Otley

TOWNSWOMEN’S GUILD: Our next meeting is on May 1 at 7.30pm at the Methodist Church as usual. Our speaker will be Ben Richardson. Titled “Tha’s Got To Laugh”, it sounds as if it will entertain us with some good Yorkshire humour. Thanks to the members who joined our charity walk. We managed to escape the rain and had a pleasant walk around Swinsty Reservoir, followed by tea and cakes at the Heritage Centre at Fewston. We made £135 for Horticap. For details of the Guild, meetings and interest groups, ring (01943) 850121 or e.mail mdl65@talktalk.net

MEN’S FORUM: A former teacher, David Winpenny, who has now become a writer and a public relations consultant came to give us an illustrated talk about Pyramids in Yorkshire and Beyond. His superb photographs and precise descriptions of the Pyramids from Airwas in Staffordshire to Wooton St Lawrence in Hampshire gave us an insight into the many reasons for building Pyramids. But to us it was the local Yorkshire Pyramids that heightened our interest. In Adel there is a monument to Zinai Wormald, but in Bolton on Swale there is a Pyramid for Britain’s oldest man Henry Jenkins who became a father at 100 and lived until he was 169. Not quite so dramatic but still of considerable interest are the Pyramids at Castle Howard. The two best known being the Pyramid Gate and the Great Pyramid. Not seen as often is also the small Pyramid in Pretty Wood. The early warning station at Fylingdales and the Inspire Office Block in Harrogate were also shown as well as the Pyramid Gate at Nostell Priory. But the bloody battle of Townton in 1461 remembered with a Pyramid is of historical significance. There are other pyramids in Yorkshire but the ones above proved the most interesting. Our next meeting is on Thursday, May 1 again at the Otley Methodist Church Hall at 10am when Barbara Dixon will give us a tour of the Register Office.

WOMEN’S FORUM: Our meeting on Thursday began with Betty Hutchinson in the chair (as always! Don’t think she has missed one meeting yet – well done!) and with her usual one or two bright excerpts from old or new publications both witty and amusing she reported on members back from hospital, or ones with on-going problems, keeping us up to date. She reminded us of the summer “chat and coffee” meetings starting in June on the 26th, when the subject will be “Schooldays” so please bring your anecdotes, old photos, memories etc along to share. The subject for the second meeting will be “America” so same there. Before them, though, are the next two meetings, May 1, with Alan Pugh giving Dei Goes to War as his subject, and May 15 when Richard Sabey brings us Music and Art Studios. Today we had a well-know figure to speak – our own Mayor of 2012, Mary Vickers. She gave us a brief resume of her early life in the west of Ireland with her seven brothers, their move at seven years of age to Hull, and thence to Otley, 35 years ago. She trained as a nursery school teacher and had her own place here in Otley before retiring. Her husband died soon after, and after four years she went into politics. She was elected twice and in the second term she became our mayor. What a busy life! In her first two weeks she planted 12 trees and managed two functions per day quite regularly after that. She also managed to visit all the local shops and the market, to show that they were the important people in her life. In her year she attended 335 functions representing us, and had to pay for most of them and use her own transport, too. So I think we owe her a good deal, as a true ambassador on our behalf, though she wouldn’t admit that. An accomplished and interesting speaker. A vote of thanks was given by Jenny Stacey. Please come to our next meeting – it’s at the Methodist Church, May 1, 9.45am to 11.45am.