The buzz of excitement that lingered after last year’s fantastic Olympic Games was evident for months afterwards – especially, and unsurprisingly in a cycling town like Otley, by the sheer number of people who could be seen out on their bikes.

Of course that was down in no small part to local athlete Lizzie Armitstead’s thrilling silver medal success in the women’s road race.

Further medal-winning efforts by other local athletes like Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee and David Stone also inspired people to get more active – for a while.

Inevitably, though, the after-benefits of London 2012 are finally starting to fade.

That is partly what makes the newly-unveiled Chevin Olympic Park project, for Otley, such an exciting proposition both for competitive athletes and residents just trying to have fun and stay fit.

Otley’s sports groups, fired up by Otley Athletic Club’s initial idea to create a dedicated running track in the town, have joined forces to come up with what could be one of the most significant boosts for the area – and local sport – in decades.

Of course these are early days for the scheme, with Leeds City Council just starting to investigate the feasibility of the proposed, and as yet undisclosed, site.

But the prospect of Otley soon having its own “centre of sporting excellence”, complete with cycling and running tracks, a sports hall, all-weather playing fields and more, is a truly mouth-watering one.

Iona’s helpers restore faith

When so many awful things are happening around the world it is easy to start losing faith in humanity. But the fact is there are plenty of people out there who are ready to lend a hand to those in need. There are also countless individuals who deserve our respect and admiration for the way they cope stoically with what life has thrown at them. One of those people inspiring respect is Iona Kesteven who struggles to breathe because of the cystic fibrosis she suffers from.

She made such an impression on Nick Moscovitch, the owner of a salon where she worked as a Saturday girl, that he put himself through a tough obstacle course to raise £1,500 towards vital oxygen equipment for her.

And his sterling efforts have now led an Otley charity, run by Councillor Nigel Francil, to offer to make up the difference towards the £4,000 total so that Iona can have the equipment she needs. No matter what is happening in the wider world there are still kind people who care very much about their fellow human beings and who act to make their lives better.