SKIPTON woman Lisa Ledger is going all out to raise £500 for Cancer Research – even though she has agreed to have her head shaved when she reaches the target. Lisa, of Burnside Avenue, decided to boost the charity’s coffers after her mother was diagnosed with Stage Three cancer. She is now recovering after a course of chemotherapy. Lisa has set up a Just Giving page for donations and already the total is more than £200. And husband Steven and children Samantha and Abigail, who is Skipton Gala Queen for 2015, are all looking forward to the day when Lisa reaches her goal for Steven will be wielding the clippers to shear off her locks. Lisa, 40, said: “He seems to be looking forward to it a bit too much for my liking – he said he will be putting the footage on You Tube. Cancer Research is a great charity to support and Settle Rotary Club were kind enough to get the ball rolling with a donation of £135. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I reach the target.”

EVEN though it is outside the reach of the Craven Herald, news that Pendle Hill is to receive £2 million in lottery money is very welcome indeed. The hill dominates so much of the countryside in Pendle and regularly features in our walks, so even though not strictly in Craven, on a clear day it can be seen clearly from within our borders. The money, announced to coincide with Hallowe'en and the hill’s connection with the Pendle witches, will be used to restore wildlife and landscape features. It will also aim to inspire a whole new generation to enjoy the area by involving schools and setting up volunteer programmes. The Honourable Ralph Assheton, chairman of the newly formed Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership Board said: “Pendle Hill is part of our folk history, and an ever present backdrop to our lives. This investment from HLF will help local communities to enjoy, explore and learn more about Pendle, and to take care of it for future generations.” The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) will receive the funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund through its Landscape Partnership programme for the Pendle Hill project. It will initially receive development funding of £156,400 to help progress plans to apply for a full grant, and further work will take place over the next 18 months on a bid to unlock the full £2 million.

WITH work well under way at the new sixth form block at Ermysted’s Grammar School in Skipton, the parents association is busy fundraising to help with fixtures and fittings. The new building, which is due to be finished next year, will include a common room, meeting room and quiet work areas, and will be of great benefit to all boys who stay on to do A Levels, as well as all the others who join the sixth form from other schools. As part of its fundraising efforts, the PA has joined TheGivingMachine which allows the generation of extra cash. More than 8,000 schools and charities are part of the programme, each raising additional thousands of pounds to their causes. All anyone has to do when shopping online is go via TheGivingMachine to receive a donation with every purchase. Participating shops include Amazon, eBay, Marks and Spencer, Next and John Lewis - so there is plenty of choice. Parents wanting to help out need to sign up at TheGivingMachine.co.uk - or by Ermysted’s own website.

WITH attention starting to turn to Christmas, Marie Curie fundraisers and supporters are putting out an early appeal for volunteers to come forward to help out with the charity’s Christmas Collection Appeal. Each year, the charity holds its vital festive collections in the run-up to Christmas to raise funds to support people living with any terminal illness, and their families to help them make the most of the time they have left. Marie Curie nurses bring light in the darkest of hours. They work through the night giving care and support but this is only possible with the help of people like you. Local fundraisers are needed for street collections in Skipton on Saturday, November 28, the Morrisons Local store at Steeton on Friday, December 4, and Booths, Settle, on Saturday, December 5. Local fundraiser Sharon Link tells me: “The reaction you get from the general public when you collect at Christmas is wonderful and it’s a fantastically rewarding way to spend just a couple of hours of your time. Every donation collected will help us provide even more hours of nursing care and now more than ever we need your support to ensure we are able to care for even more terminally ill people in their own homes when they, and their families, need our support most. So please get in touch if you are able to give up a couple of hours of your time this Christmas. Call us today in the local office on 01274 337 036 to book on a collection near you.” Alternatively, you can register online to take part in specific collections by visiting mariecurie.org.uk/get-involved/sign-up-to-collect-at-christmas

FUNDRAISING for local charity Carers’ Resource is hotting up again. Gargrave curry house Bollywood Cottage is holding another curry night in aid of the charity, which supports Craven’s army of unpaid carers. The event, which takes place on Tuesday, also includes a four-round fun quiz. Tickets cost £20, which includes a three-course feast and entry to the quiz, for which there will be a prize per round, as well as a prize for the overall team. Teams will be limited to a maximum of four people. To book, contact the reservation hotline on 07854 809698. And, if you can’t attend, you can still help, the High Street restaurant is offering takeaway meals at £15 per head on the night. These must be pre-booked.
The old Yorkshire Electricity Board was advertising for a meter reader 50 years ago, and was offering an annual wage of £699. The successful applicant, who was required to work the ‘Skipton district’ was also to receive something called a ‘productivity’ bonus of ten shillings and six pence per week. It all added up, stated the advert, to an average wage of £13.18s for a 40 hour, five day week. Meanwhile, Scalebor Park Hospital at Burley-in-Wharfedale, was recruiting trainee nurses. Those accepted were to be paid a yearly wage of £415 for 18-year-olds, rising to £570 for those over 21.

THE Bentham Beagles have had some young pups and quite a lot of them at that. The running club has set up a junior section, Beagle Pups, for youngsters aged from six to 12. But it is already over-subscribed and a waiting list is already in operation. Anyone wishing to put their child’s name down should email benthambeagles@live.co.uk

WILDLIFE in Bowland is benefitting from some ‘girl power’ thanks to a group of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section (picture above). A group of 50 youngsters came together to learn about nature and to help construct a giant home for wildlife in the grounds of Stirk House hotel near Gisburn. Reclaimed, recycled and foraged materials were used to create a three-tier wildlife haven with lots of small holes, nooks and crannies that will offer cosy accommodation for a wide range of insects and small mammals. The girls, from the Clitheroe and Bowland District Girlguiding, also planted wildflowers that they had grown from seed to complement the hotel’s existing dry and wet meadowland, woodland, soft fruit garden, orchard, and cottage gardens, to provide vital pollen and nectar for insects from early spring right through until the first frosts. All the girls received a specially designed cloth Environmental badge to add to their collections. This initiative was part of the Networks for Nectar project which is delivered by Clapham-based charity the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) working in partnership with the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).