Children’s entertainment will take centre stage as an annual village show returns to Nidderdale this weekend.

Birstwith Show takes place on Saturday, July 29 and has introduced a number of new features this year after asking for feedback from the community.

Show committee member Amy Howard said:

“People felt there was a gap for teenagers and a gap for toddlers, so we’ve got a toddler tent this year with hay bales and toys.

“We’ve got two sessions with Hazel, who does singing and signing for toddlers. Parents can have a sit down and it’s near the play area too, so they can keep an eye on their older children at the same time.

“For teenagers, we’ve got a silent disco this year, so they can have a bit of fun and a bit of a chill. I’m sure there will be a few grown-ups in there as well!”

Also new this year will be a dog and duck display in the main ring, along with the usual popular mix of entertainment.

Children’s races, a tug-o-war, a dog show with Miss Mollies Rescue, and live music through the day and into the evening are also on the programme.

Another new feature will be food demonstrations, including two by the Little Yorkshire Scone company. As well as showing how to make savoury scones, the company will demonstrate recipes to use up leftovers.

Ms Howard said the schedule of classes has proved popular this year, with Birstwith Primary School and other village organisations getting involved. She added:

“Entries are up this year. We were a bit low last year and we think it’s just people getting back into the swing of shows post-covid.”

The tents and marquees are all in place thanks to the team of volunteers, and trade stands, food and drink stalls will be ready to welcome visitors from noon on Saturday.

Soldiers from the Army Foundation College will be on hand to help with parking and traffic management on the day.

Entry is £7.50 on the gate or £7 in advance via the website, until midnight on Friday.

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Cyclists of all ages and abilities are being invited to take part in a new competition at Weeton Show.

The traditional show, which has been running for almost 80 years, is introducing the Grass Track Cycle Race, with three categories for entries.

Adults, teenagers aged 13 to 17, and children aged 12 and under will be able to take part.

A spokesperson for the organising committee said:

“Weeton Show is looking for competitors to get involved in this fast and exciting sport. All you need is a helmet, a bike and brakes that work.”

The racing will begin at 11.30am in the main ring and entries will be £3 for adults and £2 for under 18s. Places can be booked in advance by emailing the organisers.

Taking place on Sunday, July 30, Weeton Show is returning to full strength for the first time since the covid pandemic.

As well as the grass track races, a number of other new features have been added to the line-up this year.

In the horse classes, a new category of community pony has been introduced, aiming to make the competition open to everyone. The spokesperson said:

“For Weeton Show, showing isn’t about the pressure to be perfect but to take part and enjoy the event which is why it’s introduced a blemished but cherished class for owners who have a much loved pony that may not be ‘picture perfect’ and not a conventional show pony – possibly due to a past injury or poor confirmation.

“For those unable to attend the show with their four-legged friend, there is the opportunity to enter a pony online in the community pony class. This class is an open class for everyone living within a 20-mile radius of the showground.

“Many ponies help children with disabilities at riding for the disabled groups or are used to help with behaviour or for therapy at centres – this is an opportunity for people to nominate their special friend.”

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The traditional equine classes also return, including a heavy horse accumulator run in conjunction with Otley and Ripley shows, with prize money on offer at the end.

There are also classes for dogs, sheep and poultry, as well as horticulture and produce categories, and a children’s competition. Details of all the classes are available on the show’s website.

For those not competing, the entertainment in the main ring includes vintage tractors, terrier racing, competitive games and a fancy dress class.

Children’s entertainment, live music from brass bands, and food and drink stands will complete the day for visitors.

Tickets are available in advance online. If any are still available on Sunday, they will be sold on the gate, but organisers recommend booking in advance.

A Harrogate nursery has been praised by Ofsted for delivering a “safe” environment where children feel “confident” and content.

Acorns In Harrogate, based in the grounds of Hookstone Chase Primary School, has maintained its ‘good’ rating earned at its last inspection in 2019.

In its latest report, inspector Pat Edmond said:

“Children are happy and settled at the nursery. Staff recognise the impact that the covid-19 pandemic has had on children’s development. They have sensibly prioritised children’s personal, social and emotional development.

“The success of this is evident throughout the setting. Children are relaxed, confident and very well behaved.”

Visiting the nursery in June, Ms Edmond found its staff had a good understanding of children’s development and were able to effectively support children with special educational needs.

She said the children enjoyed the ‘healthy, home-cooked meals” on offer and staff helped them to understand about their health, both through food and drink and by spending time outdoors.

Anyone with information should call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote incident number 12230127884.

To pass on information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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A road outside a busy junior school in Harrogate will be closed to traffic at peak times from September.

Beechwood Grove is set to be part of a School Streets pilot project, preventing parents from using it to access Oatlands Junior School at the beginning and end of the school day.

The measures will see school traffic banned from the road between 8.30am and 9am, and from 3pm to 3.45pm, on weekdays during term time.

Residents, school staff, blue badge holders, official school transport and emergency services will be exempt from the closure.

Meanwhile, parents are being encouraged to bring their children to school on foot, or by bicycle or scooter. Those who need to drive are asked to use the ‘park and stride’ scheme, parking at Hornbeam Park railway station, M&S Simply Food on Leeds Road, or St Mark’s Church, and walking the rest of the way.

North Yorkshire Council said it is proceeding with the experimental traffic regulation order for a period of up to 18 months after receiving an “overall positive response” to an informal consultation it ran in May and June.

In a letter to parents, senior traffic management officer Andrew Clare said the proposal would be formally advertised now, before coming into effect on Wednesday, September 6 – the first day of the new term at Oatlands, which has capacity for 360 pupils.

He added:

“We are seeking volunteers to help steward the scheme at school start and finish times.

“Volunteers are crucial to the schemes (sic) success to manage the traffic management, inform motorists of the restrictions, offering information and guidance, for example, highlighting the location of the park and stride locations.”

Earlier this year, a pupil at Oatlands Junior School was injured when a car mounted a pavement outside the school gates.

A more serious collision on Yew Tree Lane in February left two 15-year-old Rossett schoolboys with serious injuries requiring extensive hospital treatment.

As a result, a campaign to introduce 20mph limits and other restrictions on roads around Oatlands, Pannal Ash and Rossett gathered momentum.

A road safety meeting between headteachers, councillors and campaigners

Headteachers of all the local primary and secondary schools met several times, along with councillors, highways officers and parents, to discuss road safety.

A petition of more than 1,000 signatures was presented to North Yorkshire Council and the proposal was debated by both the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, and the council’s executive.

Cllr Keane Duncan, who is responsible for highways across the county, has said a review is now being completed to decide what measures are needed to make journeys to school safer.

Hazel Peacock, one of the parents behind the campaign, said news of the School Streets scheme on Beechwood Grove was welcome. She added:

“Together the school, campaigners and other stakeholders including councillors John Mann and Pat Marsh have been working with NYC to create a safer environment at school start and finish times.

“We are delighted the School Street pilot will begin in September at the start of the new school term and hope it will deliver positive benefits such as safer, cleaner environments around the school and can encourage more active travel.”

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Football fans from across the Harrogate district are being urged to get behind England’s women as they prepare to begin their World Cup campaign.

The Lionesses – including Harrogate’s Rachel Daly – are set to face Haiti in their first match this morning in the Australian city of Brisbane.

Because of the time difference, many of their matches will be played in the morning, but fans are still hoping there will be a celebratory atmosphere around Harrogate

For Harrogate personal trainer Lauren Randall, getting pubs to open their doors as they would for the men’s world cup is an important step. She told the Stray Ferret:

“If it was the men’s world cup, every bar would be having bottomless brunches and everywhere would be open.

“I’ve got a few friends wanting to go and watch it and we struggled to find somewhere that was going to be open. It should not be this tricky to find somewhere.

“The fact that we have got a local girl playing one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world is great.

“She’s going to have local friends and family and fans wanting to watch it.

“I’ve got clients saying, ‘let me know where you’re watching it, maybe I can bring my kids along’. How amazing would it be to come along and watch it together and enjoy that atmosphere?”

However, several local bars have now confirmed they will open their doors early to give fans somewhere to watch together.

The Harrogate Arms, The Alexandra and The Empress on the Stray have all said they will be open in time for kick-off at 10.30am today.

Rachel Daly opened the new cafe at her former club, Killinghall Nomads, this year.

As a pupil at Rossett School, Lauren played football with Rachel Daly, who was in the year above her.

Both girls earned soccer scholarships to universities in the USA, but an ankle injury put paid to Lauren’s career a few years later and she trained to be a PT.

Rachel, meanwhile, went from playing for Houston Dash to moving to Aston Villa last summer, where she was named player of the season and won the golden boot.

She featured in all of England’s games in last year’s European Championships, which England went on to win.

Lauren said she hopes people will keep asking venues to show the matches this year, adding:

“The Euros changed the game. It has really come along.

“You can buy England shirts with women’s names on the back and the players are being paid better too.

“Things like this – asking pubs to open up – is the only way it’s going to get everywhere. If they don’t know people want to watch it, why would they open?”

Meanwhile, another former Harrogate resident is also hoping to help build the fan base for women’s football.

Maisie Adam, a former St Aidan’s pupil, has launched a podcast with fellow comedian Suzi Ruffell.

In the first episode of Big Kick Energy, they discussed the positive atmosphere at women’s matches and the inclusivity of the women’s game.

Maisie tells listeners:

“Women’s football isn’t new. What’s new is the attitude towards it. It’s a really, really exciting time, which is why we’ve done this podcast.

“Whether or not you’ve historically loved football since day dot, or if you’re somebody who’s always felt that football isn’t for you because everything is screaming ‘this isn’t for you because of who you are’, now is the time to get on board. Football is for you.”

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A fall from a horse in 1958 which left Baroness Masham of Ilton paraplegic ultimately contributed to her death, an inquest has heard.

The Baroness, who also held the title Countess of Swinton, died from sepsis on March 12 this year, four weeks after being admitted with breathlessness.

Her inquest in Northallerton today heard a statement from Dr David Spence, a consultant at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. In a statement read to the court, he said:

“She developed sepsis which failed to respond to antibiotics. She was placed on end of life care.”

The inquest heard Baroness Masham, who was born Susan Lilian Primrose Sinclair, had been competing in an event in Cirencester when her horse took a jump badly. She fell and her horse landed on her, leaving her with a fractured vertebra in her back.

As a result, she became paraplegic – yet went on to live a “full and active life”, including competing in the Paralympics and founding the Spinal Injuries Association.

She was made a life peer and continued to campaign for disability rights. She remained in generally good health, the inquest heard, until she felt unwell in February and was admitted to hospital.

Dr Spence added:

“Her paraplegia was a contributor to her general frailty in later life.”

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Dr Spence said he viewed the paraplegia as an underlying factor in her death. He said she had myelodysplasia, a rare type of blood cancer where the bone marrow does not produce enough health cells, and the sepsis that developed was of unknown origin.

Her condition deteriorated after admission to hospital and she died there on March 12. She was 87.

In a statement read at the inquest, her daughter Clare said:

“The doctors and all nursing and care staff were in our opinion exemplary. Information about her treatment and care was delivered professionally, with great compassion and calmness at all times.”

Assistant coroner Alison Norton concluded her cause of death was accidental, stemming from her riding accident 65 years ago.

Baroness Masham was married to David Cunliffe Lister, who became Earl of Swinton in 1972. The couple adopted two daughters and were part of Cunliffe-Lister family, which has owned Swinton Park near Masham since the late 19th century.

An historic grade II listed mansion house in Boroughbridge has gone on the market with an asking price of £3 million.

Boroughbridge Hall is in the centre of the town and is believed to date back to the time of James II.

Its royal links do not end there, however, as its marketing documents explain:

“The house itself dates back to the late 17th century, during the short reign of King James II, and is grade II listed.

“The current owner recently granted the grounds of Boroughbridge Hall use by the reigning British monarch for ceremonial purposes, evidence of the property’s regional status.”

It has been brought to the market by estate agency Croft, based near York.

Sales negotiator Sarah Weston said:

“When you go through the gates, you are right on the market square – it’s very handy but very, very private.

“The current owners have been there for 20 years. It has been a wonderful family home and now it’s open for a new family to take control and use it like they have.”

The house has has five bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a separate studio and en suite shower room attached to the large garage.

It has planning permission for the studio to be extended into an open barn which lies behind the garage.

Outside, the grounds extend to more than three acres and include fishing rights, as well as woodland, three paddocks and a tennis court.

Though the house is historic, the agent said it has been remodelled and maintained with many of its historic features still in place. The particulars say:

“Boroughbridge Hall dates from the 1680s with the front porch added in 1830. It was remodelled in 1947 to reduce its height from three storeys to two.

“Many fine architectural features remain including tall sash windows and bays, wall panelling, architraves, cornicing, fireplaces, panelled doors, cast iron column radiators and a superb rebuilt oak staircase faithfully following a seventeenth century design.”

Ms Weston said while Boroughbridge Hall is an unusual property to come to the market, Croft is often asked to take on the marketing of large and historic houses.

It is also advertising Littlethorpe Hall near Ripon for sale at offers over £2.25 million. The Victorian building sits in more than 13 acres of grounds, with a separate lodge house and its own chapel.

She added:

“With houses like these, you never know who’s going to buy it.

“It could be a tech genius who’s earned millions and wants a quiet life somewhere, or a family sizing up gradually, moving bigger and bigger.

“There was a massive splurge of people moving up to Yorkshire after covid. Some have decided there’s not enough up here for them, but some are still doing it.

“People can afford more here, but still be in London in a couple of hours. We’ve got the best of every world.”

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A decision on controversial plans for houses near a busy road in south Harrogate has been delayed.

North Yorkshire Council had set a target date of yesterday for determining the plans for 17 homes in the Crimple Valley.

However, it has now confirmed the decision will not be made this week.

The council’s assistant director for planning, Trevor Watson, said:

“Our consideration of this application remains ongoing and will not be resolved in time to determine it this week.

“We are nevertheless committed to issuing a decision on the application as soon as is practicable and have informed the applicant of this.”

The plans for seven affordable homes and 10 self-build plots have attracted more than 350 objections from residents.

They focused on the location of the site in the Crimple Valley special landscape area, as well as access to the new homes from the A61 at the bottom of Almsford Bank.

The council’s highways department has also raised concerns about the applicant’s proposal to reduce the speed limit to 40mph between Pannal and Harrogate.

A previous application for 35 homes on the land was rejected by Harrogate Borough Council, whose local plan guiding development in the area did not include the site.

Plans submitted in 2019 for 35 homes were withdrawn, as was a scheme for 65 houses put forward in 2018.

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A village primary school near Ripon has been graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in its latest report.

Dishforth Airfield Primary School was praised across the board by inspectors, who described the school community as  “safe, happy and highly ambitious”.

In the report, published this week, they said:

“Pupils thrive at this exceptional school. Staff expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement are very high. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and are highly enthusiastic about their learning. They talk confidently about what they know and take pride in their work.

“Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and make excellent progress. Staff know how to get the best out of every child.”

While visiting the school last month, inspectors noted that many of the pupils had a parent or carer serving in the armed forces.

They found pupils were “extremely well supported” with this, including through a club for them to join while their parents were deployed overseas.

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The early years provision was described as “superb”, while curriculum planning throughout the school was “extremely well thought through”.

Inspectors praised pupils’ behaviour across the school, as well as their understanding of life in modern Britain.

The report added:

“The leadership team is deeply committed to providing pupils with the very best curriculum and pastoral care. Governors are experts in education. They support and challenge leaders to continually develop the school.

“Teachers describe a supportive ethos. Workload is well managed. Leaders ensure that staff access high-quality training and coaching. Subject leaders receive very effective support. They are confident in their roles. There are regular opportunities for collaborative working.”

The school, which has around 100 pupils aged from three to 11, was rated ‘outstanding’ at its last full inspection in 2015. However, Ofsted has since changed the way it grades schools meaning fewer are now achieving the top rating.

Its leaders have welcomed the latest report, saying it puts Dishforth Airfield Primary School among only 17% of previously ‘outstanding’ schools to maintain that rating.

Headteacher Julie Lyon said:

“The inspector’s judgement is testament to the hard work, determination and commitment shown by all the staff at the school as well as the governors which in turn enables the children to flourish.”

Chair of governors Jim Brown added:

“It is a fantastic result for the whole school. A testimony to the hard work, dedication and teamwork of everyone involved including our excellent pupils over a number of years. Results like this do not happen overnight.

“Let’s hope everybody can look forward to the summer break with a smile on their face and a spring in their step and come back in September refreshed and ready to continue where they left off.”