We’re delighted to announce our first event of the year on Saturday 31st March at 7.30PM at The Black Swan. It promises to be an entertaining affair and if you attend, you could even be returning home with more money than you set off with! As well as some tasty food and drink, there will be the opportunity to win some cash at our adrenaline filled ‘video race night’… get all the action and excitement of a live race in the comfort of your local pub, whilst raising some funds for your local charity (posh hats for the ladies are optional!). More details will be provided closer to the time, so please check back here soon or follow our page on facebook!

We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who supported us at this morning’s highly successful ‘Christmas Coffee Morning’. We’re still counting the pennies, but first estimates suggest that a good few hundreds of pounds were raised for the Maypole Trust. If you were unable to make it, you can view some photos of the event in our photo gallery.

The coffee morning was followed by the Maypole Trust Committee’s Triennial General Meeting (TGM) where the residents of the village had the opportunity to elect the Maypole Committee for the next 3 years. Maypole Trust Chairman (Nigel Trotter) gave a speech explaining the election process, announcing retiring members, and also new candidates looking to join the committee. The floor was opened up for questions and comments, but none were forthcoming.

Upon asking those in attendance whether they would like the outgoing committee members to carry on their work, Nigel was met with a loud and unanimous ‘yes’ from the floor. As such, we can now formally announce the 2011-2014 committee:-

The following members will continue to be on the committee and their roles agreed at the next committee meeting:-

Nigel Trotter
Mark Vipond
Michelle Vipond
Jane Neale
John Fergusson
Lucie Glover
David Moss

Two new nominees were put forward and were unanimously elected. We would like to welcome aboard:-

Josie Ford
Karl Whitehead

The following members have retired from the committee, but may continue to support the Maypole Trust in other ways. We would like to thank them for their hard work and support over the years:-

Richard Hampshire (Richard has agreed to continue organising the Barwick Beer Festival)
Denis Scott (Denis’s tasks will be split amongst the committee)
Frances Smith (Frances will still be helping in an advisory role, and with occasional Maypole tasks such as leaflet distribution)
Barry Vipond (Barry’s previous tasks will be overseen by David Moss)

If you were unable to attend the TGM, and would like to join the committee, it is possible to become a co-opted member. To do so, you will need to be nominated by a current committee member and the nomination approved by the remaining committee members. We also welcome volunteers who are willing to offer help without needing to attend committee meetings.

Saturday 3rd December at 10AM at Barwick Village Hall

We’re having a coffee morning and you’re invited!

Teas & coffees with FREE re-fills
Home-made mince pies, cakes & scones
Home-made cake stall
DVDs and 2012 calendars available for sale
2011 Maypole Festival photos
Raffle

Why not join us for a tea or coffee and a delicious mince pie, scone, or slice of home-made cake? Meet your fellow villagers, chat with the Maypole committee and take a look back at this year’s Maypole Festival… all this for just £1 (all proceeds go t0 the Barwick Maypole Trust). Please note, cakes, scones and mince pies are available on a first come first served basis!

Calling budding bakers and expert sponge makers!

We’ll be having a home-made cake stall, and are looking for contributors! Whether it’s boozy fruit cake, fairy cakes made by your kids, a Victoria sponge, or a full-on patisserie masterpiece… all donations are very welcome! (bonus points will go to any Maypole themed cakes). If you would like to do your bit to support the event, simply bring your cake with you on the day!

Raffle

We’ll be holding a charity raffle, offering you a chance to win a selection of prizes, including a painting by a local artist, Maypole DVDs, 2012 calendars and more! Donations for raffle prizes are also very welcome (again, if you would like to donate anything simply bring this with you on the day).

DVDs  and 2012 calendars

Our highly popular DVD and limited edition 2012 calendars will be on sale on the day. These are selling fast, and we expect them to be sold out long before Christmas. Attending the coffee morning is a good way of ensuring you don’t miss out!

Triennial General Meeting

The coffee morning will be followed by the Maypole Trust Committee’s Triennial General Meeting. The main purpose of this meeting is to elect committee members responsible for organising the next maypole lowering and raising (each committee member serves a three year period and has to stand again for re-election at the TGM). As with previous years, this will be your opportunity to vote for your committee.

Join us at the Village Hall

39 Chapel Lane
Barwick in Elmet
Leeds
LS15 4EL

We are delighted to announce that the Barwick Maypole Trust limited edition collector’s calendar is now available for purchase at the Village Post Office, the New Inn, and via the Barwick Historical Society! Only 500 have been produced, and nearly half of these have been sold already… so if you want one, you need to act fast! Each calendar costs just £6, and all proceeds go directly to the Maypole Trust. You can even order a calendar on-line. Please click here for more details.

Thanks to popular demand we are delighted to announce the return of the Barwick Maypole Trust limited edition collector’s calendar! The brand new 2012 version features twelve scenes of the village in a traditional water colour style (more on that later). If you’re a local, you will most likely be able to recognise each scene, but here’s the full list:-

January – All Saints Church
February – View from Potterton Lane
March -  Main Street
April – Methodist Church
May – The New Inn
June – Jubilee Gardens
July – Rakehill Road
August – The Black Swan
September – The Miners Institute
October – View from Aberford Road
November – The Gascoigne Arms
December – The Cross

We know from previous experience that many people like to buy calendars as presents and that they are often sent all over the world… so we will be releasing the calendars earlier this year to give people plenty of time to meet international postage deadlines… or simply start using them to plan next year!

The calendar has been designed and produced by committee member, John Fergusson, who had the following to say…

“When I joined the committee, quite a few people asked me if we would be producing any calendars this year. I remember the calendars from a few years ago and recall them being very popular. At the time, I was living in the South East and one was posted to me as a gift and it was nice to have some images to remind me of home. With what seemed like a ready market of potential buyers lined up, it seemed like it could only be a good idea to produce a calendar for 2012, and since I have experience in design and print, I happily volunteered”.

John continues…

“I have always been interested in art and design, and felt that a calendar featuring pencil sketches and water colours would be very popular. Sadly my drawing and painting skills are just not up to scratch. I enjoy photography however, and can use Photoshop, so I thought I would combine these skills to produce an unusual effect. The images in the calendar are actually from photographs that I have digitally manipulated on the computer. I have used a little bit of artistic licence in some shots and done a little airbrushing to remove things like TV aerials and satellite dishes. Each image takes about two hours to get the overall desired effect, and although I don’t have the talent of a conventional artist, I hope people will still like them. In fact I am hoping that people will look at the scenes and be intrigued as to how they were created”.

The spiral bound calendar will be printed in colour (1 month per page) is A4 in size and comes supplied with a cardboard envelope for easy postage. There is ample room to note reminders under each day, with some additional space for a few notes. Each calendar costs £6, and all proceeds go directly to the Maypole Trust.

 
The Maypole Trust Committee would like to thank everyone who attended the 2011 Barwick-in-Elmet Maypole Festival and helped make the day a great success! The pole was successfully raised, the procession and dancing went ahead (despite the rain) and the street craft market did a roaring trade. The wet weather certainly didn’t seem to dampen spirits, and the sun eventually came out to play in the afternoon… just in time for our intrepid pole climber to make his hugely successful ascent of the 86 foot pole!

In case you’re thinking it’s all over for another three years now… it’s most definitely not! We’re busy taking down posters and dismantling stages at present, but we’ll be updating the site over the next few days to bring you photos, videos and press coverage from this year’s event, plus a whole load of historical photos, articles and information (thanks to the Barwick Historical Society)… and that’s not to mention details of some future events that we have planned! So make sure you bookmark us and come back again very soon. In the meantime, you can check out some recent coverage of the occasion below.
 

BBC Radio Leeds interviews maypole climber – Chris Brown

BBC Radio Leeds presenter Johnathan I’anson interviews Chris Brown, this year’s maypole climber… moments after he successfully scaled the 86 foot pole.
 

 

BBC Radio Leeds interviews Chairman – Nigel Trotter

BBC Radio Leeds breakfast show presenter Martin Kelner interviews Nigel Trotter prior to the 2011 Maypole festival and discusses the link between BBC Radio 4′s ‘The Archers’ and the village.
 

 

Press coverage

Finally, this year’s festival has had some very good press coverage… we’ll be adding links to these articles in the press pages, but for the time being, here are a couple of recently published articles:-

Yorkshire Post – Thousands jostle for pole position in the rain

Yorkshire Evening Post – Leeds maypole challenge rises to the tall challenge

It’s the big day tomorrow and the Maypole Trust Committee are working hard to finalise preparations for the Maypole Festival. The kids’ funfair has arrived, the stage is built, the signs are up, and last but not least, the pole is painted! Now all we need is for the sun keep shining! We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow… and don’t forget to get here at 10.30AM if you want to see the maypole carried to The Cross!

David Moss clears the steps of Hall Tower Hill

The stage is set (literally).

The maypole gleaming in the sunshine.

Our pole painters Kath & Carl Whitfield who can (almost) relax knowing their job is nearly done.

The fox weather vane… cleaned, re-greased and polished and ready to take pride of place on top of the maypole!

104 minutes of maypole merriment for just £10

 
The Barwick Maypole Trust (in association with the Barwick Historical Society) is delighted to announce a new DVD for 2011. ‘Ancient & Modern’ documents the triennial Barwick-in-Elmet maypole festival, and compares the old and new techniques for lowering and raising the village’s famous 86 foot pole. As well as footage from various festivals over the years, it features interviews with the committee Chairmen (past and present) and also this year’s daring pole climber Chris Brown.

The DVD will be officially launched at the 2011 festival, and will go on sale for just £10. Alternatively you can pre-order a copy now for delivery to your home for just £10 + £1.50 P&P.
 
Click here to pe-order your copy!

 

The 2011 Maypole Festival is nearly upon us! Preparations are well underway and we look forward to bringing you a highly enjoyable and memorable day. As you might expect, putting on a festival that caters for several thousand people involves a great deal of time and effort, and also the assistance of local volunteers.

At the time of writing, we could still use a little help, and would ask you to consider giving us an hour or so of your time on the day. As well as giving you a chance to meet your fellow villagers, you can go home feeling all ‘warm and fuzzy’… knowing you have played your part in the day’s events!

Pole carriers

The maypole is due to be raised at 11AM, however we need your assistance in carrying it from its current resting place to its home in The Cross. If you would like to participate,  simply assemble at the entrance to Hall Tower at 10AM. Willing volunteers will be given exact instructions on what to do by a representative of the Maypole Trust (probably something along the lines of “up, “forward”, “stop” and “down”!).

Parking attendants

The Parish Council have (very kindly) given us permission to use Jack Heap’s Field as a temporary car park between 9.30AM and 5PM.

This needs to be properly managed, and a minimum of 2 attendants should be in situ at any time (one to direct cars to spaces, and one to collect donations). Volunteers from ‘Barwick in Bloom’ will be staffing the car park between 9.30AM and 12.30, but we need some helpers to cover between 12.30 & 4.30 (we would suggest 2 x 2 hourly shifts).

As an incentive (if you are a local charity or not for profit organisation)… any donations you collect you can keep! The car park will be signposted, but attendants should bring their own collection buckets and high visibility vests (these are available for sale on-line for less than £2 each). If you are able to help, please drop us a quick line via the contact form and we will get right back to you.

Take down team

The climax of the Maypole Festival is the climbing of the pole. After this, the village tends to empty quite quickly (except for those staying in the pub!). There is still a lot of work to be done at this stage however. Staging, gates, barriers, market stalls and posters all need to be taken down and transported away, and Hall Tower needs to be scoured for litter.

If you would like to help, simply make yourself known to a member of the Maypole Trust Committee (who will be wearing a red, white and blue rosette) at the end of the festival (around 5PM). ‘Many hands make light work’ and your help will be very much appreciated at the end of a day that began at 5AM for some of the team!

Other ways you can help

If you can’t help in any of the above ways, you can still assist us by sending us your photos (and movies) or becoming a Friend of the pole. Please support the Maypole Trust in anyway you can… remember it is your village, your festival and your maypole!

We’re delighted to announce our brave young Maypole climber for 2011… local lad, Chris Brown! Chris will have the unenviable task of climbing the 86 foot pole around 5PM (in front of the whole village) to mark the climax of the Maypole Festival on Monday 30th May.

Most locals will know all too well why we have a maypole climber, but some visitors may (understandably) be wondering exactly how this role came about.

The traditional maypole raising technique made it necessary for a climber (usually a local farm lad) to ascend the pole to in order to detach the hoisting ropes. After this, he would attempt to continue to the very top of the pole to give the fox weather vane a customary spin (a superstition thought to bring good luck to the village). This was a feat of extreme bravery, and a local spectacle which has been enjoyed (and remembered) by many people for decades.

Whilst the current method for raising the pole has changed, the Maypole Trust wishes to maintain as much of the old tradition as possible, and the customary maypole climber and ‘fox spin’ attempt is part of this.

This will be Chris’s second attempt at climbing the pole (having previously attempted it in 2005). Chris is currently in training, and is in excellent hands. His mentor is (four times) former pole climber and local hero David Crabtree. “I’m taking this really seriously” says Chris… “I’m training five or six days a week, and have lost a stone in weight since I started. I have put my all into this training and getting as fit as I can (I have even given up the drink now) so we will see on the day, and with a bit of luck that fox will spin!”.

At the end of the climb, it is tradition for the Maypole Trust Committee to circulate the crowd to make a collection for the climber. All proceeds from this collection traditionally go to the climber for his help and support (and display of courage of course!). Given the amount of effort Chris is putting into his training, we ask all visitors on the day to give generously, so please don’t forget to bring your loose change (and spare notes for that matter!).

We recently caught up with Chris at a recent training session (in a top secret location) to ask the questions we thought you would like to have answered…
 
Q. How old are you?
A. 30.
 
Q. Where were you born?
A. Leeds
 
Q. Where do you live now?
A. Micklefield.
 
Q. Where did you go to school?
A. Barwick Church of England Primary School.
 
Q. What hobbies do you have?
A. Keeping fit, rugby, and shooting.
 
Q. What do you do for a living?
A. I am self employed. I do landscape gardening, property maintenance and farming… all in the local area.
 
Q. What’s your first memory of the Barwick Maypole Festival?
A. Maypole dancing as a child at school, and Dave Crabtree climbing the maypole.
 
Q. What made you decide to climb the pole?
A. It’s always been a local farm lad that’s climbed it so growing up on a local farm it has always been seen as a bit of a challenge.
 
Q. What is the most difficult part of the climb?
A. Probably the last 5-10 feet when the body is beginning to get tired.
 
Q. Do you have a special technique?
A. Yes, but that would be telling!
 
Q. Do you need to wear special clothing?
A. Just straps round the bottom of my trousers to stop them riding up.
 
Q. How long do you expect to be ‘up’ the pole?
A. How long is a piece of string? Not a clue really, but quick as I can… as the longer I am up there the more tired I’ll get!
 
Q. Do you get scared?
A. No. That never came into it last time (there was too much adrenalin flowing!).
 
Q. How do you practise?
A. That would also be telling! But there is a rope, a ladder and something else involved!
 
Q. What do you remember the most from your last climb?
A. The rope getting tangled round my legs… it meant I was working against the rope, which made the climb really difficult.
 
Q. How confident are you this year?
A. It’s not good to be over confident… but I’ll give it everything I have.
 
Q. What do your family and friends think about you climbing?
A. Everyone is behind me, they may think I am a little nuts but they are behind me and that’s all that matters.
 
Q. Do you have any concerns or worries.
A. The only real concern I have is the weather… if it rains, the pole will be very slippy, and it is less likely I will make it. I may also end up with paint on my T-shirt, if the gloss hasn’t quite cured properly, but that’s not exactly a big deal!”.
 
Q. Have you any tips or requests for the assembled crowd?
A. When I get to the splice bracket I am going to need a minute or two to catch get my breath. After that I will go for it. All support is welcome, and the crowd can shout as much support encouragement as they want!