Andrew Jones MP queries delay of covid vaccinations in schools

Harrogate & Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has questioned why school vaccinations in Harrogate are not likely to happen until February.

The Stray Ferret reported last month that the rollout of covid jabs to 12 to 15-year-old pupils in Harrogate schools has been delayed, after the government initially said all children in that age group would be offered jabs by October half-term.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Jones said vaccinating children five months later in February would be “too late”.

He said:

“I am hearing mixed messages about what is happening in schools. The CCG has told me that they should be eligible for visits by the end of this month, but some schools have been reporting that they are not looking at visits until January or February next year by which stage, of course, it is too late.”

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Mr Jones also asked if there is a problem with the supply of vaccines in the Harrogate district. He said the nearest walk-in centre for residents is 17 miles away in Halifax.

NHS officials have said they are unable to open any walk-in covid vaccination centres in Harrogate because clinics are already running at capacity.

Mr Jones said:

“If I look at the website on the location of walk-in centres and tap in Harrogate, it brings up five locations in Halifax, which is about 17 miles away. Are there any problems with vaccine supply, or are we having some difficulties in North Yorkshire at the moment?”

In response, Department for Health junior minister Maggie Thorpe MP said “there is no problem at all with the supply of vaccines”.

“I can reassure my hon. Friend that there is no problem at all with the supply of vaccines; we have plenty of supply. He talks about schools. The vaccine programme in schools is being carried out by the school-aged immunisation service, which is very experienced in carrying out vaccinations for different conditions in schools. If there is a problem in his area, I will definitely look into it on his behalf.”

Harrogate’s ‘Toytropolis’ garden bringing smiles to children’s faces

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has created “Toytropolis” — a garden resplendent with 200 toys, including Scooby-Doo, Batman and Peppa Pig.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on Mayfield Terrace for 15 years and each year decorates his garden with different themes. When the Stray Ferret visited in the summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden, which raised £137 for Mind.

For winter, he’s been bargain hunting on Facebook marketplace to buy toys to make children and their parents smile.

He hopes to raise £500 for North Yorkshire Horizons, a county-wide drug and alcohol addiction service that he has previously worked for. Visitors can leave donations in a box by the gate.

Mr Ivison said:

“Things snowballed and I was buying up toys left right and centre. I got three Bat caves for a tenner.

“It’s my usual problem though — I don’t stop!”

He said the response from children and parents makes him feel good and helps with his own mental health.

“A couple of children saw Peppa Pig and were ecstatic.”

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He’s had a problem with thieves visiting the garden. One tried to pinch a toy elephant, but thankfully its feet were attached to the ground with super-strength glue.

Mr Ivision will soon be adding six Christmas trees to the garden and Toytropolis will stay until the second week of January.

He added:

“Someone asked me, what are you going to do to top this? But I’m sure I’ll think of something!”

You can visit Toytropolis on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace.

Harrogate Library to launch Lego club for children with autism and disabilities

Pride in Diversity is helping Harrogate Library set up a Lego club for children with autism and disabilities and it is asking the public to donate Lego.

Lego has been found to be beneficial to children on the autism spectrum as it can help them build an interest in something they can share with their other children.

Lego that is either new in a box or sets that have been used can be donated. For used sets, they need to be complete and include the instructions.

Lego can be dropped off at the library on Victoria Avenue with a note for ‘Laura Hellfeld, Pride in Diversity’. 

Ms Hellfield said:

“I have been now working with the staff at Harrogate Library for a few years in creating inclusive events. The staff have always been kind and welcoming and very keen to increase programmes that benefit everyone in Harrogate.”

The Lego club will likely be starting in the new school term after Christmas.

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MP criticises government for not electrifying Harrogate rail line

The Labour MP for Leeds North West, Alex Sobel, has criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak for not pledging to electrify the Leeds to York via Harrogate rail line in the Budget.

Speaking in Parliament this week, Mr Sobel, who has long campaigned for the line to be electrified, said the Chancellor has missed a “golden opportunity” to “level up” communities in Leeds, Harrogate and York by funding an initiative that would create jobs.

He said:

“Unsurprisingly, my call to electrify the Leeds to Harrogate rail line, which has been announced twice and revoked twice by successive Conservative governments and which I would describe as a golden opportunity to level up communities up and down the line between Leeds and Harrogate and up to York, to get the city moving and get workers into jobs, was missing yet again.”

The campaign to electrify the line goes back a decade and previous efforts have been supported by both Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, and Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Andrew Jones.

Campaigners believe electrifying the route would allow 35% more trains to run on the line.

Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, said during the same Commons debate:

“Over his first two Budgets, the Chancellor developed our plan to protect jobs and livelihoods and to safeguard the economy from coronavirus. In the words of the Office for Budget Responsibility, that plan has proven “remarkably successful”.”

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Meet the Starbeck thrill-seeker, 86, who loves to fly Spitfires

Starbeck thrill-seeker Roy Slim, 86, says flying 4,000 feet in the sky in World War Two Spitfires makes him feel young again.

The fearless octogenarian fulfilled a lifetime ambition to fly one of the planes for the first time well into his 80s and hopes to go again in early 2022. Spitfires were used by the RAF throughout the war, most famously in the Battle of Britain against the Luftwaffe.

Mr Slim has lived in Harrogate for over 60 years after working as a radio engineer at RAF Dishforth in the 1950s. However, his love of the Spitfire was forged as a boy, as he was brought up a stone’s throw from where they were built at Castle Bromwich in the Midlands.

He said:

“I used to dream that one day I’ll fly one of those things.”

When he flew the Spitfire, he had full control of the plane and even performed barrel rolls. He followed the same route pilots took during the war down the English Channel and over the white cliffs of Dover.

Roy Slim in the sky.

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Mr Slim said he has a deep respect for the brave men who flew the planes during the war.

“I am thinking, somebody has sat in this seat coming back from France having shot down a German plane, and I’m sitting in that seat!”

He said the experience is “tremendous”.

“I felt like my lifetime ambition was coming true.”

Mr Slim turned 86 today and has no intention of slowing down. As well as Spitfires, he’s learned to fly helicopters, Tiger Moths and performed skydives — all after he turned 80.

Harrogate energy firm CNG ceases trading

Harrogate-based gas and energy supplier CNG has ceased trading after 27 years.

It has now entered the Supplier of Last Resort process operated by energy regulator Ofgem.

The SoLR procedure was established by Ofgem as a safety net to ensure that when a company stops supplying energy, affected customers are guaranteed continuity of supply through other companies.

An email sent to staff this morning by CNG chief executive Paul Stanley, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, informs employees that the SoLR process has been approved by Ofgem.

The company has posted an update on its website this afternoon that says “After 27 years we are saddened to say CNG Energy Limited is ceasing to trade.”

The email from Mr Stanley said:

“Ofgem has confirmed that the SoLR process has been approved by them and will be on their website from 3pm today.

“We will be amending our website at the same time and we will then be able to offer clearer statements for customer service teams and sales people to use in discussions with customers, broker and other third parties.”

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The company, which is based on Victoria Avenue, supplied energy to about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also had around 50,000 business customers.

It had been impacted by spiralling global gas prices over the past few months.

The company is now expected to enter administration and the vast majority of staff made redundant.

Staff have been told that wages for days worked this month are not guaranteed to be paid.

The Stray Ferret has approached CNG for comment.

Rumours Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds could attend Harrogate Town game

Superstar actor Ryan Reynolds could swap Hollywood for the EnviroVent Stadium in Harrogate on Saturday afternoon.

The Deadpool star is one of the most famous actors in the world but in an unexpected plot twist he and fellow actor Rob McElhenney recently bought Wrexham AFC.

Wrexham have been drawn to play Harrogate Town in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend, in a match that could see some stardust sprinkled around Wetherby Road.

Reynolds, who has 39 million Instagram followers, and McElhenney both attended their first Wrexham game against Torquay on Saturday.

Rumours are now swirling that they may stick around in the UK to see their new club take on Simon Weaver’s gladiators, who will be hoping to put on an Oscar-worthy performance and book a front-row ticket to the second round.

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Harrogate firm EnviroVent sets 2030 net-zero target

Harrogate ventilation firm EnviroVent says it hopes to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its business by 2030.

The company, which manufacturers extractor fans and ventilation systems, has published its ‘Roadmap to Net-Zero’, which it says will generate emissions savings of more than 1,000 tonnes of carbon in the next 10 years.

A business that achieves net-zero emissions means it puts no more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than what it takes out.

To help EnviroVent achieve its target, it will move to a new purpose-built headquarters on Burley Bank Road in 2022. The building will be heated with air source heat pumps and its electricity will be generated via solar panels.

The building will also incorporate an MVHR heat recovery system, which recovers the energy from extracted air to ensure good indoor air quality.

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The company has also committed to planting 5,000 trees per year as part of a new partnership with MoreTrees, an organisation that will plant trees responsibly on the company’s behalf and then manage them for life.

Planting 5,000 trees every year will remove a total of approximately 1,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, the company said.

Jane McLean, quality & environmental systems manager at EnviroVent, said:

“Environmental sustainability is very important to us as a business and to many of our public and private sector customers.  We’re delighted to be revealing our Roadmap to Net-Zero, which gives a very clear route that we will follow to achieve our environmental targets.

“To add to this, all our products are designed to use minimal amount of energy and we recycle parts from systems we replace, wherever possible. As a result, customers buying our ventilation systems can be safe in the knowledge they are giving back to the planet.”

Rural art studio in Knaresborough a hub for creativity and mindfulness

Hopewell Studios in Knaresborough is a unique space in the district that offers a vast array of classes from photography, painting, drawing and floristry to dance.

Creating the studios has been a labour of love for photographer and artist Edward Webster.

He recently converted three sheds on his brother’s farm on Hay-a-Park Lane into the space.

Mr Webster wants the rural and rustic setting to encourage not just creativity but wellness and mindfulness too.

Hopewell Studios

‘A lifelong passion’

Dotted around the studios are 35mm, medium format and large format cameras. Some date back to the 19th century.

But they are not just ornaments, Mr Webster has rescued and rebuilt them to teach people how to use them. He said:

“It’s a lifelong passion”.

Photography has never been more instant thanks to smartphones, but Mr Webster wants to demystify film and show that it is accessible too. The studio has what he believes is the only professional darkroom in the district to create high-quality photos.

“Once you know about how film photography works you can work with it really creatively. It’s just a tool, same as a chisel, a paintbrush or pencil. You can let your creativity flow and if you teach it properly it’s accessible to anybody.”

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When the Stray Ferret visited the studio, Mr Webster printed our logo using a process called salt printing. It’s one of the oldest forms of photography and dates back to the 1830s.

Mr Webster still enjoys the “magic” of film.

“That’s why I still like teaching it. It’s real and tangible. We see so many images today. One every second on Facebook. You’re looking and not seeing them.”

Edward Webster in the darkroom

Photographer Alex Heron helps out with social media and web design for the studio. She added:

“Film’s had a resurgence. It’s a huge thing now for young people who are so into shooting film. It’s cool and trendy.”

‘Enjoying the magic’

As well as the indoor studios, visitors can also make the most of a private woodland to use nature and wildlife as a muse.

They are also currently building a kiln to teach ceramics.

Mr Webster said he hopes visitors can find inspiration through traditional artistic processes taught by experienced teachers.

Find out more about classes here.

Mr Webster added:

“It’s about coming in here and enjoying the magic”

Mr Webster used salt printing to reproduce our logo.

Harrogate’s Damn Yankee restaurant closes

The Damn Yankee restaurant on Station Parade has closed, just six months after the popular American diner was revived in Harrogate.

The restaurant was a mainstay in Harrogate from 1972 until it closed in 2017. It then became Burgers and More @ Original Damn Yankee in 2019.

Thanos Xhallo and his family reopened the restaurant at its original location in May this year.

In recent months it had received good reviews online from customers but a post on its Facebook page yesterday said that due to “unforeseen circumstances” it had now closed.

The future of the Damn Yankee brand in Harrogate now appears uncertain but the post suggests it will be changing hands to new owners.

“Reopening The Damn Yankee has been an amazing adventure, and we’ve loved sharing this time with you and listening to all your stories of previous visits. We’ve worked as a family to welcome all of you into a restaurant that we have become very fond of and we hope we gave all of your families some great new memories to share for years to come.

“Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we have no choice but to close and the restaurant will be changing hands. Today is our last day running the restaurant and will be open at 5pm! Will also call everyone that has reserved tables! Stay tuned for more information, we will keep you in the loop as much as possible and update you on the next chapter of this restaurant’s journey.”

The Stray Ferret approached the Damn Yankee for comment but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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The Damn Yankee was originally opened in 1972 by Denise Wiand and her American husband, Mike, who worked at Menwith Hill.

Ms Wiand told the Stray Ferret this year that the restaurant was a huge success when it first opened with queues of excited people down Station Parade looking forward to classic American fare and the lively atmosphere that it became famous for.

It was also owned from 2000 to 2017 by Nikki and Mick Triffit.