No. 12 Join the Community: Tina Race's Saturday Stall Kicks Off a Series of Exciting Events!

Saturday stall: next to Mankin (Green) Lane … first of many? 4-9-10 It is hoped to make this Tina Race initiative a regular Saturday event.

Coming up …

More details in church gazette and separate wel-e-bulletins

Wed 15 Sep Parish Council (postponed from last week) 8 pm Village Hall

Thu 16 Sep WI 7.30 Village Hall

Thu 16 Sep NHWAG Sale of Auctions, 6.30 for 7.30 Appleton Wiske VH

Sat 18 Sep Coffee Morning at Tileshed Farm

Sat 18 Sep open charity stall all day at Spring Hill entrance

Tue 21 Sep NHWAG meeting 8 pm Appleton Wiske School

Fri 24 Sep village social 8 pm Village Hall

Sat 25 Sep open charity stall all day at Spring Hill entrance

Mon 11 Oct VH Committee 7.45 pm Village Hall

Thu 21 Oct WI 7.30 pm Village Hall

Fri 29 Oct village social 8 pm Village Hall

Stop press: The pub appeal has been dismissed!

Confirmed on Hambleton DC web site – appeal against rejection of change of use to a dwelling was dismissed 7-9-10 and communicated to Hambleton DC yesterday 13-9-10. This means it should stay as a pub and hopefully sale as a pub may now proceed.

Congratulations …

Special congratulations to Stephen and Helen Stainthorpe on the birth of their first child Charles John William. Charles weighed in at 8 lb 11 ½ oz on 24th August 2010. He is the fifth generation of the family at Broomfield. His great-great-grandma Mary Boyes inspired the Welbury book with her writings and activities in the community. Mary (née Sedman) came to Welbury as a child in 1900 and moved in to Broomfield in 1921 after marrying Tommy Boyes. They were succeeded by Frank & Barbara Boyes and then Anne & Dennis Stainthorpe. Now of course Charles is Welbury’s youngest resident, taking the title from Jake Wheatley.

Farewell …

Best wishes to Dawn and Mark Ward and Isabella who have moved out of Wesley House to Winton to look after the family farm.

Welcome …

Welcome to John and Amanda and family, moving from Brompton to Wesley House. One child is at Brompton school, two at the Allertonshire, and one has left school.

Quiz of the month …

Most populous surname
Even within living memory, large families were not rare and farming families were often related. So the highest number of Welbury residents with the same surname could easily be in double figures. What do you think it is today? What is the most populous surname in Welbury and how many people have it?

Answers from last month (as far as we know; tell us if you know better).

That Yorkshire flag on the August front cover can be seen at Lyndale (the Races’) just round the corner on the Appleton road. The pole was a Christmas present to Les from the kids last year, so the ‘present’ pole has only been in place a few months.

Snippets …

Wind farm: Ingram Grange proposal is still in abeyance but objectors are
preparing – NHWAG newsletter 6 of Aug 2010; events 16 & 21 Sep. www.nhwag.co.uk

Walk: Welbury Walk #2 this month found Mankin (Green) Lane in good condition. Not as much litter or dog mess as in the past – a few large dollops mostly at the Deighton end, so watch your step!

Run: Good luck to Welbury runners in the Great North Run this weekend. We have a straight-ish one-kilometre track in Mankin (Green) Lane; don’t you think it invites setting record times?

Pub: hopeful hints keep arising but we won’t comment while negotiations go on. See also STOP PRESS on front page.

Autumn: summer’s gone, if it ever came, and leaves are starting to fall. September started well; now back to wet & windy.

Peace: on Lisern Farm 11-8-10

Profile … Ellen & Peter Ellis

Ellen and Peter haven’t been here very long (six years) but they have already made their mark in Welbury. They came from Tadcaster in 2004, the year after they were married, to set up their dream farm at Lisern. But there was a lot of work to do to modernise the farm and make it “safe for animals”. I must say, it’s now the tidiest farm I’ve ever seen!

They grew up in small villages, Ellen in Towton and Peter in Colton, near
Tadcaster but some way apart, and met through the farming industry. Ellen worked for Farmware and Peter on small farms until he got his HGV licence and bought his first farm wagon when aged 21. His business was mostly livestock transport for
local farmers. He knew of Denis
Stainthorpe in the transport business and was surprised when soon after arrival in Welbury Denis dropped by to say “hello, I’m your new neighbour”.

Peter always had a passion for animals, since his pet lamb when he was five. Ellen shares the same passion and they decided to go into farming full-time after they were married. Lisern Farm came on
the market at the right time, though they had been looking around Whitby. They liked the location by a small village (with its village pub!) and spent six months improving the farm before staying here.

Lisern Farm is close to the railway, which doesn’t bother the animals. Ellen and Peter don’t notice the trains, except when they’re not there at Christmas or New Year. It’s strangely quiet then. The only disadvantage of the land is that it is prone to winter flooding, where it is low-lying away from the road, as many of us may have seen while driving by.

One stormy night rising water separated the sheep and lambs, so Ellen and Peter were up all night wading about in distress trying to re-connect the animals. They are used to being up all night at lambing or calving. Ellen says people may not realise animal farming is very caring, not at all callous. They wouldn’t cry over the burglary but would at losing an animal.

In 2004 they came with just 30 animals and now have established a good level at about 200, and are content with that. That’s not to say complacent, for Ellen and Peter work hard to achieve the highest standards, doing their own breeding here on the farm and winning many prizes after such a short time getting established. Their main breeds are Belgian Blue and Limousin cattle. They won the 2006 top prize of Northallerton Overall Champion Beast, with a Belgian Blue, and the 2009 Darlington Best Home Bred Animal prize, among many others.

Winning for Welbury: Ellen & Peter Ellis 11-8-10

A nasty shock came on Thursday 5th
August this year, when daylight burglars raided the farm and stole much equipment while, unusually, Peter and Ellen were both at Darlington auctions.

Anne Stainthorpe “flew up” to help and support came from other neighbours and people reported sightings of suspected vehicles.

Such community solidarity is very much appreciated by the Ellises, reflecting their village backgrounds and confirming their choice of Welbury to settle. Peter and Ellen impress with their energy and their own supportive partnership, simply getting on with life. Their cheerfulness in adversity is a real tonic for us all.

Where are they now? … Jean & Gordon Ward

Gordon writes: “Jean and Gordon Ward, ex 11 Springhill. Moved to Cawood in 1988, still there! We had some wonderful times in Welbury, think of all our old friends often. Play golf/bridge both badly. Try to be brave, as my friend says in the midlands “Old age is not for wimps”. Still manage a couple of hols away; getting cases on check-in scales is hard. I find opening the lining of my Bran Flakes very difficult (only joking) – am I, I cannot remember!!

Love to you all, Jean & Gordon”

Hols away Jean & Gordon in Benalmadena, Costa del Sol Gordon Ward Jan 2010

The Wards are well remembered from the 70s and 80s in Spring Hill. Their two daughters grew up here and now both have married farmers, Sally in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, and Kate in Shropshire. Jean and Gordon enjoy life in Cawood a few miles south of York on the river. When I spoke to them recently they were about to walk down to the Cawood Craft Fair, a big event which needed to raise thousands of pounds – for the bishopric.

Jean’s 80th birthday was on 19th August this year. She had not been well so the kids were planning a party, but she had a sudden heart attack on, of all days, Friday 13th. Happily, she was promptly treated in hospital and is recovering well at home after her angioplasty.

Mike Scott has this story from the 80s when the Wards joined them sailing in Turkey. One day they anchored off a small island for a lunch stop. Jean was swimming to the island in a strong breeze and suddenly was shouting for help. Mike and Gordon dived in like two Johnny Weissmullers but could not get Jean, now white as a sheet, back up-wind to their yacht. Fortunately another yacht was anchored behind and they managed to get Jean across to it. Within a short while of leaving a distressed Jean with the Canadian crew they could hear outrageous laughter and knew that she had made a full recovery from her ordeal.

Gordon signs off with this one. A chap opens a tub of margarine to find a likeness of Jesus. He shows it to an Indian friend, who replies “I can’t believe it’s not Buddha”.

Welbury Walks No. 2 …

Mankin Lane aka Green Lane

Start & finish: at the pub
Distance: 3.2 km (2 miles)
Time: 40 minutes (brisk)
Stiles: 2, both on return
Wheelchair access: out rough; back no.

Sketch map not exact

Directions (with approximate distances):
From pub, take road W towards Appleton 375m to corner. Continue W for 1km more on bridleway (Mankin Lane) with rare views through breaks in hedges. Ignore the Deighton Appleton road on your R. Turn L along Roman road (track) S for 180m. Go L again at sign, to head back E through open field; L & R chicane to head E again through open field until next hedge, then R for 85m to stile into next field. Go L through kissing gate beside steel farm gate; permissive path L round field edge (OS path diagonal). Half way down N side of field take 3-tread stile to narrow passage emerging to road. Return R along road to pub.