Dovetail Divorce Solutions is the brainchild of Leeds-based IFA Robert Cresswell of Gordian Financial Services, and Wakefield-based coach Clare Walters of Absolute Specialists.   

Both are firm believers in collaborative family law, where separating couples avoid court by working through the details of their separation together, with the help of specialist lawyers.  Robert and Clare saw an opportunity to bring together a team of specialists to offer financial and emotional support alongside legal advice to help people through separation and divorce, offering clarity on costs at what is an incredibly difficult time. 

As well as providing clients with specialist support, Dovetail Divorce Solutions provides an online cost calculator, where clients can input details of their circumstances and the cost of their divorce is calculated instantly. They are able to select a lawyer from the list of participating firms and then at an initial meeting, the fixed fee is confirmed. 

An agreed number of collaborative meetings is included in the fixed fee enabling a divorcing couple to reach a fair and lasting settlement over key issues such as childcare and finance.  Their specialist collaboratively trained lawyers are on hand to advise them throughout the process, so that the couple can separate in the most constructive way possible for their own benefit and particularly for any children involved. 

The IFA and divorce coach in the team provide additional support to address finances and ease the emotional turmoil in a constructive way to enable everyone to move on with their lives with a positive outlook. 

IFA Robert Cresswell explains, “When a couple fight through a court-based divorce, no-one wins.  The family’s wealth can ebb away to fund court battles and the bitterness can last a lifetime. 

“Combining the collaborative approach to finding a solution without a fight, along with a clear pricing structure and a genuine fixed fee is a solution to suit everyone.” 

Robert confirms that the fixed fee includes the cost of the entire support team: lawyer, IFA and divorce coach.  It also covers all of the ‘add-ons’ that people find frustrating  when they have already paid thousands of pounds, such as court fees and VAT.  “With a Dovetail Divorce Solutions lawyer there are no nasty surprises waiting ahead just a single transaction price which is clear from the beginning,” he says. 

The team also facilitates access to credit facilities to enable the cost to be spread where necessary, ensuring this new and innovative package is affordable to a wider range of people. 

Clare Walters, Director at Absolute Specialists added, “I am delighted that this constructive and future-focused approach to divorce will now be more accessible.  The process concentrates on what is really important and supports people to part amicably, whilst protecting the needs of their dependents.” 

More information and the cost calculator can be found at www.dovetaildivorce.com 

 For more information about this story and Dovetail Divorce Solutions, contact Robert Cresswell on 0300 303 8222 or Clare Walters on 01484 866747.

Traditional entertainment will be provided by local Border Morris team The Flagcrackers of Craven, along with fancy footwork from Inclognito Clog Dancers and some rousing songs to welcome in the May from Keighley Road Jolly Wassailers.

The Flagcrackers will also be found dancing as the sun comes up at dawn on May Day morning itself, this year on the Elslack estate just above Carleton. For those keen enough to get up in the dark to watch this magical May custom, parking is near the Pinhall Beacon.

The St. George’s day evening dance-out hosted by The Flagcrackers of Craven will be held at The White Lion in Kildwick, close to their weekly Wednesday practise venue, Farnhill Institute.

Guest teams invited along include Great Yorkshire Morris, Buttercross Belles, Clogaire and Inclognito ensuring a variety of dance styles for the public to enjoy, from rapper sword dancing to North West rant-stepping, alongside black-faced, stick-clashing Border and plenty of fancy clogging footwork in-between.  A traditional Easter pace-egg mummers play will also be performed, including the character of St. George himself along with Bold Slasher and the Doctor.

The evening’s entertainment will begin at 7.30pm continuing outside until darkness falls and then moving inside The White Lion for wassail singing.

The Cracked Pot, by internationally acclaimed local playwright and author Blake Morrison, is set in 1810.  Based in Skipton, the play has been adapted from Heinrich von Kleist’s Der Zerbrochene Krug into an entertaining Yorkshire dialect version of the original tale.

Earthy and satirical it features Judge Adam,  Skipton’ s sole agent of justice (played by Mark Bamforth), who is visited by the investigating magistrate Walter Clegg (Andrew Jackson) seeking out signs of malpractice and watched with interest by his ambitious clerk Bright (Les Kerkham).

The trial that Walter oversees seems uncomplicated at first: the formidable Martha (Paula Vickers) is suing her daughter’s fiancée, Leslie (Will Davison) for breaking her precious family heirloom jug.  The plot thickens as the identity of a mysterious but strangely familiar man becomes crucial to the case…

Director Jane Ellison-Bates is excited to be staging another play with strong local connections following the success of Follow the Fleece in 2010. Blake Morrison was born in Skipton and educated at Ermysteds Grammar School before studying at Nottingham University, McMaster University and University College, London. After working for the Times Literary Supplement, he went on to become literary editor of both The Observer and the Independent on Sunday before becoming a full-time writer. Blake has written fiction, poetry, journalism, literary criticism and libretti, as well as adapting plays for the stage. His best-known works are probably his two memoirs, “And When Did You Last See Your Father?” and “Things My Mother Never Told Me.”  He is currently Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College.

The ribald comedy of The Cracked Pot will be staged in the main hall at The Town Hall in Grassington (the Devonshire Institute) from Thursday 26th April to Saturday 28th April, and will feature an unusual blend of ‘theatre in the round’ and traditionally staged scenes.  The audience will effectively be the courtroom spectators and are invited – if they wish – to come in nineteenth century period costume to add to the flavour of the evening.  A bar will be open in the hall and ‘victuals’ served in the interval.

Tickets are available from The Hub in Grassington on 01756 752222, £5 in advance or £7 on the door.

Book cover

Appealing to everyone from giants of the construction industry through master craftsmen to the DIY handyman, ‘Wood in Construction’ reveals insights into working with wood from Jim’s lifetime in the industry. It focuses on the basic properties of wood and the appropriate use of timber and wood-based materials, showing in clear, non-technical language, how to avoid making expensive mistakes.

An invaluable resource, it describes the main reasons why things can go wrong when using wood and shows how to avoid or minimise problems, effectively resolving issues for the architect, engineer or designer, builder or building owner.

Based on the author’s extensive experience within the timber and construction industries, the book is technical enough to explain why things should be done in a specific manner, but more importantly it demonstrates, in a friendly and ultimately practical way, how best to use wood in the real world.

Jim Coulson explains “There is a growing interest in the use of wood in new building, not least because it has low embodied energy and it is an infinitely renewable resource. Despite a great deal of innovation in the use of wood in construction in recent years, the fundamentals of using this natural material have not really changed: the different types of wood have different properties and differing responses to the environment in which they are used. When used correctly, wood is an excellent building material but when inappropriately specified or used, it can cause problems.

Poor understanding of the properties of wood and the many species and grades that are commercially available can result in this versatile material performing below expectation, ‘Wood in Construction’ aims to take away the mystery and provide a definitive guide to the successful use of wood in any project; from simply making a door through to building a bridge or restoring a roof for a heritage building.”

Jim has served as a President of the Institute of Wood Science, he is a board member of the Wood Technology Society and a member of the UK Executive Committee of the International Council on Monuments & Sites.  He is a visiting lecturer at several universities and is regularly called upon as an expert witness.  His consultancy,TFTWoodexperts, was established in Ripon, North Yorkshire in 1991.

Published by international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishers Wiley Blackwell, ‘Wood in Construction’ is available on Amazon at £24.99 plus P&P.  A limited number of signed copies are available direct from TFT Woodexperts, telephone 01765 601010.

Copies will also be available, along with a chance to meet the author, at an open day at  TFTWoodexperts on Friday 27^th April between1pm and7pm.

Work has begun on a further new extension at Peregrine House, Whitby’s leading residential care home which holds a top rating from the Quality Care Commission and is a Dignity in Care Champion.

Architects impression of Peregrine House care home

The extensive development will provide three entirely new bedrooms together with two bedrooms created from the existing first floor lounge. In addition, the ground floor dining room will be almost doubled in size by the creation of an Orangery style extension at the front of the building to provide a light and airy combined lounge and dining area on the ground floor. Most of the pre-existing bedrooms will be upgraded with new en-suite wet-rooms.

LocalWhitbybuilding firm J D Roach are carrying out the work, which is scheduled for completion in the Autumn.  The expansion will take the number of rooms from 30 to 35.

The work follows a previous expansion program completed in 2011. Owner Dr Kevin O’Sullivan explains, “Our reputation for high quality care has led to more demand for places here.  Rather than taking on a second home, we have decided to capitalise on the existing infrastructure we have here”.

Peregrine House, which also holds an Investors in People Gold Award, has a philosophy of care which promises to ‘care for the residents in the same way that we would look after the most loved member of our own families and this is how our residents can expect to be treated.’

The home remains entirely independent and is not part of a large care home group. Dr. O’Sullivan adds “It means we can concentrate on excelling at caring for people without the standardisation and bureaucracy of a larger organisation.”

The start of the new development work coincides with the launch of a new website featuring the variety of activity available for residents at the home, at www.peregrinehouse.co.uk

Acclaimed Teeside singer song-writer Richard Grainger will be performing in Grassington on Sunday 18th March at the The Black Horse.
The monthly ‘open-mic’ session welcomes its first professional guest funded by donations from supporters of the music nights since they started in November and landlord of The Black Horse venue, John Wain.
Richard is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, innovator, writer and entertainer.  He is acknowledged as one of the most prolific and diverse artists on the folk scene today, working tirelessly to promote the music and folk arts in general to an ever widening audience.
With eleven albums under his belt, Richard is regularly heard on radio, performing at clubs and major festivals at home and abroad. As well as acting as artistic director to several festivals he is a consultant to local authorities and arts organisations to help develop new events. He has written and staged several musical plays including ‘The Journey Home’ – a rewrite of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, which was premiered in Sicily at The University of Catania.  His latest production, ‘The Moorland Whalers’, was inspired by his long association with the Yorkshire Coast town of Whitby and a project with The Ryedale Folk Museum in North Yorkshire , telling the story of The Yorkshire Whaling Industry through the recollections of those who took part.
Both the first and second half of the evening on 18th March prior to Richard’s sets will include the usual ‘open-mic’ session attracting an eclectic mix of emerging talent from the surrounding area, with a breadth of music styles ranging  from jazz to classical, negro spirituals and entertaining poetry.  New performers are welcome and encouraged to take a turn in front of a supportive audience.
Starting at 8.30pm, there is no charge for entry although a collection is made to fund both Richard Grainger’s appearance and that of future guests.

BBC Look North were interested to come along to one of the February audition evenings for The Calendar Girls amateur premier later this year. You can read about it here.  (What a shame they managed to mis-spell Bery’s surname).

Jane will be playing the role of Annie, played by Julie Walters in the fim version of the story.

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.