Ripon’s Oxfam shop is reopening for the first time in more than a year today.
The charity’s premises on Fishergate has been shut since the first covid lockdown last March.
Walter de Buck, area manager for Oxfam’s retail outlets in North and East Yorkshire, told the Stray Ferret:
“It has been frustrating being closed for this extended period of time. We are pleased to be reopening in Ripon and thank our supporters for their patience.”
Doors will open at 9am.
Newly appointed shop manager Arlene O’Hara said:
“We are raring to go and excited that the day has finally come.”
Ready to reopen – Victoria Smith, manager of The Salvation Army shop
Among her tasks will be to recruit a team of volunteers willing to lend a hand.
Mr de Buck explained:
“The principal reason for being closed for so long is because many of the volunteers we rely upon have been shielding during the pandemic.”
Anybody considering volunteering can email oxfamshopf0620@oxfam.org.uk or call 01765 601441.
Also on Fishergate, Victoria Smith, manager of The Salvation Army charity shop, has been putting the finishing touches to her window displays.
She said:
“We have received 1.5 tonnes of spring and summer clothing and have been putting selected goods out on the rails in readiness for reopening.”
The donated items have come from clothing banks in and around Ripon and the surrounding area.
Following the pre-Christmas opening of the Martin House store, the city now has 10 charity shops.
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Each plays a role in raising much-needed funds for causes ranging from end-of-life care for children and adults to supporting disabled people and the treatment of animals.
Ripon Cathedral leads district’s prayers for Prince PhilipPrayers are being said for Prince Philip, The Queen and Royal Family at Ripon Cathedral today.
Britain has entered a week of national mourning following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death.
The cathedral will be open until 5pm for both private prayer and Sunday services.
From tomorrow (Monday) and the rest of the week, opening hours are being extended from 10am until 7pm.
Socially-distanced prayer stations are in place for visitors and floral tributes can be left outside.
The flag of St George flies at half mast at the Parish Church of St Andrew in Kirkby Malzeard
The cathedral, which Prince Philip visited with The Queen in 1985 for the Royal Maundy Service, provides the city with a focal point for mourning prior to his funeral on Saturday.
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd. John Dobson, said:
“Our thoughts and prayers are obviously with Her Majesty the Queen and her family. We pray for comfort and strength for them.
“In this Easter week, we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is with hope and confidence that we pray for the soul of Prince Philip, commending him to God’s safe and sure keeping.”
The Revd Canon Michael Gisbourne, canon precentor, at the cathedral, added this prayer:
“God of our lives, we give thanks for the life of Prince Philip, for the love he shared among us and for his devotion to duty.
“We entrust him now to your love and mercy through our Redeemer Jesus Christ.
“Merciful God, be close to all who mourn, especially Her Majesty The Queen and all members of the Royal Family. May they know the hope of your promises and the comfort of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
An online book of condolences can be accessed via riponcathedral.org.uk
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Private prayer will be said today and in the coming week at churches of all denominations across the Harrogate district.
They, along with public buildings are flying flags at half mast to mark the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing.
Ripon races set to return next weekRipon racecourse will stage its first fixture of the 2021 season next week.
As with all meetings at the Boroughbridge Road track in 2020, the first fixtures on 15 and 24 April and 7 and 16 May will be behind closed doors.
With the subsequent easing of covid lockdown measures, the first racegoers will be allowed through the gates from 27 May.
Jonathan Mullin, marketing manager for Ripon Races, told the Stray Ferret:
“A maximum of 4,000 racegoers will be allowed on these dates and people wanting to attend must book in advance.
“We still have a limited number of paddock tickets available for 27 May, the evening meetings on 2 and 16 June and the afternoon meeting on our ladies day of 17 June.”
The first fixture is next week, but will be behind closed doors
Ticket sales are currently suspended for the remaining nine fixtures between 5 July and 25 September.
With the government’s roadmap moving towards a lifting of all covid restrictions on 21 June, Mr Mullin said:
“We are waiting to see what happens before tickets go on sale for these fixtures.”
Updates will be available on the website ripon-races.co.uk and on Facebook.
In a normal year, the track, known as ‘Yorkshire’s garden racecourse’ because of its floral splendour, attracts thousands of people through its gates.
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The highlight of Ripon racing calendar is the Great St Wilfrid Stakes in August.
Covid vaccinations taking place at the course do not clash with race days.
Ripon food poverty group sees rise in demandThe Back to Basics food organisation in Ripon says it is seeing a rise in demand for its help.
Currently, more than 40 adults and children, are benefiting from the Back to Basics venture. Each week, it provides, free of charge, the ingredients and guidance for a cheap, but nutritious meal to be prepared.
Back to Basics provide the ingredients and the recipe card needed to create a cheap, but nutritious meal
Food poverty pioneers Helen Mackenzie and Sarita McDermott set up Back to Basics in 2019. Helen, who teaches at Ripon Grammar School, told the Stray Ferret:
“We call it thriving on a budget.”
Sarita, who owns the Realitea Tea Room in North Street, added:
“Some of the most delicious meals can be produced with inexpensive ingredients such as carrots, potatoes, peas and pasta.”
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The guiding principle of Back to Basics is to be both educational and nutritional.
Helen, pointed out:
“We provide families who are struggling — usually those with kids on free school meals — with the ingredients for a meal and a recipe card. We are not a soup kitchen so we don’t make the meal for them — we expect them to get ‘back to basics’ and cook with their family.”
The venture is supported in both cash and kind by businesses and individuals in Ripon and collection boxes can be seen at various locations across the city.
The number of foodbanks in the Harrogate district is increasing — with a new one recently opened in Starbeck to meet demand.
Helen, said:
“I’m sure from what we have seen, that the families we are helping represent the tip of an iceberg. There are people paralysed by debt, who have maxed out on their credit and debit cards. Others are just a pay day away from financial meltdown.
“No matter how desperate their circumstances may be, we will help and they should not feel embarrassed about asking for our assistance.”
Anybody wanting to support the work of Back to Basics, is asked to contact Helen Mackenzie on 07896 534539.
Regular updates can be seen on Facebook.
Ripon to fund free fairgrounds in city centreFree fairground rides for young children, will be a feature of events in Ripon for the rest of the year.
This will be subject to approvals from Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) in line with easing of covid lockdown restrictions.
Some families are facing a financially difficult summer and autumn.
The UK furlough scheme and safety nets, such as mortgage holidays, will be coming to an end. The rides are free to provide fun for families who cannot afford a holiday.
Ripon City Council also hopes the planned events will generate more footfall, which will be beneficial to retailers, cafes, restaurants, pubs and heritage attractions.
Councillor Pauline McHardy (pictured right) says the fairground rides will help families and traders in Ripon
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The first are planned to be in place alongside artisan markets to be held in Ripon on the Bank Holidays of 3 May and 31 May.
At a virtual meeting of the city council’s events committee, councillors agreed that three rides will be booked for Market Square on ten separate dates.
Councillor Pauline McHardy, said:
“I’m sorry to say that there is a lot of poverty in Ripon and more hard times lie ahead for many people, who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet.
“Some families will not be able to afford a holiday this year as they face financial uncertainty.
“We can help them by providing a means of entertaining their children, without the embarrassment of struggling to find the money for them to go on the rides.”
Councillor Chris Davis, was among those members who voted unanimously to support the proposed programme of events.
He said:
“As we come out of lockdown, we want to ensure that we hit the ground running and let people know that we are open for business.”
In addition to the spring and summer months, the fairground rides will operating on other key dates including Halloween, the switch on of the city’s Christmas lights on 19 November and two Christmas markets in December.
Column: Out of lockdown life springs eternal this Eastertide
This column is written for the Stray Ferret on this Easter Sunday by Father Darryl Hall, Vicar of the United Parish of Upper Nidderdale:
The winter lockdown seems to have been the hardest one to endure. Long, dark, cold and often wet days. This seemed to cast a dreariness that makes you want to hibernate until it has passed. However, as I sit typing this, people are getting ready to head out and receive their second vaccination. Churches are beginning to reopen for public worship. It really does feel as though we are emerging from an extended period of Lent.
And as we emerge, I have noticed other things around me emerging too.
Coy snowdrops with their heads bowed as if deep in prayer were a joy to see on our walks a few weeks ago. Then came the crocuses adding bursts of yellow and purple and now masses of long green stems lift high the golden resplendence of the daffodils. The greatest of all signs that Easter is near, comes with lambs skipping in the green fields.Their bleating, the chorus of the birds and the warm kiss of the sun tell of a promise to those who know how to read the signs.
Celtic Christianity refers to this as the Primary Scriptures. The New Testament is full of Good News, but it cannot be fully understood unless we understand the Old Testament. In turn the Old Testament really needs the primary scriptures to best be understood. The divine presence is so evident in all things created that we cannot fail to see it, if only we would create the time to notice it.
I encourage you all to make a habit of consciously loving all of God’s creation. Look at the world with the eyes of your heart, with awe and wonder. When the heart is warmed by what we see then we have made a connection with God.God loves the world he has made and he loves you too.
Nowhere is this demonstrated more clearly than in the resurrection of Christ when Jesus emerges from the tomb. Throughout our lives we may encounter many experiences that scream of good news.Yet these are pale reflections of that moment in history, which means so much to Christians around the world. All these things help us get through life and should be celebrated.
However, the Good News of Jesus Christ and the resurrection reaches even beyond the grave and into the glorious light of the Kingdom of God. I encourage you now, as we emerge from all the lockdown restrictions, to rekindle your flame of faith.
If you have never had a faith or lost it at some point, see the trail of breadcrumbs that God has left for you to discover his love of the world and especially of you.
God bless you all.
Read More:
- A wait for glass delays reopening of Ripon church
- Column: a year that’s highlighted inequalities but also hope and kindness
Macmillan to benefit from bold fundraiser in Pateley Bridge
Two friends will be making a Bold & Bald gesture of brotherly love in Pateley Bridge on April 17 and shaving their heads.
Andrew Waite and Michael Brown have very personal reasons for getting involved.
They are doing it to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, in thanks for the help that their respective brothers have received in battling the disease.
Andrew’s brother Martin, was diagnosed with Lymphoma in October 2020 and has so far received six rounds of chemotherapy.
Michael’s brother David, discovered that he had Leukemia in 2019, but is now recovered and has returned to his Nidderdale farming roots.
Andrew and Michael have their roots in the farming community and are already receiving donations from the people of Nidderdale
Pat Waite, who jointly owns and runs the Sandwich Box with her husband in Back High Street, Pateley Bridge, told the Stray Ferret:
“Martin has lost his hair through the chemotherapy.
“The hardest thing for Andrew, is the fact that his brother now lives in Gloucestershire and due to covid, they have only seen each once in the past year.”
She added:
“The first Martin will know about the Bold & Bald head shave, is when it is streamed live on Facebook from the Beauty Boutique in Pateley Bridge.”
David, who is chair of Nidderdale Young Farmers, will also see it online. The Bold & Bald theme, follows on from the Macmillan Brave the Shave challenge. This saw people of all ages across the UK have their hair cut off to raise money for the charity.
Pat, pointed out:
“David has been supported throughout his illness by his brother.
“He was treated at the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.”
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Martin and his family have also been supported by Macmillan over the course of his treatment.
Around £500, including £150 from local company DTMS of Fellbeck, has already been raised through donations made at The Sandwich Box and via the justgiving link here.
Pat, said:
Legal prize for Ripon Grammar School student“We would like to thank all who have already donated and hope that we can boost that figure as Andrew and Michael prepare for their Bold & Bald challenge.”
Ripon Grammar School sixth form student Tom Cave has won a prize in a University of Oxford competition. An essay he wrote on a complex legal issue, was among entries from all over the world.
Tom, who aspires to be a lawyer, was selected from a competitive international field to win a place at the university’s online legal workshops. His entry in the legal reasoning competition was highly commended in a group of 84 entries.
Corpus Christi College outreach officer Katharine Baysan, said:
“It clearly engaged with the materials and sought to understand their meaning and effect,”
Ripon Grammar School student Tom Cave is planning a career in the legal profession
Tom, from Burton Leonard, had to analyse, using legislative texts, how the law would apply to a case revolving around negligence. He entered the competition for the Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Prize, named after the international-acclaimed legal scholar.
Tom, said:
“I thought it would also be beneficial to gain some extra research skills which would be helpful for my extended project qualification (EPQ) and for life after school.”
He has been examining whether Whole Life Orders are justified on the basis of human rights and criminal justice for his EPQ during lockdown and pointed out:
“Offenders can spend their whole life in prison without possibility of parole and I’m examining whether it’s acceptable to remove their hope as well as their liberty.”
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Tom, who is 17 and a volunteer, at the Ripon Walled Garden, is hoping to complete his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award this year.
During the covid lockdown, he has also begun virtual work experience with international corporate law firm White & Case.
In addition to the place he has won on the Oxford online workshops, Tom was presented with a certificate detailing his achievement at a prize-giving with Professor Cane and invited to a law faculty taster day.
Heat is on to reopen Ripon’s Spa Baths
The Mayor of Ripon and city council leader are demanding the reopening of Spa Baths.
With the completion date for Ripon’s new swimming pool delayed until November, councillors Eamon Parkin and Andrew Williams, are leading the call.
They visited the Grade II listed building with members of Ripon Civic Society on Friday and discovered the pool full of warm water and the heating on.
Councillor Parkin told the Stray Ferret:
“Though the building has been closed for more than a year because of the covid pandemic, it appeared to be in good shape.
“I can see no reason why it shouldn’t be back open from 12 April, along with other pools in the Harrogate district.”
Ripon is set to be without a swimming pool until November.
He added:
“Heaven knows how much it has cost to keep the heating on while the baths have been closed to the public.
“It is clear from what we saw, that council tax payers have been paying for a facility they have been unable to use.
“The pool needs to be back open from the moment that the lockdown on leisure facilities lifts.”
They were shown around by an agent from Sanderson Weatherall, which has been appointed by Harrogate Borough Council to handle the disposal of the property.
The fact-finding visit was arranged after Ripon City Council voted unanimously to keep the building in public ownership for community use.
Cllr Williams said:
“We turned up wearing our coats expecting to see the pool drained, but were surprised to find it in an operational condition.
“In some respects it was quite shocking – the heat was stifling.
“We were also surprised to discover from the agent that there is no set asking price or a guide price for the building.”
Asked about a potential reopening of Spa Baths, Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said:
“That has still to be decided.”
Cllr Lumley confirmed the Hydro swimming pool in Harrogate and Nidderdale Pool in Pateley Bridge will be reopening in April.
To comply with social distancing requirements, both will have a limited number of users.
He added:
“We are getting to a position with the roadmap, that enables us to reopen facilities, but we are limited to what we can open.”
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The initial focus will be on the reopening of the Hydro and Nidderdale pools.
Cllr Lumley said:
“We have to look on the other pools with more consideration and we can’t give a yes or no on Spa Baths at the moment.
“Decisions are being made on a weekly, if not daily basis.”
Ripon residents complain to council over felled trees
Council officers have defended their handling of a Ripon planning application involving the felling of 36 trees.
Residents living close to the Cathedral View park home development on North Road have complained to Harrogate Borough Council (HBC).
They believe that planning notices inviting comment on the proposed removal of the trees were not prominently displayed.
Mary Kelly, whose Magdalens Road home looks directly onto the development site, told the Stray Ferret:
“We and other neighbours believe that we were denied any viable opportunity to object.”
She pointed out:
“Planning notices were put in place – one on North Road and the other at the end of the Magdalens Close cul-de-sac.
“The Cathedral View site is bounded by Magdalens Road and Princess Road – both of which are busy thoroughfares.
“No notices were placed on either, despite the fact that people living on these roads are materially affected by the felling of mature woodland trees.”
One of the planning notices was placed on the Magdalens Close cul-de-sac. (Photograph courtesy of Wendy Marks)
The opportunity to comment on the proposed felling of the trees ended on 10 January and resident Wendy Marks, said:
“Because of the location of the notices, many people living near the site will have been unaware of what was planned.”
The removal of trees including Ash, Sycamore, Horse Chestnut and White Poplar, took place earlier this month.
Bethan Dailey, who also lives close to the site, said:
“As well as being appalled by the removal of 36 trees, I’m concerned that the felling took place at the start of the nesting season – contrary to advice provided by the RSPB.”
A spokesperson for the HBC planning department, said:
“Two site notices were erected, one at the entrance to the site on North Road and a further site notice on Magdalen’s Close.
“The position and number of site notices erected complies with national guidance on such matters.”
The spokesperson pointed out that applications to remove trees are assessed against development plan policy by a planning officer and HBC’s arborist.
All works have been carried out in accordance with the planning approvals.
The spokesperson added:
“The planning permission does not prohibit the removal of trees within the month of March. The tree contractors are responsible for complying with the legislation around breeding birds.”
Read More:
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- Ripon plans for year of double celebration
James Crickmore, of Ripon Mobile Home Park Ltd, which is developing the Cathedral View site, said:
“The Woodland area was purchased as a separate contract in 2020 from a private individual, who informed me that when he was a young lad this area was a paddock where his father kept a pony.
“In the 1990s up until the year 2000, this area had planning permission for two houses, so the the reason we bought the wood was for investment reasons.
“Subsequently we hired a tree expert to take a look at the wood regarding dead trees and diseased trees, applying to Harrogate council for permission to carry out the work.
“Permission was granted and the work carried out by a reputable company.”
With regard to the nesting season, Mr Crickmore, added:
“We have a local firm installing bird boxes and bat boxes.”