THERE were an awful lot of red faces about after the soaring temperatures of the bank holiday weekend, and according to my walking colleague, a lot more walkers about than she usually encounters while out and about in the dales. In fact, Burnsall, it seems was literally rammed packed with visitors, its car park filled to bursting. My colleague came across this sleeping lamb (pictured) while climbing to the top of a drumlin, near Bank Newton. She tells me that the lamb was completely zonked out and didn’t even wake up when she got within inches of it to take the picture. She even managed to get up and walk off, without waking it up - it was, she said ‘roasted’.

NOW spring is finally with us, and summer hopefully not too far away, gardeners all over Craven may be thinking about composting, which after all is easier and cheaper than having all the garden waste taken away, or driven to the nearest recycling depot. As part of last week’s international Compost Awareness Week - yes, there really is such a thing - North Yorkshire County Council teemed up with the City of York Council to encourage people to start composting. Discounted compost bins are available online from £8, plus delivery of £5.99, for a 220-litre bin, and including a ‘buy one, get one half price’ offer. People can also buy composters from household waste recycling sites at Skipton where 330 litre bins can be bought for £10, with a limit of two per household. County Councillor Andrew Lee, the council’s spokesman for waste management, said: “On average, more than 30 per cent of household waste can be composted. Many people already compost at home, but we want others to get involved. This offer is a great incentive. Home composting organic waste also helps significantly to reduce carbon emissions and can be an effective way to reduce the waste sent for disposal.” To order online, visit: getcomposting.com or call 0844 571 4444, quoting reference YNY08L.

MCCARTHY and Stone’s team in North Yorkshire - including retirement complex, The Wickets, Settle, has helped to raise more than quarter of a million pounds for Royal Voluntary Service, as part of the celebrations for the retirement housebuilder’s 40th anniversary.

Last year,, McCarthy and Stone, announced it would be celebrating 40 successful years since opening its first development by partnering with Royal Voluntary Service – one of the largest voluntary organisations in the UK; and a charity which shares the developer’s values of helping older people and their families to lead happier, longer and healthier lives. Throughout its milestone year, McCarthy and Stone employees and homeowners took part in a host of events and activities to raise funds for the older person’s charity. An initial target of £130,000 was smashed, and a cheque for £269,000 was recently handed over to the charity’s ambassador, dancer and choreographer, Wayne Sleep OBE.

The team at McCarthy and Stone’s North East region, which includes The Wickets in Settle, made a significant contribution to the overall fundraising total, taking part in a variety of activities including a 143 mile cycle ride from Darlington to Ilkley, a gold day and a charity ball.

Liz Green, regional sales and marketing director, said: “When it came to commemorating 40 years of enriching lives, it seemed fitting for McCarthy and Stone to show its support for Royal Voluntary Service. Through its network of committed volunteers, the charity makes a real difference to the lives of older people, helping them to stay active and independent for longer; and its fantastic work is therefore very closely aligned to our own aims and company ethos.

“We are extremely grateful to all those who got behind our fundraising efforts; and the support shown by the team in North Yorkshire who helped us to more than double our fundraising target.

PRIMARY school children in Kildwick and Cononley have been rewarded for their healthy eating with a visit from Herbie, the healthy eating carrot. Both schools received their bronze ‘food for life’ award from the Soil Association, which involved them growing and cooking local produce and teaching pupils where their food comes from. Kildwick Primary School has been busy running a popular key stage one cookery club with the support of school cook Donna Haworth. While for the last 18 months, all pupils at Cononley Primary School have taken part in the Soil Association’s ‘food for life’ programme after all school staff were trained to support cooking with pupils.Both schools have also made successful applications for lottery funding to develop their grounds for growing and outdoor learning. Their ambitious projects will come to fruition during the autumn term with the help of Skipton-based community interest company Nature House.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Caroline Dickinson, the council’s spokesperson for public health, said: “This two-year initiative funded by the county council’s public health grant has seen 20 schools in the county take part in the ‘food for life’ programme. This is helping pupils to learn about where their food comes from through growing it, having cookery lessons and making farm visits, which in turn helps them to understand their food and to make healthy choices.” The initiative is part of the county’s ‘healthy weight, healthy lives’ strategy, which sets out the range of actions being taken to tackle obesity.

Pictured are: Herbie, Ruth Stacey, food for life programme manager, and school cook Donna Haworth with children from Kildwick Primary School.

FAMILIES gathered for traditional May Day celebrations in Long Preston including children dancing around the May Pole (pictured). All in the shadow of the May Pole Inn, there was dancing, Morris dancing, children’s rides, and food laid on at the pub.