Latest news with #Oxenhope
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Speeding and anti-social behaviour among policing priorities
Police are tackling anti-social behaviour and speeding in Stanbury and Oxenhope. The Worth Valley policing team is focusing on curbing speeding and vehicle-related anti-social behaviour (ASB). In collaboration with Operation Steerside, the team has been conducting targeted operations to monitor and enforce speed limits, especially in known hotspots. Increased patrols and the use of speed detection technology have been put in place to discourage reckless driving. Community engagement initiatives are also being conducted to raise awareness about the dangers of speeding and to encourage residents to report incidents of ASB. The Worth Valley Ward team is also addressing other forms of ASB through a community-focused approach. Initiatives include increased patrols in hotspot areas, community engagement events to raise awareness, and the implementation of preventive measures such as improved lighting and surveillance.
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
All Aboard a Steam Train to See ‘The Railway Children'
The steam train departed the station with a gentle chug, belching clouds of steam that streamed past the carriage windows. Gathering speed, the locomotive transported its passengers through a damp green valley, past gray stone buildings, rain-dripping oak trees, banks of ferns and hillsides dotted with sheep. For many visitors to the Keighley and Worth Valley heritage railway, the picturesque five-mile route through northern England from the town Keighley to Oxenhope village is the main attraction. But for the passengers on Tuesday, it was just the beginning. A theater adaptation of Edith Nesbit's classic children's book, 'The Railway Children,' awaited them when they stepped down from the train in Oxenhope. To take their seats, passengers headed into a large engine room shed next to the platform, where they sat on either side of a railway track. The scenes played out on a movable set that shunted up and down the tracks. And at certain key moments in the play, a second real steam train rolled in as part of the action. It was a fitting setting for a play set entirely around a small village station in the steam age. 'The Railway Children' follows three children — Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis — who must leave their comfortable London home for a simple cottage in the countryside after their father is imprisoned on suspicion of being spy. The children are cheerfully resilient in the face of sudden poverty and are soon welcomed into the rural community. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Railway Children review – a real steam train is the spectacular star
This site-specific experience begins with a ride on a stream train. Audiences travel to a purpose-built auditorium inside an engine shed at Oxenhope station. It is a delightful mood-setter to Mike Kenny's adaptation of E Nesbit's 1905 novel, which premiered in 2008. It is back on the road, this time chugging its way along the same five-mile line comprising the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway on which the Green Dragon travelled in Lionel Jeffries' iconic 1970 film. Inside the shed, the impressive stagecraft arrests the senses over the story of Roberta (Farah Ashraf), Peter (Raj Digva) and Phyllis (Jessica Kaur), the children forced out of their well-to-do London home and into a shambling house by the tracks in Yorkshire, after their father (Paul Hawkyard) is wrongly imprisoned. They take to waving at passengers on the Green Dragon, an invisible locomotive here conjured through a wonderful concoction of steam, sounds (designed by Craig Vear) and crackles of light (designed by Richard G Jones). That is, until a real-life steam train enters the auditorium – a sight to behold. Scenes on Joanna Scotcher's stupendous set design are deftly executed on mobile platforms. It gives the period dress production a heady sense of motion as the children take off on their adventures. But for all these excitements, it is initially too tame in its storytelling and anodyne in its emotional drama. A framing device in which adult versions of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis reflect back on their childhood selves, and enact the story in retrospect, feels under-used. Conceived and directed by Damian Cruden, the children are Anglo-Indian; their father met their mother (Asha Kingsley) in the British Raj. It is an interesting twist, rather like that in last year's production of The Secret Garden. But little is done with this introduced theme of imperialism and mixed heritage identity beyond the cosmetic: Mother wears an ethnic shawl; one of the children dreams of having an elephant. The siblings speak in cheery tones and appear more like a reduced version of the Famous Five than young people trying to turn their pain into resilience. It is all a little chocolate-box – a quintessential, idealised version of Englishness. Thankfully, it is brought back on track after the interval. The humour sparks alive and there are charming meta flourishes to the siblings' memories. 'You'll have to use your imaginations for this part,' Roberta implores us at one point, and later we become the waving strangers on the train. It shines in these collaborative moments. The emotional life of the play gains weight, too, however schmaltzy the story may be. By the time the final scene comes round, with Father's return, this show has become irresistible. At Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, until 7 September.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Olympic champion dons Trump costume for straw race
Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee took part in his first Oxenhope Straw Race, dressed as US President Donald Trump. The former triathlete, from Dewsbury, was among 600 participants in fancy dress who raced each other between six pubs whilst carrying a bale of straw on Sunday. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the event, which dates back to the 1970s when a friendly wager between two farmers over who could haul a bale of straw between pubs the fastest sparked what would become the 2.5-mile (4km) race. Organiser Robin Wright said: "The origins of this extraordinary race are just as captivating as the event itself." According to the rules, participants must stop at five pubs along the route - The Waggon and Horses, The Bay Horse, the former "Idiot Hut" social club, The Lamb, and the former Shoulder of Mutton - downing a pint at each before making the final uphill push to the finish at the Dog and Gun. Competitors vie for more than just quick times, with prizes handed out for both the fastest teams and the most creative costumes. Brownlee, who donned a Donald Trump costume, told the BBC: "I've had a long career in professional sport but also been brought up in this area doing fell races. "This has always been something that I've seen and never been able to do and now I've got the opportunity to do it, so it's great to be here at the very famous Oxenhope Straw Race." According to organisers, the event has raised more than £500,000 for charity to date. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Pints and perspiration at annual straw bale race Oxenhope Straw Race
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Alistair Brownlee dons Trump costume for Oxenhope Straw Race
Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee took part in his first Oxenhope Straw Race, dressed as US President Donald former triathlete, from Dewsbury, was among 600 participants in fancy dress who raced each other between six pubs whilst carrying a bale of straw on year marked the 50th anniversary of the event, which dates back to the 1970s when a friendly wager between two farmers over who could haul a bale of straw between pubs the fastest sparked what would become the 2.5-mile (4km) Robin Wright said: "The origins of this extraordinary race are just as captivating as the event itself." According to the rules, participants must stop at five pubs along the route - The Waggon and Horses, The Bay Horse, the former "Idiot Hut" social club, The Lamb, and the former Shoulder of Mutton - downing a pint at each before making the final uphill push to the finish at the Dog and vie for more than just quick times, with prizes handed out for both the fastest teams and the most creative costumes. Brownlee, who donned a Donald Trump costume, told the BBC: "I've had a long career in professional sport but also been brought up in this area doing fell races."This has always been something that I've seen and never been able to do and now I've got the opportunity to do it, so it's great to be here at the very famous Oxenhope Straw Race."According to organisers, the event has raised more than £500,000 for charity to date. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
