It might seem a bit odd to choose a poem about rain for the month of August, but we do live in the Pennines after all and have certainly had our share of rain this summer! And sometimes, after a spell of hot weather, rain can be blessing. Caroline Hardaker’s short poem is both beautiful and meditative and I love both the skilful use of rhyme and the detail about her grandmother at the end.

The Rains

Each raindrop contains a soul
I’m told and sleet is nought
but the urgent need of the dead to meet
their loved ones once more in the mortal world.
To stroke their skin, to leave a living trace;
a tear drop–a thin, translucent meridian.

My grandmother never used an umbrella
and would tip back her head and eat the rain.
She said it made her feel alive again.

Taken from Bone Ovation, published by Valley Press.

Caroline Hardaker’s ’s poetry has been published worldwide in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her first poetry collection Bone Ovation was launched in 2017 by Valley Press, and her second Little Quakes Every Day will be published in winter 2019. Caroline’s also worked with various organisations and community groups to advocate the holistic benefits of writing and making.More about Caroline can be found here carolinemhardaker@gmail.com

Recently, fresh interest has been shown in Hope Hall, Clare Road, now The Albany Club. This is because it was once the home of Christopher Rawson, who appears as an opponent of the title character in the new HBO/BBC TV drama Gentleman Jack.

The house in question was completed in 1765 for David Stansfeld, a Leeds cloth merchant, descended from the Sowerby family of that surname.The separate wings were used as stables and a warehouse. An earlier house on the site had been known as Hunger Hill, which may have dated back to Elizabethan times.David Stansfeld died quite young in 1769, and the house was then rented out to other such as James Waddington, William Swainson and Richard Broome. Many who have memorials in Halifax Minster today.

In 1808, the property was purchased by David Stansfeld’s daughter, Nelly, wife of John Rawson of Stoney Royd–across the valley–as a home for her eldest son, Christopher Rawson, and his wife. Christopher married Mary Anne Brooks of Westminster in that year.The Rawsons–originally from the Bingley area-had made much money in the textile trade,and by the early 19th Century also ran Rawson’s Bank from Somerset House, Halifax.

Born in 1777, Anne Lister records that Aunt Ann Walker of Cliffe Hill told her that as a boy, Christopher had stolen money from his father’s desk.“His father said he was born a thief,” said Miss Walker. Christopher was disinherited for a time.

Having run away from home, Christopher served with the East India Company’s Navy in the China Seas.This naval service was distinguished, and in February 1804 as chief officer on the ship ‘Exeter’, he took part when the fleet of Commodore Dance engaged with a squadron of French ships under Admiral Linois, in which the latter were soundly defeated.  On his return to England, Christopher received commendations from the East India Company, along with two Silver salvers.

In 1808 they had no children.There are various references to them both in Anne Lister’s diaries.Initially popular with Anne, Christopher shared the same side in politics. He signed her membership Certificate for the Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society, of which he was president; and she was the only female founding member.She once described him as ‘a merry fat gentleman’ but they fell out over coal mining issues; becoming bitter enemies.

Christopher was powerful, being a magistrate, a deputy lieutenant of the West Riding, and Lord of the Manor of Southowram. He was also a great supporter of the local newspaper, the Halifax Guardian. So Anne Lister had to be careful! In his middle years’, he used to ride around Skircoat Moor on a dapple-grey horse. Later he would be driven round in his fine carriage, which was drawn by a pair of greys. He was popular in that he used to scatter coins among the local children as he passed. If a boy saluted him for fun by touching his own cap, Mr Rawson would always courteously do the same in return. Before his death he was even dubbed “The Father of the Borough.

Periodically he made short stays at Old Cragg Hall, in Cragg Vale, which he had almost entirely rebuilt around 1840, when he obtained possession of the estate. In 1830, on the south wall of the Halifax Parish Church,he funded the addition of oval window which was influenced by the Marigold Window in York Minster.

However, Christopher suffered some setbacks. For example, in 1835 the windows of Hope Hall were broken by “Radicals” following a closely contested General Election result.

Christopher Rawson died in 1849, and was buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, with his wife who had died in 1836. There is a fine memorial to the couple in the former church. This was carved by local sculptor Joe Leyland, who had been encouraged in his early career by Christopher.

For the first time in many years, Hope Hall will be open to the public during Halifax Heritage Festival on Sat. 14th and Sun. 15th September, from 11 am to 4 pm.

To be continued

David C Glover

Now that the dust has settled on the launch of our brand new local magazine, Halifax Directory, we thought we’d check in, and look back at as to why we launched magazine number two!

We have been running for 14 years, and are currently on issue number 159 with our August edition.

We’re not the only local directory magazine in Halifax, there are several others, but we all have our own areas that we cover. We deliver to areas in the HX1 and HX3 postcode, and to shops, the tourist information centre and a few other places in Halifax town centre. We’re proud of the community that our magazine has built up over the past 14 years, and we have our readers comment on the quality of our magazine, and the “keep-a-bility” of it.

We realised that there were areas of Halifax which didn’t receive any kind of local directory, and we decided to change that, hence Halifax Directory was born.

We’re now 2 issues in, and currently working on our third issue, and the magazine is growing from strength to strength. We’re getting great feedback from our new readers, not just about the content, but the fresh look we went for in the magazine.

A big thank you to all those advertisers of Skircoat Green Directory who decided to advertise in our first edition of the new magazine, and to those who are newly advertising with us, for having faith in us and our new venture. And to Nicola from the sale team who has worked so hard to fill our magazines each month!

Teresa Plant Acupuncture has advertised in the Skircoat Green Directory for a few issues, and she said “Having used SGD to successfully promote my new acupuncture practice, it seemed natural to advertise in their new directory to continue our successful partnership.”

We’re very excited for the growth of the Halifax Directory, and cannot wait until it gets as big as this magazine!

Each Directory is delivered to 8,000 homes with a combined estimated readership of over 35,000!

Advertisers also appear on our website and our Facebook pages which currently have over 3600 followers.

The Halifax Directory is delivered to homes and businesses in Warley, Wainstalls, Mount Tabor, Fountains Head Village, Bradshaw, Illingworth, Holmfield, Claremount and Southowram.

The Skircoat Green Directory is delivered to Skircoat Green, Savile Park, Copley, Scarr Wood Bottom, Wellhead, Central Park, Salterhebble, Siddal, Exley, Pye Nest, Willowfield and Norton Tower.

If you are interested in advertising in either directory, contact Nicola on 01422 646400.

Follow Halifax Directory on Facebook & Twitter!

Summer is here and for thousands of young people that means heading off to music festivals.

At several music festival events teams of Festival Angel volunteers will be on hand to offer welfare and support to ensure that those attending have a safe and fun festival experience.

Festival Angels started life as a Prayer Cafe, run by local church communities, at Leeds Festival in 2011. The Prayer Cafe at Leeds is now one of the most popular spaces at the festival with a £5 mug deal giving festival-goers a souvenir mug and free tea, coffee and hot water refills for the duration of the event. The Leeds team also run the Lost Property and Left Luggage tent, with a success rate of around 60% items returned to owners. Detached teams,very much like Street Angels in town and city centres, offer support and welfare across the massive festival site.

The success at Leeds has meant that other coordinators wanted Festival Angels at their own festivals. This year Festival Angels will be at over 12 music festival events including Boardmasters, Royal Ascot, Eastern Electrics and, for the first time this year, Kendal Calling where teams will run campsite safe hubs.

Festival Angels will also include the trendy ‘Jesus Loves Festivals’ banner design which is a great conversation starter and ‘selfie with Jesus’ opportunity! The teams are also promoting ‘Jesus calls will you follow’ banner plane flypast that will pass over all the festival sites.

To find out more about the work of Festival Angels or to sign up as a volunteer checkout festivalangels.org.uk or search Festival Angels on Facebook and Twitter

Join the Pennine Prospects archaeological team between the 16th and 29th July in the excavation of a series of First World War practice trenches located within the Calderdale Countryside and Woodlands Team Long Wood,Copley, Calderdale.

The site was initially recorded during their woodland survey in Winter 2017 as part of the Pennine Prospects National Lottery Heritage Fund project.

However, very little is known about when the trenches were formed, and who excavated them. This is your chance to learn some archaeological skills and help us to explore the history of this site.

Booking is essential so please contact:Chris.Atkinson@pennineprospects.co.uk

No previous experience is necessary and all children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Access to the woods can be found via various routes including: Birdcage Lane, New Lane and Springwood Drive.

Please be careful parking on these residential and country roads.

Find out more at facebook.com/events/2245383428859922/

No apologies for my subject being Anne Lister again this month.

Last month I was speaking to a local lady who had recently returned to Calderdale from Los Angeles.  She told me that, high up above Sunset Boulevard, she had seen a billboard inscribed ‘Gentleman Jack – The Story of Anne Lister.’  Like her or loathe her, our Anne Lister of Shibden Hall is becoming an international star!   You may heard that visitors to Shibden Hall were up massively in May.  Likewise, visitors to Halifax Minster, at which Anne was baptised, where she attended church regularly, and lies buried, have significantly increased.

At the time Anne Lister was conceived in 1790, her parents were in Ireland, where her father Captain Jeremy was serving in the army at Galway.  His wife Rebecca Battle was sent back to Halifax as her pregnancy advanced.  And here in Halifax on 3^rd April 1791, Anne was born.  We do not know where the event took place, but the baptismal record indicates it was in the town, and not at Shibden.

When Anne was two years old, and following the birth of her elder surviving brother Samuel in 1793, her parents left Halifax to live in the East Riding.  In 1790, Captain Jeremy inherited some money, which he invested in a small estate just west of Market Weighton.   He built three houses, the largest of which he called Skelfler where Anne lived until 1806.

I visited the Market Weighton area to view the church where Anne’s mother was buried in November 1817.  The burial took place there because Captain Jeremy was again living in that district, in one of his smaller properties near Skelfler, called Low Grange.    I visited both Skelfler, now known as Skelfrey Park Farm, and Low Grange farm both of which are private property, though because of my interest, the owners were happy to allow me to look at the exteriors of the buildings and take some photos.  It was most interesting to see these properties, considering their past links with Halifax and the Listers. The countryside around is open and very flat, and there are some plantations of trees nearby to shield the farms. At Skelfler, Anne’s younger brother was born in 1795; and her only sister Marian, in 1797.

In the church of All Saints, Market Weighton, is a memorial to Rev. George Skelding, who, before she was sent to school at York, tutored Anne Lister at his vicarage, being the first to introduce her to the Classics. On 6^th December 1819, Anne recorded in her diary:

“My aunt had a letter from Marian (Market Weighton) giving an account of the rather sudden death of Mr. Skelding. He had had a little cold and fever with it, but this had quite left him; he walked out, and was even out only a short time before his death – only a few minutes before it… Thus died my first Latin preceptor with whom I had the rudiments of my classical education… and studied about eleven months. He was not a man of general science or literature, nor a profound Grecian; but a well-grounded Latin scholar, considered a sound divine, and a most worthy good man, who performed all the duties, public and private, of his situation with exemplary uprightedness, and who was beloved and respected by all who knew him.”

At 7.30 pm on Friday 5^th July, Sally Wainwright will be at Halifax Minster, for a Q&A evening.  Much emphasis will be placed on the Gentleman Jack TV series, but Sally’s other TV series’ filmed locally will also be topical. Anne Choma who wrote the tie-in book for Gentleman Jack will also be present, and participate.  Tickets are £10.00, available from Eventbrite or via the Minster Office.

More  Halifax Minster Summer Festival event information can be found at halifaxminster.org.uk

David C Glover

Please find further details of my July Talks on page 59 of the directory.

Last month was really busy with a lot of projects on the go and coming to completion. The Cap Stories project I’ve been working on as Associate Artist for Welland Festival launched with over 800 individually illustrated rubbish caps made by myself and other people in workshops at schools, preschools and at the festival. I’m now looking for a permanent home for the collection in Elland and also potentially developing the project in other areas such as Queensgate Market in Huddersfield as part of my work there with Parley by Parlour – part of Temporary Contemporary.

https://capstories.home.blog/

https://www.facebook.com/wellandfest/

https://www.byparley.co.uk/

This month I’m excited to be co-curating a Dwell Time exhibition at Huddersfield Railway Station which is kindly supported by a YVAN microgrant. Dwell Time is a publication of art and writing reflecting on mental wellbeing that I co-curate with Vanessa Haley and Lenny Szrama. Our exhibition in July is a showcase of art from our Issue 1 launch and will also double up as a launch of the Issue 2 open call. We will be showing prints of our Issue 1 publication in the station’s main waiting room alongside prints of Bob Clayden’s pinhole camera portraits that he made on Platform 2 for our launch event. The pinhole camera portraits are long exposure and require the sitter to remain still for around 10 minutes ‘dwell time’ otherwise they appear in the photograph as a blur of motion. Come along to our exhibition opening on Thursday 18 July, 6:30-9pm at Huddersfield Railway Station.

https://dwelltimepress.wordpress.com/

In last month’s issue I mentioned my writer’s residency with Yorkshire Visual Arts Network and Corridor8 mapping the visual arts sector in Yorkshire. This has now completed with a publication entitled Resilience is Futile launching on Thursday 1 August, 6-8pm at The Arthouse in Wakefield. Please do come over to for that if you can and join in the conversations on the visual arts in Yorkshire.

https://www.yvan.org.uk/

https://corridor8.co.uk/

https://the-arthouse.org.uk/

As this writer’s residency comes to a close with the publication launch, I start an artist development project with Compass Live Arts. I’m paired with one of their artists in residency and will be undertaking some research and development around the idea of ‘talking about talking’ and dialogical learning (perhaps this will be a talking rubbish project too!) with lots of interviews planned. This is a self-directed project within a supported programme and I’m keen to make some form of printed outcome for it – I am a huge fan of publications! As well as accessing some free research material online I’ve treated myself to some new art books. It’s times like this undertaking research that I really miss having access to a university library. I love our libraries in Calderdale and use them a lot but access to a university library is on another level. I’ll probably be blogging about my project and will share more stuff about this next month. If dialogical practice is your area of interest please get in touch via the links below – I would love to talk to you about it.

https://compassliveart.org.uk/

Alice Bradshaw https://www.alicebradshaw.co.uk/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alicebradshawartist/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alicebradshaw.co.uk/

Twitter https://twitter.com/alicebradshaw

Many people visit me with anxiety issues, each one of them going through similar experiences.

If you’re a sufferer, initially you may feel strange, a kind of ‘unreal’ and not with it.  You may tremble, feeling a rapid heartbeat and breathing irregularly.  These symptoms can lead to bigger issues like depression, a racing mind and tiredness, which may eventually render you disconnected from people and the world around you; Ruminating, trying to pluck up the courage to simply ‘live life’ whilst plunging deeper into the crevasse. Eventually feeling panicky then leads to the next stage – mental exhaustion. Being hyper aware of feelings can make you think you are going crazy!   Both mind and body become super-tired.

Overthinking and over-analysing is exhausting work which rapidly leads to the final stage in this battle – emotional exhaustion.  If you’ve missed days off work, and any chance of a social life feels like climbing Everest in summer sandals, then you’ve potentially reached the finish line.

However, you can recover from this, no matter what level of anxiety or panic you have reached.  Now here comes the ‘but’…… YOU WON’T GET BETTER UNTIL YOU STOP TRYING!

Spending time, analysing your condition and trying to find reasons for it, gets you more caught up in the trauma.

Accept the anxiety but put yourself out there; do the things that bring you out of your comfort zone, safe in the knowledge that you won’t die from a panic attack. Only then will you know that you actually could do it, and despite the adrenalin rush you didn’t die and therefore can do it again, only next time it won’t be as testing.

Anxiety is a particular kind of hell but don’t see it as the enemy. Let go and live alongside it for the time being. Allow it to be part of your day and you may begin to feel some inner peace, which in turn will help you to rebuild the missing bits of your life.

Who knows, maybe there’s a reason we’re all meant to do some paddling upstream against the tide?

Marica x

For more of Marica’s self-help blogs visit www.calderdalecounselling.com

maricawebley@gmail.com

07759 014131

Last year some determined Skircoat residents, supported by Holy Trinity and St Jude’s Church came together with the intention of holding Skircoat’s own Great Get Together in 2019. The group have been working hard to make this a reality involving West Yorkshire Police, Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue in the planning.

The Great Get Together is a movement started in memory of Jo Cox the late MP. The Skircoat Great Get Together hopes to bring the community together to enjoy a great day out!

Planning for the event was recently bolstered by a successful application to the Skircoat Ward forum which granted £491 to help cover some of the costs of the day.

Cllr Colin Hutchinson said ‘the Great Get Together planned for the Skircoat ward is absolutely what we should be supporting through the local ward forum grants. Bringing our community together, celebrating diversity and promoting community cohesion in such a positive way will be a great benefit to the residents of the Skircoat ward.’

The event is on Saturday 29th June, on the moor off Free School Lane and in the grounds of Holy Trinity and St Jude’s. The group hopes that the local community will join them during the three hours event.  Activities organised include the chance to explore a working fire engine and Police vehicle, an Indian dance taster session and a high energy, high stakes game of Imams v Clergy rounders match.

Visitors will have the chance to spend 5 minutes with various members of differing faith groups to learn more about the faiths of Calderdale. ‘Faith Dating’ helps to dispel some myths and explore faith in an open and fun way.

As a close friend of Jo, local MP Holly Lynch has been supporting the group and said ‘the planning of the event sounds to be coming along really well. I am grateful to the group for honouring Jo’s memory by organising such a fantastic event that reflects all that she was passionate about’.

More information about the day can be found on the group’s Facebook page @SkircoatTogether

– suggested by local poet Victoria Gatehouse

June has arrived with its promise of warm weather (fingers crossed) and many of us start to think about holidays. I love the sense of movement and sensual detail in this month’s seaside poem and know, from speaking with the author, Bob Horne, that it’s as much about growing up and self-discovery as it is about swimming.

The Raft

That summer I was strong enough

to swim out, haul myself from the water

on to the black wooden boards

as the tide smacked its sides.

From harbour to headland

chalk-cliff to shoreline

summer colour covered the sands,

spilled into the fringes of the sea.

I turned by back on the shallows

busy with the clamour of paddlers,

swayed on the ups and downs of waves

reeling in through grey-green emptiness,

balanced on the raft, still not adrift

but out of my depth, loving it.

Taken from Knowing My Place, published by Calder Valley Press.

Bob Horne founded the ward-winning Calder Valley Press in 2018, publishing books by talented local poets. Bob is also co-organiser of the wonderful ‘Puzzle Poets’ spoken word night at The Navigation pub in Sowerby Bridge.  I’m looking forward to reading there myself on 1^st July.  Knowing my Place is Bob’s first collection. More about Bob and Calder Valley Press can be found here https://caldervalleypoetry.com/about/