The Stray Ferret has been capturing some of the creative rainbow displays, that continue to appear in peoples windows across the borough.

Thousands of children are being encouraged to make the pictures to ‘spread hope’ amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The idea is to give passers-by something to smile at, whilst also giving children the opportunity to get creative whilst staying at home.

Churches across the district held virtual Easter Sunday services this morning to ensure that the key day in the Christian calendar could still be shared by parishioners and other viewers, in their own homes.

Ripon cathedral has been streaming services daily. Over the last month, 10,000 people have tuned in to the youtube broadcasts.

The Dean of Ripon, The Very Reverend John Dobson, held a live youtube broadcast this morning so people could still connect on this special day. He told the Stray Ferret:

“The wonderful thing is that we are finding daily more people are joining us in this time of need. I think there is little doubt that we will continue to stream services regularly when we are worshipping once again in the cathedral.

On this festal day, I wish everyone in the Harrogate district a very happy Easter at a time when we certainly need the hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us.”

Ripon Cathedral

Reverend Darryl Christopher Hall, Vicar at The United Parish of Upper Nidderdale pre-recorded their Easter day communion from Gillfield Lead Mines, Greenhow. He told the Stray Ferret.

“In these unusual times we find ourselves connected but dispersed. We live in the cathedral of Gods creation and while churches are closed we are so lucky to have these landmarks to conduct our services.”

The service was posted on The United Parish of Upper Nidderdale Facebook page and on youtube so people were able to watch the service this morning.

Reverend Darryl Hall also rang the church bells at St Cuthbert’s Church, Pateley Bridge at 10:30 am this morning. The service was then broadcast on a loudspeaker so people in the village could come out into their gardens to listen.

Revd Darryl Hall, Service from Gillfield Mines, Greenhow.

Easter is usually a time for meeting up with family and friends, taking part in Easter egg hunts and enjoying the outdoors. However, this year people are being told to stay at home and abide by government guidelines in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.

There has still been some ‘socially distanced’ entertainment for families in Harrogate, as Rascal the Easter Bunny has been dancing down the streets of Harrogate.

Melanie Vauvelle Don, who runs Rascals Entertainment in Harrogate, has organised the Bunny walks, which are taking place each day over the Easter Weekend. She said:

“It’s a family activity, Cameron my husband dresses up as Rascal, myself and my son Harrison pull along the jukebox… We use our one hour of exercise each day to go out and cheer up our neighbourhood. Everyone loves it, young and old!”

They have taken a different route each day, starting from their address in Hutton Gate and walking along nearby streets.

Monday will be the last walk and the route can be found on the Rascals Entertainment Facebook page.

Rascal the Easter Bunny

Residents and businesses across the borough have donated 8,000 chocolate eggs and sweets to children, whose parents are working on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus this Easter.

The idea was started by a group called ‘Supplies for key workers in and around Harrogate.’ It was set up to help key workers get access to the supplies they need during coronavirus.

Fiona Ryan who runs the group told the Stray Ferret:

“Children of key workers are also emotionally affected, many having to temporarily live apart from their mum or dad who is on the frontline of this pandemic, so we wanted to try and make sure Easter was still special for them,”

Sweets for the ‘Key Worker Mini Hero’s.’

They have delivered the packages to the hospital, police force, care homes, schools, GP surgeries, pharmacies, community midwives and district nurses across the borough, so parents had one less thing to think about over Easter.

“Some parents have said they wouldn’t of had time to go out and get Easter Eggs for their children which has made them quite sad, but they are so humble and commited to their jobs.”

People from the district have been posting pictures of their children on social media with their Easter treat using the caption ‘I’m a key worker mini hero.’

Maddie and Max Deely from Harrogate. Mum, Sophie Deely is a pharmacy dispenser.

The national charity which operates Berwick Grange in Harrogate has confirmed that a number of its residents  have died of suspected coronavirus at the home but said without testing it cannot be certain.

MHA which was founded by the Methodist Church, operates Berwick Grange and is the largest UK provider of care with 133 homes. Berwick Grange has 52 residents and is a specialist dementia care unit.

The company said residents have died of suspected coronavirus at a number of its homes- Berwick Grange had seen cases but was not one of the worst affected. It said it could not confirm specific numbers at individual homes as residents aren’t being tested. Some had existing illnesses or had been on end of life care.

In a statement MHA said

A small number of our homes have already been badly affected, although the extent to which these losses can be attributed to Covid-19 is debatable as our residents are not being tested. Without that testing, we may never know the true extent of outbreaks in our homes.

Our residents are a second family and this will take its toll on our teams as they sadly lose people they have cared for, in some cases for a number of years. We will make sure we care for our colleagues as well as our residents throughout all of this and would urge you to support us and our colleagues at this difficult time

MHA said it has set up a Critical Incident Management system – convening daily bronze, silver and gold command meetings that are modelled on emergency service disaster responses to manage the rapidly changing nature of the emergency. It has highlighted a serious shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) to protect its residents and staff- saying its weekly allocation of 300 face masks for a home of 70 residents can be used in a single day.

We convene three daily meetings taking rapid decisions to re-allocate PPE stock across regions, staff cover and analyse the spread of the virus across our services taking immediate appropriate action; this includes suspected, confirmed and recovered cases.

The company has put out a plea to schools, colleges and factories to consider donating any supplies that are not currently needed.

Easter weekend usually marks the start of a very busy summer season across the district, but officers are stressing that making unnecessary journeys could literally mean the difference between life and death.

Police have already stepped up patrols in Harrogate after they’ve seen an increase in the number of people visiting the town and flouting the coronavirus lockdown rules.

Harrogate’s Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Penny Taylor of North Yorkshire Police said:

“Whilst we know the majority of people in the town are doing the right thing and staying at home, despite the beautiful weather, it is unacceptable that some people are showing such a blatant disregard for the Government’s guidance.

North Yorkshire Police said it was disappointing and meant the force would be stepping up patrols elsewhere in the area, so increased police presence should be expected over the Easter weekend.

Guidelines state people should stay at home except to buy food or medicines, or go to work.

Richard Flinton, chair of the multi-agency North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum and chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“The next few weeks are critical in the nation’s fight to slow the rate of infection of this very dangerous virus.  We all have our part to play and what we do now will have a bearing on whether more people die or whether lives are spared. If we act irresponsibly more people will die.  The instruction is to exercise from your doorstep once a day and not to travel to other places for this.”

North Yorkshire Police’s Traffic Bureaus are also urging drivers not to use the county’s roads as a racetrack, having recorded speeds of up to 132mph over the past two weeks. Police patrols and safety camera vans, which are operated by key-worker police staff rather than officers, have been used at key locations to try to prevent further casualties and protect valuable emergency service and NHS resources.

19 Harrogate Churches have organised a continuous, uninhttps://thestrayferret.co.uk/harrogate-church…r-easter-weekend/terrupted prayer over the Easter weekend for those affected by coronavirus.

Pray for The Peak is part of a wider global movement for virtual 24/7 prayer.  The Harrogate Hub, which works to coordinate projects across the town’s churches, has organised a prayer which aims to last 72 hours.

Colin Ashurst from the Harrogate Hub said:

“We have been aware of the 24/7 movement and we felt with the Nightingale hospital coming here and the risk of there being real grief in Harrogate and for people self-isolating at home, this was something churches could do, to spend time in prayer. The movement has given us advice and guidance on how to do this virtually.”

A 24/7 prayer room in normal times

There is a calendar people can sign up to individually to pray for an hour or more – last night every slot was filled. Mr Ashurst said:

“We’ve had a good response as we only got the word out yesterday. We’re doing ok- we got through last night and we’ve still got people coming in. It’s looking good for tonight but after that there are some gaps and we’d encourage people to get involved.. I’m signed up for the midnight and one o’clock slots tonight.”

For those interested in being involved, you can register at http://theharrogatehub.org/24-7/.

Handmade rainbows are appearing in windows all over the Harrogate district as the community aims to spread a little happiness in uncertain times.

Many of the posters have been drawn or painted by children, while other messages of support for the NHS have also appeared in various locations.

The isolation art appearing in house windows has often been accompanied by messages to stay home, stay safe and stay positive.

With schools closed and the UK in lockdown, “chase the rainbow” is a way for children to connect with each other from a distance.

Harrogate’s Convention Centre turned blue tonight as it took part in a special ‘Clap for Carers’ ahead of its opening.

NHS Teams, emergency services and construction workers stood outside the front of the centre itself to join in with the applause. There was a real sense of community support as residents clapped from nearby gardens, balconies and doorways.

Yorkshire Lighting and Electrical Services, which is based in Harrogate, has installed 20 blue lights around the front of the building. Views For Fun also based in Harrogate donated blue fairy lights for the 12 trees that line the Kings Road beside the centre.

Blue lights will be switched on tonight at 8pm at the Harrogate Nightingale Hospital as part of a special Clap for Carers to mark its construction.

Harrogate Convention Centre and the NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and Humber want to encourage residents nearby to ‘Clap for Carers’ or to bang pots, cheer and generally make a noise. Emergency services, construction workers and NHS teams will also be invited to join the applause at the centre itself.

The lighting is part of a national movement to light theatres, bridges and cathedrals, castles, sports stadiums, and national landmarks for the #lightitblue campaign.

Around 20 blue lights have been lent to the HCC by AV Matrix from Wetherby and Yorkshire Lighting and Electrical Services which is based in Harrogate installed them around the front of the building.  Glen Molloy, the owner of Yorkshire Lighting and Electrical Services, said:

“Normally it would take about 2 weeks to get it organised but on this occasion we turned it around in a matter or hours.

Lights For Fun also based in Harrogate have donated blue fairy lights for the 12 trees that line the Kings Road beside the centre. Jo Naughton Co-Founder of Lights for Fun told The Stray Ferret:

“The whole centre will be illuminated blue. The idea is that we are all behind the NHS and that Harrogate is in full support of having a Nightingale hospital here in our town. We just wanted to show appreciation for what the NHS does for us and it feels good to help.”

Paula Lorimer, the HCC’s Director said:

“All who have worked on the project, including Convention Centre staff from caterers to electricians, have put their heart, soul, sweat and tears into the transformation, working around the clock to support the NHS. I am incredibly proud of my team, and I hope all the town will want to show their thanks tonight.”

NOTE: Residents in or near Kings Road are asked to please not leave gardens, balconies, doorsteps etc. or congregate in any way outside of the venue. Residents across Harrogate are also asked to not congregate in any way at the venue, and to stay in their homes and comply with government guidelines on social isolating.