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Pumpkins, trains and treasure: Yorkshire stories to make you smile

Grace WoodYorkshire
News imageNorth Yorkshire Council/BBC A split image showing two distinct objects: On the left, a person wearing white gloves is holding a large, shiny, gold-coloured artefact that appears to be a decorative or historical item, possibly a piece of metalwork or jewellery. On the right, another person is seated outdoors next to a very large, rough-textured pumpkin or gourd, which is tied with a piece of string.North Yorkshire Council/BBC

Across Yorkshire there are people doing amazing things every day of the week, and we want to highlight them.

This week a grandfather grew a giant pumpkin, a Bronze Age necklace recovered from a stream went on display, and a Halloween-mad couple decided to call time on their haunted house after 20 years.

Take a look below and enjoy some positive news stories from across BBC Yorkshire.

Grandad grows 'whopper' pumpkin

News imageBBC/Natalie Bell Fred Ramsey sitting on a bench in a street with his hand on a large pumpkin. He has short grey hair and is wearing a black puffer coat, a black sweater, a blue collared t-shirt and dark-coloured trousers. BBC/Natalie Bell
Fred Ramsey, 91, from Snaith, with his whopper of a pumpkin

Grandfather Fred Ramsey, from Snaith, has spoken of his surprise after the first pumpkin he has ever grown turned out to be "a right whopper".

The 91-year-old said he put a pumpkin seed in his compost, did not water or feed it and "it just grew from there".

"I can't understand why it's got so big because I haven't done anything," Mr Ramsey said.

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Detectorist's Bronze Age find on show

News imageNorth Yorkshire Council A person is holding a delicate, golden, fan-shaped object called a lunula with both hands. They are wearing clean white gloves. The object shines under the light, with a textured surface. The person holding the lunula is dressed in a dark green top and wearing a blue wristwatch on their left wrist. The background is dark, which makes the golden object and the gloved hands stand out clearly. North Yorkshire Council
Craven Museum curator Charlotte Craig with the gold lunula which has gone on permanent display in Skipton

A nationally significant Bronze Age gold necklace found by a metal detectorist near Grassington has gone on display at Craven Museum in Skipton.

Experts said the large, crescent-shaped necklace or collar, known as a lunula, gave an insight into the lives of people who lived in the country over 4,000 years ago.

It was found in a stream in 2023, but has been acquired by Craven Museum where it has become the centrepiece of a Bronze Age collection.

Curtator Charlotte Craig said: "This is only the second complete, or almost complete, lunula found in Yorkshire and is believed to be the only one on permanent display in the north of England."

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'I built a train set in my garden'

News imageJAMES ARDIN A mixed group of adults and children are sitting on the carriage of a miniature, ride-on train, behind an old-fashioned engine made of wood and black metal. The railway line can be seen snaking around a large garden, with shed-type buildings in the background. Two men are standing on wooden decking to the left. It is a sunny day, with a blue sky and green trees in the background.JAMES ARDIN
James Ardin (in green shirt) says the line has been very well received

James Ardin, from Holmpton, in East Yorkshire, made his childhood dream come true by building a miniature, ride-on railway.

The Great Withernsea Railway runs on a three-and-a-half acre (14,000sq m) plot at his family home and is proving so popular with visitors that a Bonfire Night event has sold out.

"There isn't anything like it for miles around," said Mr Ardin, a dad of two. "It's a nice family day out and it's been very well received."

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Halloween house calls time

News imageSimon Thake/BBC An elderly man and women pose together in black fancy dress costumes. She has short hair and glasses. He is wearing a dracula outfit. Behind them a house has been decorated with ghosts and pumpkinsSimon Thake/BBC
Kate and Steve Marshall have been decorating their house for Halloween for over two decades

After two decades of thrills and chills one Halloween-mad couple have called time on their spine-chilling annual displays at their house in Sheffield.

Every 31 October for more than 20 years, Kate Marshall and husband Steve, both 63, have delighted and scared youngsters in equal measure with an array of ghouls and ghosts, witches and warlocks.

Mrs Marshall said it would be sad to bring it all to an end: "We'll definitely miss the joy on the children's faces."

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