Tim Flanagan, Author at The Stray Ferret

Ripon remembers the fallen on VJ Day

Three months and one week after the socially-distanced celebrations took place for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Ripon marked VJ Day in more modest fashion.

Victory over Japan, which followed the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, brought an abrupt and brutal end to World War II and meant that British and Commonwealth troops, who fought in the Far East, could return home.

But tens of thousands of the 1.3 million men and women who made up the South East Area Command and what subsequently became known as the ‘Forgotten Army’ did not return to loved ones and their names can be found on War Memorials in the UK and around the world.

Photograph of War Memorial in Spa Gardens, Ripon

The War Memorial at Spa Gardens, Ripon

Today the ‘Forgotten Army’ will be remembered, across the UK, with a two minute silence; the sounding of church bells, a fly past of World War II aircraft and a national service of remembrance attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, broadcast live by the BBC.

The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, provides the setting for the BBC’s coverage, while an hour earlier, in the similarly sylvan surroundings of Spa Gardens, Ripon, the city’s Mayor Councillor Eamon Parkin, laid a wreath at the war memorial.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Our city, which is home to the Royal Engineers, has a proud military history stretching back to 1915 and on landmark days like these, we take a few minutes to remember what the men and women of the armed forces have done for us in every theatre of war and continue to do for us in keeping the peace.”

Cllr Parkin, added:

“Sadly, the necessary coronavirus restrictions prevented us from staging the large-scale events that we had planned to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day and also affect today’s commemoration, but that does not stop us from remembering those who fought and fell in the Far East and indeed, all our war dead.”

Ripon Grammar’s outstanding A Level performance

Despite the disruption to the academic year caused by the covid 19 pandemic, the future is looking bright for Ripon Grammar School students celebrating outstanding A-level performances.

With 79% of grades awarded at A* to B, and more than half of all grades at A* or A, most students have secured their first or second choice of university on a diverse range of courses, from aeronautical engineering to fashion, medicine and philosophy.

Headmaster Jonathan Webb said:

“Results days are days of joy and celebration as examination results open up new pathways in life and new institutions of learning.

“While today has inevitably been like no other with grades awarded without examinations being sat, the achievements of students at RGS are real, valid and worthy of huge celebration.”

Photograph of Ripon Grammar School sign

Eight students achieved a clean sweep of A*s with top performers Phoebe Hall and Tabitha Milton awarded four A*s in addition to an A* in their extended project qualifications, worth half an A-level.

Mr Webb emphasised that, while the school’s results had been adjusted down slightly, as they have been nationally, they remain, overall, consistent with previous years:

“I am delighted to say our results are as good as ever and the students, and staff who have supported them, are to be congratulated on another tremendous performance.

“Grades were rigorously assessed and awarded by teachers at RGS and then mathematically adjusted by Ofqual to reflect, it is hoped, the historic trends achieved by the school.”

While there have been impressive performances across the board, with more than 20% of grades awarded at A*, Mr Webb stressed:

“We must focus on the process of learning as much as the end result, however arrived at. School is about learning, exploring new avenues and making real life choices. I am sure the lessons learnt will mean very bright futures for our leavers of 2020.”

The majority of the school’s 142 A-level students have secured places at Russell Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge:

He added that the school’s sixth form team was working hard to support those students facing the process of clearing, contemplating gap years or seeking to adjust their offers upward:

“Inevitably amongst the many successes there are some who may be disappointed with how the process has worked for them. We will be guiding and supporting them and wish them all the best in their search.”

The school’s overall pass rate is 99.1%, with a total of 106 grades at A* and 147 at grade A.

New councillors sign up in Pateley Bridge

Two new councillors are joining Pateley Bridge Town Council, to replace long-serving members Christine Skaife and Chris Hawkesworth, who retired earlier this year.

Following the co-option of Paul Anson and Neil Thompson, the Mayor, Cllr Mike Holt, said:

“The two vacant positions needed to be filled and with elections cancelled until at least May next year we had to use the co-option process to appoint the new councillors.”

Photograph of Pateley Bridge Mayor Councillor Mike Holt

The Mayor of Pateley Bridge, Cllr Mike Holt

He added:

“It was extremely heartening that four extremely strong candidates expressed an interest in the positions, and I am delighted that after a stringent voting process the positions were filled. I would like to welcome Paul and Neil to the council and I am looking forward to working with them.”

Limitations on gatherings caused by the coronavirus crisis have meant that the work of the council carries on via email and Zoom ans town clerk Sarah Adamson has been designated further powers to maintain day to day business.

Cllr Holt said:

“May 2022 might seem a long way off, but it is only 20 months away and that, hopefully, is when the next local elections take place. I do hope, as with the co-option process we have just been through, that more people will show an interest in the council, and put themselves forward for election, something that is everybody’s democratic right.”

Town and parish councils have limited powers but are consulted about, and can influence decisions on, a range of functions and services, from highways to social housing allocations.

Pateley Bridge Town Council is one of 76 town and parish councils within the Harrogate district and is in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside.

Located within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the council covers a large rural area, bounded by the River Nidd and extending from the southern part of Wath to Brimham Rocks, taking in Glasshouses, Wilsill, Blazefield and Fellbeck, and up to Dallow Moor.

Harrogate and Ripon cafes win Tripadvisor awards

Two cafes in Harrogate and Ripon have earned a coronavirus lockdown boost with new accolades and a Tripadvisor Award.

Caffe Tempo was started by Tina Whincup and her husband Mike, 21 years ago with a mobile unit on Ripon Market – just a matter of yards away from its current home, The Arcade, where the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice award will be on display.

Tina, told the Stray Ferret:

“It has been a difficult year and I was determined that I wasn’t going to let the business we have built up over more than 20 years disappear because of coronavirus.”

The long lockdown days, when customers were not allowed to take their usual seats inside or out, saw early morning starts and late finishes, as Tina turned Caffe Tempo into an order and collect service.

She made brownies, scones, cakes, pastries and other bakery goods, which could be pre-ordered and then left outside her shop door for collection.

This was supplemented by a local home delivery service for customers in self-isolation.

Thug Sandwich in Harrogate also won the Tripadvisor Award.

Thug Sandwich Co on Albert Street in Harrogate also celebrating after winning the Tripadvisor Award which means they are also in the top 10% in the world.

After the challenging days caused by covid-19, the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award is a cherry on the cake. It is based on customer comments and the number of top ratings that businesses receive.

Lounge opening will bring jobs for Ripon

One of the UK’s fastest-growing restaurant operators will be opening in Ripon and bringing 25 new jobs to the city.

Loungers UK, which owns the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, is currently refurbishing a building in Market Place, next to Ripon Town Hall, and the opening of the premises will add to the Bristol-based company’s portfolio of approximately 150 sites in England and Wales.

Gemma Irwin, community manager for The Lounges, told the Stray Ferret:

“We will recruit around 25 local people and hope to quickly become part of Ripon’s community.”

With refurbishment work currently under way to transform the former NatWest bank premises, an opening date is yet to be confirmed.

The premises acquired by the Loungers Group, is in a prime location next to Ripon Town Hall

The Ripon opening is part of a growth strategy announced by the company last year, in which it said it is:

“Targeting 25 new site openings per annum over the medium term, of which approximately 20 are expected to be Lounges and approximately five are expected to be Cosy Clubs.”

The company, founded in 2002, was valued at £185 million before its listing on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which lists smaller growing businesses.

With the hospitality sector hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown in March, which saw all of its restaurants temporarily closed, Loungers secured a £15million revolving credit facility from its banks for an 18-month period, designed to assist the company during the covid 19 disruption and help it if the pandemic impacts sales into next year.

Loungers was founded by friends Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, who wanted to create a neighbourhood café-bar that they would want to go into themselves.

The trio, all of whom had previous experience of working in the restaurant and bar trade, opened their first venture in Bristol in premises formerly occupied by an opticians.

Over the past 18 years, the Loungers Group has become an all-day operator of scale in the UK and has outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years in terms of growth.

Dreams are coming true for Ripon entrepreneur

For many individuals and businesses, the coronavirus crisis has brought nightmares, but for Letasha Johnson it has provided a pathway to achieving her dreams.

Anxiety and sleepless nights caused by the covid 19 pandemic have seen a surge in demand for the healing, feel-good and therapeutic hand-crafted products that she makes at her Ripon home.

Orders have tripled, when compared with the same period last year.

The 24-year-old mother of two young boys, who started her business LR John Crafts four years ago, told the Stray Ferret:

“This has been a particularly difficult time for many people and they have been looking for ways to alleviate problems such as sleeplessness.”

This has brought an increase in shop and online sales for custom-designed items including dreamcatchers, inspired by those made by native American tribes and comprising a frame, webbing, ribbon, lace, feathers and semi-precious earth stones.

They are made to be placed close to beds in a position where the morning light falls on them. Legend has it that the dreamcatcher filters out nightmares and allows only good dreams through.

Photograph of craft-made goods produced by Letasha Johnson

To catch a dream – some of the range of goods made by Letasha Johnson

Letasha said:

“In recent months, they have proved popular for people of all ages and with different needs, from those who are finding it difficult to sleep to parents whose children suffer night terrors.”

Varieties range from the more traditional round construction, to dreamcatchers in the shape of animals, whales and unicorns – which are generally custom-made for children’s bedrooms.

Sales online through Etsy, social media and her own website are now made to 21 countries, including the USA, Australia and Hong Kong, along with orders placed by customers across the UK and other European countries.

Letasha also makes protective face masks, as well as jewellery and hair accessories including scrunchies. She supplies goods to Liz and Kevin Hill for sale in their Karma shop in Kirkgate and other outlets, including hair salons and a wellness centre in Nidderdale.

With the increasing demand for her products, she has enlisted help from her mother, sisters and friends to handle orders and, in the longer term, hopes to employ other skilled crafts people, working in their own homes and making the range of products.

Letasha said:

“When I left college a few years ago, I knew that I wanted to develop a crafts-based business and, with help from a lot of people, I am pleased to say that my dreams are becoming reality.”

District’s market traders receive urgent payments this week

Market stallholders in Ripon and Knaresborough who were unable to trade for 11 weeks because of coronavirus, will receive discretionary grant payments from Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) this week.

Weeks after other local authorities in Yorkshire made the urgent payments to traders, HBC has still to make payment of the £2,000 grants it agreed to pay to qualifying applicants.

In response to the question about the delay in payments of the grants compared with other local authorities, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson, said:

“Payments to successful applicants will be made this week.”

The spokesperson went on to point out that evidence is required from the applicant to ensure they meet the national eligibility criteria, as well as an assessment and pre-payment assurance check. The grant is primarily to support businesses with high ongoing fixed property costs, such as rent.

Traders who were classed as selling ‘non-essential’ goods were not allowed a stand for almost three months and many lost tens of thousands of pounds.

In a bid to assist them and other businesses, the government introduced the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund on May 29, saying that grants up to £10,000 could be made – with the discretion on what applicants could receive, being in the hands of local authorities across the country.

Peter and Pat Yates who signed the petition at Ripon Market

The closing date for applications from market traders was June 28 and Andrew Sutcliffe, who sells women’s clothing on both Knaresborough and Ripon markets, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been told that we are going to receive £2,000 apiece, which is smaller than grants paid to market stallholders in East Yorkshire who have received £7,500 and Hambleton, who have received £5,000 apiece.”

Mr Sutcliffe pointed out:

“If you stand at markets in two council areas, you could only apply for assistance from one local authority and those of us who applied to Harrogate, have not only received what appears to be the barest minimum grants, but they are even dragging their heels on paying them out.”

Sonya Johnson, who sells handbags, scarves and other women’s accessories, said:

“I’ve had an email from the council saying that I will receive payment shortly, but feel that we always come last.”

The wait for the government grants that the council is administering, comes days after it increased the cost for market stall provision and assembly, adding more than 25 percent to the cost of renting a stall.

A joint ‘Save our Markets Petition’ calling upon the council to reverse its decision, has already attracted hundreds of signatures at Ripon and Knaresborough markets and online.

Ripon’s Sturdy pies stand up to coronavirus

Sturdy Foods, a 90-year-old Ripon company built on the solid foundations of pie making, is to create new jobs after it switched to making pizzas during lockdown.

Founded by James Sturdy’s great grandfather in 1930, the business suffered major setbacks with a factory fire in 2019, followed by this year’s coronavirus crisis. Restaurants and bars which account for 95% of the company’s turnover stopped buying pies.

Mr Sturdy, who was determined not to close the factory and to support his staff, made the decision to look for new opportunities – a move that has brought a dramatic change in the company’s fortunes.

He said:

“Having gone through the fire at the factory the previous year, I was determined to face lockdown head on and keep the factory running. We immediately reviewed the production line, and with some straightforward changes switched our production to oven ready pizzas.

“It wasn’t an easy time as we then had to completely change our supply chain to delis and retail outlets within the Yorkshire area, but the demand was there, and we were ready to fill it.”

The pizza line proved such a success that the company has also launched a new range of pies, this time selling directly to the public through a dedicated new website. Yorkshire Handmade Pies was born and offers a range of hand-crafted products.

Focusing again on local suppliers and supporting other local firms including R & J’s Yorkshire’s Finest Butchers, they are now delivering nationwide.

Mr Sturdy added:

“We have been overwhelmed by the success of launching Yorkshire Handmade Pies and have received orders from as far as the Isle of Bute, the Isle of Wight and everywhere in between. We felt there was a gap in the market for a proper quality made pie, and the increase in online shopping during lockdown helped to fuel sales.”

With restaurants and bars opening again at the start of July the next challenge for the Sturdy Foods, based at Barker Business Park, is its ability to continue to supply its previous customer base.

The company has now taken on three additional staff, with plans to take on another three before Christmas, taking the number of employees to 13.

Councillor urges rejection of £47m spend on Harrogate Convention Centre

An Independent Ripon councillor is urging fellow councillors representing outlying areas of the Harrogate district, to vote against plans for a £47m redevelopment of Harrogate’s conference and exhibition facilities.

Councillor Pauline McHardy claimed:

“If this gets the go-ahead, it will be a financial burden around the district’s neck for years to come.”

The three-times Mayor of Ripon added:

“I think it’s totally wrong for Harrogate Borough Council to even be considering spending money of this magnitude, while there are so many other things that need support in places such as Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Spofforth and here in this city.”

Councillor Pauline McHardy

Cllr McHardy said many areas require more council investment such as social housing, particularly for the elderly, more town centre parking provision to accommodate the increase in cars brought by new housing developments and community bus services for those in rural areas who do not have alternative transport.

She pointed out:

“We keep being told that the Harrogate Convention Centre brings economic benefit across the whole of the district, but I don’t see evidence of that and people I speak with here and in Knaresborough feel the same.

“It’s time for councillors of all political colours, particularly in the outlying areas, to think first about the people who elected them, before putting their hands up for more spending on the convention centre.”

The proposals for Harrogate Convention Centre were set out at a virtual extraordinary meeting of the Harrogate Borough Council cabinet last Wednesday, when centre director Paula Lorimer said:

“We need this redevelopment not only to drive more conferences, but for the district and the community. We run school events, remembrance events, entertainment, orchestras and community groups.

“We do a great deal to support the community and the revenue we provide goes back into the council. What comes into us ripples out into the district. We need a successful HCC.”

This evening, a virtual extraordinary meeting of the full Harrogate Borough Council will be held at which elected members from across the district will vote on the HCC spending plans.

Barefoot soldier reaches £400,000 target for daughter in Ripon

Ripon gave Chris Brannigan the barefoot soldier a warm send-off today as he reached his fundraising target of £400,000.

The soldier set off on July 6 on his 700-mile journey from Land’s End to Edinburgh. He is raising money for ‘Hope for Hasti.’

https://www.facebook.com/HopeforHasti/posts/186900629523350

Hasti, Chris’s daughter, is eight-years-old and has a rare genetic condition that currently has no treatment or cure. Chris is walking barefoot because he wants to change her fate and “give her the future she deserves”.

The money the Hope for Hasti campaign has raised will fund research and development for gene therapy for Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS).

On his arrival in Ripon, people lined the streets to cheer him on and had even baked him some cakes. Major Brannigan told the Stray Ferret:

“I have just arrived here in beautiful Ripon. I had an absolutely incredible reception from the people that live here. The time I have had in Yorkshire has been incredible, I have had so much help.

“If I am honest, today has been a really difficult day but people came to my aid.”

Now that Major Brannigan has reached his £400,000 target he has said that any extra money on top will go towards clinical trials for treatment.

Major Brannigan with military personnel based at Claro Barracks, Ripon, and Dishforth Military Wives Choir, who handed over a cheque for £350.

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