Sunday 25 February 2024

A Land For All Seasons booklet celebrates our precious fields and urges action against more losses to come

Pictured above are Carol Morrell Smith and granddaughter Evelyn Shaw with a copy of a new booklet being published by the Silsden Campaign for the Countryside. A Land For All Seasons tells the story of the fields between Hawber Cote and ancient Brown Bank Lane where, despite unprecedented objections, builders Persimmon have been given permission to site 138 houses. 
The book features words and pictures contributed by local people and combines a celebration of the history and wildlife of these much-loved, footpath-crossed fields with a lament for what will be lost.  Campaign chair Mark Wogden says the book is also a call to action to save remaining farmland for future generations. As reported in my blog of May 9th 2022, Persimmon controls a much larger adjoining area from Brunthwaite to Brown Bank where, subject to planning permission, a further 150 homes could be built by 2030 following completion in 2026 of the first phase of 138 homes. 
Carol Morrell Smith, whose family history in Silsden goes back centuries, is among  residents who have contributed memories of happy times walking the fields that are now threatened.
The book includes work by local artists Jo Whitehead, Fran Elliott and Louise Limb, stunning wildlife images by nature photographer David Dimmock and the thoughts of local children, who express their fears about climate change and loss of biodiversity. Priced at £4.99, the book will be launched at a coffee morning (9.30-11.30) at St James' Community Hall on March 9th before becoming available in local shops.

Sunday 7 January 2024

A dry day at last: it's enough to bowl you over

After dreary December and seemingly weeks of woefully wet weather, with unseasonably mild temperatures, the first weekend of January brought sunshine and cooler conditions more like we'd expect at this time of year. A cue for winter walks in Silsden's precious countryside and lanes. Also, as shown above, an unlikely opportunity to bend the knee and flex the muscles several months in advance of the new bowling season. Pictured left to right are Richard Gornall, Michael O'Neill and Brian Moorhouse, whose combined ages total 239 years. They are all senior members of Silsden Playing Fields Bowling Club, whose crown green and HQ are in Silsden park. The club welcomes new members of all ages for the new season, which starts in April.   

Monday 1 January 2024

Fun run gives the New Year a traditional start

Silsden's 40th New Year's Day fun run brought out local families determined to defy the dismal weather that has prevailed over the holiday period. The event, raising money for charity, was instigated by Paul Buckley in 1983. Still competing, veteran Silsden runner Paul is pictured above on the right in the light-yellow training top. At the back on the left, in the red top holding his son Lennie, is Stephen Throup, whose late father, Dave Throup, set the course record of 15 mins 25 secs in the early 1990s. Stephen takes part  each year, this time with daughter Gracie, aged 8, and, making his debut, five-year-old Lennie.
The three-mile course has a stiff uphill start from The Green in Bradley Road and then goes along Hole Lane to the Heights before coming downhill into Horne Lane and finally Bradley Road. Holly Fitch (Wharfedale Harriers), of Silsden, on the right, led the women home with No.29 Annie Chambers (Keighley and Craven Athletic Club) second.
The men's race was won by Nathan Hird (right), of the well-known Silsden running  family, with Jake Norris (left) second.
The race, organised by Wharfedale Harriers, started in a chilly shower but otherwise there were some pleasant sunny intervals. The race has been held annually since 1983 with the exception of 2021, when it was cancelled because of the Covid restrictions.
Silsden families were to the fore. Pictured above are the Raven family: dad James, mum Emma and their daughters Amelia, 10, and Annabel, 8.

Friday 29 December 2023

Slainte! Former world karate champion opens Irish bar in home town of Silsden

Former world karate champion Paul Newby, pictured above with partner Enya Stewart, has opened an Irish bar at the landmark Bradley Road premises that for years were the  Bradley family's butchers business and Jeff Walbank's barber's shop.
The Tapping Foot bar was previously the Butcher's Arms pub owned by former town mayor Chris Atkinson, who bought and converted the old butcher's and barber's premises. The properties go back at least 200 years and are part of an area steeped in local history (see my Blog of October 24th, 2012).
Previously at the Red Lion, Enya is manager of the Tapping Foot. She is a jiu jitsu blue belt and like Paul has strong Irish roots. With an illustrious career under his belt and an international reputation as a karate competitor and coach, Paul, who runs Newbys Combat Arts Academy in Silsden, has long had an ambition to open a bar.
The Tapping Foot is in memory of his father, Les Newby, who died five years ago. Born in Silsden, Les, who worked for the gas board for many years, married Josie Meegan, from another well-known Silsden family of Irish origin. Paul is photographed above with a picture that dominates the upstairs room of the Tapping Foot. It shows the famous Ha'Penny Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin, where Les's mother's ashes were scattered. She took a special interest in Paul's karate career. He won the 60 kilo world title in 2004 and is a Great Britain karate team coach. His academy offers classes in karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts (MMA), kick-boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The academy includes the Shamrock Amateur Boxing Club. Paul was undefeated during his brief time as a professional featherweight boxer. 

Wednesday 22 February 2023

Pet shop's new owner takes the lead for doggy treats

Lizzie Collins, the new owner of Silsden's pet shop in Kirkgate, has chosen a stand-out name to differentiate the business from other outlets in the area. The word barkery is also a nod to bakery -- Lizzie offers a range of treats, including doggy birthday cakes and cup cakes, which she makes herself. Previously working at a pet day-care service, Lizzie has been an animal-lover since childhood ("Our house was like a zoo," she says) and gained key qualifications before opening Best Boy Barkery in June last year. 
Lizzie is pictured above, on the right, with the shop's dog-groomer Hollie Beckett. As part of her aim to run a fully-fledged pet shop, Lizzie is spreading her wings by supplying poultry feeds to order. The shop previously was  Dogsbody & Friends, owned by Steph Calvert-Smith for five years. The premises became a pet shop in 1957 and have been in retail use since the late 1800s.

Wednesday 12 October 2022

Artificial flowers make a colourful presence in Kirkgate

No. 44 Kirkgate has undergone a major change of use with the arrival of Artificial Flowers (pictured above) at what had been the Hair Design Centre since 1986.
The new business, which opened in July, is owned by Syed Umer, pictured above, and his wife, Isra, who is responsible for the striking shop-window designs. Mr Umer is well-known to motorists as manager for the last 11 years of the petrol station in Keighley Road, a job he will continue to do.
Artificial Flowers Keighley UK provides a physical presence for the family's online business, which started more than three years ago and supplies customers throughout Europe. The shop title includes the names of Mr and Mrs Umer's two daughters, Mishel and Meltem Umer, and son Muhammad Erdoan. The Hair Design Centre had been run at 44 Kirkgate by Annette Russell since 1986 and from 1992 until May 2022 by her daughter, Judith Russell (see my post of December 15th, 2013). Judith has moved to 86 Kirkgate, sharing premises with beauty and skin business Equilibrium (see my post of August 3rd, 2018), which with the hair salon reopened as Enhance in June. 

Sunday 15 May 2022

After extensive discussions, highways officials tell Persimmon to go back to the drawing board

A "more efficient" layout of the Wesley Place car park (pictured above) to replace lost parking spaces in congested Kirkgate (pictured below) was suggested in preliminary talks on the traffic impact of Persimmon's controversial plans to build 140 houses on the fields between Brown Bank Lane and Hawber Cote Lane. However, Britain's biggest house-builder subsequently dropped the proposal, which was designed to offset increased congestion arising from its new housing estate. In addition, Bradford council's highways development controllers have drawn attention to more than 20 examples where the proposed layout of the estate does not meet current standards or requirements. 
After extensive discussions with Persimmon (pre-tax profit £966.8 million last year), the council's engineers comment: "We would not be able to support this proposal as submitted in its current form and revised plans and/or additional information is required." Among disputed issues is Persimmon's calculations of the likely number of extra cars coming through Silsden. Another is a one-way route (preferred by the council) for cars and pedestrians from Hawber Cote Lane into the housing estate. Persimmon has downgraded it to a link just for pedestrians/cyclists.