North Stainley school’s fundraising 10K race to return next monthAfter two year’s off because of covid restrictions, a major fundraising race day is back on track.
The Lightwater Valley 10K and 3K Challenges, organised by Friends of North Stainley School (FONSS), will take place on Saturday March 12.
With the number of runners limited to 500, would-be entrants are being asked to book their place as soon as possible.
Places can be purchased in advance from Race Best on https://racebest.com/races/g4zhe The fee is £15 for affiliated and £17 for unaffiliated runners.
The event, covering an undulating multi-terrain route that passes through the Lightwater estate and into the surrounding countryside, will raise much-needed funds for the village school.
North Stainley Primary School opened in 1871 and is still based in its original building, close to the village church of St Mary’s.
The FONSS are the fundraising arm and use funds to contribute towards school trips, technology for pupils, music lessons and sporting activities.
Headteacher Louise Wallen, said:
“We are delighted to have the race up and running after what has been a challenging couple of years when we have been largely unable to fundraise.”
“It’s a fabulous community project, and a great day out for all the family.”
Organisers would like to hear from anyone willing to help on the day by offering their services as marshals. Contact can be made via admin@northstainley.n-yorks.sch.uk
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Ripon students learn how to save a lifeStudents at Ripon Grammar School are being taught vital skills that could help them save a life one day.
Nine sixth formers and five Year 11 students are working towards National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ), the most widely recognised lifeguard qualification in the UK & Ireland and a requirement for most lifeguarding jobs.
Trainee lifeguard Neive Zenner encourages others to consider the course:
She said:
“My advice would be, don’t be scared of throwing yourself into everything. You may feel embarrassed to shout across a pool, however the confidence you gain is worth it.”
Course tutor Myles Strudwick, who has been involved in lifeguarding and lifesaving for 20 years, both nationally and internationally, agrees:
He said:
“I am passionate about the development of skills in this area for anyone at any age, and nobody is too young or too old to start taking part.
“Even if it’s not something you use every day, the skills covered might just be enough to save a life one day. And it’s a strange – but thankful – feeling when that happens.”
Henry Grice-Holt, plans to work at Camp America during his gap year, where he hopes the qualification will help him get a lifeguard role.
The 17-year-old, who aims to study medicine after RGS, inspired him to apply.
Henry, who plans a career in medicine after RGS, pointed out that the most important thing he had learnt was how to perform CPR with the use of a defibrillator:
“I have also been taught how to safely get someone who is unconscious out of the water and get them in the recovery position.”
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Neive, 17, said she was taking the course to help her get an interesting part-time job while at university. The accomplished swimmer added:
“Practical lessons allow you to have hands-on experience and basic first aid training, while theory provides you with the information you need to apply to lessons and even life situations.
“The most important skill I have learnt is communication, I found myself speaking out and answering questions in theory lessons, this then transferred to our pool sessions where we worked in teams relying on verbal skills.”
Henry and Neive use their Wednesday afternoon enrichment period – when sixth formers can take a break from studies to enjoy a range of other activities – to gain their qualification, which involves lessons for two hours a week at the school’s swimming pool, with additional home study.
Year 11 pupils have been taking their lifeguarding classes after school.
As well as being qualified in pool lifeguarding and supervision, with integrated defibrillation and anaphylaxis training, there is the option for the students to gain a First Aid at Work qualification and students, who began the course in November, will gain their qualifications at the beginning of April.
Ripon car park could be resurfaced by Friday — and has bigger baysRipon contractors are on target to complete the resurfacing of the city’s cathedral car park a week ahead of schedule.
The work by A E Duffield & Sons as part of a £106,000 contract is due for completion on February 11, but progress suggests it could be finished by this Friday.
In an additional boost to motorists, a city council request for bays to be increased in size, to make parking easier, has been taken on-board.
A contractor told the Stray Ferret:
“The bays are now a minimum of 2.4 metres wide, compared with the previous ones that were 2.2 metres.”
The parking bays have been widened to 2.4 metres
To accommodate the enlargement of the spaces, it is estimated that a dozen of the car park’s 193 bays will be lost.
Ripon City and Harrogate district independent councillor Pauline McHardy, who led the call for the bays to be increased in size, welcomed the progress made this week.
She said:
“I’m pleased with the positive response from Harrogate Borough Council to our request and thank them for that.
“I’m also delighted that the resurfacing work has gone smoothly and with it likely to be completed early, that will mean a week’s less disruption for people coming into the city who need somewhere to park.”
A E Duffield & Sons has recently been awarded another contract by Harrogate Borough Council to resurface the Fisher Street Car Park in Knaresborough, at a cost of £30,000.
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Ripon’s platinum jubilee plans take shapeA new horn for Ripon will blast out for the Queen’s platinum jubilee, as part of the city’s celebrations.
The instrument will be used for the first time in the hornblower ceremony on Market Square at 9pm on Saturday 4 June and will be in regular use thereafter.
The event will be one of the highlights of the extended Bank Holiday weekend extravaganza, which also includes a special tea party at Ripon Cathedral for people with a June birthday, born between 1952 and 2021.
The aim is to create a ‘human timeline’ dating back to 1952, with one person from each of the 70 years of the Queen’s reign invited to attend, with a guest.
Ripon Cathedral will host a ‘timeline’ tea party with guests from each year of the Queen’s reign
City council leader Andrew Williams, told the Stray Ferret:
“In partnership with the cathedral, Ripon Business Improvement District, Ripon Together and the Ripon Community Poppy Project, we will provide an inclusive four-day programme of activities, that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
“There will be something for everybody as we and the entire nation join in the celebrations and after the bunting has gone from the streets, the platinum jubilee horn will provide a constant reminder of the Queen’s remarkable service to this country.”
On June 2, the cathedral, which celebrates its 1,350th anniversary this year, will be the focus of attention, when it hosts the civic service for North Yorkshire and later on that day, on Market Square, Ripon will join in a nation-wide beacon lighting ceremony.
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Free live music will be played from 11am until 11.30pm on Market Square between June 2 and 4 and fairground rides for children of all ages and adults will be in place.
On Sunday June 5, Spa Park will be the venue for music from Ripon City Band and children’s entertainers will also be performing.
The event is being arranged by the Ripon Community Poppy Project and attendees will be invited to take their own picnic.
Your chance to shape free summer activities for Ripon childrenSchools, organisations and individuals in Ripon are being urged to help develop plans for a second summer of free sports and activities for children.
Ripon Together, which organised last year’s Summer of Play to support families during the summer holidays, has launched a city-wide survey to build on that experience.
Last year’s events ranged from formal team sports such as cricket and football to karate and croquet, dance, yoga, mindfulness and orienteering, as well as nature hunts at Fountains Abbey.
There were also activities for disabled people, including wheelchair bowls at Hugh Ripley Hall.
Ripon Together, a not-for-profit partnership organisation, has circulated a letter about this year’s activities. It says:
“We want to offer things that are relevant, useful and fun for children, young people and families, connecting organisations and showing what is available for them around Ripon.
“We are now formulating plans for 2022 and if there is anyone in your organisation who could give us their ideas, then please ask them to complete the survey. The more information we have the better that we can prepare.”
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The Summer of Play 2021 was designed to help children and their families after the lifting of the covid lockdown restrictions ln July, which had seen sporting, cultural and other group activities put on hold.
Any questions or queries can be emailed to info@ripontogether.com or you can call David Ingham on 07775 731276.
‘Shocking state’ of Sharow roads prevents motorists from going greenThe ‘shocking state’ of roads in Sharow is preventing motorists from going green, according to villager James Thornborough.
Mr Thornborough is so upset about the state of the roads that he has raised the matter with Skipton and Ripon Conservative MP Julian Smith and North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The road surfaces are in such a shocking state, that it is not safe to drive on them in smaller vehicles that use less fuel and produce fewer emissions.”
In email correspondence with Mr Smith and Mr Flinton, Mr Thornborough said:
“Given the national government wishes us at our expense to go green ASAP, how can that be achieved If you force village owners like myself to abandon my small commute car in favour of a mid-size SUV to traverse Sharow roads?
“Please note that I did not say navigate our roads because that is now impossible. Every journey stresses suspension parts, grazes tyre side walls, and forces one to meander from one side to another attempting to choose the path of least damage.”
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New Lane, in need of attention
Mr Thornborough’s email, which was copied to the Stray Ferret, added:
“The local Sharow roads consist of pot holes, fissures, and bald tarmac top interrupted by the occasional neat tarmac patch and useless NYCC highways tarmac toothpaste repairs. The tarmac toothpaste repairs started disintegrating the day after application.
“We still have large pot holes marked for repair but not filled.”
The uneven surface on Sharow Lane
In an emailed reply to Mr Thornborough, Mr Flinton, said:
“I have copied in Nigel Smith who is head of highway operations for the council, Mr Smith will look into the issues that you have raised and respond directly with you.”
At the time of publication, no response had been received from Julian Smith.
Kirkby Malzeard’s bells could ring again for Queen’s jubileeThe bells of St Andrew’s in Kirkby Malzeard, which have been silent for several years, could ring again this year to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Jonathan Couchman of Two Dales Bell Ringers, which is an informal group that encourages and promotes bell ringing in Wensleydale and Swaledale, said:
“St Andrew’s church has six beautiful bells but nobody to ring them so in liaison with the church, we would like to mark the jubilee by establishing a bell band there.”
Last year, the Wensleydale ringers held a course of short, interactive online presentations on bell ringing, which resulted in nine new recruits.
The activity does not require great strength and children as young as 10 are able to participate.
This spring, a second course is planned, with hands-on training in local towers, including St Andrew’s, and other church towers in Askrigg, Aysgarth, Grinton and Richmond.
Training will be interspersed with online presentations. Times and dates of sessions will be arranged in agreement with participants and the aim is to hold the first session in late February.
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“We invite everyone to join us, from those who have simply wondered about how the bells are rung through to those interested in whether bell ringing is for them.
“It is a team activity that keeps your brain active and your body agile. Some do it for the community of friends, some do it to contribute to church life, some to keep the glorious sound of bells alive, and some do it for the pure pleasure and feeling of wellbeing it brings.”
For more than 500 years church bells have resounded across Wensleydale and Swaledale, but for the first time since World War II, they fell silent because of social distancing requirements and covid lockdowns, which put bell ringing on hold.
Anybody wanting to find out more and how to participate, can email David Scrutton at wensleydaleringers@gmail.com.
Children’s poetry focuses on poverty at Ripon WorkhouseFifty-two year 6 pupils from Holy Trinity Junior School in Ripon have used their lockdown experiences to empathise with how Victorian children might have felt as inmates at Ripon Workhouse.
The children have been working towards their Bronze Arts Awards with staff at Ripon Museums, poet and Ripon Poetry Festival founder Andy Croft and animator Dawn Feather.
They encouraged the pupils to imagine themselves in the shoes of poor and desperate Victorian children entering the workhouse.
They wrote poems under the titles Dread, Fear, Grief and Nothing. They recorded the poems as spoken word with sound effects and made their own chalk drawing animations that were presented as powerful audio-visual pieces.
Carrie Philip, Ripon Museum’s learning and outreach manager, said:
“It became clear that the fear and uncertainty the children had experienced during the past two years of covid helped them to identify with child inmates in the Victorian workhouse.
“They produced beautiful and compelling pieces of creative writing as an emotional response to experiencing the workhouse. They should be immensely proud of their achievements.”
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Pupils were awarded their Bronze Arts Award with feedback praising their excellent animated spoken poetry. The experience went beyond the immediate task at hand and will hopefully inspire the group to explore other creative endeavours.
Holy Trinity headteacher Paul Bowlas said:
“We were thrilled to work in conjunction with Ripon Museums to provide a broad and creative experience for the children of our school.
“Working together on the arts award provided a much-needed experience which not only helped children educationally but was also very good for their health and wellbeing.”
The animated poems can be accessed through Ripon Museums website www.riponmuseums.co.uk
Rearranged Pateley Bridge Christingle service will support children’s charityThe Children’s Society is going to receive a late Christmas present from the people of Pateley Bridge.
A Christmas Eve Christingle service has raised money for the charity for more than 30 years. It was postponed last year due to covid but has been rearranged for Wednesday evening, to coincide with the feast of Candlemas.
Organiser Joyce Liggins told the Stray Ferret:
“We were determined that the society, which does incredible work to help young people, would not miss out and holding the Christingle on Candlemas seemed highly appropriate.”
The 6pm service at the Parish Church of St Cuthbert will not include Christmas carols, but there will be a Christingle song and attendees will be given a Christingle kit as they arrive, which will be made up during the service and the candles lit.
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Ms Liggins added:
“We hope that people will come along and support this service and the society, which will benefit from donations.”
Those unable to attend can still donate through a JustGiving page.
Since 1968, Christingle services have been held across the UK to raise money for the society, which helps vulnerable young people.
The Christingle tradition has, like the bringing of an evergreen tree into a house, its roots in Germany and dates back to the 18th century, when it was introduced by Moravian Bishop Johannes de Watteville.
Brimhams Active defends its stance on £8,000 increase for use of Ripon poolThe managing director of Brimhams Active, which operates Harrogate Borough Council’s leisure centres, has defended the company’s stance on a proposed £8,000 price increase for one of its users.
This has, however, led to a clash with Ripon City Council leader, Andrew Williams.
Volunteer-run Ripon City Swimming Club (RCSC), which has been teaching children to swim for more than 100 years, said it had been priced out of using Ripon’s new swimming pool.
The club, which had previously held weekly sessions at now-closed Spa Baths at an annual cost of £4,500, told the Stray Ferret it was ‘mortified’ by a price hike to £12,500 per annum for use of the city’s newly-constructed facility, when it opens later this year,
Cllr Williams described the increase as ‘disgusting.’
This, in turn, prompted Brimhams Active managing director Mark Tweedie to contact the council leader by email, in which he said:
“For commercial, safety and quality assurance reasons we are mandated to be the sole provider of swimming lessons in the facilities we operate on behalf of the local authority.
“In this regard we have had numerous meetings and correspondence with RCSC over a significant period of time to try and come to an arrangement that would allow the club to continue to hire the pool with an adjusted offer that meets set standards and does not duplicate the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.”
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In the email exchange, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, Mr Tweedie added:
“The Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme is accredited by Swim England (the governing body for swimming). It teaches swimmers how to be competent and confident in the water through a recognised quality assured framework.
“Young people joining the scheme have the added value benefit of free access to Brimhams Active operated pools during any general swim sessions providing more opportunities to develop their swimming and love for swimming.”
‘We need to operate commercially’
He added:
“We have offered to work with and directly support the club to enable them to adjust their offer so they can continue to help young people develop their swimming without duplicating the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.”
“Working with us to adjust their offer would enable the club to continue to hire the pool at the same rate they were previously paying. However, should the club want to maintain their current offer we have provided the option for them to hire the pool at a commercial rate recognising the club would be in effect competing with the Brimhams Active Learn to Swim programme.
“The club would also need to adhere to the same rigorous safety and quality standards as Brimhams Active. The commercial rate is an exclusive rate offered to the club and is based on the true costs of hiring the facility.
“We need to operate commercially in order to cover the operating costs of the facility as well as generate vital funds for the local authority to continue to be able to provide efficient and effective public services.”
‘You need to rethink’
In his response to Mr Tweedie, Cllr Williams, said:
“You state ‘for commercial’ as your first words and that is exactly the problem, you are seeking to use your position to have a monopoly on the way in which children are taught to swim by using only your lessons.
“The Ripon (City) Swimming Club have taught many children how to swim and in a way which is affordable for many hard-pressed families.
“You conclude again with the need to operate commercially. Might I remind you that the land upon which the yet to be opened pool sits was gifted to the children of Ripon for recreational use not for the commercial benefit of a soon to be defunct local authority.
“You need to urgently rethink your approach on this matter.”