Silsden Gala Queen's reign in the rain

Above: Silsden Gala Queen Hayley Jordan (centre) is pictured with her two rosebuds, Hayley's sister Faith (right) and Maisie McGlinchey. They had pride of place at the gala on Sunday, July 26. After a dry few days, the rain started just as the procession moved along Kirkgate on its way to the attractions at the park. 

Above: Hawaii came to Cobbydale courtesy of the Punch Bowl pub's funtime float.  

Above: Bob the Builder arrives with his helpers from Cobbydale Construction, plus a cute canine, which is the company's mascot.

Above: make-up nearly complete for the authentic-looking clown from building trades merchant JACS, of Snaygill.  

Above: day nurseries made inventive contributions to the procession. Children from Handprints adopted a wildlife theme.

Above: A colourful couple from Handprints. 

Above: Dradishaw House nursery.

Above: Bridge House nursery (Steeton). 

Above: Sutton's gala queen and her attendant.

Above: the Eclipse Jazz Band led the procession.

Above: Mrs Mops were out in force on behalf of local cleaning services.

Above and below: Silsden Churches Together paraded a "Creation" theme. 

Above: the Rev David Griffiths, Vicar of St James' Church, may or may not have been heading for Malham Cove. 

Above: the Pied Piper playgroup, which meets at St James' Church.

Above and below: Silsden Majorettes. 

 Above and below: young rugby players. 

Above: Silsden Royal British Legion came down to earth with a Flying Club mock-up. It was just a pilot project.

Above: Silsden zumba group. 

Above: an intense moment on the Scout float.

Above: junior soccer players on parade.

Above: stirring music from the Accrington Pipe Band.

Above: high fives with DJ EDD (Embarrassing Dad Dancing).

Above: high summer in Cobbydale. Thankfully, we have a dry sense of humour. 

Proms on the Farm raises a record £15,000

Above: the Simpsons won the prize for the best dressed gazebo at the 12th annual Proms on the Farm at Silsden on Saturday, July 18. Terry and Margaret Simpson, of Silsden, are pictured with their happy family after receiving the accolade. 

Above: the Proms on the Farm was an outstanding success and attracted a record attendance of around 800, excluding under-16s (for whom entry was free). The event is held in aid of the Manorlands hospice and Silsden Methodist Church's community work. They are expected to share record Proms proceeds of about £15,000. Over the years, the event has raised £126,000 for the two causes. 

Above: the revellers included newly-weds Melanie Ninniss-Mateo (right) and John Mateo (left), who were attending their first event as a married couple. They are pictured with Melanie's sister Diane Bloomer, Simon Holland (centre) and David Smart, ex-landlord of the Punch Bowl pub in Silsden.

Above: the Proms are held at Sycamore Farm, Brunthwaite, by permission of Mrs Jean Newns and this year the two fields were packed as never before with people and parked cars.     

Above: these friends took the opportunity to flag up a charity hog roast, which will be held at High Crossmoor Farm on August 1. 

Above: as inventive as ever, these regular Prom-goers chose Christmas and Santa's Silsden Grotto as their theme.

Above: friends treated Trish Coll (centre) to a 50th birthday party, which included a 'mums and babies' themed cake made by Debbie Wilson (third from left). The mums met at ante-natal classes 20 years ago and have been friends ever since.

Above: seldom has Brunthwaite seen so many pleased promenaders.

Above: the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Joanne Dodds, and her consort, Robert Dodds, headed the VIP guests and helped judge the 'best gazebo' competition along with Silsden deputy town mayor Councillor Keith Savage (centre), consort Councillor Margaret Croft and Silsden Methodist Church Minister the Rev Ruth Crompton.

Above: these Silsden promenaders were colourfully attired as masqueraders. They included Rosalie Holroyd (fifth from left), one of the four organisers of the annual event. Her committee colleagues (not pictured) are Sylvia Atkinson and Stewart and Fiona Hanson.

Above: John Shuttleworth and his wife, Geraldine (second from right), who live nearby, have attended all 12 proms.They are pictured here with friends.

Above: local rock group the Big Bang were once again a big hit with promenaders. Left to right are B. J. Walmsley, Stan Greenwood, Kieran Nuttall and Steve Lampkin.

Above: Keighley Rotary Club attended. Immediate past president Janet Pickles is pictured fourth from right. Seated is president-elect Marie Hickman.

Above: the renowned Skelmanthorpe Brass Band, formed in 1843, headlined. Conducted by Martin Hall and with Silsden singer Sarah Halstead as soloist, the band played favourites from the Last Night of the Proms. The Sultans of Swing, formed last year, completed the musical line-up.

Above: a perfect setting, perfect weather and popular performers made it a night to remember.

Above and below: there were gazebos galore and plentiful picnics.

Craft fair a popular feature of Community Showcase

Above: artist and designer Val Hughes took part in craft fair at Silsden Town Hall on July 11. Val is pictured with her newly-published first book. The fair, organised by the Been Busy shop in Kirkgate, was a popular part of the Community Showcase presented by Silsden's Grand deParty organisation, which aims to maintain the amazing community spirit seen when the Tour de France came through Silsden last year. More than 23 local groups promoted their activities at the town's three churches. Refreshments were available at all four Showcase venues.

Above: former Kirkgate hairdresser Ann Roberts now hand makes cards for all occasions and decorates woodworked items. Her range is under the name 'annmade' and Ann is one of the craftspeople whose work is displayed at Been Busy. The shop, opened in November by Angela Malcolm, is a Community Interest Business and Ann is one of the directors.

Above: Rosie Shaw makes a beaded necklace watched by mum Heather and grandma Brenda Lister at the Mrs Bead stall.

Above: Mrs Bead is Rachel Brennan, who runs beadcraft parties and workshops for children. Her work can be seen at Been Busy.

Above: Giles Darby and Fiona Lanigan show two examples of Giles' pen and ink drawings. He set up his Tilly Pepper Art business after 15 years in property rentals and sells his distinctive hand-drawn cards, T-shirts and mounted pictures at outlets in Harrogate, Haworth and Leeds. He is due to join the Been Busy craft centre soon.

Above: Keighley mums Clair Hussey (left) and Abigail Newman were attending their third craft fair. Clair's Salt of the Earth enterprise offers hand-made bath salts, face and body scrubs and balms. All the ingredients are natural. Abigail makes personalised hand-made items for all occasions under the name 'Handmade with love by Abi'. 

Above: sisters Yvonne Campbell (left) and Pauline Jackson make a variety of goods to help fund overseas aid work by Maggie Tookey, of Edinburgh Direct Aid. Pauline and Maggie, who was made an MBE for her work in war zones, were colleagues at Aireville School in Skipton. 

Above: Ros Driver, of Silsden, did brisk trade with her home-made chocolate cakes. Ros specialises in making Christmas cakes and last year, under the name Pink Poppy, produced 282 of them for family, friends and organisations.

Above: legal secretary Jackie Nettleton took up craft work, making cushion covers and other items, after being made redundant. Jackie's Craft Boutique offers 'all things crafty.'  

Above; former Steeton School head teacher Chris Newson specialises in Chinese brush painting and produces pictures and cards as well as other art works. She has illustrated a book of poems by Isobel Thrilling, who, like Chris, lives in Embsay. 

Above: a young brother and sister were fascinated by a 'create your own badge' opportunity provided by Victoria Sykes, whose main craft interest is tweed handbags, which are displayed at Been Busy.  

Above: Lynn Lee makes hand-crafted and fashion jewellery, under the name Little Gems.  

Above: painter and decorator Colin Wright also turns his hand to painting furniture, fire surrounds and glass splashbacks under the name Wright Effects. 

Above: Joyce and Stanley Wesley enjoyed the colourful selection of art work by children from Hothfield Junior School.