Otley solicitor retires after 25 years

A solicitor has retired after notching up nearly quarter of a century with Otley firm Newstead & Walker.

Helen Thornton (pictured on the right) joined the company in 1989, a year after returning to her native Yorkshire following a decade training and working in London.

She has been succeeded by Elspeth Harrow (pictured on the left), who has been with the firm for two months and has more than 25 years’ experience as a solicitor, including in the fields of property, will, estates and tax planning.

Senior partner at Newstead & Walker, David Louden, said: “We will all miss Helen.

“She contributed a lot to the partnership and is well known for her various activities in the community, as well as her highly-regarded reputation as a solicitor.

“However, Elspeth is a good fit within our team, and an ideal replacement.

“We are confident she will continue the tradition of giving the best possible service to professional colleagues, as well as to clients old and new, in the conveyancing and private client departments.”

Chevin Cross lowered at second go

Otley’s Chevin Cross has been taken down – at the second attempt – after more than 70 people responded to an appeal for help.

The record-breaking number of volunteers turned up at Surprise View last Saturday morning to safely lower the 36ft high, two tonne structure to the ground.

The cross – the brainchild of Otley Council of Churches – has been raised above Otley each Easter since the late 1960s, and is usually taken down after four weeks.

But an earlier attempt to lower it, on Saturday, April 13, had to be aborted when only 20 people turned up to lend a hand.

John Burland, of Otley Methodist Church, said having such a high number of volunteers present last Saturday made all the difference.

He said: “This time there were no problems and it came down the easiest it has ever done.

“There were several new faces among the volunteers and we would like to thank all who came, from Wharfedale and beyond, to help.

“The cross will now be stored down in Otley until it is ready to be erected next Easter, on Saturday, April 5.”

Otley home hosts centenarians party

An Otley care home is celebrating having a quartet of centenarians.

Between them Teal Beck House residents Ada Granville, Geoff Goodwin, Olive Bardsley and Eve Prior have lived for 401 years.

Geoff, who turns 101 on Sunday, April 28, is the eldest while Ada, who has only just reached her century, is the youngest.

Teal Beck’s hospitality manager Tracy Dawson said: “This is the first time we have had four centenarians at the same time. Geoff started the ball rolling followed by Olive, Eve and then the most recent was Ada, just last week.

“All of them are proud to have reached this milestone and be part of this small ‘elite’ group.”

MEN’S FORUM: Safety in the Channel Tunnel is crucial and our speaker, Graham Peacock, was one of the people who were prime movers in the augmentation of the safety requirements needed. His vast knowledge of the tunnel and its construction and use enabled him to give us a very interesting and informative talk. Ignoring the financial implications, which are an entirely separate subject, he told us about the development of the project from its start in 1988 to completion in 1994 when the first cars were transported. Construction took more than five years and 13,000 workers were employed during that time. Eleven boring machines were used and a tunnel 31.5 miles long with 23.5 miles below the sea at an average depth of 164 feet was excavated. Interestingly one of these tunnel boring drills was sold recently on eBay for £44,000. Many test runs were conducted to prove the safety systems adopted and Graham was fortunate to make a number of short but tiring trips to Paris on these test runs. Ventilation is of critical importance for both the control of the spread of fire and of tunnel temperature. He explained the generation of this system and its function. So great is this transport system that the American Society of Civil Engineers named it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Although more than 9.5 million passengers (half of its capacity) have used it since its opening, like Concorde, it is not a complete financial success. Our next meeting on Thursday, May 2, is again at 10am at Otley Methodist Church when Frank Wright will tell us about being A Village Butcher.

CAMERA CLUB: Stephen Dean judged our Close Up competition this week. Stephen’s comments were delivered in an expert fashion and members accepted advice about how some images could be enhanced. There was an interesting variety of images from members demonstrating their skills in interpreting the subject. The winners of the print section were: First – Waltham Traveller by John Hirst, Second – Cactus Gymnocalcycium by Tony Jennings, Third – Golden Ball by John Hirst. The winners of the Digital Images were: First – Begonia by David Ricketts, Second – Poppy by Mary Thorpe, Third – Burn by Stuart Dawson. The evening was well attended and new members were made very welcome. Next week’s meeting is a presentation on close-up and macro photography by club member John Hirst. Members and visitors are always warmly welcomed at our meetings which are held every Thursday at 7.15pm at Otley Town Partnership Rooms, on Mercury Row. For more information go to otleycameraclub.co.uk.