This year’s Heritage Day in Otley was all about celebrating local heritage and tradition, with the Courthouse throwing open its doors to showcase 170 years of the local police force in action.
WMS were invited to take part, but with the theme proving a tough nut to crack — short of building an actual set of stocks — there was a fair bit of head-scratching to be done.
Then inspiration struck: we still had our old photo board! You know the sort — seaside postcard style, with a hole to stick your head through. Rescued from storage and fitted with a brand-new picture, our members got busy creating a scene of Dennis the Menace being collared by Mr Plod.
The board was a hit with visitors of all ages, raising plenty of smiles (and a fair few laughs) throughout the day.
We were also lucky enough to have a member who served as a police officer for over 30 years — including a stint working out of the very same Otley Courthouse. Naturally, he was the perfect choice to take “suspects'” fingerprints before marching them off to the original holding cells, still eerily preserved from their working days.
Once again, WMS had a brilliant time supporting a great local event — and who knows, the photo board might just make a comeback for the next theme that fits!
