Harrogate Railway organises ‘rugby prom’ for charity

Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club is organising a rugby match in which the players wear prom dresses to raise money for charity.

The club is fundraising in support of former Leeds Rhinos rugby league player Rob Burrow, who has motor neurone disease.

It has already raised £6,200 but would like to achieve £7,000 to match the number 7 Rob wore on his team shirt.

Anne Mitchell, the clubhouse manager, came up with the idea as a finale to the charity walks the club has done for the MND Association.

She said:

“One of the most exciting things is the team names — the sugar plum fairies and the nutcrackers”.

Rob Burrow, who has been raising money for the MND Association since his diagnosis, is supporting the event:

https://twitter.com/RunforRobMND/status/1409262293909753861

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Players from different districts, including Leeds, York, West Park and Stanningley, are taking part in the match at Harrogate Railway AFC.

Details of the event are available on this Twitter account.

Forty two new positive covid cases in the Harrogate district

There have been forty two new positive covid cases in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours according to Public Health England.

It brings the total number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus to 8.372 since the pandemic began.

There have been no deaths of covid at Harrogate District Hospital — the death toll in the district currently stands at 179.

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The number of cases of the Delta variant in the Harrogate district has nearly quadrupled in the last two weeks.

Harrogate district’s seven day rate of cases per 100,000 population is 155.4 – the England average is 158.9.

 

 

 

 

Twenty new covid cases in the Harrogate district

There have been twenty new covid cases in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours according to data published by Public Health England.

It brings the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the district since the pandemic started to 8,273.

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The average seven day case rate per 100,000 population in the district is now 148 – that’s above the England average which is 136.4 (latest data up to June 24).

The highest seven day average case rate in North Yorkshire is in Richmondshire which currently stands at 169.4

Twenty seven new covid cases in Harrogate district

The daily statistics published by Public Health England show there have been 27 new covid cases the district.

The number of positive cases comes as scientists said yesterday that the UK is experiencing a third wave of infections.

There are currently no covid patients being treated at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest Public Health England statistics.

The total number of people testing positive to the coronavirus in the district since the pandemic began is now 8,039.

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The 7 day covid case rate per 100,000 population stands at 72.1 in the district, compared with the North Yorkshire average of 71.  Selby has the highest rate of 135.7 (latest data up to June 17).

 

Harrogate district farmers fear cheap Australian meat imports

Livestock farmers in the district have expressed concerns over the Australian trade deal and its potential to flood the UK market with cheaper, lower quality produce.

On Tuesday Boris Johnson announced that a new trade deal had been struck up between Australia. It will make it easier and cheaper for Australians to export meat to the UK.

Tim Weatherhead, a Ripon farmer and Vice Chair of the Yorkshire Young Farmers, said;

“The main concern is definitely them undercutting us on standards; we have higher standards of rearing, medicine and farming. Things like this don’t always cross the minds of the consumers, they often just go for the cheapest option. But they don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Australia’s animal welfare laws aren’t as strict as the UK’s. According to the Animal Protection Index, the UK has an animal welfare ranking of B while Australia ranks at D.

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The National Farmers Union published its concerns over welfare practices in Australia which include feeding up to 50,000 cattle at one time and growth hormones which are banned in this country.

Andrew Loftus, a livestock farmer near Masham, shared similar concerns;

“I would be surprised if the government allowed meat containing banned growth hormones to enter the country, but this isn’t the only issue. Meat production standards in the UK are getting tighter and tighter, and there are a whole range of standards which we have which Australia would potentially not be subjected to.

I’m not against free trade deals, in fact I think that competition is good to give consumers a choice – it just has to be fair.”

Boris Johnson assured people that no meat would enter the country containing banned growth hormones.

Other local farmers were concerned about the environmental impact of importing meat from the other side of the world.

Jo and Rob from Blue Coat Farm in Harrogate said:

“Our government’s agenda in this country is for us to farm sustainably, with the environment in mind, so importing meat from the other side of the world would appear to be the polar opposite of this.”

Gov.uk data shows that the Yorkshire and the Humber region is the biggest contributor to the farming industry in the country, and livestock farms account for a third of all its farms.

Final volunteer call for cat charity Harrogate hotel abseil

Yorkshire Cat Rescue is calling for final volunteers to abseil down Harrogate’s Crowne Plaza Hotel in a daring fundraiser.

There are six slots left for those willing to take the plunge on the 3rd of July. The spaces were previously filled but due to a handful of last-minute dropouts there is space left for those wanting to sign up.

The abseil scales 140 feet and those taking part will be trained on the day by professionals.

Participants will need to pay a registration fee of £25 and are also asked to raise a minimum of £100 for the charity.

So far the charity has managed to raise more than £10,000 through the event but are aiming to reach £15,000 in the final few weeks.

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This isn’t the first daring exploit run by the charity; last year it held a ‘firewalk’ in Skipton where participants walked over burning coals.

Yorkshire Cat Rescue has been taking in unwanted cats and kittens and giving them homes for nearly 20 years. As an independent charity, it relies on fundraising to keep going.

The money it raises will go towards rescuing more cats, food, vet bills and shelter.

Double organ transplant patient to walk 850 miles for charity

A Harrogate man who has had kidney and pancreas transplants aims to walk 850 miles this year to raise money for organ donation.

Mark Smith, a diabetic, had both organs removed 12 years ago and has since raised funds to support others facing the same situation.

His 850-mile target represents the 850 million people suffering from kidney disease across the world.

He began the challenge at the start of the year and has so far walked nearly 350 miles, moving towards his goal by walking in bursts, sometimes up to 22 miles.

Funds raised will go towards Kidney Care UK and Friends of Harrogate Hospital.

He has previously raised nearly £17,000 for Kidney Care UK through a variety of fundraising challenges. He also volunteers for the charity as an advisor for patients going through transplants.

The charity offers both emotional and practical support both pre and post-operation for those going through kidney disease.

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He chose to take on this year’s mammoth walking challenge because it allows him to continue his long-distance trekking passion whilst still conforming with covid restrictions.

Some of the hardest legs of his journey have taken up to eight hours and have included walking across the Yorkshire three peaks.

One of his most notable past ventures involved walking across Hadrian’s wall with the mother of his own organ donor.

Despite receiving a double transplant himself, Mark didn’t seem too concerned about the physical implications of his challenge, saying that his main concern would be to stay hydrated.

He said that his most important aim was to make people consider what they would do in a situation where a loved one needed an organ donation;

“People need to have conversations with their family about their organ donation wishes. I am now an organ donation ambassador, I have completed many fundraisers and I have my own daughter through IVF. None of this would have happened if someone hadn’t said “I’ll donate”.”

Mark is still taking donations for the second half of his journey, which can be made here.

 

 

Harrogate flower display celebrates 100 years of soroptimists

Harrogate Borough Council have created a flower mural in the town centre to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the Soroptimist International women’s organisation.

Soroptimist International is an organisation aimed at empowering and improving the lives of women worldwide. It tackles issues such as domestic violence, child marriage and human trafficking.

The organisation has its’ own Harrogate and District branch which is reaching its 90th anniversary.

It consists of 37 members who work locally to support women’s refuges, food banks and other women’s causes.

In July of 2019 they held a Zoom conference for women in the organisation to speak to their ‘friendship links’ worldwide during lockdown.

The name ‘soroptimist’ comes from the Latin for ‘better sister’.

The mural can be found in Harrogate town centre on Montpelier Hill.

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Ten new covid cases in the Harrogate district

There have been 10 new covid cases in the Harrogate district, according to data published by Public Health England. Yesterday the district recorded 15 cases – the highest number of daily infections since March. 

It brings the total number of people in the district who have tested positive to the virus since the pandemic began to 7,815.

The daily number of cases reported is now based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results. However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

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The seven day average case rate of covid infections per 100,000 population in the Harrogate district is 28.6 (latest data June 3).

This is above the North Yorkshire average of 22.7

 

 

Harrogate author tells forgotten stories of women war heroes

A Harrogate academic has published a book detailing the escapades of a team of female special agents during the Second World War.

Author, academic and historian Dr Kate Vigurs documents the heroic acts of the renowned Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Mission France: The True History of the Women of SOE.

While a few of the 39 women involved are recognised as war heroes, many have been forgotten.  The ‘group biography’ tells each individual’s story.

Missions for these ordinary women-turned-agents involved parachuting into enemy lines, planting explosives, and fighting on the front lines. They were the only women in the Western Allies to bear arms during the entire war.

One such hero, Paris-born Noor Inayat Khan, was a poet, musician and writer. When the war came, she trained to become a wireless operator here in Harrogate and went on to be a notorious agent, evading the Gestapo for three years before her eventual capture in 1943.

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Dr Vigurs has been studying the Special Operations Executive for a number of years and wrote her PhD on the topic;

“I wanted to tell all 39 stories in one book as a sort of group biography; looking at their past lives, and the ways they interacted with each other. They were ordinary people who were taught to do extraordinary things. Many were housewives, thrust into a world of war.”

She has worked on a number of historical projects including writing television and stage scripts for historical adaptations and speaking on the national news.

She said she hopes to continue to study the SOE in the future and look into the lives of the many other agents who were a part of it.

The book has been praised by Military History and was also named book of the month by History Revealed. More about the novel can be found on Dr Vigurs’ website.