IT may have taken place some time ago, but the efforts of pianists from Cracoe and surrounding villages are worthy of congratulations. For the tenth year running, a Piano for Pudsey concert was held in Hetton Chapel, to raise money for BBC's Children in Need appeal. The talented musicians performed a wide variety of music ranging from modern songs of Ed Sheeran and Adele to works by Mozart, Satie, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. Those taking part (pictured) were Rory Gambles-King, Henry Vernon, Beatrice Benn, Abigael Peace, Amélie Chaduc, Jack Cooper, Katie Geldart, Emily Hartley, Alex Bickley, Charles Knowles and Kathryn Stanley, pictured with their teacher Joyce Milner. They raised a fantastic £650 for Children in Need. In addition, Charles and Kathryn have since been successful in passing their Grade 8 exams - well done to them.

IN response to the 'Hidden Craven' feature, in which we reproduce pictures of Craven features that might well be a little 'hidden', reader, Stephen Phillip, tells me he is interested in the stone plaques which are dotted around Skipton - and wondered if anyone else had noticed them, or knows where they are. This one (pictured) is of Leadenhall Place, 1872 - does anyone know where it is?

IN my search through back copies of the Craven Herald of the 1950s in the so far fruitless search of a report of when an embalmed whale stopped off in Settle on board a refrigerated lorry, I came across this interesting photograph of a performance by the Cross Hills and District Young Peoples Fellowship. My interest was sparked because the young girl, Kathleen Binns, was aiming a gun at her colleagues, who are from left: Keith Riddiough, Denis Pickles, Edith Clough, Rita Lund, and Michael Lynch. According to the report in the 1963 paper, the group was performing 'The Rising Generation' at the Glusburn Institute, and to full houses. A colleague tells me that the gun, which appears to be upside down, is an early BSA air rifle, made for the Australian export market.

SKIPTON Specsavers has thanked customers for donating more than 3,000 of their old, unused glasses in 2017, as part of a charity campaign to help people in Africa to see more clearly. Founded in 1985, Vision Aid Overseas has been helping some of the poorest people in the world to see properly. All the collected glasses are recycled and the money made is used to help provide optical services in developing countries. And, working with Vision Aid Overseas, staff and customers at Specsavers Skipton have shown their generosity by bringing a record-number of old glasses to the store for donation over the past year. Store director, Justine Sturtivant said: "The campaign this last year has been a massive success thanks to our very kind and generous customers bringing in their old glasses. Every single one will make a difference."

THERE was a party atmosphere in Skipton Tesco recently when the store hosted a Cancer UK Stand up to Cancer fundraising and awareness day. There were unity bands, and knitted chickens, on sale and Craven artist, Alison Drake (pictured with Dean Majors) painted a watercolour in store, before then putting it up for auction. The store's community champion Dean Majors (pictured) even got dressed up in a pink wig, and tutu.

A HUNDRED years ago, in 1918, in the last year of the First World War, a new picturedrome opened near Ingleton, in the former Ingleborough Assembly Rooms. It featured 'plush' seats, was heated with the very latest gas radiators, and lit by electricity. And what did it play on its opening night? Mary Pickford in the 'great drama' Madam Butterfly. Also on the programme was the war drama ' Parted by the Sword', and everyone's favourite, Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin at the Pawnshop, which had been released two years before, in 1916.

FOR those of us in the hospitality business in the dales national park, it might be a good idea to pick up some copies of the Yorkshire Dales National Park - The Visitor 2018. Packed with features and useful information, the 68-page magazine contains an events section and a centre-spread map, and it can be found at the National Park Centres including at Grassington and Malham, and at tourist information centres, including Settle. 'The Visitor' has been published since 1981 and now has an annual print run of 125,000 copies.

“If you run a B&B, café, attraction or activity centre, The Visitor is an ideal guide to put in the rack to help guests and customers get the most out of their visit,” said the magazine’s editor, YDNPA communications officer Sarah Nicholson.“This year’s edition has features on caving, on the new ‘Swale Trail’ family-friendly mountain bike route and on the famous Malham Landscape Trail, which this month was voted into the top three of ITV's Britain's Favourite Walks." I'm told, as well as being available in and around Craven, The Visitor can also be found across the country, including the American Embassy in London.