SUE Foster of Hardraw has been unanimously elected as a life member of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum (FDCM).

At the group’s AGM the new chairman, Martin Garside, told her: “You have done so much that it definitely warranted your being a life member as a token of our appreciation.”

Mrs Foster had planned to step down as chairman earlier but, like many other organisations, the FDCM was unable to hold an AGM last year due to Covid-19. So she chaired the beginning of this year’s AGM until Mr Garside was elected.

She especially congratulated the museum manager, Fiona Rosher, and the staff for all they had done to keep it open whenever there were no lockdowns.

Mrs Foster became secretary of the FDCM in 1994 and then its chairman in 2003. She is now its vice-chairman. She said: “I have loved every minute of being its chairman, but it was time to step down. It’s been an honour to be its chairman because it’s a lovely society. I have enjoyed liaising with the museum staff as they are marvellous.”

The latest annual magazine of the FDCM, Now Then, is on sale at the museum. This includes articles about the architect of St Matthew’s Church at Leyburn and Jean Kington who did so much research about families in Bishopdale.

There is also an article about the Rev Jacob Costobadie who was rector of Wensley from 1750 to 1802. Like the Rev John Dupont who was vicar of Aysgarth in the mid 18th Century (Now Then 2020) his parents were refugees from the persecution of Protestants in France.

The photograph on the magazine cover, however, is of a young Wensleydale farmer, Sam Clarkson. In the magazine his grandmother, Eleanor Scarr, has shared her diary written during the Foot and Mouth epidemic of 2001, during which Sam was born.

Alongside this is the story of the Wensleydale Ice Cream Parlour at Aysgarth which came into being largely as a result of Foot and Mouth.

In his report Mr Garside said: “The last couple of years have been a challenge for all of us and a tragedy for some. It has also been an opportunity to review how we lead our lives and perhaps to seek to make improvements in the future.”

The magazine includes the FDCM programme of talks for 2022 which were postponed this year. These range from Stan Roocroft’s “Experiences of Music” on Friday, February 18, to David Cook’s “Vernacular Building of Wensleydale” on Friday, September 16, which Jean Kington would most definitely have enjoyed.