Just days after being made redundant as Fresh AM ceased broadcasting, James Wilson is back on the air at local community radio station Dystone Radio.
James presents his “Solid Gold Sunday Show” to the Cowling based station on106.9FM or online at www.drystoneradio.com every Sunday from 8pm to 11pm. The show was one of the most popular shows on Fresh AM before the closure of the station in Skipton recently and listeners are pleased to learn that its business as usual for the local broadcaster.
Station manager David Adams is delighted to welcome James on board at Drystone, commenting “As the voice of the news at Fresh for fifteen years, James also brings with him a very extensive background in broadcasting and an intimate knowledge of the Yorkshire dales, he will be a real asset to the team here. We hope he enjoys broadcasting here at a station not unlike Yorkshire Dales Radio which James founded with others in 1997 in a portacabin on the Aireville Campus in Skipton.
James added “The first Solid Gold Sunday Show at Drystone  attracted interest from around the world not just locally, and it was good to hear listeners’ messages of support.”
Drystone, which has enjoyed celebrity status with Crazy Daisy as the youngest broadcaster in the world and X-Factor contender Simon Basil among its presenters, is gaining a following that will no doubt increase with James Wilson’s arrival in the mix.

Create the ambience of a peaceful Victorian nursery for your child’s room with beautiful prints from
Vintage Images.

Entirely unique, these original designs collected from Victorian pictures and books dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s have not been re-printed anywhere else since.  Averil Thornton has
painstakingly put the collection together after years spent trawling antique shops, fairs and second-hand bookshops for a personal collection which she now shares with other enthusiasts.
Based online at www.vintageimages.info with an e-bay store, she offers a unique range of evocative Victorian images as prints and new postcards. 

From trade cards, old packaging and book illustrations,The Vintage Images Collection began with over 150 images and is continuing to grow all the time.  Each image is available as a 6 x 4 postcard, an A3 or A4 print.

Reasonably priced from just 99p for a postcard to £6 for an A3 sized print, you can then frame these
lovely images to suit your own nursery’s colour scheme.

The Nursery & Baby collection is just one theme available with more than 270+ images featuring
Children & Animals, Flowers, Birds, Farming, Fashion, Harvest, Seaside and Romance to name but a
few.

As well as the online shop, The Vintage Images Collection can be requested as a regularly updated
printed catalogue, available on request from 01507 522888.

Averil will also create individual bespoke items for you, such as incorporating the designs into wedding and christening stationery, dolls house miniatures and special gifts.

Irene Chenery & Carol Maher

A chance meeting at a mediation training course in 1993 and a conversation about their mutual belief in the mediation concept – unusual in the law profession at the time – marked the beginning of a solid friendship and business relationship for Irene Chenery and Carol Maher of Chenery Maher Solicitors in Clitheroe.

As their friendship developed they learned that they were born just two days apart, both raised in the north-west and had both studied at Chester Law College. Five years later in 1998 Chenery Maher Solicitors was formed, built on that rare key premise from their first meeting – mediation.

The practice specialises in family law, wills, probate, conveyancing and elderly law. Entirely client focused, the partners act only for private individuals, men or women. Their holistic approach is personal, friendly and caring – so much so that they work closely with local counsellor, Jayne Walker, and life coach Louise Yates, to give clients professional guidance as well as legal support in their times of need.

Former joint chairs of the hugely successful fundraising body Ribble & Valley White Rose Ladies, Carol and Irene are now active supporters of Age UK, in keeping with their Irene’s role on the specialist panel Solicitors for the Elderly.  Their autumn fundraising art exhibition transformed the Church Street, Clitheroe offices into an elegant gallery featuring sculptures and pictures by prestigious local artists Jo Taylor and Clare Bigger.

Chenery Maher
21 Church Street
Clitheroe
BB7 2DF
01200 422 264
www.chenerymaher.co.uk

David Adams of community station Drystone Radio comments on the demise of commercial station Fresh Radio:

“We are saddened at Drystone Radio to hear that Fresh Radio, which began in a portakabin in Skipton and has served our community throughout almost fifteen years, has ceased to exist. The personnel who have lost their jobs will no doubt get work elsewhere in the radio industry as their standard of broadcasting was high. They take with them, however, an intimate knowledge of our community.  We at Drystone radio will find it strange not to be eavesdropping on their efforts. Commercial radio is costly to run and it is no surprise that it is hard to maintain in a semi-rural area. We are more convinced than before that Community Radio – where the people of the area form a large body of volunteers providing a voice for their own community – is the only meaningful and sustainable form of broadcasting in this area. It is hard to see how a distance controlled replacement can contribute to the Dales and surrounding areas in the way that James, Julian, Jeremy and the others of the Fresh team did . They really cared and deserve our thanks for all they have done, as do the local individuals who have supported them financially.”

Many of us harbour a fondness for a simpler time, before i-pads and email, traffic and Twitter.  Averil Thornton has made a living for some years in celebrating the bygone halcyon days of the Victorian era.  Her new business, Vintage Images Collection, was founded in June this year after spending 15 years publishing a nostalgic Yorkshire based magazine with worldwide appeal.

Pursuing what began as a hobby through her work as an Editor, her time is now spent responding to the demand for Victoriana in print. Based online at www.vintageimages.info her e-bay store offers a unique range of evocative Victorian images as prints and new postcards.

Entirely unique, none of these original designs collected from Victorian pictures and books dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s have been re-printed anywhere else
since.  Averil painstakingly put the collection together after years spent trawling antique shops, fairs and second-hand bookshops for a personal collection which she now shares with other enthusiasts.

A rural Yorkshire lass herself (circa 1946), Averil spent over 25 years in the marketing, publishing and media industry, a career which she was able to continue despite become disabled in the 1990s.  Now with new husband Dan, who is also disabled, she looks forward to a bright future – trading in the pastoral past which is her passion.

From trade cards, old packaging and book illustrations,The Vintage Images Collection began with over 150 images and is continuing to grow all the time.  Each 6 x 4 postcard is also available as an A3 or A4 print and glowing feedback from customers on the quality and speed of service is helping to spread the word.

New artists working in the same style are added to the collection regularly to keep it fresh.  A recent addition is an exclusive range of 7 x 5 fine art postcards featuring images by the late Michael Herring whose work is in demand from collectors worldwide, and a collection of nostalgic golfing images by Kevin Walsh will shortly be available.  Averil welcomes other artists to submit their work for inclusion in the collection, and is developing new ranges including Art Deco, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s images.

Not all of Averil’s customers are internet savvy, so the Vintage Images Collection is also available as a regularly updated printed catalogue, available on request from 01507 522888.

Although the business is in its infancy, orders are coming in from all over the world for these specialist items which make perfect gifts for anyone with a passion for our
Victorian and Edwardian heydays.  The collection is grouped into themes for ease if searching through the 270+ images; Children & Animals, Flowers, Birds, Farming, Fashion, Harvest, Nursery, Seaside and Romance to name but a few.

Averil is also developing a bespoke side of the business in response to demand for special requests to incorporate the designs into wedding stationery and dolls house miniatures.

As people are becoming increasingly interested in researching their own genealogy, their sense of that heritage is heightened by the images Averil offers. “We’re really delighted with the level of interest we have generated already”, explains Averil “and it’s very rewarding work researching original designs to add to the collection and
responding to enquiries from customers who are so thrilled to have found us.”

Air filtration experts D & E Filtration Services are increasing their position as market leaders in the industry with the acquisition of a filter manufacturing company in Leicestershire. 

In a deal signed and sealed on 8^th November after a lengthy planning process, Standard Air was acquired by D & E to consolidate the strengths of the two complementary businesses.

D&E Filtration Services has a reputation for conducting cost-saving air conditioning cleaning and maintenance contracts nationwide.   The new expansion means their customers’ replacement filter requirements can now be largely fulfilled in-house, leading to greater efficiency and further cost savings passed on to their customers.

Standard Air has been supplying filters to D&E and their customers for many years. Ratifying the arrangement through the buy-out ensures Standard Air will gain from the improved management structures and business impetus of its new owners. 

Sales Director Mark Bamforth will be responsible for running the new division and the continuing development of the D&E Filtration Services brand as a manufacturer and supplier in new markets.

“While we plan to continue to allow Standard Air to continue to run in its own right, as a sister company to D & E Filtration Services it will strengthen the position of both businesses”, he explains. “It will enable us to increase our competitive edge and develop our expertise in the field of air filtration with our own manufacturing division to complement the established maintenance, cleaning and service work.”

Graham Cameron, who established Standard Air twenty years ago, will remain in the business working alongside the new team at the helm.

He commented “We’re looking forward to formalising our long-standing relationship with D & E Filtration Services and to their partnership in the growth it will generate.”

Newly merged law firm AWB Charlesworth Solicitors of Skipton and Keighley is casting its social and business network wider with a regular informal meeting for local professional contacts on Friday lunchtimes.

Featuring take-away ‘fish n chips’, the events will provide an opportunity for lawyers at the firm’s Skipton office  to entertain an interesting mix of guests including local associates, intermediaries and clients.

Commercial partner Umberto Vietri explains “The idea sprang from our recent launch event which provided a chance for the partners to meet each other’s contacts and get to know people face to face informally.  Our lives are all driven by the speed and convenience of emailing and phones, but there is no substitute for actually meeting people.  A relaxed get-together on a Friday lunchtime seemed a great idea for ensuring we all get a break while meeting up with old friends and some new faces.  The fish and chips will make a change from traditional corporate entertaining fayre, and as one of the nation’s favourites, should certainly be well-received”.

Formed by the three-way merger of Armstrong Wood & Bridgman and Umberto Vietri Business Lawyers, both of Keighley, with Charlesworth Wood & Brown of Skipton, AWB Charlesworth Solicitors is a dynamic new force in the area for commercial and private client law services.

Grassington House Hotel has scooped another award in recognition of the sterling efforts of their dedicated team.

The Small But Special Accommodation accolade was won by the boutique Dales hotel as part of the annual Yorkshire Life Food & Drink Awards 2011-12, which celebrates the best of Yorkshire’s culinary prowess.

Owners John and Sue Rudden travelled to the lavish award ceremony luncheon held at Hotel du Vin in Harrogate on Monday 19^th September along with prestigious nominees from around the county, and were delighted to win their category.

Grassington House had been able to show the panel of judges a consistently high level of food and accommodation quality backed by independent recommendations on TripAdvisor and other sites.  The beautifully refurbished bedrooms reflecting Georgian splendour with contemporary interior design were acknowledged along with the emphasis on home produce.

Where many restaurants pay lip service to locally grown produce, John Rudden has flung himself headlong into the fully fledged ‘field to fork’ experience. His pride and joy are his own beloved pigs, hand reared on a small-holding at the top of the village and served in the restaurant as rare breed pork. Freshly laid eggs from their own hens and ducks are served at breakfast time and used in all the recipes. Everything is made from scratch by the chefs; from the bread and cakes through to the jam, ice cream and chocolates. 

Sue Rudden commented “The award would not have been possible without the hard work, commitment and dedication of all our staff.  Having worked in every area of the industry I know how every single member of staff contributes to make our hotel what it is today, they have all made sacrifices in their lives to help us get this recognition and this award is for them, not just for John and I.”

Utopia at Broughton Hall was the fitting venue for a champagne reception to celebrate the three-way merger and launch of forward-thinking new law firm, AWB Charlesworth Solicitors.

The event provided an opportunity for clients and associates of the three former firms to meet the enlarged team set to become a dynamic new practice in the area for commercial and private client law services.

Formed by the joining of Armstrong Wood & Bridgman and Umberto Vietri Business Lawyers, both of Keighley, with Charlesworth Wood & Brown of Skipton, the new practice aims to build on the strengths of the original firms while expanding their horizons and specialisms for a stronger future.

Endorsed by the Lexcel standard accreditation from the Law Society (which shows that after thorough examination the practice has met impressively high management standards) AWB Charlesworth Solicitors presents an impressive portfolio of specialist skills covering all aspects of  Company & Commercial, Commercial Property and Litigation, Wills, Probate & Trusts, Residential  Property and Family Law.

The Chris White Jazz Trio provided entertainment at the evening event as more than a hundred guests enjoyed champagne and canapés, along with Timothy Taylors as a good Yorkshire alternative.  Senior partners Martin Wood, Alan Davidson and Umberto Vietri addressed the guests, thanking existing clients and looking forward to forging new relationships with their increased expertise.

Classic cabinetmakers Royal Oak Furniture have made a radical departure from their traditional style with a brand new contemporary range called POP.

Mark Kent, whose father Paul started the Yorkshire Dales business in 1977, has injected some charisma of his own into the new collection.  Although inspired by designs from the 1950’s, the new range is brought bang up to date with the use of today’s striking colour palettes.  It moves away from the recent trend of square clean furniture to combine stylish turned legs and curves with varied geometric lines.

Made in solid wood, the range demonstrates the skill of these world-class craftsmen whose brand was originally founded on oak and is established as one of the finest UK cabinetmaking firms.

Mark explains “We have always worked in a variety of timbers, with cherry, mahogany and walnut alongside as many as fifteen different oak finishes in all our ranges, but many of our designs have ultimately been geared towards oak.  The POP collection not only lends itself to lighter woods, it will also work well with a darker wood such as walnut.  We are demonstrating how working with paint techniques can really contrast with and complement handmade wood furniture.”

The furniture is available in four colours as standard, but customers can commission any colour they choose, with endless options in terms of paint colours and timbers used; or without paint at all.

Mark says “The paint colour can be garish by itself, but the wood acts as a natural softener which makes the furniture eye catching without being overly extrovert”.

The furniture features beautifully crafted cut-out handle pulls on the sideboard pieces, with concealed soft closing runners on the large drawers and soft-close hinges on the doors. The legs on the occasional tables and cabinet units are hand-turned.

Adjustable dovetailed boxes can be positioned anywhere within the framework of the versatile bookcase shelving unit.  Each box has an ingenious groove cut in its base to locate it onto the adjustable shelf studs and the boxes can be painted to contrast with the timber frame, or left natural.

The sofa cushions are upholstered with a fabric to match or complement a chosen paint colour.

Oak asserts itself within the POP range in the solid oak occasional table tops. While they may appear lightweight, with an under chamfer these are robust pieces of furniture for modern day living.

A dining set and desk unit are currently being developed to further enhance the new range which comprises; sofa, occasional tables, shelving unit, sideboards, TV units and a 12 drawer chest. Standard colours are apple, mulberry, midnight and pebble.