Review: Murder in the Dark is chaotic and clichéd

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

It’s New Year’s Eve; a storm rages and there is a car crash on a country road. An eccentric old lady comes to the aid of the driver and his family, inviting them to stay overnight in a creaky, isolated holiday cottage on her farm. There’s no telephone, no Wi-Fi and no indoor toilet… but there are plenty of bumps in the night.

As synopses go, Murder in the Dark sounded right up my street; in the event, this production, currently at the wonderful and welcoming York Theatre Royal, left me cold.

The play appears to want to be a kind of modern-horror-film interpretation of an Agatha Christie-esque closed-circle mystery. Consistent references to the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice are completely overplayed in an apparent attempt to link to Christie’s classic, The Mousetrap. But The Mousetrap this is not.

The approach to genre is a confused concoction of horror, mystery, melodrama and comedy, but most disappointingly, the writing and characterisations are lacklustre and clichéd. A family in tatters: an alcoholic, Z-list celebrity has-been father, with a rather-too-young girlfriend, a son who doesn’t talk to him, an estranged brother, and an ex-wife who refuses to take him back. We’ve seen it all before.

The ray of light in a cast of actors who have, to be fair to them, been given wholly superficial characters to perform, is Susie Blake, as the mysterious and rather mischievous old Mrs Bateman. Her role gathers purpose and momentum as the production progresses, and it is a relief when she enters on stage to remove us from the predictability that one could otherwise have suffered through watching any low-budget horror flick.

Also a relief were the occasional and affecting ghostly apparitions, providing enjoyable breaks in the action, assisted by effective sound and lighting. The final twist showed initial promise, but an ultimately chaotic denouement denied the audience any neat or satisfying sort of conclusion. Yes, there is murder and there is darkness, but this play won’t be keeping me up at night.

Murder in the Dark is on at the York Theatre Royal until Saturday 23 September.

Read More:

 

Andrew Jones MP: climate policy shift ‘practical and pragmatic’

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has described major changes by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the government’s net zero policies as “practical and pragmatic”.

Mr Sunak announced at a press conference yesterday that a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars would be delayed by five years until 2035.

He also confirmed a nine-year delay in the ban on new fossil fuel heating for off-gas-grid homes to 2035.

The Prime Minister also raised the boiler upgrade grant by 50% to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers.

Mr Sunak said the government “risks losing the consent of the British people” if it moved too fast on green policies.

In response to the changes, Conservative MP Mr Jones said the decision by Mr Sunak would still tackle the government’s net zero target.

He said:

“The most important point from the Prime Minister’s statement was that net zero by 2050 is still central to the government and is still mandated by law. I am wholly supportive of our efforts to cut carbon and protect our planet for future generations.

“Indeed, the UK has decarbonised significantly faster than all other G7 nations. Since 2010 UK carbon emissions per capita have fallen by nearly 40%, almost double the fall seen in the EU.

“This statement made two changes to the timetable for two elements of our national progress. They were practical and pragmatic.”

Mr Jones added:

“We also saw increased financial support for boiler upgrades and this comes on the back of more progress for onshore and offshore wind, plus carbon capture.

“There had been growing concern, particularly in off grid rural areas, that the rules on changing boilers were very difficult and presented many households with bills they would struggle to meet.

“It is important now to use the time to continue the national work to achieve net zero and to do this is in a way that is fair.“

Read more:

‘Rolling back commitments’

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon

However, Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have described the move as damaging to the UK’s reputation.

Tom Gordon, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for the constituency, said:

“What Rishi Sunak should see in front of him is the opportunity to embrace the industries of the future and protect our environment and planet for coming generations. 

“Instead he is set to on rolling back our country’s climate commitments, damaging our reputation as a global leader, and has blatant disregard for the UK car industry.”

The Stray Ferret also approached Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, Julian Smith, and Labour MP for Selby and Ainsty, which includes south Harrogate, Keir Mather, for their views on the subject but did not receive a response.

Honeybees given new home on Harrogate shopping centre roof

Honeybees are making their home in the heart of Harrogate after new hives were installed on the roof of Victoria Shopping Centre. 

The move comes due to a partnership with Spa Bees, a Harrogate-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to honeybee conservation. 

The purpose of the hives is to create a safe habitat for the bees, which play a crucial role in pollination and the overall health of the environment, promoting sustainability and enhancing biodiversity in the town centre. 

Stuart Gibson, of Spa Bees, said: 

“We were delighted to be contacted by Victoria Shopping Centre to install two beehives on the shopping centre roof. Bees will generally collect pollen within a one-mile radius of their hive, but they will travel farther afield, so there are plenty of trees and plants for them to tend to around the town centre and beyond.

“Developing this project, there are also plans to plant flowers in planters on the rooftop which will encourage more insects and pollinators to the area.” 

The beehives are expected to produce a significant amount of honey, and Spa Bees hopes to host a pop-up at Victoria Shopping Centre over the coming year to sell its honey. 

James White, centre manager of Victoria Shopping Centre, said: 

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Harrogate Bees. At Victoria Shopping Centre, we are committed to sustainability and eco-conscious practices, and the installation of these beehives aligns perfectly with our efforts to create a more environmentally friendly space for our community. 

“Through our collaboration with Harrogate Spa Bees, we are excited to engage and educate the public about the importance of honeybee conservation and the positive impact it has on our environment.” 

Read more:

 

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show director to stand down

Next year’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate will be the final one for director Charles Mills.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the farming charity that runs the event, announced today it was seeking a successor to Mr Mills, whose tenure will end in 2024.

The show, from Tuesday, July 9 to Friday, July 12 will be his ninth as director.

Since taking over the role in 2016, Mr Mills has been part of the team behind changing the structure of the show, which moved from three days to four days due to covid in 2021.

Tickets are now sold in advance only with visitor numbers capped at 140,000 equating to 35,000 people a day to prevent overcrowding.

Recalling the decision to stage the show in 2021, he said:

“We were one of the only agricultural shows to go ahead that year and it was such a pleasure to host King Charles III and Queen Camilla who supported us at that show and spent a whole day meeting exhibitors, stewards and public.

“I have also thoroughly enjoyed hosting members of the Royal family including Princess Anne who visited twice during my tenure and is very highly respected among the farming community.”

Talking to the Duke of Gloucester at this year’s show.

Mr Mills looks forward to spending more time with wife Jill and family and supporting son James in running the family business of hosting weddings at their farm in Appleton Roebuck in Selby.

He said:

“When I was a young boy in short corduroy trousers sitting in the grandstand, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get the honour of one day becoming the show director of the Great Yorkshire Show.

“It is a wonderful organisation and getting the opportunity to meet and work with so many dedicated people will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the society, said:

“Charles has been a fantastic ambassador for the Great Yorkshire Show and we can’t thank him enough for his amazing contribution over the years and for his passion, commitment and leadership.”

Read more:

 

Harrogate road dug up — just days after it was resurfaced

A road in Harrogate had to be dug up last week to fix a gas leak – which was caused by council resurfacing work just days earlier. 

North Yorkshire Council had just completed work near the Stray, giving the top end of North Park Road a pristine new surface at a cost it estimated at £144,350. 

But the tarmac was barely set when gas was smelt and remedial work ordered.

Northern Gas Networks, the company responsible for piping gas across most of the north of England, was called in and the leak was fixed the next day, with repairs reducing traffic to a single lane for the day. 

But NGN claimed the leak had been caused by the council’s machinery. 

Photo of the repair to North Park Road carried out by Northern Gas Networks following a gas leak.

The pristine new surface of North Park Road already has a repair patch.

Dominic Nevison, site manager for NGN, told the Stray Ferret: 

“We recently attended a gas escape on North Road, Harrogate. We were able to successfully repair the affected standpipe. 

“The cause of the gas escape was due to disruptions during the resurfacing of the road. Although this does not happen frequently it is something that can occur on occasions. 

“I am pleased to say that we were able to swiftly resolve the issue and reinstatement was carried out and completed at the end of last week.” 

“Our priority was to repair the escape as an urgent priority and ensure the road could be re-opened when safe to do so.” 

Read more:

 

21% price increase at Bewerley Park proved ‘prohibitive’ to schools

North Yorkshire Council has said a 21% price increase for trips to its outdoor learning centres proved “prohibitive” to some schools.

The council runs outdoor learning sites at Bewerley Park near Pateley Bridge and East Barnaby at Whitby.

It hiked fees and charges by 21% this year to reflect increases in inflation and costs.

However, Teresa Thorp, head of outdoor learning service at the council, said in report:

“There have been a few schools who have found the increase in fees and charges for 2023-24 prohibitive, demonstrating that last year’s fees and charges increase has adversely affected the take up of services in some cases.”

Ms Thorp added the council had to compete with other outdoor learning centres, such as Low Mill, Robin Wood and Carlton Lodge.

Robin Wood is currently charging £250 for a three day and two night stay compared to £275 at a North Yorkshire Council run site.

Competitor prices for outdoor learning centres. Picture: NYC.

Competitor prices for outdoor learning centres. Picture: NYC.

In her report, Ms Thorp said that the market would “not sustain a further price increase”.

As a result, the council has proposed keeping charges the same for the academic year from September 2024 to March 2025.

However, the authority has proposed to increase course fees offered by the outdoor learning service by 6.8% in line with inflation.

It also plans to implement charges for corporate and conference facilities to generate income.

Ms Thorp added:

“It is believed that continuing with our fees and charges for school residential will enable the service to retain its current customer base, recruit new customers and compete with its surrounding competitors, all of which will result in increased bookings and customer retention.”

Read more:

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate education companies to host schools conference

Three Harrogate district education companies are set to host a conference for the school sector.

BlueCow Education and Pobble, both from Harrogate, and Ripon-based Picture News have organised the event, which will see more than 100 school leaders from across the UK “inspire, innovate and improve” as the latest challenges in education come under the spotlight.

Among those taking part in panel discussions will be the Harrogate Grammar School head Neil Renton, who will also be signing copies of his new book New School Leader: What Now? at the conference.

Other speakers include Dave McPartlin – the head famous for taking his school onto TV’s Britain’s Got Talent programme; the world-leading authority on artificial intelligence in education, Dan Fitzpatrick; and Simon Hunt, the BBC Bitesize teacher.

Simon Blower, co-founder and director of Pobble, said:

“As a company with strong Harrogate roots, working closely with North Yorkshire schools, it has long been an ambition to bring a high-quality event to our home town.

 

“These leading experts-in-their-field will help those attending to think about new ways to innovate, inspire and improve pupil outcomes, whilst reflecting on today’s challenging climate for current and aspiring leaders.”

The event will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Harrogate on Friday, October 13, from 9.30am until 3.30pm.

For more information visit the Blue Cow Education website here.

Harrogate company agrees deal to expand into Africa

A Harrogate telecommunications company has agreed a deal to expand its presence into Africa.

Mobile Tornado, which is based at Cardale Park, has reached the agreement with communications company Instacom which extends its partnership until 2026.

Instacom, which has headquarters in South Africa, provides critical communications solutions to government agencies and private enterprises on the continent.

The agreement will see the company extend its resell contract of Mobile Tornado’s push-to-talk over cellular technologies.

It will also see the Harrogate company act as exclusive UK reseller for Instacom’s PTX personnel management platform.

Luke Wilkinson of Mobile Tornado, said: 

“We have been working with Instacom since 2010 and are thrilled to be taking our relationship to the next level. 

We are looking forward to working more closely and sharing our mutual knowledge and expertise. 

“We are already discussing a number of exciting ideas and can’t wait to start implementing them. 

“The continued growth of mobile network coverage across Africa is creating big opportunities for government agencies and private enterprises to increase safety, reduce costs, boost productivity and improve efficiency among their remote workforces.”

Princess Anne makes three visits in Harrogate before flying south

Harrogate was favoured with a rare royal visit today, when Princess Anne made three separate appearances in the town. 

As patron of the UK’s two Police Treatment Centres, the Princess Royal visited the new clinical services wing at St Andrews PTC on Harlow Moor Road.

The PTCs treat injured and ill police members through its physiotherapy and psychological wellbeing programmes, and the new facility was created to meet the increased demand for psychological wellbeing support.

Patrick Cairns, chief executive of the PTC, said:

“For Her Royal Highness to convey her support for the police treatment centres by becoming our patron is a tremendous honour for our charity and it is clear that the Princess Royal understands the challenges that the police service are currently under and the work that we do in treating ill and injured police officers for a range of physical and mental health injuries.”

Credit: Tim Hardy.

The princess then headed to Starbeck charity Claro Enterprises, whose commercial workshops enable people with long-term mental health conditions to function in a real work environment. 

It was the princess’s second visit to Claro Enterprises; her first visit 30 years ago prompted several changes at the charity, including the development of ongoing revenue streams via partnerships with some of the region’s best-known companies, such as Betty’s, Farrah’s and Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen, maker of Mouseman furniture. 

Claro Enterprises general manager Owen Jones said: 

“It was a real privilege to receive a second visit from Princess Anne today. We had about 40 people here to meet her and they loved it.

“She was great – from the moment she got out of the car, she was relaxed and very personable, talking to everybody and taking a real interest in what they do. It was fantastic.” 

Finally, she headed up Station Parade and dropped in on Woods Fine Linen, the long-established family business which has supplied royal households since it was founded in 1895.  

Photo of the Princess Royal meeting William Woods and staff at Woods of Harrogate.

William Woods and his daughter, interior design director Sarah Woods (second left), greet the Princess Royal as crowds look on.

William Woods, chief executive of Woods Fine Linen, told the Princess Royal: 

“Words cannot adequately describe our gratitude and appreciation of your visit today. It means a huge amount to us all and encourages us to maintain our family values of quality, high standards and sustainability in everything we do. We have never been part of the throwaway society.” 

Mr Woods presented the princess with a selection of products, including one of his company’s famous linen dishcloths and a luxury pillow wrapped in brown paper and string — as has been the tradition at Woods for over 125 years.

He also gave her the two volumes of Wells and Swells: The Golden Age of Harrogate Spa, 1842–1923, by his good friend and local historian, the late Malcolm Neesam. 

Photo of the royal helicopter that landed on the Stray and then took Princess Anne to West Yorkshire.

The royal helicopter landed on the Stray and then took Princess Anne to West Yorkshire. Photo: Lucy Arundel.

Mr Woods added: 

“Her Royal Highness was delightful. She’s a very knowledgeable lady, and she’d clearly done her homework.”

The Princess Royal, 73, has long been regarded as one of the hardest-working royals – last year, she attended 214 engagements – and following her three stops in Harrogate, her helicopter took off from the Stray to take her to further engagements in West Yorkshire.

Read more:

 

Bishop Thornton couple celebrate 70 years of marriage

A Bishop Thornton couple will celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary next week.

Sam and Margaret Cryer, who are both 88, tied the knot on Tuesday, September 26 in 1953.

The couple met at a dance in Markington and got married at the village’s St Michael’s Church.

Asked about her parents’ secret to a lifelong marriage, daughter Julia said:

“Well, I think dad would say ‘mum’s a really good cook!’

“But they’ve always had such a strong work ethic and always worked together during their relationship, so I think that plays into it massively.”

Mr and Ms Cryer were originally farmers but now own a stone merchants company where Mr Cryer still works Monday to Friday.

Mr Cryer was also mayor of Harrogate from 1983 to 1984.

Julia said:

“They’ve worked hard together and they’re still very much in love.”

The couple are having a small family get together to celebrate seven decades of marriage.

Read more:

 

Harrogate Grammar School head says 20mph zone should include Otley Road

The headteacher of Harrogate Grammar School has said a section of Otley Road should be reduced to 20mph to improve safety for schoolchildren.

North Yorkshire Council announced last week speed limits will be introduced outside seven schools in Harrogate under plans for a “landmark” 20mph zone across Pannal Ash and Oatlands.

The move followed repeated calls from headteachers and parents to introduce lower speed limits around schools following high-profile collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians. This included an incident this year that left two schoolchildren in hospital.

The seven schools Harrogate Grammar School (HGS), Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Ashville College, St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Oatlands Junior School and Oatlands Infants School.

The 20mph zone by HGS will be introduced on Arthurs Avenue and its surrounding side roads.

But the headteacher of Harrogate’s largest secondary school Neil Renton said the zone should be extended to include the busy B6162 Otley Road, which is a key route in-and-out of town and currently has a limit of 30mph.

A statement was read out on behalf of Mr Renton at a meeting of councillors on the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday.

He said:

“I absolutely support the landmark scheme put forward and hope this pioneering initiative will also include Otley Road. A large number of students leaving the site at start and end of school would make it entirely sensible to reduce the speed limit on Otley Road.

“Our staff see the need for this daily when supervising children. As a school we fully support reducing the speed limit for the safety of children in our community and hope you will also include Otley Road.”

Read more:

Officers published a report ahead of the meeting that said due to national and council policy as well as “the volume of traffic” on Otley Road it would not be possible to introduce a 20mph speed limit.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange and New Park, Monika Slater, asked the council’s chief highways officer Melisa Burnham if she was aware of how other cities had “circumvented” national guidelines to introduce 20mph limits on A or B roads.

Ms Burnham said: 

“We do look at examples in best cases across the country, so yeah, the team certainly have the knowledge but whether it’s something we can look at for the specifics here I’m not sure. 

“We do have that policy in place for a reason and we do have to adhere to it. It’s about that consistency across not just Harrogate but across the county as well.”