Newsroom, Author at The Stray Ferret

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

Demand for humanist weddings in Harrogate rises

Humanist celebrants across the district have given their support to the six couples who are challenging the government to change the law to legally recognise humanist marriages.

The current laws in England and Wales force couples who want a humanist wedding to have a separate civil ceremony for their marriage to be legally recognised.

The couples are going to the High Court July 7-8 and will argue that the current law discriminates against them because of their humanitarian belief.

Rachael Meyer, a Harrogate based humanist celebrant, was fully booked for humanist weddings in 2020 and continues to be busy next year.

She said:

““It’s no surprise that the demand for humanist wedding ceremonies is rising rapidly. It is frustrating and completely unfair that non-religious couples in England and Wales who want a beautiful, bespoke, meaningful humanist ceremony that reflects their values have to go through a completely separate legal ceremony with a registrar, whereas religious couples do not.

Marriage laws need to be updated now so that we are in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Lisa and Matthew Taylor signing a certificate rather than a register.

In England and Wales, over 1,000 couples a year already have a humanist wedding without legal recognition. The government was given the power to give legal recognition to humanist marriages in 2013 but has failed to act on it.

Humanists UK Chief Executive, Andrew Copson said:

“Couples who have humanist weddings see that day as the epitome of their love and commitment to each other, and all they want is the same legal recognition for that as is given to every religious person in our country.

Government has dragged its heels and that’s why it’s been left to these couples to bring this case.”

Women’s presidency handed over with broom

The Harrogate and District Soroptimists found a new way to handover presidency last week.

Social distancing has made it impossible for new president Sandra Frier to receive the chain of office given to her back in April. However, being able to meet in small groups in gardens has meant that the handover has finally taken place.

Immediate past presidents Sylvia Purser and Sue Williams passed the chain of office over to new president via a broom handle.

Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District work with other Soroptimist clubs and organisations globally to make a difference to the lives of women and girls.

Sandra Frier the new Club President has chosen the theme of people, partnership and the planet, with her chosen charity being ‘Just B’ and Saint Michaels Hospice.

Previous soroptimist presidents with new president

President Sandra Frier wearing chain in foreground with Sylvia Purse (Left) & Sue Williams (Right)

She said:

“Harrogate and District Soroptimists have a reputation for combining fun and friendship with hard work. Whilst some members have continued to work, others have worked together virtually to assist the community during these very difficult times.”

Some of their voluntary activities have included making scrubs with the Harrogate Scrubbers, providing pamper bags for NHS front-line staff and making laundry bags for Ripon Hospital.

Rudding Park volunteers pick up 400kg of rubbish

Furloughed staff at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate have been supporting a number of volunteering initiatives during lockdown.

One of the initiatives was a “Litter Pick Up Pop Up” in order to help Harrogate look its best for when lockdown restrictions are eased further. In 320 hours, the team collected 400kg of rubbish and walked 1,600,000 steps, equating to 640 miles.

This comes as the public raised concern over huge amounts of litter being left in beauty spots across the district as hot weather arrived and lockdown restrictions were eased.

Peter Banks, managing director at Rudding Park said:

“Whilst they are unable to work for Rudding Park during this time, they can volunteer and many were keen to do their bit in the community. When the time comes for hotels to reopen it’s going to be important for us to showcase our beautiful town to its absolute best, so we hope this will help in some small way.”

The volunteers also took part in another two initiatives including Hospitality Action, a service providing a helpline to retired hospitality workers, and Ripon Walled Garden, a charity which supports young children and adults with a learning disability.

Harrogate International Festivals commission ‘exclusive’ new piece of music

An exclusive new piece of music commissioned by Harrogate International Festivals will premiere online next month.

The charity commissioned internationally renowned composer Dr David Lancaster to write the music, before asking musicians from all over the world to get involved by playing their part from the comfort of their living rooms.

HIF said the response was “phenomenal” with musicians submitting videos from countries including Australia, South Africa and Malaysia, as well as the UK.

One of the submissions came from Matthew Gee, Principal Trombone with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He said:

“It’s great to see the arts organisations taking a fresh and radical approach to music making – for them to be commissioning new material during lockdown is even better.”

Internationally renowned composer, Professor David Lancaster.

The chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, also noted the importance of “keeping the arts alive in Harrogate”, despite coronavirus putting paid to its usual summer programme. She said:

“We are incredibly excited to be able to bring the world premiere of Eclipse to life this July. It is going to be a truly international collaboration and one that will help shine a bright light on the power of the arts.”

Eclipse will premiere globally from 23 to 26 July. Further details of HIF at Home are available here – https://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/hif-at-home/.

Harrogate pub owners’ pop-up shop finds permanent home

A new fruit and veg shop has opened on Harlow Hill in Harrogate after a lockdown pop-up proved a huge hit with the community.

Mike and Donna Schofield, owners of The Shepherd’s Dog on Harlow Hill, set up a temporary greengrocery store during lockdown, but business was so good, they’ve decided to open a permanent shop.

The couple were forced to close their pub as lockdown struck, and they began doing weekly shops for their neighbours.

When they couldn’t get their hands on fresh fruit and vegetables, Mike and Donna decided to open a pop-up grocery shop behind their pub.

Wharfedale Fruiterers source all their produce locally

Since setting up their small stall nearly seven weeks ago, trade has boomed, getting “bigger and bigger” every day. The couple have now signed a five-year lease on what was a barber shop on Otley Road and turned it into Wharfedale Fruiterers.

Mike, who has previously worked in the fruit and vegetable trade for big supermarkets, has been going to Leeds market every day for produce. He told The Stray Ferret:

“People are buying little and often. We are getting repeat services day in and day out, people get what they need for that day and they know they are getting it fresh from market.”

Inside the new shop.

The shop owners have been sourcing their other produce from local companies such as The Yorkshire Cheese Company and Brymor Ice Cream. Donna told The Stray Ferret:

“It was lovely having the pop-up shop but people wanted more. If we can give the locals that bit more then we will”

Resident David Silkstone, who was out buying his groceries when The Stray Ferret visited the shop, said:

“We’ve stopped buying most of our fruit and veg from Ocado and are buying from here instead. We used to have a butchers, a post office and a fish and chip shop, so to have a fruiterer here is fantastic.”

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