The owners of a bohemian-style cafe in Harrogate will open a farm shop today after the demand for groceries soared in the coronavirus lockdown.
Kyrensa Bentley set up 53 Bo’Grove Cafe, based on Grove Road, just under a year ago and it has been growing ever since.
The grand opening is tomorrow.
Following in the footsteps of the antique shop, the refill shop and the garden centre, the new rustic farm shop also has an environmentally-friendly focus.
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53 Bo’Grove Farm Shop will officially open its doors today at 10.30am with a selection of fruit and vegetables as well as oils, chutneys, jams, bread, cakes, and more.
The farm shop is based at 53 Bo’Grove.
The shop will have a mix of Yorkshire-based suppliers as well as some continental offerings. Ashley Johnson is taking up the reins as manager and said:
“We’ve got balloons, we’ve got banners and we’re giving away some big fruits and cheese hampers. It will be a great day to celebrate, we are still in the coronavirus lockdown but we can enjoy something a bit closer to normal.”
It will sell fresh fruit and vegetables.
The cafe had set up a cart out front to sell fruit and vegetables and it went so well they decided to set up a more permanent offering in the farm shop.
Kyrensa Bentley, the owner of 53 Bo’Grove also told The Stray Ferret:
WATCH: How do you feel about wearing face masks in shops?“We started planning for a little farm shop about halfway through lockdown. This project didn’t start out with a lot of money, we have just saved up as it has grown. It has grown quite organically.”
Today was the first day wearing face masks is mandatory when visiting shops in England.
The Stray Ferret has been asking people how they feel about having to wear face masks in shops.
Kate Baker is a nurse and said:
“I can’t understand it, it makes me said. I think people think its finished and all over and they aren’t realising what can happen. We don’t know whats going to happen in the next few months.
I think we should absolutely be wearing them in shops but for how long is up to the scientists. As a nurse it feels wrong not having one on because I’m used to wearing them at work.”
A nurse from Harrogate said she feels “sad” when she sees people not wearing masks in shops.
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- The police have said that fining people for not wearing a mask will be “a last resort”.
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Mask wearing has been called for by some people since shops reopened on last month.
The government has introduced this mandatory rule which could leave people with a £100 fine if they choose not to wear one.
Four days of live music at Ripley CastleLive music will return to the grounds of Ripley Castle as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.
Sounds in the Grounds will see performances from bands including the Bootleg Beatles, Beyond the Barricade and Abba Mania.
Taking place over four days, it will see the New York Brass Band perform each night as the support act to the main performance.
Tickets include a designated picnic patch for up to six people, enabling social distancing across the site, and there will be food and drink stalls available. Each will be defined by painted lines, with a metre’s distance between each patch and two metres’ distance in aisles between the rows.
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Organiser James Cundall said:
“Sounds in the Grounds offers the opportunity to get together and enjoy a fun night of live music in a stunning setting in a socially distanced way. From ABBA to The Beatles and from the greatest musicals to Country and Western I hope we have something for everyone.
“Importantly it’s an opportunity for musicians to showcase their talent again after weeks of inactivity during lockdown.
“Visitors will need to bring their own chairs, and can bring a picnic, though we advise leaving tables at home for space reasons.”
Sounds in the Grounds will take place at Ripley Castle from Thursday, September 3 to Sunday, September 6. Tickets cost from £59 plus booking fees for a two-person picnic patch.
Fire, bankruptcy and coronavirus: Harrogate Cricket Club adapts to survive143 years, not out. Harrogate Cricket Club lost its clubhouse to fire just over a decade ago and came close to bankruptcy in The Great Depression but coronavirus could have been the end of the club.
Harrogate Cricket Club played its first match at its ground at St George’s Road on July 7, 1877 but could have played its last in 2020 without major financial support.
Local sports often rely on the income generated by renting out clubhouses for events. When The Balcony at Harrogate Cricket Club closed its doors the management did not know when or if it could reopen.
Chairman Steve Clarke with The Balcony manager Andy Hawkswell.
Steve Clarke, the chairman of Harrogate Cricket Club, estimates that The Balcony’s closure over so many months left a black hole in its finances to the tune of £40,000.
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It could have been devastating to the club, which has needed to pay out for the maintenance of the grounds and facilities without any income. But grants from Harrogate Borough Council and the ECB have covered those huge costs.
A spectator boost for the club followed that financial boost last weekend, with around 100 people turning up to watch the games and a few members visiting The Balcony for drinks.
The Balcony is open for business.
Chairman Steve Clarke told The Stray Ferret that they cannot generate income without playing cricket:
“It has been really difficult. It is really interesting for the senior teams. We have to make sure everyone is socially distanced, that the toilets are cleaned regularly and that there are hand sanitiser stations around the club. The league has slimmed down the fixtures and ruled out promotion or relegation so everyone can get out and play.”
The Balcony will be key to the club’s future. Andy Hawkswell has just taken over as the new tenant and plans to give it a refreshed ‘sports bar’ feel. He said:
Harrogate diving club pleads for a date to resume training“There have been a lot of people waiting for us to open. It is good to see. We are making some big changes on the pitch and off it. We are going to be broadening the horizons of what we offer in terms of our food and drink and also by renting out the space we have here for schools and community groups.”
Harrogate District Diving Club has expressed its frustration that it has not been given a date for training to resume at the Hydro.
Indoor swimming pools are allowed to reopen from tomorrow but Harrogate Borough Council is yet to confirm when it will open its pools. The diving club has been left unable to make plans or reassure its members.
The lack of a decision has left the club worrying about the impact on its members’ mental health. As a team sport, diving develops social as well as physical skills and, after months of lockdown, the club is desperate to give its members a date to look forward to.
Leanne Jalland, chair of the diving club, said:
“It is difficult to make plans without a date to return to training in the water. We have to take each week by week, and come up with a variety of ways to keep our divers engaged and motivated but this is incredibly difficult. The response I have had from a lot parents is dismay and frustration, which is understandable.
“I am confident that by working with Swim England and the council we could ensure a safe return once it is allowed. The club has received no official communication from the Hydro about any update for returning to the pool and only received a response from the council after pressing for a date to return last week.”
The club has trained in Harrogate for over 20 years with sporting stars including Olympic gold medallist Jack Laugher learning to dive at the club. It is a tradition the club hopes to continue once it starts up again.
The diving club are waiting for a confirmed date to return to training.
The council has said its reviewing the safety measures in place at the Hydro before opening.
Currently the club’s two coaches, both council employees, have been redeployed to other essential services by the council. The club has asked for one of its coaches to return to the team once the pool reopens.
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A council spokesperson said:
“We are working hard to reintroduce leisure facilities for all our residents – not just the diving club – but we need to make sure this is done in line with government guidelines so that our customers, and staff, are kept safe. We will then look at what additional services can be offered over the coming weeks.
“But this will only happen if staff can be relieved from providing statutory services. Any decision to do so will need to be carefully considered and the potential benefit for those people using leisure facilities balanced against the needs of residents and vulnerable people. The diving club has received several emails explaining this position already.”
Winner of Harrogate’s prestigious crime writing award announced
Harrogate International Festivals has awarded its prestigious crime novel award to Adrian McKinty for his book The Chain.
The Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, hosted by Harrogate International Festivals, was awarded this evening to McKinty’s novel after the public and prize judges picked him out from a shortlist of six.
The author was close to giving up his writing career two years ago when his family was evicted from their home and he was working as an Uber driver and barman. McKinty was persuaded to give writing one final go, and he wrote his hugely successful novel The Chain.
His book has since been published in 36 countries with its movie rights sold in a seven figure deal. The plot centres around a chain of child abductions, where a child can only be released when its parent kidnaps another child.
Adrian McKinty was “gobsmacked” when he was announced as the winner of the prestigious award.
Adrian McKinty said:
“I am gobsmacked and delighted to win this award. Two years ago, I had given up on writing altogether and was working in a bar and driving an Uber, and so to go from that to this is just amazing. People think that you write a book and it will be an immediate bestseller. For twelve books, my experience was quite the opposite, but then I started this one.
“It was deliberately high concept, deliberately different to everything else I had written – and I was still convinced it wouldn’t go anywhere… but now look at this. It has been completely life changing.”
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The award marks the launch of the Harrogate International Festivals Weekender – a free virtual festival featuring performances and interviews with dozens of musicians and authors.
Adrian McKinty will receive £3,000 and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.
No coronavirus deaths at Harrogate hospital for over a week
Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths for eight days.
It comes as NHS England confirms the total number of deaths in patients with coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital remains at 82, with no further fatalities in figures released today. The last reported death was on July 15.
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The hospital normally reveals how many patients it has discharged on a Thursday but has not published any new figures today.
Nationally, 19 patients with Covid-19 have died, all aged between 35 and 89 and with underlying health conditions. Four of those were in the North East and Yorkshire.
Cafés in Harrogate say they won’t enforce face covering ruleCafé owners in Harrogate have told The Stray Ferret that they won’t be enforcing the new face coverings rule as it should be a “mark of respect” from the customer.
Guidance was released today about the wearing of face coverings, which saw a change for businesses offering a takeaway service.
The new guidelines state that coverings will be mandatory when buying takeaway food and drink but can be removed when seated at a table. However, the government has outlined that it is the responsibility of the individual to wear a face covering, with shops and cafés encouraged to enforce the rule where possible.
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The owners of Bean and Bud on Commercial Street in Harrogate said that the new rules are “common sense”. Co-owner Helen Dolby told The Stray Ferret:
“If you’re coming in for a takeaway and there’s other customers around you, then as a mark of respect you should wear a mask but we wouldn’t enforce it. We deal with hundreds of customers a day, people just need to have a bit of common sense and a bit of respect.”
Owners of Bean and Bud, Phil and Helen Dolby.
Similarly, Dan Bell, the owner of Thug Sandwich Company on Albert Street, told The Stray Ferret that he believes the procedures he already has in place are enough but will follow guidelines and enforce the rule.
He said:
£100 fines for not wearing face masks ‘a last resort’, say police“People who are coming in are literally here for less than 60 seconds, they place their order and then they stand outside and I give them a shout when it’s ready. There’s very little risk of infection.
North Yorkshire Police says only “as a last resort” will officers issue £100 fines to people not wearing face masks in shops.
From tomorrow, it will become mandatory in shops to wear face masks or face coverings to help limit the spread of coronavirus.
NYP also urged the public not to call 999 to report people for not wearing a face mask. Instead, reports should be made online.
The Stray Ferret has published a list of local retailers selling face masks.
Superintendent Charlotte Bloxham, silver commander for the response to Covid-19, said:
“Since the new regulations were announced, we have been liaising with local retailers to explain how we will police these new regulations.
“Demand on our service is almost back to normal pre-coronavirus levels, so we have to prioritise where we deploy our officers.
“We will take a sensible approach to enforcement and hope people understand that we cannot attend every incident. To that end, please bear this in mind before reporting anyone for not wearing a face-covering.
“To help keep our phone lines free for urgent policing matters, we urge anyone who wishes to report a breach of the regulations, to do so via our online coronavirus reporting form which can be found on our website. Please only call if a situation escalates and your safety is threatened.”
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‘Impossible’ to enforce face masks in Harrogate shops, says police federation
An Oxford University study found that face masks are effective in protecting the wearer from the virus as well as everyone around them.
Last week, the Stray Ferret spoke to Rob Bowles, chair of the North Yorkshire Police Federation who said issuing fines would be “impossible and impractical.”
Several retailers in Harrogate also said mandatory face coverings could put people off coming to the town.
Clare Nelson, manager at menswear shop Porters, said:
Harrogate Town says ‘thank you’ to fans with ticket price freeze“I would feel uncomfortable telling customers to wear a face covering. If a big group of lads were to walk in without them I don’t think I would be able to tell them to wear one. It might put people off coming into the shop. I don’t think we would be able to enforce this.”
Harrogate Town will freeze both matchday and season ticket prices next season, even if the club gets promoted to League Two.
The club said it wants to “reward loyal fans” who have been unable to watch their team play in person since March due to the lockdown.
An advanced standing matchday ticket price will remain at £16 for an adult and £12 for a concession. A standing adult season ticket will be £269 and a concession will be £189. A full price list is on the club’s website.
The English Football League and the National League are yet to announce when the 2020/2021 will begin — but last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the green light for fans to return to sporting grounds from October, albeit at a reduced capacity.
Town is currently building a new stand at the CNG stadium which will increase the ground’s capacity to 5,000.
Harrogate Town will play Boreham Wood at the CNG Stadium at 2.30pm on Saturday with the winner going onto Wembley on August 2 for the chance to play in League Two next season. The game will be shown live on BT Sport.
The Stray Ferret will be reporting live from the CNG Stadium.
The winner will play the winner of Notts County vs Barnet which also takes place on Saturday.
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver said:
“Over the last 12 weeks club business has continued and that has involved preparations for the new campaign. Part of that work involved ticket pricing. I am really pleased that, together with the directors, we decided to freeze the prices for next season whether we are playing our football in the National League or the EFL.”
“The players and I wanted supporters to know how much we count on your following, we wanted to say thank you at this difficult time. We look forward to seeing you all at the ground in the near future.”
The announcement was welcomed by Jordan Ford of the Harrogate Town Supporters Club.
The club was criticised by fans last season for raising ticket prices after its promotion from the National League North.
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Jordan told The Stray Ferret that the ticket price freeze could attract more fans to the club.
He said:
“Credit to the club in identifying the mistakes which were made last season. Hopefully this decision will drive us forwards in expanding our supporters base.
“There’s a lot of potential for new supporters in the town, and by offering an affordable ticketing policy is a great way to attract this support. It would great if those supporters will be watching us in League Two.”