The Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed has opened to provide friendship and support to the local community.

They are part of a wider organisation of ‘sheds’ which began in Australia. Their goal is to create a space for people to come together to create and build while making friends and overcoming loneliness.

Despite their name, organiser Alan Cottrill assured the Stray Ferret that the group is also open to women who want to clear their mind through DIY.

“We’re making and repairing things – but also making friendships.”

“There’s been lots of research over the last couple of years which show that this is a good way to get men to talk. Women talk face to face but men talk shoulder to shoulder.”

The Men’s Shed have the premises behind St Cuthbert’s for three years and aim to start working with other charities next year.

Lockdown restrictions will ease on Monday, allowing beauticians and hairdressers to reopen.

Many people have eagerly awaited haircuts, pedicures and spa treatments since the third lockdown began in early January.

Consequently, businesses in the Harrogate district are bracing themselves for a hectic month. Many customers are struggling to get appointments.

The Treatment Rooms in Harrogate has been shut since December 30 and set up a waiting list six weeks ago to deal with high demand for bookings.

Alex Smith, owner of The Treatment Rooms, said:

“We’re fully booked for the first month and we wanted to make sure we were booking in our loyal customers first before we can fit in new customers.”

Ms Smith said this has been the busiest return from any lockdown so far.

“It could be because the weather’s getting nicer, pubs are reopening or because people have this hope that this will actually be the last time.

“Either way, we can’t wait to go back and see some normality.”

Aimes Health and Beauty in Knaresborough is almost fully booked April, but owner Amy Dodsworth thinks the beauty industry could be adversely affected after the initial rush.

Ms Dodsworth said:

“I think we will be affected by people maybe not feeling safe enough to go out yet, and even working from home might affect business because people won’t want their nails doing as much with no one to see them.

“But we’re looking at the positives. Now is the time to get pampered and have something to look forward to.”

Susan Schofield, owner of the salon Headroom Harrogate described the measures it has instigated to make customers feel safe:

“We have the screens between each customer and all of the team will be wearing masks and visors. We are also doing a few early mornings to ensure we can properly clean each station before every customer.

“Reopening is an exciting time but it is a strange feeling. We’re looking forward to seeing how the first busy week goes.”

Montpellier Beauty in Harrogate, which is also opening its doors on Monday, has kept in touch with clients about government guidelines to demonstrate continuity of care.

Owner Judy Robson said this lockdown has caused stress and uncertainty for the business.

“It has prevented us from implementing some development plans moving the business forward, but has also afforded us some reflection time to brainstorm!

“We have been in survival mode, but are now emerging excited about reopening and thankful that all our lovely, loyal clients have been so supportive and we can’t wait to get back.”

Has your hair got out of control since lockdown? Send images to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will publish the best ones.

The Harrogate Fire Ants are raising money to improve sanitation on the small island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific.

The Port Vila Fire Ants, Vanuatu, came to the Harrogate Fire Ants attention in April 2020, when they discovered they shared the same name.

Along with New Zealand based charity the Butterfly Trust, the Harrogate team are now fundraising to build toilets, hand washing stations and clean water pumps from materials sourced in Vanuatu.

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Chair of the Harrogate Team, Stuart Morris said:

“We realised quite quickly that locals in Vanuatu struggle a lot. They suffer from typhoons which are often category 5, knocking out entire infrastructures. We wanted to do something that would benefit them and raising money gives the locals a decision of how we can help, like what they want doing and where.

We share the same name so we are just us two, just 9,800 miles apart!”

Rugby League for Harrogate

The Harrogate Fire Ants were only established in April 2020 as an attempt to encourage rugby league in the Harrogate area.

Since then, they have already gained a spot to play at Ashville College, where former New Zealand and Leeds Rhinos league player, Gary Mercer is head of rugby.

Mercer is the liaison between the team and Ashville and will be offering a coaching session for the Fire Ants. In the off season for rugby league, Ashville’s rugby team will be using the Fire Ants for training and fitness.

The Harrogate Fire Ants say that starting a rugby league team hasn’t been the easiest, and said they faced some difficulties setting up a league team in a union dominated area.

Stuart Morris, Chairman of the Harrogate Fire Ants said:

“The hardest part was trying to work around the differences between league and union in this area. Ideally we wanted to be in Starbeck but there wasn’t enough space so we’ve moved from Rossett to Knaresborough until we finally got space at Ashville College in Harrogate.”

The team are due to start training again on May 4.

The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park near Ripon is set to reopen today. The 45-acre site in Grewelthorpe is home to 80 outdoor sculptures and nearly 20,000 plants.

The gardens were shortlisted for the BBC Countryfile Magazine awards 2020 and were winners of the Yorkshire in Bloom tourist attraction award in 2018 and 2019.

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A spokesperson for the gardens said:

“We believe that being outdoors and in beautiful gardens is restorative and important for people’s wellbeing. It can be a source of much-needed tranquillity in these super-anxious times.

“We are, however, mindful that the safety of visitors and our staff is our number one priority. We’re pleased to welcome visitors, that they may enjoy the blooms of spring in a safe and tranquil environment.”

The gardens have implemented additional staff training and measures to ensure key points, such as the visitors’ entrance, are safe. Natural materials have been used to create one-way systems and social distancing markers. Visitors must book tickets in advance. The plant sale area will be open and the tearoom and refreshment horsebox will be serving takeaways.

The spokesperson added:

 “Thankfully, our attraction benefits from being in the great outdoors with plenty of space.”

The actor Joanna Lumley, who is patron of the gardens, said:

“They are a slice of paradise. Gardens are the greatest healers on earth, and as our stressful anxious lives tie us up in knots, we may turn to the sweet silence of the great green earth for solace.”

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have asked locals not to have BBQ’s or campfires in the countryside this weekend.

Since lockdown restrictions were eased on Monday and travelling further afield is allowed, the Easter weekend is expected to be a busy time for countryside walks.

This raises concerns that walkers may use disposable BBQs and campfires to enjoy the outdoors.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“Every year we attend grass and wild fires that are started accidentally by people having barbecues on grass or through campfires that have spread.”

“You can help us reduce these types of fire by listening to our advice and sharing it with friends and family. If you spot a fire in the countryside please report it to us by dialling 999.”

In 2018, a fire caused by a disposable BBQ at Brimham Rocks led to 8,700 square metres of damage to moorland.

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Countryside visitors have also been asked to leave everything as they found it and keep their dogs under control.

Spokesperson for the National Trust Yorkshire said:

‘We know lots of people will be heading out to enjoy the Yorkshire countryside over Easter, and we’re asking them to help us protect the outdoor places we care for and make sure everyone can enjoy their visit by following government guidance and observing the Countryside Code.”

People in the Harrogate district have been advised to avoid household recycling centres this weekend because of expected queues.

North Yorkshire County Council’s 20 recycling centres remain open during lockdown but queueing systems to comply with social distance guidelines have caused tailbacks.

The Harrogate district has three centres: Wetherby Road and Penny Pot Lane in Harrogate and Dallamires Crescent in Ripon.

Queues at the recycling centre on Wetherby Road. Photo: Mark Westerman

Councillor Andrew Lee, executive member for open to business, said:

“We expect the household waste recycling centres to be extremely busy over the holiday weekend, as Easter is always a busy time.

“Given the rules in place to ensure the sites can operate safely, this will inevitably lead to queues.

“We’re asking people to consider whether they really need to visit their household waste recycling centre this weekend. Could you keep the waste at home for another week or so and take it at a less busy time?”

The centres moved to summer opening hours today, meaning they are now open from 8.30am to 5pm every day except Wednesdays.

Hannah Corlett, spokesperson for the Harrogate and District Green Party said the location of the centres was the main issue. She said:

“I know people from Ripon who have travelled all the way to Bedale recycling centres because the queues are so large so we should be asking why the centres are where they are.

“These high traffic areas are a bad place for them if they’re causing such big queues.

“Asking people to avoid them this weekend also sends a bad message about accessibility. Lots of people don’t have time to travel to their local recycling centre and so more and smaller recycling centres would probably be a better option.”

A plaque in Stonefall park has been shattered with what police describe as “considerable force”.

The vandalism took place on the night of March 20 or March 21.

The plaque, which gives visitors information on the history of the park, including Queen Victoria passing on the former train line that ran alongside it, is thought to have been smashed with a rock.

It’s thought repairing the plaque could cost Harrogate Borough Council about £300.

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Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, whose Harrogate Hookstone ward includes Stonefall, said:

“It’s concerning that there are people who will inflict this kind of force on a public board. This history plaque is for the community to read and damaging it is just mindless.

“However, this mindless vandalism has been overbalanced by the community spirit, lots of people have already said they will donate to fix the plaque. That gives you faith back in the community.”

The local police community support officer has begun to patrol the park more frequently to keep an eye on the area.

The council and police have urged anybody who may have seen anything or have any information to come forward.

A man has appeared before magistrates charged with attempted robbery at Summerbridge Stores.

Munashe Chikomba, 22, is accused of attempting to carry out the robbery at the village shop near Pateley Bridge on Saturday.

Chikomba, of Cardigan Road, Headingley, is also accused of possessing offensive weapons, namely a knife and a hammer, without reasonable excuse in a public place.

He appeared at York Magistrates’ Court in Monday where he was sent for trial at York Crown Court on April 26. He was denied bail.

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A photograph of a nurse found on the Stray has prompted a search to find the owner of the image — and discover who the mystery woman is.

Harrogate resident Dawn King found the black and white image, which she thinks could date back as far as the 1950s, lying in the grass at about 2pm on Monday.

Ms King said she found it on the West park Stray near to Beech Grove.

Ms King, who trained as a nurse in the 1980s, said:

“When I trained we had exactly the same uniform but the pinafore had gone, which makes me think the image must be dated either in the 1970s or before.”

The photograph was quite damaged when Ms King found it lying in the grass.

But there was no water damage, which suggests it hadn’t been on the ground for long.

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Ms King has posted her appeal on various Facebook groups in the hope it will solve the mystery and reunite the image with its owner. She said:

“It’s obviously precious to someone.”

If you are the owner of the photo or have any information, email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will forward the information to Dawn.

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