Focus – Hepworth’s Magazine

Our Village Magazine

Focus magazine is published quarterly in print and distributed free to over 700 homes in Hepworth, Jackson Bridge, parts of Scholes and the surrounding area. Our digital editions are enjoyed near and far by families and friends of the village, our local Hepworth school and the wider Holme Valley community.

Here at Focus, we believe in making the most of our incredible village and highlighting what’s on offer locally throughout the year. From cookery, wildlife and gardening to community events, sports, crafts and theatre, Focus is your seasonal almanac; helping us enjoy our stunning environment and celebrating the wealth of wisdom found right here in Hepworth.

Our Focus Team

Originally from the North of England, our editor, Lisa Hoad taught in the U.K. Primary sector before moving to Melbourne with her husband Phil. During her time in Australia, she taught language arts at the Presbyterian Ladies College and wrote reviews and articles for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA).

She describes moving to Hepworth as one of the best things she’s ever done and loves taking her dog on long walks in and around our beautiful village. As well as editing the Focus, Lisa works as a freelance educational writer and teaches locally.

Our marketing manager is Mary Wrathmell, and her husband Graham is also hands on with the magazine, as he produces it all for printing.

Mary worked as a television producer and director both for BBC and ITV in London and latterly worked at Yorkshire and Granada TV before becoming an actors’ agent in 2010. She has now retired from showbiz and as well as running the ever-popular Village Hall Film Night (which she has organised since 2006), she heads up the marketing here at Focus, championing local commerce and ensuring a cost-effective way of getting these outstanding businesses seen.

Our Focus History

Born Out of Necessity

Hepworth Village Focus was originally set in motion when Sheena and John Blunden arrived in the village in the early 90s. The couple quickly realised that the fabulous village events that they had been introduced to by new friends, Drummond and Christine Kelsey (both sadly no longer with us) would be largely unknown to other village newcomers. At that time, it was frustrating for many villagers that events were sometimes only advertised via ‘word-of-mouth’ so along with Beryl Smith, the new headteacher at Hepworth J & I school the idea for a Focus newsletter was born. Beryl Smith was Editor, providing content and funding for photocopying (no adverts for the first edition!) and Sheena and John did the typing and graphics.

John Blunden writes…. Focus No. 1 came out in March 1994. It was 12 pages, photocopied then collated, stapled, with a long-arm stapler bought specially, at home, then distributed round the village. I can’t remember how many, but let’s guess 200. The three of us continued, with the help of Mark Warrender of Acorn Business Machines who did the printing, up to issue 7 in June 1996 when Beryl moved to another school. By then we had attracted some advertising, some of which is still in use today, but needed to replace Beryl editorially and protect ourselves financially. At this point the Community Association stepped in and we set up an Editorial Board comprising of ourselves, Simon Cave, Kevin Jebson and Martin Waite. Eventually this thinned down to Simon and Helen Cave with me in charge of Adverts. Later I also dropped out but stayed with distribution. We are now entering the era you will be familiar with. Archive copies of Focus 1 to 19 (Dec 2000) are with me and available to view. They are very much part of my life in Hepworth.

End of an Era

The winter 2024 edition marked the end of an era for Focus readers as Simon and Helen Cave, the magazine’s dedicated editorial team stood down after twenty-five years. As editor emeritus, Simon still writes regularly for the magazine, spending his spare time crafting interesting articles for our readers such as the popular feature ‘Days Out’.

Simon Cave writes…Well, that was fun! After 25 years and exactly 100 editions, I am standing down as Editor of Focus magazine, and my wife Helen is also standing down from her vital supporting role in getting the magazine into order on time!

Focus has come a long way since that issue number 11 back in March 1998. With the help of our advertisers, our contributors and our printers, we have seen the magazine develop from a fairly basic black and white photocopied production to a professionally produced and printed part colour magazine that really looks the part.

We have maintained the original ethos of the magazine as being free to every household in Hepworth, Jackson Bridge and the surrounding area. Our print run has increased, and the content has also grown as more people have wanted to write, both regularly and as one offs.

(Focus: Winter 2024 Edition 111)