eunice
Who is Eunice?
Who is Eunice?
In the mid 90s, Upper Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales was losing services or being threatened with the loss of such – buses, banks, Post Office, doctors, schools, and so on. When you live in t’middle of nowhere, the loss of these services has a huge impact. Especially when you cannot simply jump on a bus to go to the nearest towns e.g. Northallerton and Darlington, and return the same day.
Many local people were endeavouring to rebuild and retain the basic infrastructure of modern life, whilst also keeping the traditional businesses, such as agriculture, cheesemaking and ropemaking, afloat.
There were two men, offcumeduns (incomers), who helped lead the charge to rejuvenate the Upper Dales. John Blackie from Milton Keynes and Peter Annison from Nottingham (whose CVs are worth a peruse if you want to garner an insight into how to support and rebuild a rural community) listened to one idea about a local newsletter, and brought another Dales stalwart onboard. Alan Watkinson from Hawes was the first Editor of the Upper Wensleydale Newsletter. And next year, 2025, the UWN will be celebrating 30 years of monthly editions sharing news and opinions, whilst supporting local businesses with adverts, and also sharing profits with the local community.
The original idea to have a 20p donation has created paying work for UWN staff, book grants for university students from the Dale, benches in villages across the coverage ares of the newsletter, and much more.
Alan Watkinson put together an editorial committee to oversee content, gather together what would now be called citizen journalists to report on local goings on across the area, organise printing and distribution, seek grants for costs and equipment, and gather together at his house in Hawes Station Yard regularly (with tea and cakes provided by Shirley) to ensure the UWN became the success it is still today.
It was very much a team effort and, although the first three trial issues were somewhat hit and miss as everybody tried to work out what was newsworthy, the idea flew.
Eunice came into existence because the first three issues featured simple cartoons. One was of an infamous stretch of wall that is regularly knocked down between Burtersett and Hawes, another was deemed to be too close to gossip (Sorry, Wilf!). But, it was felt that the newsletter required something light-hearted, and so Eunice became our Page 3 girl. Aardman Animations were at the time courting the Wensleydale Creamery for Wallace and Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep was on the horizon. It was an obvious choice to have ourselves a sheep too!
For all these last 30 years, those behind the layout of the newsletter have skilfully and subtly changed the ads, introduced better graphics, and hidden Eunice as small as possible, to allow readers the chance to find Eunice and win a tenner! And, most importantly, to read the Newsletter more thoroughly.
I am the person who designed the original layout of the Upper Wensleydale newsletter all those years ago, and who commissioned Eunice to be captured for all eternity and the enjoyment of all, by local artist and childhood friend, Tim Slatter.
Recently, I found the original Lino prints of Eunice, which have travelled extensively around the globe this last 30 years with me. In order to raise a glass to all of those who have enjoyed the Upper Wensleydale newsletter this last 30 years, to those involved in the Committee, the distributors who ensure the newsletter can be found in shops, pubs, B&Bs across Wensleydale, Swaledale and beyond, as well as online, the thousands of contributors, and of course, to oor Eunice, I have created a shop. A percentage of any profits will go to the Upper Wensleydale Newsletter, and to the very important Hawes Community Office, which helps to provide many of the services that were threatened back in the 90s where this whole story began. Cheers!
