Ripon Cathedral re-opens to the public for private prayer

Clergy, led by the Very Reverend Dean John Dobson, re-opened the doors of Ripon Cathedral at 10am on Monday to welcome in parishioners and visitors wishing to say private prayers.

After more than 10 weeks of lockdown caused by the coronavirus crisis, the cathedral is one of only a handful of places of worship in the Harrogate district to re-open at the first opportunity allowed by the government.

Dean John (pictured centre), told The Stray Ferret:

“We knew that this day would arrive and planned ahead and it was pleasing to see the first people back through our doors to say their prayers.”

The Cathedral, which will be open between 10am and 4pm from Monday to Saturday and 12 noon until 4pm on Sundays, is following very strict social distancing and hygiene rules to protect the wellbeing of visitors who come to pray, or light a candle. Hand sanitiser is available on entry; seating has been reduced and signage is in place.

During lockdown, services have been streamed live on YouTube – including the Easter Day Sung Eucharist and these have attracted a growing audience.

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Dean John believes that prayer plays an important role in daily lives and said:

“Many people, through these weeks and months of lockdown, have sensed their need of spiritual nourishment and their need to pray and that is quite a universal thing among many people of different faiths and different parts of the Christian church.”

He and fellow clergy, Canon Ailsa Newby, Canon Michael Gisbourne, The Rev. Caitlin Carmichael-Davies and The Venerable Clive Mansell, welcomed in the first small group of people waiting for the cathedral’s doors to open.

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, is one of the most ancient places of worship in the UK and prayers have been said at this location for more than 1300 years.

Ripon Post Office to move to more accessible location

Ripon’s main Post Office is moving from Finkle Street to a more easily accessible retail unit in The Arcade, off Market Place.

Postmistress Amy Kaur, told The Stray Ferret:

“We have wanted to move for some time, because the steps outside our current premises make access difficult for the elderly, disabled, wheelchair users and people with children in prams and pushchairs.”

The city’s Post Office (pictured) has been in Finkle Street for more than 60 years and over the last six decades the services it provides have evolved.

Amy, pointed out:

“In additional to selling postage stamps, accepting parcels for delivery, paying out pensions, handling passport and driving licence applications and car tax renewals, we provide financial services ranging from travel currency to business banking and cash and cheque transactions.”

The new unit in The Arcade, which has street-level access, will be fully operational by September, when Amy and her colleagues Raj Raj, Sue Lewis and Gordon Royle move to the new location.

As well as providing the full range of Post Office services, the office will include a Quidz In value store.

A key element of the service provided is also expanding – as the mobile  Post Office unit headed by Gordon Royle, now covers 22 towns and villages in the  Ripon area, with the possibility of a further two locations to be added.

Gordon, said: “During the current coronavirus crisis, when many people living in rural communities remain isolated in their homes and unable to travel to Ripon, the mobile service has grown in popularity.”

Restaurant owner looks forward to reopening Valentino’s in Ripon

At the age of 15, Rick Jones was washing pots in Valentino’s and 22 years later he is its owner and looking forward to re-opening the newly-refurbished Italian restaurant in the heart of Ripon.

Rick (pictured) who was born and bred in the city, made a rapid rise from ‘washer up’ to chef, having studied at Harrogate College following his secondary education at Boroughbridge High School.

He has made his mark in the hospitality business at the Water Rat pub and restaurant, on the bank of the River Skell, overlooking Alma Weir and later this year, will be double-handed, when Valentino’s re-opens its doors following a £500,000 restoration that has seen the addition of five en suite rooms.

Valentino’s, located on the corner of Westgate and Blossomgate, was where Rick learnt the Roman style of Italian cooking and cuisine under brothers Fermino and Mario di Silvestro, who opened in Ripon in 1986 after selling the well-known No. 6 Restaurant in Harrogate.

He told The Stray Ferret:

“Fermino and Mario treated me like family and taught me so much. They were perfectionists and always required the very highest standards.”

Inspired by what he had learnt at Valentino’s, Rick took over the Water Rat in February 2007, but the premises were hit by flooding in June of that year.

The coronavirus crisis, has disrupted the latest stage in his hospitality career – as the original plan was to re-open the new-look Valentino’s with its hotel facilities on 30th April and now August is the target date.

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However, in spite of natural disaster and pandemic – with their financial consequences – Rick has remained positive, saying:

“It may appear dark at times, but I know that the sun will always shine again.”

Many of the Water Rat regulars, who he looks on as an extension of his own family, have been using the weekend takeaway pizza, pasta and dessert delivery and collection service that gives them a taste of the Valentino’s menu.

As well as bringing in welcome revenue while the pub remains closed, Rick pointed out that it has helped him and his team to keep in contact with each other and customers, ready for the day when both of his establishments are open again.

Ripon market traders argue for rent reductions

Ripon’s non-essential market traders returned to their stalls today after months of lockdown. But some traders believe they have been poorly treated by Harrogate Borough Council.

Harrogate Borough Council, which is planning to increase the rent for each stall by up to 32.4%, has offered the traders no rent holidays or reductions as they get back up and running.

The stallholders argue that due to the inability to trade over lockdown rental reductions should now be offered as they ease back into trading.

Nick Farnsworth, who has been selling women’s nightwear and underwear at Ripon for 25 years, said:

“It’s a disgrace that we are still being charged the full whack, when other areas are doing their best to help their market stallholders.”

Ripon market traders want more support from the council as they adjust to trading again.

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One market trader, Andrew Sutcliffe, who also trades in Knaresborough, agreed with other traders that more support from the council is necessary. He told The Stray Ferret that other markets he works on are currently offering rent holidays and reductions as they adjust to trading at full capacity.

In the week beginning 1st June, other local authorities including Barnsley and Leeds allowed stall holders selling goods classed as non-essential, to trade however the council decided to delay reopening to this week.

Harrogate Borough Council responded to the traders’ claims that they felt unsupported. They said:

“Throughout lockdown, the markets at Knaresborough and Ripon have continued to open in line with government guidance. We supported those essential goods traders to ensure they could continue to work. We’ve not charged for any trader who chose not to attend or wasn’t allowed to because of the coronavirus restrictions.

“Where we have charged, fees have been held at last year’s rates. It’s disappointing to hear that one or two traders feel we’ve not been supportive.  We’ve done all we can to ensure our markets can fully re-open safely and to enable traders to get back to business as usual.”

Pateley Bridge looking for new town councillors

Pateley Bridge Town Council is looking for two new councillors without going through an election process to replace Chris Hawkesworth and Christine Skaife, who between them have served for more than 50 years.  Both have collectively been town mayor on eight occasions.

Councillor Mike Holt  said that the council, which also serves High and Low Bishopside, Fellbeck, Wilsill, Glasshouses and part of Wath, needs to “co-opt”  to bring the council to its full strength of 11 members.

The council, like all local government, is in lockdown because of the coronavirus crisis and the next elections are not due until May 2022.

The need to operate in isolation, has also meant that there was no council meeting at which councillors could thank their retiring colleagues for the many ways in which they have been involved in the local community.

Cllr Holt (pictured with Mayoress Dr Janet Holt) said:

“Chris  and Christine will both be greatly missed, they brought a lot to the council and as such the town over many years of civic service and we wish them all the best for the future.”

Cllr Hawkesworth served on the town council for 41 years – five of which he served as mayor, while Cllr Skaife was mayor on three occasions during more than ten years on the council.

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With their retirement, Cllr Holt pointed out to anybody thinking about putting their name forward for one of the vacancies:

“Becoming a councillor presents a fantastic opportunity to have a voice and influence the direction of the parish, the town and all our parishioners.”

The minimum age to be a councillor is 18 and applicants must be a British citizen; an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member state of the European Union. Potential applicants must also be a registered elector within the parish or meet any of the following criteria:

Those wanting to apply for co-option to the council are asked, in the first instance, to send their CV and a covering letter to Sarah Adamson clerk@pateleybridgetowncouncil.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NHS PPE contract safeguards jobs at Ripon company

Production at Ripon-based company Network Medical, is going at full pace, seven days a week, after a vital contract was won to supply face visors for front line NHS workers.

The contract, which safeguards jobs at the company’s Kearsley Road headquarters, was awarded six days after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, accused the government of being  ‘slow on protective equipment and slow to take up’ offers of supply of PPE from British firms.

Network Medical refocused its operation on the manufacture of face visors in March and had been in discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The company’s wait for a decision on its contract bid was featured on Channel 4 News on 22nd April, the day the Labour leader raised the PPE questions at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

On April 28th, Network Medical and a sister company based in Swansea – both part of the Innovia Medical group – received the order from the DHSC to supply 1.3 million face visors.

Because of the size of the order, production has been split between Ripon and Swansea and both sites are now at full capacity, with 100% of production being sent to the NHS.

 

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Neil Mercer, chief executive officer of Network Medical said the company is pleased to have secured a contract to manufacture and supply the Innovia face visors to the NHS.

Mr Mercer, told The Stray Ferret:

“Due to the reduction in routine procedures  we have seen demand for our Ophthalmic and ENT products reduce over the last few months. The introduction of the Innovia Face Visor at our Ripon and sister site in Swansea has allowed us to help protect our NHS heroes  whilst keeping the business operating at full capacity during these challenging times.”

At the start of March, Network Medical geared up to making face visors and during a four week planning stage, contacted existing UK customers, who include NHS Supply Chain, local NHS trusts and private hospital groups. In addition to contacting local and national government to let them know about the visors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ripon races ready to resume behind closed doors

Horseracing at Ripon resumes on June 20th, albeit behind closed doors and with strict social distancing measures in place.

For James Hutchinson, who is clerk of the course and managing director of Ripon Racecourse Company, it has been a long wait since the autumn, when the last meeting was staged at Yorkshire’s ‘garden racecourse’.

This season’s April and May meetings were wiped out by Covid-19, but James (pictured below, left at a pre-coronavius meeting) remains philosophical.

He told The Stray Ferret:

“There’s no point in looking back at what didn’t happen, we’d rather look forward and hope that it won’t be long before we can open our gates to racegoers once more.”

Before then, in addition to the evening meeting on Saturday 20th June, there will be meetings on 8th and 24th July and the 6th, 16th and 31st August – all behind closed doors.

On each date, there will be an eight-race card with a maximum of 12 runners per race, ensuring that the number of stable staff, jockeys and trainers present will be in manageable numbers, alongside the course’s own employees, stewards, clerk of the scales, starter, vets and ambulance crews required to attend.

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Social distancing and hygiene measures will be in force across the course, in the changing room and the parade ring and, like the first meeting since lockdown staged at Newcastle,  jockeys will wear face masks before, during and after each race.

While punters will be unable to watch the action on course, the races will be live on Sky Sports Racing Channel and with bookmakers due to reopen from 15th June, those who want a bet will be able to do so and watch the racing action beamed into the betting shops.

James, pointed out:

“We are pleased to be back racing again, though it will be strange not to have racegoers present. We simply hope to complete the fixtures through to the end of August as safely as possible for all involve and take it from there, but to paraphrase the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ‘we’ll be back!'”

 

 

 

Nurseries in Harrogate district reopen after lockdown

Children’s nurseries across the Harrogate district reopened on Monday, with new arrangements in place to ensure the safety of children, parents and staff.

Busy Bees, which has four nurseries in Harrogate and one in Ripon, confirmed that all five opened yesterday, with health and safety plans in place that address the issues raised by Covid-19.

While there was no playdough, sandpits, or water games, staff were on hand to provide outdoor play in smaller groups, with no floor markings for children’s play areas or timed toilet breaks.

A spokesperson for Busy Bees, said children were not required to play in hoops, as some schools suggested may be required and pointed out that instead:

“The focus was on dividing children into close friendship groups, limiting the number of people children come into contact with, reducing the space that they can explore and increasing the time spent outdoors.”

The safety arrangements involve temperature checks for all children and staff on arrival and throughout the day; two metres social distancing for family members at drop off and pickup times, frequent hand-washing and disinfecting of communal areas.

At all times, the aim of the nursery’s staff is to keep life as close to normal as possible for children; give cuddles if they become upset during the day and to only wear face masks for temperature checks.

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The nursery, which has kept more than 100 of its centres open throughout the  coronavirus crisis to support key worker families and vulnerable children, has looked to its colleagues in Australia, North America and in particular south-east Asia for learning, and is confident its measures protect families in its care.

Emily Brimson-Keight, head of safety at Busy Bees, said:

“We are constantly sharing ideas and looking at best practice to ensure the personal and emotional wellbeing for children and team members.”

 

 

 

Ripon cafe takes tentative step towards opening

Ripon city centre cafe Oliver’s Pantry is welcoming customers once more with the launch of a takeaway service – and aims to do more in the coming weeks.

For owners Tim and Lou Grant, the hope, along with other businesses in the hospitality sector, is for social distancing restrictions to ease from the current two metres to one metre.

They are planning for the day when customers can sit in to eat the buns, cakes, pastries and meringues upon which the cafe has built its reputation.

Lou told The Stray Ferret:

“We are making tentative steps as we test the water and think about what can be achieved in the space we have available, while meeting all of the social distancing and hygiene requirements, brought about by the coronavirus crisis”

She added:

“We have had a purpose-made perspex screen put in place at the counter and it’s one customer in at a time for the takeaway service, where a one way system operates.”

Things have gone well and Lou and Tim and are quietly optimistic, while also being realistic as they adapt to the ‘new normal’ that will see them having to reduce the number of tables they have by approximately half to comply with the two metres of distance rule.

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The couple celebrate the eighth anniversary of running Oliver’s Pantry next month and will continue with their Wednesday to Sunday service between 10am and 3pm each day. They hope that members of the team currently on furlough will be able to start returning as business builds up again.

During lockdown, the Grants put many messages of hope in the window of the North Street cafe and have kept in touch with customers daily through social media, including cookery demonstrations run on line by Lou. She said:

“We have had some very kind messages from our customers and it has been lovely to see some of them again over the past few days.”

 

Harrogate undertaker says online funerals help grieving families

With social distancing restrictions in place, the coronavirus crisis has impacted on the way in which families and friends are able to say their final farewells to loved ones.

Harrogate Crematorium currently permits a maximum of 10 people to enter the chapel building for a service, but funeral directors are using the technology to ensure that meaningful services can still be held while ever lockdown limits reduce attendance at cremations and burials.

Sarah Jones (pictured) founder of Full Circle Funerals, of Skipton Road, Harrogate said:

” In recent weeks we’ve seen lots of innovations successfully enter the industry that would have been unheard of a couple of months ago.

“We are now helping to organise online ceremonies, using video conferencing software, which has been very successful. Friends and family can also provide messages, drawings, flowers from their garden, or even personal items to go on or in the coffin, which can all play a profound and significant part in the grieving process. It also helps people deal with the fact that they are not able to carry the coffin for the person who has died, which many people have struggled with.”

The technology means celebrants can still lead ceremonies, or people can do this themselves and share the event online and include as many friends and family in it, regardless of where they are in the world.

The family of father of four and grandfather of seven, Bruce Hammond, who died from Covid-19 aged 89-year-old, arranged his funeral through Full Circle.

Daughter, Jo Hammond, said that after considering the social distancing restrictions that would limit the number able to celebrate his life:

“We decided to fully embrace what we could do, rather than thinking about what we couldn’t do.

“As the hearse left the family home, family and neighbours lined the street. We then held a service using Zoom that approximately 60 people logged into, with a couple of people watching on each screen, and one of his grandchildren logged in from Germany.”

In 2018, Sarah Jones wrote and published Funerals Your Way: A Person-Centred Approach to Planning a Funeral, and the book quickly became a successful seller on Amazon.