Our weekly roundup of news stories involving Slaithwaite that for one reason or another won’t be covered in more depth on Slawit.org:

• Slaithwaite craft centre flooded by burst pipe – From The Huddersfield Daily Examiner 20/01/12
• Inquiry into Grosvenor Chemicals fire at Linthwaite is over – but questions remain – From The Huddersfield Daily Examiner 19/01/12
• MP Jason McCartney on rail projects – From The Huddersfield Daily Examiner 19/01/12

Photo by Jon S. Used under the Creative Commons License.

Just a quick note to let you know that I’m going to be interviewed about this site tonight (23/01/12) on Two Valleys Radio.

If you would like to hear my dulcet tones then I should be on at some point between 6:15pm and 7pm. Or alternatively if you miss it you can hear if via their listen again section.

Two Valley’s Radio is a community radio project for the Holme and Colne valleys. You can listen to it via their website

The Free University of Slawit has rescheduled it’s postponed discussion on “Were the Luddites Right After All” to Tuesday Febuary 21st, starting at 8:00pm at The Comercial.

The event, as always, is free and open to all and will be attended by socialist historian Alan Brooke who has written extensively about the Luddites.

This year is the 200th anniversary of the Luddite uprisings which spread across the North. The Colne Valley was a stronghold of the underground movement.

From the University’s website:

The Free University of Slawit is an informal pub discussion group, with an emphasis on politics and philosophy. It happens on the third Tuesday of each month, starting 20.00 in The Commercial pub, Slaithwaite, usually in the upstairs room.

There is no ‘expert’  speaker – the discussion is friendly and informal. And it is ‘free’ – apart from having to buy Jonny’s excellent beer.

Previous sessions have included discussions on the future of the NHS, the royal family, democracy and voting systems, and freedom (whether we are or not) and ‘should we have an English parliament?’.

The pub philosophy and politics discussion group meet at The Commercial on the third Tuesday of every month, usually in the upstairs room.

Slaithwaite’s public toilets may be closed due to council budget cutbacks.

The toilets along with other unmanned public toilets throughout Kirklees may be closed in an effort to save the £75,000 spent cleaning and maintaining them. I am unclear at this point if the closure includes the British waterways facilities in the same building.

The cuts, which are part of Kirklees’ 2012/13 budget planning, will be finally decided on in a council meeting on February 22nd.

The council say that they need to reduce the budget by £64 million in total. Staffing will take the majority of the brunt of the cuts, but there will also be reductions in services from waste collection, sports centres, public footpath maintenance, museums, and a number of festivals in the wider Kirklees areaarea.

Full details of the proposed spending plans on the Kirklees council website. It’s a bit of a trawl to get through however. An excellent summery can be found on The Examiner.

Photo by Titiana Vdb. Used under Creative Commons License.

Hey you! Yes you! Do you fancy getting your eyebrows burnt off? Of course you do, who wouldn’t!

Those rather odd folk at the other end of the Colne Valley in Marsden are making preparations for this years Imbolic Fire Festival on the 4th of Febuary. The festival is based on a pagan celebration of the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox. Starting at 7pm a the old goods yard in Marsden a bunch of fire druids wielding flaming torches will make their way through the village on their way to watch the Green Man of spring battle Jack Frost.

They’ve always been a funny lot in Marsden. I don’t know why they don’t stick to fishing moons out of canals like normal folk.

The fire festival is currently looking for volunteer stewards (the last lot they had are still recovering from their third degree burns no doubt). There are openings for both specific jobs on the site and also “walking stewards” who join the parade wearing a yellow jacket.

If you’re interested in becoming a steward then head to the stewards meeting at the Railway Pub, Marsden on Wednesday the 25th of January at 8pm.

All joking aside the Imbolic Fire Festival is a fantastic event and well worth being part of (just wear asbestos underpants).

Here’s a video of the 2010 festival that I dug up from the internet. The cameraman appears to have vertigo, but other than that its ok.

Photo by Paul Stevenson. Used under Creative Commons License.

Slaithwaite and Marsden Action on Rail Transport (or SMART for short) are calling for more members of the community to join their group.

SMART is a small organisation of local people who advocate and campaign for better rail services for Colne Valley residents using the trains for both work and pleasure.

These are interesting times for the railway in the Colne Valley. There are plans afoot to stop the local train service between Slaithwaite and Marsden, something that would significantly damage the links between the two villages.

SMART are campaigning on this and on other issues, but their relatively small number of members are feeling the strain. If you would like to find out more or get involved with the group then visit their website, email them at info@smart-rail.co.uk or go to one of their meetings. The next one will be held on Wednesday 15th of February at 7:15pm in The Commercial pub.

Photo by Rofanator. Used under the Creative Commons License.

We are now well into the middle of January so it’s about time we all started thinking about Christmas. After all, there are only 340 shopping days left to go.

Ok, perhaps not. Although I’m sure I saw some mince pies on sale at Morrisons last week.

It may not be time to start thinking about putting up the tree just yet, however the dedicated folk responsible for the Christmas decorations in Slaithwaite village centre don’t have the same luxury. As soon as the lights come down from the lampposts they have to start thinking about where the money is going to come from to do it all again next year.

On Tuesday March 15th the Monsoon curry restaurant on Britannia Road, Slaithwaite is putting on a curry night in order to help kick start the fund-raising for 2012′s lights.

Tickets are £12.50 each and are available from Pink Kissimo, HD Seven and Green Valley Grocer, or by emailing slaithwaitecommunitycentre@hotmail.com

As well as bringing a bit of festive cheer, the lights and the associated switching on ceremony helps build identity and community spirit in Slaithwaite. However each year the lights cost around £6000 to put on and maintain, and he money needs to come from somewhere(I know! £6000! I’ve offered them some battery powered fairy lights I found in my attic but I’ve not heard back from them yet.)

If nothing else it’s an excuse to go and pig out on curry in the name of a good cause. Mmmmm curry.

Photo by George Deputee. Used under the Creative Commons License.

The Slaithwaite Vintage and Craft Emporium is planning to open twenty units for local craft people and businesses at their premises at Upper Mills (by the canal just past the Handmade Bakery).

The Emporium, which sells art and craft by a number of local artisans as well as vintage clothing, also runs regular art and craft courses on everything from textiles to life drawing. It has also recently added VinylSource, a record business, to it’s stable.

The emporium is staffed by the crafters it supports – who are able to put their crafts into the unit free of charge in return for manning the emporium during it’s opening times (10am until 4pm). It also donates 25% of all vintage clothing sales to local charities.

They are hoping to have the 20 additional units up and running by April.

I wonder if they would be interested in selling my pictures of giant dinosaur robots that I made using pencil crayons, milk bottle tops, and bits of spaghetti.

Photo by Anne. Used under Creative Commons License.

A premier of In Transition, featuring Slaithwaite’s own The Handmade Bakery and Green Valley Grocer will be screened at the Watershed in Slaithwaite on Thursday 2nd of Febuary at 7:30pm.

The film is presented by MASTT (or Marsden and Slaithwaite Transition Towns), a community-led environmental project which aims to reduce the two villages’ reliance on fossil fuels and produce more of our own food.

Rumour has it George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, and Bob Carolgees will be attending. Granted those rumours were started by me, but they still count.

There will be light refreshments provided and admission is free.

Photo by Jose Gutierrez. Used under Creative Commons License.

Two Valleys Radio is an community radio station that covers the Colne and Home Valleys. Staffed largely by volunteers in association with community arts organisation Heads Together.

Rather than broadcast over the airwaves Two Valleys Radio is put out through the internet, thereby bypassing all those pesky broadcasting bandwidth regulations. You can tune in to their shows live by going to twovalleysradio.co.uk. If you miss any of the shows you can also listen again via the same website.

Here’s January and Febuary’s program schedule:

• Every Monday 4pm-6pm – Monday Night Clinic. A regular weekly broadcast including “Two Valleys: Many Views: the audio newspaper for the Holme and Colne Valleys
• 29th January 4pm-6pm – Institute of Ideas. An in-depth look at villages in the valleys, through different themes each month. January’s show looks at New Year’s resolutions plus a live session and interview with Huddersfield band Maia.
• 6th Febuary 2pm-7pm – Education Express. Half-termly broadcast: students bringing the latest news from their schools and colleges.
• 26th Febuary 2pm-5pm – Institute of Ideas. An in-depth look at villages in the valleys, through different themes each month.

Two Valleys Radios are always open to new volunteers and ideas. You can find a list of there various meetings and planning sessions in January here.

And if after that you still haven’t had enough of locally produced audio content then you could always check out my own podcast Lee and Dan’s Midnight Movie Club (ok so it doesn’t have a great deal to do with the Colne Valley, but I thought I’d sling in a sneaky plug anyhow).