Christmas in the Community: party time at the youth centre and an afternoon tea treat for senior citizens

Above: Town Mayor Councillor Peter Robinson is pictured at the Silsden Youth and Community Centre Christmas party on Saturday, December 10. The event also marked the opening of the centre, in Elliott Street, as a Community Interest venture under which volunteers have taken over from Bradford council the management of the premises. 

Above: before cutting a ribbon to signal the opening, the Mayor commended the work of the volunteers who have formed the Silsden Youth Community Interest Company. There are four directors, Jill Cook (second from left), Melissa Whitley (left), Janet Russell and Yvonne Whiteoak. They hope the building will have community-wide use as well as being home to the youth centre and the Daisy Chain children's centre.

Above: Santa was among the many attractions, which brought a large number of families to the party. 

Above: Steven Kaup-Samuels, popularly known as Sammy (on the right), from Bradford council's youth service, runs two evening sessions a week for teenagers at the centre. On the left is youth centre member Josh Stephens.

Above: Michelle Middleton's face-painting skills were in demand.

Above: schools gardening expert Steve Thorpe gave children the chance to get their hands dirty and to hammer nails. Youngsters could also get close to nature with Lucy Thornton's Ace Workshops. Other entertainments included a bouncy castle and Bricks4Kids. There were refreshments, music, raffle and tombola. 

Above: Yvonne Whiteoak (left) and Melissa Whitley are two of the four directors of the new Community Interest Company.

Above: Sue Purcell and son Callum, 11, sold candy floss to help older son Finlay, 14, of Beckfoot School, raise money to take part in a charity expedition to Borneo in 2018.

Above: Amelia Terry was among the youngsters to learn about life-saving techniques, courtesy of Gavin Milligan, of Keighley-based Gem Compliance Training. Amelia's dad, John Terry, will be running a Christmas sports camp for youngsters at the Youth and Community Centre from December 19th-23rd with indoor and outdoor activities (8.30am-4pm, £15 a day). 
Above: Councillor Robinson presents a CD player to Community Interest Company director Jill Cook. The player was a personal gift from the Mayor to the centre.

Town Hall hosts a return to tradition for the over-75s

A traditional Christmas tea and entertainment were provided on December 10th by the Friends of Silsden Town Hall for 50 over-75s in a revival of a community tradition which was lost some 30 years ago.

With funding by the Harry Beverley Tillotson Trust, the guests sat down to a splendid buffet and seasonal songs from the Silsden Singers.

Silsden Mayor Councillor Peter Robinson brought festive greetings on behalf of the town. The Mayor, accompanied by his wife, Alison, is pictured in conversation with Friends' chairman Ray Colling. Mrs Robinson drew the winning tickets in the free raffle, the first prize in which was a handsome Christmas hamper. 

The Town Hall was delightfully decorated in festive style by an army of volunteers. One guest described the atmosphere as "better than the Grand Hotel".

Above: the tables were abundantly provisioned.

 Above: where would Tykes be without their teapots? 

Above: the ever-popular Silsden Singers, conducted by Janet Russell (left), sang carols in a mixture of styles. Janet is one of the four directors of the new Community Interest Group now running the Silsden Youth and Community Centre.

Above: volunteers served up a special day for the senior citizens. In January the Friends will take a leading role in launching a community-wide campaign to save the Town Hall as a vital local asset. The Mayor has already pledged his full support. 

More photos from the panto

Above: the grizzly bear (Harry Welford) meets Cinderella (right), played by Gemma Simpson, and the fairy godmother (Jodie Simpson) in the Silsden Community Productions pantomime at the Town Hall (see my following post for photos and details). 

Above: there are tails of mice in the castle kitchen. Pupils of the Elizabeth Phillips School of Dance are charmingly costumed for their delightful routines, as can be seen from the picture above and the following three photos. 

Above: the choir comprises (left to right) Mary Raine, Frances La Via, Anne Goss, Trish Coll, Barbara Driver, Val Clarkson and Anneliese Haggett.

Charming, indeed: it's panto time at the Town Hall

Above: sisters Gemma (left) as Cinderella and Jodie Simpson as the fairy godmother take leading roles in the Silsden Community Productions pantomime Cinderella, which is at the Town Hall from December 1st to 3rd. 

Above: in not-so-glad rags, Cinderella meets Prince Charming, played by Wendy Kelk. The panto is directed by David Hardman, assisted by Neil Whitaker. The musical director is Angela Clement and Terry Simpson is the accompanist. Choreography is by Elizabeth Phillips. Stage manager: David Harper; lighting and sound: David Rishworth; props: Alan Raine; prompt: Margaret Simpson.  

Above: there are some ugly scenes, so to speak, with sisters Sharon (Laurence Driver) and Tracy (Neil Whitaker), who make Cinderella's life a misery.

Above: Baron and Baroness Hardup, played by Fergus Hickey and Ros Driver, seldom see eye to eye.

Above: Honest Dick (David Driver, right) and Little Dick (Mark Kelk), are purveyors of products various and dubious.

 Above: Barbara Williamson is the queen who is a thorn in her charming son's side.

Above: Faye Kelk as Buttons. Her sister is cast as Prince Charming and her dad as Little Dick.

Above: bailiffs Snatch and Grab are played by Charlotte Hemingway (right) and Mollie Driver.

Above: tired of champagne, Prince Charming calls for tea for three, served by Dandini (Katie Dale, right).

Christmas Market another sparkling success

Above: Santa's helpers were on duty at the Town Hall on Sunday, November 27, when the annual Christmas Market, organised by Silsden gala committee, was another huge success.The Majorettes provided Santa's grotto and helpers.The afternoon concluded with carols at the bandstand played by Silsden Town Band and the switching on of the Christmas lights by Silsden's champion stockcar racers Frankie and Phoebe Wainman.

Above: there was a wide variety of stalls on the ground and first floors. 

Above: Seth Morton, four, approves his new look created by Melissa Hall, of Face Invaders, a face-painting facility from Addingham. 

Above: children's clothes, aprons, cushions, headbands and jewellery were among the hand-made items displayed by Catherine Merritt, of Addingham-based Tamarstreasuresuk.

Above: Maria Harwood, of Silsden moor, and her daughter offered a range of wickless and flameless alternative scents.

Above: bottles galore featured in a tombola run by Simon and Sarah Pullen in aid of the Yorkshire Cancer Centre, which is the current fund-raising target of the Wharfedale Province of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes. 

Above: Ruth Hall, of Street House Farm Preserves, Addingham, is pictured with jams, chutneys, drinks and cakes made with fruit grown on the farm.

 Above: young customers at the stall of Christmas cake specialist Ros Driver and daughter Mollie.

Above: Louise Walker, a business development coach, of Tufton Street, Silsden, offered a range of aloe vera products.

 Above: bags of sweets were tastefully displayed.

Above: Briggate shopkeepers once again supported the market. Sarah Gillson served mulled wine, mince pies and other goodies generously provided by Computer Universe.

Above: owner Zoe Sugden (second from left) and her cheerful crew at the Country Kitchen. 

 Above: service with a smile at Crumbs cafe and cakes.

Above: Hector Calvert, two, pictured with mum Alexandra, enjoyed a roundabout ride.

'You reap what you sow' - the creed of Silsden farmer

 Maurice Jackson (1930-2016)

The death occurred on November 9^th of Maurice Jackson, of Airedale House, one of the district's best-known agricultural figures, whose family have been farming in Silsden since the 17^th Century. He was 86. Maurice and his wife, Ruth, are pictured above at Airedale House in 2013 when I interviewed and photographed them for a series on Silsden’s farming families. As well as dairy and sheep farming, Maurice was renowned in the poultry-show world, continuing a reputation built up by three previous generations of Jacksons from High Green Farm in Silsden. His father, Sam, was credited with introducing to the area the Marans breed, of which Maurice had been a post-war mainstay. It was only in 2012 that he and Ruth gave up running their own flock.

Above: Low Woodside Farm. Maurice was born at a cottage at High Swartha Farm, the only son of Sam and Edith Jackson (née Bell), who moved to Low Woodside in 1938. Sam supplied milk to Driver's dairy in St John Street for ice-cream manufacture and for sale at the firm's Milk Bar in Kirkgate. In 1956 Maurice took on neighbouring Airedale House Farm, where he and Ruth moved after their marriage in 1959. In 1962, Maurice acquired nearby Woodside. His father died aged 61 in 1968, leaving Maurice with Low Woodside to run alongside Airedale House and Woodside. Low Woodside expanded substantially but ill-health in 1991 curtailed Maurice’s farming activities and finally heart surgery in 2001 brought his full-time involvement but not his interest to a close.

Above: a view from the canal towards Airedale House and Woodside. Cowling Bridge across the canal leads to Low Woodside, which is to the right out of the picture, and gives access to the family's fields between the canal and the river.

Above: continued expansion at Low Woodside. After more than 300 years, the Jackson farming line continues to flourish. Maurice and Ruth’s son, also called Maurice, took over at Low Woodside, where he and his wife, Heather, have invested heavily in the latest dairying systems and techniques and where their son, Jonathan, is an integral part of the business. The milk round Maurice senior bought from John B Wade in 1982 continues to operate from Low Woodside Farm.

 

Above: flooded fields in November 2015. Airedale House has commanding views down the valley towards Keighley. Maurice and Ruth's daughter, Judith, and her husband, David Isherwood, farm at nearby Lane Bridge with their son, Joshua, principally supplying beef and lamb to the family’s butcher’s shop in Kirkgate, Silsden. They have invested significantly at Airedale House Farm in new livestock buildings and in developing a pedigree Airedale Angus herd.

Above: Airedale House in the snow in January 2010. Maurice senior told me in 2013: “If I was a young man now, I would be taking the same route as my son and daughter and their families. The biggest problem for farmers is marketing and being told what we are going to get for our produce. The supermarkets have become too powerful and it is a continual challenge to thrive but as in all things you reap what you sow.”