Staff from Harrogate District Hospital will be taking on the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for new equipment.

Team ICU has set a fundraising target of £13,500 for the hospital’s intensive care unit, including a new MRI ventilator.

Eve Geldart, lead critical care nurse in the ICU, told the Stray Ferret how important the equipment is:

“As a service that is required to provide urgent lifesaving treatments to patients, it is important that we are able to perform specialised investigations like MRI in a timely manner.

“Currently, we would need to transfer intensive care patients to another hospital to get an MRI as we don’t have the specialised equipment that is needed to monitor and support their breathing during the test.

“An MRI compatible ventilator and patient monitoring system will allow us to provide this investigation for our patients at Harrogate District Hospital for the first time ever.”

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The National Three Peaks Challenge involves tackling the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in just 24 hours.

Beginning at Ben Nevis in Scotland on 3 October, the team will cover a total distance of 23 miles, with an ascent of 3064 metres.

After taking on Scafell Pike in England, the team will finish their challenge the next morning by climbing Snowdon, in Wales, just before sunrise.

Sammy Lambert, who is taking part in the challenge, said:

“I’m excited to be taking part in the National Three Peaks challenge and can’t wait to start training and fundraising to raise vital funds, going above and beyond the provision of the NHS!

“Three years ago I had a horrendous injury and dislocated both my ankles.

“Following surgery to get me back on the road to recovery, I’m looking forward to this challenge and hoping to stay upright!”

To find out more and to donate click here

Up to 10,000 festival goers are set to enjoy three days of music, comedy and theatre between Ripon and Thirsk this weekend.

Deer Shed, which starts tomorrow (Friday), takes place at Baldersby Park, Topclifffe.

Established in 2010, the annual family-friendly festival features music, comedy, theatre, science and sport.

Many people camp at the festival.

Comedians Phil Wang, Bridget Christie and Mawaan Rizman will be among those taking part while the musicians headlining include The Delgados, Public Service Broadcasting and Comet is Coming.

Those camping will be hoping the improving weather forecast, which predicts no significant rain until Sunday, is accurate,

The festival is aimed at families.

Festival director Megan Evans said:

“We are always so proud of our comedy and shows lineup at Deer Shed, with the Big Top being one of my favourite places to visit during the weekend.

“This year promises to be no different with some huge names like Phil Wang and Bridget Christie joining us for our late-night sets.”

The event has a capacity of 10,000 people and tickets are still available to buy here.

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Local artist Ray Mutimer will be opening his home gallery to the public during the Knaresborough FEVA festival next month.

Mr Mutimer, a professional freelance illustrator and artist, is best known for illustrating Postman Pat for 14 years. His work appeared in eight Postman Pat annuals and in BBC magazines.

Some of this artwork will be included in a free exhibition of his lifetime’s work at his home in Calcutt from Friday, August 11 to Sunday, August 20. Details are available here.

Between 1975 and 2002, Mr Mutimer illustrated 207 books for various publishers including, Collins, MacMillan, Ladybird, and Scholastic. He was also head of art at St. Aidan’s Church of England High School.

A central part of the exhibition will be Mr Mutimer’s unusually shaped paintings, which he calls ‘landSHAPE’.

Mr Mutimer told the Stray Ferret:

“In the 1960s, frustrated with having to confine my images to square or oblong framing, I painted pictures on boards and began to cut them out.

“At the time they were semi abstract. Recent shaped pictures are realistic, and create a greater, sometimes amazing, illusion of depth and space.”

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This will be the largest collection of landSHAPE installations he has ever displayed.

The exhibition can be viewed at 8 Whiteway Head, Calcutt, Knaresborough HG5 8LE from 11am to 4pm daily during the 10-day FEVA festival.

FEVA is a festival of entertainment and visual arts that includes art exhibitions, workshops, music and spoken word events.

Rural trails in the Harrogate area, which can be enjoyed by wheelchair users and people with mobility problems, are to be given additional promotion.

Knaresborough West Liberal Democrat councillor, Matt Walker, has provided a £2000 grant from his locality budget to print new Breakfree packs highlighting where the trails are.

Every councillor has an annual locality budget of £10,000 to support local projects of their choice that “promote the social, economic, or environmental wellbeing of the communities they represent.”

The packs, produced by the charity Open Country, consist of a variety of different trails in Harrogate, Knaresborough, and Ripon that are accessible for people with disabilities.  They include maps, detailed routes, and access information.

Cllr Walker said:

“There are many good reasons to get out into the fresh air to enjoy the hugely varied countryside our county has to offer.

“The benefits to our mental and physical wellbeing are well documented, and it is essential that the opportunity is open to everyone, so I am delighted to have been able to support the creation of these packs, which are readily available, and which offer accessible routes to local residents as well as visitors from other parts of North Yorkshire and beyond.”

David Shaftoe, chief officer of Open Country, said:

“We’re really delighted to be able to issue this updated guide to the very best of our local accessible countryside. It’s all part of Open Country’s goal to help disabled people access and enjoy the great outdoors.

“We hope that people will enjoy using it and will want to try one of our other Breakfree packs for adjacent areas.”

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Regular live music is returning to Montey’s in Harrogate for the first time since the pandemic began.

For more than twenty-five years the bar, which has a capacity of up to 200 revellers, has had a long-standing reputation for showcasing many local bands.

The bar began by reintroducing live music on Bank Holiday Sundays and has now decided to regularly put on bands after it was sure there was enough customer demand.

Colin Speirs, general manager of Montey’s, told the Stray Ferret:

“Obviously lockdown was tough for all businesses, but for small independent venues like Montey’s it was particularly challenging.

After several false starts and partial re-openings throughout the pandemic we faced multiple challenges.

Some of our most regular bands had taken the decision to stop performing, some guests still felt uneasy about crowds, and we had to be careful about our spending after such long closures.”

Local bands will be performing on Friday evenings.  The live music calendar will launch with Barr Lane on Friday 18 August.

Mr Speirs added:

“Three of the first five bands lined up for the Friday Sessions are brand new to us, which is very exciting and shows our commitment to showcasing the very best bands we can find.

“It feels great to be back in the game, we have always had a passion for live music since our very first night way back in 1996”.

For more information on live music at Montey’s click here. 

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An old phone box in the village of Birstwith has been given a new lease of life as a children’s book library.

The disused phone box has stood empty for years but has now been transformed by one of the residents to get younger members of the community reading.

Ann Lilley told the Stray Ferret:

“I had an abundance of children’s books from working as a teaching assistant and I know how important it is to get children reading from an early age.”

The idea was approved by the parish council as part of BT’s ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ scheme, which helps people renovate phone boxes to bring value to their community – many have become libraries, food banks or homes for defibrillators.

Phone box libraries are becoming more common,with more than 1,500 being adopted nationally since 2009. There is one on St Hilda’s Road in Harrogate and a book exchange phone box in Marton Cum Grafton.

With the nearest public library approximately 20 minutes away from Birstwith, the new community library makes it easier for people to access books to suit all tastes.

Three year old Elsie Alderson choosing her bedtime story

Kathryn Alderson, whose daughter Elsie is using the library, said:

“I think it’s a great addition to the village and has come at the right time with it being the summer holidays. It’s great for little ones to get them interested in reading or choosing new things to read.”

Ann Lilley told the Stray Ferret that many villagers have contacted her to say what a valuable project this is and how “children have really enjoyed going along”.

The new phone box library is free for everyone to use. People are welcome to donate their own books, as long as there is space on the shelves.

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