Newsroom, Author at The Stray Ferret

Harrogate Rugby Club reopens clubhouse doors

Harrogate RUFC welcomed back familiar faces and reopened its club house doors.

It was the “first time the club house opened since lockdown” and players and supporters enjoyed a BBQ and a long-awaited pint. Food was enjoyed outside and a one-way system was adopted through the clubhouse.

As well as this, the rugby club launched its “Ride to Rudding” scheme, which was originally due to have started before lockdown. The initiative encourages people to cycle to the club rather than drive.

Andy Annat provided the BBQ for the reopening of the clubhouse.

Mike Cowling, commercial chairman for Harrogate RUFC told The Stray Ferret:

“We were always planning to launch the scheme officially, but lockdown delayed that. This is the start of something going forward, we had about a dozen people ride to the event at the weekend which is great.”

The club was given a small transport grant from Harrogate Borough Council which allowed it to install a bike shelter to further encourage players and supporters to cycle to the club.

In order to encourage more people to cycle, the club held a free prize draw for all those who arrived on bikes across the weekend. The winner was Woody Auld who plays for the U10’s.

Mercer Art Gallery launches online exhibition

Friends of the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate have launched an online exhibition focussing specifically on art works created through lockdown.

The exhibition, which opens on August 1, is open to all artists and creative people. The artwork will be displayed in 6 different categories including painting and drawing, ceramics and sculpture and an additional category for students.

The final date for submissions is 5pm on July 25th. Organisers of the event will then choose the best pieces to be included in the exhibition.

Submission from ceramic artists Eric Moss.

Deputy Chair of the Friends of the Mercer Project, Catherine Wright, told The Stray Ferret:

“It is funny where inspiration can come from, especially during these tough times. This exhibition is a great opportunity to share your work and show a bit of positivity during this dark time.”

Donations from the sale of artworks will go towards supporting Wellspring Therapy and Training in Starbeck and Henshaws.

For more information on how to enter visit https://www.friendsofthemercerartgallery.co.uk.

Harrogate charity receives huge amount of donations

Saint Michaels Hospice has seen a huge number of donations since opening its temporary drop off point in Harrogate this weekend.

This comes as 6 of its charity shops across the district reopened on Saturday, including 4 in Harrogate as well as its Knaresborough and Ripon branches.

In order to ensure that all donations are quarantined for 72 hours, customers are being asked to donate their items to the drop off point on Hookstone Wood Road rather than at the individual shop.

Since Saturday the charity has seen huge numbers of donations.

Chief Executive of Saint Michaels Hospice, Tony Collins, said:

“We are delighted that we are able to begin opening the doors of our wonderful shops…we are thankful that so many local people have been keeping their donations safe at home for us. In order to manage the required quarantine of goods to the highest possible of standards; we have centralised the receipt of donations for the safety of everyone.”

Since Saturday, the charity has seen an overwhelming amount of donations and expects to see many more in the coming weeks. The Saint Michaels Hospice Donation Drop Off Point is open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm.

Harrogate to London rail service resumes

LNER has resumed its direct train service from Harrogate to London.

From today, the operator will run six trains in each direction from Monday to Friday as demand rises due to the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Services on the weekend will remain limited.

Passengers must make reservations ahead of travelling and will be allocated a socially distanced seat. LNER also recommend that they wear face coverings in stations and trains.

Onboard ventilation systems will provide a “continuous supply of fresh air” with the air cycled every six minutes on every train.

The company said extra cleaning is taking place both on stations and onboard trains, with teams using disinfectant and long-lasting virucidal fog.

Harrogate cyclist climbs height of Everest in Dales

On Saturday Bruno Marks, a member of Cappuccino Cycling Club in Harrogate, attempted to ‘Everest’, cycling up and down Park Rash in Kettlewell forty times.

‘Everesting’ is a cycling term that involves choosing a steep hill and cycling up and down it until reaching 29,029ft – the equivalent height of Mount Everest.

Bruno began his challenge at 4:30am on Saturday morning and completed the challenge at 8pm that evening, climbing a total of 30,942ft. He decided to raise money for Cancer Research UK the night before the challenge.

He told The Stray Ferret:

“The day started great at 4.30 am, with a fantastic sunrise on my first lap to lift the spirits, but by 6am an hour long downpour had started! It made it pretty tough having to descend very slowly and carefully and getting very cold in the process. But the legs felt strong and I completed 40 laps with 30,942 ft of ascent at around 8pm.”

Bruno climbed a total of 30,942 ft in very bad weather.

Bruno has raised £3,448 so far for Cancer Research UK. To donate to Bruno’s challenge visit – https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/bruno-park-rash-everesting

Sunday roast returns to district’s village pubs

Yesterday saw the return of a much-loved Sunday roast as pub owners across the district welcomed back familiar faces.

Despite only serving half the number of customers they usually would, village pubs tried to make the experience “as normal as possible.”

The Ship Inn in Aldborough served fifty Sunday lunches compared with its usual one hundred before lockdown. Brian Rey, chef and license holder for the pub told The Stray Ferret:

“We’ve tried to make the place just as it was without people realising the changes we’ve made.”

Customers enjoyed tucking into their roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. Jean and Malcolm Rawlinson, who travelled all the way from Lancaster for their lunch said:

“We couldn’t wait to come back here. We have travelled sixty-three miles to get here, we come every Sunday because the food is fabulous.”

Malcolm enjoyed tucking into his long awaited roast.

Despite seeing lots of drinkers in the beer garden, The Royal Oak in Staveley saw a significant decrease in the number of lunches served. Landlady Catherine Audsley said:

“I think a lot of people are still nervous to come out. We just need people to be comfortable and confident to come out now, because if they don’t the country pub won’t survive.”

Catherine Audsley outside The Royal Oak in Staveley.

However, locals Stephen and Lesley Smith said they were happy to be out . Lesley said:

“We have waited a long time for this. I would normally be at home cooking the roast but we thought we would come out and enjoy a roast instead.”

Overall the opening of pubs, bars and restaurants across the district appears to have gone well, with the police noting no major incidents across the weekend.

Pet shop misses out on puppy boom during lockdown

Posh Paws, a pet supply shop on Leeds Road in Harrogate says it’s lost money during lockdown as people turned to online shopping instead.

Despite the increase in people buying puppies during lockdown, the owners said many of their customers have turned to online retailers for supplies as they don’t want to leave the house.

Brother and sister and joint owners, Michaela and Ben Stothard, told The Stray Ferret that people have been too scared to visit the shop due to coronavirus. Michaela said:

“A lot of people have ordered online because they don’t want to leave the house and that has affected us the most. A lot of people have asked us why we aren’t online but we don’t work like that. Me and my brother have been doing this for years now and we focus everything on our customers and their dogs.”

Posh paws have been open throughout lockdown.

Unlike shopping online, Michaela and Ben have been providing a hands-on service throughout lockdown which has involved a home delivery service as well as taking dog leads to customer’s houses to try on their pets.

Michaela said:

“We are always there on hand to answer questions, whether that be on the end of the phone or on messenger. I think the hard things is letting people know that we are here and able to help in anyway.”

Posh Paws has all precautionary measures in place including screens, hand sanitiser and markers in order to keep their staff and customers safe.

How Harrogate cafés will cope with track and trace

A number of cafés in Harrogate have come up with different ways to take customer details as part of the track and trace system.

The track and trace system involves making a record of staff and customer details so they can be contacted if they have come into contact with someone who tests positive for the virus.

Restaurants, bars and cafés have been advised by the government to collect details of those customers who dine in. Customers can choose whether to give their information but are encouraged to do so to help track the spread.

Outside LMDC Espresso Bar on John Street.

LMDC Espresso Bar on John Street in Harrogate will take the name and contact number of one member of each party as they order and the details will be kept for 21 days, then destroyed.

Similarly, Slingsby’s on Tower Street will be taking the details of everyone who sits in the café. Andrew Ford, the owner of Slingsby’s told The Stray Ferret that it will be difficult because he can’t make people do it. He said:

“We will put books and pencils on every table and every guest will be asked to put their name, contact number and the date they were in. Every day I will take them off and file them. Pens will be wiped with sanitiser after every use.”

Slingsby’s are getting ready to reopen table service tomorrow.

However Phil and Helen Dolby, owners of Bean and Bud on Commercial Street argue that most of their customers don’t stay for more than 15 minutes. They said:

“I think out of respect for the customers it is a dilemma and it is the one think we haven’t settled on.”

“We want to get it right” – district pubs delay reopening

A number of pubs in Harrogate and Knaresborough have taken the decision to not open their doors on Saturday, despite being given the green light to reopen.

This decision comes as many pub owners argue that it is too soon to reopen. They would rather “watch what everyone else does” this weekend. Many pubs said they were too small to open or not financially stable enough.

Blind Jacks in Knaresborough is one pub which has taken the decision not to open on Super Saturday. Owners Christian and Alice Ogley told The Stray Ferret that they do not want to rush into anything.

They said:

“We have ever precaution in place in order to keep it as safe as possible, but we have one chance to get this right from the beginning. We want to make sure we are completely ready.”

North Bar in Harrogate has been running a pop-up beer shop during lockdown but realised that reopening fully on 4 July was going to be a difficult task.

North Bar in Harrogate

Debra Przychodna, general manager of North Bar told The Stray Ferret:

“We decided to delay our reopening because we want to avoid risk, people are going to get very excited this weekend. We have had so much support from customers and we are really looking forward to when we can finally reopen.”

Similarly Hales Bar on Crescent Road in Harrogate has taken the decision not to open due to the size and layout of the bar. Manager Amanda Wilkson hopes to reopen next weekend but only from Thursday to Sunday.

Harrogate International Festivals’ virtual “word-class” line-up

Harrogate International Festivals has released the line-up for its virtual arts weekender taking place from 23-26 July.

Having cancelled this years Summer Season due to coronavirus, HIF were determined to still celebrate the arts and have instead taken their weekend festival online.

The weekend begins by crowning the winner of Harrogate’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in a virtual ceremony. This will be followed by interviews from crime writing royalty including Ian Ranking and Val McDermid.

The free virtual festival will also feature the world premier of Eclipse. The new piece of music, commissioned by Harrogate International Festivals, features celebrated trumpeter Mike Lovatt.

Val Mcdermid, crime fiction writer

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals said the arts had the ability to transform lives:

“Out of crisis comes creativity, and Harrogate International Festivals is delighted to present a world class line-up for our first virtual HIF Weekender…we are extremely proud to be presenting this rich selection to our audience world-wide for free, ensuring the arts remain accessible to all at a time when we need it the most.”

Granny’s Attic will be one of many bands featured this weekend.

Harrogate International Festivals hopes to welcome people back to the festival this year despite the circumstances and is determined to make it a year to remember.

For more information and to see the full line-up for the HIF Weekender visit – www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

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