THE back ends of cows, like this one below, appear to have got plenty of our readers in a bit of a lather recently, with comments on our Facebook page asking for pictures of faces, and not just well groomed bottoms. Every week our farming pages are mainly taken up with reports from auction marts, most usually Skipton Auction Mart, and featuring pictures of prize winning sheep and cattle, with the occasional chicken. The winning beasts are pictured with their best attributes to the fore, so readers of the farming pages can best appreciate their ‘bags’ or udders, if they are dairy cattle, or their meaty back ends, if they are beef cattle. We do occasionally get a side on view of a young bull, but not what a lot of non farming people would like to see - a nice picture of a cow or sheep’s face. I have discussed this a few times with farmers, and have always received the same response, it is the ‘bag’ or the meaty back end that they are interested in, and why on earth would they want to see its face.

SOME of our readers who send in wonderful pictures of birds might want to think about submitting one of their photos to a garden retailer for its annual wildlife competition.

Wilko is on the hunt for images for its 2021 wild bird calender, and is inviting people to submit their pictures - whether its a gang of long-tailed tits hanging onto a bird-feeder, or a swooping bird of prey.

Winners will see their images in the calender and receive one of 12 gift cards, worth £100.

Meanwhile, Wilko, which sells food for wild birds, is reminding people to carry on feeding garden visitors throughout the cold winter months and to put a good selection of food on tables or in feeders, and also to make sure there is a clean supply of water.

The wilko wild bird competition runs until 29 March 29. All photographs should be taken in a garden or outdoor setting and must have been taken by you. Email entries to WildBirdCompetition@wearebrazenpr.com

THE first Cross Hills Guides and Rangers (pictured right) must think they are jinxed; for the second year running their outdoor camp was hit by a major storm. Last year the group endured Storm Brian, and are wondering if a new ‘storm survival’ badge needs to be added. The girls spent a very blustery weekend at Waddow Hall, Clitheroe for ‘sparkle and ice’ at the same time as Storm Ciara hit, with winds of up to 80mph. Despite the wind and rain, they had a great time, so a spokesperson for the group told me: “The girls had a great time and were kept very safe and all arrived home on time albeit very windswept.

“ However the girls are wondering if they are ‘jinxed’ slightly as this is the second storm they have survived when out camping. In 2019 they attended ‘Sparkle and Ice’ and endured the force of Storm Brian.”

The spokesperson added: “Girlguiding North Yorkshire West’s nights away badge might not be quite enough for these intrepid guides and rangers, it’s perhaps ‘I’ve camped in a storm & survived.”

If you think you’ve got what it takes to join them, visit the website:girlguiding.org.uk

SETTLE super slimmers, Julie and Martin Carrick, whose book ‘Losing It’ explains how between them they managed to lose a whopping 12 stones, recently staged a food tasting afternoon when people were invited along to taste some of the recipes they have come up with, and which are detailed in their book, including no bake lime cheesecake, pictured right. The idea behind the tasting was to show people the simplicity of the recipes but also the taste, they tell me. “We are keen to ensure that our book does not become placed under the umbrella of a ‘diet’ or a ‘quick fix’ as it is certainly not that,” they say. “Our book promotes a healthy lifestyle using fresh and local ingredients. We hoped through inviting people who are interested in our lifestyle that they would be encouraged and motivated to give it a go themselves - whether to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight or lead a healthier lifestyle.”

Julie and Martin are now busy developing new recipes to include in their new book. Losing It is available on Amazon and at Waterstones.

I AM grateful to Brian Stott for this picture (above right) of a sign on Raikes Road, Skipton, near Wright Wine and marking the spot where Skipton Pinfold was situated.

Brian tells me the pinfold - or village pound - was a feature of most villages and towns in England. “It was a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding,” he says. Interestingly, the words ‘pinfold’ and ‘pound’ are Saxon in origin, he continues. “ Pundfald and pund both mean an enclosure, and there appears to be no difference between a pinfold and a village pound. Pinfold seems to be more popular in the north and east of England, whilst in the south and west the term ‘pound’ is more popular, he tells me, and speaking as someone originally from the south, I can vouch for that, having never before heard of a ‘pinfold’ before, but very familiar with a ‘pound’.

Brian adds that the person in charge of the pinfold was the ‘pinder’, giving rise to the surname Pinder. There is a similar plaque on a street in Ilkley, and of course the bridge on Keighley Road over the canal in Skipton is called Pinder Bridge - perhaps someone knows of a connection between the two.

IT was interesting to read in the Craven Herald of 50 years ago, March 6, 1970, of a ‘sensational police raid’ on a soul dance club in Earby.

More than 70 young people were arrested after the club in Water Street was raided by police in the early hours of a Sunday morning. The Herald reported that several officers, including some in plain clothes, and also ‘women officers’ descended on the club. The more than 90 young people, from ‘all parts of the North West’ were told to put their hands on their heads before being searched, the girls put into a separate room to be searched by women officers. The majority were then put into a police coach to be ferried to Earby Police Station, where they were searched again and questioned. Most were then allowed to leave, while others had to wait for their parents to collect them.

Police later released a statement to say it had been a joint operation with the drugs squad of Lancashire Police and that ‘certain evidence’ had been forwarded to the forensic science laboratories at Harrogate for examination. The ground floor of the premises was a cafe and the top floor, a discotheque.

MEANWHILE, 100 years ago, on March 5, 1920, the Herald reported on how the Skipton War Memorial Committee had received 51 designs for a war memorial for the town. Because of the large numbers of designs submitted, the committee decided it couldn’t possibly make an instant decision and decided to postpone it until another meeting and in the meantime, to leave the designs in the council chamber for all members of the council to peruse ‘at their leisure’. The council had received £432 in subscriptions, towards the £3,000 required.

Over in Ingleton, a public meeting had been held in the national school to consider the erection of a war memorial in St Mary’s Church in honour of those who had fallen in the war. It was thought between £80 and £100 would be needed for a suitable memorial and that the most appropriate would be a brass tablet to be placed in the nave of the church, the wording to be left to the vicar and wardens. The church had at the time managed to collect about £38 in collections and donations.