October 2013 Update

We were surprised to find that our first run of the formal report on the Whitfield Syke Project sold out so quickly over the summer and our second print run has now almost gone too. 

On Friday 18th October, Pat, Alison, Ruth and Jane gave a presentation to local residents at Embsay Village Hall to give them a summary of our findings from the Whitfield Project. This was a rather more relaxed affair than at the Historic Enirvonment Day at Grassington in April - we were able to expand a little more and use a full hour rather than keep to the very tight schedule of just 40 minutes we had before. 

It seemed to go very well - a lot of people chatted to us afterwards, asking questions, telling us more local information, and expressing concern that the old Mission Building was decaying so rapidly. Many people said they had walked past the building so often and never realised its fascinating history, and now wished to see it preserved. 

Jane Lunnon

Grassington Day, 2013

On Saturday 13^th April 4 members of UWHG bravely stood up to give their presentation on the Whitfield Syke Mill project at the Historic Environment Day held in Grassington by the Yorkshire Dales National Park. 

Peter G. helps Pat and Phil put up the Whitfield display

It was a big day for us, the culmination of 3 years of hard graft and research. Three of us – Pat, Jane and Ruth – were new to this business of public speaking, but Alison had done this kind of thing before. It was a nerve-wracking wait through the morning as we watched other speakers go before us. At lunch time we were invited to join the other speakers, the organisers and volunteer helpers at a buffet lunch, but we were too nervous to eat much. Although I managed a bit of chocolate cake after a nibble at savoury offerings!

Roger offers some helpful advice  

Then suddenly, after months of preparation and anxious waiting, we were on.

It all went surprisingly well, despite some microphone problems – and nervous twitching on the remote control which sent our powerpoint slides jumping around all over the place.

We tried to provide a mix of academic research and light-hearted anecdotes, which seemed to go down well. People were very kind about it afterwards, anyway.

Now, if we give any more talks on the subject, they’ll seem like a walk in the park!

Jane Lunnon