Seven-year-old Madison’s messages of hope on the doorsteps of Mytholmroyd

Madison, who attends Calder Primary, had been having a chat with her mum Jane about why school is closed. When she realised that there is a virus going round that means that some people will die and you have to wash your hands a lot and stay at home, she realised that this would mean lots of people would be very lonely.

She asked Jane what she could do to cheer people up, then came up with the idea of painting a stone with the slogan Stay Safe and delivering them to people’s doors.

The stones are delivered at night to maintain social distance and to increase the chance of surprise, said Jane.

The response from the village is overwhelmingly one of appreciation. One recipient told Madison, “I just wanted to say thank you for our beautifully painted stone. It brought a tear to my eye and them a huge smile. What a special young lady you are. Your mummy is lucky to have such a compassionate daughter like you. You have made the whole of Mytholmroyd smile.”

Jane said: “People are considering these stones as part of social history because they are a marker of the lockdown. I never thought that would happen.”

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