People and organisations across the Harrogate district paused at noon today for the National Day of Reflection.

The day, organised by end of life charity Marie Curie, gave people in the UK the chance to remember the 126,000 covid-related deaths, which include more than 1,100 in North Yorkshire.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital were offered the opportunity to observe a minute’s silence.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital.

Hospital staff working from home were able to take part online in an event led by chaplains.

The Harrogate Bus Company, owned by Transdev, remembered staff lost during the pandemic, when buses have continued to operate despite risks.

Today at 12noon we’re joining in the 1 minute silence for the #DayOfReflection to support @mariecurieuk.

Your driver will pull over if it is safe – please join us if you are on board.

We're remembering colleagues in the Transdev family who we sadly lost over the past year ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ptvzTxt7cy

— The Harrogate Bus Company (@harrogatebus) March 23, 2021

At a press briefing today Nick Moxon, a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s home on Claro Road in Harrogate and chair of a care home visiting task group set up by North Yorkshire County Council last year, paid tribute to care workers’ efforts during the pandemic.

Speaking at North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which leads the county’s response to covid, he said:

“Staff members don’t ask to work throughout the pandemic, they have to come to work and they have managed to just adapt to the situation.

“Thank you to care staff and North Yorkshire County Council for the care and support over the past year.”

Four women from the Harrogate district are cycling a total of 2,000 miles in a month to fundraise for a teenager’s life-changing surgery. 

Mia Wright, 14, who has scoliosis, which causes a severe curvature and rotation of the spine, was diagnosed when she was eight years old. She underwent surgery in Turkey in September, recovering well enough to go back to school last week. 

Susie Little, Mia’s godmother, set up a GoFundMe page last month to raise £60,000 for the spinal surgery.

Ms Little decided to take on her latest fundraising challenge of cycling 500 miles after reading about a similar fundraising initiative in The Stray Ferret.

To meet her target, Ms Little will add an extra mile to the distance each day to correspond with the date. For example, on October 1 she cycled one mile, on October 2 she cycled two miles, continuing to October 31 when she will ride 31 miles in a day. 

After hearing about her idea, friends Jude Humphrey and Emma Oates decided to get involved, shortly followed by Mia’s mother Jane. Together they’re aiming to raise £2,000 for the 2000 miles covered. 

Currently completing their miles on exercise bikes at home, the four women hope to celebrate their final day of fundraising by cycling together. 

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Speaking about what the surgery means to her, Ms Little said:

“I went to pick Jane and Mia up from the airport after the surgery. The difference in both of them was amazing, Mia could stand up straight for the first time, and she even cried last week when she put her jeans on after surgery for the first time because she was so happy.” 

Total donations for Mia’s surgery currently stand at £44,600. You can donate to Mia’s cause here. 

A Harrogate venue is set to restart live music performances after lockdown forced an early curtain for its concerts in March.

The Wesley Centre, on Oxford Street, will be hosting three socially distanced concerts between now and early January. 

Susan Tomes will be the first pianist to play as the season reopens on November 2, giving a recital of music by Scarlatti, Debussy, Janacek, Chabrier and Billy Mayerl.

Susan Tomes, the first pianist to play at the Wesley Centre since March.

Normally able to hold about 450 people, there are only 76 seats available for the socially distanced performances. 

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Peter Hirschmann, who runs the Patrons scheme for the Wesley Centre, said:

“Our immediate reaction for ticket sales is that they’re going very rapidly, which is very reassuring. At first we didn’t know how many people would want to come, due to many of our supporters being elderly or vulnerable, so we’re starting out cautiously.

“Live music is back in Harrogate, which is what really matters. Our concert organiser, Andrew Hitchen, had a great response when he emailed supporters about the concerts starting again.”

Tickets can be purchased for £10 by telephoning Andrew Hitchen on 01423 883618 between 6pm and 8pm.

Thousands tuned in to the first ever digital Harrogate Literature Festival this past weekend.

The festival was forced to be streamed online due to the coronavirus pandemic, but organisers say the event was still a success.

Viewers tuned in to the free programme of 17 events, with the digital delivery allowing book lovers from across the UK to engage with prominent writers, politicians and journalists.

Among those who gave talks were author Matt Haig, classicist Natalie Haynes and Labour MPs Jess Phillips and David Lammy.

Although the events moved online, Harrogate International Festivals, the arts charity behind the literature festival wanted to keep the community at the heart of the project.

Hundreds of stories were submitted to the 10 Word Story competition, and over hundred books were gifted in the Raworth’s Blind Date With a Book initiative. 

As author talks began, literature came to life in Harrogate with a light installation in the form of a book. The story of Harrogate, 10 word stories and traditional tales were illuminated on its pages.

The story of Harrogate was illuminated on the book’s pages.

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“The light of human stories and the power of books certainly shone through, breaking down barriers of isolation and reaching new audiences, demonstrating the importance of festival in our cultural landscape.

“Ticket sales are normally a huge part of our income, but this year’s events were all free of charge. We thank those audience members who donated to our arts charity in lieu of tickets, helping us work towards bridging the financial gap, the first step to securing the future of Harrogate International Festivals.

“This was an extraordinary festival for an unpreceded year, and whilst we celebrate the success of the event – taking Harrogate to the world – in order for our arts charity to survive we need to be able to welcome the world to Harrogate. Whether that will be possible in 2021 we just don’t know.”

Traditional tales shone on Friday and Saturday night.

Read more: 

• Harrogate International Festivals cuts more than half of jobs
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The 1st Pannal Scout Group is organising a pumpkin parade this Halloween instead of traditional trick or treat activities.

The parade is the scouts’ way of encouraging people to celebrate Halloween in a socially distanced manner.

The group is encouraging Pannal residents to carve, draw or paint pumpkins and then display them in windows or gardens. 

Pumpkin locations can then be shared on the scouts’ map, allowing families to follow the trail around the Pannal and Burn Bridge area every night of half term. 

Winners for the scariest and funniest pumpkins, and the best dressed Halloween garden, will be announced. To be in with a chance, share your creation on the Pannal Scouts Facebook page. 

The Scouts have shared some ideas to get your creative juices flowing below:

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A collaboration with a local artist has seen Harrogate pupils challenged to create works of art from 100 leaves.

The autumnal project asked Brackenfield School students and their families to use fallen leaves to produce an artistic piece, pattern or design.

Open to all year groups, the competition saw year 6 pupil Harry crowned the winner by artist James Brunt.

A lion’s mane of leaves

An autumnal hedgehog

The winning entry, by Harry

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A cheery sunflower

A seasonal heart

The government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme may have ended but some restaurants in the Harrogate district have announced they will still be offering their own versions of the initiative in November.

The Eat Out scheme offered discounted dining on Mondays to Wednesdays during August.

It proved so popular that months later, some restaurants are continuing to provide cut price deals.

La Feria, on Cold Bath Road, is offering a 50% discount on food up to £10 from Monday to Wednesday until the end of November.

With 25 staff, Jez Verity, the director, was keen to support his staff when the furlough scheme ended this month.

Thanks to the ongoing discount, the restaurant has had more than 100 people in every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Mr Verity said:

“It was a big, big success in August, I think all businesses in Harrogate had significantly benefited on those three days.

“We decided to carry it on in September and see what happened. The customers really embraced it, they knew what it was and it was easy to understand.

“It’s also a way for us to say a thank you to customers for supporting us, and really give something back to them.”

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Other restaurants offering similar deals are All Bar One, which is offering £10 off food with the download of their app until 12th November, and the Queens Head Inn at Kettlesing, which is extending their discount of 50% off food from Monday to Wednesday until the end of next month. 

West Park and Al Bivio are also looking to encourage business on quieter days of the weeks, offering half price vouchers through The Stray Ferret. 

Let us know if your restaurant is running a similar promotion in November and we will add your details to this article.

Two libraries in the Harrogate district have been highly commended for their improved performance. 

Boroughbridge community library and Bilton and Woodfield community library were among those recognised by the North Yorkshire County Council Library of the Year awards. 

Norton Hive library, near Malton, was crowned the overall winner.

Bilton and Woodfield library has had a lot to overcome in recent years. After funding cuts in 2011 it almost closed permanently, and is now run entirely by volunteers.

Shortly afterwards it had to find a new home and in 2017 a faulty boiler caused a major flood.

So Greta Knight, chair of the library, was pleased to accept the commendation:

“This award was a recognition of all the hard work done by everyone connected with the library and I was extremely proud to accept it on their behalf.”

Bilton library: Chairman Greta Knight and North Yorkshire County Council chairman, councillor Jim Clark, hold the award. Local member Councillor Geoff Webber (left) and libraries general manager Chrys Mellor (centre) surrounded by volunteers and supporters.

Boroughbridge library secretary Diana Holmes said: 

“It is great to have the hard work of our team of lovely volunteers recognised by this award. The library is at the heart of the local community and we know from customer comments that it is greatly valued. 

“The award gives us a very satisfying pat on the back from our colleagues at the county council and is especially appreciated in these current challenging times.”

Boroughbridge library: Chairman Ian Hick and North Yorkshire County Council chairman, councillor Jim Clark, hold the award. From left, area librarian Catherine Barlow, facilities manager Mike Collins, activities manager Barbara Horner, library manager Lee Taylor, treasurer Nic Holmes and secretary Diana Holmes.

Ordinarily, Boroughbridge library runs weekly activities such as story time, scrabble and one-to-one help with IT issues. These activities have been limited by the pandemic. 

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Greg White, the council’s executive member for libraries, said:

“The success of these community-run libraries is a testament to the local communities who will go to great lengths to keep the service running.

 “Despite lockdown resulting in the closure of our buildings we have increased our digital offer and seen 3,000 new customers join and a huge increase in digital borrowing.”

Harrogate has been named as the UK’s best place to work from home in a survey published today.

The Uswitch Remote Working Index 2020 ranked 106 of the UK’s biggest towns and cities by seven factors. 

Harrogate’s superfast broadband, green space, and low crime rates earned it top spot ahead of Bath.

Large cities fared poorly. York was eighth, London 88th and Manchester 100th.

The seven factors ranked were: average property prices, green spaces, crime rates, broadband speed, air quality, number of GPs and average Ofsted ratings. 

Covid has forced many people to work from home and a fifth of people said they wanted to do it more often when the pandemic is over.

Adelana Carty, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said: 

“The pandemic has turned our working routines upside down and given many of us a taste for what our lives could be like if we worked from home on a more permanent basis.

“Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in millions of people dreaming of ditching the rat race and moving away from the big city.”

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Pollsters Opinium surveyed 2,003 UK adults for the survey.

It found the increase in home working has shifted attitudes away from living in large cities.

One in four people currently live in a city with a population in excess of 500,000 people but only one in nine wish to do so in future. 

Local artist Jos Haigh will sell her work at a preview event to raise money for Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity.

The event, at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate on November 27, will showcase Ms Haigh’s vibrant wildlife art while also generating funds for the charity.

One hundred percent of the sale prices will go to the charity, which funds specialist equipment, training and services at Harrogate District Hospital outside what the NHS provides.

The charity recently funded colouring and art materials for patients at the hospital during the pandemic.

People who attend the preview event will have the opportunity to meet Ms Haigh, who lives in Harrogate and exhibits all over the country, as well as enjoy mince pies and mulled wine.

Christmas gifts and the charity’s newly launched 2021 calendar will also be on sale.

Ms Haigh told the Stray Ferret her works of art had been in a gallery in York for three weeks but lockdown had restricted viewings so she decided to donate them to the charity. She added:

“I chose to donate these paintings after the extremely tough year HDFT has had dealing with a global pandemic as well as the usual challenges that healthcare brings.

“I wanted to say a rainbow thank you to my local NHS trust for all it has done and continues to do.”

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Sammy Lambert, business development, charity and volunteer manager at HHCC, said: 

“We are so grateful for this incredible donation of paintings from Jos. They are beautiful and will brighten up people’s homes, even more so in the knowledge that they are supporting their local NHS.”

The preview evening is free to attend but tickets must but pre-booked. To get one, email hdft.hhcc@nhs.net.

If you can’t make the evening, Ms Haigh’s paintings are available to view and purchase here.