MY YORKSHIRE Jan Thornton
Jan Thornton MBE has lived in the same West Yorkshire village since 1987, where she is a local community activist, and sits on many boards. She is vice chair of the newly launched FixOurFood Commission.
What’s your first Yorkshire memory?
I’ve lived in Yorkshire all my life, bar time away as a student and six months working in London, which I hated, so it’s hard to pin down a specific Yorkshire memory – nearly all my memories are Yorkshire based. I was brought up in Sheffield and remember very specifically going to Girl Guide camp in Helmsley. It’ s my first recollection of seeing Helmsley Castle and Rievaulx Abbey.
What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?
I have a very soft spot for the North York Moors and the village of Lastingham in particular. My parents retired there when I was in my 20s and I have many happy memories of spending weekends and holidays there for nearly 30 years. Lastingham is a much smaller village than the West Yorkshire one where I live. It was having knowledge of these two very different types of villages as well as having been brought up in a large ‘commuter village’ on the outskirts of Sheffield which gave me a good background and understanding of how village life
‘works’ which was invaluable lived experience to bring to my role as vice chair of Community First Yorkshire.
What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?
Going out into the Yorkshire Dales or the Moors for a walk and a pub lunch. There are so many places these days offering great locally sourced and produced food.
Do you have a favourite walk – or view?
There is a view across the Lower Wharfe Valley to Almscliffe Crag from Harewood Road which I see most days and it varies so much from day to day, I never tire of it.
Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?
Lizzie Deignan (Armistead). I admire the resilience and tenacity it takes to be a successful professional cyclist.
Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?
Sir Michael Palin, he has had such a varied life and is extremely well travelled. We both originate from Sheffield, he went to the same prep school as my brother and both our fathers were engineers …that has to be a good starting point for a conversation.
If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be?
Gillies-Jones Glassmakers in Rosedale Abbey. Their artistic and skilled workmanship will provide a Yorkshire-inspired legacy which I am sure will be valued by generations to come. Always great to visit their gallery/workshop.
If you could choose somewhere, or some object, from or in Yorkshire to own for a day, what would it be?
A train on the North York Moors Railway. I’d fill it with lots of people I know and have a great day out travelling through fabulous countryside
What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
Fabulous varied countryside and the warm and friendly people
Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?
The Blue Lion, East Witton. Especially by the roaring fire in winter.
Do you have a favourite food shop?
Fodder – the farm shop set up by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society in Harrogate. A great example of a farm shop and a social enterprise.
How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?
Worse: the increase in second home ownership since the 1980s has had an adverse impact on rural communities in the county and has resulted in house prices which are unaffordable for many local people.
If you had to change one thing in, or about Yorkshire, what would that be?
The weather! I don’t mind the cold as long as its bright and sunny... and we rarely get a consistent run of sunny summer days any more – or maybe I am stuck inside on my computer too much
and I miss the opportunity to get out and enjoy them.
Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?
My dad, Sir Michael Carlisle. He’s 94-years-old now and still has an amazing zest for life. In addition to running a family-owned marine engineering business in Sheffield, he devoted many years to non-exec governance roles in the NHS culminating in being appointed Trent Regional Health Authority chairman in the 1980s, although he continued involvement in one form or another for over 40 years. He was a devoted husband to my late mother and is a loving father and grandfather. Together with my mum they were influential role models in the value of undertaking voluntary and charitable activities.
Has Yorkshire influenced your work?
Completely. Everything I do is focused on supporting Yorkshire, primarily the rural economy and rural communities through my involvement as vice chair of the Yorkshire Food, Farming & Rural Network, Community First Yorkshire and as deputy chair of Grow Yorkshire, but following my recent appointment as vice chair of the FixOurFood Commission there will be a broader focus on helping to develop a cohesive voice for a transformation in the Yorkshire food system which will support healthy people, thriving businesses and a flourishing planet.
Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.
Ed Sheeran. He is an amazing musician, which is so much easier to appreciate when you see him playing live.
If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, where should it be?
Whitby Abbey – especially if they had to travel over the Moors to get to it. Such a dramatic setting.