if any of you too long before we are able to invite you to join our meetings. need to contact me for anything please ring Denise Marshall We hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and that 2021 will be a much better year for everyone. on 07929 589538. Everyone stay safe and take care!

Diane Falla Cover Photograph: The cliff lift and pier in stormy weather by Heather Lofthouse Disclaimer: Talk of the Town tries to make sure the articles and announcements made on its pages are accurate, but views expressed in letters and articles printed in Talk of the Town are not necessarily those of the editor. Any offers in adverts included in Talk of the Town are made by the advertisers; details should be confirmed with them. Always confirm event details with the organisers, in case of alteration or error. Talk of the Town is printed by DC (Yorkshire) Print, Mercury House, Grove Lane, Hemsworth WF9 4BB. Website: www.dcprintyorkshire.co.uk Tel: 01977 642331. Proprietor/Editor of Talk of the Town: Ian Tyas c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, North Yorkshire TS12 1AQ. (Ian Tyas tel: 01287 623903.)

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Saltburn-by-the-Sea Social Gatherings in the Past With the present social distancing rules in place this month we share photographs of some gatherings from the past and look forward to being able to gather together again in the future.

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A popular band concert in the front of the Station Portico prior to the building of the current bandstand.

Carnival fills Station Street with people.

A Rotary sponsored Duck Derby on Skelton Beck.

Cleveland Hunt meets outside the Zetland Hotel for the Stirrup Cup. Note Clifton House in the background.

Marske Fishermen’s Choir entertain during the unveiling of the Mosaic at Cat Nab Car Park November 2012.

A Sunday morning service with the Middlesbrough Citadel Salvation Army Band and Choir transmitted live by TT Television July 1964.

An enjoyable Victorian Variety entertainment evening during a Victorian Week.

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A record attempt for the most people doing a waltz on a very wet day in May 2017. A good turnout but not record breaking!

Cath and Tony Lynn

SALTBURN METHODIST CHURCH A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

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“Oh yes it will …” We hope so.

But in our land the virus has taken over 63,000 lives and cast a dark shadow of grief over those who loved and lost them. Their cry will be that of the man who wrote the 42nd psalm: “My heart breaks when I remember the past.” If that’s the cry of your heart, journey through the psalms of the Old Testament this year. One a day will take you through to June. They give voice to all the emotions of the human heart, from overflowing joy to the depths of despair. Some psalms start in the gloom and emerge into light. Many will strike a chord. Here you will find, amidst the gritty reality, hope that is stronger and more enduring than a vague feeling of wanting to “return to normal”.

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Psalm 130 begins: “From the depths of my despair I call to you, LORD. Hear my cry, O Lord; listen to my call for help!” You won’t find cheap, glib platitudes here. But there is hope. There is a solitary light in the darkness.

God, who hears the cry of mankind for hope, gave us Jesus, and in his Gospel John said of Him, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”

And that’s for life, not just for Christmas, however tough the year ahead might appear.

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Try a new herbal tea or add a tin of chickpeas to a hearty stew?

Swap your Prosecco for alcohol free fizz one evening?

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There are still some of the 2021 Talk of the Town calendars left. Please do buy one as it is essential fundraising to help keep the magazine going.

They are a bargain at only £5 and beautiful too. Available at Jackie’s Saverstore in the Station Buildings and Book Corner on Milton Street.

Happy New Year!

Councillors’ Column As we begin a new year it is an opportunity to review achievements and reconsider what aspirations are on the list to do. 2020 will remain forever in the memory as a period of anxiety, frustration and true fear that a return to normality would be far off. Many family members and fond friends are not with us. These memories will last too. Virtual meetings became the norm and working from home, once questioned, a standard practice. Despite all the adversity, the community held strong and many new friendships were made.

As we move into 2021 the community spirit will continue to be challenged. As levels of unemployment rise and the fundamentals of living become harder to reach for many, the bonds that have been established will require continued support. All faith, fellowship and mankind will once again be severely tested. The discovery and gradual introduction of vaccines to fight against the current virus will assist in allaying fears but will only be the beginning of a continuing and long road back to a new normality.

This normality will range from, caring for those in need who we know about and finding those in need who have lost touch with society, to addressing the improvement of the environment, so that, despite the struggles of the moment, there will be a future for emerging generations to look forward to.

Whatever alliances may be struck by governments and whatever political and national boundaries are drawn, the common man will still wish to have a voice, register interest in the community, and make a mark before that

allotted time is up.

Saltburn Neighbourhood Action Partnership has been curtailed in offering a platform for all residents to voice their concerns and support common initiatives. Managing to meet only once in 2020, SNAP has continued to reflect residents’ thoughts and aspirations with its monthly newsletter. Anyone not receiving it can request a copy from the Secretary Bill Reay at billreay@hotmail.co.uk or request any community interest matter to be raised.

In the coming months some material changes should take place in the town. Car parking capacity will increase on Marine Parade as parallel parking is converted to right angled parking, creating 110 extra spaces for residents and visitors.

Later in the year Cat Nab car park will be redesigned and extended, creating up to 60 extra spaces.

The fruits of the labours of the small number of dedicated volunteers working on the Lower Path, Hazelgrove, will be flourishing. Anyone unfamiliar with the whereabouts of the Lower Path should go to Jack’s Castle. Unfortunately, the endeavours of volunteers are continually frustrated by the unhelpful practice of a few dog owners who allow their dogs off lead to defecate on and dig up the beds so tenderly cared for. This is clearly not acceptable. A ‘Dogs on Lead’ zone has been requested. Support would be welcomed from the community.

Climate change objectives need setting and milestones of achievement need to be on the agenda. More anon.

Philip Thomson 7

Saltburn in Bloom Who would have thought that we would have seen and pulled through such a year as 2020. We did though and we are now in 2021 and I am heaving a big sigh of relief and hoping for better things. Looking back first, huge congratulations and thanks are in order to everyone who gardened around Saltburn and enabled the town’s gardens and planted structures to continue to look lovely. This includes the Saltburn in Bloom gardening groups and other groups and individuals who care for other areas of land. From a personal point of view, not speaking as a committee member, now I have a bit more time to walk the dog (not just to the allotment and back) I’ve noticed that the “Jack’s Castle” garden areas look lovely as do the “secret” town centre garden and the wildlife garden. I’ve noticed that the wildlife garden has been a haven for skateboarders. Those that garden there are very grateful that the skateboarders are now tidying up their courses when they finish. This means that others can enjoy the garden in safety. Thank you skaters.

What of this year though? I hope the committee will be in a position to actually meet again by Easter, that’s my ambition anyway. I’m one of those people who finds Zoom type meetings really stressful and I’ll be glad when they are completely over for me.

And what of hanging baskets and seasonal tubs? A prayer to the powers that be that we will be able to check the brackets, fill them up with beautiful floral displays, put them out and have them watered. I for one find it really uplifting to see the baskets and tubs out and in their full glory and I know there are plenty of other residents, workers and visitors who

Writer says farewell to Saltburn Jennie Finch, who writes books published normally and also electronically, has moved to Ireland from Saltburn after 31 years in the town.

Among her literary outlets was Talk of the Town and the Darlington and Stockton Times (for which she was correspondent for a number of years).

Jennie, who lived in Garnet Street, was grateful for the good community spirit in Saltburn and she made many friends while living here.

Mike Morrissey

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agree.

When we agree as a committee that we will be able to plan for hanging baskets and tubs this year, we will be writing sponsorship request letters to our sponsors. Some of you very kindly allowed your 2020 sponsorship to be carried forward to 2021. If this is the case for you, you shouldn’t be receiving a further request this year. There might be some glitches as there are in any systems, so, please be forgiving of any mistakes.

With fond memories of last spring, high hopes for spring to come and best wishes for this New Year, Sue PS: Thank you Sainsbury’s for all those lovely bulbs they will be popping up all over Saltburn.

Saltburn Athletic FC Under the new lockdown rules grassroots football has been allowed to restart.

There was only one game in which a Saltburn team managed to play. The recent rain deluge meant many games being postponed.

The Under 13s were able to play only their second game of the season when beating Marton Royals by 3-1 away from home with goals from Isaac Willis 2 and Aaron Bell. A well deserved victory and have two wins from two of their matches. Next game will be against Whitby Fisherman who are likely to be one of the main challengers this season.

The weekend after going to press, on the 13th December, sees three teams at home, the U12s, U13s and U16s Falcons whilst the U14s are away at Whitby, the U16s away at Grangetown and the U10s having no game.

Let’s hope we can complete these games with another round being played on the 20th December before the Christmas break.

Many thanks to all parents for their continued support and to all referees. Without them games could not take place and also thanks for the continued support from Huntcliff Campus.

We hope you all had a merry Christmas and will have a happy new year. And here’s hoping 2021 will be a year of recovery and getting back to some normality.

Andy Croll

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Saltburn Blues Club As I write this we are in Tier 3 and hoping we go in to Tier 2 the following week. However, that does not help our January gig which I have already cancelled. The February gig is scheduled for the 27th February but I can’t see that one being on either, although I have not cancelled it yet. Who knows when we will be able to stage gigs again, March, April or May? We live in hope!

In the meantime there is always my radio show Still Got The Blues on Zetland 105 FM every Monday night 710pm. Listen Live from the Zetland website or catch up on Mixcloud with the link on the website.

Happy New Year! Let’s hope it works out better than 2020.

Harry

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Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council The tree is up, the lights are twinkling and I am sure residents will join with me in thanking the Fire Brigade for transporting Santa round the Town on Saturday 5th December. Thanks are also extended to the committee who normally organise the Parade for organising this alternative event - keep an eye on the “Alternative Saltburn Christmas Event 2020” Facebook page for further Christmas updates.

Allotment Rents are due in the New Year - there has been a small increase of 50p (pro rata) to £28 per 1/16th acre plot. The allotment association will be collecting the rents from January 2021.

If your contact details have changed (address, phone/mobile number or email address) please let the Allotment Association or the office know so that our records can be amended.

Small grants (generally up to £500) are available for community groups to assist with community projects -

further details about how to apply and the relevant paperwork is on our website, or alternatively please ring the office who will be happy to assist.

Due to the current pandemic and Government guidance, Parish Council meetings will continue to be held remotely in the New Year, and for the foreseeable future.

The Parish Council office will be closed from 23rd December 2020 to 3rd January 2021 inclusive.

On behalf of the Chairman and Councillors, best wishes for a peaceful New Year.

Stay safe and take care.

Tracy Meadows (Clerk and RFO to the Parish Council) 01287 623477 office@smnmpc.co.uk www.smnmpc.co.uk

Saltburn at Christmas was just heaven for Big Issue Gary It was when the leaves began to fall that Big Issue seller Gary knew that Saltburn was calling him back home.

When the nights get nippy and you decide it’s time to turn up the central heating you might spare a thought for him and others even less fortunate.

Gary has been a magnet for the kindness of Saltburn folks for the three years that he has been selling The Big Issue in the Station precinct near Sainsbury’s, but when Covid-19 hit he couldn’t work and he could no longer afford the rent on his little place on Milton Street so he went to live on an island. Not some sun-kissed millionaire’s playground with beachside bars and palm trees, it was a traffic island in South Bank.

The amiable 45 year-old bought a £12.99 tent and pitched it among its trees for privacy, on Docklands Road, a backroad a mile and a half from South Bank railway station. He became quite proficient at knocking up meals on a camping stove to supplement his sandwiches. He had a solar-powered lamp and a wind-up radio, a camping stool and his privacy, apart from the 2.00am visitor.

“Most nights at two in the morning I’d be wakened in my sleeping bag by him walking through and bashing all the trees and sometimes he threw things at my tent. I think he had something of a mental problem.”

Gary kept himself clean and tidy with a wash-up in public toilets and catching the hourly train to Saltburn where two lovely ladies did his washing for him. More of his many fans in the town charged up his phone for him.

But after five months his tent began to leak, and the leaves began to fall exposing his secret hideaway.

Gary had saved up for a deposit on a rental in Saltburn, and now has a new flat back on Milton Street.

His return to Saltburn living was life-changing: “I slept for the first three days and I’m eating heartily, I feel so happy to be back and working again. The Big Issue is perfect for me because when I have health problems I can just take the morning off and catch up another day. The

people of Saltburn are lovely and I have made a lot of friends here. They even had a fund-raising for me over the summer. Their smiles say a lot, and I could never repay their kindness. Saltburn is heaven to me.”

Peter Holbert 13

What Day is It? Being a writer is strange for all manner of reasons and being the editor of a monthly magazine like Talk of the Town, as Ian is, must be even stranger. For example if one is writing for or actually creating something that is time related it is necessary to attempt to keep one eye on the future because the world can be a very different place by the time the material is being perused by the reader.

As I write these words the UK and the EU are still at loggerheads over the details of any settlement for trade henceforth. As a result I can’t talk about that because I have no idea how things will pan out. Likewise with the Pandemic. The valiant staff of the NHS are only now beginning to get the vaccinations spread out around the UK, ready to start, if not the end of this horror at least the beginning of the end. That is why to talk about current events in a magazine such as ours is fraught with difficulty. We live in a world that moves on at lightning speed and that means that our town publication can be nothing like the sort of parish magazine that better suited the generations who came before us when the pace of life was much slower and a penny could still be guaranteed to buy four black jack chews years hence.

You the reader live in a different universe to me the writer or Ian the editor – a world that has not yet happened. This is probably why myself and other contributors so often stick to historical themes. It at least used to be that the past did not run away from one as the future seems to do at the drop of a hat. However, even the past is not what it used to be. As I get older I find more and more that even those things I thought I could rely on thanks to the many authoritative books on my shelves, jump around in a quixotic way. It turns out for example that the Battle of Hastings was not fought at Hastings but somewhere else and the causes of major events like world wars are now known to have been radically different than those we learned at school. The heroes we grew up with have so often turned out to be villains, the British Empire is now accepted as having been a terrible thing and worst of all cargo pants, which I love, were, according to young people of my acquaintance, always hideous.

If it’s not only the future in these hectic days that is constantly throwing up surprises, but also our appraisal of the past, what is there for us to rely on?

Must we always be thrown about on a tide of change?

A couple of weeks ago we walked on the path to Marske, past the allotments, where I had not wandered for years. The allotments were more or less as they had always been and despite the winter the first promise of spring was there to be seen. Down in the Valley Gardens the evergreens are strong and bold and new shoots are there amongst the leaf litter if you look carefully. This is all as it was when I was a boy and the best part of Saltburn doesn’t change, even if the world as a whole alters at a dizzying pace. There is continuity and it is seen more in and around our beautiful home than just about anywhere else. Thanks Saltburn.

Alan Butler 14

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Saltburn 500 Club May I start this article by wishing you a very Happy New Year from the committee of Saltburn 500 Club/Friends of Saltburn!

Congratulations go to the following winners in the December 500 Club Prize Draw: A Elgood (£200), Mr & Mrs Wordsworth (£100), Mrs E Wood (£50) and Mrs S Williams (£30). Unfortunately, committee have decided that the doubling of December prize winnings will not be able to happen this year unless we see a significant increase in membership. We currently stand at 414 paid-up members, which is the lowest it has been for a long time. We are pleading with you to help us to increase membership.

At the time of writing this article, we have not celebrated Christmas 2020 and I hope that you all managed to enjoy Christmas, despite this horrific pandemic. We have all been affected by the restrictions imposed on us by Covid but it did not prevent the placement of lights around the town. We hope that you enjoyed the Christmas lights (and noticed the new additions). The team of electricians (CNS) were hit by the pandemic and they could be seen working into the night to ensure we could have lights for Christmas, as well as trying to catch up with the workload that had grown because of their need to self-isolate. I would like to thank them for all they have done.

We had hoped to raise sufficient funding to do the 2020 lights without asking the businesses for donations, as many of them are struggling because of lost trade. Some businesses have still made donations, for which we are extremely grateful.

Thanks must also go to Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council for the financial backing donated by both. We have also had generous donations from individuals who wish to remain anonymous and one couple funded the new lights that appeared at the bandstand (I am currently trying to get these lights made and erected so, if they did not appear, they will be in situ for the 2021 lights).

I think that the firefighters were greatly appreciated when they paraded around the town on 5th December as they helped to lift people’s spirits in time for Christmas. I have not yet seen the virtual parade video, put together by the husband of a committee members who organises the annual parade. I hope you all enjoyed watching it and it gave you some consolation for us being unable to have the normal parade.

The schedule has been set for the 2021 summer bandstand performances and we are all living in hope that the performances will be able to go ahead this year. I know, from many comments received, that the bands were missed in 2020 both in the bandstand and playing carols in the town centre. I am hoping that all the bands have managed to survive the pandemic as their income has been badly hit because of the inability to attend performances/competitions. Please go along to the performances and show your support for all the bands, most of whom class Saltburn as their favourite venue. If you could possibly volunteer to help on some or all of the weekend performances, it would be greatly appreciated. We need to have volunteers to arrange the seating and take collections. I’m sure that the current team would welcome you with open arms.

The Saltburn 500 Club committee would like to welcome Stuart Whiley, who has been co-opted on to the committee with a view to being voted on at the next AGM. Please contact any committee member if you think you would be able to join the committee and help us in maintaining and enhancing the beauty of Saltburn.

Trevor Welburn Secretary, Saltburn 500 Club/Friends of Saltburn trevor.welburn@btinternet.com 15

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Saltburn Photographic Society Due to the present circumstances the members have been unable to meet physically; we are holding virtual meetings using “Zoom”. These meetings have been very successful thanks to the efforts of committee members with 45 to 50 members attending (watching).

Our presentations take place every Wednesday at 7.30pm. 6th January Summer Challenge a fine example of members’ works. 13th January NYSDPA Inter-club PDI’s Competition results. 20th January Third monthly competition Customs/Traditions results. 27th January A presentation by our member Dave Sanderson. 3rd February Creative Studio Portraiture by Carol McNiven.

Guests and new members are always welcome. For more information visit http:// saltburnphotographicsociety.co.uk. To request a guest invitation to a Zoom meeting email info@saltburnphotographicsociety.co.uk.

Practical nights also Zoom presentation, are monthly on a Monday at 7.00pm.

If you would like to join us at these meetings (which need a password) in the comfort of your home, please contact Tony Lynn 01287 622519 for details.

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Census 2021 will provide a snapshot of modern society

KR

Households across Redcar and Cleveland will soon be asked to take part in Census 2021.

The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941.

It will be the first run predominantly online, with households receiving a letter with a unique access code, allowing them to complete the questionnaire on their computers, phones or tablets.

“A successful census will ensure everyone from local government to charities can put services and funding in the places where they are most needed,” Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, said.

“This could mean things like doctors’ surgeries, schools and new transport routes. That’s why it is so important everyone takes part and we have made it easier for people to do so online on any device, with help and paper questionnaires for those that need them.”

Census day will be on March 21st, but households across the country will receive letters with online codes allowing them to take part from early March.

The census will include questions about your sex, age, work, health, education, household size and ethnicity.

And, for the first time, there will be a question asking people whether they have served in the armed forces, as well as voluntary questions for those aged 16 and over on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Results will be available within 12 months, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations.

For more information, visit census.gov.uk.

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Saltburn Sea Swimmers Take the Plunge “Daily sea swimming this year has been so exhilarating,” says Emma Krause, who runs the Light Up North business in our town. “The sea hits every one of our senses: we can hear it, see it, touch it, taste it and smell it. It really set me up for another day of home schooling last summer.”

Emma and some of her fellow swimmers, Elaine Johnson, Emma Richardson and Elinor Morgan explained to me how the group got started and what it has meant to them. A friend, Zoee Smith, who owns Saltburn Surf Shop, wanted to sea swim regularly, having trained in the Wim Hof Method (www.wimhofmethod.com). Wim is a Dutch extreme athlete, who has broken a number of records relating to cold exposure.

His method is comprised of a combination of breathing, cold therapy and commitment.

Zoee’s friend, Michelle Brough, agreed to sea swim with Zoee and approached Emma R, to whom she is related, to join them. More friends expressed interest; some came with cold water experience, such as Elaine who swam in frozen Norwegian lakes when she was in the Army, but others such as Emma K were beginners.

“I was a bit reluctant at first, because the sea would be cold and it seemed an insane idea,” she says. “But then not doing it seemed insane, so I took the plunge.”

The swimmers are aged from late teens to their fifties.

They are mostly women, but a couple of men have also come along to swim from the pier to Hazelgrove and back. This is usually by breaststroke. Some swimmers like to be able to put their feet down on the sand if need be, but others are confident further out. In summer weather, they wore only ordinary costumes, but at the time of writing, several were looking into warmer outfits for the winter. Typically, they spend twenty minutes swimming, but it can be up to forty.

“The sea can be cold and give you a stinging numbness,” says Emma R, “but it’s so exhilarating and you want your friends to enjoy it too. Some have been reluctant at first, but after trying it have said ‘I’ll be back!’”

Talking of stinging, Elinor says she was stung by a jellyfish one day. “I didn’t see it coming, but it was less painful than a bee sting and was gone in a day,” she remembers.

More positively, they talk of swimming with dolphins and seals. There were days last summer when a pod of about thirty seals were seen at Saltburn. “There were some only five metres away from the shore,” says Emma K,” and sometimes we swam with dolphins near too.”

The swimmers have sometimes met at 6.00 or 7.30 in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. They have set up a Whatsapp group and let each other know when they intend to go down. “It’s a bit like a dating app,” jokes Emma K. She has particularly enjoyed seeing the sun rise over Huntcliff during the early morning swims. She says: “The views are amazing and as I swim along, I feel I’ve achieved a hard thing for myself. It makes you appreciate where you live.”

Elinor and her friend Charlotte joined the group midsummer, after watching them one day. Elinor used to swim with seals off the Norfolk coast, before moving to Saltburn.

She says: “They looked as though they knew what they were doing and they seemed sociable and professional. We wanted to be part of the group, so after a chat, we started off swimming two or three times a week.”

Elinor’s and Charlotte’s partners have described them as ‘completely crackers’, but the women are now committed to Saltburn sea swimming. “It gives us an adrenaline rush and 18

makes us feel we’ve achieved something physical, as well as a connection with others. I love the camaraderie,” Elinor explains.

The Environment Agency assesses the quality of the bathing water and has reported it as excellent since 2016. It was tested weekly between 1st May and 30th September 2020 and retained its rating.

However, there can be a problem after heavy rainfall, when ‘consented discharges can temporarily impair bathing water quality’ (www.environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles).

Emma K reports that by law national water companies have to publish Supply Sewage Overflow data and the Surfers against Sewage organisation makes the local details available on an app. Swimmers can access the SAS app for information (www.sas.org.uk).

She says that although every day is different, they haven’t had a bad swim to date. The sea has been changing in autumn: “There’s more of a swell and the waves are bigger.

Some of us have been doing wave jumping like kids!”

Swimming through the winter will be more challenging, but Emma K says she would like it to be a year round activity. “We’re doing research on how to build up our resilience. We’ll have to plan our recovery more in winter and take down hot drinks,” she says. Maybe all the swimmers will need to do Wim Hof training! In pairs, they’ve found swims during the November Lockdown warm enough, but if the cold does force a break, they’ll be back next summer and encouraging more people to join them.

Rosemary Nicholls

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Check out our Facebook page We are located at the Earthbeat Centre with two car parks, right next to Saltburn’s vegan/ vegetarian cafe, SHANTI 19

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Health and Happiness: Take Full Responsibility Our world, our life is a pretty mind-blowing experience when we stop and reflect on it. When the wind is low it looks still and calm, yet we are spinning at 460 meters per second or roughly a 1000 miles an hour on this piece of rock. We are held on by gravity, a force that we can measure but which none of our greatest scientists have ever been able to truly explain. Yet it is one of the main reasons we can exist on this planet and breath naturally and walk and swim. And It’s just one factor amongst so many physical and chemical balances and biological designs that have had to align for us to be able to exist and thrive here.

Here somewhere travelling perhaps aimlessly through dark matter in ever expanding space time. Here on this little pebble with ice on either end and vast areas of desert dry as dry can be and even bigger areas of forest and jungle dripping with wetness and the incredible diversity of living things. Yet two thirds of this rock are oceans on the surface, water that gives us life. These oceans are still mostly unexplored and the world beneath mostly remains unknown by us who sit on top as we burn through all the resources we can find to fulfil our desires as a species. Yet we individually are that species. We can chose to be conscious and part of that destruction or not.

We live on a cool surface of mud, yet way beneath that mud is a molten centre of burning lava that could cause a super volcano at any time. A volcano that is very likely to have come before and which would in nearly any instant send us all back into an ice age. We are all travelling at 67,000 miles an hour around our sun and we are moving through the universe with rock debris shooting past us all the time. Any of that rock debris that hits earth would very likely kill all human life in a devastating fashion, which it is likely to have done in the past and statistically it is likely to do in the

relatively near future again.

It is amazing what framing can do to how we feel. By that I mean the way we construct our story of what is going on in the world and how we see ourselves doing within it.

We can see the pandemic as a total disaster for humanity or a mild blip; there is no correct view or fact of it; it is a matter of perspective. We can see illness in a member of our family as utterly devastating, yet for another in the same circumstance with a different philosophy about life and death and spirituality and the bigger journey we are all on, it can be deeply accepted and not devastating at all.

An argument with our partner can fill our head and feelings for days or weeks as though it’s the end of the world. Yet a change of perceptive changes everything.

Perspective literally changes how we feel and how we experience life and how we treat others. Perspective is chosen by us, not imposed on us. Many follow the mainstream narrative, the views from the perspective of the media, constructed for the masses and informed by many intelligent people yet framed in a very traditional way. Your choice is to be aware that you are in control of how you choose to frame your world here, your importance in it and how you want to feel. You are in charge of your perspective.

Don’t give away your power, don’t blame life or circumstances or other people for “making” you feel as you feel. Take full responsibility for your own emotions and there is the central beam to self empowerment. At least from my perspective it is.

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Rotary Bin Day Tin Day - MASSIVE SUCCESS! When we started the project, Rotary in Saltburn believed they could make a huge difference to those in greatest need and therefore support the two Saltburn Foodbanks by launching our monthly food tin collection appeal just in time for Christmas.

However, the result was spectacular and we handed over an amazing 2000 food items at the end of that morning despite a lot of households missing our project launch in Talk of the Town - many thanks to Sainsbury`s for sanitiser and the use of their trolleys and shopping bags, Gosnay`s, Real Meals and Camfield`s who were also very generous in providing sanitiser whilst Vic Vernon from Surfs Up who got us off to a flyer by donating 85 items of food!

Saltburn Residents - Rotary can`t thank you enough for your extreme generosity as we look forward to the next collection from 10am on Thursday 7th January and thanks also to those who helped us with our collecting, namely Ward Councillors Craig Hannaway and Philip Thomson, volunteers Paul Nixon, Glyn and Faith Hambley, my wife Sally, Derek Whiley, Ian and Mary Sproxton and MFC Foundation staff.

News quickly spread and we had a live interview request a few days letter on BBC Radio Tees which will no doubt develop the scheme further so we would be grateful for some additional volunteers willing to give up a couple of hours that morning as the project undoubtedly grows further please contact me on 07388 349557 or any other Saltburn Rotarian if you wish to help make a difference.

Hoping you all had a lovely Christmas despite the COVID-19 restrictions as we wish you a safe and Happy New Year from President Harry Simpson and the Rotary Club members.

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Allan Whiley Rotary Project Coordinator

January Family Fun Happy New vaccination Year!

January 2021 Dry January. No more alcohol 31 day challenge!

Veganuary. The go vegan 31 day challenge.

Walk your dog Month walk off some of that festive food and drink, and improve your own and your dogs’ well being.

1st Welcome to the New Year, make some New Year Resolutions of your own “Good luck in sticking to them”.

4th World Braille Day. Raise awareness, download a worksheet from www.twinkl.co.uk Braille is a tactile code made up from six raised dots on a grid, with 63 different combinations which can be translated into many languages for people with sight impairments or whom are blind. It was an invention from Louis Braille born this day in 1809.

5th Twelfth Night, is when all Christmas decorations should be removed and all outside greenery returned, as not to bring bad luck from the tree-spirits, as we once believed. So recycle your real Xmas tree. Most supermarkets will take unwanted Xmas cards.

6th Epiphany - celebrates the three wise men visiting the baby Jesus. Donate any unwanted gifts you have to a Charity and any surplus food to a food bank and Salvation Army for the homeless.

11th House plant week. Do some indoor gardening, enhance your home and health. Get the family involved and “Get Planting”.

17th World Religion Day. Annually held on the third Sunday in January. The aim is to promote understanding and peace between all religions.

18th Cervical cancer prevention week 2021. Please go on line and find out how to reduce the risk.

Also Winnie the Pooh day. Celebrated on the author AA Milne’s birthday. Organise a picnic with family & Xmas toys in Hundred Acre Wood or lounge, dining room, kitchen? Draw a map to your picnic spot.

Also Big energy saving week, is a national campaign to help people cut their fuel bills and get financial support that they entitled to, go online for more details.

Also Blue Monday – The third Monday of every January has been awarded Gloomy Monday due to post Xmas blues, dark nights, and colds.

21st Squirrel appreciation day, is a day to learn about the world’s cutest rodent. Did you know that their teeth grow at a rate of 6 inches a year? Can that be true? Thread some monkey nuts through a string and watch them get to grips to eat them.

23rd National Reading Day. This is an annual event to encourage young readers to love reading. Try and get the school involved, if they are not already?

24th World leprosy day. While rare in the western world many people in other countries still suffer with this curable disease due to the lack of access to basic medical care.

25th Burns Night celebrates the life of Robert Burns (poet) and his contribution to Scottish culture. His best known work is Auld Lang Syne. Try and put a poem together describing your 2020.

27th Holocaust Memorial Day is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. “Be the light in the darkness.”

Also RNLI SOS fundraising/awareness day. Lace up your trainers and get work colleagues, family and friends involved. Get everyone to wear their favourite trainers for the day & donate at least £1.00.

29th RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch 2021. Look it up and join in by enjoying an hour discovering nature on your door step. Make some fat balls with lard and wild bird seed and put out before your watch to encourage the birds to your garden, or if in the park take some bird seed with you.

30th National story telling week. This event steadily grows each year across schools, museums, theatres, clubs, hospitals, care homes, libraries, as well as people’s own homes. Get each member of the family to take it in turns to tell a story each evening. Maybe even write one for someone to tell. What will you be telling?

All that you see here can be looked up on line for any more information.

We would like to wish you all the very best of health and happiness in the New Year. Whatever you do please stay safe!

God Bless to all from Saltburn Toc H Branch.

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Saltburn Councillors’ Surgeries Redcar & Cleveland Council has cancelled all its meetings in the short term and requested that Councillors suspend surgeries until further notice. Accordingly Saltburn Councillors are withdrawing from holding surgeries in the library but can still be contacted as detailed below. Stuart Smith has resumed his surgery outside Sainsbury’s on the 3rd Saturday of each month.

Cllr. Craig Hannaway 07561 467168 craig.hannaway@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Cllr. Stuart Smith 07557 540628 stuart.smith@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Cllr. Philip Thomson 07747 044858 philip.thomson@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

New Shops in Saltburn It’s been good to see some new shops opening in Saltburn.

In Milton Street they include Audrey Alice, a clothes shop near Rapp’s Café and Stay Smart Cleaners is now Odd Socks Launderette. In Diamond Street the former saleroom and Re:Furnish Emporium is now a vintage concession setup with 20 different businesses involved, called Saltburn Vintage Rooms. On the opposite side of Diamond Street, the former saleroom storeroom is now Teesside Community Hub and clothing bank. At the top of Station Street the former Petite bridal shop, which has moved to the opposite side, is now That Pantry food shop. While in Dundas Street West the former Restoratory is expected to open soon as an eco friendly zero-waste store.

Hewitt’s Property Services Affordable, Friendly and Reliable, Serving the Local Community Covering Saltburn, Brotton, Loftus, Skelton, Guisborough and Surrounding Areas Joinery, Plumbing, Bathroom Refits Damp Proofing, Wall Cladding, Supply and Fit, Laminate Wood Flooring, Loft Ladders and Loft Flooring Fitted, And Any Small Jobs, Pressure Washing and Long-Reach Pure Water Window Cleaning Service Now Available, Call Steve for a Free No-Obligation Quote on

07966 152553 Email: steve217@hotmail.co.uk Est. 18 years 24

Articentric Community Interest Company

Workshop Space and Gallery

Articentric is a community interest, not for profit, company in Saltburn.

We work with local artists and creatives offering space for them to sell their artwork and, in more normal times, to hold arts-based classes.

It is hard to believe that Articentric has been open for a year now – it was certainly a first year we will never forget!

We would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support during this first year.

Articentric now represents seven artists, offering a range of artworks for sale to suit all tastes and budgets. Our latest artists are The Reclaimers from Marske, who create lamps and other work from reclaimed materials including exhaust pipes and barrel staves. Their work, along with the other artwork, can be seen in person in the gallery space and on our website: www.articentric-cic.co.uk.

For those times when a decision is difficult, we also have gift vouchers available.

Free local delivery is available within Saltburn and there is also a click and collect service. We can post out further afield, popping a hand-written note or card in if you would like us to.

We are hoping to begin our workshop programme and events again soon – keep an eye on our window and Instagram page for further information.

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Also, Joinery Work Undertaken

Call Liz on: 01287 203571 Mobile: 07834 022289 Email: liz.ingledew@btinternet.com Website: www.liziesdecorating.co.uk 26

Cleveland Diving Club

A New Year, new beginnings, and renewed hope that promises a new norm for new experiences that can be enjoyed. Unfortunately, lockdowns, tiers and as ever: interminable poor north east weather, at this time of year, presents the biggest challenge to our divers engaging in new encounters. Hence the need for a back-up plan such as shallow coastal dives for skills training, practice or underwater marine life identification and photography.

Indeed the diversity of marine life to find is noteworthy, even molluscs such as the humble periwinkle, sea snail and dog whelk can generate curiosity. With the exceptions of octopus, cuttlefish, squid and shell-less sea snails (nudibranchs), typical molluscs share similar physical features. A hard external shell created and maintained by a self-perpetuating mantel beneath which lies a soft body attached to a strong muscular foot for grip and transportation, a head, sensory organs (eyes and tentacles), internal digestive reproductive organs, and a unique tongue-like feeding mechanism, a radula. Using its toothed, saw-like radula like a file a herbivore snail passes grazed alga, from rocks or seaweed, to the mouth.

Interestingly the radula is able to engage in self-dentistry, replacing worn teeth with new. Various species of snails use several methods of reproduction from releasing eggs and sperm freely into the sea, attaching eggs to the sea bed or brooding eggs that then become mini adults.

The real attraction to these biologically simple creatures, however, lies in the variation of shape, colour

and size even with the common periwinkle, being black, grey or brown. However, a more glamorous species is the ‘painted top shell,’ with its perfect symmetrical, and colourful (or white) lustrous mother-of-pearl lipped shell that is constantly and meticulously preened making this snail a photographer’s dream (photos 1 and 2).

Another favourite to capture on camera is the common creamy or grey dog whelk, especially one of this size in photo 3. These predatory carnivores, by comparison, have a much more aggressive and forceful feeding mechanism. Using their radula like a drill they are able to force open barnacle plates, or bore through mussel shells before depositing dissolving chemicals via a proboscis and then sucking up the contents of their victims. They would appear to have the upper hand, or do they? For example, if the shell drilling takes too long they may well find themselves trapped within the mussel’s strong, silk-like byssal threads, employed for climbing, like the crab in photo 4.

It must be said that thankfully, awareness and appreciation of aquatic creatures’ idiosyncrasies enriches any diving experiences. Therefore, in this New Year, Cleveland Divers are expecting to announce a new round of training for novice divers, so look out for our flyers, posters and notices on our Facebook page, ‘The Diving Club-Cleveland,’ or if interested in learning to scuba diving contact us on 07960 608529.

June Coomber

Saltburn Scouts News Everyone at 1st Saltburn Scout Group hopes you had an enjoyable Christmas and were able to see family and friends during the lifting of restrictions.

We would like to wish you all a happy New Year.

Here’s hoping 2021 is kinder to everyone than 2020. We are also hoping to resume meetings again with our young people, even if it is virtually, but fingers crossed we can meet face to face again soon.

Update on Beaver Scout Drew’s fundraising for Children In Need. His final total was an amazing £570!

Lennon, an older Scout, has done his ‘sleepout in’ for CEOSleepoutUK – www.ceosleepoutuk.com – a charity raising funds for frontline homeless charities. He slept on the cold living room floor with a street-light keeping him awake. His Mum said ‘if you know Lennon, giving up his bed is a real sacrifice!’ To date Lennon has raised £70 for the charity. The sleepout is usually done by CEOs of big companies where everyone sleeps on the floor of a huge

building or literally on the streets. Obviously with Covid19 this couldn’t be done, so to raise awareness and funds, a sleepout night at home was suggested, with Lennon and his Mum joining in. Huge bravo guys for thinking of others.

Stay safe and well. And here’s to a fast roll out of the vaccine.

To contact 1st Saltburn Scout Group, please email: saltburnscouts@hotmail.com.

Karen 27

Women’s Wine and Spirit Lovers…. changing the Wine and Spirit World!

Shorty’s Gins has just won at the most important wine and spirits competition in the world judged by women buyers – the Women’s Wine and Spirits Awards 2021 (WWSA).

With women now buying 80% of wine globally, winning a GOLD Women’s Wine & Spirits Awards medal, is a vital positive statement to female wine and spirit lovers globally.

The Women's Wine and Spirits Judges include 100 of the world’s most influential female buyers from entities including Shangri-La Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Langham, Hyatt Regency and The Hari Hotel.

The Women's Wine and Spirits Judges are proud of the WWSA 2021 Results. They are determined to give their seal of approval for female buyers and consumers. WWSA Judge Dalia Leitenberg commented, “Considering the significant rise in interest of women for the wine world, I am certain that it is of great importance for wine producers to acknowledge the value of female buyers: their habits as consumers provide beneficial insight into the market.”

Women’s Wine & Spirits Awards 2021 triple blind tasted a record-breaking number of samples from 55 countries around the world. Noble WWSA 2021 winners include

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Shorty’s Gins, Zonte’s Footstep, Grey Monk Estate, Wakefield Taylors and DFJ Vinhos.

As the most important women’s wine and spirits competition in the world, this is an important milestone for the one woman business that is Shorty’s Gins.

“With women consumers increasingly important to my company and the brand, I am delighted that our Endeavour Gin performed so well at the Women’s Wine and Spirits 2021,” reported Rachael Conisbee aka Shorty, Founder and Director of Shorty’s Gins Limited. “I work really hard to make beautiful gins and gin liqueurs, and being recognized by the Women’s Wine & Spirits Awards, I am confident these gins will be appreciated by women with excellent taste internationally at some point in the near future. Shorty’s is exhilarated to be a GOLD Women’s Wine & Spirits Awards 2021 Medal Winner. With a Bronze Award back in January this year at the World Gin Awards (in the hardest fought category) Rachael added, “I really couldn’t have imagined winning two major international awards in less than 12 months after such a hard year for all small businesses due to the pandemic. The future looks bright. 2021 will be our year!”

Saturday mornings at the Earthbeat Centre and Tuesday evenings at Emmanuel Church Hall.

Please contact Stevie 07740 725210 to book your place.

Current government guidelines are in place to keep everyone safe.

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“The Great Little Shop that Sells Everything!�

Offering Cheaper Prices on all our products, including Toiletries, Cleaning Products, Homeware Products, Greetings Cards and Much, Much More!

Pop in and check us out.

You will be amazed at what we stock!

Happy New Year to All We sell Saltburn Souvenirs, Postcards, Fridge Magnets, Key Rings, Prints and Greetings Cards. Special Saltburn cards and customised cards on sale now!

Temporary Open Times: 10.00am till 2.00pm, Monday to Friday Saturday 10.00am to 4.00pm 30

The benefits of getting outside Happy 2021 Saltburners! I know it’s cold out there but here are some awesome and scientific reasons why you should get up close and personal with Mother Nature.

BEING OUTDOORS BOOSTS YOUR ENERGY Craving another cup of coffee? Maybe you should skip the caffeine and sit outside instead.

One study suggests that spending 20 minutes in the open air gives your brain an energy boost comparable to one cup of your favourite coffee. I know this works wonders for me.

IT FEELS EASIER TO EXERCISE OUTDOORS Does it seem noticeably easier to exercise outside? Like when you go for a muddy run in the woods! This might be thanks to your stimulating surroundings. Grass, trees, and plants can add a psychological energy boost to your workout.

THE OUTDOORS IS GOOD FOR YOUR VISION Research shows that students who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop shortsightedness.

NATURAL SUNLIGHT HELPS MITIGATE PAIN There are studies to show that surgery patients who are exposed to high-intensity sunlight reported less stress and marginally less pain, and therefore took less pain medication.

THE OUTDOORS BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM Scientists think that breathing in phytoncides—airborne chemicals produced by plants—increases our levels of white blood cells, helping us fight off infections and diseases. Take some time to stop and breath deep to fully appreciate the air around us here on the coast.

THE OUTDOORS PROVIDES YOU WITH FREE AROMATHERAPY According to science, you really should stop and smell the flowers. Research shows that natural scents like roses, freshly cut grass, and pine make you feel calmer and more relaxed.

THE OUTDOORS ENHANCES CREATIVITY If you’re struggling with writer’s block, you might want to ditch your laptop for the great outdoors. How much more incentive and enthusiasm do you have after bracing the elements in your lunch hour?

THE OUTDOORS HELPS WITH SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER In the winter, shorter days and lower light levels can trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD—a reoccurring condition that’s marked by symptoms of anxiety, exhaustion, and sadness. Doctors say spending time outside can lessen SAD’s severity—even if the weather’s cold or overcast.

THE OUTDOORS RESTORES YOUR FOCUS Can’t concentrate at work? Leave your office for a few minutes and go stroll in a nearby park. We all know that this makes us feel amazing but sometimes we don’t make that move to get outside.

THE OUTDOORS MAKES US BETTER PEOPLE Exposure to nature helps us shrug off societal pressures, allowing us to remember and value more important things like relationships, sharing, and community. This is my favourite one regardless of the weather out there today, get out and feel the rain on your face, or the wind in your hair, or maybe join us for some outdoor Yoga.

During lockdown the Spa were kind enough to let me practise on their beautiful decking. If you’d like to join me for outdoor practice, get in touch or follow the Facebook page for dates of upcoming events.

With so much love, light and namaste Victoria Sky, TreeLivingYoga.com victoria@treelivingyoga.com

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Agatha’s Christmas Winning Design A pupil at Saltburn Primary School has recently showcased her talents by designing a Christmas themed piece of artwork to be displayed at a local church.

Agatha, aged 7, submitted her drawing to Reverend Adam Reed, from Saltburn’s Emmanuel Church, as part of a school-wide competition to design a banner for the grounds. Pupils from Saltburn Primary submitted some wonderful pieces, but it was Agatha’s that impressed the judging panel, depicting a powerful nativity scene using thoughtful imagery and beautiful colour combinations.

Agatha said, “I am so proud of myself and I never thought that I would be the winner. I am overjoyed and so happy!”

Head of School Caroline Chadwick was really impressed; she said, “Agatha’s design is absolutely wonderful - it really captures the nativity story, and the addition of the rainbow signifies hope. We can’t wait for the banner to be displayed in the community.”

Agatha stands with Reverend Adam Reed when the banner was displayed outside Emmanuel Church.

In December the school awaited the banner’s revealing where it was poised to become a prominent feature of the town’s landscape throughout the festive period.

Agatha’s design was also used in the Churches Together Christmas message in last month’s Talk of the Town.

Heather Ollerenshaw Communications Manager

Barclays Saltburn-by-the-Sea, supporting our community I would really like to take this opportunity to introduce myself, my name is Lindsey Trainor and I have worked for Barclays for the last 20 years across various different branches, returning to Saltburn Branch in March as the Local Branch Manager. Over the years I have seen many changes to the way Barclays operates and changes in the public perception, both good and bad. However, Barclays is the last bank in town and we want to be there to support the wider community. 2020 has been the most difficult year I have seen throughout my career and it is therefore more important than ever that we are here to support each other.

I have a fantastic, experienced team in Saltburn and they thrive on the services that they provide to each and every one. We are actively supporting local community groups and are here if anyone would like support or just to simply talk.

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This new year I am looking at changing the appearance of our branch with a community/business area where people can go to find out what’s on in our community and also where to go for local business support.

As the way we do our banking and interaction with us is changing, we will be holding regular Tea and Teach sessions when it is safe to do so; these are to help everyone to stay safe online whilst enjoying a cuppa and a natter. It is important to remember that we are always here to support you whatever your needs may be, from general queries through to the purchase of your first home.

I would like to invite anyone that has any financial concerns or worries to please come and talk to us. We are here to help.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

G . Bishop - Decorator *Interiors and Exteriors

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Time Served Telephone 01287 624016

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40 Years Experience Mobile 07757 912575

Do You Struggle To Leave Your Home?

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This PILATES, YOGA & BALLET inspired fitness class works on OVERALL TONING, CORE STRENGTH, BALANCE and FLEXIBILTY. This whole body workout will tone and strengthen, define your figure and realign your posture.

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LEGAL SERVICES AVAILABLE IN YOUR OWN HOME AT VERY COMPETITIVE RATES

I have recently retired after providing legal services at a local solicitors for almost forty years and am now able to provide legal assistance in respect of wills, powers of attorney and help to deal with matters following a bereavement including the obtaining of a Grant of Probate. Please call me on 07402 777393 and I will be happy to visit you in your own home to discuss your requirements and give a quotation.

LORNA SMITH 34

Saving And Re-homing Animals THE ANN PROSSER FOUNDATION

A small charity seeking to rescue and re-home cats and dogs, Tel: 01642 488108 (weekdays only, 10am to 2pm).

SARA has many dogs and cats that need new homes. All are clean, healthy, neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

Hello from all of us at SARA. We’d like to wish you all a Very Happy and Healthy New Year. This month we would like to introduce you to Tilly and Zebo.

Tilly is a beautiful three year old tabby girl, who came into SARA through a change in her owner’s circumstances. Tilly is a very sweet little girl, she can be a little shy until she gets to know you, and she enjoys a fuss when she feels comfortable. We are looking for a quiet home for her, with no children and no other pets.

Tilly is an indoor cat.

Zebo is a very beautiful silvery grey brindle greyhound who is around four years old. Zebo is a very friendly and well mannered young lad. Zebo simply loves his toys and enjoys playing with them in the pen, and zooming around, like all greyhounds love to do. Zebo

also enjoys walks with our other large dogs at the centre and snoozing in the sun, again like all other greyhounds.

Zebo is looking for a home as an only pet and with no young children.

For further details, please contact 01642 488108 or email sara.foxrushfarm@btconnect.com. We are currently open to public by APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adopting from us please give us a ring on 01642 488108 and leave a message with your contact number or send us an email to sara.foxrushfarm@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support during these difficult times. All our wonderful animals say thank you so much for your donations too! https://www.justgiving.com/SaltburnARA

SARA fundraising events Monthly meetings for SARA supporters and the general public are usually held in the Cleveland Bay, Ings Road Redcar on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm but unfortunately are currently cancelled as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. Hopefully we can all soon meet again.

Future SARA Events: At the time of writing we have no information on any possible future events because of the coronavirus lockdown but we will let you know as soon as we can about any plans.

Joy and Mandy Volunteers at SARA 35

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DAILY SOUL FOOD IN 2021…

Are you struggling to satisfy a deeper hunger?

2021 begins with a burst of hope that the various vaccines for Covid-19 will allow your daily lives to get back to normal at some point soon.

Undoubtedly, this return to normal in many ways will be something you will celebrate, especially if your relationships, livelihoods or schooling has been negatively affected.

However, what will you do if the past year has revealed to you that your pre-Covid-19 life was not as fulfilling and life-giving as you thought it was?

That a return to ‘normal’ leaves you feeling anxious and ill at ease? That deep within you feel a hunger that is not satisfied by other people or material things? That you have a thirst that you cannot seem to quench?

There’s a story in the life of Jesus that I hope will allow you to discover where you can find some answers, with food to satisfy your soul, and water that will quench your inner thirst. After Jesus was baptised in the river Jordan, he fasted for forty “Man shall not live on bread days and forty nights in the desert alone, but on every word that wilderness. When this fast caused comes from the mouth of God.” him to be extremely hungry, the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ But Jesus famously answered the devil saying, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ For a specific time and purpose Jesus actively fasted from eating food. He knew his body needed food for its health and well-being, but for a time it was right to forego this ‘good’ for a ‘greater good’. This ‘greater good’ was a deep, heart and mind relationship with God his Father, the source of all good gifts. And Jesus understood his life needed soul food, and he found this ‘on every word that that comes from the mouth of God.’ Like Jesus, sometimes people will fast for specific reasons from the ‘goods’ of life to seek the ‘greater good’ that is God, the source of all goodness.

But, feeding on and drinking from the life-giving words of God is something you can all do everyday. Your ‘normal’ life needs food and drink to satisfy your heart and mind. If you are wondering where to start with this, give me a call or send me an email. I am happy to explore this with you. But I would like to recommend to you this app for your mobile phone or computer: Lectio 365. For 5 to 10 minutes each day you can feed your soul on the biblical words of God. You will be guided to P.R.A.Y. to Pause, Reflect, Ask, Yield.

As a new year begins, as ‘normal’ returns, will you make the time to feed your soul?

JANUARY Covid-19 Update You are welcome to attend the services on ZOOM and in the church building in January.

Social distancing and appropriate health & safety measures will be in place.

Services Times Sundays 9.00am said communion 10.15am worship on ZOOM

Tuesdays 9.30am said communion

Morning Prayer Monday to Friday 9.00am worship on ZOOM

Night Prayer Monday to Friday 8.00pm worship on ZOOM

Contact Details tel 01287 622251

email emmanuelsaltburn@hotmail.co.uk

web www.emmanuelsaltburn.co.uk

Every blessing, Rev Adam Reed (vicarofsaltburn@gmail.com) 37

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The Saltburn Profile by Rosemary Nicholls Ted Sanderson Heaven for Ted Sanderson is “Sitting with a few beers at Saltburn Cricket Pitch, watching a match on a warm summer’s day”. He has really taken to our town, settling here after a search for a home on the East Coast that began in Hull and came northwards. He is well-known in Saltburn U3A for his help with technology and his excellent recall of all sorts of information in quizzes.

Ted was born in Sheffield and went to local schools.

He started work there as an apprentice telephone engineer for Post Office Telephones, which later became BT Communications and then BT. When he completed his training, he became part of a team increasing the capacity of exchanges. “I enjoyed it,” he says.

In 1980, backed by many years of experience, he applied to be a trainer of other engineers and transferred to Harrogate. He signed up to a five to seven year contract, but continued there till he retired in 2013! “I just stayed because I loved it,” he remembers. “Every day was different and as the business moved forward, there were interesting challenges to meet.”

In 1984, he met June, who was working in financial services. They married and had three children. They now have ten grandchildren, who loved their visits to Saltburn preCovid.

In due course, Ted was asked to design training courses for other trainers to deliver. He had to make sure five hundred trainers across the country conveyed the same message through a blend of online and face to face methods.

Ted had to learn to write information down in a way that couldn’t be greatly changed.

On retirement in 2013, he began voluntary work with the RNIB. He made sure that the technology used by blind people was operating correctly. “Mobiles have been a godsend to the blind,” he says. Ted found that the people loved to talk and his volunteering was ‘demand-led’, but he managed to fit in volunteering with Knaresborough ORB on Fridays too.

ORB helps people with learning difficulties and mental health issues through art and technology. Ted found a use for all the skills he had developed work-wise and he managed to bring one person to the point of making an application to take his European Computer Driving Licence.

Ted and June had long held a desire to move to the coast and in 2011, bought a holiday home on a site at Ribby Hall, outside Lytham. But they decided that they preferred the East Coast, when they spent a happy holiday renting a First World War hut at Staithes. The grandchildren had a great time there with them.

“So we started at Hull and worked our way up the coast. But we didn’t take to any of the places we saw, until June suggested we take another look at Saltburn, which we’d enjoyed visiting from Staithes,” explains Ted. “The Food Festival was coming up, so we booked into the Spa Hotel to check that we’d still like the town when it’s busy.” Six months later, they were Saltburn residents.

They soon became members of the U3A and Ted began to help people with technology. He found that they had different skill levels and were variously using mobile phones, laptops and tablets. The U3A has been moving from pen and paper to electronic communication and Ted has worked to develop this as the online administrator. He was co-opted on to the committee just before Lockdown and he played an

important part in organising the 2020 AGM online. “Saltburn U3A has about nine hundred members, so for a quorum we needed ninety people to join us on Zoom,” he says. “We got ninety-five!”

Ted and June have amazed us by their general knowledge at the U3A monthly quizzes. As the ‘Just the Two of Us’ team, they won on many pre-Covid occasions at the Cricket Club. Ted explains that he’s always had a knack of picking up lots of useless information! “When I was at school, I was picked to take part in a BBC Quiz being held in Sheffield,” he remembers.

Now that the U3A quizzes have moved online, Ted has taken more turns at setting the questions and keeping as many people as possible logged in on Zoom.

June and Ted have also joined the Cons Club and were playing bowls and petanque on the Saltburn green, before this was paused by Covid.

Ted enjoys reading well-written books, particularly detective stories. His musical taste is eclectic. Examples of pieces he likes are Beethoven’s Pastoral, ‘Telegraph Road’ by Dire Straits and modern music by Sam Smith. He admits he’s not a keen gardener, but he would cook if June weren’t so good at it! As he and June enjoy going off travelling, they haven’t taken on any pets at home. They like cruising and have visited most areas apart from Africa, India and South America.

Ted says that raising three sons has involved him in watching a lot of football and cricket. He played himself when he was young, but now he and June support Tottenham Hotspur. June originally was a Londoner and they look forward to going down to see a Spurs match when Lockdown is over.

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Saltburn, Redcar & Cleveland Philatelic Society ICONIC STAMPS - Part One Sir Rowland Hill (3 December 1795 - 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor, and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of a Uniform Penny Post and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters.

Hill later served as a government postal official and he is credited with the basic concepts of the modern postal service including the invention of the Penny Black. He made the case that if letters were cheaper to send, more people, including the poorer classes, would send more letters, thus eventually profits would go up.

The number of letters sent in the UK more than doubled. Within three years postage stamps were introduced in Switzerland and Brazil and a little later in the USA, and by 1860, they were used in 90 countries.

The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in Great Britain, on 1st May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6th May. The stamp featured a profile of Queen Victoria which was engraved by Charles Heath and his son Frederick, based on a sketch provided by Henry Corbould which in turn was based on the 1834 cameo-like head by William Wyon, which was used on a medal to commemorate the Queen’s visit to the City of London.

The stamps were printed in sheets of 240 on the Jacob Perkins’ press. They were imperforate (perforations had not been invented yet) and had to be cut by scissors by the post office clerk; as a result, stamps with badly cut margins, or no margins at all, are more common and worth very little, while stamps with clear margins are rare and valuable. 68,808,000 stamps were printed, but the number in existence today is estimated to be only 1,300,000.

You can pick up a used example in reasonable

Saltburn Line User Group Next Meetings are cancelled until further notice Meetings at Saltburn Conservative Club are held on the first Tuesday of the month, and our starting time is now (permanently) 7pm.

As always, all welcome.

Talk to Saltburn Line User Group.

The Group exists to protect passengers’ interests.

condition for well under £100, although if you want one with four clear margins and in mint condition you can expect to pay in excess of £10,000.

COVID-19 2021: Our meetings are suspended until at least September 2021. If you require help or advice with your collection call GEOFF REYNOLDS 01642 478229 or MARTIN SNOWDON 01287 622504.

Martin Snowdon

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Postal Subscription to Talk of the Town If you enjoy Talk of the Town, why not subscribe?

You can have your favourite local magazine delivered anywhere in the UK for just £33.50 per year.

Just call us on 01642 477200 and we can take card payment over the phone.

You’ll then get the next 12 issues delivered direct to your door at the start of every month.

Saltburn Allotments Association Happy New Year! I bet like me, you are hoping for a much better year than 2020! We may not be covid free yet but we now may have something positive coming.

Make sure you are all ready to start growing!

January is a month for preparation although you can make a few early sowings of onions, broad beans, radish, peas and early carrots. Ensure you protect them well if it gets frosty using something like fleece.

By preparing and clearing your ground and using this month to do any remaining jobs like mending fences, checking sheds, tools and paths you can be ready.

If you get some good weather, complete a project you have been planning … I have a poly-tunnel to construct when we get a calm spell of decent weather and I have the time! Keep harvesting the crops you have growing too. Decide on what you plan to grow this year.

Check on your stored veg and fruit to make sure any rotten ones are removed.

It will soon be spring with new crops to enjoy!

Do you have any New Year resolutions this year?

Perhaps one could be to help the environment?

Gardening is a pastime where you can make a real difference. ‘No Dig’ is a great option and farmers are now looking to reduce their impact on the soil. There are machines to sow seed without ploughing the soil first!

The soil holds a lot of carbon, and no digging stops release of carbon! It makes the ground more resilient to drought and flood too. We need help with this, it is something we have been experiencing much more recently! Your soil will contain more organic matter and support the crops you grow and need less added fertilisers. You never know until you try, look up Charles Dowding on the Internet for more information or maybe have a go in one area to begin with.

Make your own compost, recycle what comes out of your kitchen and garden, and reduce what you buy to condition the soil! Make your project to build a compost bin and start a little serious composting. Chop green and dry material and try to build layers up. If too dry add some moisture to help, you would be surprised at how simple this is to do and how good the resulting compost is for the crops you grow.

I am hoping that 2021 returns a little normality for us all but in the meantime we can all stay sane with some gardening, and do what many of us have been doing all through 2020 and making an effort to support our friends and neighbours through the craziest year that we could have ever imagined. It has been quite inspiring to hear the stories that came from last year, and as ever communities have come together and looked after those that needed it.

Appreciate what you have and continue to stay safe in 2021.

Julia

The Muses of Jim

Good news. I am glad to say I have come into money. I got the news last weekend. 25p a week extra on my Old Age Pension. What a life changing amount, for these days. It could change my life forever. There was also another happy happening. I am a loyal customer of Saltburn Cooplands and in October I was lucky enough to be the Lucky winner of Cooplands Family Member Completion. Which gives me 30% off all I buy for a year?

I suppose the biggest surprise is the success of my latest but longest project, my History of Saltburn-by-theSea, which started life as a college project in the mid 70s. I knew nothing area, other than Captain Cook soon left the area. So it seemed appropriate as a history student to find out what I could about the area around the town. As coming from Pontefract I knew about the Great Castle, the two Priories, the deaths of Richard II, Archbishop Scrope, and the Duke of Lancaster, the five sieges of the Civil War, Battles of Towton, Darrington, Cheqerfield and Marsden Moor. All local events where Pontefract played a major role.

It took two years to collect the information needed and two weeks to write it up. This was in the days before computers and the internet. I gained a lot by delving into the past. Which in turn developed my interest in the Parish Council? I must admit to be taken aback by the book’s success and I have had to order more copies to meet demand.

Last week I had to go to James Cook University Hospital for a Covid swab as I was having a procedure on the following Thursday. One has to travel by car to go to the named site and numbered Pod. If you don’t have access to a vehicle of your own, friend or family member, you have to use a taxi. This of course is expensive for many people, especially when NHS is supposed to be free on entry. Just a thought.

To get back to my latest of three Covid Swabs. I arrived on time at noon. Endured the swab and returned directly home. At 4pm the phone rang... It was from Pod 3 Covid testing unit. My first thought was I must have failed the test, but it appeared that my swab had gone missing so could I come back and have another test? This of course I was willing to do and returned within the hour. I must be one of the few people that have had two swabs done in the same day. Perhaps I deserve a medal?

One highlight of the month is also the funniest moment too. I spoke on the phone to a colleague about a couple of matters that I had an interest in. I must admit I do go on a bit about things I care about or dislike. To my surprise a day later I received an email reporting on what I had said with accompanying comments and many bah bahs.

That will teach me.

Many years ago one of my sisters suffered from a form of blood cancer and all the treatment had failed. Her only hope was that if one of her siblings were a suitable match for a transplant. I was the match and was proud to take part, even though the injections were very painful indeed. I had to travel to a hospital in Sheffield, where I was strapped to a machine and then my blood in some way was harvested.

After several sessions some months later the collect material was introduced into my sister. Her son John, who became CEO of HSBC, gave me a posh flask of Remy Martin Cognac fine Champagne XO, which very expensive indeed.

For my 80th birthday this week, my great daughter gave me the same brandy.

Jim Wingham 41

The Saltburn Crossword no 235 set by Dinosaur Across 1 and 7 Across Seasonal wishes made of a pear. (Why very open?) An eye to make a difference (1, 5, 3, 4, 2, 8) 7 See 1 Across 9 and 27 Across Local town’s full name is reviewing eyes harm basket (6-2-3-3) 11 The bird house? Shown by Bella via Ryedale (6) 12 and 27 Across Local town’s full name is sending Blythe a bass tuner (8-2-3-3) 14 Deformed is dotted with R (9) 15 Person who takes responsibility for someone backs the royal automobile club to the Queen (5) 17 There used to be a place in Saltburn at first letter (5) 20 The painted view is not portrait (9) 22 Feature on Saltburn beach initially a gigantic and really scary ghostly apparition. Priceless! (5, 3) 23 Cake brings the entrance to gold (6) 26 This clue is one of them! Or a crucifix (6) 27 See 9 Across and also 12 Across 28 Local charity and shop the piece so sides with change (8, 7)

Down Name___________________________________ Address_________________________________ ________________________________________ Telephone_______________________________

1 She’s a former Saltburn hotel which now has vaults (9) 2 Someone who shows their money to Public Relations enclosing the old fashioned yes (5) 3 Roman one former lover sounds this number (4) 4 Stretchy castle I built (7) 5 Someone who saves but not the money! (7) 6 Large body of water once a runner (5) 8 Leaves another former lover to sit around (5) 10 See 13 Down 13 and 10 Down Saltburn valley features Ned as giant rail (7, 7) 16 To teach again looks like tall grass and sounds like you, Katherine (2-7) 18 The grasslands stir up a ripe Religious Instructor 7) 19 Helps where foolish animal sits around (7) 21 Places missing RR from being in debt (5) 22 Separate but has an acting role (5) 24 Longs for pains (5) 25 Popular but untrue belief, found by mummy that is (4)

Solution to Crossword no 234 The winner of last month’s crossword was Hilary Bayton of Guisborough Road, Saltburn.

D. V. Townend & Co 8 Dundas Street East, Saltburn TS12 1AH

Country Outfitters Tel: (01287) 623754 Website: www.dvtownend.com Email: info@dvtownend.com Specialising in practical but stylish leisure and outdoor wear, we also stock a wide range of accessories, gifts and leather items from the most famous brands including Aigle, Magee, Seasalt and Tumble & Hide.

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Send your completed crossword to: Saltburn Crossword no 235, c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, TS12 1AQ

by Friday, 15th January 2021. First correct solution out of the bag wins a £10 voucher kindly donated by Real Meals.

Keeping It Clean At Saltburn Welcome 2021! On behalf of all the KICAS crew we hope the New Year brings you as much joy as you can handle. Maybe even a bit more!

Anyway, down to business… beach cleaning!

Eventually I hope I won’t have to write this piece, however, according to Keep Britain Tidy (2020), more than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. Nowhere is safe from plastic pollution and beach cleaners from the UK and worldwide are increasingly sharing their stories on social media highlighting the scale of the problem.

Why is this our problem? The cost to the tax-payer in the UK for street cleaning is over £1 billion a year! The environmental cost is huge. Litter can take decades to decay, if at all. Litter encourages pigeons, gulls, rats and other undesirables. Research has shown that litter is linked even to an increase in crime. Peace of mind… people feel less safe in areas where there’s litter.

The solution: If it was an easy problem to sort this out, we’d already be finished! It’s a complex issue and it’ll require multiple strategies on a personal and corporate level to change things for the better. In the meantime though here are a few ideas of things we can all do.

As individuals, we can reduce our consumption of single-use plastics. Really think about how we shop (refuse, reduce, recycle, repair, reuse). Business and big corporations need to be held accountable by government (regardless of political leaning) so please sign petitions and ask your MP to support environmental issues. Education is key. We can all do this by role-modelling. Talk about the positive changes you’re making and encourage others to do the same. Adequate provision of bins and recycling from local councils. Increase in collections required at busy times. Join or support

community support and local clean up groups. Do your bit: 2 minutes a day of litter picking makes a massive difference. Taking litter home with us if the bins are full.

We hope to be able to run a group beach clean very soon. When we do, we’d love you to join us. Until then please join the hundreds of existing unsung heroes and help us be part of the solution.

We can do it together The KICAS crew

Saltburn Golf Club We’d like to update our neighbours about what’s happening with the land over the road from the Golf Club adjacent to our Driving Range.

We are currently taking delivery of soil to build a natural barrier around the site to keep both our members and the public using adjacent areas safer from stray golf balls. The soil will be landscaped and grassed over and will result in improved facilities for all to enjoy.

Saltburn Golf Club is proud to offer an inclusive, family friendly environment for all. Whether you are just starting out or are already an experienced, competitive player, there are membership options to suit. We currently have spaces for new members in 2021, all of which include access to on-line booking, discounted food & drink in the Clubhouse, an official WHS handicap and no joining fee. We are also launching our new Junior Academy in 2021 to introduce younger players to the game. Further information will be available in due course.

You do not need to be a member to enjoy our facilities.

Guests can book a tee-time and play a round or you can simply visit our Pro Shop or hit a few balls on the Driving Range. At the time of writing our Clubhouse is currently closed to all but hopefully we will be able to welcome members and visitors back there soon. Come for Sunday lunch, book an afternoon

tea or simply enjoy a drink with friends…once we are permitted such pleasantries again!

Please visit www.saltburngolf.co.uk, email secretary@saltburngolf.co.uk or call 01287 622812 for further details.

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£35.00

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