TELEVISION'S Sunday evening programme, Songs of Praise featured the Settle-Carlisle Railway last week. It was good to see the lovely little church at Chapel- le-Dale featured, as well as Pendle Hill. Presenter, David Grant, talked to railway archivist, Bryan Gray (pictured) about the building of the Ribblehead Viaduct and the townships that sprung up to house the navvies, who built it, and their families. They were named Jericho, from the Bible, and also Belgravia, and Sebastopol. Inside the church, they looked at the memorial to those who died during the building of the viaduct, and walked around the graveyard, where so many adults and children are buried. There was also an excursion to Pendle Hill, in Lancashire, to talk about the founder of the Religious Society of Friend, George Fox, later The Quakers, who it is said to have had his vision while climbing Pendle Hill in the 17th century.

MY walking colleague came across this young hedgehog while out and about near West Marton recently, on a bridlepath, thankfully, some distance from any dangerous roads. She tells me it was walking at quite a pace when she first spotted it and it continued to race ahead of her and her dog for some while, before taking off into some woodland. Nice to see an alive hedgehog for a change, instead of all of those which sadly end up crushed by cars on the roads.

THE volunteers who run the award winning Scoff Cafe, which is held once a week at the Greatwood and Horse Close Community Centre in Skipton celebrated their second birthday, pictured, from left, is Dianna Cookson; chef, Ray Marfell; Paul Metcalfe cutting the cake on his birthday, and Barry Dalton. All the cafe takings on the day - some £250 - was donated to the Skipton Parkinson's group.

A 'LARGE and appreciative' audience gathered in the Primitive Methodist Church, Gargrave Road, Skipton, a hundred years ago to hear the Rev William Younger, of Harrogate, talk about post First World War Britain - even though there was another year of the war to go. Mr Younger gave his vision about what would happen with government and finance after the war, and also, very interestingly, women. Women, he said, would come into their own. Women were in the process of getting the vote for the first time, and they would know how to use it. The places of men either killed or wounded would have to be replaced in the workforce, and there would also be a great exodus of men to the colonies in search of the open air life. There would be such a scarcity of labour, that women would come into their rights, and would no longer be considered inferior to men, he said. And he went further, women would appear in Parliament, in the Cabinet and even in the official positions in churches. It would lead to saner laws and a general 'cleaning out of the evils' he said. Churches of the land had a great opportunity to help out in the new awakening, he said.

ON another fundraising note, the good people at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice have challenged parent and toddler groups in the area to raise funds for the hospice. The charity has been donated a fantastic hamper of toys, which it plans to hand over to the group that raises the largest amount by the beginning of October. Groups can decide how they will raise the money - it might be a simple coffee morning, a sponsored toddle, or something a bit more imaginative, but fundraising has to be completed by October 1. Community Fundraiser Molly Ralphson says they are always looking for new ways to raise money for the hospice and the vital service it provides. "This is a great way to get people involved in fundraising for their hospice and hopefully having fun at the same time. It is completely free to enter and the toy hamper is a great prize too." Anyone interested in taking part can call Molly on 01535 640441 or email molly.ralphson@suerydercare.org.

APPARENTLY, when we had summer a couple of weeks ago and it was really hot for two days, the amount of water we all used, rocketed. According to Yorkshire Water, an extra 125 million litres of water were used every day over the 'sweltering' weekend of June 17 and June 18 - some 15 per cent higher than usual. So, in case the hot weather does return - and let's face it, it is a big 'if' the company is encouraging people to help conserve water by showering, instead of soaking in a bath. Richard Sears of Yorkshire Water, says: "We know people want to cool off in this warm weather but we all still need to consider how much water we use.Taking a shorter shower is a fast-track way to saving water, so we thought about the quirky ways of helping people to cut down on their shower time. Singing in the shower seemed like a logical thing to do as most songs are between three and four minutes long, the optimum time for a shower. " And, knowing Yorkshire people are both proud, and up for a laugh - the company has come up with a list of songs featuring the names of towns in their titles. So, the Yorkshire top ten songs to sing in the shower - according to Yorkshire Water - has Bridlington Rhapsody, Queen as number one, and Don’t Leeds me this way (The Communards), as number two. Crave n comes in at number nine with the Spin Doctors' Pocket full of Skipton-ite. You can even join in with the fun, by tweeting your favourite Yorkshire songs to @YorkshireWater . Meanwhile, to receive a free water-saving pack, complete with shower timer and save-a-flush cistern bag, visit the website: savewatersavemoney.co.uk/yorkshire/free-water-saving-products