Rosedale
Abbey

The annual general meeting of the Rosedale History Society will be held in the Updale Reading Room, Rosedale, at 4.45pm, immediately after the usual Tea and Chat meeting.

The annual Christmas Fair in aid of the Rosedale Community School was held in the school hall on Thursday 23 November. In a very festive atmosphere, just over £570 was raised to support school activities, an excellent effort all round:

Thanks to all the stall holders and to those who donated prizes for the raffle and who ran activities to entertain the children. And off course, to Santa for turning up and dishing out presents!

And a reminder that Father Christmas will be revisiting the dale on 4 December at 4.40pm, parking up by the school gates, so come along and give him a warm Rosedale welcome.

Father Christmas is taking time  out from his very busy schedule in December to call in on Rosedale Abbey and spread his Christmas cheer on Monday 4 December at 4.40 pm. He will park his sleigh just outside the school gates and will be escorted by his elves from the Ryedale Lions:

All are most welcome to come along and greet Santa with a heart yo ho ho or two!

The dale’s traditional pre-Christmas auction was held in the Coach House Inn  on Saturday 18 November 2017. Amongst much merriment and relaxing inhibitions, masterminded by Dave Seller as the auctioneer, assisted by Sue Foster and Ena Dent, with Lorraine Dale and Pam Seller keeping the money flowing in, the grand sum of £1430 was raised for good causes, including the Reading Room, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Rosedale Community Fund.

As ever, huge thanks to Dave Oakey and the Coach House team, to those who donated auction lots so generously and to all who helped make it such a memorable evening.

A memorial service for the late Jackie Brown was held in a packed out St Mary and St Lawrence Church on Friday 17 November, with Father Bill Godfrey officiating.

Thanks to Ian and the Brown family the retiring collection was in aid of the ‘Save Rosedale Abbey Church’ appeal. The marvellous sum of £1100 was raised which is a great tribute to the love and affection for Jackie held by her family and friends and from all in the dale.

Sunday 12th November from 10am
Rosedale Church

All welcome.

The yews and holly in our churchyard are full of berries and redwings are taking full advantage during the cold weather. Redwings are a winter migrant and arrive here during October and November. They are the smallest of the UK true thrushes and are identified by the distinctive cream stripe above the eye and an orange-red flank patch. Easily disturbed but a little patience and they can be seen plucking and eating the red yew berries. Updale Natural History Recorder

Sad to see a roadkill woodcock on an early morning walk but a chance to study the extraordinary plumage of this beautiful wader. Woodcocks breed here in Rosedale but during Autumn and Winter numbers are bolstered by an influx from abroad. The woodcock is similar to the snipe with a very long bill but it is slightly larger and russet-brown with short legs and a barred crown. Woodcock live in marshland and damp wooded areas and can sometimes flush from ditches. They are perfectly camouflaged in leaf litter with their mottled feathers and often go undetected. Woodcocks are nocturnal, spending the day resting up and at night feeding in the open, mainly on worms. To see and hear a male woodcock’s display flight called roding in Spring is another of nature’s delights Updale Natural History Recorder

The coffee morning in aid of the Women’s Institute held at the Coach house Inn on Saturday 4 November raise just short of £330 and the Church Appeal stall in the craft fair raised £200 – excellent results and a tribute to the generosity of those who attended.

As always, many thanks to all who contributed their time to organising the two events, to all who contributed prizes for the raffle, to those who also gave donations to the WI and the ‘Save Rosedale Abbey Church’ appeal and to Dave Oakey and the team at the Coach House for the excellent coffee and biscuits.

A group of local volunteers, armed with buckets and spades on Saturday 28 October, dug down through the mud and discovered the original upstream entrance to the Reeking Gill culvert, with Shaun Doughty having used a digger to clear the site (see previous update on 4 October). Work will now continue to shift the rest of the debris from the entrance and expose more of the large stone archway. Muscle power and determination won the day and well done to all.

Work has also been done to clear some of the smaller culverts along the old railway line so that water no longer builds up and threatens the integrity of the track bed.

A fuller progress report will be given around the New Year, so that all can see how this marvellous project is progressing. Meanwhile please look at the NYMNPA call for volunteers poster and join in.