Three of the current group – Alan Bailey, Eric Lee and Vera Silberberg – attended the very first task for the group and are still turning out in all weather to do their bit for the North York Moors. They meet every Tuesday to carry out a range of tasks including footpath clearance, drystone walling, tree planting, fence repair and invasive plant control. The Hobs are named after the mythical creatures that supposedly live in the National Park and help with household chores and farm work.

The Hobs was the first mid-week volunteer group set up by the National Park Authority. There are now several regular volunteer groups contributing around 11,000 hours of work each year and the volunteer service was highlighted as an area of good practice in a recent peer review carried out by a team from other National Park Authorities.

Projects that the Hobs have contributed to over the past ten years include working alongside the Authority’s staff to manage and improve Levisham Estate, work to spruce up the car park and pond at Thornton-le-Dale and repairing a considerable stretch of drystone wall along the Cleveland Way National Trail at Boltby.

Volunteer and Hobs founding member Alan Bailey, said:

“I saw an article regarding starting a volunteers group at around the time that I was about to retire and the idea appealed to me. My wife and I were, and still are keen, walkers particularly within the National Park and it seemed a positive way of putting something back and saying thanks.

“Being a Hob brings with it a strong sense of purpose, loyalty, commitment and endeavour. We head out in all weathers – and there does seem to be more wet Tuesdays than dry – but morale remains high and there is always a great effort put into every task and a desire to complete it before we leave.”

Graham Stubbs, Head of the Volunteer Service at the National Park Authority, added:

“Anyone who enjoys getting out and about in the North York Moors whether it’s to walk, cycle, ride or simply to soak up the stunning scenery, owes a word of thanks to this wonderful group of people who give their time and energy so generously. Without them and all our other volunteers the National Park wouldn’t be half the place it is and I am incredibly proud and grateful for all that they do.”

To find out more about volunteering with the National Park Authority, contact Jo Dowson on 01439 770657 or email j.dowson@northyorkmoors-npa.gov.uk.

The initiative is part of a school educational food programme to encourage children to be more aware of healthy eating from home cooking as an alternative to processed food. The initiative also illustrates how leftovers can actually be used for more baking, rather than just being thrown away. The programme is supported by grant funding by Scarborough Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Wynne Jones has organised the event in her role as co-ordinator of Whitby 4 Sustainability, which is a community group that recently won a silver award in a sub-regional greener neighbourhood competition. The one year competition involved community groups from across North Yorkshire undertaking actions to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing their energy usage in the home, less food waste, improving on their recycling and composting, using more sustainable modes of transport, reducing water usage, and growing or purchasing local food.

Wynne Jones, co-ordinator of Whitby 4 Sustainability and also a Whitby Town Councillor said:

“The cake baking will be a fun and educational event for the children to learn about healthy eating options and how leftovers can be used for innovative and tasty recipes. We have also arranged for the children to wear chef’s hats during the cookery session at the cafe at Whitby Pavilion as well!”

The two schools involved in the day are St Hilda’s Roman Catholic Primary School and Fylingdales Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. From each school there will be 16 pupils and 8 adults including teachers and parents, with each school having a half day session.

Local chef, dinner lady champion-award, Katherine Breckon, who works in Whitby West Cliff Primary School, is taking the schools through their paces at the pavilion’s cookery sessions. Katherine was awarded North Yorkshire Schools Chef of the Year 2011 and runner up for 2012. The ‘Torville and Dean’ cake that the children will be making has been taken from Kath’s award-winning menu. The idea is that the leftovers from the cake baking will be used by the children to make their own bread on the day as well.

Katherine Breckon said:

“They’ll get their hands into the flow, kneading the bread, whisking eggs and piping cream, and get to take home their bread roll and a Torville and Dean Duet Cream sponge, so their families can sample all their own work.”

Dr James Bridges, Sustainability Officer for Scarborough Borough Council has been supporting the Whitby 4 Sustainability Group all the way in their greener neighbourhood project:

“Its great news that the Whitby 4 Sustainability Group are continuing with their excellent work, and in this case facilitating a local sustainability initiative for the school children. This is an excellent opportunity for them to grasp first hand that leftovers can actually be a valuable resource for creating more recipes and meals. Reducing food waste also reduces our environmental impact as we are using less resources in the first place and thus reducing our pressure and our demands on the environment.”

Reducing food waste is a major issue. The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) which has facilitated the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign suggests that we throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food from our homes every year in the UK; and that wasting food costs the average family with children around £680 a year, that is equivalent to £50 a month.

Donna Gaddass, Scarborough Borough Council’s Recycling Officer added:

‘The Love Food Hate Waste website www.lovefoodhatewaste.com is an excellent source of information for the community as it provides recipes for using up leftovers and handy tips and advice to help all of us waste less food. If leftovers cannot be used for further recipes then another option is to make your soil more fertile by composting some food waste such as vegetables and fruits, our website has some great hints and tips on composting.”

Whitby 4 Sustainability is planning to continue to organise community and educational workshops including further school cookery programmes in the foreseeable future.

For further information on the Neighbourhood Challenge contact James Bridges, Sustainability Officer at Scarborough Borough Council by emailing james.bridges@scarborough.gov.uk

For further information on the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign in the borough contact Donna Gaddass, Recycling Officer at Scarborough Borough Council by emailing donna.gaddass@scarborough.gov.uk

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway along with two of their volunteers Stephen Hogg and Gerry Skelton (one of the Railways most experienced drivers) will appear in the hour long episode that this week focuses on Yorkshire as Hugh Dennis and Julia Bradbury explore the Great British Countryside.

Marketing Manager Danielle Bradley explains “Hugh Dennis enjoyed a fantastic day out on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway last September. So much so, that the BBC film crew came back in early December with a helicopter to shoot some fantastic aerial shots of the Pullman dining train, steaming through the North York Moors National Park.”

Trains will be running once more on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on weekends from Saturday 3rd to Sunday 25th March with daily services resuming for the summer from Saturday 31st March until Sunday 4th November.

For more information, please call 01751 472508, visit www.nymr.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @NYMR or Facebook @North Yorkshire Moors Railway

People are being urged to come forward who might be eligible for the Hotspots scheme, which helps older people and those on a low income to access services that make a difference in the cold weather.

North Yorkshire County Council is spearheading the scheme. It has been awarded £48,000 by the Department of Health to extend Hotspots across North Yorkshire with an additional drive in Ryedale, Whitby and Scarborough. These areas have a high percentage of residents experiencing fuel poverty.

Hotspots is an early warning system by identifying people at risk. It involves 19 other statutory, voluntary and community organisations working together.

Based on a referral system, the scheme has two main aims:
•to create an awareness of the risks of cold weather and fuel poverty among both staff and the community at large; and
•to involve frontline staff in identifying people at risk.

Staff can set up an initial screening, with the option of referring people for support and advice to the contact centre of the Yorkshire Energy Partnership in York via a freepost Hotspots referral card.

The Hotspots referral will set in motion:
•benefits entitlement checks;
•home safety check from the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service;
•energy efficiency advice; and
•assessment for eligibility for home improvement and insulation schemes.

Find out more about the scheme at the following events:
22 February – Scarborough (Allatt House YO12 5ED) noon-2pm
23 February – Pickering Memorial Hall (Potter Hill, YO18 8AA) noon-2pm
24 February – Whitby (Church House, Flowergate YO21 3BA) noon-2pm

Contact Lisa Nortcliff on 01723 362205 or Ian Peck on 01947 605256 to book a place, or call the Hotspots team on 01904 554465.

County councillor Clare Wood, executive member for health and adult services, said: “There are potentially thousands of residents within Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale who can benefit from this scheme. We recognise the vital role it plays in keeping people safe and warm in their homes, reducing fuel poverty and, in turn, ill health.”

Teams of Street Angels already patrol the streets of many towns and cities across the country, including Scarborough on a Friday and Saturday evening, and these volunteers are well respected by both the visitors and residents who use the night time economy. Through their reassuring presence and support given to the vulnerable people they come across they have contributed to both an improvement in the night time ambience and a reduction in alcohol related violent crime.

Lesley Philps of Scarborough’s Safer Community Partnership said:

“The aim of the Street Angels scheme is to improve the safety of those who use the town centre bars, restaurants and public transport during busy periods. Street Angel volunteers will be asked to provide support to people who have become vulnerable or need assistance while in the town centre but will not be required to get involved in any incidents, just report them to the police.”

The Street Angels patrol the town centre in groups of three and have radio and telephone contact with the base from which the group operate and statutory services in the town (including Scarborough Borough Council’s Community Safety Team, Licensing officers, CCTV control room, North Yorkshire Police as well as the Cambridge Centre and the Rainbow Centre).

It is hoped the group’s first patrols will start in June and the scheme will be co-ordinated by Scarborough’s Safer Community Partnership in conjunction with Churches Together (members of local church groups), North Yorkshire Police and Scarborough Borough Council.

Anyone can volunteer, as long as they are aged 18-years-old or over and comprehensive training will be given to all recruits prior to them taking to the streets. If you are interested in volunteering to become a Street Angel or can offer assistance to the scheme a meeting is being held at 7.30pm on Thursday 22 March at Flowergate United Reformed Church, Whitby.

For more information or if you are interested in the scheme but unable to attend the meeting please contact Deacon Helen Webster at helenweb2@gmail.com or telephone 01947 602248.

It revealed structural faults to the central column which supports the spiral staircase running through the centre of the lighthouse, built more than 170 years ago out of local sandstone, and some corrosion to metal straps which form part of the internal structure.

Whitby Harbour Board chairman, Cllr Mike Cockerill, said: “We do not consider it safe enough to allow public access at this time. We are currently seeking expert advice about the best way to address the situation, but public safety is our paramount concern and it’s not something we take chances with.

“We have received initial estimates in the region of £200,000 to carry out repairs to the West Pier lighthouse and its sister structure on the East Pier.

“Along with work we are carrying out on a new West Pier extension bridge, piling work in Endeavour Wharf and improvements to the piers and pier extensions identified in the Whitby Coastal Strategy 2 report, currently out to public consultation, it confirms that the condition of the harbour remains a high priority of the Harbour Board.

“The work to the West Pier lighthouse is a small, but very important part of a much wider regeneration picture.”

Whitby Harbour Board set out its intention to inspect all of the harbour assets soon after it was formed last year and in the last eight months a number of reports have been compiled.

When all of the reviews have been completed, a plan will be put in place which sets out a timetable of work in the harbour, with funding sought to see assets repaired or improved.

The revised timetable can be accessed here: http://www.nymr.co.uk/timetables-and-fares/timetable/

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Even more inspiring is that 31 of the 53 school and colleges have taken the extra step and become a Get Set network school. The Get Set network is a special community of schools and colleges, which are demonstrating a commitment to the Olympic Values (friendship, excellence and respect) and the Paralympic Values (inspiration, determination, courage and equality) using the London 2012 Games to inspire learners of all ages to get involved in Values-based projects and activities.

Being a Get Set network school or college opens the doors to a wide range of resources, ideas and opportunities to help students and teachers make the most of London 2012. This will include an allocation of tickets for the 2012 Games, which is expected to be a minimum of three tickets for each primary school and a minimum of six tickets for each secondary school and college.

Mitch Cook, Olympic Project Co-ordinator for Seachange said:

“During last year, we put a lot of effort into raising the awareness of Get Set among the borough’s schools and colleges and highlighting the many benefits it can bring. We are therefore delighted with the uptake in our area and look forward to hearing the exciting stories of how these schools are making the most of the opportunities presented by London 2012.”

Cllr Derek Bastiman, lead councillor on the borough’s efforts to make the most of London 2012 added:

“The programme is providing real inspiration to young people to embrace the Values of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and it will help to leave a lasting legacy for our adults of tomorrow. It is fantastic that so many of our schools are part of the Get Set network and it should enable them to link more easily with schools in the Host Boroughs in London, especially our partner borough, Hackney.”

Cllr John Blackburn, Mayor of the Borough of Scarborough said:

“Linking in with my mayoral theme of sport development for young people I have been lucky enough to meet a number of our borough’s children and teenagers in the last few months. Sports and physical activity play a vitally important role in their social and educational development and it is fantastic to see that Get Set is bringing an extra dimension to this learning.”

Schools registered with Get Set and members of Get Set network

Note: schools and colleges marked in bold blue have taken the extra step of joining the Get Set network – all the others have a basic registration with Get Set. The reason why some of the borough’s schools and colleges are not listed is because they haven’t registered with Get Set.

Filey area

Filey Junior School
Filey School

Hunmanby Primary School

Scarborough area

Barrowcliff Community Junior School
Braeburn Infant and Nursery School

Braeburn Junior School

Bramcote School

Brompton Hall School

Cayton Primary School

George Pindar Community Sports College
Gladstone Road Infant School

Gladstone Road Junior School

Graham School

Hackness CE Primary School

Hertford Vale CE VC Primary School

Lindhead School

Newby and Scalby Primary School

Northstead Community Primary School

Raincliffe School
Scalby School

Scarborough College

Scarborough Sixth Form College

Seamer and Irton Primary School

Snainton CE Primary School

Springhead School

St Augustine’s School

St George’s RC Primary School

St Peter’s RC Primary School
Wheatcroft Primary School

Woodlands School

Wykeham CE VC Primary School

Yorkshire Coast College

Whitby area

Airy Hill Primary School

Caedmon School

Castleton Community Primary School

Danby CE VC School
East Whitby Community Primary School

Egton CE Primary School

Eskdale School
Fyling Hall School

Goathland Primary School

Glaisdale Primary School

Lealholm Primary School

Lythe CE Primary School

Oakridge Primary School

Ruswarp CE Primary School

Seton Primary School

Sleights CE Primary School

St Hedda’s RC Primary School

St Hilda’s RC Primary School

Whitby, Stakesby Community Primary School

West Cliff Primary School

Whitby Community College

The iconic jawbone arch, which was replaced on the town’s West Cliff by a new set of whalebones in 2003, is set to become a major feature of Whitby’s newest hotel, the luxury Country Retreat, Raithwaite Hall, though details of how it will be displayed are still to be finalised.

The hotel owners, the Skelwith Group, secured the whalebones after pledging to make a “sizeable donation” to a local charity, with the beneficiary to be decided by readers of the Whitby Gazette in a newspaper vote. The leisure group also says it will pick up the tab for any associated storage and transport costs.

Scarborough Borough Council northern area officer, John Woodhead, said: “Interest in acquiring the whalebones gathered momentum after recent renewed publicity and we were delighted to receive a total of 17 requests from individuals and groups who wanted to take ownership of the bones.

“The offers were carefully considered by a panel comprising myself and ward councillors Alf Abbott and Joe Plant, with reporter Emma Spencer from the Whitby Gazette and we all felt the Raithwaite offer stood out from the other ideas on the table.”

Paul Ellis, Managing Director of Skelwith Leisure, added: “Whitby’s old whalebones are an extremely important historical artifact. We are delighted to be able to give them a new home and put them back on public display so local residents and visitors to the town can see them once again.

“Raithwaite Hall is historically important to the town and by bringing the bones to the hotel we are able to continue to protect and safeguard the town’s history, and play a further important role in the town.”

The old whalebones – which came from a 113-ton Fin Whale, killed in the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic by the Norwegian whaling ship “Thorshovdi” – were given as a gift to Whitby Rural District Council in 1963 by the Norwegian Shipping Company, “Thor Dahl”, to put up in the town as a monument to the town’s whaling past.

The West Cliff was chosen as an appropriate place to display the jawbones given its close proximity to the Captain Cook monument. The whalebone arch measured 19ft and 3 inches in height and stood in the same location for almost four decades before it was decided it needed to be replaced due to it deteriorating condition.

The arch was replaced by new whalebones from a Bowhead Whale, killed legally by native Inuits in 1996 and donated by the people of Barrow in Alaska which is twinned with Whitby.