The Chocolate Letters: Christmas 1914

On Sunday 5 December at 14.00 (2 pm), Bishopthorpe resident Ken Haywood will be giving a talk at the York Army Museum in Tower Street, next to Clifford’s Tower.
The title of Ken’s talk is ‘The Chocolate Letters’.
At Christmas 1914, the Lord Mayor and the Sheriff of York sent a tin of chocolate to all York men who were serving with the Forces. Many men sent letters of thanks and those letters were retained and are now conserved in Explore at York.
Ken’s illustrated talk explores the writers and their letters which came from all ranks and from all over the world.
Tickets are free, but must be pre-booked – call 01904 461010 to book.

Sustrans: Improvements to the Solar System Way

The following message was received from Sustrans:

WE’RE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SOLAR SYSTEM WAY (NCN 65/TRANS PENNINE TRAIL) BETWEEN NABURN AND RICCALL.

Using funding from the Department for Transport Sustrans are making changes to the Solar System Way to make it more accessible to a wider range of users and to create a more comfortable journey for all.

THE WORK WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE GREENWAY BETWEEN AUTUMN 2021 AND SPRING 2022 and will involve:

· Resurfacing and where possible widening the path

· Removing or redesigning barriers

· Improving signage along the section.

Due to the nature of the works route closures and diversions are expected to be in place periodically throughout the duration.

In order to ensure the new surface stays in good condition into the future it will be necessary to remove a number of trees to prevent root damage to the path. In addition, we are also managing “ash dieback” on this section which will involve felling a number of diseased ash trees which would otherwise become a danger to route-users. The majority of the tree works will be taking place between the bridge over the River Ouse and the access to the greenway from Vicarage Lane.

As the route is a valued wildlife corridor Sustrans is committed to ensuring that biodiversity is protected on the greenway and will use these works as an opportunity to maintain and enhance habitat through planting at least two trees for every tree felled; planting a variety of suitable native trees to diversify the woodland and where possible retaining felled timber on the site as dead wood habitat. We will also provide opportunities for the community to get involved in practical conservation activities.

We understand that this is a well-used and much-loved greenspace and apologise for any inconvenience caused but know that this short-term disruption will ensure that the greenway is made more accessible to all legitimate users and that improvements made will benefit users for many years to come.

This work is being carried out as a part of our “Paths for  Everyone” vision which looks to create a more inclusive National  Cycle Network to make active travel more accessible to people of all  ages and abilities.

If you would like to view our plans for the woodland on this section please visit: https://forestplans.co.uk/solar-system-greenway/

For updates on route closures visit: https://www.facebook.com/SustransYorks,

For information about our Paths for Everyone vision visit: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/about-us/paths-for-everyone

Bishopthorpe Community Festival

Sunday 19th September – Main Street

Starting at 12 noon, Bishopthorpe Community Festival brings a ‘street party’ vibe to Main Street.

Stalls, street food and drink, music, rides, and entertainment give us a great opportunity to forget about the problems we’ve all had to endure for at least one day, support local businesses, and celebrate life in a great community.

Main Street will be closed to traffic so there’s plenty of room to wander around and explore what’s going on.

Fingers crossed for some good weather!

Meet Jack – Village Hall Performance

Mind Matters for Education and Falling Stars Theatre bring to you an interactive, fun and engaging performance for parents and primary aged children.

This performance follows the story of a boy called Jack and all the emotions that he experiences in a busy week.
Jack’s week ends with an explosion of feelings, the play flashes back to see what happened in Jack’s week to make him feel anxious and withdrawn. Football, school, family, friends have all contributed to Jack’s current state of mind and his refusal to talk about how he feels. Are you okay is a repeated question asked by other characters, to which Jack replies I’m fine!
The post-performance emotion workout will explore strategies for helping young people identify and talk about their feelings and consider ways to manage emotions.

 

At Mind Matters for Education (Dunnington based) we believe that identifying emotions and developing helpful coping strategies is key to helping children in these unusual times.

We want to let children know that its ok to feel all their emotions and it is also ok to feel overwhelmed. Our message is that ‘You will be ok; you can manage your emotions and build up skills to look after yourself and your mind!’

 

‘Meet Jack’ is going to be performed with an accompanying mini drama workshop in small York venues. We want children and parent/guardians to access our work and use it as a good starting point for conversations. Come along and see the performance!

The performance is touring in the following York Venues:
Sunday 27th June 4pm Poppleton Road Memorial Hall
Sunday 4th July 10.30am Stockton on forest Village Hall
Sunday 4th July 4pm Bishopthorpe Village Hall
Sunday 11th July 4pm Oaken Grove Community Centre, Haxby
Sunday 11th July 10.30am Copmanthorpe Sports and Recreation Centre

The production will be run in accordance with the current government guidance for performance venues and audience management.

Tickets are available at:

www.ticketsource.co.uk/falling-stars-theatre

Box Office: 07816 269 690

“The children in school loved the video of ‘Meet Jack’ They were able to relate to the characters and talk about what had happened very coherently.” Year 2 Teacher Mrs.Elliott.

“It was Brilliant! We both really enjoyed it! You touched on everything that a child can feel….. Loved it!”  Year 2 Parent Mrs.Taylor.

Bishopthorpe.net transport guru stands down

One of the original founders of Bishopthorpe.net, Ian Hodson, has decided to retire from editing the Local Travel section of the site.

Ian has performed this role from the very start of Bishopthorpe.net, but changing times and the way information is shared have forced him to re-think the value of this part of the site.

I’d like to thank Ian for all the time and effort he’s put into making Bishopthorpe.net a success, and hope he’ll continue to feed through snippets of information whenever he has anything to share.

Ian describes his reasoning in his own words in the message below:-


I have contributed local travel information to this site throughout its existence, but nowadays operators have made it very easy to obtain accurate, up-to-date information at source. This is therefore my last contribution.

Local bus information is available via itravelyork.info or from individual operators, e.g. firstbus.co.uk who also have various apps indicating next bus arrivals and allowing on-line ticket purchase.

Train information is available on nationrail.co.uk      Again, apps are offered for current info and for booking.

I am very grateful to Ian Keeton who operates bishopthorpe.net  and has tolerated my  ignorance of matters technical through the years. Thank you, Ian.

Good travelling!

Ian Hodson

Bishopthorpe Library Set to Re-open Soon

Great news at last.
Bishopthorpe Library will re-open from Monday 12 April.
The self-isolation rules when using the library will be the same as before the third lockdown, so we won’t have to learn another way to visit.
Unfortunately, this means that we can’t have any events or even story times for little ones n the foreseeable future, although Sonia hopes that they may be able to have a story time in the garden at some point.
When the library reopens, please call in; even if only to say hello.

Bish Library Closed in Lockdown – Details of Services Available in 2021

Lockdown number three means that our village library will remain closed.

Acomb and Tang Hall will offer Click & Collect from Monday–Friday 10am–3pm and Saturday 10am–1pm.

This will also include the option of asking for a Lucky Dip (staff choose books for you based on your preferences).

Computer access will be available at York, Acomb and Tang Hall at the same times as above.

They will also offer Click & Deliver again to people who can’t leave the house.

The cafes will be closed, apart from Rowntree Park, where people can get takeaways 7 days a week from 9am to 4pm.

Of course, there is also still our digital offer – e-books, e-audiobooks, Press Reader, access to Ancestry and Find my Past and events.

The website for all this is:

https://exploreyork.org.uk/explore-during-lockdown/