Pictures of local people from the past are lighting up the front of Ripon’s Workhouse Museum with a new after-dark display.
People of Ripon’s Past, features historic photographs from the Ripon Re-Viewed collection including, among others, North Eastern Railway staff, workers from Ostcliffe’s Tannery, land girls and a refugee family.
Running until March 21, the daily display can be seen between 6pm and midnight.
The Images are projected onto the museum with a design created by locally-based audio-visual and lighting specialists Fusion LX
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust said:
“We had some fantastic feedback from the community on our previous lighting displays and we wanted to continue into 2022.
“After talking with Ripon Re-Viewed, we came up with the idea to display some brilliant historic photos of Ripon in days gone by, as a way to bring the community together through our shared past.
“Hopefully, the display will intrigue and inspire anyone passing by the museum on Allhallowgate.”
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Mandy Whitehead, project lead at Ripon Civic Society said:
“A big thank you to the Workhouse Museum for the opportunity to share some of the fabulous images from Ripon’s past. We hope it will give the local community an insight into life in Ripon.”
Cartoonist’s tribute to legendary Harrogate record shop Mix Music
Harrogate district music lovers from the 1990s and 2000s have fond memories of independent record shop Mix Music.
From Britpop to the indie boom to metal, dance music and hip-hop, the small shop on Oxford Street stocked a deceptively comprehensive selection of CDs and vinyl.
Award-winning comic book artist and cartoonist Tim Bird grew up in Harrogate and went to St John Fisher Catholic High School.
The 39-year-old specialises in drawing scenes that conjure up the history and memories of place.
Mix Music was a haven for teenagers that were into alternative music in Harrogate, which Mr Bird said made it the perfect place to draw.
“I used to go there in my school lunch hour, me and my friends. We didn’t necessarily buy music, we’d just hang out there.
“I remember buying the White Stripes there on vinyl, and Radiohead’s Kid A when that came out. It was that era of indie rock. There was lots of really obscure stuff too.”
The name Mix Music was a pun on the owner’s name, Mick, who was always knowledgeable and generous with customers.
Mr Bird said:
“I was a big fan of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and the owner would give me promotional posters cos he knew i was into them.”
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Mr Bird said he was surprised there was no trace of Mix Music ever existing online, which made it difficult to remember how the shop looked in its heyday. It closed around 15 years ago.
Now living down south, Mr Bird used Google Street View to help him with the cartoon. Part of the shop is now home to the cafe Baltzersens.
He added:
“Now everything has a record online forever, so it’s strange how this has just disappeared.”
Mr Bird has also done a drawing of Our Price, a chain of record shops owned by Virgin that was on Station Parade near the Victoria Centre. Although his first purchase there in the mid-1990s was not quite as cool as the White Stripes.
He said:
“I have a fondness for Our Price as it’s where I bought my first CD. It was the PJ and Duncan album. That’s really embarrassing!”
Our Price on Station Parade. Credit – Tim Bird
Two Harrogate brothers who have carried on the work of their grandfather and father have won a top award for their lifetime of work in the toy industry.
Many people in the Harrogate district will have fond memories of Collinsons toy shops in Ripon and Harrogate. Although those shops are long gone, two brothers are still self-confessed ‘toy boys’.
Mark and Paul Collinson got involved in the industry early on at seven-year-olds when their father Ian Collinson showed them the ropes.
After working in the retail side of the business for several years, the brothers moved into the sales side, where they have worked for decades with national and international brands.
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Now with around 43 years in the toy industry under their belts, Mark and Paul have won the British Toy & Hobby Association’s coveted Golden Teddy Award.
Inaugurated in 2001, the Golden Teddy awards are for people who have served the industry for more than 15 years and go over and above expectations.
The pair, who have launched major brands like Funko and VTech, were presented with the award at Orchid Restaurant in Harrogate last week. Mark told the Stray Ferret:
“We were both humbled to receive the award. It’s not like us to shout about our work but we are at the end of our careers now and are proud to look back.
“There are lots of people in Harrogate and Ripon over a certain age who still have fond memories of our father’s and grandfather’s shop.
“Back then going to the toy shop was a rare treat for children. The industry has changed massively over the years but young children still have that love for play.”
Toys galore!
Collinsons in the Harrogate district
Fred Collinson opened the first shop in Ripon selling sportswear, toys and leather goods in 1952.
His son, and Mark and Paul’s father, Ian Collinson furthered the family name when he opened a toy shop called Collinsons on James Street, Harrogate in 1972.
An advert, which can be seen in Harrogate Library, said “two whole floors of toys, boxed games and books make Collinsons a veritable children’s (and parents) paradise.”
Ian Collinson died of cancer at 66-years-old in 2001. His sons Mark and Paul eventually went into the sales side of the toy industry and now, after 43 years, they have won a Golden Teddy Award.
Both Mark and Paul are nearing the end of their careers but Paul’s son William Collinson is keeping the tradition alive. He is now the general manager in the UK for the Zuru Toy Company.
Carringtons and Pinocchio’s: Harrogate adverts from the 70s and 80sFascinating adverts placed inside Harrogate tourist brochures in the 1970s and 80s offer a glimpse into the town’s recent past.
The adverts are available to view upstairs in Harrogate Library on Victoria Avenue.
The retro adverts range from luxurious quilts made at the Dunlopillo factory in Pannal to swimming at the long-demolished Coppice Valley pool.
They also include staples of the era such as Carringtons nightclub on Station Parade and Pinocchio’s Italian restaurant on Cheltenham Parade.
Other businesses such as Olivers fish and chips on Cold Bath Road are still going strong.
Library supervisor Jane Trigoso has been posting some of the images on the library’s Facebook page.
Ms Trigoso said Pinocchio’s is the “number one” best remembered former Harrogate business.
She said:
“People have so much affection for some of these businesses. They like to reminisce about how it used to be.”
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View our image gallery below. How many do you remember?
