Great Ouseburn may be small but it showed yesterday it has some of the finest gardens in the Harrogate district.
Sixteen private gardens opened for the day as part of the village’s annual garden festival.
They included a wildflower meadow, quirky modern designs, cottage gardens and even one small courtyard garden that doesn’t get any sun for almost half the year.
The festival has grown to become about more than beautiful gardens: there were also concerts by the vocal ensemble Camerata Sonora in St Mary’s Church, a cookery demonstration, wine tasting, gardeners’ question time and displays of Morgan cars and alpacas on the village green.
With cricket on the playing fields and tea and cakes in the school, it made for a quintessentially English experience that even included a downpour, which fortunately did not take place until five minutes before the event was due to end.
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The festival, which raises money for village causes, was the latest of many midsummer open gardens events taking place across the district.
Knaresborough and Marton-cum-Grafton are holding events this weekend.
For further details, click here.
Here are some photos from Great Ouseburn yesterday.
North Yorkshire Police has released CCTV footage in the search for missing Harrogate woman Sophie Lambert, 22.
Sophie was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm on Friday having last been seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.
CCTV footage taken on the night she disappeared shows she was wearing dark trousers, a black top with a white adidas logo and dark shoes with a white sole. She had her hair tied back and was carrying a bottle with a pink lid.
Concerns are growing for Sophie Lambert.
A police statement said:
“Concerns are growing for her welfare and North Yorkshire Police are currently making extensive house-to-house enquiries to help find her.
“Police searches have continued today in the Nidd Gorge area with assistance from search and rescue.”
Sophie is described as white, 5ft 3in with a slim build
She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.
The police statement added:
“If you have seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph, please call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999, quoting reference 12230110845.”
Read more:
- New photo of missing Sophie as concerns grow for Harrogate woman
- Police issue urgent appeal to find missing Harrogate woman
Ripon fire victim: ‘We can’t thank everyone enough’
Ripon residents have rallied to support those affected by a fire that ravaged three terraced houses on Friday.
Six teams of firefighters were called to Magdalens Close at 7pm to deal with a blaze believed to have been caused by a gas leak.
The fire spread to two adjoining properties and although one woman was hospitalised nobody was seriously injured.
However, none of the homes is currently fit to live in and those affected have had to find alternative accommodation.
The fire has caused major damage.
The people of Ripon pledged all kinds of support over the weekend.
Alex Ryder, whose sister was in one of the side homes affected, started a gofundme page on Saturday to raise £3,000 for the families affected.
By last night it had raised more than £3,500 — thanks in no small part to an anonymous donation of £1,800.
Mr Ryder told the Stray Ferret:
“We have no idea who it was but we can’t thank them enough.”
Although Sophie’s home was not as badly fire damaged as the one in the middle, smoke and water has ruined all furniture, carpets and the majority of possessions. Mr Ryder said:
“The middle house and house on the left are definitely uninhabitable at the moment and there’s a question mark over my sister’s, they are awaiting advice from a structural engineer as to whether it is safe or if it needs knocking down and rebuilding,”
Firefighters tackling the blaze on Friday.
Sophie added:
“It’s been a horrific couple of days and we are still trying to process everything that’s going on.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for all the support and kind words. As soon as it started the neighbours on Magdalens Close were amazing and have been ever since, offering accommodation, food, water, anything we need.
“The gofundme page just shows how amazing everyone is and has been.”
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Nidderdale Showground to host Parkinson’s charity fundraiser
Nidderdale Showground will host a new charity fundraiser for Cure Parkinson’s later this month.
The event is being organised by Melanie Mawer, a retired grandmother of three and Nidderdale resident.
The fundraiser includes an obstacle course, food stalls, animal petting and Morris dancing.
The day will also include a series of races hosted by Nidderdale Fell & Trail, with routes through woodland and open moorland.
There’s promised to be a 10k trail run, a 2k kids run and a 3k Canicross. Canicross is an increasingly popular sport involving doing cross country running with dogs.
The fundraiser is aiming to raise money for Cure Parkinson’s, a charity looking to slow, stop or reverse the progression of Parkinson’s.
Melanie, the organiser, has had experience with the condition. Both her late father suffering from it, and her running partner being recently diagnosed.
While working as a nurse and a carer, she also saw her fair share of cases in the community.
She said:
“This is the first fundraiser I’ve organised in my life, and I didn’t think it was going to be this big!”
“I’m just hoping we can make some money for Cure Parkinson’s… I just didn’t realise that so much is done on computers, and there’s so much admin to look after! I’ve learnt a lot though!”
Helen Matthew, Cure Parkinson’s deputy CEO, added:
“Fundraising support is absolutely critical for the charity to enable us to achieve our goal. We aim to cure Parkinson’s and the only way we will do this is through the help of all our incredible supporters – it’s as simple as that!”
The event will be held on June 25, from 8:30 to mid-late afternoon. Melanie is also running a JustGiving Page alongside the event, which can be found at here.
Entry to the event is free with a small fee to compete in the races. Registration for the races is at 8:30am with the first race starting at 10. More information on the races and prebooking can be found here.
There is no need to prebook to attend the wider event or things on offer.
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The Harrogate high sheriff with a dash of colour
In April, King Charles III appointed Harrogate artist Clare Granger as High Sheriff of North Yorkshire.
The high sheriff — a role which dates back over 1,000 years — represents the monarch in matters relating to law and order.
It may seem incongruous that an artist with a studio in High Birstwith is rubbing shoulders with barristers and judges on behalf of the king.
But Ms Granger is well qualified for the role: she studied law at Cambridge University and briefly worked as a lawyer before swapping legal briefs for paint brushes and forging a successful career as an artist, with annual shows in London.
Her son and daughter-in-law are barristers so “the law has never really left me”, as she puts it.
Art and law may appear unlikely bedfellows but Ms Granger brings a stamp of colour and style to the role.
Among her aims is to use the 12-month appointment to promote art as therapy for offenders. The role also involves representing the voluntary sector and emergency services, and she has revamped a Dragon’s Den-style contest run by Two Ridings Community Foundation by getting charities bidding for funding to submit photographs illustrating what they do. She says:
“Art is a therapeutic tool. It’s such a joyful thing to do. It makes people feel really happy.”
Ms Granger says she’s “more or less” retired from portraits and is focusing more on the use of colour in her art, which she works on from 9am to 5pm at her home studio. She says:
“I love colour. I’m enjoying the freedom of painting whatever I like and if someone likes it they buy it.”
But ironically, being high sheriff has left little time for painting. The role comes with few essential engagements but Ms Granger has thrown herself so enthusiastically into the role, clocking up hundreds of miles each week to attend engagements in North Yorkshire, she has barely any time left.
The day before our interview, she visited the coroner’s office in Northallerton. After our early morning interview she was due to drive to Scarborough for a lunch and then participate in a 10 kilometre evening walk in York.
Tomorrow featured a community event in Birstwith, followed the day after by a visit to Yorkshire Air Ambulance in Nostell and the day after that she was due to attend a rewilding event in Sharow and another community event.
That took her to the weekend, where her engagements included the Harrogate Army Foundation College parade through Harrogate town centre, a golden wedding and a trip to an Open Studios art event.
With Mark Dowie, chief executive of RNLI
The size of North Yorkshire doesn’t make life easy.
Moreover, the role isn’t paid: she self-funds her trips and even hosted a big coronation garden party at her own expense in a marquee that had already been erected for her son’s wedding.
She doubts whether anyone could combine being high sheriff with a full-time job.
“You don’t have to take a year off to do it but it does compromise you.”
The high sheriff has no formal powers but the invitations have piled up. Why does she think this is?
“The value of saying ‘thank-you’ is huge. People appreciate someone coming and listening to their concerns. I don’t have any powers but I have conversations and can bring people together.”
Ms Granger is a big supporter of the police and is putting particular emphasis on supporting them as part of her role. She says:
“All of us expect the police to be there when push comes to shove yet we are constantly knocking them and if we are not careful nobody will want to do the job.”
With Lady Justice King in York when she accepted the role.
For all the robes of office and archaic traditions, Ms Granger brings a warmth that is often lacking to the legal world. Her name will join a long list of high sheriffs at York Crown Court.
But although she has a lot of respect for the legal profession, she doesn’t take long to respond when asked if she regrets giving it up to become an artist:
“Not one single jot! I love the fact that law is still in my life but I’m relieved not to have to do it myself. Perhaps I wasn’t a solicitor long enough to enjoy it but I think I’d find it boring.”
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New photo of missing Sophie as concerns grow for Harrogate woman
North Yorkshire Police has today issued a fresh photo of missing Harrogate woman Sophie Lambert, as concerns for her welfare grow.
Sophie, 22, was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm on Friday. She was last seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.
Police issued an urgent appeal for help yesterday by asking anyone with information or possible sightings to get in touch. They said a search and rescue team was taking part in an extensive operation to find her in the Nidd Gorge area.
Police said today concerns were growing for Sophie’s welfare and issued a more recent photo and updated description.
Sophie Lambert
A statement said:
“Sophie is described as white, 5ft 3in, aged in her early 20s, slim build, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.
“She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.
“It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms and has dark green Adidas trainers with a white sole.
“If you have seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph, please call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.”
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Police issue urgent appeal to find missing Harrogate woman
North Yorkshire Police has issued an urgent appealing for help finding a missing woman from Harrogate.
Sophie Rebecca Lambert, 22, was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm last night.
Sophie was last seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.
A police statement this afternoon said:
“Concerns are growing for her welfare and extensive police searches are currently taking place in the Nidd Gorge area with assistance from search and rescue.”
Sophie went missing last night.
Sophie is described as white, aged in her early 20s, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.
She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.
It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms.
Police urged anyone who has seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph to call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.
Read more:
Starbeck stages its community day
Starbeck Community Day took place today to raise money for the annual Christmas lights appeal.
The free event, at Harrogate Railway AFC on Station View, included a range of stalls as well as a drinks bar.
There were also donkey rides and live performances from groups including Starbeck Dancing for Wellbeing.
The day also saw the crowning of the annual Starbeck community king and queen. The honours went to Ted Carman, 9, and Celeste Reid, 9.
(from left) Last year’s queen Kya-Mae Goodwin, 11 new queen Celeste Reid and new king Ted Carman.
It is one of four events held each year to raise funds for Starbeck Christmas Lights Appeal.
There is also an Easter fun day, a craft fair and nearly new sale and a Christmas fayre.
Organiser Chrissie Holmes said:
“We have to raise £8,000 a year to keep the lights going. They really brighten up Starbeck and the children love to see them walking to and from school on dark nights.”
Visitors could learn about the plans for Knaresborough Forest Park.
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School creates new mosaics with help from Harrogate charity
Four new mosaics have been installed outside a school in Harrogate thanks to a partnership with a local charity.
Artizan‘s members have created the mosaics to highlight Oatlands Junior School‘s values of equality and diversity, curiosity, and safety.
They have been placed around the school, with a fourth mosaic outside the arts studio designed to inspire imagination, creativity and exploration.
The four artworks were created children from the school and members of Artizan together, which benefitted both groups.
Hannah Alderson, the school’s art and design technology lead, said:
“This incredible project gave differently able mosaic artists the opportunity to become the trainer; showing children how to mosaic, which of course is a powerful situation for them both to experience.
“[It was] empowering for members of Artizan and a transformation of attitude for the children, seeing people with disabilities in a different light as confident and creative skilled artists.”
For more information about how Artizan can work with local schools, email Liz Cluderay.
Read more:
Harrogate sixth formers ‘twin’ toilet with Malawi school
A toilet in a Harrogate school has been twinned with one in Malawi thanks to an international project.
Rosset School sixth form has raised enough money to build a toilet block in a school in the African country, with support from Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District.
The toilet twinning scheme aims to increase access to safe facilities around the world, delivering better sanitation and improved quality of life. At Rossett, £240 was raised to sponsor the toilet block in Malawi.
Roger Keyworth, head of sixth form at the school, said:
“We would like to thank Harrogate & District Soroptimists for supporting our students with this initiative and for their partnership with our students and the wider sixth form throughout the year. I am very pleased that we were able to raise some money for this great cause.”
Sandra Frier, on behalf of Soroptimist International of Harrogate, said:
“We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Rossett School on the Sharing our Skills project and to have had the opportunity to work with the students throughout the year, supporting them to raise funds for Toilet Twinning.”
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