A variety of exciting activities and healthy meals will be available to Calderdale’s most disadvantaged children and young people during the school summer holidays, thanks to a funding boost. Calderdale Council has been awarded over £926,000 from the Department for Education to deliver the Healthy Holidays programme. The aim is to provide healthy food and enriching activities for primary and secondary school pupils who are eligible for free school meals, from Monday 9 August to Friday 3 September 2021. This adds to the activity parcels and healthy recipes which the Council provided to lower-income families during the Easter holidays, which built on the Calderdale-wide Never Hungry Again campaign to end child hunger for good. Calderdale community organisations, schools and childcare providers are invited to apply for a share of the £926,000 Healthy Holidays grant to offer fun and creative activity programmes over the summer holidays, in partnership with Calderdale Council. The Communit...

Sweet Orange Rolls  by Amelie Dalby  Sweet orange rolls, known as '' Mounas '',  are heavenly spheres of crusty, citrusy-sweetness.  These originate from North Africa, one of the world's greatest orange growing regions and pure orange flower water is one of the many beautiful flavours of Arabic cooking. These are at their best served at a crisp warmth, dunked in tea or even hot chocolate. Traditionally, these are a delicacy, eaten at breakfast; they are so lovely, they don't require butter or jam. Master bread maker or not, these are simple and scrumptious! It's 100% worth the overnight dough-proving. Makes 12 Sweet Orange Rolls. 450g unbleached strong white bread flower 1 teaspoon of sea salt, grounded 100g caster sugar 7g sachet dried yeast 125ml tepid water 2 medium eggs, beaten The grated zest 1 orange, organic or unwaxed 3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons of orange flower water* A beaten egg, to glaze Icing sugar, for dusting   *Orange flow...

Have you joined in with the Covid-19 Symptom study? It has come up with some interesting data I thought it would be pertinent to share.  We have been told many times what the symptoms of the disease are that we should look out for. Those are new, dry cough, fever and loss of  smell and taste (anosmia). However the data shows that over half (52%) of under 18s who test positive for Covid-19 don't have any of these 'classic' symptoms in the week before and after the test. In fact, of the 20 symptoms listed in the app, a third (33%) of positive tested children never report any symptoms at all.  So, now children are back at school, how can us parents make the decision about whether it is safe for our children to be sent back to the classroom? The top 5 symptoms that children who test positive are reporting are: fatigue (55%) headache (53%) fever (49%) sore throat (38%) loss of appetite (35%) Compare that with the top five symptoms reported by adults: fatigue (87%) headache (7...

Now in its sixth year, the annual Children In Read auction has just been launched. The auction is of signed books and items, donated by celebrated Authors and Illustrators from around the world. From Philip Pullman to Nigella Lawson, every age and genre is covered. Bidding is open for two months and all proceeds go to Children in Need. The winning bid for each book receives a signed (and often dedicated if requested) copy from the author. This year it includes a new local writer, whom you might know. If you or your child has ever been taught by Mrs Golden (Miss Colbran if you were around in the 90s) then you may be interested to hear that she has recently launched a new career as a Children’s Author.  Pam Golden - Author Her own life is a bit like a storybook; following her student years in Cambridge she has worked as a Community Artist in Salford, taught in Switzerland, then spent time experiencing life all around the world, including with the Native Americans, in the Caribbean...

Good News! We have just added the first activity to our 'Extra' Diary pages. This is the page that will give you all the times of Libraries, General swimming, Soft Play areas, etc as and when they reopen. Our first addition to the page is the new Play Gym in Hebden Bridge that will open its doors (to pre-bookings only for now) on Monday 14th September. As you may have seen earlier, the sports centres and libraries are scheduled to reopen over the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately they are not yet offering anything for families. Todmorden Sports Centre will reopen this Wednesday, 9th September. The gym will be open, as will the sports hall for pre-booked adult classes, but the pool will be lane swimming only for now. Likewise, the libraries. Todmorden will re-open on Wednesday 9th, Hebden Bridge on Wednesday 16th September, between 10:00 and 4:00, but only for returning items or to collect items ordered through the library reservation service. Hopefully it won't be long b...

Have you seen the social media post going around about the Clarkes shoes guarantee? The headlines are saying that Clarks will guarantee the fit or your child's shoes until next February and will exchange them for a new pair if they agree your child's feet have grown. I assume they are doing this to encourage parents to pop in for their 'Back To School' shoes sooner, rather than all waiting for the usual mad rush in the week before school's return, and I can see the logic behind that, but let's just check the small-print... In the Clarks website 'Terms and Conditions' page there is a large section about this 'Back To School Fitting Guarantee' which we will attempt to summarise here: The shoes must be from the Back to School Kids shoes You must have paid the full original price for them You must have had them fitted by a trained Clarks fitter in store - so web purchases do not count They must have been purchased between 13 July 2020 and 14 Septembe...

Richard Dalby, the 'Bloke in a Kitchen' has been contributing to The Scallymag for a number of years now. Amelie was about 4 when he started. Well now she is devising her own recipes, so we are very pleased to welcome 'Girl in a Kitchen' to The Scallymag. Swirly Marble Cake  by Amelie Dalby Don't worry, this cake doesn't contain any marbles, but the patches and swirls it forms makes a heavenly marble effect! It looks like a difficult cake to make but it is actually so easy and so effective in appearance! As well as Marble Cake, this cake also goes by the name of ''Cow Coat Cake'' because it has the same patches as a cow does, in two contrasting tones. This is a very popular tray-bake for parties or just for a sweet treat, and children particularly love the fun of baking marble cakes! Once complete, you will have a cake to be rightly proud of. Makes approximately 20 small pieces. Cake tin required: a 30×23 (12×9in) tray-bake or roasting tin. F...