A PAIR of swallows are nesting in the underpass at Skipton Station. The pair have built a nest on one of the iron girders that support the tracks so there are dozens of trains thundering above their heads during the day. It looks like one is sitting on eggs while its mate is frequently seen flying along platform two and then diving into the underpass to reach their nest at the bottom of the slope. Railway staff are keeping their eye on the pair – which have started nesting later than normal – to see if they can raise their young. It is the first time swallows have nested at the station which is frequently visited by other species of birds and butterflies.

WE ARE still looking for old pictures for the history page. The feature can only continue with readers’ help, so if you have any nostalgic photographs that we can use, please email them, along with a few details, to news@cravenherald.co.uk or post them to Lindsey Moore, Deputy Editor, Craven Herald, 38 High Street, Skipton, BD23 1JU. We will return them.

THE BBC is looking for companies to take part in an “exciting and pioneering new factual entertainment series”. It has the working title The Candidate and will follow businesses of all sizes and types, from multi-chain companies to family-owned firms, as they hire middle managers. To find out more, email your name, company name, location and contact details to: thecandidate business@bbc.co.uk.

A SKIPTON charity shop is appealing for more stock donations this summer. Volunteers and staff at the Scope charity shop, in Keighley Road, are urging residents to support the disability charity’s Great Donate stock appeal. As part of the appeal, Scope has released an online spoof of the well-known Cadbury Milk Tray adverts, casting disabled comedian Adam Hills as the dashing Man in Black and actress and presenter Holly Valance as his leading lady. The Skipton shop is part of the campaign, which is Scope’s annual drive to get one million donations of pre-loved clothes and goods.

VISITORS to Malham Cove have just two days left to take a close-up look at a family of Peregrine falcons, who are nesting on the cliff face. For the 12th year running, RSPB and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority staff and volunteers have been running a special, free viewing point where visitors to the cove can watch the spectacular birds – mum, dad and three offspring – through high-powered telescopes. But the viewpoint, which opened in April, will close on Sunday. Jon Carter, the RSPB’s face to face area manager, said: “It’s been another successful year – not only for the peregrines who make their home at Malham Cove, but also for the thousands of people who have taken the opportunity to get closer to these incredible creatures.” Since it started in 2003, more than 200,000 people have visited the viewpoint, which will be open on Saturday and Sunday between 10.30am and 4.30pm (weather permitting).

I HAVE been contacted by Ms K Sharp who dropped her purse outside M&S in Skipton on her way to a Skipton Camerata concert in the town hall on Friday, July 3. She tells me the purse was picked up by a young man, in a black suit, and handed in to the ticket desk in the town hall foyer. She was traced through one of her loyalty cards. She adds: “I had no idea that I had lost my purse, so not only did this man return it to me, but prevented the worry and anxiety I would have suffered on returning home. His honesty and kindness, in this day and age, was a heartwarming experience.”

WELL-KNOWN Craven woman Gladys Harrison may have had to delay her 80th birthday celebrations for five months – but the wait was worth it. Gladys became an octogenarian in February, but, because of the vagaries of the Yorkshire weather, decided to wait until July to mark the occasion. And, earlier this month, she celebrated her birthday milestone with four generations of Harrisons at the Cruck Barn at the Craven Arms in Appletreewick. She was joined by her six children, 14 of her 16 grandchildren, and 10 of her 13 great-grandchildren, as well as the bridesmaid and best man from her 1954 wedding – June and Bryon Lingard. The missing family members were in New Zealand, Crete or Poland but they all sent birthday messages. Gladys (nee Gardner) was born in 1935 in Preston and was one of seven children. She spent the war years in Kirkby Stephen and met her husband, Joe Harrison, in Rimington in 1948. Joe worked in local government and was clerk to Craven District Council until his retirement in 1984. The couple brought up their six children (Brian, Ian, Susan, Stephen, Marian and Michael) in Skipton from 1955 to 1989 but moved to Threshfield in 1990 and to Grassington a few years later. Joe died in 2013. Michael, the youngest of Gladys’ offspring, raised a toast to his mum celebrating her role as “Matriarch” of the Harrison family and thanking her for weaving her own particular brand of magic into so many lives.