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Opinions
Welcome to our opinons page, here you will find columns from well known locals such as Chrissy Dawson, MP Dan Jarvis, Ian McMillan, Milly Johnson, Ronnie Steele, MP Stephanie Peacock and Jenson Young.
As always we like to encourage our readers to get in touch with issues that matter to them.
If you'd like to send in a letter to our Editor based on something you have read today, or on another topic you can do so via email here.
Jenson Young: Dirty Reiver, Northumberland
I’m Jenson Young, a professional cyclist, living in Hemingfield.
Dirty Reiver, Northumberland
After some bad luck and disappointment in the first three races of the season I was determined to change this at the Dirty Reiver 200k and get some confidence back before going into a more important racing block of the season starting with The Trakka in Girona, Spain on Saturday.
After returning home from Monterey, California, racing the Sea Otter...
Chrissy Dawson: Breast screening will save people’s lives
Right then. I want you to make yourself a drink - any drink of your choosing - and sit down comfortably.
I am going to talk to you about a subject that I have spoken about before. We are going to talk about breasts. whether you call them bazonkas, baps, muffins or even cupcakes, they are the exact ones that I will be talking about.
Personally, I call mine Betty and Barbara. Why am...
Stephanie Peacock: Government’s putting youngsters first
Over the past 15 years young people have faced a number of challenges.
The rise in prevalence of smart phones and social media mean that young people are at risk of exposure to mis and disinformation, the risks of which can be seen in the powerful Netflix drama Adolescence.
This is a harrowing example of how the challenges that young people face in their daily lives continue to change rapidly.
As such,...
Jenson Young: Mud, mechanical issues and a call to mum
I’m Jenson Young, a professional cyclist, living in Hemingfield.
The Hills, Italy
Even the name of the race appealed to me. About 30 miles north of Venice, racing 183km of gravel trails around the Prosecco hills, starting and finishing around a lake in Lago Di Bandie.
I flew into Marco Polo airport two days before the event, collected my hire car, and went straight to the team house.
The mechanics drove straight from...
Ronnie Steele: A bunch of crooks
BARNSLEY College – now a shining jewel in the civic crown – was once controlled by a bunch of crooks for their own aggrandisement.
The main offender, principal David Eade, gathered around him, a gang of underlings, only too willing to share in his crimes and rich pickings.
But first Eade had to destroy the lecturers’ union that by the mid 1990s had become a thorn in his side. So he found an...
Ronnie Steele: Ivan Shaw
Ivan Shaw is a well-known Barnsley figure whom I taught alongside at Kexborough Junior School in the 1970s and 80s. He was a trusted friend, great fun and slightly eccentric.
His past was interesting and his future unconventional. As well as being a teacher, Ivan was a semi professional musician and amateur comedian, with a passion for aviation and invention.
He achieved his pilot’s licence and bought an aeroplane in 1980, then set about...
Ronnie Steele: Barnsley – The Town I Love
MIKE Padgett and I went to the same school – Longcar Central – and in the three years I knew him I can’t remember ever speaking to him. He’s a little older than me, you see, but I very much admired his footballing prowess.
Our sports teacher, Barry Hines, never praised a gifted player to his face, but behind his back he’d wax lyrical. And Mike was such an outstanding footballer, Mr Hines mentioned...
Ronnie Steele: A close shave
Last week I was reminded by my Uncle Mike about a close shave I had in 1958.
One particular morning, 66 years ago, my mam tells me, “We’re visiting Grandma and Granddad Bray today. They’ve ‘flitted’ from New Lodge to a house on Athersley North.”
“Can I have some Spangles, Mam?”
“More sweets? Depends. If you’re a good lad and promise not to run around while you’re eating them. Don’t want you choking on one,”.
MP Dan Jarvis: Tackling damaging disinformation is a must
As a local constituency MP, I see both the best and worst of people.
Most of the time, especially here in Barnsley, it’s the former. Just this week, I’ve met hard-working constituents and visited some fantastic businesses and locations around our borough.
However, last week was a different story. As Security Minister, I delivered a statement to parliament on the findings of an inquiry into the murder of the Conservative MP Sir David Amess,...
Ronnie Steele: Eating fast-food seemed like the ideal way to survive
WHEN I first lived alone, eating fast-food seemed like the ideal way to survive – quick and easy.
Slide off the cardboard sleeve, puncture the membrane, heat for the recommended time, and voila – from freezer to oesophagus in 10 minutes flat. And it tasted okay, so what’s not to like?
The problem was, the more I got used to fast-food, the more I hated it, and the more I hated it, the...
MP Dan Jarvis: Our police deserve our support
I have always been, and will always be, a staunch supporter of our police officers.
They do a vital job for us, often under very challenging circumstances, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
There have been moments recently, though, when some have called into question the impartiality of our police.
Whether it was an arrest at Manchester Airport, violent extremism at Israel/Gaza protests, or the riots last summer, a vocal minority...
MP Dan Jarvis: ‘The lessons of history need to be preserved...’
MONDAY January 27 is Holocaust Memorial Day – a solemn opportunity for remembrance and a chance for us to reflect on the importance of what we say and the impact our words can have.
This year’s theme, ‘For a Better Future’, challenges us to confront the lessons of history and strive for a world free from hatred and division.
Eighty years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz – a site that remains...
Ian McMillan: Days out with grandparents are the best
Hello everybody; Ian McMillan’s two-year-old grandson Louie here.
Grandad Ian has decided that this week he wants a rest from writing and so he’s let me make his column for him this week.
I asked him what it should be about and he said that he was thinking about writing about the trips we make to Elsecar every Wednesday because we enjoy them so much and I said that was a good idea and...
Milly Johnson: Honours went to deserving people – at last...
THE story at the front of last week’s Chron about the lovely Dutch Shepherd dog, Maisie, broke my heart. What prats adopt a young, nervous rescue dog, knowing they’d have to work with her but instead give her up as a bad job and decided to bury the problem – literally.
Luckily she was reprieved. Shame on them because they were obliged to give her back to BARC if they didn’t want her but...
Ronnie Steele: Things must change
MY most haunting memory of 2024 is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
It’s a Thursday in July, I’ve just finished shopping at Morrisons with Janet, when a woman in her 50s enters the store and starts shouting. Her screeching voice reminds me of the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, and her language is industrial.
“Gerrim bl**ding shifted,” she screams at the shop assistant. “He’s outside...
Milly Johnson: ‘Don’t compare this Christmas with last one’
OH the joy of customer service at this time of year. Do you think they make it as difficult as possible to get hold of someone in the hope that you’ll give up? I do.
Once upon a time, you’d ring on the phone, get through to someone without having to hang on for half an hour listening to some automated bint saying: ‘Your call is important to us’ – er, no it isn’t...
Chrissy Dawson: We really have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas
OH HECK! Yes, it’s coming up to that time of year again. I should be shouting out: ‘Ho. Ho. Ho’ instead of ‘No. No. No.’
Yes, I know every year I start moaning. I just can’t help thinking what a flipping palaver it all is.
Give the kids a stocking and fill it with coal, an orange and some nuts. Seriously though. I do, feel for a lot of families, they must be under...
Dan Jarvis: Invaluable hospice needs everyone’s support
Barnsley Hospice holds a special place in my heart and the hearts of many across our town, and as we approach the festive season, their Light up a Life appeal provides a poignant opportunity for people to remember their loved ones and support the hospice they relied upon.
The appeal has been running for almost 20 years and offers people the opportunity to make a donation and dedicate a light in memory of someone...
Ronnie Steele: Pride for my hometown
SINCE the age of eight, pride for my hometown has run through every fibre of my being, like letters in a stick of seaside rock. I might sometimes criticise Barnsley, but I always fiercely defend it from outside attacks.
“Penny for your thoughts?” says Janet, as I day-dream.
“Just thinking back to our 1966 family holiday in Blackpool.”
I explain that every morning before breakfast, me and my dad would go for a...
Milly Johnson: Poignant day had a comedic and memorable twist
I AM totally sick of politics – but what I’m more sick of is something me and the old man thought together and then realised we weren’t alone.
In the old days of Richard Baker, Sandy Gall, Robert Dougall, Angela Rippon etc, they read the news with detachment and clarity.
There was no colouring of their own political leanings.
Why do modern day anchors and chairpeople these days feel the need to bleed...
