Parish Council Grants
Holme Valley Parish Council has a small budget for the award of grants. The Council can only award grants using certain legal powers – under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 to give grants to community organisations, schools and other local groups – a power specific to the activity for which the grant is sought, such as grants to a sports club or for a music festival. In other circumstances, it may decide to use its power to award a grant where it feels that to do so will benefit some or all of its residents or some or all of the area. The critical words are some or all – in both cases. This means that grants to individuals are not feasible, and grants where the activity would not obviously benefit the Holme Valley are equally problematic – however worthy the Councillors may feel the project to be.
The Council uses its power to assist in projects which Members feel will be of benefit to the Holme Valley. Grant applications are considered at the next possible meeting of the Council (with Finance and Management) after receipt of the completed application form. Applications must meet the Council’s grants criteria in this respect. Please read the frequently asked questions (FAQs) section before applying for a grant.
The application form is available in three formats:
A Word document which can be completed, on your computer, if you have Microsoft Word -
Grant Application Form in Word format.
An RTF document, which can be used on most computers -
Grant Application Form in RTf format.
For both these versions, when you have completed the form it must be PRINTED and SIGNED and sent with the other information requested in the grant criteria.
In addition there is a grant application form that can be printed, completed by hand and signed.
Click here to see our grant application form.
All applications must be accompanied by appropriate accounts or supporting financial information. Forms and the supporting information must be returned to the Clerk to the Council at least 10 days before the date of a Council/Finance and Management meeting.
A selection of reports from successful applicants can be found further down the page.
Kirklees Council also awards grants to community groups. To read more about Kirklees community grants and other grants your group might be able to apply for click here.
See our grant reports
For recent success stories please click this link to see a directory of our reports.
Grant Reports
For recent success stories click on the reports below.
Royal Wedding Celebration at Upperthong Village Hall, 2011
Honley High School History Video, 2011
Holmfirth Festival Of Folk, 2010
Scholes MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area)
Holme Valley Brass Band Contest, 2010
Friend to Friend Musical Event
Archive of Grants Awarded
Click on the link to see more..
1. Bookmarks to Mark School’s Centenary
2. Lorna Preston and Aurelie Guillermo – Young Leaders
4. Brass Band Competition Weekend 2009
5. Holmfirth Festival of Folk, 2009
6. Holmfirth Methodist Church Flower Festival
8. Holmfirth Festival of Folk, 2008
10. Report of the Wooldale Old Folks’ Treat
11. Report from Sophie Taylor on her music tour to Poland
13. Report from the Holmfirth Festival of Folk, 2007
14. Amy Kaye’s report on her International Guiding Trip to Canada
15. Jake Butler’s report on his journey with the British Schools Expeditionary Society
16. Francis White’s report on her journey with the British Schools Expeditionary Society
17. Damian Armitage’s report on his journey to South Africa
1. Bookmarks to Mark School’s Centenary
Dear Parish Council Members
May I take this opportunity on behalf of Scholes J and I School to thank you for your kind grant of £125 to support our Centenary celebrations 1909-2009. We were able with your generosity to give each of our pupils a personalised bookmark to remember the occasion.
We have had a superb year of activities to mark our hundredth birthday starting with an Edwardian week in which pupils dressed in period costume, enjoyed circus skills, Punch and Judy shows and traditional crafts. At the culmination of our year we held an Open Day and an assembly inviting all past pupils, governors and Friends of Scholes School (our PTA supporters) including Connie Lee, our oldest pupil of over a 100 years of age, who was able to attend our opening celebrations.
The school was buzzing with memorabilia, exciting conversations of past friendships and fun of bygone school days.
Rev Tim Moore and Rev Griffin were in attendance to give a blessing and we have also purchased a commemorative plaque sculpted by Celia Kilner a local renowned artist.
Thank you once again for helping us to fulfil our ambitions and celebrations.
Sara Seymour
On behalf of all our staff at Scholes School
2. Lorna Preston and Aurelie Guillermo – Young Leaders
Our group of 10 girls and 4 leaders caught the train from Huddersfield Train Station in the early hours of the 1st August to Manchester Airport. We then flew to Heathrow Airport, and then on to Toronto Airport. The journey was long and tiring and we arrived at the youth hostel we were staying in for the night at 10pm Canadian time, 3am English time.
The first week in Canada was spent at a summer camp at Doe Lake Girl Guide campsite. We did many activities whilst we was there, including sailing, climbing, high ropes, crafts and music & drama. The food was excellent and the staff there were friendly. We also made many new friends from Canada and Ireland whilst at camp. On one of the nights at camp we held an international night, where we performed our own version of Cinderella, served tea and scones, taught some dances, and showed people how to do crafts, such as corn dollies and bead pin badges. The weather was mainly good while we were on camp, but we did have one or two rainy days!
For the second week we stayed in Toronto Youth Hostel and travelled around the city to see the sights and learn more about Canada. We visited Niagara Falls, Toronto Zoo, The CN Tower, Casa Loma, a water park, Canada Wonderland theme park, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame and Toronto Islands. The weather was mostly good again, except for downpours at Toronto Zoo and the water park, which thankfully passed over quickly!
Packing to go home was a crazy event, trying to fit everything into a rucksack that now seemed tiny, searching around for lost things, and trying not to pack someone else’s belongings! Then, the prospect of dragging a rucksack on the underground was worrying, though thankfully the leaders had booked us taxis as a surprise! It was such a relief, sitting in a car instead of on a tube all tired and sweaty. The plane was late leaving Toronto Airport, so we ended up running to our connection flight from Heathrow Airport to Manchester Airport. We managed to catch the flight, and got the train to Huddersfield Train Station, where our parents came to pick us up. Getting home was great, although we soon began to miss everybody in the group.
We are very grateful to everyone who supported us in fundraising for the trip, and a big thank you to all the leaders for organising and escorting us on such a fantastic adventure! And lastly, thank you to West Yorkshire South GirlGuiding for this opportunity.
Life in the Tsataan community is very different to in England. For them, childhood is brief and filled with dangers. During my expedition to Mongolia in the summer of 2008 I briefly experienced what life is like for these people and how they cope with the extreme way of life that they experience on the outermost border of Mongolia. In this project I am going to look at daily life for the people of the Tsataan community, particularly for the children.
The extreme cold that I experienced in this region was unlike anything else I have ever felt. The thought that these people endured this unpredictable weather everyday of their life and young children as well. They seemed to not feel the cold as we did and wanted to play for hours.
The children of the community have a very difficult life and appear to have to grow up very quickly. Having the opportunity to teach and in turn learn from these wonderful children was quite amazing. Although we did not have very much time with the children I truly felt that we had spent a fantastic afternoon with both sides having learnt a lot about the other.
It was made apparent right from the very beginning of our work in the community that even though the children were young they had many responsibilities to consider. These children were frowned upon for playing with us in the snow as the community was far too busy for playing. This came as a bit of a culture shock for me. I found it quite difficult to accept that children as young as my sisters at home had to work hard so that t heir community could continue to live. Only allowing children off of their duties for educational purposes was difficult to understand as it seemed like a hard life for a child to follow. However, whilst living with the families it was obvious that they were all very happy together and treated the children with nothing but love, care and affection. For me this experience has really proven to me that in England we allow our children to behave as children for a great deal of time and often do not give them any responsibilities until they are quite old. It occurs to me that it is no bad thing to encourage children to have a role in the running of the household and community as this in turn leads to a closer knit family. Which brings me onto my next point, One of the most wonderful things to see in the families was the closeness they had and the amount of time they spent together. This was probably only due to the living arrangements but it was so nice to see a family together, as it should be. It is rare to see such families in Western Countries as there are far too many distractions, the silence and the isolation gave the families the time together that so many westerners crave.
4. Brass Band Competition Weekend 2009
In May the 84th Holme Valley Brass Band Contest took place. For the first time this year the contest was expanded into a weekend-long extravaganza of music kicking off on the Saturday with a concert featuring with the famous Hepworth band and on the Sunday culminating with a march through the centre of Holmfirth. The Parish Council is proud to have given a grant to the event in the past as well as this year, in addition to a grant towards the Saturday concert, and hopes the contest continues to build upon the major success that this year’s weekend has been. Many councillors also helped steward the march through Holmfirth’s streets. Major congratulations, go to the Skelmanthorpe and Uppermill bands that won the contest’s two sections and a big well done goes out to the new committee which organised such a magnificent weekend.
5. Holmfirth Festival of Folk May 8th-10th 2009
Once again we seemed to manage the weather reasonably well apart from the downpour timed wonderfully to coincide with the procession. (This has happened enough times now for it to have almost become a tradition!) Most of the town was involved, from Sands to Number 11 via the Cricket Club and all stages in between including the Methodist and Parish Churches, Market Hall, Library, Victoria Park, and Memorial Gardens. Almost every pub and eating establishment hosted some kind of event and made financial contributions to the costs. Because of collaboration with the Picturedrome it was possible to promote some of the biggest names on the British folk circuit and these events were very well attended.
Children’s/Family entertainment began on Saturday morning with participatory story and craft sessions at the Library and Victoria Park. This year’s Schools’ Fringe at the Civic Hall and Methodist Church featured Samba Drumming from Upperthong J & I, Folk Dances from Kirkroyds Infants and Wooldale Juniors, Sword Dance from Scholes J & I, Netherthong J & I’s Brass Band, hand chimes from Hinchliffe Mill J & I and the debut of Meltham Morris Minors. All these events were very well attended and very well received.
Street Theatre took place on Hollowgate, Norridge Bottom and the Methodist church grounds. This year with financial help from the Holme Valley Parish Council, we were entertained by a welcome return visit from Bread and Butter Theatre on Saturday, and Colonel Custard’s Punch and Judy on Sunday. Both were a great success with children and adults alike, an important element of the festival in attracting families. Another element of street entertainment was the ever-popular Ritmo Unida Samba Band from Barnsley who could be heard with their fantastic drum rhythms throughout Holmfirth, culminating in a performance at Victoria Park.
The Festival was pleased to take part in ‘Drumming up Support for Fair Trade’ by invitation from the Holme Valley Fair Trade Group. This took place on the Saturday outside the Methodist Church where many drumming groups and individual percussionists performed. Thanks to sponsorship from the Holme Valley Fair Trade Group an African Drumming workshop at Holmfirth J & I was held and the school performed at the Fair Trade event.
A highlight of the street entertainment was the parade through Holmfirth on the Saturday afternoon. This was not dampened by the shower and crowds turned out to watch and enjoy the spectacle and the display which returned to Victoria Park.
The festival committee would like to thank the parish council for its support and contributing to making the festival possible through its financial support.
Many thanks!
Cath Ingham
On behalf of the festival committee
6. Holmfirth Methodist Church Flower Festival Grant Report
The first weekend in May saw Holmfirth Methodist Church transformed by magnificent displays of flowers celebrating a range of hymns and songs. The arrangements were mainly created by members of the congregation and each of the eleven displays was sponsored by organisations and individuals connected with the Church.
Fairtrade refreshments were sponsored by the Co-operative Group. The Fairtrade table flowers were supplied by the Holme Valley Fairtrade Support Group.
In the refreshment area and in other Church rooms there was a display of all the entries in the Children’s Painting Competition, all inspired by the hymn “All things bright and beautiful”. Local schools, Brownies, Rainbows and Ducklings have enthusiastically supported the competition. The very difficult talk of judging the winners in three age groups was undertaken by Ashley Jackson, who also donated an Art book to each of the winners and their school.
The winners are:
- Under Fives: Isobel Simpson (Scholes J&I School)
- Five to Seven year olds: Maria Haigh (Upperthong J&I School)
- Eight to Eleven year olds: Adam Brodie (Wooldale Junior School).
The individual and school winners received book tokens donated by Holme Valley Parish Council.
Café 100, the Holmfirth youth project, has been relaunched with help from Holme Valley Parish Council and Kirklees Council.
Café 100 is located in the centre of Holmfirth, and opens on Monday and Thursday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. Run by young people for young people, the Café offers a safe haven for individuals aged between 11 and 18. They can come to the Café to relax, meet friends or do homework, whilst taking advantage of the technology and equipment the café has to offer such as the pool table, X-Boxes, TVs, free internet access and a wide variety of software.
The original Café 100 team formed back in 2001, when a group of local young people decided they wanted a safe and friendly environment to relax, whilst having the chance to meet new people.
Over the past seven years, the project has progressed enormously, but still offers a friendly environment, where young people can pop in for as long as they like, without having to pay an entry fee.
Very recently, Café 100 has undergone an internal extension programme, including a new upstairs space so as to provide extra space for its members (now more than sixty). The extension will allow the Café to thrive even further into the 21st century.
Thanks to this new development and the enthusiasm of everyone involved with the project, Café 100 can only continue to progress further and offer even more to an ever-growing group of young people.
Damian Armitage, Café 100 member
8. Holmfirth Festival of Folk May 9th-11th 2008
Holmfirth Festival of Folk 2008 was held in and around the town of Holmfirth on May 9th – 11th. The sun shone and the town came alive with music, dance and singing including artists from both the Yorkshire area and further a field. Most of the local pubs, cafes and restaurants hosted events, many of which also provided financial support for the festival too.
The local scouts were involved in planning and running the festival campsite; and collecting and stewarding during the parade.
All of the local schools participated in the festival with 140 children taking part in the schools concert, which was held on the Saturday afternoon at Holmfirth Civic Hall. Performances included; Yorkshire Longsword dancing, Indian dance, Morris dancing, traditional singing including both individual and group performances. Workshops took place in 4 schools leading up to the festival culminating in performances in the civic. The concert was a huge success promoting traditional live music, singing and dance, and celebrating the many talents and achievements of children and young people in the Holme Valley. This year for the first time there was also a fringe schools event in the grounds of the Methodist church. Due to the growing participation, enthusiasm, and outstanding talents in traditional music and dance that exists in the valleys schools we had to expand the potential for involvement! The ‘fringe’ event was an outstanding success with acts including: ceilidh dancing from Wooldale, a violin orchestra from Meltham, Morris dancing and a sambs band from Upperthong.
The streets of Holmfirth were buzzing with live music and dance celebrating the main traditions of British Morris dancing from the North West clog dancing of the Lancashire cotton mills to the Molly dancing of Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Other traditions included American Appalachian and a fabulous side of South American dancers from Sheffield University, Son de America. Children and young people were also represented with the Upperthong Upstarts from Upperthong School dancing both North West and Border Morris dancing; and Scholes School dancing Yorkshire Longsword. A group of dancers also performed from Fairfield School for children with severe learning difficulties (in Batley).
Family Street Theatre took place on Hollowgate, Norridge Bottom, the Methodist church grounds, and the churchyard. This year due to financial help from the Holme Valley Parish Council, we were entertained by Pete White’s Suitcase Circus on the Saturday, and Colonel Custard’s Punch and Judy on the Sunday. Both were a great success with children and adults alike, an important element of the festival in attracting families. Another element of street entertainment was the ever-popular Barnsley Samba Band who could be heard with their fantastic drum rhythms throughout Holmfirth, culminating in a performance at Victoria Park.
A highlight of the street entertainment was the parade through Holmfirth on the Saturday afternoon, and this year not a brolly in sight! The sun shone and brought the crowds to Holmfirth in their droves!
Meanwhile the pubs, cafes and local venues hosted a wide range of musical events, many of which were local or from the Yorkshire area. Most of the events could be attended by donation only, with a small charge for the traditional concert in the Old Bridge. A sell out ceilidh took place in the market hall Saturday night, followed by a free family ceilidh with our local Good Egg Band on the Sunday afternoon.
As well as performances there were opportunities to participate in workshops, singarounds, or informal music sessions. Workshops took place in dancing, fiddle, melodeon, ‘spoons’, and poetry.
The above report provides a sample of what went on over the festival weekend. Work to organise the festival, and to raise money to finance it, takes place throughout the year, and is already underway for 2009. Fundraising takes place in many ways, and by a dedicated group of volunteers. Examples include: a bacon butty stall at the Farmers market each month; a local ceilidh band who play to raise money for the festival on the Penistone train line; the New Year ceilidh held in the civic hall where all musicians play for free and money raised goes towards the festival; raffles; individual donations; money raised by local pubs and cafes.
The aim of the festival is to be a truly community event celebrating traditional music, dance, and singing; and enjoyed by people of all ages, gender and race.
The festival committee would like to thank the parish council for its support and contributing to making the festival possible through its financial support.
Many thanks!
9. Magnificent Miniatures Exhibition – Grant Report
Holmfirth Parish Church May to September 2008
Magnificent Miniatures is a unique exhibition based on the artwork found in manuscripts dating from the Medieval period.
The exhibtion was sponsored by a number of organisations including Holme valley Parish Council. Beacuse of the generous sponsorhip of these organisations, entrance to the exhibition is free.
Come to the exhibition and you will discover horsemen, scribes, soldiers, and kings. Look a bit further and you may come across the Tower of Babel, angry dogs, resplendent swans, weird and wonderful creatures, Jonah in the mouth of the big fish, maidens putting old men to bed and a beheading.
Rather than being something strange and esoteric, these very early forms of illustration range across a glorious spectrum of colour and humour, history and fantasy.
The difference with this Magnificent Miniatures is that the images have been painted on a large scale. Alongside them you will find the whole alphabet, all the way from A to Z.
The exhibition is the work of over 50 members of calligraphic groups in the north of England, the Calderdale Calligraphers, Northumbrian Scribes and York Scribes, as well as some artists based in Holmfirth.
Also on view will be the Monster Alphabet project, carried out by children from local schools.
Magnificent Miniatures will be open Wednesday to Saturday 11am – 4pm (inc. bank holidays) and Sunday 12noon – 4pm. Admission is free.
10. Wooldale Old Folks’ Centenary Treat – Grant Report
Wooldale Old Folks’ Treat – 10 May 2008.
The earliest reference to the Wooldale Old Folks Treat is in 1908 when the local business owners in the village of Wooldale formed a Committee to provide a “tea and concert” for the elderly. It must have been seen as a way of giving a meal and sing-song to brighten up their lives. The local butchers and bakers seemed all to be involved and this has carried on to this day.
The early Treats were held in the local Chapels, and were very well attended; the cost in one case (1908) ran to the magnificent sum of around £6 10s (£6.50). The only breaks to this tradition occurred in the first and second World Wars, restarting when peace had been restored.
The event is now held in Holmfirth High School and the attendance for this year’s Centenary Treat was 136 meals served at the school and 84 teas taken out. After the meal the guests were entertained by a School Jazz Band, a Magician and the Honley Ladies Choir. When the guests eventually left around 8pm, they were given a gift to mark the occasion. The cost of this year’s Treat was in the region of £2,750.
The Committee wishes to express its gratitude for the generous donation from the Parish Council.
K. McNamara
WOFT Chairman
11. Sophie Taylor’s Grant Report
Poland, Easter 2007
Hi my name is Sophie Taylor I am 14 years old. I play flute and saxophone at the Holmfirth music centre held on a Saturday morning. Last year I went with music centre on an organised trip to Krakow in Poland. Mr Yates of the Kirklees music school arranged for the combined senior bands at the Huddersfield and Holmfirth music centres to visit various concert halls in Krakow to play our varied repertoire to the people of Poland. I had a great time, as it was the first week I had spent without my parents and the first foreign country I had visited without them. The journey there was long and tiring as it was 27 hours overland in a coach crammed full of 40 teenagers along with 6 adults and an assortment of musical instruments.
The week we spent in Poland was really interesting as it was jam packed full of things to do. We visited the Weilickzka salt mines which were amazing. We also saw the remains of the concentration camps at Auswitz and Birkenau which was a very sad experience particularly the displays of the shoes and suitcases left by the people who were sent to the gas chambers. We also got to visit the town of Krakow a few times which is a lovely historical town.
In and amongst the sight seeing we played four concerts at various venues throughout the city. Our pieces included music from the Lord of the Rings, music from Shrek and the Lion King and various marches. When we finished playing the audiences clapped really loud and it was great to know they enjoyed listening to us. We went to one concert where there were high school children in the audience and at the end we chatted to them. They asked us lots of questions so we were able to learn about each other’s lifestyles. A few weeks after we returned home we gave a concert for our parents and received a standing ovation with many of the audience moved to tears!
The visit was an amazing experience and I know I will never forget it. It was a great chance to improve my music, make new friends and experience life in a new culture. I loved every minute and when I returned (after another long coach journey) I developed a renewed enthusiasm for playing music. I thank you for your kind donation which enabled it to be an affordable visit for us all.
Sophie Taylor
12. Hepworth Band – Grant Report
On behalf of the Hepworth Band I write to thank the Parish Council for awarding a grant towards the cost of commissioning a new piece of music to celebrate the bands 125th anniversary.
Peter Meachan, composer in residence of the Black Dyke Mills Band was commissioned to write the piece. The brief for the composition was to produce a work that not only celebrates the bands anniversary, but which also depicted the bands role in the traditional Hepworth feast celebrations. The piece, titled ‘A Hepworth Celebration’ is in three movements, ‘Plague’, ‘Hymn’ and ‘Finale’. The first movement depicts the passing of the plague through the village, the second, a hymn is a reference to the feast and the last movement ‘Finale’ celebrates 125 years of unity.
The band worked closely with the composer in developing the piece and recently we recorded it for the bands latest CD, ‘Celebration’ – ’125 Years with the Hepworth Band’, due for release in September. We propose to acknowledge the support of the Parish Council in the CD booklet and in publicity when the CD is launched.
Stephen Hopwood
Band Manager
13. Holmfirth Folk Festival 2007 – Grant Report
Holmfirth Festival of Folk 2007 was held in and around the town of Holmfirth on May 11th – 13th. The town came alive with music, dance and singing including artists from both the Yorkshire area and further a field. Most of the local pubs, cafes and restaurants hosted events, many of which also provided financial support for the festival too.
The local scouts were involved in planning and running the festival campsite; and collecting and stewarding during the parade.
All of the local schools participated in the festival with 140 children taking part in the schools concert, which was held on the Saturday afternoon at Holmfirth Civic Hall. Performances included; tin whistle group, Yorkshire Longsword dancing, Indian Gujerati dance, Morris dancing, traditional singing including both individual and group performances. Workshops took place in 4 schools leading up to the festival culminating in performances in the civic. The concert was a huge success promoting t raditional live music, singing and dance, and celebrating the many talents and a chievements of children and young people in the Holme Valley.
The streets of Holmfirth were buzzing with live music and dance celebrating the main traditions of British Morris dancing from the North West clog dancing of the Lancashire cotton mills to the Molly dancing of Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Other traditions included American Appalachian and a fabulous side of South American dancers from Sheffield University, Son de America. Children and young people were also represented with the Upperthong Upstarts from Upperthong School dancing both North West and Border Morris dancing; and Scholes School dancing Yorkshire Longsword. A group of dancers also performed from Fairfield School for children with severe learning difficulties (in Batley).
Family Street Theatre took place on Hollogate, Norridge Bottom and the churchyard from the Bread and Butter Theatre Company. This was a great success with both children and adults alike and has been a key element of the festival in attracting families. Another element of street entertainment was the ever-popular Barnsley Samba Band who could be heard with their fantastic drum rhythms throughout Holmfirth, culminating in a performance at Victoria Park.
A highlight of the street entertainment was the parade through Holmfirth on the Saturday afternoon, starting at the Memorial Park, and ending with a colourful display at Victoria Park. The streets w ere packed with onlookers and despite the rain, which descended at times, Victoria Park was well attended and the audience simply put up their brollies and continued to enjoy the show!
Meanwhile the pubs, cafes and local venues hosted a wide range of musical events, many of which were local or from the Yorkshire area. Most of the events could be attended by donation only, but tickets could be bought for the well-known band Chumbawamba, who played to a packed audience a t the large civic. A sell out ceilidh took place in the market hall Saturday night.
As well as performances there were opportunities to participate in workshops, singarounds, or informal music sessions, including an open mic at the Number 11 café/bar. Workshops took place in dancing, pipes, fiddle, melodeon, ‘spoons’, and poetry. Children and young people were encouraged to participate by providing their own open mic session which was advertised at local schools, youth clubs etc, and being welcomed at many of the workshops. There was also a free family ceilidh, which took place in the market hall on the Sunday afternoon.
The above report provides a sample of what went on over the festival weekend. Work to organise the festival, and to raise money to finance it, takes place throughout the year, and is already underway for 2008. Fundraising takes place in many ways, and by a dedicated group of volunteers. Examples include: a bacon butty stall at the Farmers market each month; a local ceilidh band who play to raise money for the festival on the Penistone train line; the New Year ceilidh held in the civic hall where all musicians play for free and money raised goes towards the festival; raffles; individual donations; money raised by local pubs and cafes. The aim of the festival is to be a truly community event celebrating traditional music, dance, and singing; and enjoyed by people of all ages, gender and race.
The festival would like to thank the parish council for its support and contributing to making the festival possible through its financial support. Many thanks!
Carol Macklin for Holmfirth Folk Festival 2007
My International Guiding Trip to Canada.
My trip to Canada was amazing. We arrived on the Monday and for the first few days we went sight seeing in Toronto. We went on a boat trip, which took us to an island just off Toronto’s bay and then after that we went up the CN tower, which is one of the tallest towers in the world. We all had so much fun.
On Wednesday we left for Camp Mosaic in Guelph. It took us about an hour to get there on a yellow school bus. On it we met some girls from Nova Scotia, which is part of Canada. At camp we were in the green village, which meant we had to wear lime green hats all the time. We all looked ace.
On Thursday we started our activities, I did lots of great activities over the ten days including: snorkelling, making a mask, scuba diving, dancing and loads more. One of my activities was called “Helping the Needy” which was to try to put smiles on the faces of elderly people as they got their meals on wheels by letting them know that someone was thinking about them. We made little woven patterns and bookmarks.
I learnt about different cultures because I met girls from all over the world including: Egypt, Tanzania and New Zealand.
The opening ceremony was on the Thursday and it was amazing to see all of us together. There were over two thousand girls there. The evening entertainment was excellent too. One night “Much Music” came which is basically the same as MTV. Then there were also nights called “Discover Canada” and “Discover the World”. On “Discover Canada” night each part of Canada had to do a presentation on stage about that place. “Discover the World” night was the same apart from you had to represent which country you came from. We did it and had a lot of fun and we made every one laugh by singing “On Ikley Moor baht hat”, which was really good. We also got to learn about different countries and about their way of life and we were also able to teach others about our country.
We left camp on the Friday which was sad because we had to say goodbye to all the friends we had made.
We then had to drive three hours to get to our home stay in Canada. I stayed in the Runnells family’s house in Peterborough. The family were so lovely. The mum and dad were called Sheri and Rick and they had three children, Kelsey who was 17, Brandon who was 15 and Keenan who was 13. Cool Canadian names! They took me to lots of places locally including the world’s largest lock and we went up it in a boat. We had a great time and we are all really good friends and I talk to them all the time on Msn, and by email.
It was sad to leave on the Monday but I still keep in contact with everyone. I had the best trip ever and thank you very much for supporting me in my fundraising earlier in the year and making the trip possible for me!!!
Amy Kaye
15. Jake Butler’s Grant Report
BSES Amazon Expedition 06
I MADE IT! It is hard to believe that I survived a month in the heart of Peru’s dense rainforest, with a group of people I barely knew. After months of fundraising, preparation and anticipation, the expedition is over. There are few sixth formers who can say that they have camped by a remote jungle lake, undiscovered by the Western World. Who have woken to the call of distant howler monkeys, held baby caiman beneath the Amazonian stars or washed in the Samiria River alongside pink river dolphins. From the phenomenal sunsets to the vibrant culture of Iquitos and the nighttime noises of the Amazon, I come away from the experience with a lifetime of enriching memories. I have also developed strong new friendships and have increased my confidence as scientist, explorer and as well as becoming a rounded member of society. Most importantly however, I have helped contribute towards the conservation and future protection of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve – one of the most tranquil and beautiful places on the planet. Thanks to the support and generosity of Holme Valley Council and the people of the Holme Valley.
Jake Butler
16. Frances White’s Grant Report
Looking back over my summer in Peru the thing that hit me the hardest was the extreme diversity in standards of living there. Whilst we spent most of the expedition in the remote mountainous areas, we also had the chance to visit the richer, more developed areas in the capital city of Lima.
Our base camp was situated on the edge of a small town called Hualcayan at roughly 3100 meters. To say thank you for the town’s people for their hospitality about 8 of us took small gifts of packaged chocolate flan and flying kites to the local school. The children there appeared so happy and showed us all the things they’d been so proud to learn. But whilst the children were singing us another Peruvian song, the headmistress of the school told us that after 14 years of age, 95% of the children would have to leave school and begin a life of farming as the nearest (14+years) school as 1 and a ½ hours drive away.
It seemed so unfair to waste their talents and just before leaving Peru we stayed the night in a highly prestigious, international boarding school in Lima. The place was huge with facilities as good as any school in the western world and whilst teaching the students a lesson in how to cope with altitude, we asked them if you knew of the poverty. They didn’t seem to really know or grasp how different life was in other areas of Peru. It was almost sickening. How can a country expect to lift itself out of poverty with a new generation that doesn’t understand its extremities?
Aside from this, the expedition pushed me to and past my physical limits. 23 days straight trekking up fantastic gorges and on glaciers beneath the +6000 meter peaks was such an amazing experience. I can still picture in such vivid detail the beauty of the majestic iced peaks and the feeling that I couldn’t go on at every turn in the ever-widening paths. They just got steeper as we rose 890 meters (according to the GPS) in one day to reach a high altitude pass at ‘Punta Union (4790 metres high) in Peru.
I’m not sexist but the guys in our group were generally faster than the girls and on this (optional) hike I was one of only two girls. Our leader, Vijay, set a rapid pace and I can count the number of times we stopped on a single hand! Wheezing, a friend of mine and I trudged on, ever inspired by the young Peruvians hauling, ( no doubt American) visitor’s packs up the mountainside for them.
From the top we could see the whole way down the ‘Santa Cruz Valley’ with its intimidating geographical features and icy turquoise lakes (that we just had to jump in!) But can you appreciate such a view if you haven’t had to challenge yourself to get there? There is something incredibly liberating when you’ve got everything you need on your back and you’re pushing yourself past any remaining limits your body has to throw at you.
Arriving at home I couldn’t wait to see my friends and family and eat the Longley’s ice cream that I’d been deprived of. However, my friends and my life at home seemed to have changed. Or was it me? These experiences are supposed to change you. Right? A once in a lifetime, that’ll make you a better person. Well maybe I am a better person but I hope it wasn’t a once in a lifetime thing. That would be a waste of a lifetime and I hope I have many more incredible experiences to look back on when I cannot explore anymore.
Frances White, Peru, Summer 2006
17. Damian Armitage’s Grant Report
Writing again to say a very big thank you for the donation, it has allowed us to experience this once in a life time opportunity. We are currently in St Lucia of S Africa and are soon going to a local school to help the children, we then move to a wildlife project where we do community work.
Thank you once again
Damian Armitage and Natalie Smith
(1st HV Explorers)
