Welcome to Region 07 – Yorkshire

Welcome to Yorkshire. This Region covers South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire – so an amazing array of places to visit and enjoy among the cities of Leeds, Sheffield, York, Ripon and Hull as well as all the surrounding and beautiful countryside edged by the North Sea and the Pennines.

At present this Region has no Executive Representative, as the recently elected Represenative stood down in order to take on an Officer role instead. She has however offered to undertake all the responsibilities of an Executive Representaive until a replacement can be found. Thus she is now classed as a Local Contact meaning that Yorkshire now has two Local Contacts.

Yorkshire also has its own Regional Committee which usually meets in Leeds. Normally it meets three or four times a year and arranges monthly events. Committee members then take personal responsibility for an individual edvent to share the load. We now have a full programme of monthly events organised well into 2024. All friends and family are welcome to join us at our events, as are members from other areas. We particularly like to arrange some family events suitable for young relatives and also endeavour to have at least one Handshake event each year. That is an event to explore into another Region or Nation, to which we invite members from that area to join us.

If you are interested in becoming the Yorkshire Executive Representative please contact the Chairman on derrick7633@outlook.com or either of the Yorkshire Local Contacts

Local Contacts:

Jean Hertzog – jrhertzog@hotmail.com  or  Lesley Sleigh – lesleigh@live.co.uk

 

Previous Events

 

November 2023 – Ripon Cathedral 

Having had to cancel our October event due to extreme weather  conditions, it was good to meet up again. This time we were in Ripon, a place we had not visited for several years. Unusual to visit two churches in one year but the contrast of Ripon Cathedral with our previous visit to Selby Abbey was dramatic. This was a much grander place, a  magnificant building with beautiful stained glass windows and high carved pillars.

The entrance to the choir stalls had a arch with a slight tunnel effect and over the top were a set of carved figures painted in bright colours. There was even a modern archive library set up a beautiful wooden staircase  giving the cathedral a successful blend of old and new.

Jean Hertzog

 

September 2023 – Selby Abbey

We met in the liitle cafe, run by volunteers, within the Abbey itself, whilst around us was the busy chatter of stall holders and customers at the market stalls within the Nave. Not quite the atmosphere that I was expecting in an Abbey but good that the community were involved I suppose. After coffee we managed to escape to the side aisles and behind the High Altar for a more tranquil setting. Here we discovered a selection of embossed metal plaques depicting the Stages of the Cross. All very differently presented. However even more fascinating was to discover the small slit in the stone columns that gave a line of sight from a separate room to the proceedings at the Altar. This had been constructed in the time of great leperacy numbers to allow sufferers to still attend services, albeit away from the rest of the congregation.

 

Jean Hertzog

 

August 2023 – The Chocolate Story

A group of AOUG member with some friends and family members, including some very excited grandchildren me at The Chocolate Story in York to eagerly await the pre-booked tour. Going down in a lift to below the shop, we stepped out into a cobbled street scene to begin the tour. Then through into a room to see a video about the history of chocolate before encountering images of famous York chocolate makers who suddenly became animated and talked to us about their work  The at last we arrived at the display floor reminisent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and there the excitment built. First by pressing buttons, turning wheels or pressing levels we discovered a reconstruction of the chocolate making process. Finally to bit the grandchildren had been waiting for – making our own chocolate lollies which, after time to set, we were able to take home.

Jean Hertzog

 

December 2022 – Christmas Theatre Visit

In 2021 although the Leeds Playhouse had reopened after covid, the performance chosen for members to visit ‘Wendy and Peter Pan’ was cancelled due to an infection in the cast and so this year’s visit was extra special. Members from the Region were able, after the long pandemic break, to actually meet up at Leeds Playhouse to enjoy first, their annual Christmas Lunch (decked out in their Christmas jumpers) and then the annual Christmas family entertainment.

This year’s production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ was greatly enjoyed by members, accompanied by their children, grandchildren or great grandchildren. According to the regulations for child actors, there were four different children in the role of Charlie, each acting in different performances in order for them not to work excessive hours. Three of these were as one might expect, boys, but for some of the performances, Charlie was played by a girl.

As with all productions at the Leeds Playhouse, the staging effects were of an extremely high standard, transporting the audience either to Charlie’s home with the four grandparents continually tucked up in bed, or to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory with the occasional visit to the sweet shop thrown in for good measure.

Jean Hertzog