THIS picture of chained sheep has caused a fair amount of debate in the office - with no-one able to guess exactly why the farmer has taken such a step. It was taken by my colleague, Lesley Tate, while she was out in Austwick walking a route for our popular series of walks. The sheep, so it seems, thanks to YockenthwaiteFarm@YockGranola, were probably attached to each other, to stop them jumping out of the field. Lesley did mention that the sheep seemed especially curious, and followed her across the field, rattling their chain.

OLD tennis balls will serve-up cash for Manorlands. Cross Hills Tennis Club is launching a recycling scheme to boost funds for the Oxenhope Sue Ryder hospice. Anyone is invited to take unwanted tennis balls to the club. "We have raised considerable funds for charities and are excited about the new scheme," said a spokesman. "If you have any old balls, we can use them!" Competitive matches have restarted at the club as the new season gets under way. Ten teams are operating, with social tennis also on offer from 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10am on Saturdays. Plans for this year include a summer camp for junior players. Contact Chris Glen on 01535 632734 or call at the club for more details.

WHAT'S the last thing you want to see crossing the road at rush hour? A colleague on her way home from work this week on the A59 nearing Broughton was surprised to see what she thought to be a very long snake slowly crossing the road. To her horror, and bearing in mind it was almost 6pm and not the quietest time of day, it was not a snake, but a mother duck, closely followed by several ducklings. With a Transit van a little too close behind her, she managed to slow just enough without being hit by the van, to avoid the duck family, but coming towards her was a fast moving car. Fortunately, some judicious flashing of lights warned the other driver to slow down, and the duck family made it safely to the other side of the road.

TWO Craven gardens are being thrown open to the public to raise money for the National Gardens Scheme. The 24-acre garden at Parcevall Hall, Skyreholme - which is the only garden open daily in the Yorkshire Dales National Park - will take part in the scheme on Wednesday. Visitors can go along between 10am and 5pm and enjoys its terrace garden, rose garden, rock garden, ponds, mixed borders, spring bulbs and tender shrubs. Admission is £7 for adults and free for children. And the owners of Beacon Hill House, Langbar - between Beamsley and Ilkley - will open their extensive gardens to the public the following Wednesday, May 18, from 1.30pm to 5pm. By then, the rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs should be in full bloom. Disabled access is very limited, as the garden is steep and most of it on a slope. Admission is £4 for adults, with children free, and teas will be available. There will also be plants for sale. The National Gardens Scheme supports a number of nursing charities and good causes including Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Hospice UK, The Carers’ Trust and the Parkinson's UK.

A GIFT from Steeton-based Acorn Stairlifts has enabled a leukaemia sufferer to stay in her own home. The firm installed a stairlift for free at the Hampstead house of grandmother Sheena Gibbs. The donation was part of a partnership between Acorn and Marie Curie which will see stairlifts provided in patients' homes across the country. Sheena had spent several months in hospital and at a hospice. "When I was in the hospice the occupational health team suggested a stairlift because I wouldn't be able to manage the stairs at home," she said. "It has given me my independence back. I can go upstairs, use the toilet, go to bed and come back downstairs in the morning to a normal life." Acorn company secretary, Dave Belmont, said the firm was delighted to be supporting Marie Curie patients. "We plan to install up to 60 stairlifts a year for patients who would benefit from returning home but need help with mobility," he added.

A PERFORMING arts school that has produced several TV, film and music stars is starting drama classes in Skipton. Stage 84's past pupils include Kildwick's Katie Griffiths who starred in BBC 1's Waterloo Road and hit American TV series Hatfields and McCoys, Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh and Jack P Shepherd, who plays David Platt in Coronation Street. Now, the Craven youngsters have the chance to get on the road to fame with Saturday morning drama classes at the purpose-built Judi Dench Studio at Skipton Girls' High School. There will be free trial classes this Saturday and more information can be obtained by telephoning Stage 84 on 01274 611984 or emailing info@stage84.com

A SKIPTON company decided to reinstate its tradition of flying the Union flag to coincide with the Queen's 90th birthday and St George's Day. Guyson InternationaI commercial director Mark Viner, said: "We haven’t been flying the Guyson flag and Union flag over our Skipton headquarters for over five years now. The occasion of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday and the celebrations surrounding it along with St. Georges day on Saturday, simply seemed to be the perfect opportunity to ‘fly the flag’ again and reinforce our British manufacturing heritage.” Guyson, which was set up in Leeds in 1938 moved to Skipton in the 1980s and is a privately owned family company designing and manufacturing blast finishing, spray wash and ultrasonic cleaning equipment. It has four international subsidiary companies - Guyson Corporation in New York state, Guyson SA, near Paris, Guyson Sdn Bhd in Penang, Malaysia and Guyson CN in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. Pictured are Guyson commercial director Mark Viner, right, alongside Jimmy Thomson, test centre manager.

THERE was a sense of deja-vu at the lighting of a beacon at Ingleton to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Among those taking part were Cllr Carl Lis, who, as a youngster, lit the 1953 coronation beacon and marshal Roger Todd, who, on coronation night, carried the torch up Ingleborough as part of a relay team.