Ripon Grammar School (RGS) is seeking poems of the pandemic for its annual poetry challenge.
With the theme of “escape” the search is on for rhyme that have helped to reduce anxiety and provided solace during the covid lockdown.
Students, parents, past pupils and the wider Ripon community are invited to enter.
The Hullah Poetry Competition was launched in 2014 and attracts hundreds of entries every year.
Dr Paul Hullah, will judge the competition.
Judge Dr Paul Hullah, a past pupil of the school and now professor of poetry at Tokyo’s Meiji Gakuin University, explained his choice of theme for 2021.
He said:
“The last year has been difficult for all of us. We’ve had to work out new ways to live.
“We’ve all done our best, but enforced isolation, our new ‘indoor existence’, has not been easy for many of us.
“A lockdown limbo land of restrictions on movement has been a psychological as well as physical challenge we have all had to try to overcome.
“In such stressful, testing times, it’s important to find ways actively to reduce anxiety.
“Art — of which poetry is a fundamental form — can represent a welcome escape from the prosaic reality of our situation.
“Whether we’re producers of art, or consumers, or both, creativity stimulates the imagination and exercises the mind, inspires and elevates us.
“Whether it’s a Netflix binge watch, a video game, a fantasy manga, a favourite tune, a musical, a ballet, a book… or a poem, art offers us a meaningful exit route — dramatic, fantastical, and joyous — from the daily actualities in which we find ourselves, a temporary respite from the workaday mundanities that give life a regularity but are lacking in emotional release.
“Art is a medicine that soothes, and liberates: ‘Go anywhere, without leaving your chair’, as the song says.
“So, this year, the task is to write a poem of fourteen or more lines that somehow connects to the concept of ‘Escape’. Any poetic form, rhyme scheme or narrator is allowed.”
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Entries should be submitted you via email by Friday, by 16 July to Mrs Mars at marsh@ripongrammar.com. Prizes will be awarded in two categories.
Many happy returners at Ripon City Netball ClubIt was time for many happy returns at Ripon City Netball Club this week.
The spontaneous singing of ‘Happy Birthday to You’, signalled the arrival on court of Jackie Laugher.
For the mother of Olympic gold medal winning diver Jack, it was the sporting icing on the cake.
On a sunlit evening, she met with team mates she hadn’t seen face-to-face for seven months.
Jackie told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s lovely to be back among friends.”
Families and friends – Helen and Amy Mackenzie (left) are pictured with, from left: Jackie Laugher, Lindsi Baldwin and her sister Kirsteen Dixon
Jack, who won his diving gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had rung his mother earlier to wish her a happy birthday.
She said:
“He is always encouraging me and was pleased to hear I was heading out for netball training and keeping myself fit.”
For Jack, the road to Olympic gold started at Ripon’s Spa Baths where he was taught to swim by Sylvia Grice.
His sporting prowess was developed further at Ripon Grammar School, where he was taught by Sylvia’s daughter and PE teacher Helen Mackenzie.
The connection between the families continues, as Helen is head coach at Ripon City Netball Club, where her daughter Amy is a rising star.
She said:
“The aim since we set off seven years ago has been to create a club based on three words – participate, enjoy, succeed.
“We are inclusive, welcoming all-comers.
“This sees mothers alongside their daughters and siblings enjoying training and playing together.”
Club secretary Kirsteen Dixon who was present with her sister Lindsi Baldwin, said:
“These times are so special, it’s like turning the clock back to school days, when we first learnt to play netball.
“Many lasting friendships developed from this.
“The social aspect is as important as the sporting activity.”
Covid lockdown saw the suspension of netball in September.
Ripon City, which plays in the Hambleton, Harrogate, York and North Yorkshire Ambassadors leagues is now preparing for games later this year.
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With teams named after birds of prey – Falcons, Kestrels, Ospreys, Eagles and Hawks – it’s time to spread their wings once more.
As lockdown lifts further, many more will be flocking back to their Ripon Grammar School base.
Three Ripon museums prepare for reopeningThree Ripon museums are preparing to reopen next month after receiving further government funding.
The Workhouse, Prison & Police and Old Courthouse museums plan to welcome visitors from May 17.
Before then, the Workhouse Museum gardens will be open until 3pm today.
Ripon Museum Trust, which maintains the attractions, has received two grants totalling £186,850 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, which helps cultural organisations recover from covid,
The latest grant of £69,350, announced last week, will help the trust develop digital learning for schools and reconnect with tour groups, older learners and communities.
The Police & Prison Museum – one of the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust
This additional funding comes as visitor attractions and tourism destinations aim to make the most of the relaxation of lockdown restrictions and boom in staycations.
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, said:
“The Arts Council’s cultural recovery funding has been an absolute lifeline during a very challenging time.
“This grant puts us in a strong and positive position to reopen our museums again and welcome visitors back – which is what we love doing and what we are all about.
“It will be so wonderful having our doors open again on 17 May.”
The Workhouse Museum gardens will also be open between 11am and 3pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus Bank Holiday Monday 3 May.
To manage numbers and ensure social distancing, people should book timed ticket slots online for this and the ‘Inside Out’ Museum Trail. Visit riponmuseums.co.uk for bookings.
Read more:
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- Ripon plans free fairground attractions for families
- Ripon racecourse ready to stage its first fixture of 2021
Sir Nicholas Serota, chairman of Arts Council England, said:
“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
“We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Last autumn, the trust was awarded £117,500 from the Culture Recovery Fund.
£34,000: the cost of heating closed Ripon poolHarrogate Borough Council has spent £34,000 heating Ripon Spa Baths since it closed in March last year, the Stray Ferret has discovered.
The pool is one of three in the Harrogate district, along with Knaresborough and Starbeck, to remain closed after leisure facilities were allowed to reopen on Monday.
The council has now disclosed the cost of keeping the water warm and the plant in operational condition during the last year of closure to Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council.
Councillor Williams said it would be “council taxpayer money down the drain if the baths are not reopened” immediately.
Ripon’s new pool was due to open this summer but construction will not be complete until November.
He said:
“Construction of Ripon’s new pool will not be complete until November.
“The swimming pools at Knaresborough and Starbeck are closed and travel to Harrogate Hydro and the Nidderdale pool in Pateley Bridge is not advisable, as the government still urges us to stay as local as possible.
“Taking all of these factors into consideration, I find it hard to believe that Harrogate Borough Council cannot find the personnel needed for Spa Baths to reopen straight away.
“They must tell the citizens of Ripon – particularly young people who have had months of no leisure activity during lockdown – exactly when they can go swimming again.”
Read more:
- The heat is on to reopen Ripon baths
- Call for urgent action to safeguard future of historic Ripon building
The Grade II Listed Spa Baths was deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ in February and put on the market.
Cllr Williams, the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and representatives of Ripon Civic Society, found the pool in operational condition last month when they were shown around the building by selling agents Sanderson Weatherall.
This prompted the senior councillors, along with other city councillors, to call for reopening from 12 April, when lockdown restrictions were lifted.
But that date has passed and the pool remains closed.
A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said reopening Spa Baths when lockdown restrictions changed on Monday was not possible because sport and leisure staff have been redeployed to other services.
The spokeswoman added:
“We have kept the pool at Ripon Spa Baths heated because we have been using it for staff training while the building was closed to the public.
“All systems which keep the pool functioning have been set to the lowest level.
“It is far more cost-effective to maintain a minimum heat in the water than allow it to cool completely and then have to reheat it to the required temperature.
“Pool water which retains some heat and continues to circulate through the filtration system, albeit slowly, will also prevent damage to the infrastructure and algae build-up.
“Heating also protects the fabric of the building from condensation and decay.
“We look forward to welcoming back swimmers as soon as we can.”
Call to reduce Ripon barracks development by 500 homes
Ripon City Council is calling for a 500-homes reduction in the size of the barracks development.
The 1,300-dwelling Clotherholme scheme proposed by Homes England, has raised concerns about the impact of more vehicles on Ripon’s roads.
City council leader Andrew Williams, told the Stray Ferret:
“We support comprehensive redevelopment of the former barracks site and welcome the much-needed new and affordable homes it will bring.
“However, we believe that to avoid traffic gridlock in Ripon, numbers need to be scaled back to 800.”
Residents living on Kirkby Road are among those concerned about the traffic that the Clotherholme development will generate.
The call for reduced numbers was supported at a recent special meeting of the city council.
Councillors also approved spending on a further report from Ripon-based traffic, highways and transport engineering consultant David Walpole.
When the Ripon Neighbourhood Plan was being drawn up, it was envisaged that the barracks site would provide space for 800 new homes.
The site, encompassing Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks, initially included 11 hectares earmarked for employment uses.
After the allocation of land for employment uses was reduced, Homes England sought outline planning approval for a 1,300-home scheme.
A transport assessment prepared in support of the development, was described as ‘flawed’ by Ripon City Council.
It claimed it fails to address core issues local residents have raised.
City councillor Mike Chambers, who is also Harrogate Borough Council‘s cabinet member for homes and safer communities and a North Yorkshire county councillor, said:
“There are clearly traffic issues that need to be looked at.
“We want to work with Homes England and planners to achieve the best possible result for the people of Ripon.”
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Kirkby Road will be the principal route linking the Clotherholme development with the city centre.
Residents living there, including members of the Ripon Residents Action Group, have consistently lobbied for road improvements ahead of the construction of new housing.
Hair cuts at last! 6.30am queue forms for Ripon barbers
Normal Monday opening hours at City Barbers in High Skellgate, Ripon are 8am to 5pm — but today was no normal Monday.
With no appointment necessary, nothing could be left to chance.
Brian Knowles, a regular at the shop for more than 20 years, was first in the queue at 6.30am.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I’ve been waiting 24 weeks for this since November 8 and it feels great.”
Brian Knowles, first in the queue after a 24-week wait to have his hair professionally cut.
With a fine head of hair to look after, Mr Knowles admitted that he had bought a ‘do it yourself kit’ to keep those annoying straggling hairs off his ears during lockdown.
He said:
“I had to make sure the DIY kit was fully charged, as I didn’t want it cutting out on me while I was using it.”
Help was at hand when granddaughter Isobel stopped by to give Mr Knowles a trim.
But he admits:
“Nothing can beat having it done professionally'”
As they waited their turn in one of the three chairs working at full capacity, the Stray Ferret heard some bad DIY hair day stories.
With names withheld to protect relationships and avoid embarrassment, they included:
“My wife has been having a good hack at mine from time to time. I’m just lucky to still have ears!”
“I tried a do it yourself job and cut out a great clump of hair — I won’t be doing that again in a hurry!”
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City Barbers, in line with other barbers and hairdressers, faces a busy day as they operate with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place.
Ripon’s Oxfam shop to reopen for the first time in a yearRipon’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.