Shepley's Magazine Free to every Shepley household Issue No 20: July 2020 Photograph by Cathy Sykes Page 1 Page 2 Dear Readers At the time of writing this in the middle of June, the rain is coming down in torrents from a cloudy overcast sky and as Charlotte Bronte said, at the beginning of Jane Eyre, “There is no possibility of taking a walk this day,” unless you don’t mind getting wet that is, or you have a dog. Let’s hope those lovely sunny days have returned by the time this magazine is dropping through the letterboxes of Shepley. Lockdown is gradually being reduced, shops are opening again, and the economy is slowly starting to move once more. The sight of people wearing masks is no longer unusual, especially in shops and on public transport. Some of our children are back at school or nursery, but the majority will not return until September. The guidelines are changing week by week and nobody knows what the future will hold. It is often said that the place where we live can influence the people we become and like every community our village is home to lots of different people, with various opinions, experiences and skills. Some have lived here all or much of their lives, while others are new to the village. We like to think Shepley is a friendly place and those of us who have recently been able to enjoy the freedom of walking in the countryside around our village have seen the beauty of nature coming alive around us and enjoyed a friendly greeting as we passed on our way. These unusual times in which we are living have given us all, both as individuals and as a community, the opportunity to stop and consider what is important. At the moment there are very few activities taking place in Shepley and most of our communicating is done online and we are thankful for the technology we have which allows this to happen. This magazine could not be produced without it. Yet behind the technology it is the people who are important. This month’s magazine is perhaps very much about people; people who live in Shepley now or in the locality and sadly about those who are no longer with us, but who have left their mark and will be remembered by everyone who knew them for who they were and what they did for the village. So as we all find a new way forward let’s be kind to one another, let’s share our skills and by helping one another make Shepley’s community something we are all proud to be a part of. Shepley’s Magazine Team. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email contributions by the 12th of the month to: [email protected] All other enquiries including advertising to: [email protected] If you would like a PDF digital copy of the magazine email: [email protected] Page 3 Cliffe House - Shepley The photos from my recent visit to Cliffe House show the progress of the works so far. NU Construction is the main contractor. Yorkshireñ StudiesThey have Group started the construction of the scaffolding around the Building. ñ The site setup has Been completed including security fencing. ñ Floor protection has Been installed. ñ Key items of historical importance have Been protected. ñ Still on track for completion Back end of 2020. Jaime Nalson, Centre Manager, Cliffe House and DRAM Centre. Can you help with the magazine? We need someone to help with the delivery of the magazines. Can you help? Mike Chapman is stepping down in his role of co-ordinating the delivery of the magazines. Mike accepts the delivery of the magazines from the printers and delivers them to 11 lead deliverers. Don’t worry if you cannot do it every month as another team member can provide cover for when you cannot do it. We are a fun team so if you think you would enjoy helping, please contact Ron Leather on 07503 040651. Thank you. Page 4 C COVID-19 Be Aware Scam Emails - forward scam emails to: [email protected] A suspicious email reporting service has been launched, as users continue to be bombarded by phishing attacks. The scheme is designed to make it easier for members of the public to report online scams, including scams taking advantage of widespread interest in the coronavirus. The service will enable users to report suspicious emails to [email protected], where automated scanners will assess whether it is malicious or not. If so, any linked phishing sites will be removed immediately. Page 5 Letter from our Member of Parliament The past few months have been very hard on all of us and I am pleased that we do seem to Be beyond the peak of the pandemic now and it is perhaps time to reflect on what the country has managed to do. Remarkably, at no stage during this crisis has the NHS been overwhelmed and no patient requiring a ventilator has gone without. This is thanks not only to the inspirational work of frontline NHS staff, but to all members of the public who have been abiding by social distancing rules and as a result hospital admissions are falling. We should though, not forget all those whose lives have been lost and those who have suffered from separation from family and friends during this time. I hope that there will be an opportunity at some point to pay tribute to all those who have helped in some way, our key workers and the vast numbers of volunteers. I know that in Shepley there have been many people who have helped neighbours and friends who have been shielding or isolating and it is easy to underestimate the value of these simple acts of kindness. As the number of infections continue to fall, so the lockdown has begun to Be eased and I welcome the fact that families can now meet outdoors, whilst maintaining social distancing and that people who are on their own can form social buBBles with another household to help tackle the very real issue of loneliness and the mental health impact that this can potentially cause. We have seen markets begin to open and as I write this I am looking forward to non-essential shops being allowed to reopen. I hope that people will especially support our smaller local businesses as they begin to trade again, as we need to make sure that they are able to continue. I will also be glad when restaurants, pubs and cafes can open their doors to customers, with appropriate social distancing in place and there are many that are looking forward to hairdressers being able to reopen safely, although this has not been an issue for me clearly. I was very pleased when I was able to return to Westminster in person. I think it is right that MPs who can Be at Westminster should be at Westminster, to set the right eXample to the rest of the country, especially at a time when we are encouraging people to send their children back to school. Of course, I do recognise that some MPs cannot be present because of medical conditions and I welcome that the house has made some accommodation for them. Having a virtual parliament was a necessary compromise during the peak of the virus. While I have enjoyed contributing to parliamentary business remotely, it's not the same in terms of ensuring proper scrutiny of the Government. We do have to queue longer to vote and it's a mild inconvenience. Still, it's no different to queuing at the local supermarket for our groceries sometimes for up to an hour. Therefore, I have no complaints about the eXtra queuing time to vote on important legislation. Whilst I have been unable to get out across the constituency during this period, this has not meant that I have been inactive and I have enjoyed responding to people on a wide range of issues throughout this period. I have also started holding a couple of virtual surgeries, using zoom to enable me to talk face to face with constituents, albeit via a screen rather than in person and would suggest people contact my office if they would like to arrange an appointment at one of the virtual surgeries. As always if my team or I can Be of assistance, please feel free to email: [email protected] or telephone 01924 939007. Page 6 Councillor's Letter Last month I began my update with a joke aBout a hole in the pavement and the fact that the Council were looking into it. Well, in keeping with most of my jokes, it fell a bit flat, as by the time the magazine was landing on your doormats, the Council had been and filled in the hole, so apologies for those who were looking for it! I had also asked the Council if they could, in advance of the gradual reopening of the school to more pupils this month, clean the footpath up the back of the school to the Rec as there was a lot of leaf detritus and weeds that had built up and good to their word they did attend and give it a deep clean (albeit not remove all the weeds) at the end of May and then the following three days we had those high winds which brought down leaves, blossom etc and I am now having to ask them to come back again. At least they have managed to remove the broken concrete bollard and replace it.