Pontefract’s Grand Re-opening – The When and the How

09.06.20 – Darrell Priestley

Understandably, everyone is eager for a time when we can all do the little things we once took for granted; shopping without having to plan in queuing time, popping into a cafe for coffee with friends, not constantly having to watch your personal space. And not panicking if you find you’ve left your disposable gloves or hand sanitiser at home.

At Northern Music Academy HQ we are as keen to return as anyone else, but we believe hopes of a full return to normal are still a little premature. The sensible starting point would seem to be to follow government advice, as the government in turn ‘follow the science’, but since to date the government’s success in doing this has arguably been less than stellar, with quarantine finally arriving around 90 days after it would have been most useful, we will not be relying on this advice alone, however well intended.

Our local High Street has been an odd place of late, and maybe not one where you would want to spend time, but gradually that will change. The queuing we have seen has worked to a point, when a limited number of shops were open, but as an increasing number of shops and businesses open their doors again the queuing system will need to change, if individual queues are not to criss-cross and confuse.

Within our building in Ropergate, we are considering a range of changes to make this perhaps the safest place you can spend time in outside of your own home. That said, for reasons of social distancing, we will not be encouraging anyone to spend any unnecessary time here. Every aspect of behaviour has to be considered, from hygiene, to flow, to use of space. We know you will work with us to keep your visits safe, while feeling as natural and enjoyable as possible. Our aim is a reassuringly safe feel, but with a light touch.

Everything is up for consideration, from lesson times to restricted access, and from waiting times to payment methods. This is in addition to the more obvious hygiene measures you would expect. When we do judge that the time is right, we will welcome all our students back, but we will not rush that judgement. We first want to satisfy ourselves that the outbreak is properly under control, and that any risk to you is low. We believe also that it is not enough that you be safe; the stress levels we have all had to endure for months now mean that, for you to properly enjoy your visit, you also need to feel safe.

While Pontefract, Castleford and the surrounding towns are understandably itching to reopen, in practice that is likely to be a piecemeal process. The Northern Music Academy may not be the first to do so, but rest assured, when we do we will be ready for your return, and very glad indeed to see you.

Introducing Charlie the Scarecrow

05.06.20 – Jessica Laughton

I don’t know about you, but during lock down we have been finding all sorts of projects to keep us busy in our household. We’ve given old furniture a new lease of life by painting and up-cycling it and rearranged our garden to accommodate space for growing vegetables (we are now starting to enjoy the fruits of our labour). But perhaps the most fun of all projects we have had together was making a scarecrow called Charlie.

The idea came to me not long after lock down began.  We’ve been exceptionally lucky with the weather during the past weeks as we’ve been able to spend much of this time outside in the garden and I’ve found myself reminiscing on past summers including family holidays to France.

I remember whilst holidaying in France one particular Summer, we stayed in a beautiful old town and decided to venture off and explore the near by surroundings to the accommodation with an afternoon walk. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Surrounding the little town was mostly farmland and open fields and I remember walking down an old country road passing the odd house. Each house was unique with a beautiful garden of it’s own. One house must have belonged to an artist as they had decided to paint the most amazing life sized picture of an old car parked in the garage on the side of their outdoor building. Another house had a huge pond (a lake almost, as it had its own rowing boat) and sat at the lake was a scarecrow fishing. I don’t know why, but this memory of the holiday in particular has always stayed with me even though it happened so many years ago. Perhaps, it was because it was the first time I had ever seen something like this, or I found the story of the scarecrow falling asleep whilst fishing a little amusing. Or maybe, it was because I could imagine the fun the homeowners must have had thinking up the idea and making the scarecrow.

Now, my mum (Eileen) happens to be one of the most creative people I know and very often I look to her for inspiration. I was thrilled when she suggested making our own scarecrow once we got back home.  I knew with Mum’s help the scarecrow would be amazing and we’d have fun but I had no idea just how much fun we would have and that the fun would continue long afterwards.

We decided to boldly sit Charlie (our scarecrow) on a bench in the front garden.  The next day people passed the house, one or two had a quizzical look, but most people laughed and stopped to look more closely.  Enthused by their response we would occasionally wait until the evenings and change Charlie’s pose.  Some day’s he laid on the bench asleep and other days he read the paper.  Word must of travelled because before long people were bringing their families to see Charlie.   It wasn’t long after this that the village decided to hold their first scarecrow festival.  

It was whilst reminiscing about these times in lock down I decided I wanted us to have fun and laugh together as a family. We decided to make Charlie again. The children and my husband all got involved, we made everything from scratch (including the hat) and ran round frantically using whatever we had to hand to make the scarecrow. Once Charlie was finished we sat him at the front of the house and awaited the response. It became infectious and the neighbours loved it, getting on board and making their own scarecrows the next day. It has been wonderful seeing people laughing and enjoying making their own scarecrows.

Occasionally, Charlie changes position, he sleeps, plays the guitar and proudly holds a flag supporting the NHS on Thursdays. Today though, Charlie is climbing some ladders painting the front of our house. I’m not sure what he will be doing next, but I know we will have fun thinking it up.

Blackout Tuesday

02.06.20

In a move that echoes much of the music industry, today we acknowledge #blackouttuesday. In our lives, each of us can make a difference, by our attitudes and behaviour, and together that difference can be profound.

It’s the simplest thing, to acknowledge that everyone, across race and gender, is created equal, and should enjoy equal rights, equal opportunities and equal responsibilities.

We live in turbulent times, at a pivotal moment in history, and for the world. The choices we make today may have a lasting effect on our lives, and the lives of those to come.

It is not naive to say ‘we can make a better world’. Let’s begin today.

The ideal song to accompany this moment is ‘Shed a Little Light’ by James Taylor.

Have You Been Trying to Reach Us?

27.05.20 – Darrell Priestley

Today, an apology. We appear to be having problems receiving some emails. This only came to light yesterday when someone we hadn’t heard from since shortly before lockdown began finally reached us by telephone at work. They had been visiting our website, and trying to get hold of us over a period of around 8 weeks. Rachael, you get ten out of ten for persistence! I can only apologise to anyone affected, and assure you that we will be working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. In the meantime, I will include telephone contact details below.

In order to set up the system for teaching online, it was necessary for us to make changes to the way we operate, which included porting our entire email system to a new provider. Since this point, we think it possible that some messages to the usual address may not have been received, though as yet we don’t know if this has been a problem for others. If you too have encountered problems reaching us by email at the usual , then for now, please use the following email address: [email protected]

In the first weeks of lockdown, we were handling emails at all times, but amidst everything else this became overwhelming, and so for the present we try to handle emails on business days; if your email comes in on a Sunday, for instance , there may be a delay before we see it and respond. For current business times, please see below.

During lockdown, we spent the first 8 weeks working from home, and had intended to use our business telephone from home to make communication easier. However, we hit technical problems, which meant that this has so far not been possible. During this time, we had an answerphone system operating on the business telephone line, and of course email. However, the email issue noted above may have made things a whole lot more difficult for some of you, and I am so sorry for this.

Currently, Eileen and I are back at our Ropergate address, and working in a closed building. In case you need us, official telephone hours are presently as follows:

Mon/Tues – 11.00am – 5.00pm
Wednesday – Closed
Thurs/Fri – 11.00am – 5.00pm
Sat/Sun – Closed

Tel. 01977 797422

These hours are fairly basic; it may be possible to reach us outside of the times shown, but it is much less likely; equally, since much of the time I am teaching online, and Eileen may be on the other line or simply away from her desk, you may not always reach us at first try. Please bear in mind, it is possible to leave a message.