John Plummer, Author at The Stray Ferret

Great Yorkshire Show to go ahead

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate have confirmed the event will go ahead next month after all.

The event appeared in doubt after the government announced on Monday that existing social distancing restrictions will continue until July 19.

The extended period included the show, which is scheduled to take place from July 13 to 16.

This led to two days of uncertainty before this afternoon’s statement from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which organises the event. It said:

“We are delighted to announce that the Great Yorkshire Show will take place as planned despite the delay to ending coronavirus restrictions.

“The Great Yorkshire Show was planned under social distancing measures and we are continuing to work closely with North Yorkshire County Council public health to deliver a covid-safe show.

“We are discussing some of the details which may require additional measures to be put in place.

“We have already adapted the show so that most of it is held outdoors this year and it’s been extended to run over four days for the first time in its history.”

Injury ends Harrogate man’s World’s Strongest Man dream

Harrogate behemoth Luke Richardson’s bid to become the youngest ever World’s Strongest Man has been ended by injury.

Luke, who weighs 330 lbs and will be 24 years old on Sunday, tore his biceps on the first day of heats yesterday in Sacramento, America.

He finished ninth last year and had high hopes of improving after good preparation.

But he was injured in the first event, a loading medley, which involved lifting and loading numerous heavy items.

He told his 71,000 Instagram followers:

“Unfortunately my World’s Strongest Man appearance this year was pretty much over before it even started with what seems to be a distal bicep tendon rupture.

“Obviously gutted as I felt in a really good position to improve on last year’s performance but it was not to be this time.

“Just a bump in what is going to be a long road but excited to test myself against a new challenge and grow closer to the athlete and person I am destined to be.

“Thank you all for your show of support and especially my loved ones and the guys here at WSM, you’re proper gents.”

Luke, a former lifeguard at Starbeck Baths, was crowned Europe’s Strongest Man last year and he will be hoping to defend his title in Leeds on September 4.

He has also been invited to compete at the first strongman event at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 120 years on July 24.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Luke “The Future” Richardson (@lukeerichardson)

Great Yorkshire Show still waiting to hear if it can go ahead

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show have issued a statement saying it is still awaiting confirmation that the event can go ahead.

The event is scheduled to take place in Harrogate from July 13 to 16.

All social distancing measures were due to be lifted next week but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last night current restrictions would remain until July 19.

Twenty-four hours after Mr Johnson’s announcement, the impact of this on the show remains unclear.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the agricultural charity that organises the event, has already included various social distancing measures into this year’s planning.

They include holding the show over four days, rather than three, capping daily visitor numbers to 25,000, reducing the grandstand capacity to 30% and adapting the show to use as much outdoor space as possible.

In a statement today, the society said:

“Further to the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday night, we continue to await confirmation from North Yorkshire County Council public health that we can deliver this year’s Great Yorkshire Show as planned.

“What we can say is that the Great Yorkshire Show has been fully adapted to be covid-safe and we have been working with the relevant agencies every step of the way.

“The show has also been endorsed by Visit England as part of its Good to Go campaign.

“Measures include adapting the show so most of it is held outdoors this year and extending it to run over four days for the first time in its history.

“A full list of measures are here and these were always going to be in place whether lockdown was extended or not.

“Please bear with us while we await news, and a statement will go out as soon as we have a definitive answer.”

Harrogate district covid rate creeps up again

The Harrogate district seven-day covid rate of infection has increased to 58 cases per 100,000 — up from 52 yesterday.

The latest figure is above the North Yorkshire rate of 45 but below the figure for England of 74.

Ten more infections in the district were confirmed today by Public Health England.

The district’s worst affected area is Ousebourn, Hammerton and Tockwith, which has recorded 11 infections in the last seven days. Bilton is next, with nine.

Tadcaster, which has recorded 12, has had the most cases in the whole of North Yorkshire.

However, another day has passed without any deaths at Harrogate District Hospital.

Seventy-eight per cent of adults in the district have received first vaccines; 65 per cent have had second jabs.

Wedding limit easing boosts hairdressers and beauticians

A beautician in the Harrogate district has welcomed tonight’s government announcement lifting the 30-person cap on weddings.

Deborah Chalmers, who owns Love Hair & Beauty in Ripon, said earlier today she was “hoping and praying” the cap would be lifted amid reports it might remain.

Ms Chalmers said three-quarters of her wedding bookings were for events of 100-plus guests and maintaining the 30-person limit would ruin many couples’ big days — and have financial repercussions for the bridal sector.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tonight the cap on the number of people attending weddings and wakes would be lifted, even though other social distancing measures will be extended by four weeks until July 19.

Ms Chalmers said:

“I’m sure that many different providers of services to people getting married will be relieved at this evening’s announcement from the Prime Minister that weddings with more than 30 attendees can go ahead.

“Social distancing measures will remain in place but brides-to-be can now look forward to their big day.

“At the same time, the wedding sector can start getting back on its feet and hopefully make up for lost time and lost revenue.”

Harrogate’s Luke Richardson flies to America for World’s Strongest Man

Harrogate strongman sensation Luke Richardson is set to compete in the World’s Strongest Man in America this week.

Luke, who turns 24 on Sunday, is one of 25 men in Sacramento vying for the right to be called the strongest on the planet.

If he wins he will be the youngest man ever to hold the title.

This year’s event is expected to be broadcast to 500 million people in 70 countries. It will be shown on Channel 5 in the UK over Christmas and on CBS Sports Network in the United States next month.

Britain has a great pedigree in the event, with former winners including Geoff Capes, Jamie Reeves and Gary Taylor, but endured a 24-year wait until Eddie Hall triumphed in 2017.

Luke Richardson

Luke, who is 6ft 3 and weighs 330 lbs, took the sport by storm last year when he won Europe’s Strongest Man in Knaresborough and finished ninth in the World’s Strongest Man in his first full season of strongman.

This year he has been drawn in a group with Canadian JF Caron, American Robert Oberst, Iceland’s Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted and Russian Mikhail Shivlyakov.

The heats, which begin on Wednesday and last three days, include events such as the train pull, deadlift and pickaxe hold.

The two-day final will culminate, as ever, with the Atlas stones.

Luke went to Starbeck Community Primary School and Harrogate High School and now trains at Absolute Fitness in Boroughbridge and LR Strength Shed in Wetherby, which he and training partner Richard Parish opened.

Great Yorkshire Show ‘monitoring situation’ as lockdown announcement looms

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show have said they are “monitoring the national situation” ahead of tonight’s government announcement on lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to give a news conference at 6pm tonight.

All social distancing measures are due to be lifted on June 21 but Mr Johnson is expected to say current restrictions will remain in place for four more weeks until July 19.

The Great Yorkshire Show is scheduled to take place from July 13 to 16 so the announcement could impact on its plans.

However, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the agricultural charity that organises the event, has already included various social distancing measures into this year’s planning.

This has raised hopes the event will be able to proceed as planned but the situation should become clearer after the ramifications of tonight’s announcement are known.

In a statement today, the society said:

“The Great Yorkshire Show is monitoring the national situation and we are awaiting details from tonight’s announcement.

“We continue to work closely with North Yorkshire County Council public health and Harrogate Borough Council.”

Stray Views: police pledge to tackle fast and noisy cars is hollow

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.

Police speed clampdown is a joke

The police pledge to clamp down on fast and noisy cars in Harrogate is beyond a joke. My wife and I live in Hartwith Drive, a street that has a supposed 20mph speed limit… or so the signage indicates.

Several years ago I attempted to encourage the police and council to take steps towards enforcing the limit. A speed monitor was attached to a street lamp-post and data downloaded. I still hold a copy of the results.

North Yorkshire Police’s deputy chief constable, however, made clear that it did not support 20mph. The irrelevant police commissioner also gave absolutely no support to our case. Years later and cars and motorbikes are still driven, frequently, at well over the 20mph limit. We can regularly hear the unmistakable sound of speeding vehicles within earshot from Ripon Road.

The police should be taking a hardline stance against the problem of speeding vehicles but the sad fact is that they need support from the public and that may well be sadly lacking. There is no point the police making bold statements if they are not prepared to follow them up with action.

Tim Walls, Jennyfields

Boy racers are a daily occurrence

Prior to the recent crash on Mayfield Grove, we have for many years suffered from boy racers tearing up and down our road. Most seem to have removed the baffles from the exhaust.

Every day we have about six cars speeding up and down Mayfield Grove and going up Franklin Road. You can also hear them racing up King’s Road.

I will shortly be setting up a Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace residents association with other neighbours who are concerned about the speeding cars, cars being damaged and drug dealing in the area.

Paul Ivison, Mayfield Grove, Harrogate

If anyone would like to join this association email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will pass on your details to Mr Ivison.

Rewilding is great – but plastic flowers are awful

I was heartened by the positive responses to the rewilding of the Stray, which I certainly welcome.

Those who feel that the horticultural prestige of the town is threatened by borders of wild flowers would be far better focusing their ire on the proliferation of plastic garlands, which appear to be the latest ‘must-have’ outdoor decorations at bars and shops around the town.

Not only are they no match for the real thing in terms of attractiveness, they also produce yet more plastic pollution at a time of increasing environmental awareness.

Yes, hanging baskets and tubs take time and energy to maintain but are well worth the effort and I know which most visitors would prefer to see. For a town that’s been a Britain in Bloom gold medal winner, it’s a disappointing new trend.

Gillian Parkin, Harrogate

Great to see wildflowers on the Stray

I’d like to add my support to Harrogate Borough Council on its rewilding efforts.

We need more wildflowers everywhere. The Stray has previously been kept as an ecological desert.

Encouraging wildflowers can only be good for our local insect life and should be widely supported on purely scientific grounds.

Well done Harrogate Borough Council on being led by the science!

Charlie McCarthy, Harrogate

Don’t let Harrogate become a dead town

I was shocked to find all parking both sides of James Street blocked with boxes full of plants.

Only three places were available for blue badge holders. Thankfully, I have a blue badge and parked. Ironically there were some signs saying SHOP LOCAL. Well, people would if they could park.

I know several who go to Northallerton now: easy parking and free in many places. The shops are having a bad time and have been for 14 months. Some have closed and gone.

Please don’t subject us to being a dead town. It’s so sad to see Harrogate’s style and variety taking a hard knock.

Christine Hill, Burton Leonard

Continuing the best-known name in the Harrogate district

There are few better known names in the Harrogate district than Theakston.

Robert Theakston started brewing beer in Masham in 1827 and his great-great grandson Simon continues the tradition today.

Simon is joint managing director of T & R Theakston, one of two major breweries in the picturesque market town. His cousin, Paul, is in charge of the other one — Black Sheep Brewery.

Despite his strong Masham connections, Mr Theakston is well placed to appraise recent developments in the wider Harrogate district: he lives near Boroughbridge, went to school in Harrogate and represented the Conservatives on Harrogate Borough Council for four terms. He was also chairman of Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the agricultural charity that organises the Great Yorkshire Show, from 2008 to 2016.

But nothing in his long career prepared him for the potentially ruinous overnight impact of covid when the first lockdown began in March. He says;

“We had cellars full of beer that people couldn’t buy and ended up pouring it away.

“Overnight we lost 80% of business. That required us to rethink our business model, baton down the hatches and put ourselves in a position where we could survive as long as possible.”

The furlough scheme saved jobs and the company rapidly converted its visitor centre at the brewery into a fulfilment centre for online orders — something a company that prides itself on tradition had not overly pursued until then. He says:

“Online orders have gone up by a factor of 100, albeit from a modest base.”

Family tradition

The visitor centre is due to reopen on June 21 if the lingering restrictions on pubs are lifted. Monday’s decision will be critical for the industry. Mr Theakston, who is married with two grown-up children, says:

“It’s nice having people going into gardens and seated at tables but it’s much better when people can move freely in pubs.”

Nevertheless, so far the company has survived covid with its 35 staff still intact. It seems a surprisingly low number of employees for an organisation that sells into 20 countries but the business model involves collaborating with other firms, such as Heineken, which handles distribution.

Mr Theakston describes the company as “a medium-sized traditional family brewing company.” And, for all the difficulties of the past year, he remains optimistic.

“Our industry has been through difficulties in the past. We’ve come through two world wars, revolution in Europe, the great crash of the 1930s and all sorts of issues since the Second World War and it just goes to show the robustness of what we do.

“As long as individuals want to meet other people, the role of the pub will continue to be the centre of society.”

Local politics

The future for Harrogate Borough Council, however, is less secure. The local authority, on which he represented Harlow Moor until 2018, is set to be abolished as part of the national government’s devolution agenda. Mr Theakston supports the single council model for North Yorkshire championed by North Yorkshire County Council rather than the east-west split favoured by his former council colleagues in Harrogate. He explains:

“North Yorkshire County Council currently provides about 80% of our services so it wouldn’t be a massive change for it to pick up the pieces. I’m not a fan of lots of layers of bureaucracy.”

Harrogate Borough Council is pursuing numerous active travel plans, such as the £7.9m Station Gateway project and the pedestrianisation of James Street, to reduce traffic and encourage people to walk and cycle. The plans have proved controversial — does he support them?

“I don’t want to see Harrogate being completely pedestrianised because it will end up like any other town in the country. The idea of being able to pop into town is appealing to people like the elderly. Let’s have a bit of pedestrianisation but not lose the ability to drive into town.

“Harrogate’s such a special town and everything we did during my time on the council was to maintain it as special.”

It has been a difficult year for another organisation close to Mr Theakston’s heart — Yorkshire Agricultural Society — which decided to proceed with the Great Yorkshire Show next month when many other events have been cancelled. Was he surprised?

“The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is nothing if not pragmatic. They will be responding to the demands of exhibitions and members of the public who want to go. It’s more than an agricultural show — it’s our county show.”

Crime and cricket

The Theakston name has also become synonymous with the annual crime writing festival organised by the arts charity Harrogate International Festivals. Under its sponsorship, the festival brings many of the leading names of the genre to the town each year.

Arts and brewing may seem an unlikely match but Mr Theakston talks of beer “providing the social lubricant that lets people enjoy being with other people” and the ventures the company supports also encourage people to mingle convivially.

Recently it has also sponsored poet Ben Taylor, also known as Yorkshire Prose, to wax lyrical about the a pint being a metaphor for social interaction.

Mr Theakston is a huge cricket lover so it’s perhaps no coincidence his company sponsors the Nidderdale Amateur Cricket League and the annual National Village Cup in which some 340 villages compete for the chance to play in the final at Lord’s.

It’s little wonder the name Theakston perhaps vies with Bettys as the most well known in the district — and at least we know for certain the Theakstons exist.

There was a time when its familiarity may have faded. The family relinquished control of the business in the 1990s before buying it back in 2003, and Mr Theakston pledges it will remain in the family, in the heart of Masham.

Can he foresee the day when the business no longer consumes his professional life?

“I haven’t thought too much about when I retire. It’s still a huge passion.”

Knaresborough Bed Race: A look back at the first event in 1966

This weekend was supposed to see one of the biggest events of the Harrogate district calendar — the Knaresborough bed race.

Sadly, covid forced the event’s cancellation for the second year running.

So here’s a look back at how it all started in 1966, courtesy of some photos by Knaresborough amateur photographer, the late Bill Hardacre, whose son Roy sent them.

The puppeteer Harry Corbett, who created children’s TV character Sooty, fired the gun to start the race.

Acker Bilk, the jazz musician, started the 1967 race. Does anyone know how they were tempted to Knaresborough?

Do you recognise any of the people seen in the photos, or have favourite memories of the madcap event that grew so big?

Knaresborough bed race 1966 Pic Bill Hardacre