Barnsley and Beyond

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The challenges we face today and those we face tomorrow are daunting but like the challenges of yesterday, they will be overcome.

This was a great event and a fantastic opportunity to pay tribute to the incredible resilience of a community. All of those who spoke were brilliant and the variety of people who were at the event from Calendar Girls to the cast of Brassed Off is a testament to Grimethorpe. While the Pals’ struggle took them to foreign soil, the miners’ struggle was brought to their very doorstep. As I had also done visiting lectures and secondments at Bretton Hall College of Higher Education since 1972/73 on the PGCE Secondary Teacher Training Courses, I joined them on a full-time basis in 1995. Turning to what this evening is all about… Councillor Tattersall – our new Mayor – congratulations! Let me be candid, many people were surprised at my decision to stand down, but I said from the beginning that being a Mayor and an MP wasn’t a long-term arrangement.Barnsley’s sons and daughters have a long and proud history of stepping out and shaping a better world. The Queen – overseeing us this evening – has been the embodiment of service and stability, a constant in our lives and it is right we recognise her unwavering dedication. Our community knows all too well the arc of history does not always necessarily steer to a better tomorrow. But we also know that together we have the power to bend it toward a more hopeful future. I first met her when I was a fledgling author and trying to network to get my name out there. There were plenty of folk who wouldn’t give me the time of day who are all over me now like flies around the proverbial… but I never forgot those first people who extended their hands of friendship because they wanted to help me, not because they wanted help from me and they always get first call on my available time. Mel was right at the top of that list and because of that, any favour she asked of me was one I was glad to meet.

workers, carers, delivery drivers, shopworkers, posties, transport staff, and many others. Too often taken for granted but And in 2019, her lifelong commitment to culture in her hometown was rewarded when she was made an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Household names such as actor Shaun Dooley, radio presenter Stephanie Hirst and Egyptologist Prof Joann Fletcher all listed Mel as having a major influence and impact on their careers. You only have to walk around our community and speak to the people who make it so special to know that holds true. I know we are all greatly inspired by the resolve, determination and spirit shown by the Ukrainian people.

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A Barnsley miner's daughter, Mel Dyke is a former bank clerk and Consumers' Association lecturer who completed Sir Alec Clegg's mature student teacher course. From 1973 she was employed at Bretton Hall College and then the University of Leeds as an education lecturer and link tutor.

Their story reminds us that the lone hero is a myth – we are all in fact, threads, woven together to create something much stronger. Since then I have gained further experience along those lines from ‘Educational Priority Areas’ through to the costly Independent/Private Sectors here and abroad. I obviously wanted to take Sarah up on her offer – her endorsement would’ve been very useful, but it suddenly dawned on me this encounter was laden with risk. Men and women from Barnsley have fought, struggled and laboured time and time again for our tomorrow. Their journey is one we continue.

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Anyone who questions that ambition has a short memory, look at what we have achieved and how we have achieved it… as one. She was also an acclaimed author who used her connections across the globe to showcase the great achievements of people who were Barnsley born and bred. Speaking at the time, Mel, of Staincross, said: “It came as a complete surprise but I’m absolutely over the moon with the news. I don’t see it as a personal achievement, it’s something for Barnsley and everyone I’ve come across during the last 50 years.” I do also want to say a word about the Platinum Jubilee – truly a milestone in our nation’s history. Just outside, we have our square dedicated to the Barnsley Pals battalions. Men who stepped forward to answer the call during the First World War.