SIMON Ashberry meets Boy George and finds out how the man who topped the charts with Culture Club is adapting to life as a radio DJ. For most of us, a leopard skin hat might be considered a trifle ostentatious for everyday wear. But on Boy George it borders
MIKE Priestley, North of Watford. Try as I might to find upbeat things to say about Bradford (and I really do try, because I feel I owe it to the city that's been home to generations of Priestleys), this has been one of the weeks when I've had to admit
SIMON ASHBERRY finds out why Welsh-based band 60ft Dolls - on their way to West Yorkshire soon - went across the Atlantic to record their latest album Few pop bands can boast a Bible-bashing vicar as part of their act. But Welsh guitar-crunchers 60ft
Parents and teachers have voiced concern at the prospect of children as young as four being taught alongside 12-year-olds. Under the proposals, middle schools which become primaries would have four-year-old children with pupils aged nine-12. If the proposals
The search to find a bone marrow donor for a former Lothersdale girl took a Royal turn this week. The Duchess of York has promised to visit leukaemia sufferer India Farmer, who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to survive. The Duch-ess was so
BARNOLDSWICK'S Cravenside Home for the Elderly could be under threat of closure or a sell-off, according to a leading figure in Pendle politics. Liberal councillor Tony Greaves this week called on Labour-run Lancashire County Council to come clean over
BORED youngsters in Silsden have made an appeal to townsfolk to help create a safe haven where they can meet on an evening. The children say the youth club is only open a few days a week and the rest of the time they are left with nowhere to go to meet
A BENTHAM artist is exhibiting his paintings on Burma to the European Parliament this week. Chris Robinson, 52, flew out to Brussels on Monday to set up a unique exhibition of his work on the people of Burma, which will be officially opened by European
A NEW native woodland providing a valuable habitat for wildlife is to be created in the Dales. Broadleaved native trees such as ash and sessile oak are to be planted over 81 and a half acres at Blea Gill, near Grimwith, just a few miles from Grassington
Keighley's Holy Family School this month launches an appeal to raise £100,000 in an effort to gain language college status. Under a scheme of matched funding, the school hopes to attract nearly £500,000 of government money to extend its resources and
Parents in Denholme and Cullingworth have vowed to fight for a new secondary school to serve the rural villages. They say they will do everything they can to change Bradford council's current plans for the villages. Many are concerned about the current
People came from across the world to attend the Abundant Life Centre on Sunday. Marianne Sumner, Religious Affairs Reporter, went along to an ordinary Sunday service to see what makes this fast-growing church so popular A sad fact about the British is
TERRIBLE weather disrupted the league programme, and the games which went ahead were played on poor surfaces. Prospects for this weekend look even worse and it is beginning to look as if the season will struggle on until mid-May. After the games which
Keighley Albion 6 Worth Village 12 WORTH VILLAGE came out on top in a scrappy encounter at Ryshworth Playing Fields. Both teams are at the bottom end of the Premier Division and they struggled to get any rhythm going as defences took control. Theearly
ENGLAND rounders captain, Natasha Clarke, leads her team to the West Indies next week - ready for a 'Test' series. Natasha, 28, from Cross Hills, plays social games for the Kildwick team, but also plays for the reigning champions of the competitive Sheffield
Skipton 11 Colne and Nelson 7 After a scrappy start Colne and Nelson began to show why they are a promotion side as their forwards created good positions with some excellent close-quarter mauling. On one occasion after an attempted clearance kick by Skipton
An average of eight Keighley heroin users a week are being brought back from the brink of death by paramedics. The ambulance crews, called by anxious friends of the drug addicts, fight to get the patients breathing again following overdoses. Some of the
The fight has been launched to save Oldfield First School from closure. The proposal to close the single-classroomed, 40-pupil school was firmly rejected last Friday night at a meeting packed with staff, governors, parents, residents and parents of former
TEACHERS' union leaders in Bradford were condemning classroom conditions at a national conference in Blackpool this weekend. The National Union of Teachers - Bradford's largest teaching union - is meeting for its annual conference. Bradford delegates
What a total shambles.The most important review of the future of educational standards in this district has sadly descended to the level of a farce. There is little doubt that a return to a two-tier system of schooling is the right thing to do. From the
The award-winning Keigh-ley News has been nominated for a newspaper industry 'Oscar'. The KN has been nominated as a finalist in the annual BT North East of England Press and Broadcast Awards in the category of Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Judges have
FAMILIES living on an estate where a mother and daughter died in a house blaze are furious after their call for escape windows was refused. They say their homes on the Lower Grange estate are "death traps" after Bradford Council turned down their plea
Sean Bonner opened the scoring after Ben McCormack crossed from the left. Danny Spencer made it 2-0 with a diving header from a Martin Ross cross which eluded the Pudsey keeper. A 25-yard free kick from captain Mark Atkins made it 3-0 at half time. In
I HOPE everyone will give Davide Longo a big Cougar welcome to the club tonight. He was tipped as one of the stars of the future when he played for the Bulls and I still rate him a real quality player. He has been a thorn in the side of the Cougars when
THE mouthwatering prospect of Bradford City meeting Leeds United in this week's Northern Intermediate League Cup final could be the last meeting of the clubs at youth level. That is the opinion of Bantams managing director Shaun Harvey as the fallout
St Mary's First School at Riddlesden will remain a Church of England school, pledges chairman of governors John Learmouth. Mr Learmouth says the close links with the village church will be retained under a proposed move to the nearby Grange Middle School
A day nursery hopes to increase its roll from 20 to 35 children and create an extra seven jobs. One neighbour has objected to a planning application submitted to Bradford council by the Kiddiwinks nursery , which is based on Keighley Road, Crossflatts
Today is the 40th anniversary of the first CND march. Veterans of the movement met at City Hall yesterday to commemorate the event and JIM GREENHALF spoke to some of them. Bradford's JB Priestley was one of the key figures in the CND movement but was
When I was younger and did totally catastrophic things that warranted me getting into Big Trouble such as hitting my little brother, horrifically failing important exams and inadvertently smashing irreplaceable pieces of bone china (a trait most unfortunately
It's Safety Twice for Keighley-based O&K Escalators, which has been commended for a second time on its safety performance on London Underground's Jubilee Line Extension Project (JLE), due to open in April 1999. O&K, the UK's leading escalator
DAVIDE LONGO has joined the Cougars, adding pace and power to the club's half-back line-up. The former Bradford Bulls player has joined the Keighley club on an 18-month contract from Swinton Lions. "He is a quality player and I think he has the opportunity
INJURED Bulls ace James Lowes is hoping his colleagues can help speed his recovery rate with victory over his old club in tomorrow night's big Super League derby at Odsal. Last season's Man of Steel and Super League player-of-the-year is ruled out with
School caretakers in Keighley have expressed fears of losing both their homes and livelihoods during the shake-up. With middle schools closing throughout the area, many caretakers are concerned about their jobs and whether they will be made homeless.
An American woman has asked the Keighley News to help trace her family tree. Barbara Oberlee says she is seeking information on the Taylor and Wildman families. John Taylor is believed to have been born in Keighley on November 10, 1855, and is thought
INGLETON Youth Hostel reopened at the weekend after five months of work to give the building a complete overhaul. The youth hostel, housed in what was the village Conservative Club, now has new dormitories, with new bedding and carpets and half with en-suite
THE Clapham-based Cave Rescue Organisation has published its incident report for 1997. The CRO carries out numerous searches and rescues, the majority being above ground, and its report gives an analysis of incidents and a summary of statistics. The organisation
AS many as 1,000 Craven Christians are joining millions elsewhere in a global "March for Jesus" in Skipton next month. The town's High Street is likely to be awash with music and colourful crowds as members of 20 Christian churches join together to "celebrate
PEOPLE in the Yorkshire Dales are being asked by the National Park Authority for their views on extending public access to open countryside. The Government has just published a White Paper confirming its proposal to extend access to moorland, mountain
VOTERS go to the polls on May 7 to select representatives for 13 seats in 11 wards of Craven district. This week the nominations were published, revealing 26 candidates. Eight sitting councillors are seeking re-election, three have decided to retire,
AN all-girl choir has been introduced at Skipton's Holy Trinity Church for the first time in its 800-year history. Music at the church is undergoing major changes, many of which come after a two-part survey sought the views of the congregation. The survey
SIR - The move to a two tier system is welcome. It will get rid of an unnecessary disruption and will enable first schools, like ours in Oxen-hope, to offer a wider curriculum. Less welcome is the failure to address the manifest problems in the secondary
Terrified residents are living in fear after a gang of youths has repeatedly gone on the rampage outside their homes. Residents of Dalby Avenue, and Palin Avenue, both in Bradford Moor, have dubbed the area 'downtown Beirut' as teenagers repeatedly set
CRAVEN District Council has finally put its foot down on dog mess. News that the authority started enforcing the Fouling of Land Act has come as a breath of fresh air to the area's dog warden. Anthea Chapman has warned 187 owners of fouling dogs in the
A BRASS band has suffered a major blow in its efforts to find £40,000 to buy a whole new set of instruments. Giggleswick and Settle Brass Band has received news that its bid for a grant for £1,000 from Craven District Council towards the cost of the instruments
HISTORIC film of early Skipton galas has been saved from being lost forever and will be shown around Craven next month. The three potentially explosive nitrate films of the 1933-1935 galas have so far been inaccessible due to their chemically unstable
STAFF at the Black Horse pub in Skipton are furious at pay conditions imposed on them while refurbishments take place this summer. Around 30 bar and restaurant employees will receive half-pay for the first six weeks of the pub's closure, then nothing
CRAVEN has recorded the highest crime reduction figures in North Yorkshire while maintaining the county's best detection rate. The annual figures were published this week, and show crime has fallen by 20.3 per cent over the past 12 months - twice the
with Tom Smith We are all exhorted by the government to be part of Cool Britannia. By the year 2000 each of us should be a walking advertisement for all that is perceived to be modern and exciting in the United Kingdom. Now, there's an archaic idea for
Bradford council's proposals for re-organising schools are open to change as a result of on-going consultations, insists Cllr Suzanne Rooney. Cllr Rooney, the council's deputy education chairman, told a packed meeting of the education committee at city
An international language organisation has been forced to apologise to Yorkshire West Euro MP Barry Seal after comparing him to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The London-based Esperanto Association accused Dr Seal of joining Hitler and Stalin in opposing
A NEW management structure is in place at Skipton's National Westminster bank with managers given a more specialised role. Caroline Pullich has been appointed branch manager and Arthur Metcalfe, manager for the last five years has taken on a new position
IT'S ten years since the Craven Herald first announced the arrival of the district's first female insurance consultant. Then in partnership with Arthur Hall, Karen Adamson started her new venture in tiny premises tucked away above the old Telegraph and
IT could be said that Skipton's economy was once held together with sewing thread. Major cotton thread manufacturers Dewhursts, whose mills in Broughton Road dominated the town, provided work for many Skiptonians for more than a century. In its heyday
by the Rev G Coles, of The Vicarage, St Mary's, Riddlesden Recently it was reported that a family had been informed, in error, that their close relative had died - only to see him alive some time later! Imagine their shocked grief and then their astonishment
As I do not have any children, I have no personal axe to grind about Bradford Council's schools review with the proposed closure of 70 schools, the amalgamation of others, and the construction of three new ones. But, I'll come clean straight away, I do
ONCE the butt of many a comedian's jokes, Skoda, the Czech car company, has had the last laugh by being named number one manufacturer in a national customer satisfaction survey. And Bradford owners have backed the study's findings, saying they would not
Pint-sized tot Megan Burnley swapped her usual tipple of milk for a bottle of Champagne yesterday - to launch a 55-foot canal barge named in her honour. The 21-month-old toddler christened the narrow boat 'Megan' at her grandparents' boatyard in Silsden
I'd like to share a dilemma with you again this week. It concerns our recent hugely successful Cute Kids competition. Last week we announced the winner as seven-month-old Chelsea Steele. This caused some concern with the parents of one-year-old Jennifer
Keighley Juniors will get the chance to defend the Senior Cup after they beat Druids Arms in the semi-final last week, despite a brilliant display by Druids striker Colin Buckley. Martin McClennon scored first for Keighley but Buckley was unstoppable
Castleford 17 Keighley 22 Keighley had to draw on the depth of their resources to snatch a win in their re-arranged game at Castleford. A heavy pitch and wet conditions contributed to a dour unspectacular match. The home side was anxious to prove that
Wharfedale may have secured a place in the Yorkshire Cup Semi-Finals but of much more immediate importance is this Saturday's National Division One game at home to Harrogate, kicking off at 3pm, writes Keith Lewis. Success in a knockout competition is
North Ribblesdale 31 Leodiensians 7 With scheduled opponents Penrith otherwise engaged Leos stepped in at short notice to visit Grove Park - no doubt undertaking the journey with some reluctance having failed to appear back in November for the regular
The weather is doing its best to ruin the end of the Craven Football League season once again, with a number of matches postponed on Saturday, all scheduled night matches this week postponed and prospects for this Saturday very bleak. Indeed the leading
Robin Luscombe and Wayne Kershaw hit the jackpot inWales last weekend, winning the third round of the national sidecar trials championship from leader Steve Radford and Roger Tuck. Luscombe again drew and early number and acted as pathfinder through many
Murdered Keighley car dealer Mark Hickman was involved in a long-standing dispute with a man, a court heard this week. Prosecutor Patrice Morris said Hickman had taken out a contract on a man called Richard Mears. He said it was due to be carried out
FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Chris Mallinson is preparing for a bumper motorsport season - when he will be taking on the best young drivrs in the north. Chris, a pupil at South craven School, is due to launch his 1998 season at York on Easter Monday when he competes
LEEDS United have Europe on their minds. But a number of players also have half a thought on France and this summer's World Cup. Lucas Radebe is certain the two go hand in hand. The South African skipper is determined to end the season on a high note
THE mother of Kerry Page - who could face up to 25 years in a Kenyan jail - is going to Downing Street later this month to hand in a petition to bring her home. Elaine Garnham, 46, will be joined in London on Tuesday, April 28, by Batley and Spen MP Mike
Haworth man Paul Anderson, a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society's national executive, has condemned as a waste of time a Keighley public meeting called to debate the new-look NHS. He says the 20 minutes people had to question a panel of experts
Developers were seen surveying school land months before proposals to close the school were announced, it has been claimed. Teams of surveyors with maps and measuring equipment were spotted on the playing fields of Bront' Middle School at Oakworth as
A 32-year-old man appeared before Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday, accused of two offences of attempted murder following a shooting incident in Silsden on New Year's Eve. During a brief hearing, Veljko Cerovic pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder
Continuing its focus on businesses in the area, NatWest has developed its Business Centre in Keighley. The Centre is run by business managers Clive Crayston, who has been at Keighley for nine months, and John Frankland, who has recently taken up his position
JEFF HALL CUP (quarter-final) Phoenix 2 Craven Athletic 2 Phoenix's cup clash lived up to its Match of the Day billing as both teams hammered away at each other for 120 minutes - including extra time - but must try again. Both keepers had to be on top
THE decomposed body of a man has been found in a former council house on Bradford's Greengates estate. The remains were discovered last night by the man's housemate who returned to the semi in Roundwood Glen after a period away. It is believed the body
Police are delighted with the falling levels of crime. A 13 per cent drop in crime in the Keighley division has been reported by Supt Steve Priestley, the divisional commander. "You may not see as much of the police as you wish, but certainly the criminal
MIKE Priestley, North of Watford. The police can be more than a bit heavy-handed sometimes when dealing with non-criminal members of the public. The latest example of this is the case of Mrs Victoria Adamson, who was pushing her twins through Torquay
CHARLES HASLETT meets up-and-coming Saltaire playwright Jonathan Hall Award winning Saltaire playwright Jonathan Hall, who gave up full-time teaching to concentrate on writing, is preparing to put on his latest production at the Priestley Centre. The
The National Health Service has been the bedrock of healthcare over the last 50 years that Britons have always counted on. Millions of patients are successfully dealt with each year and it is perhaps a measure of how highly the service is regarded that
The Troubles are being cleared up. Bradford paratrooper Lee Clegg, jailed for the killing of Karen Reilly in 1993 and freed on licence two years later, has been granted a re-trial, and Tony Blair has ordered an inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings
YOU won't find it on any map. It is unlikely you will get more than a glimpse of it as your train crosses the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle. But there is in Chapel-le-Dale a place called Frank's Bank and it could be a spot of great significance
Outrageous parking fees SIR - I consider it outrageous that the one hour car parking fee in Skipton has been increased this month from 60p to 80p, viz. 33 per cent. A year ago the same fee was increased from 40p to 60p, viz. 50 per cent. The majority
100 years ago THE threat of eviction isn't normally a cause for merriment - but perhaps a century ago things were different. A family on Farnhill Moor was determined to stand firm when threatened with eviction from its "old fashioned, one-storey dwelling
The outcome of the school review having been made public, school governors have now had a little time to reflect on the proposals. As a community governor at Bront' Middle School for the last seven years I am naturally disappointed at the decision to
Friends of tragic Ryan Harrison, who died when his skateboard careered into a bus, are staging a charity football tournament in his memory. The nine-year-old youngster used to enjoy kicking a ball about in the street outside his home in Carr Bottom Avenue
Broken glass lying on the footpath at Keighley Tarn could cause a nasty injury, says a local resident. Grandfather Harry Plunkett, of Shann Avenue, says a car was dumped and set ablaze at the tarn in Black Hill Lane a few weeks ago. He says the car has
Well-known Silsden care worker Mrs Morreen Ellis died at her Gloucester Avenue home on Wednesday, just three weeks after being diagnosed as having cancer. Mrs Ellis, 57, was a mother of five and grandmother of nine. Born and brought up in Silsden, Mrs
A parish councillor has criticised what he calls the 'apathy' of the people of Silsden. Chairman Michael Ander-son's comments came after only four members of the public turned up for the parish council's annual general meeting in Silsden Town Hall. "Too
Life as we know it does not exist on Mars, says Dr Cordula Robinson. However, she is confident alien life does exist elsewhere in the universe. Scientists have recently found bacteria-like globules in meteorites which they believe come from Mars, though
The two surviving founder members of Keighley Playhouse joined other past and present members at a golden celebration. Lord Mayor Cllr Tony Cairns and his wife also attended the amateur theatre's 50th anniversary dinner on Saturday. Over 100 people assembled
Bronte Country Tourism (BCT) has rated its third appearance at the annual British Travel Trade Fair as the most successful yet. Keighley-based BCT manager Carolyn Spencer returned from the two-day exhibition in Birmingham - the UK's leading showcase for
Winners of our Croft Sherry/West Side Story competition are: Mrs J Harrison, of Aireworth Grove, Stockbridge; Beryl Buckle, of Middleton, Cowling; Margaret Thompson, of Ilkley Road, Riddlesden; Elaine Green, of High Malsis, Sutton. They each win a pair
A Keighley woman has hit out after it took a housing association four weeks to start repairing her blaze-damaged home. Margaret Kinley says her four children have been crammed into one bedroom and she has had to sleep in the living room. the housing association
A woman paralysed in a parachuting accident is to return home, after negotiating her own care provision. Penny Roberts, who is pregnant, had been living in her specially adapted home at Steeton until two weeks ago, when she had to move into a residential
FOND memories of the golden age of cinema were recalled when a plaque was unveiled in Earby on Monday. The specially commissioned plaque is fixed to the new Ace Group factory building on Water Street, marking the site of Earby's former Empire Cinema.
A GARGRAVE woman who owns an assortment of period costumes spanning 200 years has decided to make her collection more accessible. Bernadette Atkinson, of Gargrave, has been collecting clothes since she was a child, and this love has grown through the
A CHURCH-owned sheep produced quintuplet lambs - just in time for Easter. The mule cross ewe is one of a flock of 17 being cared for by different farmers across the Austwick parish, and her uncommonly large family will help boost church funds. The sheep
