Neighbourhood news from around Craven

Austwick Derek and Celia Coultherd, 015242 51215 Church news: Today, Christmas Eve, Austwick Church will hold a crib service at 4pm and Midnight Mass at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day, there will be a united family communion at Eldroth at 9.30am. All are welcome.

Bolton Abbey Priory Church: Today, Christmas Eve, there will be a Christingle service at 4pm and the First Eucharist of Christmas at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day, there will be an 8am Holy Communion and a 10am Festal Eucharist. The services on Sunday are 8am Communion (said),10.30 am Sung Eucharist and 4.30pm Evening Prayer. On the first Sunday of the month, the church holds a Liquid Family Service at 9.15am. This is a fun service for children of all ages and the next one is on January 4. Each Wednesday there is a communion service at 10 am. All services are based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Bradley Liz Zieboll, 01535 636369 Christmas service: There will be a short Christmas Day service at 10am in the Methodist Church - please bring a present to open. Everyone is welcome.

Slaters Arms: The Slaters Arms will hold a Boxing Day quiz, starting at 9pm.

Village Shop: A warm welcome is extended to Dean and Sonhia, who have recently taken over running the village shop from Sandra. There has been a slight change to the opening hours - please see the notice on the shop door.

Burnsall Ed Williams, 01756 720335 Christmas services: St Wilfrid’s will hold a Midnight Mass today, Christmas Eve, at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day, there will be a 9.30am family service with communion at St Wilfrid’s. The Rev Fiona Jenkins will preach her Christmas Morning sermon based on the presents brought to church that have already been opened and have been brought to church.

Massacre of the Innocents: On Sunday - Holy Innocents Sunday - John Townend and Ed Williams will lead a Book of Common Prayer sung service of Morning Prayer. There will be a focus on recent events in Pakistan in which more than 130 children were killed at a school in Peshawar.

Carleton Raymond Bone, 01756 790587 St Mary’s: The church will hold a carol and children’s nativity service at 6.30pm tonight, Christmas Eve. And tomorrow, Christmas Day, there will be a parish communion at 9.30am.

Social Club: On Sunday, the club will host a festive dominoes knock out. Entry is £3 per person, with registration taking place between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. The first prize is £100, with the losing finalist receiving £50, and the two losing semi-finalists £25 each. On New Year’s Eve, the club will welcome back the Skipton DJs Warwick and Charles, who will play music for all ages and tastes. Dig out your glad rags and get your dancing shoes on to see in the new year.

Coniston Cold Young Farmers: Coniston Cold Young Farmers held its annual whist drive at The Richard Tottie Memorial Hall at Coniston. There were 11 tables, with members playing ten games followed by a Jacob’s Join supper. The Tellers for the evening were John Hall and Brian Wellock. The results were: ladies - 1 Megan Schofield, 2 Gemma Darwen, 3 Alice Walton, booby Ellie Saxby; gents - 1 Rory Smith, 2 Thomas Beresford, 3 Joe Hudson, booby Sam Emmet. The vote of thanks was given by Paddy Capstick. The next meeting will be a social evening with Rathmell YFC at Coniston on Tuesday, January 6.

St Peter’s: The church will hold a Christmas Day Communion from 9.30am and next Sunday, December 28, there will be Holy Communion at 9.30am.

Cononley Joan Nicholson, 01535 630872 St John’s: Christmas at St John’s Church will be celebrated with two Holy Communion Services. The first will be at 11.15pm on Christmas Eve, and the second will be Family Holy Communion at 11am on Christmas Day, to which children are encouraged to bring a present to show to the congregation during the service. On Sunday, there will a service of Holy Communion at 11am. All are welcome.

Village Institute: The committee would like to thank everyone who has organised, helped at or attended any of the many successful events held in the institute during 2014, and to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Cowling Local history: Moonrakers has sorted its archives and drawn up an index after many months work. In the New Year, it will place the index on its website - moon-rakers.co.uk - and the archives can be viewed on request. A small charge may be made if items are borrowed. The completion of this work took up all the December meeting time. The next meeting will be held in the Bancroft Room at St Andrew’s Church on Thursday, January 8 (and not the first Thursday of the month due to the Bank Holiday) from 7.30pm to 9.15pm. All are welcome. For more information, phone 01535 637352 or visit the website.

Christmas services: On Christmas Eve, Holy Trinity Church hold a Christingle service at 4pm and a midnight communion at 11pm. On Christmas Day morning, St. Andrew’s Methodist Church will hold a service at 10.30am and a collection will be taken for Action for Children.

New Year social: On New Year’s Eve, St Andrew’s will hold a New Year Social will at 10.30pm and a service at 11.30pm.

Draughton Jane Markham, 01756 711305 Christmas Day service: Come to St Augustine’s for the Christmas service tomorrow at 11.15am. It will be led by the rector, the Rev Veronica James, and everyone is welcome. Please note that there will be no service in the village on Sunday.

Tea party: There will be no afternoon tea party in January. The next one will be held on the first Monday in February - which is February 2.

Earby David Hartley, 01282 842617 St Peter’s: There will be a service at St Peter’s at 10.30am on Christmas Day. On Sunday, the preacher at the 10.30am service will be Carl Heys and there will be a Songs of Praise will be 4pm.This is open to all and will be followed by a sandwich tea provided by the church. There is no set charge, but there will be a plate for donations. On New Year’s Eve, there will be a Watchnight service at 11.30pm. This will preceded by a social gathering with food and folk dancing from 9pm. All are welcome, but for catering purposes please contact 843064 if you plan to attend.

Embsay with Eastby Andrew Wilson, 01756 790197 Embsay churches: The Methodist Chapel will hold a 10am service on Christmas Day, led by David Allison, and on Sunday, there will be no service in Embsay. In its place, there will be a joint service at St Andrew’s Skipton. Today, Christmas Eve, St Mary’s will host a nativity service on behalf the Children’s Centre at 10am and at 4pm there will be the traditional Blessing of the Crib service. At 11.30pm, Midnight Mass will be celebrated. On Christmas Day and again on Sunday, communion services will be held at 9.30am.

Square carols: Today, Christmas Eve, sees the village’s annual open air carol concert at the elm tree in Elm Tree Square which will start at 6pm. A collection for charity will be held.

Coffee morning: Anne Bryant held another successful coffee morning in aid of the British Heart Foundation at Laurel Croft. She raised £165 and had the wonderful surprise of being presented with an additional cheque for £100 from TSB bank manager Alan Brear. Thanks go to all who attended the event.

Steam railway: The Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway will run Mince Pie specials on Boxing Day. No booking in advance is required just come along and enjoy the ride. Trains will run from 10.30am. For more information, visitembsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk Parkinson’s UK: The Rev Louise Taylor-Kenyon has agreed to place a collection box in St Mary’s Church for goods to be recycled by Parkinson’s UK. These can included mobile telephoness, binoculars, cameras, MP3 players, iPods, satnavs, laptops and other gadgets (even broken ones), old sports equipment, stamps including your used Christmas stamps, clocks, watches, foreign/outdated currency and old (and broken) jewellery. A full list is available with the box in church and in the Paper Shop window. For more information or if you would prefer for items to be collected, contact Maggie on 799852.

Farnhill and Kildwick Joyce Wood, 01535 635880 St Andrew’s Church: Today, Christmas Eve, there will be a crib service at 4pm and Midnight Communion at 11.30am. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, there will be a service of Holy Communion at 8.15am and a Family Communion at 10am. On Sunday there will be a service of Holy Communion at 10am.

Farnhill Methodists: There will be no service held this Sunday.

Parish council: The next parish council meeting will take place in the village institute on Tuesday, January 6, at 7.30pm.

Gargrave Sally Jennings, 01756 748098 St Andrew’s: On Christmas Eve, there will be a Christingle Service from 4pm and Midnight Mass at 11.30pm. On Christmas Day there will be Family Communion from 10.45am. Next Sunday, December 28, there will be BCP Communion at 8am followed by Morning Prayer at 10.45am.

Indoor bowls: The next session will be in the village hall on Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm.

Giggleswick Gill O’Donnell, 01729 825639 Primary school: Recently, three Key Stage Two pupils Louisa Bullock, Honey Kaup-Samuels and Mollie Howarth took part in the North-Central Area Accordion Championships in Bingley and played really well. In the entertainment category, they entered as Craven Biscuit Group and were placed first. Congratulations also go to all pupils who took part in the recent after-school Dodgeball course and to Nell Shepherd, who was awarded the trophy for her “hard work, wonderful attitude and good leadership skills, as well as being a great team player”.’ Mollie Howarth also took part in the recent Santa Fun Run in Skipton. The school is delighted to say that in a recent unannounced kitchen monitoring inspection Mrs Richardson and Mrs Eccleston achieved an outstanding 98 per cent. Key stage two pupils took part in a taster session of Sportshall athletics, run by Craven Schools’ Games Organiser Gavin Phillis, supported by Jill Eccleston. In spite of the late timing of the session, due to the limited availability of the sports hall, all pupils participated enthusiastically and received praise from Mr Phillis for the way in which they listened carefully to instructions. Bailey Pears, Melissa Tither, Presley Pears, Dylan Sampson, Oliver Sampson, Phoebe Oliver and Lottie Oliver read at the recent community Advent event at St Alkelda’s. Finally, a huge thank you goes to everyone who attended the recent open morning. It was great to see so many people here. There were many positive comments about the pupils’ work displayed around the school, as well as the short performance by the 51 pupils in the orchestra.

St Alkelda’s: A warm invitation is extended to residents and visitors to the village over the Christmas period. On Christmas Eve at 6.30pm the church will stage its traditional all-age nativity service and on Christmas morning at 11am, there will be a Holy Communion service. Also, there will be a midnight mass at Giggleswick School Chapel on Christmas Eve at 11pm.

Grassington Sheila Denby, 01756 752605 Coffee morning: The next coffee morning in Church House will be hosted by St Michael’s and All Angels’ Church, Linton, on Saturday.

Congregational Church: The 4pm Christmas Eve service has became a highlight in the festive calendar at Grassington Congregational Church. It was only four years ago that it changed to its current format and now the church is full to bursting for the service. Depending on weather conditions, the minister, the Rev Peter Thomas, is appealing for people to walk to the church to ease congestion in the car park.

Unity service: To mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, there will be a unity service at Grassington Town Hall on Sunday, January 18, at 10am. As on previous occasions, there will be no other services at churches in the dale on that morning.

Nativity scene: Pop along to see the nativity scene at Grassington Methodist Church, Chapel Street, in the outdoor space near the church’s front door.

Friendship Club: Members of Grassington Friendship Club will next meet in Church House, Grassington, on Thursday, January 8, starting from 2.15pm, when Tim and Rosemary will conduct a singalong.

Hellifield Ken Leak, 01729 850845 Flower Club: North Craven Flower Club enjoyed a well attended December meeting when Mildred Stafford presented her Christmas demonstration entitled Christmas In The Air. Mildred produced a wonderful array of seasonal designs for members. Cathie Cromarty gave vote of thanks. The next meeting is on Thursday, January 8, and will see the return of demonstrator David Robertson. For further information, contact Frances Sample on 01729 822558.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale Caroline Thompson, 01756 749235.

Christmas services: The first communion of Christmas will be held today, Christmas Eve, at 10pm (midnight in Bethlehem). The service will last for 50 minutes. On Christmas Day, there will be a Eucharist service at St Peter’s Church, Stainforth for the combined parishes of Horton, Stainforth and Langcliffe.

Ingleton Sue Brown, 015242 41835 Rural association: Lorraine Sullivan spoke to members at the start of the December meeting of the Ingleton Rural Community Association (IRCA). She spoke of how important it is to have as many people as possible who are confident with the use of defibrillators and she asked for people to give their names if they would like to receive training in this. A list of names was collected. The Post Office was discussed and it was agreed to ask a Post Office representative to attend a future IRCA meeting. Treasurer Carol Capstick has resigned from the IRCA and the chairman commented on what an excellent job she had done over many years. The Christmas Bingo night was a great success with all ages enjoying the evening. The panto jumble sale raised £549.88 - thanks go to all who supported it - and the coffee morning when pantomime tickets will be on sale is on Saturday, January 17. Next year’s North West Dahlia Society Show will be on Wednesday, September 2. NSPCC had a wonderful Late Night Shopping with perfect weather. Recent donations to the Splash Zone project at the swimming pool include £120 from the Country Harvest Shopping Extravaganza, £770 from Lisa Ward’s fashion show and crafts night, £200 from the Swimming Club Christmas Draw, £110 from Butterbergh Christmas lights and £110 from collection boxes in the shops in the village. A big thank you was given to everyone for their help during the year. A total of 128 people enjoyed a lovely Christmas party. The jumble sale is on Saturday, May 23. Two people were congratulated: Walter Tooby won an award for services to the community and George Towler won a Dahlia Society award for his 35 years service. Margaret Seaton won £20 in the 200 Club, Arthur Bateson came second with £10 and Pat Clowes, Malcolm Culshaw and Margaret Harper each won £5.

Party time: The Ingleton and Thornton Old People’s Welfare committee entertained 108 over 70s and their partners at their Christmas party. They enjoyed a meal and numerous donated raffle prizes were distributed. John and Judy Surridge then entertained with their many different musical instruments encouraging everyone to join in with singing Christmas carols. Walter Tooby thanked the volunteers and everyone for coming. Bibby’s Coaches transported people to and from the party with volunteer drivers taking the less able-bodied to their homes. Any local person over 70 who would like to be on the register should give their name to the centre or to Elizabeth Culshaw. A jumble sale to raise funds for the free summer outing will be held on Saturday, May 23.

St Mary’s Church: A crib service will be held at St Mary’s today, Christmas Eve, at 4pm, with midnight communion starting at 11.15pm.

Settle Gill O’Donnell, 01729 825639 Festive lunch: The community Christmas Day lunch and tea will be held in St John’s Hall. The event will run from 11.45am to 4.45pm and is open to all ages at a cost of £10 per head. To reserve a place, contact 01729 822138. Reservations are taken up to the last moment and transport is available to those who need it. For more information, ring the number above.

Gallery on the Green: The popular Three Kings tableau is now on view on the Gallery on the Green, housed in a converted phone box at Upper Settle. The tableau was created by Jeanne Carr and Veronica Allsop with the stained glass effect panels created by Settle Flagmakers. There are treats available for young visitors and everyone who visits is invited to leave a Christmas card for display in the rack. The exhibition will run until Saturday, January 17. For more information, visit galleryonthegreen.org.uk or call at the tourist information centre.

Women’s Institute: Members of Settle WI will next meet at 2pm on Wednesday, January 7, when Heather Slater will give a talk entitled My Life in Indonesia, and the competition will be for A Christmas Photo. Please note this meeting will be at the Catholic Church Hall. The annual subscription for 2015 is £36 and this can be paid at the meeting.

Christmas services: A warm invitation is extended to residents and visitors to the area to the wide variety of church services which will be taking place over the festive period. Today, Christmas Eve, there will be songs and stories around the tree at St John’s Methodist Church at 5.30 pm. At Settle Parish Church at 6pm there will be a nativity service and at St Alkelda’s Church, Giggleswick, at 6.30pm, there will be an all-age nativity service. There will be the first Mass of Christmas at St Mary and St Michael Catholic Church at 8pm. Also, at 11pm, there will be a midnight mass at Giggleswick School chapel and at 11.30pm there will be a midnight mass at Settle Parish Church. On Christmas Day there will be an all-age Eucharist service at Settle Parish Church at 9.30am. At 10am there will be a family Christmas morning service at St John’s Methodist Church and you are invited to bring along a present to open as part of the service. St Mary and St Michael Catholic Church will also hold a Mass for Christmas Day at 10am. At 10.30am there will be an all age meeting for worship at Friends Meeting House and there will also be a Christmas celebration service at Settle Christian Fellowship. At 11am there will be a Holy Communion Service at St Alkelda’s, Giggleswick.

Poppies Tearooms: Saturday sees the very welcome return of Ben Avison, who will play alongside Sam Laurence. They are two incredible musicians. This Christmas music night is, as always, in aid of local charity, Bentham Pet Rescue. Tickets are priced at £7 and are available from Poppies Tea Room. The concert starts at 7.30pm, with doors opening at 7pm.

Guided walks: The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle line have arranged a guided walk for Saturday. The Christmas Pud Plod will leave Dent at 10.16am and will be an eight to 10 mile moderately strenuous walk from Dent to Ribblehead. The exact route will be dependent on weather conditions and the number in the group. Booking in advance is not required but it is essential to bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink and to be correctly equipped for both. For further details, contact walksinfo@settle-carlisle.com.

Charity dances: The organisers of the Settle Charity Dances would like to thank all who have supported these events during 2014. During the year a total of £1,650 has been donated to Settle Victoria Hall, St John’s Church, SANE, Marie Curie and Macmillan. The cheque for the latter will be presented to their local representative at the February dance. All dances in the coming year, with the exception of the New Year’s Eve event, will take place at St Michael and St Mary Parish hall on the first Saturday of the month. Everyone is welcome, including beginners. Dances are mainly sequence dances with a little ballroom and line dancing. If you would like more information please contact Marion on 01729 823259 or Helen on 01729 824038. The organisers would like to wish all the friends of the charity dances a Happy Christmas and New Year and remind them that the annual New Year’s Eve Charity Dance will this year take place at the Victoria Hallfrom 8pm through to after midnight. There will be a Jacob’s Join supper and all proceeds will go to support Victoria Hall.

Silsden Linda Berry, 01535 654643 Church services: Today, Christmas Eve, St James Church will hold two identical Christingle and Nativity Services at 4pm and 6pm and the Methodist Church will hold crib service at 3.30pm and a shared Midnight Communion at 11.15pm. On Christmas Day, both churches will hold Family Holy Communion services at 10.30am. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is holding a carol service at 8pm on Christmas Eve followed by Solemn Mass of Nativity at 8.30pm. There will then be a Solemn Mass of Christmas at 10.15am on Christmas Day.

Skipton Holy Trinity: The service of Nine Lessons and Carols, one of the most popular services of the year, will take place at Holy Trinity Church at 7.30pm tonight, Christmas Eve. Representatives from the British Legion, commercial, educational and civic life of the town will be among those reading the lessons and Holy Trinity Choir will lead the singing of carols old and new. Also, today, there will be a Holy Communion at 10.45am and families – of all ages – are warmly invited to attend the crib service at 4pm. There are two services on Christmas Day - 8am Early Eucharist and 9.30am Parish Eucharist. Next Sunday, December 28, service times will be as normal. However, the church will be closed throughout the day on Tuesday, December 30.

Competition winner: Middletown Community Association’s Guess the weight of the cake competition was won by Jill Peacock with an almost exact guess of 7lb 3oz. Thanks go to all who supported the event, especially the Parish School Nursery and Cllr Pam Heseltine who made the cake.

Oddfellows: On Christmas Eve Skipton District Oddfellows invite members and visitors to a review of the past year. From 7.30pm. there will be a series of activities which will reflect the club’s activities during 2014. There will also be a raffle and a free supper.

Retired Men’s Forum: Following last week’s entertaining talk by Stuart Powell, Stuart James concluded the pre-Christmas session with a spectacular slide show of the IncaTrail in Peru.

Sutton-in-Craven St Thomas’: On Christmas Eve, the church will hold a carol service at 6.30pm and Midnight Communion at 11.30pm while, on Christmas Day, there will be a family Holy Communion at 10.30am.

Upper Wharfedale Sheila Denby, 01756 752605 UNICEF help: Anyone who has been collecting for UNICEF, via the Jars of Grace, is asked to take their offerings to one of the Christmas services at St Mary’s Church, Kettlewell, or to give the money to Judy Burgin by January 12. She can be contacted on 751844. UNICEF provides help and protection to children facing conflict, natural disasters and emergency situations across the world.

Land letting: The annual land-letting service will start at St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Hubberholme, on Monday, January 5, from 8pm. It will be followed by a walk across the bridge for the auction at the George Inn at 8.30pm.

Star thanks: St Michael’s and All Angels’ Church, Hubberholme, has said thank you to all who contributed towards the “Stars” on the Christmas tree. They will remain in place until Monday, January 5. Meanwhile everyone is invited to the service at the church on Sunday, January 4, at 11am, which will be led by former vicar, the Rev Peter Yorkstone.

Wigglesworth Community Centre: The 100 club winner for December is H Marley. Pocket Panto presents Mother Goose on Sunday, January 4 at 1pm. Tickets are still available and cost £10 and £6, with under 2s free. Refreshments are included in the price. The show has become a bit of a tradition, this being the fourth year that Pocket Panto has come to the village. The Zumba and Craft Group will be back in the New Year. Jill will also be starting her Monday get fit group on January 12 from 9.30am to 10.30am. If you haven’t already told Jill you are interested in trying these fun sessions, please do.