Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber David Steca is preparing to fly to Italy this weekend to take part in an over-60s world championships.

Mr Steca, 62, wrote another remarkable chapter in his story last weekend when he finished second at the IBFA British Championships in Gateshead.

The result qualified him to compete at the world championships in Rome.

Mr Steca owns male grooming salon Steca No 6 in Princes Square, Harrogate.

Besides bodybuilding, he also competes at polo.

Showing tremendous rear conditioning.

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A former prison governor from Harrogate has raised almost £5,000 for charity by giving speeches about her 35 years in the prison service.

Veronica Bird, a Harrogate resident of over 20 years, worked with some of the most notorious criminals in the country, including Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, and Charles Bronson, a man labelled ‘the most violent prisoner in the country’.

Proceeds from Ms Bird’s speaking engagements will be handed to nine local and national charities at an event on Tuesday. The event, which will be held in a garden on Cornwall Close, will be opened by Brackenfield school choir.

Ms Bird, who received an OBE for her work in the prison service, said:

“I came from a big family, a lot of poverty, and so I know what it is to be without food, without clothes.

“My school motto was ‘not for oneself, but for all’ and that is what I try to follow. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

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She has chosen local charities Saint Michael’s Hospice and Girlguiding’s Birk Crag Centre. Cheques will also go to Jacqui’s Million, Barnsley Hospice, St Leonard’s Hospice, and Mind, alongside the MS Society UK, Royal British Legion, and the NSPCC.

The event begins at noon, at 100 Cornwall Close, Harrogate, on Tuesday 2nd November.

Think of an England sports coach living in the Harrogate district who enjoyed a remarkable summer, and chances are Gareth Southgate comes to mind.

But there is another option — and this one didn’t have to settle for second best.

Chris Bartle was high performance coach of the Great Britain equestrian team that won its first Olympic team gold medal for 49 years in Tokyo.

Despite living just a dozen miles apart, the two men have never crossed paths. Chris says:

“I’d love to meet him. Some of the things he’s quoted as saying are similar to my mantra. We seem to have very similar philosophies.”

Like Gareth, Chris is regarded as one of sport’s nice guys. But unlike the Swinsty man, whose life is consumed by England duties, Chris spends most of his time in the Harrogate district at the Yorkshire Riding Centre in Markington, which he runs with his wife and sister.

He says he spends about two-thirds of his life at Markington and one third on GB coaching duties.

When he’s at Markington, he still teaches everyone from talented juniors to Olympic stars at Markington.

The family riding centre in Markington.

Olympic riders in Markington

Chris’ Belgian mother opened the riding centre at Markington in 1963, 11 years after his parents moved to the village, which is between Ripon and Harrogate.

The family still lives on site and Chris takes a hands-on approach, teaching everyone from talented juniors to Olympic stars and generally mucking. When we visited he’d just been on a cherry picker helping mend a roof — something we doubt Gareth does at Wembley.

With its four training arenas, livery, cross-country fields and on-site accommodation, the centre caters for riders of all standards.

Everyone from bygone stars like Harvey Smith and the Whitakers to current Olympic riders from Sweden, Brazil and Germany have trained at Markington. Chris says:

“I look at the print out of riders at the Olympics and it’s amazing how many have connections with the Yorkshire Riding Centre.”

The centre also has an elegant wedding venue, built by the Wilberforce family of anti-slavery fame. The Wilberforces still own nearby Markington Hall.

The wedding venue

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Chris studied economics at Bristol University and jokes he has spent his entire life with horses to avoid a proper job.

He started as a jockey but was too tall so he switched to eventing and then dressage, at which he finished sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He has been to all nine Olympics since.

His coaching CV is phenomenal. He was national coach to the German Olympic three-day event team that won team gold at the Beijing and London Olympics in 2008 and 2012. The Germans also won gold at Athens in 2004 but were stripped of their medals when a horse failed a doping test.

Olympic glory

Chris, who had trained the British eventing team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, was appointed GB high performance coach in 2016 in the hope of emulating Germany’s success.

He masterminded the team’s preparation for Tokyo, which included staying outside the athletes’ village to minimise the covid risk. He says it was like staying in a five-star prison, and despite their caution there was a constant fear of covid jeopardising everything.

The British team gave an utterly dominant performance to take team gold for the first time since 1972. But his abiding memory is rather sad.

“It was the athletes on the podium wearing masks and you can’t see them grinning and how happy they are.”

Chris says he is equally proud of the gold medals he helped Germany win, but adds:

“Team GB was different to doing it with another nation. For that reason and how long it had taken for GB to get gold, that’s a standout moment. It was a super highlight.”

Britain’s Tom McEwen also won individual silver in the eventing but, like any coach, Chris wasn’t totally happy.

“It could have gone better. I felt there was another medal to be had in the individual eventing. I slightly blame myself for that because Laura Collett slightly over-egged it in preparation. She tried to get better and better and in that heat and humidity the horse didn’t sparkle in the dressage phase as much as it usually does.”

One of the training areas at Markington.

California dreaming

Chris is 69 now but looks remarkably fit and isn’t planning to put himself out to grass anytime soon. He hopes to continue in his current GB role until 2028 when the Olympics will return to Los Angeles, 44 years after he competed there. It would cap one of the longest and most remarkable careers in sport. He says:

“Los Angeles is an attainable goal and it would complete the circle.”

His 14-year-old daughter Poppy, a very talented rider, will be 21 then, which must be at the back of his mind but he’s careful not to put any pressure on her.

Whatever happens in his career, Markington will remain home.

“We are very fortunate where we are. The whole of this area is just an amazing place to live — although some of my colleagues tend to think this is the frozen north!”

A church in Bilton is holding an event tomorrow to remember those who have died over the last 18 months.

The gathering of lament and remembering, which is open to everyone, will be held at St John’s Church on Bilton Lane.

It will commemorate those who have lost their lives to covid and anyone else who has died since the pandemic began. It will take place two days before All Souls Day, the annual Christian day for remembering the dead.

The 45-minute event starts at 3.30pm and will include music, hymns and reflection. There will also be the opportunity to light candles.

Pre-pandemic, the church held two memorial services each year primarily for families it had taken funeral services for.

Rev Simon Dowson, rector of St John’s and St Luke’s in Bilton, said:

“The last 18 months have been a very challenging time for our community in all sorts of ways, and grief and sadness have been emotions that many of us have been experiencing.

“Our gathering ‘A time to lament and remember’ offers people an opportunity to come together in a sacred space to acknowledge that grief and sadness and hopefully be helped in their journey of bereavement.”

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Transport chief Don Mackenzie has agreed to meet sceptical Harrogate businesses for crunch talks about the £10.9 million Station Gateway project.

Many firms in Harrogate have deep reservations about the scheme, which aims to make the town centre more attractive and encourage cycling and walking.

Some fear a reduction in parking spaces, the part-pedestrianisation of James Street and potentially a year of major road works would damage businesses already struggling to recover from covid.

One recent survey of businesses, which received 180 responses, revealed 72% were against reducing the A61 from Cheltenham Mount to Station Bridge to a single lane, which is one of the most controversial aspects of the scheme,

Cllr Mackenzie, the executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the scheme, has agreed to take part in a question-and-answer session at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce’s next monthly meeting at the Cedar Court Hotel on November 8,

Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability at Harrogate Borough Council, which also supports the gateway initiative, will also participate.

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Members of the project team will give a presentation before chamber members get the chance to quiz them on issues such as what assessments have been made of the likely impact on the town’s economy.

David Simister, chief executive of the chamber, said:

“Our meeting will hopefully put businesses fully in the picture about the Harrogate Station Gateway Project, and the implications for them and their customers.

“I must stress this is a business meeting and open to our members, those in the Harrogate BID area, as well as members of Independent Harrogate.

Those planning to attend the meeting must register their interest in advance on the chamber website.

What is the Harrogate Station Gateway?

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby funded by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

A consultation is currently taking place on the revised designs. It is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by the middle of next year.

A group of parents has vowed to fight plans to close Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton.

North Yorkshire County Council said this week the school would ‘technically close’ in September under plans to merge it with Grove Road Community Primary School.

Woodfield has been unable to find an academy willing to take it on since it was rated inadequate by Ofsted in January last year.

A joint statement signed by the headteachers and chairs of governors at both schools hailed the move as “an exciting opportunity to enhance our educational offer”.

But several parents were shocked and angered by the news when they met the Stray Ferret yesterday.

They said Woodfield had made tremendous progress since it was rated inadequate — a view supported by an Ofsted monitoring visit in June, which said ‘leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures’.

Kerry Bartle and her son, Tyler

Kerry Bartle, who has had six children at the school over 23 years, said the proposed merger was a “devastating blow” to families that had stuck with the school and worked hard to improve it when others had left.

The number of pupils has roughly halved to 56 in recent years due to the poor Ofsted and a rapid turnover of headteachers. But Ms Bartle said it had improved significantly in the last 18 months, despite covid, and closure was being rushed into disturbingly quickly. She added:

“No child should be worried like ours are now as to what is going to happen to them next.

“My son is in year 4 and has mobility issues. He would struggle at the Grove site

“Woodfield is such an amazing community. We can’t fault the school as it is today.”

‘They will build on it’

Mike Fryer, a grandparent, thinks the council is using merger as a stepping stone towards closing the large Woodfield site and using it for housing.

“Within two years they will close it down and build on it. This has been on the cards since the start. They have made the school unviable, and since when should schools be all about money?”

There are also fears the Woodfield site will provide early years education and a nursery for Grove Road, forcing some families with more than one child to have to drop off and collect from both schools.

Louise Newport said she would look for another school altogether if this happened. She said:

“My son is autistic and his summer holiday will be horrendous if he has to move. Woodfield school has done so much for the children.

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Naomi Tomlinson, who has two children at Woodfield, also said she would look for another school, adding:

“Ask any kids and they will say it is a fantastic school. As far as we were aware it was doing well so this is a real shock.”

The parents also questioned whether such swift action would be taken to close a school in a better-off part of Harrogate.

The council’s response

The Stray Ferret put a series of questions to North Yorkshire County Council, including whether it could reassure parents that no children would have to move from either site.

We received the following response from Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills, said:

“Woodfield Primary School became eligible for intervention by the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) having been judged inadequate by Ofsted at inspection in January 2020. Subsequently the school was issued with a Directive Academy Order but the RSC was unable to secure an academy trust to sponsor the school due to viability concerns.

“We have supported the school through the provision of successful temporary leadership since the inspection. The latest Ofsted monitoring report of Woodfield in July states that “leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures” and it is important to recognise the efforts of all those who have been involved in this improvement journey.

“However, the current arrangements can only be temporary and the absence of an academy sponsor means the school faces an uncertain future. Therefore, work began earlier this year to assess how education provision within the Woodfield community could be preserved.

“The current proposals have been developed by members of the school governing bodies and our officers. The two governing bodies carefully considered the proposals before half term, and both agreed to ask us to start a consultation.

“Families, staff, and other members of the local community will have opportunities to consider the detail of the proposals during the consultation period.

“The proposed amalgamation would be achieved through the technical closure of Woodfield School, and the enlargement of Grove Road CP School through future use of the Woodfield site.

“This would provide an exciting opportunity to enhance the facilities of Grove Road School, organising sustainable education across both sites aiming for the best possible provision for all pupils, and importantly ensuring that the Woodfield site continues to be used for education of the wider community.

“The governing bodies and our officers believe that these proposals would be the best way of achieving their joint aims of improving local education provision at this time.”

A Harrogate breast cancer survivor is urging people to check their breasts and contact their GP with any concerns.

Annette Ward was diagnosed with breast cancer in June last year after noticing a lump and a change in the shape of her breast.

Ms Ward, 61, spoke to her GP and was referred to hospital for further tests. She was then told that she had cancer.

It was diagnosed as primary breast cancer, which meant it had not spread to other areas of her body and could be treated more easily. She had surgery to remove the lump, followed by radiotherapy.

She said:

“I feel blessed that my cancer was found early. From diagnosis to treatment, the NHS have been marvellous.

“I’m so grateful to the doctors and nurses at Harrogate District Hospital and St James’s Hospital in Leeds. They did everything they can to make sure I was treated quickly and effectively.”

Ms Ward now urges others to make sure they take part in breast screening when invited and also check for changes.

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She said:

“It’s so important to check your breasts regularly. I had my routine mammogram just over a year before I was diagnosed, and that had been clear. These things can happen very quickly, and the sooner it’s found the sooner it can be treated.

“Self-check as much as you can. If there’s anything out of the ordinary or that you’re concerned about, contact your GP and have it looked at as soon as possible.”

After treatment, Ms Ward started volunteering as a way to regain confidence and took up a role at Yorkshire Cancer Research’s Knaresborough shop.

She added:

“I thought that Yorkshire Cancer Research would be ideal. It’s my way of giving back and of saying thank you for the research they fund.”

Arts minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay visited Harrogate to attend the town’s literary festival and discuss the future of the arts.

Lord Parkinson met Fiona Movley and Sharon Canavar, chair and chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, and attended the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival on Friday.

The festival is part of the portfolio of events produced by Harrogate International Festivals.

The Conservative life peer also visited the Harrogate 1571 soundscape produced by Harrogate International Festivals for the 450th anniversary of the discovery of spa waters in the town.

He said:

“I was delighted to visit Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival and to see so many people enjoying thought-provoking and entertaining talks – in person – from a range of brilliant writers and speakers.

“It was also a great opportunity to hear about how the government’s support through the Culture Recovery Fund has helped to support much-valued events and organisations such as this, and what more we can do to help them bounce back from the pandemic and continue to flourish.”

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Ms Movley said the visit was “a timely opportunity to share our strategic plans for the future and the challenges that festivals and arts organisations have faced over the last two years”.

Ms Canavar said:

“It is important that the cultural and economic value of festivals across the UK and that their agility to create exciting programmes and vibrant destinations post-pandemic are recognised. It is key that their location, lack of building and seasonal delivery does not detract from their significance in the cultural landscape.”

Harrogate Internationals Festivals, which was established in 1966, is a year-round arts organisations producing festivals and events within Harrogate and the north.

An internationally renowned Nidderdale academic has been awarded an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Chichester.

Dr Peter Vardy, former vice-principal of Heythrop College, University of London is recognised as a leader in the fields of religious studies, philosophy and ethics and values education.

“It is quite possible that in the last 30 years Dr Vardy has done more to promote the study of these disciplines than anyone else in the UK.

“Since 2010 he has been campaigning against curriculum changes in England which have recently led to a decline in numbers studying religion, especially after the age of 14.”

Dr Vardy, who lives near Scar House Reservoir and has two daughters, has published 18 books, served as an editorial adviser for BBC and Channel 4 documentaries and spoken at conferences in the UK and abroad.

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The citation also said:

“Dr Vardy’s passionate commitment to religious education is emblematic of the ideals of the University of Chichester, his contribution to education and his advocacy of theology, philosophy and religious studies in the press reflects our commitment to teacher education and the inclusive religious foundation of the University.

“He is an alumnus of the university having completed his PGCE here in 1980.”

Harrogate’s famous Bettys tearoom had a witch peeking in its windows this week when Great British Bake Off contestant Helena Garcia dropped by.

Helena, who appeared on the Channel 4 cooking programme in 2019, swooped by Bettys to admire its Halloween windows and pick up some ghoulish treats and to promote her new book.

She published a book called The Wicked Baker in 2020 and has now brought out The Witch-Crafting Handbook.

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