Birdsedge & High Flatts
Village Voice Online
Birdsedge and High Flatts Local Magazine
Delivered free to houses in Birdsedge and High Flatts
(Call 01484 606230 for details of how to subscribe if you're outside the delivery area)
Published at the beginning of January, March, May, July, September, November.
Copy date 1st of the month prior to publication, i.e. 1st June for July - or up to 15th of the month for late breaking news or announcements - subject to space.
Advertising £10 Per quarter page pro-rata - contact 01484 606230
Download Issue 29 - July/August 2007 pdf
Download Issue 30 - August/September/October 2007
Festival Review
Yes, you’re right, Village Voice isn’t due out until September, but we thought you’d like an early edition with a festival review.
Didn’t it rain? Friday night and Sunday night were swamped, but the rain didn’t stop the entertainment and those people who stayed home missed a treat. In addition to some superb entertainment we had a good time with more than a little ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ actually making the adverse conditions quite good fun. Sunday night in particular it belted it down so lots of people who had said they would come but who had not actually given us their money melted away with the rain. But though the concerts lost money this time round they were an artistic and social success for the people who did come, so ten points to us!
So what about Saturday? Well, how lucky we were. For just one day - the really important day - though the wind was a bit ‘fresh’ (well this is Birdsedge) - the sun shone and the field dried out, and the festival went more or less to plan. Of course there were some last minute hitches - mainly caused by the fact that we couldn’t get all the tents up on Friday night so on Saturday we were running round like loonies trying to do two days’ work in one morning. We also ended up having to move things round to help out stallholders who shortsightedly had not planned to have a cover over their stall. And, of course, some of our exhibitors and attractions cancelled at the last minute, but we did the best with what we’d got and - hey presto - we had a festival when even events like the Huddersfield Mela cancelled.
Were they wimps or were we daft for ploughing on regardless? Well, maybe they weren’t as lucky as us. Maybe their site wasn’t as well-drained, or maybe we were just doggedly determined, but - frankly - once we’d spent money on the marquees we couldn’t afford to cancel and neither did we want to.
And when the sun shone we realised we’d made the right decision. Take a look at all the festival photos inside and see how much people enjoyed themselves. We’ve had some great feedback and also some good constructive criticism about a few things which we can fix for next year - especially if it doesn’t rain again. Altogether not only was the festival a social and artistic success but we raised approximately £2,500 for the Village Hall restoration fund. Not bad in a year when so many other shows cancelled.
Musical Youth Competition Results
Held in the festival marquee on Friday 13th July, the six finalists were: Troy Faid, Ben Ruddlesden, Fran Smith (with group-Fra-Na-Na), Harry Rowland, Rosie Reading and Che Seabourne. The prize on offer - a day in a recording studio - is worth up to £200.
Unfortunately Troy Faid pulled out at the last minute but the other five contestants were put through their paces and all proved to be enormously talented. Ben and Fran both wrote their own songs as well as singing them, Ben with his own guitar accompaniment and Fran either with piano or with her band. Harry sang covers of pop and folkish songs with sophisticated guitar work. Che, a tenor, sang everything from incredibly taxing classical pieces to Jerusalem with never a wobble, accompanied by a pianist, and Rosie played beautiful classical flute, both solo and as part of a duet with her mum. Any one of them could have taken the prize and the judges had a truly difficult time deliberating.
Finally after a quick consultation with the studio it was decided to double the prize and to award two equal first prizes to Harry Rowland and Ben Ruddlesden. The two young singers are almost a decade apart in age - right at opposite ends of the age range, but both show tremendous promise for the future and we look forward to hearing the results of their separate recording sessions.
VILLAGE HALL FINANCES
The Village Hall AGM is not until December but it seems a timely chance to let people know about the running of the hall and how necessary it is to hold fund raising events. Anyone interested will be welcome to attend the AGM, which will be held on the first Tuesday in December.
The accounting year 2006/7, to the end of July 2007, shows an income from rents of £4,356, whilst the running costs were £4,290.69. This shows that the emergency check on the electrical system needed in June, costing £293.75, after the wind and rain caused roof and window leaks, would have caused a difficulty in cash flow. The Out of School Club, who had to move into the school until a certificate of safety was obtained, would have moved out of the village hall permanently.
The village Christmas tree and seniors’ party are paid for by the hall with the help of donations, so, volunteers giving their time, money and effort in the fund raising activities that go on throughout the year are essential.
The hall has to be run as a business and an excess of income over expenditure is necessary to keep a fund for emergencies, maintenance and replacements. The rents are kept low to make them affordable by non-profit making organisations which are of benefit to the village. Profit making activities are considered on an individual basis and charged the same rent as everyone else if the committee decide that the activity would not take place at a higher charge.
If you would like to become a volunteer you will be made very welcome. A lot more fund raising will be needed in the future to pay for essential hall improvements.
A Big Thank You
The festival team would like to thank all those wonderful volunteers who struggled to put up tents in the pouring rain, took signs up to the approach-roads to the village, climbed ladders to fix bunting, posted flyers through letter-boxes around the district, prepared stalls and games, collected from door to door, sold raffle tickets, did the shopping runs for foodstuffs and beer, made cakes and sandwiches, stood over barbecues for hours, carried chairs, tables and litter bins, heaved water from the hall to the field (as if there wasn’t enough falling out of the sky), directed traffic, stood on stalls and gates and parked cars.
Without our volunteers there would be no festival. You come year after year, you give us your time and your goodwill and we thank you. The volunteer committee thanks the volunteer helpers.
This year was a particular challenge because of the weather and because there were fewer committee members still trying to do the same number of jobs.
A load of us were doing our best in very difficult circumstances. As the wind blew and the rain poured, we all tried to deal effectively with unexpected events, rotten weather and unforeseen situations. If there were times when a couple of people had sense of humour failures over something that couldn’t be helped, it’s probably not surprising, however we ask everyone to remember that our volunteers are precious. Without them we have no festival. Please treat them kindly. There’s nothing that can’t be solved with a bit of cooperation, some lateral thinking and a smile.
If you have ideas, please consider joining the festival team for our tenth anniversary festival in 2008.
Denby Parish Community Action Group
The Denby Parish Community Action Group was originally set up to campaign for a separate Parish Council for the Denby, High Flatts and Birdsedge area. Whilst this is still an important aim, the group has also moved on to consider other issues. In April it arranged a public meeting to consider the future of Denby Delph, and topics covered at its May meeting included footpaths, the setting up of an After-School-Club at Denby First School, fly-tipping and road safety.
A topic which may dominate many of the Group's future meetings is the drawing up of a community plan; this will focus on the Denby, High Flatts and Birdsedge communities. £4,500 has been given by the Yorkshire Rural Community Council to cover the cost of the public meetings, questionnaires and administration that are a necessary part of drawing up the plan. Residents in each of the three villages will be consulted regarding the issues that they consider to be important so please use every opportunity to make your views known.
The Denby Parish Community Action Group meets on the last Tuesday of every month at the Friends Meeting House at Quaker Bottom. There are representatives from each village - Guy Ellis and Dawn and David Smith usually attend from Birdsedge - but the meeting is open to all. Please note, that the Action Group is also sometimes known as 'The Community Association for Denby, Birdsedge and High Flatts' - not to be confused with the Birdsedge Community Association which is a different body entirely
Buy Local at the Village Hall
Do you make? Do you bake? Do you grow? Do you sew?
Do you like to sew, grow, bake or make but have to hold back because there are only so many flower arrangements, peg bags or pots of honey that you can use or give as presents? Do you have eggs or fresh produce for sale? Do you have a small business that might find local customers if only they knew where to find you?
Would you like the opportunity to have a table in the Village Hall to show what you can do and try to sell your excess produce or advertise your skills and workmanship? If we have enough interest we could have a trial ‘Buy Local’ market and, if that is successful, a regular event. Please contact Carole (606533) or email sorcashley@aol.com if you are interested in participating in or buying at a local market.
Saturday 11th August
Local History Exhibition and Village BBQ
COME AND JOIN US!
A thank-you event from the Village Hall team for all those people who help at the festival and at village events throughout the year and for those people who come along and support the hall by buying tickets or buying at stalls or for those who contribute donations in cash or in kind... or might want to in the future.
No one is excluded form this event. Come and give us your suggestions about what you’d like to see happening at the hall or the festival or in the district generally, or just come and be sociable.
LOCAL HISTORY PHOTOS
Hall open from 2.00 for photo exhibition.
BBQ from 3.00
BAR
Birdsedge Local History Exhibition
Many people were disappointed last July when we didn’t have the local history photos on display at the festival, so we had hoped to have them back on display this year - however the same people who put up the exhibition are the same people who set up the festival field and run the festival concerts and... well, you get it... we can’t be in three places at once. Plus - to set up the exhibition would mean that the Thursday Whist Drive and the Out of School Club would be homeless for a couple of days. So it just can’t be done without a lot more volunteers to put it up later on the Friday evening, however we will set up the photos on the weekend of August 11th - during the school holidays when we have a Village Barbecue as a thank you for all those people who help at the festival and at village events throughout the year and for those people who come along and support the events or contribute donations... or might want to in the future.
New Local History Publication
David and Pat Morris of Park Lane, members of the intermittently occurring Birdsedge Local History Group, have steamed ahead with their own research on the history of the school and have produced a marvellous book entitled ‘Birdsedge School, A History 1873 - 1933’. It’s a well-researched and insightful study of fifty years of school life from the opening of the school in what’s now the village hall to the transfer to the new council school in 1911 and beyond.
It uses entries from the early school logs as a framework and it is illustrated with photographs, dating from the turn of the century, collected and restored by Jacey Bedford as part of varous local history group projects between 1980 and the present day.
How can you get a copy? At the moment you can’t as there are only ten precious copies in existence, but if enough people show interest there could be more copies for sale. Please contact Jacey Bedford to register your interest. 01484 606230.
Editor: Jacey Bedford
Email contributions to artisan(at)artisan-harmony.com