Review: Unhomely: Three Tales of Terror at Harrogate Theatre

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com. 

Adam Z. Robinson, writer, performer and founding member of theatre company, The Book of Darkness and Light, loves a spooky tale.

And that is what we are promised with Unhomely: Three Tales of Terror, each thread, as the play’s title suggests, loosely based around the idea of home and its hidden horrors. Here, home is anything but homely.

It is a house, crumbling, Gothic-like, engulfed by a smoke-machine-induced fog, that provides the production’s backdrop, along with a ghostly score and dim lighting. As the play opens, we are given a choice: to stay, or to leave now, before it is too late…

Mirroring the play’s structure is its cast of three: writer Robinson himself narrates, and is joined by two players, Amy Helena and Brian Duffy, who perform using a combination of British Sign Language and Visual Vernacular, a physical theatre technique combining gestures, bodily expression and mime as a narrative tool.

Each cast member plays a myriad of characters, all the while ensuring clarity of delivery. Each tale feels distinct from the other, each presented and told in a slightly different way, and there is, at the play’s core, a real sense of classic storytelling. A multifaceted approach to this age-old practice injects a novel, attention-grabbing feel.

Yet, this spooky play isn’t altogether that spooky, marred, for me, by being too long. Each segment feels like a novella rather than a short story, and by the end, I felt like I’d endured a chunky, under-edited tome.

It also had a touch of the predictable about it, lacking the body and depth to make this a terrifying tale unlike anything we’ve ever seen or heard before.

The play’s storytelling is where its true potential lies, and in its ability to weave together inclusive narrative approaches. With some refinement, I’m sure it could deliver on its spooky promise to chill and thrill.  

Unhomely: Three Tales of Terror is at Harrogate Theatre until Saturday, April 13.

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‘A huge disappointment’: Ripon GP surgery responds to merger announcement

Ripon Spa Surgery has responded to an announcement that a merger between GP practices in the city will move forward without it.

Last year, the NHS proposed merging the city’s Ripon Spa Surgery with North House Surgery and Park Street Surgery.

However, in an update sent to patients on Friday, partners at Park Street Surgery and Park Street said they will be moving forward with the merger but without Ripon Spa Surgery.

This was after they said it was found to be in after it was found to be in an “unexpectedly poor financial position” during the due diligence process.

The partners at Ripon Spa Surgery have now issued a joint statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that outlined their sadness at the decision.

They sought to reassure patients that the practice remains financially viable and said bosses are looking to make improvements in the coming months.

Dr Charles McEvoy, Dr Penny McEvoy, Dr Matt Mielcarek and managing partner Samantha Miles said:

“Due to the extremely difficult financial climate that general practice is facing, along with some specific challenges we have faced in the past couple of years, it will not be possible to bring our finances in line with the other practices in Ripon in time for the merger to proceed as planned.

“Although we still wanted to be part of the merger, it is with heavy hearts that we must acknowledge North House and Park Street’s decision not to proceed. This is truly sad and a huge disappointment for us, but we must emphasise that we remain financially viable as a business and will be working hard to improve the situation over the coming months.

“We are already discussing the way forward, both as a partnership and as a practice team, in order that we can continue to provide a service to our patients and safeguard the future of our practice for staff and patients alike.”

The merger between North House Surgery and Park Street Surgery will take place before October 2024. The new practice will be called Fountains Health.

The two practices will close for four afternoons over the next six months so staff can be brought together to prepare for the merger.

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Police seek man after alcohol theft in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police has issued a CCTV image of a man it wants to talk to after alcohol was stolen in Harrogate.

According to a statement issued last night, £76 worth of alcohol was taken from Marks & Spencer Simply Food on Beech Avenue.

It happened at about 5.50pm on Saturday, March 23.

Anyone who can identify the man or has any other information about the incident can email Brendon.Frith@northyorkshire.police.uk.

Alternatively, you can call 101, select option 2 and ask for Brendon Frith or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Quote reference number 12240051837.

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Suspended North Yorkshire police officers are on full pay

North Yorkshire Police has confirmed that two officers currently suspended from duty are both on full pay.

The force said in a statement last weekend it had referred an officer to the Independent Office for Police Conduct following concerns about the use of force.

It is the second case involving a North Yorkshire Police officer being investigated by the IOPC.

The police watchdog revealed in December last year a senior officer had been suspended and was under criminal investigation “for the potential offences of misconduct in public office, improper exercise of police powers and intent to pervert the course of justice”.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Police whether the two officers had been suspended on full pay.

A spokesperson for the constabulary confirmed this was the case. They added:

“Suspension and associated conditions are set in regulations and we do not have any control over this.”

We also asked the IOPC when it was likely to make a decision on the case that began four months ago.

An IOPC spokesperson said there was “no set timescale on the investigation at this point”, adding:

“The officer has been interviewed under criminal caution and investigators are continuing to address further lines of enquiries.”

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‘Wet weather not tree felling caused A59 to crack’, council says

Highways bosses have issued assurances the extended closure of the A59 for a further three months was caused by one of the wettest winters in a century, rather than the felling of hundreds of trees beside the route.

North Yorkshire Council’s director of environmental services, Karl Battersby, said while the authority’s contractors had cut down medium height silver birches close to the road as part of the £68.9m project to change its route at landslip-hit Kex Gill, the authority did not believe the trees removal was linked to the road cracking.

Mr Battersby was responding to concerns raised by councillors, just two weeks after the authority caused dismay by announcing the key east-west route would not reopen before the end of June to complete £750,000 of repairs.

The road between Skipton and Blubberhouses has been closed since February 2, leading to heavy congestion on the diversion route through Otley and Ilkley and some businesses losing thousands of pounds of trade every week.

Glusburn, Cross Hills and Sutton-in-Craven division councillor, Philip Barratt, told a meeting of the council’s transport and environment scrutiny committee the road closure was causing major problems in Ilkley and Otley, creating mile-long queues of traffic at peak times.

He said:

“I can’t stress how important it is that this route is solved as soon as possible. It’s a real blight on these communities.”

The A59 at Kex Gill.

The A59 will not reopen before the end of June.

The meeting heard claims the felling of some 20,000 trees had destabilised the route, but it is understood council officials believe the figure contractors cut down to be closer to 850.

Mr Battersby said the council had employed environmental consultants to examine the site’s geology and the authority had concluded the removal of the trees had not had a “detrimental effect in terms of water tables”.

He told councillors removing the trees had been unavoidable due to the location of the road.

Mr Battersby said:

“We’ve put in a 1.3km haul road to support the construction of the new road from crushed stone and we actually think that’s had a positive effect in terms of stabilising the land in that location.

“We have no evidence to say the works that they’ve done have caused this. We have had ten-mile landslips over fairly recent periods, and we think it’s largely the very wet weather that has accelerated what has already been happening and caused us that problem.”

Mr Battersby said the council was aware the roadworks were causing significant disruption for businesses and residents, but it had taken longer than expected to start repairing the large crack.

He said:

“It’s unavoidable unfortunately. For safety issues we just could not allow the road to remain open. We looked at traffic lights.

“The continual wet weather and the continual worsening of the carriageway has meant we’ve had to do some further work to make sure we got the right engineering solution to fix this.”

He said the council was looking at extended day working and weekend working to limit the road closure, but said another crack had opened up on the A59 and engineers were examining whether they could secure the road there with metal rods to avert a further closure.

Mr Battersby said:

“What all this underlines is how important it is to relocate the road. It’s the right thing to do, but clearly it’s a major engineering project.”

Nevertheless, Cllr Melanie Davis said she believed felling the trees had affected “the whole landscape” and even with a scheme in place to replace the trees, regrowing them would take several decades.

She said:

“It will affect the air quality, it affects how the soil is held together by the roots.

“If somebody wants to cut down trees then they’ve got to have a really damn good excuse as to why they do, no matter where because they are all valuable.”

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£1.3m to be spent resurfacing pothole-ridden roads in Harrogate district

Anyone who has driven around the Harrogate district recently will have noted the poor state of the roads, with a prolonged spell of wet weather making the pothole problem worse.

But there are now hopes the situation could finally improve for road users after the government announced that £1.3m previously allocated for the rail scheme HS2 will be spent resurfacing roads in the area including in Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Ripon.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scrapped the northern leg of HS2 last year and pledged to use money intended for the scheme on improving transport in the north.

Today the Department for Transport has revealed which local authorities across Yorkshire will benefit from the latest tranche of funding for road resurfacing, which it says will result in £991 million in reallocated HS2 funding for the region.

Roads in the Harrogate district that will be resurfaced are below along with how much each set of works will cost:

Councils across Yorkshire will now be required to submit quarterly reports from June, announcing work which has taken place over three months.

The government says it means residents will be able to scrutinise the progress of the works as these reports will be published online.

Transport secretary Mark Harper said:

“We’re on the side of drivers, which is why this Government is getting on with delivering our plan to invest £991 million in Yorkshire and the Humber as part of the biggest-ever funding increase for local road improvements, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.

“Alongside this unprecedented funding, which is already being used to improve local roads, we’re making sure residents can hold their local authority to account and see for themselves how the investment will be spent to improve local roads for years to come.”

Meanwhile, it was announced last month that North Yorkshire Council will receive £3.5m from HS2 to put on extra buses across 20 different routes.

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Harrogate and Knaresborough Reform candidate included in list of ‘unsavoury rogues’

The Reform UK parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough has been included in a list of ‘unsavoury rogues’ selected by the party.

Richard Brown was one of eight candidates named in a Mail on Sunday investigation.

The article said the right wing party “has surged in the polls but the party harbours some unsavoury rogues – from a candidate who supports Tommy Robinson to a covid conspiracy theorist who likened Boris Johnson to Hitler and even another who’s a convicted animal abuser”.

Referring specifically to Mr Brown, it said he “made misogynistic remarks about Labour MP Jess Phillips, calling her a ‘bitch’ in 2022”, adding:

“Last year, Brown also shared the false claim that doctors refused to treat Boris Johnson on the basis that he didn’t have covid, and claimed the pandemic was an ‘illusion’ that had been ‘planned’ by the government ‘since 2016’.”

Reform UK polled 16% — just 4% behind the Conservatives — in a YouGov survey last week.

The party announced former chartered accountant Mr Brown as its parliamentary candidate in August last year.

He describes himself as a “passionate believer in the United Kingdom as an independent agent on the world stage, self reliance, small state, lower taxes for corporations and individuals, control of immigration and cancelling net zero” on Reform UK’s website.

The Stray Ferret has contacted Mr Brown for a response to the article but not yet had a response.

A Reform spokesman told the Mail on Sunday the article was “pathetic nit-picking”, adding:

“Reform UK’s candidates are real people living real lives. Like all parties, Reform UK has had a small number of candidates who have said or written something unacceptable.

“We are proud that, when made aware of unacceptable behaviour, we act, and if necessary immediately remove candidates that have gone beyond the pale. Again, this is not something you will often see from our political opponents.

“Richard Brown was rude about a politician. He also shared claims that at the time were reported as fact.”

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Harrogate gallery to host Beatles exhibition

An exhibition of photos taken of The Beatles in 1968 will go on display at a gallery in Harrogate next week.

The Beatles: Mad Day Out will open on April 19 at RedHouse Originals on Cheltenham Mount.

It features 23 images by Tom Murray who was invited to assist renowned photojournalist Sir Don McCullin in capturing a new publicity campaign for The Beatles.

The Fab Four were in the midst of recording the White Album at the time and Murray, armed with just two rolls of film and a Nikon F:35mm, produced some of the most famous colour images of the band.

Speaking later, he said:

“It was as perfect a day as I could wish for. Getting to hang out with one of my favourite bands and take pictures was just sensational.”

The Mad Day Out portfolio consists of 23 images from the 195-print UK edition published in 2007. All prints are available to pre-order.

Just one example of each image, signed and numbered by Mr Murray, will be on display so the images are subject to availability.

The collection will be complimented by original artworks and rare 1960s ephemera, including pieces by German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who was known for her association with The Beatles, and pop-artist Dudley Edwards.

The exhibition will run throughout spring.

All images by Tom Murray.

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Knaresborough care home set to expand

A Knaresborough care home has been granted planning permission to expand.

Thistle Hill Care Home will be able to provide more accommodation for younger people with physical disabilities and acquired brain injuries.

Barchester Healthcare, which owns the home on Thistle Hill, applied to North Yorkshire Council to create single storey extensions to the front and rear of the existing building, a roof terrace and four car parking spaces.

The home provides 24-hour nursing and specialist dementia care, and also operates the Farnham Unit, which offers specialist care for younger people with physical disabilities and acquired brain injuries.

According to a design and access statement by Harris Irwin Architects in support of the application, the scheme will provide eight additional en-suite bedrooms for these younger people.

The statement said:

“The 20-bed Farnham Unit is in high demand and always runs at full capacity. Potential permanent and respite admissions are routinely turned away due to lack of available beds.

“The home operates a waiting list for both private and respite admissions due to lack of capacity and has had to cease regular respite return stays due to full occupancy with permanent residents.”

It added:

“There is high demand locally for services that support younger adults with physical disabilities and/or acquired brain injuries. There are currently insufficient numbers of specialist beds that cater for both these needs locally. This insufficient local provision is leading to such cohorts being placed out of area, which is an undesirable outcome for all concerned.”

The home is situated 1.2 miles from Knaresborough town centre on Green Belt land.

Aimée McKenzie, the case officer at the council, said in the decision notice report:

“From a visual prospective the additions will be minimal. The scheme is an extension to an existing site, which is sustainable as it ensures its continued use.

“It is considered based on the need presented for this site specifically and local community benefit of continued specialist support; on balance and the cumulative benefits, there is justification for the expansion of this care home in this location. It is considered the proposal in principle does accord with local and national planning polices.

“On the basis of the above the development proposed is considered on balance to be acceptable in principle and would not create harm in relation to design, amenity, highway safety, impact to the green belt and protected landscape.”

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Exclusive: Council spent £1.9m on consultants for scrapped Harrogate Convention Centre plans

Almost £2 million of taxpayers’ money has been spent on consultants to come up with plans to upgrade Harrogate Convention Centre that have now been scrapped.

North Yorkshire Council and its predecessor Harrogate Borough Council have hired various consultants since 2016 as part of the long running saga to redevelop the convention centre.

So far none of the work has been carried out and last month North Yorkshire Council revealed it had abandoned previous plans drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council and recruited another firm of consultants called 31ten to carry out ‘soft market testing’ on the future use of the events and exhibition complex.

North Yorkshire Council refused to reveal at the time how much it had paid the 31ten — prompting the Stray Ferret to submit a freedom of information request.

We asked not only how much had been awarded to the London firm but also how much had been spent on consultants for all work involving the possible upgrade of the convention centre.

The response said 31Ten had been paid £23,000 plus VAT for work that is expected to be concluded by ‘late spring’. This figure pales in comparison to the overall sum awarded to consultants since 2016.

The freedom of information response said besides funding awarded to 31Ten “the remaining £1,948,590 relates to historic spend committed by Harrogate Borough Council”.

Harrogate Borough Council was abolished a year ago and succeeded by North Yorkshire Council.

The response added:

“It is North Yorkshire Council’s intention to use internal resource to support future proposals for Harrogate Convention Centre, and minimise spend with external consultants, wherever possible.”

‘More affordable’ way forward

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative-controlled executive agreed last month to scrap a two-phase development plan for the building drawn up eight years ago after being told the cost of the first phase had soared to £57.2 million.

Instead it agreed to come up with a “more affordable” way forward. Centre director Paula Lorimer, who last year called for the refurbishment, said she had now changed her mind and agreed with the new approach.

The way forward will be guided by 31ten’s findings. The freedom of information response said:

“The aim of the soft market testing is to assist North Yorkshire Council in assessing the options for the future development and operation of Harrogate Convention Centre. Options may include, but are not limited to, alternative delivery and funding models, partnership working, alternative uses for parts of the site, and asset ownership.”

North Yorkshire Council currently subsidises the convention centre to the tune of £2.7 million a year.

The centre opened in 1982 and has a 2,000-seat auditorium and 13,000 square metres of exhibition space.

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