Pupils at Driffield Junior School took part in a walking bus service, thanks to a kind donation from Specsavers.
Specsavers donated high visibility vests to the school in recognition of Walk to School Week which runs from Monday 20 May to Friday 24 May.
Driffield Times & Post photographer Pam Stanforth went along to video the pupils taking part in the walking bus service.
Driffield’s annual trip day is set to take place on Wednesday 7 August.
The day will see Driffield youngsters aged three - 16 enjoy a day trip to Bridlington including a free bus, £3 pocket money and vouchers for rides.
Buses leave the Driffield bus station between 8.30and and 9.45am on 7 August.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Call 01377 241747 for more info.
With a new royal baby on everyone’s minds, it seems a good time to take a closer look at the mother of an heir whose birth marks a historic change in the rules of succession to the British Crown.
Kate Middleton was the first person for 350 years to marry an heir to the throne without possessing a drop of aristocratic blood… and her child, girl or boy, will one day be monarch.
So what do we know about her? Despite being an ‘item’ in the life of Prince William for eight years before they married in 2011 and now one of the most photographed women in the world, Kate has remained something of an enigma.
This is probably because the much-admired and captivating Duchess of Cambridge is essentially a very private person whose public ease, amiability and confidence belies a nature that is more naturally shy and reserved.
However, unlike Princess Diana, the mother-in-law she never knew, this royal bride was older, more circumspect and, most importantly, more worldly wise when she stepped into the maelstrom of the British royal family.
Former royal correspondent for OK! Magazine, Marcia Moody’s charming biography is not a repository of scandal and salacious tittle tattle but a warm, well-judged and informed account of a woman whose ‘ordinariness’ and natural composure has made her eminently suited to her royal role.
Moody’s excellent knowledge of the protocol, military life and social scene of the younger royals allows her to take us inside the protected circle in which the relationship between Kate and Prince William developed.
She also uncovers some quirky facts about the royal couple, not least the discovery that Kate and William are distantly related... in an ironic twist of fate, they are cousins 15 times removed, both descended from Sir Thomas Fairfax, enemy of the royals and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War.
From the young Catherine Elizabeth Middleton’s birth on a freezing day in January 1982 through her happy, stable early years with her family, her meeting with Prince William at St Andrews University, their romance, wedding and her pregnancy, this is a story of a love that survived trial, tribulation and public exposure.
The eldest child of Michael and Carole Middleton, a couple whose hard work turned a small online party accessories venture into a multi-million pound business, Kate’s upbringing was privileged but still a long way from Prince William’s protocol-bound early years.
When the two met at St Andrews, it wasn’t love at first sight but there was an instant empathy and the joy of sharing ‘a naughty sense of humour.’ Apart from his student room with a specially reinforced en-suite bathroom that could be used as a bunker and a ring-fence of security, Prince William tried hard to be just another student.
But for Kate, the highly unconventional relationship spelled the end of life as she had known it. From their first public photograph together at a rugby match in 2003, she became prey for the paparazzi and a target for royal watchers all around the world.
Together, they survived a brief, unhappy split in 2007, family bereavements and caustic comments about Kate from Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel to become torch bearers for a new generation of royals.
Moody’s fully illustrated book is must-reading for all royal fans and a fascinating account of an intelligent, level-headed woman dedicated to her demanding role but still determined to remain true to herself.
(Michael O’Mara, hardback, £20)
Swedish bank Haldesbanken are once again sponsoring the Carcase Section of the Driffield Show.
Last year Handelsbanken stepped in to ensure that not only did the Carcase Competition go ahead but it did so in style, with a purpose designed chiller unit that has fast become the envy of fellow Shows.
The chiller unit ensures that the public are able to view the Carcase competition entrants clearly and learn about where their favourite cuts of meat are from. Society stewards will also be on hand throughout the day to answer any questions that visitors may have.
Cheryl Nicholson of the Driffield Agricultural Society said ‘ the continuation of the Carcase Section at the Driffield Show is very important to us and Handelsbanken’s continued support enables us to continue with this important aspect of the traditional agricultural show’.
Although the Driffield Show has not increased in physical size, Show organisers are confident that the content of the Show has improved to ensure that visitors have a fantastic day.
As well as the exceptional livestock and carcase section visitors can look forward to browsing around over 450 trade stands, Handicraft and Horticulture marques, fur and feather section and companion dog show. The Rural Craft Demonstration Area, which increases in popularity each year, will again contain a wealth of traditional crafts and the Show will play host to the fifth Landscape and Fencing News sponsored National Fencing Competition which continues to strengthen and creates a huge amount of both national and increasingly international acclaim.
As well as the wealth of equine expertise that we come to associate with the Driffield Show the main ring will also feature entertainment from the Bolddog Ling Motorbike Display Team. As Honda’s official and the UK’s no 1 motorcyle display team, the Bolddog Lings team base their show around the world’s largest and most sophisticated mobile landing system. The show features the UK’s top ranking freestyle motorcross riders, incorporating the latest heart stopping tricks as usually only see on TV.
In addition ample car parking facilities continue to be free. For those opting to use a greener form of transport, following the success of the initiative last year a free shuttle bus will be provided between Driffield Town Centre, Driffield Train Station and the Showground and will be operating every twenty minutes. As a further incentive, anyone travelling to Driffield by train on Show day also receives £1 discount off the Shows admission simply by showing their ticket at the Showground.
If you’ve been to the Driffield Show we are sure you will want to come again. If you haven’t been before, come along for a fantastic, good value, traditional day out.
The organisers of the Driffield Show have announced that Cyril the Squirrel and his Terrier Racing Display team will be making a welcome return to the 138th Driffield Show later today.
Cyril and his amusing team of terriers have been established as the leading Terrier Racing Display team in the UK for over 15 years. Although the team travel the country providing entertainment all the terriers are family pets and enjoy their lives out of the arena on a farm in West Norfolk.
Their eagerly anticipated appearance is directly due to the return of Activity Arena sponsors the Beverley Building Society. Cheryl Nicholson, Society Manager for the Showground said “we are absolutely delighted to welcome Graham and his team at the Beverley Building Society back on board as sponsors of the Activity Arena for the second year running. Their continued involvement with the Show has enabled us to bring back Cyril and his terrier team and once again ensure that the Beverley Building Society Activity Arena has an action packed timetable throughout the day”.
The Beverley Building Society is one of the oldest building societies in the UK and prides itself on being a strong independent mutual which offers straight forward products, competitive interest rates and an unrivalled level of personal service. Graham Carter, Head of Business Development at the Beverley Building Society said “As East Yorkshire’s only independent building society we are proud to be associated with such a well-established, local event. We look forward to seeing old and new acquaintances at our stand in Block U”.
As well as the terrier racing the Beverley Building Society Activity Arena will also feature Birds of Prey Displays, Gun Dog Demonstrations and an opportunity to have a sneak preview of some of the Steam Engines appearing at the Showground later in August.
This year sees introduction of the Honey Show within the Horticulture Marquee at the 138th Driffield Show taking place today.
As well as encouraging Beekeepers to prepare and display honey and wax to the very highest standards the Show will also give non Beekeepers the opportunity to see the different types of honey and products of the hive at their best and to learn of the great value of honey as a food and the honeybee as a pollinator.
In years gone by every local honey association would have had an annual honey show and the Driffield Show organisers are hoping that the Yorkshire Beekeepers Association organised Honey Show will once again encourage this tradition and ensure that the skills of the Beekeepers are carried on.
All the classes at the Show are open to any Beekeeper for wax and honey as the products musts have come from the Beekeeper’s Bees, but the confectionary classes can be entered by anyone who is interested as any honey may be used. The organisers are hoping that there will be lots of jars and honey, some wax and candles, mead and cakes made from honey on display and for the judge to select the winning entries from.
It is often reported in the media that ‘bees are in trouble’. One issue that causes debate is the ongoing use of pesticides and although this may be a contributory factor there remains much uncertainty. However, what is known is that there are other significant actors that cause problems with bee health and the survival of colonies such as our weather, poor summers, long winters and cold springs, the lack of forage and the parasitic mite Varroa destructor.
Due to the above factors the organisers are concerned that this year the entries in the Honey Show may be lower than hoped this year as the Beekeepers have been feeding the bees over winter and unfortunately, not always with success. Subsequently, it is thought that the number of colonies lost during this last winter is in the region of 35% resulting in poor honey crops.
However, if this is the case the organisers are ensuring that visitors will not be disappointed as they will be producing a display including information about bees, what we can all do to help sustain them and an observation hive with live bees for the public to see. In addition there will also be Beekeepers at the Honey Show throughout the day to answer any questions .
Summer’s here… time for a little fun, love, magic and mayhem courtesy of chick-lit conjuror Julia Williams.
Take a plot straight out of Shakespeare, two couples finding true love doesn’t always run smoothly, a mischievous illusionist called Puck and hey presto, the midsummer revels have well and truly started.
By any other name, this is A Midsummer Night’s Dream – not quite as you remember the play from school or the theatre, but with all the same familiar characters in an enchanting and contemporary guise.
Williams has created the perfect summer read in this gloriously offbeat and entertaining take on one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, adding the sparkle of a Cornish backdrop and a few tantalising twists and turns.
Throw in a few quirky extras like Auberon, Tatiana, Susan Peasebottom and M’stard and the stage is truly set for a tale of Shakespearean style ‘visions’ and ‘vexations.’
Josie and her fiancé Harry couldn’t be happier together but the bride-to-be is taking her wedding planning a little too seriously and Harry is starting to feel left out and more than a little overwhelmed by the logistics of it all.
Despite Harry’s initial reluctance, Josie decides a trip to her parents’ beautiful home in Cornwall will be just the job to keep him relaxed and take a welcome break from the stresses and strains of London.
It is also going to be an ideal opportunity for Josie’s best friend and chief bridesmaid Diane to meet Ant, Harry’s good mate and their prospective best man, as the pair are joining them for the holiday.
But they have hardly been in the car five minutes before all-out war is declared, mainly because Ant and Diane, or Teflon Tone and Dynamite Di as they were previously known to each other, once shared a rather disastrous relationship.
As friendships are tested to the limit, Ant tries to lighten the mood for them all by agreeing to a dare put forward by Freddie Puck, a famous TV hypnotist and illusionist, that they test out a local legend.
The two couples must go to the spooky Standing Stones on the cliff and agree to be hypnotised. Local mythology says that true love and lasting happiness belong to those who plight their troth at midnight on Midsummer’s Eve at the stones.
But as night falls and Freddie Puck begins to play his mind games, Josie, Harry, Diane and Ant discover much more about themselves, those they care about and their destinies than anyone could have imagined…
Midsummer Magic does exactly what it says on the ‘cover’– whisks you away on a sunshine break, puts the magic into romance and the fun into summer.
A dream read for the holidays…
(Avon, paperback, £6.99)
Driffield Show director David Tite was very pleased with the success of yesterday’s Driffield Show.
Here, he gives his views during the event
Pet owners turned out in force to show their dogs at the 138th Driffield Show
See next Thursday’s Driffield Times and Post for full results.
One of the most popular attractions at the Driffiled Show were the dogs.
Dozens of people took along their pets - and many went away with prizes
Find out more in next Thursday’s Driffield Times and Post
Visitors to the 138th Driffield Show were entertained by a dazzing display of skills from gun dogs and their handlers.
For results, photos and reports from the event see next Thursday’s Driffield Times and Post
Livestock provided one of the highlights of the Driffield Show this year.
Organisers said the animal sections had grown in popularity in recent years.
For a full run down of results and reports, see next Thursday’s Driffield times and Post
Despite the hot weather there was plenty of tea on hand for thirsty revellers at the Driffield Show.
The Yorkshire Country Women’s Association (YCA), who have been coming to the show for over 25-years, had its marquee filled with tables and chairs for those in need of refreshment.
Bric-a-brac and crafts made by association members were also on sale.
Stephanie Jacques, chairman of the Hornsea branch and treasurer for the East Riding Committee, said: “We like the Driffield Show because it is nice publicity for us. It is making people aware of what we do - which is all about friendship and learning.”
She said the tombola run at the show this year raised over £100 was raised for YCA’s charity
The association is this year celebrating its pearl anniversary, marking 30 years of activity.
The East Yorkshire Federation of Women’s Institutes were also running a refreshment station, with many grateful customers sheltering from the heat of the day with tea and cake.
There have been WI groups at the Driffield Show for well over 30-years, and this year the federation is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Pam Witts, chairman of the WI Driffield Show Committee, said: “I do enjoy it but it is hard work setting up the marquee. This year we had help on Monday from the 2nd Driffield Scout leaders.
“The show is great because you see people you haven’t seen for ages and we are trying to promote the WI to younger members.”
A summer fair has raised £400 to be out towards a village school’s funds.
The Friends of Lockington School hosted the summer fair which took place at the school on Sunday 14 July.
The Friends have thanked all those who attended the fair for their continued support of the school.
In the murky realms of murder fiction, serial killers come and go ... but some remain indelibly in the mind long after the last page has turned.
Who could forget deranged American Psycho Patrick Bateman, the manic architect of destruction Hannibal Lector and the ‘daddy’ of them all, madder-than-mad motel owner Psycho Norman Bates?
Wirral-based David Jackson, whose debut thriller Pariah caused a real stir in the publishing world, has played a trump card with his latest serial killer, The Helper, a sort of Good Samaritan turned psychotic master of slaughter.
Pariah was a hard act to follow but The Helper is a real crime cracker ...an unforgettable killer pursued relentlessly by a New York cop with a nose for trouble and a penchant for mordant humour.
Reluctant NYPD Detective Second Grade Callum Doyle is developing into an entertainingly off-kilter but likeable character, the sort you can meet up with time and time again without ever tiring of his sarcasm, wit, ingenuity and intelligence.
A relative newcomer to the homicide department, he’s currently persona non grata with colleagues after becoming the hero of a case which saw the death of fellow officers.
Tainted by his association, Doyle, an Irish immigrant who is still prickly about his heritage, is trying to stay below the radar but when a part-time student is brutally murdered while working in a shabby New York bookshop, he can’t help but get involved.
The dead woman, 20-year-old Cindy Mellish, has a seemingly meaningless number written on her arm, probably by the killer. But this is no made-up string of figures, it’s the code for Ireland alongside Doyle’s home phone number.
That same night, he receives a call from the sinister killer ... ‘I can help you, Cal. I can help you solve the murder,’ he says.
‘The Helper’ also reveals more deaths are planned but that he will give him clues on condition he keeps them to himself.
And so begins Doyle’s dilemma. If he turns down the offer he will have nothing to go on but if he accepts and gets it wrong, he will have concealed knowledge that could have stopped a killer.
As more deaths follow, increasingly vicious and apparently random, the pressure on Doyle to find a link becomes unbearable. Does he continue to gamble with people’s lives, including his own family, or must he sacrifice everything to defeat a ruthless and manipulative enemy?
The Helper is a masterful piece of crime fiction, a fast-paced and unpredictable game of cat-and-mouse in which Doyle must use all his guile to track down a clever and sadistic murderer with a warped sense of his own worth.
The big screen beckons a brilliant double act...
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)
European crime writing is one of the runaway success stories of recent years… and it’s not only the Scandinavians who are chilling and thrilling.
Meet Nele Neuhaus, a young German author whose sensational mystery and police procedural novels have been published in 22 countries and sold over three million copies in Germany alone.
She has been talked about in the same breath as Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell, and now a translation by Steven T.Murray has let English speakers in on the case.
Snow White Must Die is just one book in a widely-acclaimed series featuring Neuhaus’s charismatic double act, Det Insp Pia Kirchhoff and aristocratic Det Supt Oliver von Bodenstein, the flawed but fascinating star crime fighters from Frankfurt police department.
A dark, compelling and atmospheric tale of claustrophobic close community collusion, this is a subtly nuanced, superbly crafted and spine-tingling whodunit guaranteed to set the pulse racing and the grey matter in motion.
Cleverly worked parallel plotlines, a line-up of coldly caustic suspects and plenty of inhumanity at its deepest and darkest are the building blocks of a multi-layered mystery that exudes evil with consummate ease.
Eleven years ago in Altenhain , a small village near Frankfurt, a 20-year-old local youth was found guilty of murdering his beautiful 17-year-old girlfriend Stefanie Schneeberger, known as Snow White, and her best friend Laura Wagner despite their bodies never being found.
The two girls vanished without a trace and in a trial based entirely on circumstantial evidence, Tobias Sartorius, who was drunk on the fateful night, was convicted and imprisoned for the murders after refusing to defend himself in court.
After serving his ten-year sentence, Tobias has returned home to discover that his disgrace has broken up his parents’ marriage, forced his mother to flee and put paid to his father’s successful restaurant business.
His presence in the little German village stirs up events from the past – events that the locals would prefer to remain hidden – but guilt over his father, now a shambling wreck, forces him to stay put.
When Tobias and his father are subjected to a number of attacks and his absent mother is pushed from a railway bridge, Detective Inspector Pia Kirchhoff and DS Oliver von Bodenstein are dispatched to monitor the tense atmosphere in the tight-knit community.
As the villagers close ranks, it becomes clear that the disappearance of Snow White and her friend was far more complicated and sinister than previously imagined. And when history starts to repeat itself and pretty 17-year-old local girl Amelie Fröhlich goes missing, Pia and Oliver are thrown into a race against time.
The venal village of Altenhain is an inspired creation with its secretive, insular community ill at ease with outsiders, its past and with the truth.
And equally complex and compelling are Neuhaus’ team of police officers whose fight for justice is too often compromised by their own failings and their own personal battles.
Snow White Must Die is a powerful page-turner and an impressive introduction to an exciting new name from the ever-expanding stable of classy European thriller writers.
(Macmillan, trade paperback, £12.99)
School’s out for summer… but not for Andy Seed who is back in the classroom for the third book in his hilarious and heart-warming series about life as a teacher in the scenic Yorkshire Dales.
Novelist, humorist and school workshops mastermind, Seed recalls his 25-year teaching career in the Dales in the 1980s and 1990s in these warm, wise and laugh-out-loud stories which chart the trials, tribulations – and unparalleled joys – of life, love and teaching in the rural community of fictional Cragthwaite.
Drawing on his years of teaching experience, Seed paints a picture of 1980s primary school life in a rural community where children were drawn from farming stock rather than inner city families but brought with them the same precocious talents, complex problems and baffling behaviour.
Andy is beginning his fifth year teaching at Cragthwaite Primary and as always a new term is full of surprises, including a beautiful, but not terribly bright, student on placement from the local teacher training college and a particularly pushy and problematic parent with a fine line in complaining.
After experiencing the horrors of a school disco and the embarrassment of helping the staff choose a sex education video, Andy is called upon to solve the ‘Great Toilet Mystery’ and April Fool’s Day looks set to bring a special brand of fun.
But Andy’s pupils are the least of his worries... at home in Applesett, another rise in the mortgage interest rate is causing serious financial problems and wife Barbara is forced to take a part-time job as a postie.
While the money is a life-saver, it means finding someone to look after their high-maintenance toddler sons Tom and Reuben so when two old friends move to the village, it looks at first like the problem has been solved.
But as the year goes on, things take a turn for the worse at home and Andy faces a crisis on a school trip to the coast…
Seed’s nostalgic and affectionate story transports us back to a gentler, simpler age as well as providing a memorable lesson on the warmth and community spirit of life in the countryside and the highs and lows of being a teacher.
(Headline, hardback, £16.99)
A record number of goats were entered into the livestock section at this year’s Driffield Show.
Goat secretary, Ann Hubbard, 60, was bornand bred in Driffield and has attended Driffield Show for the past 50 years.
Ann said: “We have had a record number of entries this year which has been lovely.
“Goats are lovely creatures and every year I still get a warmth when when I see the goat section come together.”
Ann has also thanked friend Liz Wood who has been helping Ann to run the goar section for the past 30 years.
Humberside Police are investigating an incident of indecent exposure in Driffield.
The incident happened on Spellowgate on Saturday 13 July.
A police spokesman said: “Our victim was riding along Spellowgate when an old, black hatchback drove past and pulled into a lay-by.
“A male jumped out and exposed himself.
“He then get back into the car which drove onto the next lay-by where he did it again.”
The male is described as white and in his mid-20s. He is of a slim build and is around 5’9 in height.
The suspect was described as having dark brown, straight, short hair and was wearing black trousers and no top.
If you have any information about this incident please contact Humberside Policeon non-emergency number 101 quoting log 501 of 13 July.
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