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Opinions
Welcome to our opinons page, here you will find columns from well known locals such as Chrissy Dawson, Dan Jarvis, Ian McMillan, Milly Johnson, Ronnie Steele, Shelly Diprose and Stephanie Peacock.
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.
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...
Stephanie Peacock: We will never forget the sacrifices made by military personnel
Every year, on the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month, we mark Armistice Day across the country.
We remember those who fought for our future through some of the most gruelling conditions imaginable, some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice.
We will never forget their service.
In Barnsley, there is always much going on in the weeks leading up to the occasion, and this year has been no exception....
Milly Johnson: ‘We’re only as happy as our unhappiest child’
IT IS a hard year for my friend Claire Throssell, who lost her mum in September and this month marks the tenth anniversary of that terrible fire, started deliberately by their own father, which killed her two sons Jack and Paul.
Since Claire could gather herself up, she has fought against courts to protect children in domestic abuse situations because, as in her case, judges gave access rights to those who should never have...
Dan Jarvis: Football club's community trust is a vital asset
Barnsley FC Community Trust’s Premier League Kicks programme is a shining example of how the power of football can be harnessed to build a safer and healthier Barnsley.
The initiative provides a range of activities for young people aged eight to 18, helping steer them away from antisocial behaviour while offering them a sense of belonging, purpose and hope.
The programme is built on strong partnerships with South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Fire...
Ian McMillan: Porridge is just the tonic in this weather
I reckon Goldilocks would like it at my house, and not because the bed is comfortable and not because the chair doesn’t shatter into kindling when you sit on it.
No, I reckon she’d like it because the porridge is just right – and it hasn’t got the bits of shattered chair in it that have flown across the room.
When I was a sulky teenager I thought that porridge for your breakfast was...
Ronnie Steele: Janet and I love to recycle
JANET and I love to recycle, but we can’t quite agree on which items are most important in the process.
She’s a traditionalist who diligently deposits plastic, paper, glass, garden waste, etc, in the appropriate bins. Furthermore, she gets a terrific buzz out of cleaning up the environment around Wombwell Lane.
Me? I’m always too busy to pick up other people’s garbage. Janet says, “Look how pleasant the weather is. Let’s walk on...
Ronnie Steele: THINGS aren’t what they used to be
It’s 1965, I’m 10 years old, and I’m standing with my dad, at the front of the uncovered Spion Kop at Oakwell. Today, the Reds take on the mighty Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup. We’ve been in the ground for over an hour, to ensure I get my own little space at the low wall that borders the pitch. Entrance for juveniles is ticket only, at only two-bob (10 pence...
Ian McMillan: Bus services still aren’t up to scratch
I was buoyed up by that optimistic piece in the Chronicle last week headlined ‘Control Over Bus Services Edging Closer’ as the long journey towards the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority running the buses takes another step forward because, let’s face it, the buses can’t continue as they are.
As you know, I live in Darfield and we’ve just had our 218 service filleted, to use a polite term. The bus used to be...
