Vicar’s world record attempt in Nidderdale churchNext month, a church in Nidderdale will, over 13 days, host an unusual world record attempt and fund raiser for deaf people.
The Rev Michael Sabell, a retired vicar who has been helping in the parish of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite, is doing a ‘signathon’ to raise deaf awareness and funds for a sign language translation of the Bible.
To claim the record, the vicar, who was born severely deaf, plans to do 13 hours of signing the Bible and is aiming to beat his own world record – set 33 years ago, when he signed non-stop for 12 hours.
The Rev Michael Sabell (photograph courtesy of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds)
However, his age will not permit that kind of marathon any more, so from Sunday, September 13, at Holy Trinity Church in Dacre, Rev Michael will do an hour of signing every day for 13 days – reading from the Old Testament.
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His record attempt is designed to raise awareness of the issues deaf people face, and help raise funds for the British Sign Language (BSL) Bible Translation Project.
The project aims to produce the first real translation of the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew texts to BSL using deaf presenters, Bible scholars and translation experts, to provide a video-based Bible in sign language for deaf people to have independent access to scripture.
The Rev Alastair Ferneley, Vicar of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite, said:
“I think it’s wonderful, and perhaps a move of the Holy Spirit, that Michael still feels fired up enough about this issue to want to do again what he did many years ago, to raise funds and awareness to support the deaf community.
“With his deafness and hesitant speech he has faced challenges many of us can only dimly understand, and yet he has done his best to serve Christ – sometimes ministering to the deaf community, sometimes in regular parish ministry.
“Unless you’re part of the deaf community you might not realise that there are a whole group of people, in our own country, in that community, who do not have a translation of the Bible in their first language.”
Anybody who would like if to support Rev Michael, is asked to contact Rev Alastair at irreverend@btinternet.com.
Political opponents criticise Ripon MP over £3,000 per hour consultancy
Political opponents of Ripon’s Conservative MP Julian Smith, have criticised him for accepting a £3,000 per hour advisory role with industrial company Ryse Hydrogen Limited (RHL).
The executive chairman of Ryse is Jo Bamford and in 2019, when Mr Smith was still in post as Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Bamford, a pioneer in zero emissions power technology for the transport sector, became owner of Ballymena-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.
Because of his former government role in Northern Ireland, Mr Smith sought advice from the Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments about a potential conflict in taking the role with Ryse.
The committee, in a written response from Conservative Life Peer Lord Pickles, concluded that the appointment was not a conflict, as long as Mr Smith does not lobby on behalf of the company or advise on government contracts for two years after he was sacked as Northern Ireland secretary in February this year.
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Councillor Andrew Murday, secretary of the Ripon branch of the Skipton & Ripon Liberal Democrat Association, who stood against Mr Smith in the December 2019 general election, told the Stray Ferret:
“It is very difficult to understand what Jo Bamford’s company, Ryse Hydrogen, will get for their £60,000. As far as I know, Julian Smith possess no expertise in the field of hydrogen fuel and parliamentary rules stipulate that he cannot lobby on behalf of the company for a period of two years after leaving office.”
Cllr Murday (pictured above, left) pointed out:
“This extraordinary sum, is over twice the average annual wage for 20 hours work.”
Green Party Councillor Andrew Brown (pictured above, right) who also stood against Mr Smith at the general election in December, said:
“There is something deeply disturbing about former Ministers being paid large sums of money to offer advice.”
He added:
“No matter how many assurances are given or how honest the politician there is a real risk of continuing to undermine public confidence. The thousand plus people of Skipton and Ripon that I spoke to during the recent election were astonishingly cynical about all politicians. I can only see this increasing their lack of faith in the people who are supposed to be working on their behalf.”
The Stray Ferret approached Mr Smith for comment, but had received no reply at the time of going to press.
Nidderdale Museum plans Bank Holiday reopeningNidderdale Museum is planning to reopen over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Reopening of the award-winning museum, which is housed in the Old Workhouse in King Street Pateley Bridge, has been delayed because many of its volunteers remained in self-isolation when the government gave permission for heritage attractions to open in early July.
Now, however, the museum reports that after a good response to its plea for more volunteer stewards, work carried out to make the building COVID secure and some financial help from Museum Development Yorkshire, the reopening is scheduled for 1.30pm on Saturday, August 29.
The museum is located in The Old Workhouse
Beyond then, the visitor attraction – a past winner of the National Heritage Museum of The Year Award – plans to continue to open every Saturday and Sunday throughout the autumn and winter, depending on government restrictions on social distancing and availability of stewards.
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Last month, Sue Welch, chair of Nidderdale Museum, told the Stray Ferret about the practical issues faced by organisations that are heavily reliant upon volunteers to remain open. She said:
“There are various other museums in Yorkshire that are saying they are likely to have the same problems because many of their volunteers are over 70. I am afraid it is a known issue. People that volunteer are often older people and particularly museum volunteers.”
Visitors will be required to wear face coverings, a one-way system will be in place, and only one group of visitors will be allowed in each of the museum’s 10 rooms at any one time, ensuring contact with others will be minimal. All groups will be asked to sign in with their contact details.
Nidderdale Museum has a collection of exhibits, illustrating different aspects of life and work in Nidderdale through the ages.
New bakers shop opens in Pateley BridgeIn Pateley Bridge there are signs of a gentle retail revival after the devastating impact of coronavirus.
This week, a bakers shop returned, adding to the two butchers, the oldest sweet shop in England and many other independent businesses, including cafes, pubs, restaurants and takeaways, that occupy the High Street.
In February, The Old Bakehouse, which had traded at the foot of the High Street for many years, closed its doors.
Now, six months later, new owners have refurbished the premises re-ordered the layout to cater for social distancing requirements and called their shop Yorkshire Born & Bread.
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The Chandler family – brothers Lee and Shaun and their wives Elizabeth and Tilly – are the joint owners of the new bakery and have already made a name for themselves in the town over the past four years, with the way in which they have transformed and expanded the Spar shop across the road.
The Mayor and Mayoress of Pateley Bridge Councillor Mike and Dr Janet Holt (pictured above) performed the opening ceremony and were served with the first loaf of bread baked on the premises.
Afterwards, Cllr Holt, said:
“I took the opportunity to thank the Chandlers for the tremendous effort they have made to help the local community over the last five months, and to wish them every success in their new venture.”
During the coronavirus crisis the Spar shop has provided a central hub for free home deliveries made to people living in self-isolation throughout the Pateley Bridge area – a service supported by volunteers, including staff from the Bewerley Park outdoor learning centre.
Lee Chandler, said:
“The number of people in self-isolation has reduced, but we are still handling between 60 and 100 orders a week.”
The Chandler family, who were born, bred and educated in Nidderdale and proud of their Yorkshire roots, clearly don’t mind a challenge.
Tilly, told the Stray Ferret:
“We were all busy with the existing shop, but decided to open the bakery as well and just worked around the clock to make it happen.”
Ripon’s Navigation Inn hopes to reopen on WednesdayThe Navigation Inn in Canal Road, Ripon, hopes to reopen on Wednesday after temporarily closing because a customer tested positive for coronavirus.
Manager and licence holder Chloe Smith said on the pub’s FaceBook page on Sunday evening:
“After a long day, of many conversations with different professionals, I have spoken in depth with Public Health England, and they have advised that we are fine to reopen the pub.”
She added:
“For the next three days the pub will be deep cleaned each day.”
Staff at the Navigation Inn, Ripon
All staff will be tested for the virus and if tests come back negative the pub hopes to reopen on Wednesday.
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The decision to close temporarily was taken to ensure the safety of customers and staff and came after the pub’s management was informed that a person who visited on Thursday, August 13, had subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.
Following lockdown in late March caused by the coronavirus crisis, pubs and other hospitality businesses across the country were only allowed to reopen on July 4 when the government eased social distancing rules, reducing the distance from two metres to one.
Strict hygiene and safety requirements, including provision of hand sanitisers at entry and exit points and the installation of screens to protect bar staff, are in force and pub goers are required to complete NHS Test and Trace forms.
Official government advice on Test and Trace is as follows:
“If you receive a request for information from NHS Test and Trace this does not mean that you must close your establishment. NHS Test and Trace will, if necessary, undertake an assessment and work with you to understand what actions need to be taken.
“Depending on the circumstances and the length of time that has elapsed, this could include arranging for people to be tested, asking them to take extra care with social distancing and/or – in some circumstances – asking them to self-isolate.
“NHS Test and Trace will give you the necessary public health support and guidance. Your staff will be included in any risk assessment and NHS Test and Trace will advise them what they should do.”
Ripon holds season’s biggest race behind closed doors
The Great St. Wilfrid Handicap – Ripon’s most valuable race of the season and its biggest annual crowd puller – took place today behind closed doors.
With government restrictions on mass gatherings preventing racegoers from attending meetings across the UK, there was no roar of the crowd to be heard as the 19 thoroughbreds hurtled down the track, in the six furlong sprint.
As ever, the race attracted some of the leading sprint handicappers from the country’s top racing stables, but a sign of how the lockdown that has affected racing since March, came with the fact that prize money has been reduced.
Runners from the David O’Meara stable arriving at Ripon Racecourse earlier today
The total prize pot for the first six horses home in the Class 2 race was £39,348, compared with last season’s prize money for the William Hill sponsored sprint of £73,779.
This year’s winner was the 4-1 favourite Staxton, ridden by Duran Fentiman and trained by Tim Easterby. The 5-year-old gelding won £24,900 for owners the Ontoawinner 10 & Partner partnership.
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In the 120 years that the Boroughbridge Road track, widely known as the ‘garden racecourse’ has been holding meetings, it has never faced the kind of challenge that the coronavirus crisis has posed.
The season’s fixtures should have begun in April, but the first meeting staged behind closed doors, took place on the evening of June 20, with strict hygiene and social distancing measures in place for the limited number of jockeys, stall handlers, stable staff, stewards, course staff, satellite TV and media representatives allowed through the gates.
Ahead of the June 20 meeting, clerk of the course and managing director of Ripon Racecourse Company, James Hutchinson 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.”
He added:
“We simply hope to complete the fixtures through to the end of August as safely as possible for all involved and take it from there.”
Ripon has a horseracing heritage going back to 1664, when the first recorded races were held on Bondgate Green. Over more than 230 years, other venues were used for meetings and in 1723, history was made when the first-ever race for lady riders was held in the city.
On 6 August 1900, the current course held its inaugural meeting and since that time the racecourse has remained the city’s leading sporting venue, attracting local residents and visitors from far afield.
Ripon remembers the fallen on VJ DayThree 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.
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.
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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 performanceDespite 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.”
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.”
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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 BridgeTwo 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.”
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.
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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 awardsTwo 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.
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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.