text:
Local News
If you have any news that you would like us to share, send us an email [email protected]
Site last updated on Thursday 2nd March 2017
The battle to find the brainiest sportsmen and women in Bedale has ended – with squash proving triumphant!
Bedale Athletic and Sports Association (BASA) hosted the General Knowledge quiz league for teams from the various sports clubs based there.
And after several weeks of taxing head to head matches, the squash team, run by Carol Pierson, emerged victorious, topping the table by a single point from second placed tennis.
Teams from cricket, football, running and the club officials also took part.
A proud Carol said: "the quiz has been great fun, keenly fought and very close. For squash to have come out on top is wonderful."
The squash club is open to new members of all ages and ability, contact details can be found on the club website www.bedalesquashclub.co.uk
Children are welcome to attend the junior coaching sessions at 5.45pm every Monday during term time.
Photo shows triumphant squash team members: Gary Fullegar, Alan Peirson, Jackie Mason and Mark Allison with the BASA General Knowledge Cup.
Success for Bedale Junior Football Club in 2014 Hambleton DC Sports Awards
The 2014 Hambleton Sports Awards saw Bedale Junior Football Club represented across three categories.
Tony Cooper was a runner up in the Lifetime Achievement Award although all who know him and the support he has given to local sports know that he will surely one day get recognised as a winner of this category.
The club as a whole made the final three nominations for Junior Sports Club of the year with a nomination built on the back of its ever closer ties with the local community and growth in player numbers and teams in the last 12 months. Unfortunately, on this occasion, they were unable to take the award itself.
However, Bedale Juniors Girls U16's (Bedale Bluebirds) did scoop the award for Junior Sports Team of the Year in the North Yorkshire Sports category. This is a great achievement and thoroughly deserved by all the girls who went through the league season winning all but one game which they drew and taking the Harrogate and District U16 Girls League title. A great combination of dedication, skill and enjoyment sees the girls team work very well together and there role model display has seen a further girls teams take to the field in 2014/15 with another hoped for in 2015/16. Team Manager Jordan Aspinall was thrilled "I am very proud of each and every one of my players for their hard work and dedication to play for BJFC. The hard work certainly paid off. I would like to thank all the parents for their support, Dave Goodwin for helping with coaching and BJFC for creating a fun environment for us to play football"
A well done has to go to the Jordan who manages to juggle a young family and work in the south of England to ensure he provides excellent coaching to the girls. This wouldn't be possible though if it wasn't for Dave Goodwin who also supports the coaching of the team. Well done to all.
The club is always looking for new players to join across all age groups and both boys and girls, however, there are particular opportunities for players in Years 9, 6 and 3 at present. If you are interested in joining the club please email [email protected] or visit www.bedalejuniors.co.uk for more details.
Fold Clothing Pledges Donation to Mowbray School
A brand new designer menswear shop has marked its arrival in Bedale by pledging a donation to local Mowbray school.
Fold Clothing on Bridge Street are holding an open day on Saturday 30th August and to mark its launch they will be donating £5 from every item sold on the day directly to Mowbray School, and as an added incentive to visit the store it is also having an opening sale with up to 50% off all stock.
Mark Shepherd from Fold Clothing said " As a new business here in Bedale we want to invite all members of the community to come to our launch party. We are really looking forwards to meeting local people and becoming an established part of the community, Bedale is a thriving town and we are excited to be here."
Fold Clothing was established in 2007 with a store in Newton Aycliffe. Stocking designer brands including French Connection, Fly 53, Farah Vintage, Peter Werth, Nicholas Deakin, Weekend Offender, Bellfield and many more. The business has gone from strength to strength and they have now expanded with a second store in Bedale.
As part of owner Mark's business portfolio he also runs Outreach north which is the North Yorkshire approved provider of "short breaks" for disabled children, young people, adults and their families through North Yorkshire delivering tailored support packages after school, weekends and school holidays.. "Having worked with Mowbray school through our Outreach North program we see what amazing work they do and we were delighted to choose Mowbray School as the beneficaries of our open day".
Mowbray school educates children aged three to sixteen and caters for children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs and is located in Bedale.
Bedale Junior Football Club
Bedale Junior Football Club has seen very encouraging growth in player numbers in the last 12 months with membership up 10% and 3 additional teams for the 2014/15 season.
With further aspirations to continue our growth, especially in girls football, we are continually looking for volunteers to become coaches, assistant coaches or helpers across all age groups: for boys and girls teams and behind the scenes.
We would be delighted to hear from anyone of any age and please don't think that this is a call restricted to local men as we welcome female coaches and helpers too and anyone with a skill, profession or enthusiasm they feel could benefit a community club.
Support would be provided by the club and the FA with the costs of all requirements met by the club.
If you have any questions or would like to register your interest please contact the club chairman, Tony Clark, directly on 07462 560094 or via [email protected].
Bedale FC scoop award
Bedale FC have just scooped an award from the Hambleton District Council Investing in Communities Fund for the purchase of kit and equipment for their new team which will be playing in the Wensleydale Creamery Football League next season.
Chairman Martyn Coombs said 'the current crop of Y11 boys who have just left the high school have played together since an early age with Bedale Junior Football club and have achieved much success. Aged 16 years, these lads are now too old for junior football and were looking to move into men's football en bloc. Bedale FC were delighted to liaise with the junior section and offer them an exit route and the new Bedale Reserves was created to meet this demand. These lads are very promising and needed a bridging team to help them move into adult football and the grant from the district has enabled us to provide the essential equipment needed next season.'
If anyone would like to become involved with this team please contact the secretary John Walker on 07725 145625. Training for the reserves commences at the R&R Ice Cream stadium on Tuesday July 8 at 6.30pm and for all other players on Tuesday July 15. Bedale teams won 5 competitions last season so it is hoped these lads will be able to at least hold their own in the Wensleydale Creamery football League.
An eggstraordinary late Easter present was handed to the winners of Bedale Town Council's sheep trail.
Mayor Amanda Coates presented eggs to the winners and thanked them all for getting involved. Organiser, Deputy Mayor Christine Mollard said the competition, in which children had to find the sheep and match the shops and market stalls around the town, had been a great success with 53 entries. She thanked traders and market stall holders who had hosted the sheep, and also sponsors of the competition.
Winners were Under 5's: Emily Kingdon, Henry and Poppy King, Amy Draper. Five to eight years:Harry Turner, Ben Loughlin, Michaela Lowry. Nine to 11 years:Abi Webster, George Pickard, Freya Cox. Market Section, Under 5's Freddie Crowe. Five to eight years: Anna Elizabeth Marshall. Nine to 11 years: Logan Figg.
The Town Council has received a letter from the land owner across which there was permissive access. This permissive access was closed in September 2010 however the land owner has allowed continued use to local residents. As part of the original permissive access arrangements, dogs were not to be allowed off the lead and this remains the case for the local residents using the footpath.
Despite notices and warnings some dog owners ignore the requirement and, in consequence, the landowner has now decided dogs will not be allowed at all on the former permissive access.
The landowner will monitor the use of the former permissive access over the next 6 months and if the dog ban is abused by owners he will be left with no alternative other than to close the track permanently to everyone.
A copy of the permissive access is shown on the map, which has been highlighted.
Girls under 15 North Yorkshire rugby union championship.
Bedale High School entered the U15 girls North Yorkshire Rugby Union Schools competition held at Ripon RUFC on Wednesday March 19. It was a 10-a-side full contact competition and 5 schools took part. The girls from Bedale have been competing in the Carnegie Champion Schools rugby league tournament this year, which has helped them in their preparation. This was obvious through their performances as they beat all four schools convincingly and the team go through to the Yorkshire finals at Wetherby on Friday April 4.
The results were:
|Beat Outwood Academy Ripon
|35 : 10
|Beat Allertonshire School
|35 : 0
|Beat York High School
|35 : 5
|Beat Thirsk High School
|40 : 0
Ex Bedale High School Student Signs Professional Football Contract
Ex Bedale High School student, Graham Caygill aged 23 has just embarked on the adventure of a lifetime having signed a professional footballing contract with the Loyola Meralco Sparks Football Club who are currently top of the first division of the Philippines United Football League.
Graham was a prolific goal scorer at the high school and at Northallerton Juniors between the ages of 9-16 and also for Bedale Juniors with Dave Goodwin in the U17 and U18 side where they reached the North Riding Cup Final. Graham also played for Bedale FC at the R&R Ice Cream Stadium before moving to the Northallerton Town Academy, again under the tutorship of Dave Goodwin. He also played for the Bedale Three Coopers and Northallerton Police in the Hambleton Combination as well as progressing to the town team in the Northern League where he scored 5 goals in 6 pre-season games signing as a semi-pro and scoring 8 goals in 15 starts this season.
Graham's dad Keith is well known in local football circles having been involved with Leeming Bar FC many years ago, at Northallerton and Bedale and now as a member of the Teesside League management committee. Keith is also a founder member of the Northallerton Charity football Reunion event which raises money for local charities through the annual get together at the Troubadour in Northallerton.
Since his mother Merlyn is a Filipino citizen, Graham will be playing as a Filipino citizen and he is potentially eligible to play for the Philippine National Team. He went across in January and took part in 4 training sessions with the Loyola Meralco Sparks FC following which they offered him a professional contract. There is a lot happening with Filipino football at present with a new national coach trying to identify players who qualify to play for the national team. There is a rule in the league that states that teams must have 6 Filipino players on the pitch all the time.
Graham's progress in the national league can be followed via the club website at http://loyolameralcosparks.com
National Womens Register (NWR) are to create a Bedale & District Group
National Womens Register (NWR) are creating a new Bedale & District Group in March 2014 and are looking for new members.
So what is NWR? NWR is the place to meet new friends, take part in discussions and much more with other like minded women. NWR is an international organisation of women's discussion groups. Each group aims to provide its members with the opportunity to take part in stimulating discussions on a wide range of topics.
NWR does not raise money for anybody or any cause. It exists for the benefit of its members. Meetings are very informal and held in member's homes for around 2-2.5 hours on an evening once a month, where you will find a warm welcome whatever your age or personal circumstances.
For more information and a copy of the programme for this year, please contact Julia Hamby either by email: [email protected] or phone 01677 470426.
A draft programme for NWR Bedale & District Group can be viewed by clicking HERE
Bedale Park get new fitness equipment
The Town Council was pleased to receive lottery funding for the installation of fitness equipment in Bedale Park. The equipment was installed on the 3rd February and will be officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor Amanda Coates, on the 15th February at 10:00 am.
The equipment includes a 4 Function Combined System, Hand/Foot Bike Station, Fitness Bike and a Sit Up Board. A fitness instructor will be available to explain and demonstrate the use of the equipment. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Bedale High School gymnasts put on a great perfomance
Bedale High School's gymnasts took part in the Hambleton and Richmondshire Area Gymnastics Competition held on Friday January 24 at the Hambleton Leisure Centre. The competition standard was high with many experienced club performers participating. Bedale only took a small group of individual pupils for whom gymnastics is their main sport and passion. There were 24 junior gymnasts in the under 13's Girls competition. The Bedale Girls were Chelsea Hobson and Rosie Hawkswell. Both gave excellent individual performances with Chelsea achieving 3 well deserved medals; bronze (3rd) for her vault, (2nd) silver medal for the floor routine and the overall silver medal for her floor and vault score combined. In the Senior Girl's competition, there were 29 entries. The standard was very high with our 2 gymnasts, Sophie Bell and Amy Harrison gaining valuable experience competing against much older college gymnasts. Both gave superb performances.
New to the competition this year was Guy Stones, who took part in the Under 13 Boy's competition. Guy impressed everyone with having very little practice, managing to perform so well that he took the bronze (3rd) in the floor, gold (1st) in the vault making him 2nd overall. A brilliant start to his first year of competition. This year, George Court (last year's champion ) moved up into Senior's category. After a fine performance, he achieved a (3rd) bronze medal in the floor, a magnificent (1st placed) gold medal in the vault, making him 2nd place overall in the competition. Well done George!
Overall, a very successful day with Bedale's gymnasts putting in some credible performances. Their successes are thoroughly deserved due to their continued hard work and the dedication they put into their sport.
What a great weekend is in store for Bedale Junior Football Club
In the first ever Wensleydale Junior Football League Futsal tournaments , the club are delighted to have three teams across two finals days.
In the U14's tournament, one of Kevin English's Bedale Juniors U13 teams has made it to the final 6 teams. This Sunday at Catterick Leisure Centre will see two mini leagues of 3 teams with the winner of each contesting the final. Kev's delighted with the way that his lads have played in a competition that sees them stepping up a year and good results against Leyburn and 2 Dales could see them in the final against a team from either Catterick Garrison, Colburn or Spennithorne. The finals day starts on 2nd Feb at 9am with the final at 12.40pm.
In the U10 tournament, not only have the Bedale U10 side made the semi-finals, led by Bob Burke and Dave Chapman, but so have the U9 side led by Darren Cunnington.
It was no small feat for the U9's to qualify to reach this stage as, in doing so, they had to beat the Carperby U10 side plus Bedale's very own second U10 team in the tournament. Darren commented that "there were so many compliments about how the U9's played and that I am feeling so proud of a good bunch".
Bob and Dave's U10 side have been playing some amazing passing football winning both previous games comfortably and must be favourites to win the overall tournament this weekend....but you never know in a cup competition.
The even better news is that the two sides avoid each other in the semi-finals, lining up against the Catterick Garrison U10's and Leyburn U10's, so an all Bedale final is a possibility.
The finals day will be at Richmond School on Sun 2nd Feb with the Bedale U9's semi kicking off at 9.10 and U10's at 9.50 plus the 3rd/4th place Play Off and Final following straight after.
Good luck to all the Bedale Junior players and if you interested in joining the club, whatever age you are, please visit www.bedalejuniors.co.uk for more details.
Christmas raffle proceeds go to a good cause
Dales Care, a charity day centre for independent older people located in the heart of Bedale were thrilled to be chosen as the beneficaries of a Christmas Raffle held at Bedale Dental Practice.
Michelle Sands from Dales Care said " Bedale Dental Practice are great supporters of Dales Care and at a time when every charity needs funds its humbling to know that local people and businesses are supporting us and the vital work that we do in the community."
Representatives from Bedale Dental Practice, Stephen Simpson presented Dales Care with a cheque for £260 on Christmas Eve.
Stephen Simpson from Bedale Dental Practice said "We are always delighted by the generosity of our patients and we are pleased to support Dales Care and the valuable service it provides."
Dales Care was established in 1988. A place where older and more vulnerable people are welcomed to enjoy activities, lunches and social opportunities at our relaxing day care facilities.
Their objective is to enhance the quality of life for the older independent people in our community. Dales Care also provides meals on wheels three times a week to those who are unable to visit the centre.
Michelle Sands said "We would like to thank Bedale Dental Practice for running a Christmas Raffle and choosing us as the beneficaries of the proceeds."
If you would like to support this fantastic charity in Bedale please see our website www.dalescare.org to make a donation or contact Michelle Sands 01677 425806 email [email protected]
Mayor of Bedale's annual ball raise money for good causes
Funds raised at the Mayor of Bedale's annual ball were given out to the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance by Coun Amanda Coates.
Over £1,000 was raised at the event with £500 going to each of the charities which rely on donations and grants to provide their services 365 days a year.
Coun Coates said:"I want to thank everyone who helped with the ball, the sponsors and supporters without whom it wouldn't be possible. It was a really enjoyable event and it is so important that we can give this money to reward these groups who make such a huge contribution to the community.
"Now we're looking forward to the next ball, although we're not sure when that will be, we may be taking a bit of a rest in the meantime."
Ian Wood, of Swaledale Mountain Rescue said:"We have to raise £25,000 a year to keep the service going so this is a good start. We had 36 call outs in 2013 and one so far this year, I believe we provide a vital service and it's all done by volunteers."
Helen Gowan of Yorkshire Air Ambulance added:"We're really grateful for this donation, we need £9,990 a day to keep the ambulances in the air so it's donations like this that help us to carry on."
Bedale-based community group, Bedale Cricket Club, is celebrating this week after discovering they are one of Skipton Building Society's 'Big 160, securing a slot as a winner in its Grassroots Giving initiative after winning the hearts and minds of the public and triumphing over nearly 1,000 other applicants across the country.
After being shortlisted in the campaign by the UK's fourth largest building society, the group's application was then in the hands of the public vote, to determine if they were to win £500 in funding. Shortlisted on www.skiptonbig160.co.uk Bedale Cricket Club's story was shared nationally, as well as via Skipton's social media activity - as a result the local group secured a big enough proportion of the 20,000 votes received to be crowned a winner.
David Cutter, Skipton's Group Chief Executive said: "Everyone at Skipton Building Society has thoroughly enjoyed running this programme which has brought out of the woodwork so many hard working local community groups, which we would never otherwise have known of. It is these kind of groups that make communities and neighbourhoods stronger, especially in difficult economic times, and we're delighted to have been able to showcase some of the unsung heroes across the UK who are really going the extra mile to make life better for everyone."
"Skipton's Grassroots Giving programme was set up to support groups who show commitment to their community, who could illustrate how they plan to evolve in the future and how the funding would be used to help secure the longevity of their great work. Typically these grassroots groups often struggle to secure vital funding due to their size. And this is what we wanted to change in launching this pioneering initiative. We now look forward to hearing the stories of the impact our funding, and the raised profile of these groups has on our Big 160 winners. Hopefully they will continue to flourish and remain the jewels in the crown of their local communities."
Bedale Cricket Club is a community club, working to introduce more young people to the game in the area. Currently, the committee is looking to expand the group, to around 70-100 youngsters from the local area. With 3 junior teams already, this year, the club is hoping to start a further under 9's team. To accommodate for all the new members, the club are hoping to use this funding to purchase a new cricket net and a bowling machine, which will also improve the facilities for existing players. The funding received from Skipton's Grassroots Giving Campaign will be hugely beneficial to the club, as it will mean even more young people in the local area can experience the benefits of joining a friendly, successful cricket club, and be part of their local team.
A volunteer said:"The club is committed to increasing participation, last year we completed a successful summer school at the ground with children aged 10-15, so we know the demand is out there. We rely on funding like this, so we're absolutely delighted to say we can get started on putting together our new teams."
Special benefit concert to be held in Bedale, North Yorkshire to help those affected by the Glasgow pub disaster.
Organisers of Bedale's acoustic music festival – BAMfest – are organising a special benefit concert to help those affected by the Glasgow Helicopter Disaster.
A Concert for Clutha is being held at the Riverside Club on Saturday January 18 to raise funds for the victims of the disaster, which saw 11 people lose their lives when a helicopter crashed on the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow.
Musicians from North Yorkshire and County Durham have volunteered their services freely. "I was amazed how quickly everyone has responded when the idea was first floated. It is wonderful to see how musicians can rally together for the greater good, said John Knighton, one of the event organisers.
"These people lost their lives while listening to music in a pub. We feel a close affinity with them as this something we do on a regular basis. "So by putting on this benefit concert we are doing our bit to show we care."
Performers who are playing the benefit concert include John Wrightson, Joan Edmudson, Wendy and Paul Arrowsmith, Maggie Gee, Nick Brooker, Keystone Acoustic, Moira Clarke, Paul Baldwin and newly-formed band Rooster's Cat.
The concert, which starts at 8pm, is free with donations on the door. On Sunday January 19, between 2 and 5pm there is also an open mic session at The Green Dragon pub in Bedale to also raise fund for the Disaster Appeal. Performers who have already agreed to play include Leeds-based band Redgrass, Mic and Susie Darling Rooster's Cat and Rock and Rose.
The Clutha Appeal Fund has been established by Glasgow City Council to support anyone involved in the disaster - including casualties and the families of those who lost their lives.
The Lord Provost's Goodwill Fund made the first £20,000 donation to the fund and this has been bolstered by contributions from the Scottish Government and South and North Lanarkshire Councils.
The Celtic FC Foundation and Hunter Foundation have pledged donations of £10,000 each.
Lord Provost Sadie Docherty said: "People have responded with incredible warmth and generosity to help those that were caught up in this tragic incident. "Our city's heartfelt thanks go to every one of them - and also to those who are organising fundraising activities in the weeks and months ahead."
The quickest and simplest way to donate to the Clutha Appeal Fund is by calling 0141 2877878 and paying by debit or credit card.
Donations can also be made by cash or cheque at the council's Service Desk at 45 John Street, Glasgow, G1 1JE. Bank payments can be made to Clutha Appeal Fund, Sort Code: 83-44-00, Account 10804129. The same account details can be used to donate at any branch of RBS.
Vale of Mowbray sponsors Bedale Junior Football Club
Local business Vale of Mowbray know the value of supporting the community so took the opportunity to recently become the club sponsors for Bedale Junior Football Club.
Club Chairman, Tony Clark, is delighted with their partnership "from the start of making contact with Mark (Gatenby) he has been extremely supportive. We have had some individual team sponsorship in the past and my thanks go to them but Vale of Mowbray's support has meant full kit for all teams across boys and girls and now we are all in the wonderfully distinctive yellow and green that has been Bedale Juniors since 1981".
The club welcomes any boy or girl from 5 to 16 with mixed, boys or girls teams for all ages. For more information on training times or about the club in general visit their website at www.bedalejuniors.co.uk or e mail Tony at [email protected]
Pupil awarded 'Best in Britain'
David Pauli has achieved the honour of being awarded the 'Best in Britain' for GCSE AQA Geography. 16 year old David from Crakehall, achieved this recognition following his recent examination results at Bedale High School. Molly Fenner and Max Dyson also achieved 100% in their geography examination and they have already received gift vouchers for their achievements. All three students were under consideration for the national award but it was David who was deemed to be Britain's finest, out of all schools in the country.
Geography results at the high school were outstanding once again this year with a record 60% achieving A-A* grades at GCSE, almost three times above the national average. Deputy head and head of geography Mike Mills said, 'Our GCSE geography results reflect the very high standards across the department and is reflection of the hard work and effort from both staff, parents and students alike. It is hard to single out individuals as they all worked hard to progress in the subject, indeed many students achieved over 90% in their examinations but these three students are exceptionally gifted in geography.'
David's geography teacher Jayne Stubbins said that, 'David was a model student who deserves this award. He always strived to broaden his geographical knowledge and his understanding was exceptional.'
The Royal Geographical Society, founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences, is the foremost professional body for geography in the UK with 16,500 members and has just awarded David their top award. In the New Year, David will receive his cash award, certificate and letter of commendation from the society. Education assistant Maryam S-Draper said 'I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate David and Bedale High School on the achievements of your pupils this year. David has done exceptionally well and should be extremely proud of his outstanding achievement in the 2013 GCSE AQA exam.'
Vale of Mowbray delights charity with a generous donation
Dales Care, a charity day centre for independent older people located in the heart of Bedale were thrilled to be presented with a cheque for £5000 and a big donation of Pork Pies for all the visitors, staff and volunteers from Vale Of Mowbray, Pork Pie manufacturer in Leeming Bar.
Michelle Sands from Dales Care said " Vale Of Mowbray have supported Dales Care for many years now and its always a pleasure when they come to visit us at Christmas time. Representatives from Vale Of Mowbray, John Gatenby & company production manager Sheree Walker took the time to talk to everyone and then surprised us all with a huge donation of delicious pork pies for everyone."
John Gatenby from Vale Of Mowbray said "We enjoy supporting Dales Care and have done for a number of years now, the work they do is so important and we like to help in any way we can to ensure the longevitiy of this vital service in our community."
Dales Care was established in 1988. A place where older and more vulnerable people are welcomed to enjoy activities, lunches and social opportunities at our relaxing day care facilities. Their objective is to enhance the quality of life for the older independent people in our community. Dales Care also provides meals on wheels three times a week to those who are unable to visit the centre.
Michelle Sands said "We would like to thank Vale Of Mowbray for their kindness. Every donation counts, small or large however a donation of this size gives us all such a boost. Its such a wonderful Christmas gift for Dales Care & all the visitors couldnt stop smiling after recieving thier free pork pies!"
If you would like to support this fantastic charity in Bedale please see our website www.dalescare.org to make a donation or contact Michelle Sands 01677 425806 email [email protected]
Rowing Across the Atlantic for Charity
Chris and Margie Griffiths from Burrill are currently following the progress of their son-on-law Ed Curtis and his friend Nick Rees, who are currently rowing across the Atlantic to raise money for the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity. Nick and Ed announced their lung-busting challenge to row across the Atlantic unaided, in order to raise £250,000 and awareness for this pioneering charity last May and they are now several days into the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
The start on December 4 was delayed for 3 days due to bad weather and Nick and Ed are now alone in mid-Atlantic in a 24 foot boat rowing unsupported and self-sufficiently from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to English Harbour in Antigua, a distance of over 2,600 nautical miles taking on average 50 days to complete rowing 24 hours a day, in shifts of two hours on, two hours off. They are expected to burn 8,000 calories a day and lose 20% of their bodyweight during the crossing.
There were 18 boats in the race and they were soon met by very strong winds and heavy seas with 2 boats becoming so badly damaged, they had to retire. Ed and Nick have already been hit by a freak wave which upturned their boat and threw both of them out into the freezing sea but their safety wire allowed them to clamber back in as the boat self righted. They have had to spent several days in their cabin as the weather was too bad for rowing but since the winds are not as strong at the moment, they are currently in second place in their boat Team Neas Energy. Whilst we are tucked up at home enjoying our Christmas dinner and new year festivities, spare a thought for the two brave rowers doiong something really special for charity and try to follow their progress, live on www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/race-tracker to see how they are getting on. They hope to finish the race by late Janaury. To donate £10 text 'ROWA88 £10' to 70070 or for more information go to [email protected].
Healthy School Award
Bedale High School has just been awarded the 'North Yorkshire Health and Wellbeing Award' confirming that the school's commitment to health and wellbeing is recognised. The school is now entitled to use the logo on all school documentation and the framed certificate will proudly be displayed in school reception. The three priorities for the award include to improve attendance for whole school to above 95%, to increase by 10% or more the participation of students in extra-curricular activities (especially sport) and to increase the uptake of school food from the canteen by 10%.
Mrs Parker-Walton, head of general studies at the school said 'Improving health and wellbeing provision and outcomes for young people is so important when we hear so much about childhood obesity and ill-health. We will continue to engage further with the North Yorkshire Health and Wellbeing initiative by working on an on-going action plan and submission of another school review showing our progress. We believe that a healthy school is one that is successful in helping children and young people to do their best and to reach their full potential. A huge thank you to all the PE staff, kitchen staff and Ms Haydon for all their continued help in working on this initiative.'
The Bedale-based charity, Dales Care, has been granted £2,000 from The Co-operative Group towards running costs for its day centre, which supports older people in the local community.
The group received the cash boost from The Co-operative Membership Community Fund, which is distributed to support local good causes
The Co-operative is owned by its members, who play an active role in the business and in the communities in which it trades, including the allocation of money from the Membership Community Fund by the local area committees.
Michelle Sands, from Dales Care, said: "Funding is becoming ever harder to secure, therefore we were delighted to hear that we were successful in securing this grant from The Co-operative. The cash has made a huge difference to the project."
Margaret Silcock, from The Co-operative's North Yorkshire Committee, said: "Supporting local communities has been an inherent part of The Co-operative's values and principles since the very beginning of the Co-operative Movement.
"We are particularly proud of our Community Fund, as it demonstrates how members can make a real difference in their local area."
Community Fund application forms are available online at
www.co-operative.coop/communityfund or by phoning 0844 262 4001. Awards are allocated by local Co-operative members' committees, based on a set of values and principles such as social responsibility and caring for others.
Bedale Football Club take the keys for their new tractor
Bedale Football Club, who are currently undefeated at the top of the Harrogate and District Football League division 1 have just taken delivery of a new tractor from Lloyds of Bishop Auckland which will prove invaluable in maintaining the pitch at the R&R Ice Cream Stadium at BASA to a very high standard. The tractor was bought with a 79% grant from the Football Foundation. Team manager Steve Reed said 'without the grant aid from the Football Foundation, we would never have been in a position to buy such a good piece of kit. Our pitch is one of the finest in the regions and we will now be able to get on regularly to give it a good roll to ensure our players have a near-perfect playing surface. The path to securing this machine has been a long one with lots of form filling but it has been worth it. In addition to buying the tractor we have had to purchase a metal secure storage container to satisfy the demands of our insurers. We are very grateful to Alistair Whitby at Lloyds for all the help and guidance he has given us.'
Dales Care Meals on Wheels Celebrates its 1 year Anniversary
Dales Care, a charity day care centre located in the heart of Bedale is celebrating after successfully running its meals on wheels service for its first year .
Michelle Sands from Dales Care said "Meals on Wheels provides a vital service to those people who may have difficulty with shopping,
carrying food home or cooking for themselves in the Bedale area"
Diane Hosking (pictured) is a volunteer at Dales Care and is responsible for
co-ordinating the Meals on Wheels service as well as helping prepare the food
in the kitchen and organising the volunteer drivers. "Diane does so much for
Dales Care and over the last year has happily volunteered many hours to the
Meals on Wheels service, we are so grateful to have her on board"
As a special thank you to Diane the Dales Care charity trustees arranged to
present Diane with a large bunch of flowers in recognition of all her hard work
and the success of Meals on Wheels during its first year.
Dales Care previously ran its Meals on Wheels service 2 days a week on a
Monday & a Friday but this has now been extended to include Wednesdays
"We are so grateful to all the volunteers that help prepare and deliver the Meals
on Wheels to the local Bedale and surrounding areas.
We are thrilled that the service has been so well recieved since we began in October 2012 and we are happy to say that we are now in a position to extend
this to an extra day each week, meaning we can support more people in the area who need our help."
Meals on Wheels costs just £5.00 to have a 2 course home cooked lunch delivered to your door.
Available on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you would be interested in recieveing a meal please contact Diane Hosking on 01677 425806
Bedale female to cycle across Cuba for Cancer Charities
Dales Care Raises £200 for Macmillan Cancer Research
Dales Care, a charity day care centre located in the heart of Bedale has raised £200 for Macmillan
Cancer Research by holding a coffee Morning on 27th September 2013.
Michelle Sands from Dales Care said "As a charity we know how important fund raising is and
what a difference it can make to the work a charity can do, we really wanted to support the
Macmillan coffee morning and we had a wonderful event, lots of people came along and
helped us raise money for this amazing cause!"
"We are humbled by the generosity of everyone that came along. Everyone really enjoyed the
morning and we were thrilled that we raised so much money as we know what a good cause
it is going to."
Dales Care held the coffee morning from 10am until 12pm, they sold freshly baked cakes made by
volunteers & staff of Dales Care, along with hot drinks & a raffle.
5 friends from Bedale complete Coast to Coast bike ride
A group of friends from Bedale completed the Coast to Coast bike ride last Saturday to raise funds for the Halcyon Trust for Steve Walsh which now stands at over £30,000.
This money will be used to buy the very best IT and EyeGaze equipment and home conversions for when Steve eventually comes home and also to ensure he has physiotherapy for the rest of his life rather than being capped at the current NHS limits.
Assisted by Stephen Moon and Niall Hannity who transported the bicycles to Morecambe, the 5 lads cycled via Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedburgh, Hardaw, Askrigg, Middleham, Bedale, Northallerton, Guisborough, Skelton and on to the final destination of Saltburn. They hope to raise up to £2,000 for the trust.
Pictured enjoying a well earned beer after the ride are David Wills, Pete Bell (Landlord of the Old Black Swan), John Harker, David Chapman and Guy darwin. Missing from the photograph is Austin Gregg.
Dales Care, a charity day care centre located in the heart of Bedale has been given two beautiful solid teak benches courtsey of the generosity of the Co-op in Bedale.
Dales Care put out an appeal for people to help them raise money to buy new benches. Michelle Sands from Dales Care said "The existing benches outside of Dales Care were worn, old and in need of some repair and we really wanted to have somewhere for our visitors to sit and enjoy the lovely English summer that we have been experiencing this year. Our old benches didn't look inviting or comfortable so we decided to see if we could raise the money needed for new ones"
Dales Care have recently set up a Facebook page and it was on here that Jonathan Barker, manager from the co-op saw Dales Care's appeal and got in touch. Jonathan offered to purchase the benches for Dales Care from the Bedale Co-Op.
Dales Care were delighted to receive the new benches and couldn't wait to get them in pride of place outside the Dales Care building!
"We are humbled by the generosity of the co-op. Dales Care does amazing work here in the community and we have been so pleased that the co-op has chosen to support us and our visitors."
Ex Bedale High School student Ceridwen Ball recently returned from carrying out voluntary work in Botswana and Zambia with a team from Queen Elizabeth's Sixth Form College.
During the trip, she helped build traditional mud homes in a small village where one in three of the inhabitants are affected by AIDS which she found to be a really eye-opening project especially when she met an old lady who was going to be living in one of the huts with her three grandchildren who, like many of the children in this village, had lost their parents to AIDS. The huts took around a week to construct, using wood, string, water and mud from old termite mounds and will house up to six people. They will probably last around fifteen years compared to the thatched homes in the village which last around three.
Ceridwen had the opportunity to visit an orphanage, travel down the Okavango Delta on a mokoro and stay with members of the San tribe in the middle of the Kalahari. She trekked through the desert and found out all about the different medicinal purposes of the local planrs and bushes and she also saw lots of animals including elephants, hippos, giraffes, lions and baboons.
Ceridwen said 'I'd like to say thank all the Bedale community for the support in my fundraising process, particularly Bedale High School staff and pupils, Bedale Co-op, Kenneth Easby Accountants in Bedale, Northallerton Lioness Club, Northallerton Rotary Club and my close family and friends. Going to Botswana and Zambia was a life-changing experience which I will never forget.'
Superb series of music concerts announced for Bedale, North Yorkshire
BAMlive is a series of five monthly concerts leading up to BAMfest 2014 (May 30 – June 1).
The series will kick off on Saturday November 23 when Henry Priestman, a former leading light in the pop band The Christians, and now fully-fledged solo performer, performs at The Riverside Club in Bedale as part of the town's winter festival. Henry will be supported by Dave Gibb from Scotland.
Kicking off 2014 in style on Sunday January 5 will be the legendary Phil Beer.
Phil is one of the most popular ambassadors for acoustic roots music. A dazzling instrumentalist, he is perhaps best known as a top flight fiddler and plays in the all-star line-up, Feast of Fiddles. He also plays slide, Spanish and tenor guitar, mandocello, viola, mandolin and South American cuatro, not to mention contributing rich vocals. He has toured with Mike Oldfield, being a member of the Albion Band and since the early 90's a member of the award-winning group Show of Hands.
Other concerts will see former Lindisfarne member, Rod Clements, performing on Saturday Feb 1, with support from local blues musician John Knighton. Rod, who is based in Northumberland, has been involved in music from an early age and rose to prominence with the North East folk group Lindisfarne. More recently he has released several solo albums to critical acclaim. Earlier this year he appeared at the Newcastle City Hall as part of Lindisfarne Story and just about stole the show with his majestic slide guitar performance.
On March 1st renowned singer-songwriter Reg Meuross will be appearing in Bedale, with local ukulele player Kyle Frazer as support. The Somerset musician has played with an enviable list during his career which has seen him play across the UK, and at Glastonbury, and other Festivals.
On Saturday April 19, the Polish acapella group Brasy will be performing in North Yorkshire as part of their UK tour.
Other support acts are to be announced shortly.
Paul Arrowsmith, the BAMfest artist booking manager, said: "The BAMfest team are delighted to bring such a high calibre of performers to Bedale. We wanted to show our commitment to bring top-quality musicians to North Yorkshire under the BAMfest banner. We see the BAMlive series of concerts as a perfect build-up to next year's Festival."
Ticket details and more information are available on the BAMfest website at www.bamfest.co.uk
'Inspire/Aspire' at Bedale High School
Bedale High School pupils were in London last week for a ceremony at a venue adjacent to the Olympic Park in the Tower Hamlets area of London. The competition was a national RE competition with about 25,000 entrants and was called 'Inspire/Aspire' about being inspired by Olympic and Paralympic values and reflecting upon the values and qualities needed for success in the future.
The three students Grace Coleman, Annaleigh Smith and Callum Rosamund got through to the final and were told that the prizes would be awarded by a famous athlete - there was much speculation as to who it might be. Head of RE Mrs Gill Mulholland said "when we arrived, all the finalists work was displayed on the walls and we discovered that Annaleigh had won a bronze medal which were all thrilled about. The certificates were presented by Tessa Jowell MP who was a member of the original Olympic bid team, bronze medallist and gymnast Beth Tweddle and gold medal winner Dr David Hemmery. To say we were in awe of such fine people is an understatement. It was a tremendously exciting day and I was very proud of all the students as the standard of work in the final was extremely high."
Heritage Craft Alliance Win AwardThe Heritage Craft Alliance Ltd, based at the Thorp Perrow Estate near Bedale is delighted to announce they have won a RDPE (Defra) bid to deliver traditional building and rural skills across England. The award is valued at £370,000 and means HCA Ltd. can offer subsidised courses with approximately only 30% of the cost of the course made up by individuals or employers.
Glenn Young, HCA Managing Director said, "We are really pleased to have recently been successful in winning this funding to deliver up to £370K worth of traditional building & rural skills training. If you are an adult working in the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors or are a rural small business we will have training opportunities and skills and knowledge activities you can sign up to."
The types of course to be delivered include practical courses, seminars and accredited training courses such as level 2 award in Heritage Construction, level 3 award in understanding repair and maintenance of pre-1919 buildings, an introduction to building and working with lime, preparing building maintenance plans for rural building stock and estates, hedge laying and coppicing and managing woodland resources.
As an accredited training company, operating since 2009, Heritage Craft Alliance Ltd is well placed to deliver these courses having already trained circa 350 candidates at NVQ Level in various traditional craft disciplines. HCA's tutors are exceptional in that not only do they have an enormous breadth of experience and qualifications in their own heritage craft disciplines, they all hold formal teaching and assessment qualifications. On-going work with the likes of the National Trust, Canal and River's Trust and Princes Foundation vouch for how their talents are already put to good use.
HCA Ltd. are still trying to fill two apprentice positions, one with them as technician carpenter/joiner one on the Thorp Perrow Estate and one with Peter Coverdale Masonry at Barnard Castle. For more details on this and our other work please check the website at www.heritagecraftalliance.co.uk or contact Jude Newell on 01677 422289.
The Halcyon Trust
The Halcyon Trust. – The trust was established to raise funds for Steve Walsh, an electrician from Leeming Bar who suffered a devastating stroke in March and now has locked-in syndrome. The initial fundraising is to purchase a device using EyeGaze technology through which he can effectively talk to his wife and family. If anyone would like to promote an event, to offer administrative support or to make a donation, please contact the trust on [email protected] or visit the new website at halcyontrust.wordpress.com.Cheques should be made payable to 'Halcyon' which can be posted to the Halcyon Trust, c/o Carol Gill, John Gill Limited, Aiskew Garage, Aiskew, Bedale, North Yorkshire, DL8 1DD, paid in at any high street bank, hand delivered to Headquarters Salon, Scruples Salon or Halls Fish and Chip shop in town or by bank transfers via account number 13383474, sort code 20-61-46 count Number 13383474.
Last Thursday, Y11 students at Bedale High School met together for one last time to celebrate their leaving and say goodbye to each other and staff. As usual, they arrived at school for the pre-prom photographs in a huge variety of vehicles including monster trucks, vintage cars and tractors and there was a dazzling array of dresses and dinner suits. The Leavers' Prom was held in the beautiful setting of Solberge Hall and the students showed just how united and sociable they were as a yeargroup by dancing the night away, before arriving back to Bedale just before midnight.
Photo l to r; Evie Collinson, Patrick Winstanley, Eleanor Pearson, Robert Capon, Annabel Foster, Richard Fryer
On the Thursday of half term, Bedale High School teacher Mark Sellers led a group of 40 students on a 3-day coast to coast bike ride covering 150 miles from Morecambe Bay in Lancashire to Robin Hoods Bay in North Yorkshire. Student Callum Rosamond said 'The weather was great this year unlike last year when the ride had to be cancelled due to the rain. From Morecambe, we set off on cycle paths that were great because you could pick up some speed on them and after cycling about 50 miles we arrived at Settle and the camp site at Appletreewick near Pateley Bridge.'
Photo shows team leader Mark Sellers leading the group down through the narrow street at Robin Hood's Bay
Race For Life
This is the 15th year that high school students have volunteered to on the finish line giving out goody-bags, water and medals to the competitors and once again, the range of emotions were overwhelming. Teacher Martyn Coombs said 'to see the runners every year with signs on their backs with the names of those they are running for is so emotional. Some are running in memory of their children, parents, brothers, sister, partners, grandparents and even themselves. Organiser Helen Tibbott always requests a minutes silence before the race starts for a time of reflection which is followed by an enormous round of applause when she announces that this evil disease will be beaten.'
The students were accompanied by staff Dorothy Barclay, Chris Carruthers, Vicky Brittain, Colin Brittain and Martyn Coombs,
David Swann wins first BAMfest songwriting competition
Singer-songwriter David Swann from Malton, North Yorkshire is the winner of Bedale Acoustic Music Festival's first-ever songwriting competition.
David was presented with The Harvey Blogg Cup and £50 prize money after a tough contest which saw 15 entries from across North Yorkshire.
The event, which was held at The Riverside Club, Bedale, was part of the town's first ever acoustic music festival, which has been hailed a great success.
The competition was judged by one of BAMfest's headline artists, Henry Priestman, who has an extensive list of song-writing credits to his name, together with Radio Teesdale presenter Liz Franklin and Maureen Blogg.
The winning song - "Woven Through Herringbone" - was inspired by the "ganseys" or woollen jerseys the fisherwomen on the North Yorkshire coast used to knit their men – each village had its unique pattern.
The event was inspired by Harvey Blogg, of Aiskew, who died earlier this year. Harvey was a leading force in the local music scene and was passionate about encouraging everyone to take part.
John Knighton, one of BAMfest's organisers, who also runs a twice-monthly music night in Bedale, said: "The competition was superb. There were lots of performers and the standard was very, very high. There were only three points between the top three entries.
"My heartiest congratulations to David for a wonderful song. Special thanks also to the judges, who had a really tough job to pick a winner. I most certainly did not envy them."
Among the entrants was 15-year-old Sophie Wood from Bedale, who performed on the piano.
A 14-year-old girl from Nidderdale, Gina McCann, who plays in the youth band GLJJ, came second in the songwriting completion. Pam and Peter Stone, who perform together as Keystone Acoustic, came third.
Mr Knighton added that he now hopes to run the competition on an annual basis as part of any future BAMfest's and wants to encourage any budding songwriters to express themselves.
"They are welcome to join us on the second and last Thursday of each month from 8.30pm at The Riverside Club when we hold our music nights," he said.
Pictured: (left to right) Maureen Blogg, David Swann, Henry Priestman, Liz Franklin, and Liz Blogg. Photo: Nikki Ramsay
An appeal has gone out from the Mayor of Bedale for residents and visitors to help support the community by backing the weekly market and seasonal car boot sales. Last year they made over £10,000?? for the Town Council which is being invested back into the community, keeping down the parish precept as well as offsetting costs such as the public toilets which the Town council took over last year when Hambleton District Council said they could no longer afford to run them.
Mayor Amanda Coates said: "We're just asking people to get behind the town by supporting the market and the car boot sales, and to shop locally as much as they can.
"We are aware these are difficult times for many families and residents, but supporting the local economy is so crucial, Bedale would not be the town it is without our shops and businesses.
"For over 760 years the market has played a huge role in the town and the Town Council has tried hard in the past year to maintain interest and encourage stallholders. We all know it's been an awful year with record rain levels that have tested all of us,
"But the stallholders have battled on, often braving the wind and rain to keep the market going. The same applies to the weekly car boot sales, which also help provide much needed income for local good causes and charities.
"These all bring in money for the council which can be spent on providing local services. The Town Council only employs two part time staff so almost all the money that comes into us can be invested in local amenities and events.
"The market charter was given to the town over 760 years ago and it has been an important part of the town's progress, the more support we can give the town through shopping local, backing the market and the car boot sales then the more we can guarantee the future of the town as a thriving community.
"Bedale has so much going for it, it is a place people want to live so please give us your backing."
Hambleton District Councillor John Noone who is also chairman of the Bedale Hall Trust added: "As a community we have worked hard to keep our local services going, and in preserving and improving the Hall. Local support is vital to the future sustainability and viability of the town. The weekly car boot sale is a really good way of increasing footfall and if we can maintain support for businesses, shops and the market we can ensure the future of our community."
Y9 students at Bedale High School are currently holding an exhibition of their 'Heros and Heroines' depicted as pop art in the style of renowned artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton. Visitors to the school and pupils are in the process of voting for their favourite composition and the winner will receive a prize in due course. Head of art, Ms Kath McKenzie said 'I am amazed at the quality of work the pupils have produced in recent weeks and the exhibition has proved a real talking point in school.'
Photograph shows Lewis Kelly admiring the work of Thomas Fulcher who depicted boxer Mohammed Ali in his composition.
New Head Teacher for Bedale High School
Bedale High School has welcomed its new head teacher, Mick Jolley, who succeeds Graham Turner who was appointed as head teacher to a school in China last September. Born in Leicestershire in 1963, he was bought up in New Orleans in the USA before returning to be educated at a grammar school in Derbyshire. At Leeds University he studied fine art before taking his PGCE at Breton Hall College.
His teaching career has included ten years at Boston Spa comprehensive school, eleven years at Intake High School Arts College in Leeds, six years in Scarborough, five years as head teacher and more recently, associate head teacher at Graham School, a large 11-16 school on the east coast.
Mr Jolley is married with three children all currently attending or about to attend university and he lists his interests as painting and sculpting and restoration and sailing of his own narrow-boat. He has a passion for developing teaching and learning and spent many years developing creative approaches to learning working for examination boards at both A-level and GCSE. He has worked alongside QCA developing the concepts in the new curriculum.
Mr Jolley was officially in post after the Easter holidays but has been working in the school for the last half term. He said 'during my time at the high school I have been impressed with the welcoming nature of the students and staff. All Students are committed to learning and take great pride in their studies and the high quality of care and support provided by staff ensures that everyone is included. There is such an amazing range of opportunities for curricular and especially extra-curricular activities with geography visits to Iceland, history and arts visits to London and Berlin, skiing, residential activities for younger years at East Barnby and Bewerley Park, Duke of Edinburgh Award and a whole feast of musical ensembles and sporting events to round off the schools belief that the experience of learning takes place in a variety of ways.'
Mr Jolley believes that everyone has a star quality and it is the job of education to help to find and develop that in everybody and ensuring that every child has that special, positive moment, by which they can remember their school experience. He is pleased to see the
special relationships with the forces families recognising the prominent part they play in the life of the school. The high school has high levels of academic excellence in the core subjects especially mathematics, English, science and in the schools specialist humanities areas.
Mr Jolley also said 'I feel privileged to lead the school on its journey to become an outstanding school, building on the strong foundations laid by Dr John Critchlow and Graham Turner. We intend to invest energy and creativity, embrace new technologies and build a curriculum which places the high school at the forefront of learning. I hope to provide a rich learning experience, enabling all students to reach their highest academic and personal potential and to develop in them, a passion for acquiring the skills and understanding that will enable them to take a leading role in the global work place of tomorrow.'
Mr Jolley will be speaking at the annual parish meeting along with the head teacher of the Mowbray School, Johnathan Teale, the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan and Marie Wilson and Craig Harrison, representatives of the scouts and guides . The meeting will be held in the Methodist chapel at 7pm on Tuesday May 7.
Fundraising in Bedale!
Theakston's to sponsor BAMfest - Bedale's first-ever acoustic music festival
One of Yorkshire's oldest businesses is to sponsor the county's youngest music festival.
The independent family brewers T & R Theakston, who were founded in 1827, are backing the Bedale Acoustic Music Festival – known as BAMfest.
The festival is being held in the market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire between Friday May 31 and Sunday June 2 this year.
Theakston's are based in the nearby Dales town of Masham. The company is
controlled by direct descendents of the founder Robert Theakston. It is
one of Britain's few remaining traditional family brewing companies.
Managing Director Simon Theakston said: "We are delighted to support BAMfest in its first -ever year. We have been impressed by the commitment and dedication shown by the BAMfest team and we are sure the music festival will be a huge success."
BAMfest spokesman John Knighton said: "We are thrilled that Theakston's are supporting our Festival. It is a tremendous boost for everyone connected with BAMfest.."
BAMfest is Bedale's first-ever acoustic music festival with three days of quality music from a variety of acoustic genres. With a winning blend of top performers and youngsters just starting out, BAMfest aims to bring quality music to anywhere that wants it to the heart of North Yorkshire.
Bedale is situated at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and easily accessible by road, train or bus.
The Festival is the brainchild of a group of local musicians who wanted to see their town put on the musical map.
There will be two Friday evening concerts, two Saturday daytime concerts, two Saturday evening concerts, a Sunday daytime concert, ceilidh, pub singarounds, Battle of the acoustic bands for under-18's, song-writing competitions, street entertainment, workshops and craft stalls.
"We are really keen to bring people to Bedale and see what our town and its surrounding countryside has to offer. We have three days of great music in fantastic venues and a town centre campsite which is just brilliant. Bedale is small, friendly market town with lots of interesting shops, pubs and cafes. And we have the wonderful Yorkshire Dales on our doorstep, "said Mr Knighton.
"We have tried to come a varied line-up to include music from a across the acoustic spectrum. So we have Bob Fox, a legend in the North East, who is just completed an extended run in the West End production of War Horse, we have the UK's top slide guitarist Dave Kelly of The Blues Band, and we have former Christian and multi-million album selling singer/songwriter Henry Priestman and we have coming from Northern Ireland, one of hottest properties in the blues guitar world, Simon McBride, who is doing a rare acoustic gig for us."
Other confirmed artists at this stage include Blackbeard's Tea Party, The Young'Uns, Flossie Malavialle, Dan Walsh and Christi Andropolis, Sunjay Brayne, The Conspirators, The Duncan Mcfarlane Band, Purple Mafia,Merlin's Keep, Tom and Barbara Brown, Hissyfit, Dave Gibb, Steve Chapman Smith, Keystone Acoustic, Midway Arcadia, Carole Palmer, Miriam Erasmus, Honeykeepers, Shindig, Amy Rainbow, Ray Storr, Strings & Things, Andy Broderick, Vacant Expressions, Gary Grainger, Phil Cockerham, Three Sheets T'Wind, Phil Snell & Gerry Cooper, David Swan, John & Caroline Bushby, Moose Rosser, Backyard Buskers, GLJJ... plus lots more to be announced. (line-up subject to change)
There are two main concert venues – historic Bedale Hall and The Riverside Club with a 100-seat concert room. There is a separate youth venue at The Culture Shack,
The Green Dragon pub will have round-the-clock sessions, Tallulahs Wine Bar will also have lots of music, plus there will be singarounds in pubs, such as The White Bear. But don't be surprised to see music popping up just about anywhere during the festival!
Tickets are now on sale with earlybird offers available. Full weekend earlybird adult ticket is £42. Under-21 just £10. Event tickets from £7. See www.bamfest.co.uk for full details.
The Festival campsite is at Big Sheep Little Cow very close to the town centre and within walking distance of all venues.
"We believe this is the best Festival campsite in the UK - bang in the centre of Bedale surrounded by fields and close to the Festival bar! No driving or buses required – just pitch up and enjoy the Festival!" said John.
Regular bus services between Bedale and Northallerton with connections to Darlington and further afield. Buses also run to Masham and Hawes.
Bedale is two miles from the A1 motorway with excellent links North and South. There are excellent links to the Yorkshire Dales.
The East Coast mainline with fast links to London and Scotland stops at Northallerton – only eight miles from Bedale. There is also the Wensleydale Railway, a heritage railway running between Leeming Bar, Bedale and Leyburn
For more information see www.bamfest.co.uk
Contact BAMfest at [email protected]
As part of his award, Clive has received a pair of tickets to an RBS 6-Nations game at Twickenham and a VIP trip to Twickenham for the Daily Mail RBS Schools Final, where he will be presented with his certificate.
Ex- head of physical education Martyn Coombs said 'Clive has taught curriculum rugby for many years at the high school and has always given his time freely for the benefit of the youngsters in his care. He made a significant difference to what the school delivered at KS3 and KS4 such is his expertise in teaching rugby union. He has always combined his love of rugby with his main duties as site manager (caretaker) but for the last few years, this latter role has developed so much, that he is no longer able to be timetabled for rugby. This has not diminished his commitment and the work he does now, is all in his own time.'
Current head of physical education Jon Bielby said 'Clive runs after school rugby practice twice a week and runs successful trips to Headingley or Twickenham every year. He still assists with GCSE PE rugby moderation and is always available to help out. Because of Clive, the school enters the Daily Mail competition and, as a state school, had a memorable victory over the Durham public school a couple of years ago. He has been entirely responsible for dozens of players being selected for the Hambleton & Richmondshire Area team, four for North Yorkshire, one for County Durham and two for the full Yorkshire XV.'
Photo 1 Clive Pointon extreme right after the Bedale High School victory over Durham School in the Daily Mail cup two years ago.
BEWERLEY PARK 2 Toby Cerrato mountain biking
BEWERLEY PARK 3 Findlay McCullach trying to steer his Canadian canoe
BEWERLEY PARK 4 Kelsey Baxter about to start her abseil down the rocks at Brimham
Two 14 year old cricketers from North Yorkshire have been selected for the Yorkshire Junior Professional Academy (JPA). Charlie Coulson of Bedale High School and Owen Kelly of Richmond School successfully took part in a day long trial at The Headingley Cricket Centre in Leeds which saw 40 representative cricketers from Yorkshire and surrounding counties vying for places in the 18 man squad. As members of the JPA the boys will undergo 10 days of coaching with the top coaches from Yorkshire County Cricket Club. This will be followed by representative matches against 3 county sides rumoured to be Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire.
Charlie is an all rounder who plays for Bedale High School, Hambleton and Richmondshire Area and Bedale Cricket Club where he enjoyed his first taste of adult cricket last season. Owen is also an all rounder who plays for Richmond school, Richmond Cricket Club, Barton Cricket Club and represented North Yorkshire in his age group last season. Charlie said 'When I heard about the trial I never expected to get in as I knew the standard would be so good. I just wanted to enjoy the day and make the most of the facilities and the coaching and if I got in then great. When I heard I'd been selected I was really surprised and excited. I'm really looking forward to working hard with the coaches and improving my game.'
The first two days of the JPA course have already taken place under the watchful eye of the Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and his team mate Richard Pyrah. Yorkshire head coach and Australian legend, Jason Gillespie will also coach the boys during the course. Both boys have also just been selected for North Yorkshire trials for this season's squad and so could be in for a very busy (and hopefully successful) summer.
Photo l to r Owen Kelly and Charlioe Coulson
Notebook' Is Voted Most Romantic Film Of All Time
The most romantic film of all time is The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling, James Garner and Rachel McAdam, according to research* carried out ahead of Valentine's Day by the Wensleydale Heifer, a 'restaurant with rooms' in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
PS I Love You, Ghost and the classic Brief Encounter all proved popular along with Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing. Surprise choices included Shrek, Rocky 2 and Pulp Fiction!
The Wensleydale Heifer will use the research to ensure the most romantic films are available for customers on Valentine's Day, and in the future, in its 'Night at the Movies' themed room. This room's features include movie memorabilia, 46inch 3D television, 3D Blu-Ray DVD player and even complementary popcorn. A hand painted Audrey Hepburn picture watches over guests as they sleep!!
The Heifer, which is classified by the AA as a 5 star 'restaurant with rooms', caters for romantics of all kinds with its Chocolate Heaven, Champagne and True Romantics rooms. There are even rooms dedicated to Black Sheep ale, Malt Whiskey and dales icon James Herriot.
The research also revealed that Venice, Paris, Rome and New York are the most romantic places in the world, although Blackpool and Redcar beach were also mentioned.
Comments included:-
• "Reykjavik in Iceland. It's where we got engaged. Not your traditional answer, but the sitting in the blue lagoon with a glass of wine, standing cuddled up under the northern lights after seeing countless shooting stars and being proposed to on top of Gullfoss waterfall takes some beating!"
• "On top of the Eiffel Tower with a glass of champagne, also wandering round the quaint streets and small cafes in Paris."
The most romantic respondent said: "Wherever you are, you can make anywhere romantic as long as you are with the one you love"
David Moss, co-owner of the Wensleydale Heifer, said: "As romantics ourselves we thought it would be interesting to ask our thousands of social media followers about their views on what constitutes a romantic film and place. We had so many votes and a varied response but the two winners were clear favourites.
"I am delighted that quite a number of people thought that the Wensleydale Heifer is the most romantic place. We always try to add little personal touches for all of our visitors to ensure that their stay is memorable."
Bedale High School hosted the cluster primary schools Key Steps gymnastics competition in the sportshall on Tuesday with the winners progressing to the joint partnership gymnastics competition at Catterick next week.
Organiser Mark Glover, the partnership coordinator at the high school said 'it was tremendous to see so many youngsters in Y3, 4, 5 and 6 taking part to such a high standard. The children have to perform three areas of gymnastics with a tloor routine, a vault and body management which allow the children to progress through three levels that suit their age and ability.' Students from the high school were responsible throughout the day for warm ups and judging the competition.
The winners were year 1/2 Crakehall, Year 3/4 Leeming Londonderry and year 5/6 Crakehall.
THE Post Office in Bedale is to be modernised into a new style open-plan branch with longer opening hours for customers.
It will close for refurbishment from March 6 at 5.30pm and re-open on March 14 at 9am.
During the work the nearest post offices will be at Burneston and Masham.
On re-opening hours will be extended by ten hours a week - Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5.30pm.As printed in the Northern Echo
A1 Tank Services Ltd continue to Support the Newcastle Falcons
Company director John Marshall commented 'having a son at Bedale High School who is involved in junior rugby at the Wensleydale rugby club where coaches give an awful lot of their spare time to develop the young players, I feel that it is very important to support professional rugby in the North East of England in order that these young club players around the region can have the ambition and aspirations to achieve playing at a highest of levels.'
Now in their tenth year in business A1 Tank Services Ltd have seen substantial growth despite the recession especially in the demand for oil tank alarms as thefts from domestic oil tanks become more prevalent. The company continues to work very closely with many of the local oil distributers and major tank manufacturers in particular Harlequin and Envirostore Uk.
In relation to his sponsorship Rory Lawson commented 'John was kind enough to sponsor me from when I first arrived at the club last summer and it's great to get that immediate support from not only an individual but a business that is passionate about the club and the players. When you move to a new club it makes you feel a bit more settled having that local support. I would like to thank John and A1 Tank Services so far this season and hope they can keep on supporting me and the Falcons in the future.'
The Falcons are enjoying a very successful season in the championship having won all 11 of their games so a return to the Premiership next season is a realistic target.
Photo l; to r
John Marshall with Rory Lawson
Student raises money to do charity work
Eighteen year old Ceridwen Ball from Bedale organised a 'guess the name of the giant teddy bear' before Christmas with a 135cm tall bear as part of her fundraising to go to Africa for a month in June to do charity work. The project includes building traditional housing for AIDs orphans and working with the local communities in Botswana and Zambia.
The competition raised £100 and the winner was baby Jakob (7 months old) received the bear on Christmas day. The winning name was Violet.
Ex Bedale High School student Ceridwen, has managed to raise £3,000 pounds towards her target of £4,000 pounds through bake sales, gigs, an African-themed ball, odd-jobs, car boots, bag-packing, craft fairs and donations. If anyone wants to make a donation to help he reach her goal they can contact her through her fundraising email address:[email protected] or by calling 01677 426882.
Photograph shows baby Jakob and Ceridwen with the newly named, Violet the bear.
Colburn woman continues to fight for life after hit and run
As reported in the Northern Echo
A LOCAL councillor has said he hopes a hit-and-run driver will turn themselves in, as a mother continues to fight for her life after being knocked down.
Rosina Seabright, who has two daughters, is still fighting for her life at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough after being hit by a vehicle at 10.10pm on a residential street in Colburn, near Catterick Garrison on Saturday.
Richmondshire District Councillor Peter Wood from Colburn said it was a straight stretch of road but speed restrictions had been put in place with 30 mile-per-hour signs.
North Yorkshire Police said that Ms Seabright, 39, remains in a critical condition and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Mr Wood, who lives near to where Ms Seabright was hit, said: "Eventually the speed restrictions will be placed all the way along Forest Drive with a reduced speed limit.
"I hope the person that did this turns themselves in to the police because it is incredibly serious.
"It is just so unfortunate and I hope she pulls through and is home with her family soon. I know her and her family from walking around the town and my thoughts are with them all."
A shop worker who found Ms Seabright saw a speeding car moments before she found her lying in a lay-by in Forest Drive.
Police urged the driver of the car that hit Ms Seabright to contact them and for anyone with information to call 101.
Sergeant Richard Parsons said: "The vital witnesses I need to speak to are the driver or passengers of a car which swerved following the collision and a purple car seen nearby at the time of the incident.
"I am also asking any witnesses – in particular drivers who were using Forest Drive or Fifth Avenue between 10pm and 10.15pm – to contact police straight away."
Burglary near Bedale
2:23pm Tuesday 29th January 2013 in Bedale News By Janet Gleeson
TOOLS STOLEN: Thieves used wheelbarrows to move power tools after they broke into two Portakabins at a property at Murton Way in Well, near Bedale which is undergoing renovation. North Yorkshire police are appealing for anyone who has any information about the burglary which happened last weekend to come forward. PC Quita Passmore, of Northallerton police, said: "The burglary occurred in a remote location, but someone may have seen something, I would also urge resident in the area to be vigilant and ensure they take the necessary steps to secure their properties."
Call to review Bedale 'death trap junction' plan
11:25am Friday 18th January 2013 in Bedale News
FURIOUS councillors have called on engineers to look again at a "death trap" junction after they recommended minor alterations instead of installing a pedestrian crossing.
Bedale Town Council was told the junction at Firby Lane, Sussex Street in Bedale is used by all the most vulnerable people in the town from parents with young children and push chairs to elderly residents and there was no safe place to cross.
Local resident Brian Hall, who has campaigned for more than ten years for a crossing, warned: "This junction is going to get busier and busier and the people who use it are pensioners and young children, something desperately needs to be done.
"It is the established crossing place for people, older people especially and if that isn't a death trap I don't know what is."
The meeting heard a new investigation had been carried out into work at the site following the death of an 85-year-old man on a mobility scooter at the junction last September.
North Yorkshire County Council engineers said it would not be feasible to put in a crossing because of narrow footpaths and the risk of traffic queues and recommended dropped kerbs and more signs instead.
Councillors said dropped kerbs would aggravate the situation.
Councillor Janet Gleeson said: "I'm astonished at this report, have they not listened to anything?
"We need a proper crossing, we might as well be saying dice with death to some of these elderly people."
Other members suggested the county council should be looking at a 20mph limit on Firby Road or speed matrix signs to slow traffic down.
Coun Carol Clarke called for an investigation into road safety throughout the town because there were so many problem areas.
"Are we going to wait until more people are killed, it is incredibly difficult crossing some of these roads," she added.
County councillor John Weighell said: "Traffic lights are probably the best answer, but they will cause a huge amount of standing traffic backing up.
"That is the safe solution and that was talked about in the Bedale traffic management plan five years ago."
Members agreed to write to Highways calling for a crossing to be installed
Download the new Benefice Magazine on behalf of St Gregorys Church by clicking HERE
Bedale Market Traders Wanted!
Fancy running a market stall in Bedale in the New Year? Costing just £11.00 for a stall for a day, the market can be a great way to promote your exsisting business or start a fledgling business and bring your wares to market.
Tickets for Bedale's first-ever acoustic music festival – BAMfest
The three-day family-friendly event will take place between Friday May 31 and Sunday June 2.
A host of stars from the acoustic music scene will be appearing at Bedale. Already confirmed are multi-million album-selling artist Henry Priestman formerly of The Christians, legendary North-East singer Bob Fox, fresh from his long-running stint in War Horse in the West End and York's madcap marvels, Blackbeard's Tea Party.
More artists are being added all the time to the line-up which encompasses a wide range of music - from folk to blues and beyond. There will be evening and daytime concerts as well as sessions in The Green Dragon, The White Bear and Tallulah's Wine Bar. There will also be specific events for young peole at Culture Shack, where teen sensations Purple Mafia are appearing.
A Festival spokesman said: " We believe we have a fantastic line-up for our first-ever festival. We believe Bedale deserves the opportunity to be put on the musical map and we have worked hard to get to where we are today. We hope as many people as possible from the town will support us by buying tickets. We have already had superb support from local businesses and organisations, for which we are very grateful."
Bedale barber Gary Clarke - of G Clarke's Barbers - is the latest business to get behind BAMfest. He said " It is great to see something happening in the town. I can't wait for it to start."
Special earlybird tickets are available until March 31st. A full adult weekend ticket – giving access to all concerts and sessions – purchased before that date is £42. Individual concert tickets are also available, from £7. Full details on the Festival website at www.bamfest.co.uk.
A festival campsite will be at the Big Sheep Little Cow Farm, where a ceilidh and other sessions will be held. A Festival ticket hotline has been set up. Call 07842 627944 for information or email [email protected]..
This Saturday, members of the BAMfest organising committee will be at Bedale Chamber of Trade's Christmas Festival. Several musicians will be performing on the day and there's also a stall, with information about the Festival - including special festive tickets packages, T- shirts and stickers.
For more information contact John Knighton on 07564031666
Award-winning musicians set for village
Kirkby Fleetham village hall is the venue for a full weekend of the best that the folk and acoustic scene has to offer.
Starting on Friday 23rd Novemberand running until – Sunday 25th November there will be a packed line-up.
Organiser Paul Arrowsmith explains: "We have some really talented performers coming to our village and we are genuinely excited at what is in store. If you want to put on your dancing shoes or sit back and enjoy wonderful singing, then Kirkby Fleetham is the place to be."
Headline artists appearing include – Lucy Ward (BBC Radio 2 Folk Award "Horizon" winner 2012), Ewan McLennan (BBC Radio 2 Folk Award "Horizon" winner 2011) both of whom write fine original songs as well performing traditional material.
The Boat Band deliver a beguiling mix of Creole, Caribbean, Gospel, Cajun, Irish, Zydeco, Blues and English songs and tunes – after more than 20 years on the road they know how to get an audience to dance! A full supporting cast includes; Dan Walsh (the "finest clawhammer banjo player in the U.K"), Anna Shannon (A Yorkshire artist making national waves), Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham (....breathtaking harmony work that leaves the listener gasping............). Local favourites include Nick Brooker and Chris Milner
Tickets are priced at £28 for the full weekend , £10 for Friday night, £13 for Saturday and £8 for Sunday afternoon (under 16s free for all events) from www.kirkbyfleethamfolkclub.co.uk , on the door (if any remaining) or by calling Paul Arrowsmith on 01609 748 259
Home-cooked food and real ale will be available all weekend and the opportunity to bring your own instrument and/or voice on Saturday daytime will ensure a fun-filled and good value weekend.
Bedale High School Girls Qualify at Regional Level
Bedale High School Students are winners at the Blackpool Music Festival
Coming soon to Bedale town centre
Former Soldier Helps People With Special Needs
(As published in the Northern Echo)
Bedale Bonfire Night....
A great night was had by all on Saturday night as Bedale hosted its 25th Annual Bonfire celebrations. Every comment has been nothing but complimentary and thanks & praise have been bestowed on the organisers who helped make it happen.
If you missed it, here are some photographs taken on the night (thank you very much to the people who sent them in to us) and next year it will be on November 2nd.
Fundraising in Bedale!
Wendy Fothergill and Julie Robertson, employees at the Co-operative supermarket in Bedale would like to thank the Co-operative and all their customers, family and friends for helping raise a fantastic £836 for Marie Curie Cancer Care on Saturday, October 20th. The money was raised via collection tins, checkout bag packing, donations and a cake stall. Wendy said 'many thanks to everyone who contributed their time and donations to such a worthy cause. Saturday's event was phase one of a project which will culminate in a sponsored tandem skydive to take place in May 2013.'
Photograph; Store manager Jonathan Barker with some of the Marie Curie Cancer care fund raisers
Bedale High School History Trip
55 pupils and staff from Bedale High school spent 5 days recently on a history battlefields trip to France and Belgium.
Aaron Brotherston and Ben Smith atop the bell tower of the Cloth Hall in Ypres - great views of the the town and surrounding countryside. (Right)
A guide from the Beaumont Hamel with the group in the preserved trenches of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916. (Below)
Will Hey and Ebony Chaplin laid a poppy wreath on behalf of the high school at the Menin Gate's memorial service. Here the last post is played every evening at 8pm since 1926, the only exceptions being during WW2 when the Germans occupied Belgium.
Volunteers are being called to play their part in ensuring a new music event in North Yorkshire gets off to the best possible start.
Organisers have begun planning the 2013 Bedale Acoustic Music Festival and are looking for help from as many local people as possible. The event - which will showcase some of Britain's top acoustic musicians - will be held in Bedale from Friday May 31 until Sunday June 2.
There are plans for concerts in several venues across Bedale, sessions in local pubs and workshops. A campsite for visitors is also planned. Volunteers are needed to help at venues and the campsite across the weekened.
BAMfest spokesman John Knighton said: "Our family-friendly festival is aimed to bring music to anywhere in the town that wants it. We have an enthusiastic committee but we cannot do it all on our own.
"So we are calling on the local community to get on board and help wherever they can.It doesn't matter if you're young or old. If you want to help, in any capacity, then we'd love to hear from you. You don't have to be musical - or even practical - just enthusiastic!"
A drop-in meeting is taking place in the Green Dragon pub, Bedale, on Tuesday November 13 between 8 and 9 pm, where light refreshments will be served.
Anyone interested in getting involved should go along or contact John on[email protected] or tel 07564 031666 or contact BAMfest via their website at www.bamfest.co.uk.
Bedale High School get outdoors!
New House Captains for Bedale High
Bedale High School have just appointed their head of houses for the forthcoming academic year. Supported by a deputy head of house and five house captains, the leaders are now actively engaged in their new roles. Assistant headteacher Ms Ros Haydon said 'We are delighted with the new team who have already made themselves invaluable. Selection from so many applicants is always hard but we have a great group wtih real enthusiasm and leadership qualities.'
Photo l to r
Emily Potts (Africa), David Pauli (Oceania), Samuel Gill (Europe), Hannah Woods (Americas) and Alex Mason (Asia).
Rugby Inspiration
Bedale High school Y8 girls had a visit from Sarah Clough from the Leeds Rugby Foundation on Monday to introduce them to rugby league during their games lesson.
Interest was high following the Leeds Rhino's sixth Super League title with an epic 26-18 win over Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Sarah is employed at the Kirkstall Centre in Leeds by the foundation to develop rugby union and league throughout the catchment area to women and girls in schools and clubs.
Sarah said 'the girls were very keen and interested in the rugby session and showed real skill and determination even in such a short space of time.
Lots of girls volunteered to come along to the lunchtime session so we may be able to form a proper club soon.'
Photo Sarah Clough (Leeds Rugby Foundation) extreme left and Alison Balsamini extreme right.
Torrential Rain Hits North Yorkshire
Find More information, photos and updates on our facebook page www.facebook.com/bedaleonline
A number of areas have been affected by flooding in North Yorkshire as heavy rain continues to hit the county.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it has received more than 100 calls on Monday night and Tuesday morning related to the heavy rain.
Bedale Beck (Above)
The Environment Agency has issued a number of flood warnings across North Yorkshire.
Crakehall (Above)
Flood warnings
- River Nidd at Hunsingore, Nidderdale Lodge, Lorisholme and Riverside Caravan Parks
- Brough Beck at Catterick, Swale Pasture Lane and Oran Lane
- Bishop Monkton Beck at Bishop Monkton
- Upper River Swale at Gilling West and the caravan park at Brompton-on-Swale
- River Ure at Roecliffe Caravan Park
- River Rye at Hovingham
Check here for more up to date information
Here is the 3 day flood risk forecast from the Environmental Agency.
North Yorkshire has come under medium risk
Bedale Beck & Leech House (Above)
Three Day Flood Risk Forecast
Issued at 09:30 on 25 Sep 2012
Heavy rain will continue to affect much of northern England and Wales through today (Tuesday 25th September). This will lead to river and surface water flooding across these areas with significant disruption likely such as flooding affecting properties and parts of communities as well as disruption to travel. In the areas indicated amber the flood risk is MEDIUM while in the areas highlighted yellow the flood risk is LOW. Heavy showers forecast across parts of southern England and Wales throughout Tuesday and Wednesday have a LOW risk of bringing further flooding, with showers continuing into far south eastern parts into Thursday. There is also a residual flood risk on Wednesday in Shropshire and Worcestershire from the River Severn as well as along the River Ouse through North Yorkshire and York as these rivers take longer to respond to the rainfall. For all other locations and at all other times the flood risk is currently considered to be VERY LOW. This forecast will be updated this afternoon. Please check again for latest information.
Thursday 27 September 2012
The agency has urged people to be prepared for flooding and not to attempt to drive through floodwater.
In the Richmond and Colburn areas a number of vehicles were stranded in flood water, several of them on the A1 where the river Swale intersects the road.
Bedale Beck (Above) At the Waterfall
You can view a video of the Bedale Beck in motion on our facebook page
Talking to a local resident this morning he said that he has never seen the river like this in over 60 years of living in Bedale!
Picture below sent in by Brian Wilkinson taken by the flooded Bedale Beck
The A1 has had to be closed in both directions at Catterick on Tuesday morning due to flooding.
Crakehall (Above)
Useful links to find out what is happening in our area
http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9133 - School closures
Please send us your photos and update us of things happening where you are.
Bedale Beck (Above) The footpath can no longer be seen.
The Crakehall to Langthorne Road at Kirkbridge (Above) Taken by M Milsom
Charity Cycle Ride
Dear Reader
I am the Manager of Leeming Bar Grange Care Home in Leeming. We provide 24hr care for 60 Residents with Dementia. We are looking to enhance the quality of life for the residents and to do this we would like to provide an allotment space on the land at the back of the Home. 8 serving Infantry soldiers from ITC Catterick, in conjunction with the ABF (The Soldiers Charity) and our own staff members have volunteered to complete this project. We have many retired Army and Air force residents here at Leeming and we need to show that we, as a community, respect them in so many ways and thank them for the valuable work they do. We need your Help and Support to continue the great work that The ABF are doing and also to raise Dementia awareness and how it can affect a family member, ourselves or our friends
Charity Fundraising Day
We are holding a fundraising day starting at 1000hrs till 1500hrs on Sat 29 September at the Leeming Bar Grange Care Home. **NOW CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER HOWEVER THE DIG WILL STILL BE GOING AHEAD!** The day will consist of bouncy castles, ice cream stall and many stalls run by the carers of our home. The 8 voluntary serving soldiers will start digging an overgrown plot of land at 0800hrs on Sat 29 Sept and will try to complete an allotment for the residents within 48hours, digging through the day and also throughout the night with no sleep at all. All proceeds from the fundraising day will go to the ABF.
The aim is to help the ABF Charity and in return, the Army soldiers will build an allotment area for the residents to use. To make this happen we need some help with fencing, tools, wood, gardening pots, sand, paving slabs, shovels, forks, solar lights, benches, seeds, bulbs, etc. Any financial contributions would also be gratefully received.
Please help the Soldiers who are giving up 48hrs of their own time to work hard throughout the day and night. They need your support!
We very much welcome support in this way from all types of businesses. All contributors' names will be mentioned and thanked in publicity associated with the Charity Day and also in the 3 local papers The Yorkshire Post, The Darlington Times and the Stockton Gazette
We will also be using the local radio and the Army BFBS radio station. You will be helping a very worthwhile Community Home
Should you have any questions associated with this request or our Fundraising Day then please do not hesitate to contact the following:
Home Manager ([email protected]
Snape Fun Run
Bedale High School retained the team trophy last weekend in the 24th annual Snape Fun Run in aid of Snape village and the Friends of Snape school. The 5km run around the fields and footpaths surrounding the village was held in glorious sunshine and the high school team comprised Niall Spink (2nd overall), Riochard Fryer (7th), Patrick Winstanley (8th) and Angus Bankier (11th). Head of boys PE Jon Bielby said, 'much credit has to go to the four lads who organised themselves into a competitive group and ran sensibly to ensure the overall victory.'
Photo L to R;
Angus Bankier, Patrick Winstanley,
Niall Spink, Richard Fryer
Y8 Bedale High school student Victoria won the girls 12 and under Yorkshire County cup competition on Saturday at the John Charles Centre for sport in Leeds.
Winning 3-6, 6-3 and 10-6 in the third set tie break against a girl from Hudderfield. hailing from Crakehall, Victoria won her the first two matches of the Yorkshire competition 6-2 6-0 and 6-0 6-2 to reach the final.
Victoria has had a very good summer and has also reached 3 finals in Hull, Scotland and Northumberland, and played for the Yorkshire girls team in the county cup in Bolton. She is a member of Ripon Tennis Centre where she trains 3 nights a week with her coach David Drake. She has only been playing for 4 years and enjoys playing all sports but tennis is always first choice.
The Bedale Branch of the Sunderland Association Football Club Supporters Association held their annual meeting in the headquarters in the Three Coopers in Emgate last week.
Subscriptions were agreed at £5 for adults and £1 for under 16's and already
the membership is approaching 30. Anyone who wants further information should contact Martyn Coombs on [email protected] or call in to the Three Coopers to see Steven Dawson to collect a membership form.
Members organised transport last week to the Stadium of Light to watch the Capital One game against Morecambe FC and hope to be present at Bedale Golf Club on Friday 21st September when the Sunderland Former Players Association, under the chairmanship of Nicky Sharkey, will be taking part in a charity golf day.
The age range of the branch is 83 years between the youngest member, 2 year old Arthur Coombs and the Father of the Branch, Wilf Whitnall.
Photo Arthur and Wilf
Pony Club Novice Championships
Bedale High School student and member of the Bedale and West of Yore Pony Club, Robyn Chilten from Masham was placed 6th in the dressage and 5th in the one-day eventing competition in the Pony Club Novice Championships held at Kelsall Hill, Cheshire and which was kindly sponsored by N.F.U.Mutual.
The show jumping team of Alex and Helena Broadley, Stephanie Pybus and Hollie Brown jumped with style and amazingly with more control than normal and just the odd pole down pushed them out off the placings. Although the team wasn't placed they all gained valuable experiance for next year.
Charity music event tunes up
Final preparations are being made for a charity acoustic music extravaganza being held in Masham next month.
Musicians from across the North will be appearing at TheWhite Bear, Masham on Saturday September 15 to support the event in aid of theYorkshire Air Ambulance.
More than a dozen different artists will be performing throughout the day, starting at 11.30am. In the evening a ticketed concert in the Old Bottle Store will see performances by Keystone Acoustic, Paul and WendyArrowsmith, Pat Sherry and Stuart Douglas and The Rascals.
The event has been organised by Susie Darling, a veteran of the North Yorkshire music scene, whose life was saved by the prompt actions ofthe Yorkshire Air Ambulance medics after she was trapped in her car followingan accident.
She said: "After my accident I have always wanted to do something to acknowledge their magnificent efforts. This is my way of saying 'thankyou'."
There will be singaround sessions in the bar at the WhiteBear during the day as well as raffles and an auction. All proceeds will go theYorkshire Air Ambulance.
Concert tickets are available, for a minimum donation of £5,from The White Bear or by calling 07402 734098
Heritage Weekend
Plans are finally coming to fruition for the Patrick Brompton Heritage weekend at St Patrick's church in the village on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September.
This will be a celebration of the 'Country life in Wensleydale' looking at farming and country crafts from the past. The displays will look at old farming implements and tools as well as looking at The Mill, from grain to bread, household crafts including wool and knitting, clip rugs, lace making, embriodery and baking will also be demonstrated.
On the Saturday, there will be guided tours of the church by Stuart Tate at 2pm and again on Sunday at 11am and 2pm. There will also be poetry readings by poet John Barton Watson at 3pm.
On Sunday, afternoon teas will be served in the Old School on the Green at Patrick Brompton between 2-6pm and light refreshments will be available all weekend. It is hoped the event will be well supported and further details are avaiable by emailing [email protected].
Snape 10K and 5K Fun Run 8th September 2012 at 11am.
For the 24th year Snape village and Friends of Snape School are organising a 10k and 5k fun run.
The run will start and finish in Snape, are run over fields and footpaths and are supervised by marshals. The 5k fun run is suitable for children, but provides a challenge to adults.
The 10k run is much more of a challenge passing through the outskirts of Bedale.
All finishers receive a medal, with trophies awarded to various class winners. All proceeds from the event will be shared between Snape Community Primary School and Snape Village Institute.
Afterwards lunches and refreshments are available from the village institute.
The entry fee for the 10k race is £6 and for the 5k it's £5, both are £1 extra if booking in on the day.
For further information and entry forms please phone 01677 470232 or 01677 470485. Entries can be made on the day.
Spate of Thefts in Leyburn and Bedale.
10:13am 31st August 2012.
Police in Leyburn and Bedale are asking residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious people or vehicles to them following a number of thefts in the area.
Over the past two days, seven vans have been broken into in the Leyburn area, including four owned by the same company, and valuable tools have been stolen from inside.
Thankfully, some of the vehicles were empty, but in some cases, power tools including saws, a generator, nail gun and stihl saw were taken.
In separate incidents, quad bikes have been stolen from rural properties in the Bedale area. One was taken from a property in Great Fencote over the bank holiday weekend and the other was stolen from a property in Scruton on Tuesday
Sergeant Stuart Grainger of Leyburn police, said:
"In this particular spate of thefts from vehicles, the thieves are targeting tradesmens' vans, but others are at risk if you leave valuables on display. Quad bikes are also being targeted.
"Please remember to remove valuables such as tools, sat-navs and phones from your vehicles when they are not in use. Many thieves are opportunist and if they see something tempting, they will not hesitate to take it.
"We appreciate it can be an inconvenience having to remove your tools each time, but it could save you a lot of time and expense, especially if you rely on them to earn a living.
"It's also really important that residents ring us if they see or hear any unusual or suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhood, including unknown people or vehicles acting suspiciously, especially quad bikes being used in the hours of darkness.
"Be alert to noises also, loud bangs or engines starting up when you don't expect them can be a sign of thieves in action. Note the registration of any suspicious looking vehicle if you can – but don't put yourself at risk.
"Please don't think you are wasting our time, your information is vital and can help us stop a thief in their tracks. Always act on your instinct, you know your local area and if something doesn't look right, please call us. Officers are on patrol looking for thieves throughout the day and night – a call from the public can be all they need to home in on them and stop them in their tracks "
Anyone who has any information about any of the thefts, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101. You can also pass information to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
To report suspicious people, vehicles or behaviour, please ring 101, if you believe a crime is in progress or your safety is threatened, please ring 999.
Completion of Lakeland 50
Bedale resident Martin Revis and his eldest son Steve undertook a 50 mile trek in the Lake District last month, aiming to complete it within the 20 hour time limit. They were raising funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research in memory of Martin and Henrietta's youngest son Chris.
Martin said 'We knew beforehand that the Lakeland 50 was a really tough challenge but it proved to be extra difficult due to very wet underfoot conditions, coupled with strong cold winds and heavy driving rain, particularly during the early hours of Sunday July 29th. It made navigation extremely hard work but we had no problems, even guiding four people the last few miles to the finish in the dark. In spite of everyghing we still managed to finish in 16hrs 20mins and had our own Olympic Medal Ceremony.'
The wonderful support of family members and Bedale area individuals and businesses means that Martin and Steve have raised £3,314.00 and with Gift Aid, the final total should exceed £3,600.00.
Steve said, 'It seemed appropriate to meet at the Black Bull in Paradise in Masham as Chris and Nicola knew most of the staff through the respective businesses. We cannot thank enough all the wonderful people who have supported both ourselves and Yorkshire Cancer Research. Not only that, we have had a chance to reminisce about meetings with and tales of Chris, and have a chuckle about various individuals recollections of him. Chris has left a big hole in our lives but he will never be forgotten and always remembered.'
BAMFEST comes to Bedale
Ambitious plans to put Bedale on the musical map have been unveiled.
A team of local musicians have joined forces to create BAMFEST – a three-day acoustic music festival which is planned for the end of May next year.
This week,(Monday August 13) town councillors in Bedale were told of the planned festival when members of the organising committee delivered a presentation outlining their plans.
BAMFEST is due to launch on Friday May 31 and will run until Sunday June 2, 2013. There are plans for concerts featuring some of the UK's top acoustic artists, there will besing-a-round sessions in local pubs and clubs, and workshops for local children.
Chairman of the BAMFEST organising committee, Wendy Arrowsmith said: "We are hoping to create a festival which reaches out to the people of Bedale and beyond. We think Bedale is the ideal town for such a great music event. We are looking to highlight all kinds of acoustic music from folk, roots and blues.
"We are aiming to have at least three concerts, featuring top artists. But there will also be lots of opportunities for local people of all ages to get involved. We are very excited by the possibilities.
During BAMFEST there are plans for organised street entertainment and music in venues across Bedale".
The BAMFEST plans have been welcomed by the Bedale Chamber of Trade. Chairman Carol Clark said: " BAMFEST is just what Bedale needs. It's a music festival that aims to embrace the entire town and I can't wait."
Anyone who wants to be involved can contact us at www.bamfest.co.uk
Blow for Scouts as cost of new hut jumps
Darlington & Stockton 30th July 2012
FUNDFRAISERS face a new effort to find enough money for a new eco-friendly scout and guide hut - after the cost of the building went up £40,000.
Bedale Scouts and Guides are short of around £80,000 to pay for the new wood-clad centre which they've now been told will cost around £400,000.
But they're determined to stick to their motto of "Be Prepared" and are planning to start building work by October to replace the dilapidated existing hut at the back of Emgate, alongside Bedale Beck. And they're appealing for help to raise the final amount of money they need.
Marie Wilson, Chair of Bedale Scouth Group said:"We can't stop here, we've come so far, we need to keep the momentum going.
"We are currently talking to the architects, "Native", from York, who did the original design, and a local project management company, to look at value engineering the project, without compromising the look, or losing the environmental and economical aspects of the building.
"We want to give all the kind donors value for money and a reassurance that their money is in good hands and is being spent wisely. We have to make the right decisions now, because this building needs to last for a very long time," she added.
The current hut, which cost £2,000, was built in 1978 after a local fund raising drive, but is now beyond repair.
They've been raising money over a number of years, via bucket collections in the local Co-op, and Catterick market, the Bedale festival which is one of the major fund raising events of the year for the Scouts and Guides, as well as grants from trust funds, and a special donation from the Armed Forces Covenant Scheme which really gave the fundraising for the "hut" a huge boost with a promise of £159,000.
Backers have included Bedale Town Council and Aiskew Parish Council, as well as local business' such as R and R Ice Cream, the Rectors Four and 20 and Reflections of Bedale - a book tracing the history and characters of the town with funds raised being used to help the local community.
Bedale Scouts and Guide group caters for around 150 local children who attend Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. Anyone who would like to help or donate contact [email protected].
Bedale High School Y11 student Jack Chapman from Scruton has been selected to receive a coveted Arkwright Scholarship to cover his forthcoming two year A level course at Yarm School, where he will be studying Design Technology, Physics, Mathematics and Business Studies. This is the first year that Bedale High School have put forward any candidates for the Scholarship and with Mr Wilson, Head of Technology's help, Jack has been successful. At Bedale, Jack studied for a Manufacturing and Product Design Diploma which was set up by Mr Wilson but which was delivered every Tuesday at Stokesley School. It was here that his obvious engineering talent was identified and encouraged by Mr Robinson and Mrs Dent.
The Arkwright Scholarship Trust administers one of the most prestigious scholarship schemes in the UK and nurtures future leaders in engineering and related areas of design. Affiliated schools from England, Scotland and Wales put forward their top students in year 11, this year totalling 1,103 applicants to sit the aptitude paper, where the top 496 candidates were selected for interview. Jack did his interview at Sheffield University. Approximately 300 scholarships have been awarded this year. Jack said 'The hardest part of the selection process was the interview, however the day at Sheffield University was a great experience. Last week, I received my letter to say that I had been successful ,which was a dream come true.' Jack will receive a financial award during his two year course at Yarm with an additional sum split between Bedale High School and Yarm School. He will attend an awards ceremony at either London or Glasgow later in the year.
Bedale Head leaves for China
Following on from the news that deputy headteacher Chris Carruthers was retiring after 36 years at the school, headteacher Graham Turner has also now finished the summer term and left Bedale High School to take up a new and exciting position at a school in China.
Graham was born in the mining community of Mexborough, South Yorkshire in 1955 and went to school in Conisbrough until he was 16. He was head boy at Northcliffe High School and at the age of 16 received a scholarship to undertake A levels at the prestigious Dartington Hall in Devon, a famous public school where he was a border for two years. There he captained both the football and cricket first XI and mixed with the sons and daughters of the rich and famous, most notably Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter, who became a friend.
Graham completed a degree in geography at Queen Mary College in London and completed his PGCE at Kings College. He completed a Master in Education Management and Administration at Sheffield University in 1999 and won a key prize for the best piece of research into the management of change in high school education and was offered a Ph.D at the Ontario Institute for Education in Canada working with Professor Fullen, who is now the guru on the management of change, but family commitments meant this could not be pursued.
In 1999 Graham worked at the Daniel McIntyre Collegiate in Winnipeg, Canada, a 14-19 school with over 68 nationalities. In 2000 he moved to Cibola High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he also coached football or soccer as they call it. His U18 team reached the quarter finals on the West Coast Cup which took the college to finals in Las Vegas.
For 16 years he worked at Hatfield High School in South Yorkshire leading the geography department and becoming a senior teacher responsible for the sixth form, which Ofsted described at the time as the 'jewel in the crown of the school,' Not bad for a working class comprehensive.
Graham then worked for 5 years in Bradford which served the most deprived part of the city eventually taking on the role of acting headteacher before moving on to South Craven School near Skipton where he helped secure specialist status in Technology and Engineering. Graham then took up his first headship at Bedale High school where he has served for 9 years.
In September, Graham becomes the head teacher at Zhenhai High School in Ningbo in China where he will have the opportunity to teach an English curriculum to Chinese students who are looking to continue their education in universities in the USA and the UK. The high school has 2,000 students on roll aged 16 to 19 years. It is the best school in the district and therefore students need to be academically strong in order to be admitted. As a result, they are focused and work oriented and this has helped to develop a culture where academic excellence has predominated. The school underwent major renovation in 2000 and now has a new science building, IT building, gymnasium, indoor swimming pool and well stocked library. The school campus encompasses several acres but it has also been attractively developed with many garden enclaves and fish ponds.
Graham has such wanderlust, it is probably no surprise that he should be taking up a new position in such an exotic part of the world. He may find time to pursue his passion for golf but his longstanding love for Tottenham Hotspur may have go on the back-burner for the time being. It is understandable that his main interest is travel which he will be doing quite a bit of in the forthcoming years.
Graham said ' It has been a pleasure to lead Bedale High School over the last 9 years and I am proud of the achievements and the developments that have occurred during those intervening years. The school is a special place, it has a unique and inclusive character, it is a genuine community school and I am sure that the school will continue to thrive and prosper in the future. I will miss the students, their friendliness and good humour and the day to day hustle and bustle of school life. I have sought to improve the facilities and the quality of learning and teaching throughout with a budget the size of a postage stamp whilst always seeking to retain a positive staff spirit. I hope that the welcome I receive in China is as good as the one I received in Bedale and I am sure that the new headteacher will take the school from strength to strength and I am happy to have been part of the journey.'
Mrs Anne Lewin will be taking over as acting headteacher until the appointment of a new headteacher, only the fifth since the school opened is made, in due course.
Tesco on way to Bedale
SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is planning to open a store in a disused pub in the gateway to the Dales market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire.
Town councillors were told the group has applied for planning permission to extend the Kings Head pub in the Market Place to open a retail unit.
The pub has been closed for nearly a year. Town clerk Richard Howard said there was no change of use needed so there was no issue with that. Although there was no parking at the back, there was parking in the rest of the Market Place which was what many of the other shops used.
Coun Clive Pointon said there was concern that all of the service vehicles would be using the front of the shop to deliver stock.
Coun Carol Clarke added that it could cause problems because it was so close to a designated crossing and the Bridge Street junction.
The other main grocery stores in the town are the Coop and the Spar, Coun John Noone said the Co-ops footfall could reduce.
Councillors are to express concerns to Hambleton District Council, the planning authority, about delivery times.
Let us know your thoughts below:
Apprenticeship scheme provides approximately £100K of funding
If any potential employer/small business would like to attend, please contact Louise Davis (Committee and Member Support Officer, Hambleton District Council) on 01609 767015 (direct line) or by emailing [email protected]by Friday 20th July 2012.
The completion of a major £318m scheme to upgrade 13 miles of the A1 to a motorway was officially marked with a colourful look at times past
As published on highwaysagency.presscentre.com on 5th July 2012
Highways Agency Chief Executive Graham Dalton visited the upgraded section from Dishforth to Leeming, and was accompanied by creative pupils from Burneston Church of England Primary School.
The village school won a competition to create a piece of artwork celebrating the history and heritage of the A1: 'The A1 Through the Ages – From Chariots to Trucks'.
All 26 children at the school, aged between 6 and 8, helped to create the winning entry, which illustrated the story of the road through the ages. A judging panel, including archaeologist Steve Sherlock, praised the artwork for its original composition and imaginative use of materials.
Graham Dalton presented Burneston pupils with a cheque for £500, donated by the contractor Joint Venture Carillion-Morgan Sindall, to reward their hard work during a ceremony at Healam Bridge, near Dishforth, the location of a Roman 'industrial estate' linked to an imperial fort built 2,000 years ago.
He was joined by David Bowe, North Yorkshire County Council Corporate Director for Business & Environmental Services, to cut a ribbon and unveiled a special commemorative plaque.
Mr Dalton commented:
"I am delighted to visit the completed scheme and mark the hard work that has gone into delivering the new A1 motorway between Dishforth and Leeming. The scheme is designed to reduce accidents and improve journey times in the present and future, but there is no escaping the past at a site as historically important as Healam Bridge.
"The pupils from Burneston Primary have done a wonderful job of depicting that heritage, and they can be justly proud of their achievements. They, like the team behind the motorway upgrade project, should be applauded for their success."
Work on the A1 Dishforth to Leeming scheme started in March 2009. In addition to a providing new dual three-lane motorway, the project also includes the provision of a new local access road alongside the A1(M), which takes local traffic from the surrounding communities and provides access to the strategic road network at two new junctions. This will contribute to safety by ensuring that local traffic use routes appropriate for these journeys.
Motorway junctions are provided at junction 49 Dishforth, junction 50 Baldersby (A61) and junction 51 Leeming. The scheme between Dishforth and Leeming was split into four works sections. Section 1 between Dishforth and Baldersby opened six months early in October 2011 and all the remaining sections fully opened as a motorway on 31 March this year.
Constructing the scheme involved bringing in a staggering 270,000 wagon loads of materials, building 11 new bridges, demolishing six others, laying 106 miles of drains and erecting 44 miles of fencing.
To keep the traffic flowing efficiently 26 new variable message signs to provide up to date information to drivers have also been installed. To enhance the environment, 180,000 trees and shrubs have been planted, with a further 36,000 to be planted.
Highways Agency project manager David Brindle said:
"The official opening of the A1 between Dishforth and Leeming is a significant milestone to improve one of the key transport routes in the North of England. Upgrading this section of the A1 to a motorway will improve safety, reduce congestion and make journey times more reliable – this can only be good news for road users and the economy.
"We would like to thank all those who have been affected by the works for their patience during the delivery of these essential improvements."
Today's completion ceremony was followed by a special exhibition at Solberge Hall Hotel highlighting key milestones and achievements in the upgrade scheme. The exhibition also looked back at the history of the 'Dere Street' Roman Road in North Yorkshire and included a display of all entries in the primary school artwork competition.
The other schools to participate in the contest were Aiskew Leeming Bar Church of England Primary, Leeming and Londonderry Community Primary and Baldersby St James Church of England School.
The competition tied in perfectly with the heritage of the area. Rich archaeological findings were unearthed and discovered between July 2009 and August 2010. The key finding was a Roman 'industrial estate', linked to a known imperial fort at Healam Bridge, near Dishforth, built some 2,000 years ago.
There was also an indication that the Roman occupants may have worn socks. Rust on the nail from a Roman sandal appeared to have impressions from fibres, which could suggest that a sock-type garment was being worn.
Other artefacts uncovered on the A1 included animal bones, pottery, coins, metal work and brooches, and 14 human cremations were found in individual pits, along with the well-preserved skeleton of a horse underneath a building. The animal is thought to have been slaughtered as a sacrifice to the gods to bring the building good luck.
Bedale High School Girl in the Olympic Games
When Team GB boast a first-ever women's water polo team at the Olympics games in London later this month, ex-Bedale High School pupil Francesca Clayton, will be taking up the left winger position.
At the Olympics, which start on July 29 in the Water Polo Arena, the women's team will take on Italy, Russia and Australia, bronze medallists from Beijing.
The women's captain Frances Leighton said: "It's a massive congratulations and excitement for the 13 of us who have made the team and will be competing at the Olympics. Suddenly, I'm starting to think, actually this is really exciting. Now we know the girls who will be working together of the next five or six weeks it's just about getting a lot of hard work done over the next few weeks and months."
Francesca Clayton aged 22, is an ex-student of Bedale High School who has represented Bedale, Catterick Cobras and the City of Liverpool at water polo as a left winger. She joined the Great Britain senior squad in January 2007 and her greatest achievement to date was being part of the team that won the European B Championships in 2009 and that beat Greece in the 2011 World League.
Her ambition has always been to represent her country in an Olympic games, the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. Francesca puts her mam Judy down as her greatest influence on her career when she started swimming at Bedale Leisure centre aged eight.
Her mother Judy says: "the family are so proud of Francesca, we are all chuffed to bits but she deserves the recognition for the time she has devoted to the sport. The early morning and late night training sessions, the travelling and the sacrifices all seem worthwhile now."
Currently, Francesca is an Open University student and has had to put her other passion, gymnastics, on the back burner as she dedicates her sporting life to participating in the Olympic games.
Her former PE teacher Victoria Brittain said "whoever would have thought that that little girl from a farm beyond Masham would go on to become an international water polo player. At school, it was obvious Francesca had a single-mindedness that few others possessed. She was always determined and was a real perfectionist, second best was never in her vocabulary. Everyone at Bedale High School is truly proud that she will become Bedale's first Olympian."
The Team GB women's squad comprises Frances Leighton, Rosemary Morris, Robyn Nicholls, Angela Winstanley-Smith, Lisa Gibson, Rebecca Kershaw, Ciara Gibson-Byrne, Fiona McCann, Chloe Wilcox, Francesca Clayton, Francesca Painter-Snell, Alexandra Rutlidge and Hazel Musgrove.
Presentation of Jubilee Medals for RAF Leeming Personnel
30th June 2012
RAF Leeming personnel joined thousands of local people to celebrate and watch the Olympic Torch when it passed through Bedale last week.
Following the Torch Relay, around 120 personnel then lined up outside Bedale hall to be presented with their Queen's Jubilee Medals by Mayor of Bedale, Amanda Coates (shown here on the photograph), Baroness Harris of Richmond, Lady Harris, and The High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, Peter Scrope.
Viewers of the presentation were then also treated to a flypast by 4 Hawk jets, from 100 squardon; also based at RAF Leeming.
Help needed to meet demand for visiting scheme
As published on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk on Thursday 28th June 2012.
NEW volunteers are being sought to join a community visiting scheme that is going from strength to stregnth.
The Northallerton and District Voluntary Service Association scheme is already supporting record numbers of lonely and isolated people.
But more volunteers are needed to meet the demand for help in Northallerton, Bedale and local villages.
Volunteers visit people in their home to chat about common interests, bring news about what's happening in the local area, help with shopping or even escort them out and about.
"All this can make a massive difference to someone's life and is very valuable to those who have little or no social contact and people who volunteer on the scheme find enormous role satisfaction."
She added: "Doing this job makes you realize, many people do not have family there for support and if they can't go out, others tend to forget they are there."
Contact Helen Crannage on (01609) 780458 or visit ndvsa.co.uk.
Thank You Bedale – A True Taste of Yorkshire for the Olympic Torch!
Alan Mak, President & Trustee of Magic Breakfast writes exclusively for BedaleOnline after carrying the Olympic Torch this morning
Carrying the Olympic Torch in beautiful Bedale this morning was an amazing, inspirational, and unforgettable experience! Thank you Bedale for a fun, exciting and brilliant day! You gave me incredible and vocal support in the bright Yorkshire sunshine, and you gave the world a true taste of Yorkshire with the warmth of your welcome. It was great to see so many hundreds of people lining Market Place: school children with their teachers. Mums and dads. Pensioners and war heroes from the Bedale Royal British Legion. Local shopkeepers, farmers and business people. Everyone in Bedale was here it seemed, lining the streets six or seven deep, cheering, shouting, taking photos, soaking up the atmosphere. It was like the Jubilee all over again. The warmth, energy and passion of the Bedale welcome has been amazing!
Today started bright and early with a briefing at 8AM for all the Torchbearers covering Northallerton and Bedale at Northallerton College. I was then bussed back to Bedale to take my place on Market Place, dropping of the others on the way. It was great to meet the other Torchbearers at the briefing and learn about all the great things they had done for their communities. By way of background, the Torch came to Bedale today as part of the 70-day nationwide Torch Relay, and today it went through Northallerton and Aiskew before reaching Bedale at around 11AM. The previous day the Torch had been through York, Ripon and Harrogate, and after Bedale it now moves on to Richmond before heading up to Barnard Castle and Carlisle. But, today was proudly Bedale's Day. As I ran up Market Place towards Bedale Golf Club as slowly as I could to savour every second, see every smile and wave as much as I could, all I could think of was how great it was to be in Bedale as well as the children we feed at Magic Breakfast and how much they would all have loved being in Bedale today too. Holding the Torch high above my head and waving to the crowd, my "Moment to Shine" (as the Olympics organisers like to call it) seemed to happen in ultra slow motion yet was over in a flash, but it is one of my best experiences in my life so far.
Read Alan's full story here
Tour de France delegates consider region for race
As published on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk on Wednesday 13th June 2012
DELEGATES from the Tour de France visited North Yorkshire as they consider bringing the race to the region.
Tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire is leading a campaign to get the start of the event, the Grand Depart, to take place in the county.
The Tour de France organisers recently visited the area on a fact-finding mission.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "Our great county looked splendid, the sun has shone and we have given them a real taste of the landscape, landmarks, passion and amazing people they can expect to be behind our bid."
The French delegation was welcomed by business and union leaders who pointed to the potential economic benefits for the region, should it land the Tour de France Grand Départ. Northallerton food store, Lewis & Cooper, presented the delegates with hampers of Yorkshire food.
If successful, Welcome to Yorkshire says the county would benefit from tens of millions of pounds of extra visitor spend and be the focus of a worldwide television audience of more than two billion people.
The visitors were given a tour of the county's landmarks from coast to Dales and shown the variety of landscapes in which the world's largest annual sporting event could be hosted.
The proposed Yorkshire route would start in Leeds, the bid's host city, before taking in the Dales and the North York Moors along with key locations including York and Scarborough.
The bid has already been backed by world cycling sprint champion Mark Cavendish.
* Members of the public can add their backing to the campaign by visiting the website; yorkshire.com/backlebid
'Ridiculous' plans for major North roads
As published on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk on Friday 8th June 2012
BUSINESS leaders in the region have branded Government plans to introduce piecemeal safety schemes on sections of the A1 and A66 as "ridiculous".
The Highways Agency has confirmed there are no plans to resurrect its £300m plan to build a motorway on the 12-mile stretch of the A1 between Leeming Bar and Barton in North Yorkshire – or to further proposals to complete a dual carriageway on the A66, on a three-mile stretch west of Scotch Corner.
The agency said it would instead examine ways of improving junctions, signage and visibility, including the Melsonby A66 crossroads, while reviewing A1 junctions such as at Skeeby, near Richmond.
While the agency insists it made it clear the motorway scheme had been cancelled following a strategic spending review in October 2010, councillors and business leaders said they feared the safety improvement works could set the upgrade back by more than a decade and hit the economy.
At a North Yorkshire County Council meeting yesterday, agency officers were told the incomplete upgrading of the roads was unacceptable.
After the meeting, Councillor Carl Les, who runs Leeming Bar Services, said the Chancellor of the Exchequer would have to decide if pumping funds into roads was a good way of revitalising the economy and that the decision to cancel the upgrades could cost lives.
He said: "We now fear that the upgrade won't get done for a long time. It's bad news for safety and businesses, and the only light on the horizon is that the Chancellor will release some money to do some infrastructure work."
Councillor Michael Heseltine said: "If we were talking about industry we would be talking about mothballing.
"We should never lose sight of the fact that the A1 is the most prominent road between two of Europe's most important capital cities, London and Edinburgh, while the A66 is the main route from Northern Ireland to the rest of Europe."
While councillors expressed fury that the North-East was being treated like "a poor relation"
to the rest of the country, the North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said it would not accept the situation.
James Ramsbotham, NECC chief executive, said the A1 upgrade was at the top of its transport agenda and it would continue to pressure the Government for the "essential" scheme.
He said: "This is a ridiculous situation, particularly when this region is the greatest exporting region in the country.
"We are not an island in the North-East, but the Highways Agency seems to treat us like one.
What we need is the full continuous schemes."
Olympic plea to blood donors
As published on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk on Thursday 7th June 2012
BLOOD donor sessions are being held in the Thirsk and Bedale areas later this month.
The latest push is part of an on-going campaign to boost blood stocks to 30 per cent above the usual levels before the Olympics.
The increase is needed because of the unusually high number of public events this summer which will see a high number of visitors heading to the UK.
NHS Blood and Transplant spokesman Jon Latham said: "The Diamond Jubilee is the first in a series of exciting events for the UK but we are asking people to remember hospital patients.
"Blood will be needed during the celebrations, as it is every day, so we would urge people to book an appointment now."
Sessions will be held at Bedale Hall, Bedale on June 11 between 2pm and 5pm and then 5pm and 7.30pm. Sessions will also be held at Thirsk and Sowerby town hall on June 13 between 2.15pm and 4pm and then 5pm and 7.15pm.
Anyone wanting to donate for the first time should be aged between 17-65 and be in general good health.
To find out more about blood sessions in June or to book an appointment call the Donor Line on 0300 123 2323 or visit www.blood.co.uk
Warriors to bring £1m boost to Bedale
3rd June 2012 - As published on www.ripongazette.co.uk
Camp Hill is the venue for the North of England's leg of the Warrior Dash – the world's largest running series based around participants taking part in a 5k assault course – with a food and music festival to follow.
It is the first time Warrior Dash has visited the UK and according to the organisers, Red Frog Events, hosting a Dash generates nearly £1million to the immediate area. They estimate that 95% of Warrior Dash participants, their friends and family, travel to the area solely for the event meaning Bedale businesses will hugely benefit from people needing places to sleep, eat and refuel in the local area.
Michael Hanson, manager of Camp Hill, said: "We are very proud and excited to have fought off competition to bring the world's largest running series to Camp Hill. This is the inaugural North of England Warrior Dash, and we hope this will become an annual event. It fits perfectly with our ethos of providing outdoor action and adventure in Yorkshire. It will provide a great boost for the local economy and promises to be a fantastic day for competitors and spectators alike, with a real festival atmosphere."
Gary Verity, chief executive of tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "Hosting an event of this calibre is a fantastic coup for the area and the boost to business that it brings will provide a great start to the summer season. We look forward to welcoming participants from across the country and giving them a warm Yorkshire welcome."
Past Warrior Dash events have seen competitors dressed in a range of outfits, climbing up mud hills, bounding over cars and fire, skipping through tyres and swimming through mud.
The Warrior Dash will be in Bedale during the weekend of the 30th June 2012.
Participants can register at: http://warriordash.com/register2012_northern_england.php
Jubilee kicks off in Bedale
29th May 2012
The celebrations in town, hosted by the Aiskew Parish and Bedale Town Council commences on Sunday 3rd June with a Service of Thanksgiving in St Gregory's church at 11am and a family picnic in the park at 1pm with Punch 'n Judy, stilt walkers and clowns balloon modelling. On Monday, there will be a farmers market in Bedale Park along with music and dance entertainment with circus skills, dance groups, a clown train and a Pimms bar. On Tuesday there will be a family fun afternoon with a play bus, Water Walkerz, bouncy castle, sumo suits and a bar and barbeque. There is free entry to Bedale Park throughout the three-day extravaganza.
Bedale biker is fastest Briton on three wheels
As published on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk on Saturday 26th May 2012
AN engineer who spent 21 years building a high-powered trike has spoken of his delight after becoming the fastest Briton on three wheels.
Graham Sykes, of Londonderry, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, broke the threewheel motorcycle British land speed record, reaching a top speed of 180.39mph and achieving a two-way average of 168.73mph.
Friends and family watched nervously as Mr Sykes had only half a mile of track to slow down after hitting the top speed at Elvington Airfield, near York, where Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was critically injured in 2006 while attempting to break the British land speed record.
Auto Cycle Union officials later verified Mr Sykes had beaten the three-wheeler record of 163.19mph set 12 years ago by his friend, Hartlepool daredevil Stan Whitton, who died in 2008, aged 69, after a short illness.
Mr Sykes, 49, who started