A Craven Diary

WHETHER it was the impact of Storm Katie or not, a colleague caught in the middle of it came across not one, but two floored sheep. Both were ewes with lambs, and both were lying on their sides in slippery mud, not able to get up. Some two miles from the nearest farm and unwilling to leave them, she struggled to get one to its feet, balancing it half way on her leg and trying her best not to fall over herself and landing on top of the sheep. She dragged the sheep to its feet, puffing and panting, and leaned it against her legs until it gathered strength and went gingerly off to its waiting lambs. Once home, with the help of social media, she asked the question, did I do the right thing? and was pleased to get the response from two shepherds - one in Sevenoaks, Kent, and the other, all the way from New Zealand. Sophie Barnes @SheepishSophie, currently working her way around New Zealand on different farms for two years, said sheep in such a condition needed to be held upright for a bit and could appear 'drunk' for a while afterwards.

A NEW Skipton Women's Institute will start to blossom when it holds its first official meeting on Tuesday, April 19, at the town's Three Links Club in Rectory Lane. For members of the Skipton Ewes WI will be treated to a flower demonstration by a member of North Yorkshire Federation of WIs. The new WI, which will meet every third Tuesday at the Three Links from 1pm to 3pm, was set up following an appeal in the Craven Herald by the Federation. Among the 20 women who have backed the new outfit is Diane Pritchard, from Steeton, who said: "We thought by holding the meetings in the afternoon it would appeal to women with children at school who could spare the time before the school run." She is urging other women who are attracted by the idea of such a group to get along to the first official meeting when officers will be chosen.

WITH the rise of colouring as an increasingly popular adult pastime comes the publication of a new book of some of the county’s most iconic landscapes. The Yorkshire Colouring Book features a range of intricate illustrations from Norman castles and medieval abbeys to walled cities and windswept moors that have remained relatively unchanged for centuries. "This charming book is a celebration of the county’s unique appeal," said a spokesman for publishers The History Press. Local scenes include the Yorkshire Dales and the Conduit Court at Skipton Castle.

A SKIPTON jeweller was almost party to a former soldier falsely wearing a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), a hundred years ago. The sad plight of George Kidd Ward, of Barnstaple, North Devon, was reported in the Craven Herald of April, 1916, after he was sent to prison for a month after lying about his right to the medal. The former corporal, who had been discharged from the army on medical grounds a few months earlier, had 'put it about' that he had won the DCM on the battlefield on October 26, 1914, the date he had been wounded at La Bassee, on the Western Front. He wrote to the jeweller in Skipton saying he had unfortunately lost his medal and asking for it to be replaced. He also included a forged letter from the War Office supposedly confirming his award. The court heard his service to his country was a credit to him, but that those who deservedly won the medal should be protected. In his defence, the court heard he was sometimes 'weak in mind' but that he had served eight years in the army.

THE Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group has put out an appeal for a railway buff. It says it is in need of an enthusiast, steeped in the history of local rail networks - both past and present - who could present an interesting and informative talk on the subject of The Railways of Craven or Rails through the Dales or even Tracks Before their Time. The talk could be based on tracks that are still present, lines that have once run but are no longer or perhaps ambitious plans that never fully materialised such as the Skipton, Grassington, Hawes and Richmond line. Anyone who can help should email phil@avr.org.uk

I AM told that the unsung heroes of the recent Skipton Music Festival were not the performers, nor the organisers, but the local Air Cadets who did a sterling job stewarding at the six-day event. My source tells me: "A group arrived promptly every evening and made a real difference to the organisation of these sessions of the festival. Their help was invaluable. It is almost traditional for us old greybeards to bewail 'the youth of today' and to moan that 'standards have dropped since our day'. But here were 16 young lads and lasses who put the lie to those regrets. It was not just the young musicians of Craven who showcased themselves."

THE Craven Herald has helped to make history - or at least make it clearer! Our description of a recent Craven Curiosity - a branding iron - was challenged by reader Matthew Gardt. He said the Craven Museum item was, in fact, a tarring iron used for marking sheep's wool and did not have the mass to be a branding iron. Also, he pointed out the handle fixing protruded beyond the face of the iron so would burn through the animal's flesh. We put his comments to museum manager Martin Wills, who conceded there had been a mistake. "Our museum catalogue is incorrect, so the problem stems from the information the museum took when the object was donated. We will update our record."