Vicky Carr, Author at The Stray Ferret

Knaresborough festival to return with town crier contest this weekend

A new town crier will be chosen for Knaresborough this weekend as the community comes together to build new connections.

Knaresborough Community Festival is being held for the third time to offer groups and organisations around the town a chance to spread the word about what they offer.

Visitors will be able to enjoy taster sessions, ask questions and sign up for everything from Guides and Scouts to dance classes, theatre groups, Parkrun and even the town council.

A total of almost 40 organisations will be represented, along with live music and other entertainment.

Matt Read of Knaresborough Connectors said:

“We did the first community festival nearly three years ago at Knaresborough House as we came out of lockdown. We had about 25 community groups then.

“Knaresborough Connectors was the community support organisation for Knaresborough in the pandemic. We ran the festival to help people reconnect.

“There were a number of community groups that lost three-quarters of their membership and others had to close. It was a case of reconnecting people and joining the dots in the community.”

Town crier contest

An unusual feature of this year’s event will be a competition to find the next town crier, after Roger Hewitt announced his retirement from the post he has held for the last eight years.

It will see three candidates put through two rounds in front of the crowd, who will be encouraged to cheer for their favourites.

The contest will be judged by Mr Hewitt and the Mayor of Knaresborough, Cllr Kathryn Davies, with the winner to be announced at a later date.

Charlotte Gale of Knaresborough and District Chamber, which has organised the competition, said:

“Roger, the current town crier, has written a cry that they will be reading out in the first round. They have also been asked to prepare their own original cry for the second round. It should be a fun competition.”

Knaresborough Community Festival runs from 10am to 4pm at Meadowside Primary Academy on Halfpenny Lane tomorrow. The event is free and visitors are invited to bring picnics, or to buy food provided by the school’s PTA.

Full details are available on the Knaresborough Connectors website.

Valley Gardens ceremony to mark Harrogate’s 70 years of links with New Zealand

A sculpture symbolising eternal friendship and loyalty will be unveiled in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens this weekend.

The Maori pikorua symbol forms part of the newly-refurbished New Zealand Gardens, along with a new bench and an information board.

The garden was created in 1953 to mark the links between Harrogate and Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, forged during the Second World War. Four men from Wellington are among the 23 New Zealand Air Force crew buried in the Commonwealth war graves at Stonefall cemetery.

The refurbishment – the first work for more than a decade – has been funded by individual donors, along with support from North Yorkshire Council, including local councillors Sam Gibbs and Peter Lacey.

It follows the deterioration of the previous installations in the area, including wooden sculptures and a bench which were affected by the weather and targeted by vandals in 2020.

Dennis Richards, chair of Harrogate International Partnerships, which oversees Harrogate’s twinning programme, said:

“It’s not a memorial garden, but the trigger for it was the New Zealand air crew buried at Stonefall. It was a vision of the two towns to create this garden which celebrates history, culture and friendship.

“It has taken a long, long time to get the money together to do the refurbishment.”

The unveiling of the garden will take place at 11am tomorrow, Saturday.

Flt Lt Dan Channon of the Royal New Zealand Air Force will represent his country and its capital, Wellington, at the ceremony.

Tewit Intermediate Band will play from 10.40am before the ceremony is opened by Mr Richards at 11am.

It will include short speeches about the history of the garden, its links to Stonefall, and the significance of the pikorua sculpture.

Among those speaking will be Fran Pride, the daughter of Tony Sissons who was instrumental in its development through his roles with the Friends of Valley Gardens and Harrogate in Bloom.

His widow, Bobbie, will officially reveal a new information board explaining the links between the towns, before Virginia Partridge, whose late father Alan Rollinson had strong links with both Harrogate and New Zealand, unveils the new sculpture.

The national anthems of both countries will be performed, with soloist Amelia McQuire singing New Zealand’s.

Alongside the garden refurbishment, Harrogate International Partnerships is working to build stronger links between the people of Harrogate and the communities in their twinned towns.

As well as Wellington, Harrogate has twinning agreements with Barrie in Canada, Bagneres de Luchon in France, and the Unesco world heritage site of Montecatini Terme in Italy.

Owen raises £1,000 for Knaresborough rescue centre with 100 bags of litter

A nine-year-old boy has raised more than £1,000 for a cause close to his heart — and helped the environment too.

Owen Sutcliffe set himself the challenge of collecting 100 bags of litter in just six weeks to raise money for K’Rescue Knaresborough.

The animal enthusiast went out in all weathers to ensure he completed his challenge – often helped by his friends and family. Mum Clare said:

“It should be an activity for kids, because all of Owen’s friends have joined in. They’ve got right into it.

“I can’t get over how much they’ve all loved litter picking!”

Owen told the Stray Ferret:

“I’m the coolest kid in my class. I’m saving the planet and the animals!”

Owen filled his final three bin bags at the weekend before returning to school after the Easter break.

Asked whether he was proud of his achievement, he added:

“Yes – but my arms hurt!”

Over the last six weeks, Owen has picked litter from parks and footpaths across the Harrogate area, from near his primary school, Hookstone Chase, out to Ripley and Killinghall.

He and his friends have made some interesting discoveries in the undergrowth during that time, including half a pram, a broken lawnmower and an open packet of unused nappies.

Alongside online donations of £900, further contributions in cash have brought the total raised to £1,100.

Owen with Dan, right, and K’Rescue volunteer Anna

Owen has now told the rescue centre’s owner, Dan Holmes, how much he has raised. The money will be used to help cover the £1,500-a-month running costs and to carry out some essential maintenance work

Dan said:

“We are very grateful for all Owen has done. He is one of the few that have done such a big fundraiser to support us and it’s fantastic what he has achieved.”

Mr Holmes said the rescue centre welcomes visitors during its opening hours. Visits are free, but donations are welcome. Many of the animals are also available for adoption.

Repairs planned for listed weir at risk of collapse at Studley Royal

The National Trust has applied for planning permission to carry out repairs to an ancient weir that is in danger of collapse.

The weir, to the north-east end of Studley Royal Water Garden, is a listed structure and forms part of the World Heritage Site at Fountains Abbey near Ripon.

The work will aim to stabilise the retaining walls around the weir, parts of which date back to the early 18th century. As part of its application on behalf of the National Trust, JBA Consulting said:

“The wall on the east side of the outfall is collapsing as a result of failure of its fabric, historic tree damage and past flood events, whilst the wall on the west side is collapsing as a result of intrusive root action from a nearby tree and past flood events.

“The proposed works are intended to stabilise the wall and repair the damage through installation of modern retaining walls which will be dressed using the stones saved from the extant walls. Following the repair, the walls will be reinstated to their former character and stabilised for the future.”

Part of the retaining wall is at risk of collapse.

The application said the footpath along the side of the river and the footbridge over it would remain open during the works.

However, access to the river bank may need to be restricted for safety reasons, it said. A temporary works area will be installed to the north of the river to store materials and allow a vehicle to be kept on site.

The application added:

“Without the proposed repair works there is the risk that the water from the outflow will continue to undermine the drystone wall leading to damage of the more formal dressed stone structure and the riverbank.

“There is also a risk of the mature tree on the bank above the south wall becoming unstable as the wall and earth bank behind it degrades further.”

The plans will be decided by North Yorkshire Council at a later date. To view or comment on the application, visit the planning pages of North Yorkshire Council’s website and use reference ZC23/01443/LB.

Harrogate head set to move to new role at infant school

The headteacher of Grove Road Primary School is set to move on to a new role in September.

Christopher Harrison is taking up the post of headteacher at Oatlands Infant School, just two miles south of his current school.

The role was advertised after current head Zoe Anderson announced she was planning to move to the Isle of Skye after the end of the academic year.

Mr Harrison said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed as Headteacher at Oatlands Infant School.

“Whilst I have loved being a part of the Grove Road community for the last five years, both as a teacher and leader, I have always wanted to work in an infant school. I started my teaching career in Early Years and Key Stage 1, and the prospect of returning to work with these ages in a brilliant school – with the backing of a superb Multi Academy Trust and a fabulous community – was a tremendously exciting opportunity for me.

“I look forward to hearing about Grove Road’s continued successes, and I can’t wait to be part of Oatlands Infant School’s exciting journey going forward.”

Oatlands deputy headteacher Kathryn Haddon said:

“We are excited to welcome Mr Harrison in September and look forward to working together with him to build on all the existing successes in our nurturing and inspiring school.”

Confirmation that Mr Harrison will move means Grove Road is now seeking its own new headteacher.

In a statement, the governors of Grove Road Primary School said:

“We are sad that Mr Harrison will be leaving us at the end of the summer term, he has been an important figure in the school for the last five years. Although we will miss him, we wish him every success at Oatlands Infant School.

“As a governing body we are now focussed on recruiting our new headteacher for Grove Road Community Primary School.”

Oatlands Infant School has a three-form intake of 90 pupils each year, with up to 270 pupils across reception, year one and year two.

At Grove Road, the annual intake is 40 pupils, with a total of just under 300 on the role in its seven year groups.

Last year, Grove Road was set to be amalgamated with Woodfield Primary School as the latter faced closure following a damning Ofsted report.

However, governors withdrew support for the plans in April 2022 because of the potential risks. They said the consultation period had highlighted potential problems with support for the proposal and the likely number of applications, concluding:

“Ultimately, the governing board have concluded that we must prioritise the future of Grove Road School and so, sadly, we can no longer support the proposed amalgamation.”

Oatlands Infant School is part of the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, alongside St Aidan’s C of E High School and seven primary schools, six of which are in the Harrogate district.

Most of its pupils go on to the nearby Oatlands Junior School, which is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust of 13 primary and secondary schools across North and West Yorkshire.

As part of the recruitment pack for the new headteacher, Oatlands Infant School said an Ofsted inspection was “likely before the end of this academic year”. The last, in 2013, rated the school ‘outstanding’.

It said the new head would lead the response to the outcome of the next inspection.

‘Nurturing’ staff help children to learn at ‘homely’ nursery near Ripon

A “homely” nursery in a village outside Ripon has won praise from Ofsted.

Appletrees Day Nursery in Littlethorpe has maintained its ‘good’ rating in a new report published this month by the education regulator.

After visiting the nursery in March, inspector Kelly Nevett said:

“The curriculum helps to prepare children for their transition on to school. A dedicated transition manager ensures that children are ready for this next chapter, and staff have made good links with local schools.

“Staff have high expectations for all children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children make good progress.”

She said the indoor and outdoor areas helped children to “interact with the natural world” and “make choices in their learning”. Staff helped children to build confidence by offering “nurturing support”, she added.

The nursery, which has 53 children on the roll, was praised for its effective communication with parents, and for involving families in the children’s learning.

Play was used effectively to help children learn skills such as maths, the inspector said. She added:

“Children are at the heart of this welcoming nursery. They show very good attitudes to their own learning and have good self-regulation skills. Behaviour is also very good across the age groups of children. Staff encourage children to share, take turns and learn how to focus through some group teaching times.

“However, staff do not consistently plan precisely for what children need to learn next during some adult-led activities, such as group times before lunch.”

She also suggested improvements could be made in encouraging children to speak to each other more, as well as with adults, and in allowing older children to develop their independence at mealtimes.

Nursery director Lucy Thompson said she and the rest of the team would use the inspector’s recommendations to make further improvements. She added:

“We are delighted to receive such a good report. The inspector clearly recognised our ethos and well-being priorities of love, care, nurture and our naturally inspiring outdoor space, all of which are so important for positive growth and development.

“We were particularly delighted that parents and guardians shared their positive feedback with the inspector, and did so with such passion. This is a testament to the wonderful community that we have built together, and really meant a lot to us.

“Our brilliant team is incredibly proud of what we have achieved. I felt quite emotional observing the day. We’re so often wrapped up in a busy learning atmosphere in nursery, but to stand back and see Appletrees in full flow made my heart swell. Everyone works so hard to create this wonderful learning environment. It’s a real team effort.”

Opening date for new pay-as-you-feel cafe in Killinghall

A pay-as-you-feel cafe will open in Killinghall next month thanks to food waste organisation Resurrected Bites.

It will run its weekly cafe in the newly-refurbished Killinghall Methodist Church every Thursday from 11.30am to 2pm.

The grand opening takes place on Thursday, May 11, when the team of volunteers will be serving hot meals made using food that would otherwise have gone to landfill.

Customers are invited to pay whatever they can afford for their lunches, as well as a selection of hot and cold drinks, pastries and cakes.

Ian Booth, who has run the kitchen for the organisation’s cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough for the last two years, previously told the Stray Ferret:

“Often, people don’t come because they think it’s just for people who are struggling. We’re absolutely dependent on people who can afford to give generously.

“At the same time, it’s great when people come who can’t afford to, knowing that someone who is struggling has had a good hot meal.”

As well as the weekly cafe, a new toddler and parent creative group is being launched to run in the morning. Therapeutic Creatives will offer creative sessions for children as well as activities for parents and carers, aiming to make the first few years of parenthood easier.

Participants will then have an area set aside in the cafe for them to enjoy lunch together and build new friendships.

Resurrected Bites, a community interest company, also runs community groceries in Harrogate and Knaresborough. They allow people who are struggling to afford food to get a weekly shop for a small sum.

The organisation uses food from supermarkets and other commercial businesses to fill its grocery shelves and create its cafe menus. All the food is still safe to eat, but does not meet the exacting requirements of retailers.

The Stray Ferret supported Resurrected Bites as part of our first ever Christmas appeal in 2022. With support from the public and match funding of £5,000 from Harrogate firm Techbuyer, we raised more than £32,000 in just four weeks.

New boutique in Harrogate aims to cater for all brides

The founder of a bridal company said the opening of a shop in Harrogate will honour a family link to the town dating back many years.

Joanne Wilson founded Elite Bridal almost 20 years ago in Hull, before expanding to Brighouse, Hessle and Castleford.

As the company grew, it became a family enterprise: husband Richard, daughter Holly-Ann, and sons Joshua and Ben all have roles in its boutiques, outlets and international wholesale trade.

Putting the finishing touches to the new boutique on West Park today, before its opening tomorrow, Joanne said:

“For years, I used to come here with my mum and my daughter. My mum just loved Harrogate – any special day, we came to Harrogate. I lost my mum three years ago.

“Richard and I came to Harrogate one day and saw the shop and I said, ‘that’s my shop’. It was up for rent and we contacted the agent immediately and they said, ‘do you want to look around?’

“I said, ‘you can show me round later, but we’re having it’.”

The Wilson family

She described the former Orvis store as the “perfect” location, offering views of the Stray, as well as options for brides and their friends and families to enjoy lunch or drinks nearby after finding their dream dress.

Many weeks of hard work have gone into transforming the shop and it is now completely unrecognisable.

A lounge area with cosy sofas and a fireplace sits next to the bar, offering drinks to visitors. As well as long rails of bridal gowns, there are three private suites for brides to try on the dresses and their closest friends and family members to help them make that final choice.

A comfy lounge for visitors

The range of gowns at Elite is designed by Joanne and Holly-Ann, meaning brides can choose one from the existing range, or ask for exactly what they want. She said:

“Sometimes when you go into a bridal store, you can only buy what they sell. I can design anything for you. You can have something really bespoke.”

However, Joanne is keen to ensure the business is not just for those with the biggest budgets: off-the-peg options start from around £300.

Whatever the cost of the dress, she knows the experience of finding the right one is just as important to many brides. The team at the Harrogate boutique will be offering VIP appointments, complete with bubbly, cake and a goody bag to take away, to ensure it’s a memorable occasion.

The boutique has three suites for brides to try on their gowns while friends relax

The bridal advisors have a trained eye to understand what will suit different body shapes and find something from the range in the shop.

With sizes six to 26 catered for by Elite, and a warehouse of 11,000 gowns to choose from alongside the option of a bespoke design, Joanne is confident the boutique will prove a hit with customers – just as it has with potential employees.

“I’ve been inundated with ladies asking me for a job. A bridal shop is a nice job to have.”

Harrogate man given two weeks to live calls for more blood cancer research

A man from a village near Harrogate who was told he had two weeks to live is backing a research project to find new treatments for cancer.

Stephen Young, 73, who lives in Brackenthwaite, experienced unusual symptoms last summer including a constantly bleeding nose, a rash on his face, mouth ulcers and shortness of breath.

His GP initially treated him for rosacea and gave him a nasal cream, but the symptoms worsened.

When Stephen returned to the doctor, he had blood tests and was offered a chest x-ray – which revealed a major infection in his lungs.

After being sent by ambulance to A&E at Harrogate District Hospital, company chairman Stephen was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The blood cancer claims more than 2,600 lives a year in the UK – and Stephen’s case was so advanced he was told that, without treatment, he had just two weeks to live.

He said:

“Treatment began at 2am in the morning on July 2. By 4am, the team had started my first round of chemo and treatment for my chest infection which remained a stubborn complication for a further three weeks.

“It was touch and go whether I would pull through.”

Fortunately, the treatment was effective and, nine months on, Stephen is in remission and is hoping for a stem cell transplant later this year to improve his long-term prognosis.

However, the impact on his life continues. He said:

“AML treatment compromises the immune system and makes you very vulnerable to any and all infections. The threat of sepsis is ever-present.

“The need for social distancing between me and my loved ones, and being unable to hug and play with my grandchildren is, for me, AML’s greatest torment.”

With World AML Day being marked next Friday, April 21, Leukaemia UK is calling on people to help fund more research into the disease and improve the survival rates. Chief executive Fiona Hazell said:

“Important discoveries are happening all the time within leukaemia research.

“With just 15% of AML patients surviving longer than five years after their diagnosis, it’s clear that more effective, kinder, targeted treatments are critically needed. At Leukaemia UK, we know that research has the power to one day stop leukaemia devastating lives.”

Funding from Leukaemia UK has already helped Dr Konstantinos Tzelepis at a research team at the University of Cambridge to discover a new drug which targets a key protein involved in AML growth and survival.

The charity has now announced funding for a new project which will look at ways to target another protein in the disease.

Stephen’s wife Eugenie said:

“We were completely traumatised when the doctor told us Steve had acute myeloid leukaemia. That’s why I am so committed to joining the campaign to raise awareness about blood cancer symptoms.

“The earlier the disease is spotted the better the chance of successful treatment, prognosis and quality of life.”

As well as helping to fund research, Leukaemia UK is urging people to be aware of the symptoms and visit their GP if they are concerned. Diagnosis can often be delayed, frequently happening in A&E when a patient is severely unwell, because the signs can be confused with other, more common symptoms.

Ms Hazell added:

“As with many diseases, earlier diagnosis improves the chances of successful treatment.

“We want to encourage people to trust their instincts when something is wrong and visit their GP to push for that all important blood test, which is the only way to properly diagnose AML.”

Anger management order for Knaresborough man who assaulted taxi driver

A former member of the armed services has been handed a community order for assaulting a taxi driver near Knaresborough.

Cameron Michael Dumsday, of Hawthorn Avenue in the town, pleaded guilty to common assault at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard he had taken a taxi from outside McDonald’s in Harrogate, along with another man, on Thursday, March 23.

During the journey to Knaresborough, the other passenger began to challenge the way the taxi was being driven, alleging the driver was speeding and cutting across junctions.

When the driver pulled over into a lay-by, the court heard Dumsday, 26, was trying to calm the situation down, but the other passenger called the police.

Dumsday then lost his temper and began making threats towards the driver, who had locked himself in the car. Prosecuting, Alison Whiteley said:

“He was telling the police that if they didn’t get there very soon, he would assault the taxi driver. He said, ‘I’ve been done for assault before and I don’t mind being done again’.”

The driver then decided to try to run away, and the defendant chased him across a busy road three times before police arrived.

Defending, Andrew Tinning said Dumsday had drunk six or seven pints in Harrogate, but it had been an untroubled evening until they became concerned about the way the taxi was being driven on the way home.

Dumsday acknowledged he should not have lost his temper in the way he did, said Mr Tinning, adding:

“Fortunately, he doesn’t touch [the taxi driver]. He is here for assault on the basis the taxi driver feared he was going to use violence against him.”

The court heard Dumsday, who had served four years in the army and now worked as a lorry driver, had “a short fuse” and could lose his temper when he felt he needed to defend those around him. He had two previous convictions for assaulting police officers in 2018, for which he received fines.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with the requirement to undertake 20 days on a programme to help him manage his emotions.

He was fined £710 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £114, costs of £85, and compensation of £6.80 for the taxi fare and £100 for the distress caused to the taxi driver.

Town crier contest

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more: