Business Breakfast: Christmas Harrogate networking event this Sunday

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

A free Harrogate business networking event is to be held at Cold Bath Brewery this Sunday, December 4.

Normally the Harrogate Social meets on the first friday of every month. It’s a space where around 50 local business owners get together  for a drink at a local independent bar and share news.

The Christmas event though is on a Sunday afternoon and this year the venue is Cold Bath Brewing on Kings Road.

The organisers, Liz Wild or Wild and Co Chartered Accountants and Martin Mann of Martin Mann- I.T. are asking participants to support the Harrogate Homeless Project.

For more information click here.

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Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors in Harrogate are to sponsor the Inclusivity Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023.

The Inclusivity Award recognises a company that has demonstrated working practices with a proactive approach to inclusivity.

In total there are 10 Award categories for the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 which will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate.  The main event sponsor is Knaresborough based financial advisers and consultants, Prosperis. 

Andrew from Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors said:

“Harrogate has many legends…..  Betty’s, Valley Gardens, The Blue’s Bar…. But, there is a new kid on the block, The Stray Ferret and we are proud to be working as a partner with them.

“The Stray Ferret has quickly become known as the place to find impartial, honest, local news, at Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors we are pleased to be partnering with the Stray Ferret, after all our clients want impartial honest advice on their property purchase”

The event promises to be great occasion which recognises best practice and business excellence.

If your business has a good story to tell enter now . Entries close on January 13.

 

Police find missing man with Harrogate links

North Yorkshire Police has confirmed that a missing man has been found following an appeal.

Officers said they were “extremely concerned” for the welfare of the 36-year-old.

A police statement said the man was found safe and well.

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Stray Views: Dangerous takeaway drivers and exclusion zones for pro-lifers outside abortion clinics

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

I was in town this afternoon and witnessed 3 different takeaway drivers, easily identified by the large insulated food bags they carry, completely disregarding all traffic signs.

They regularly drive down pedestrian areas, park in disabled spaces and in double yellow lines.

I heard another couple remark about it. Where are the police or traffic wardens? The town was very busy this afternoon and these drivers are a danger waiting to happen.

John Franklin, Harrogate

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Ferreters may be interested to know that local Tory  MPs Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) and Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) voted recently in the Commons to jail for up to two years volunteers offering alternative help to women approaching abortion clinics. It is believed the pro-lifers have saved  hundreds of unborn children’s lives at the very doors of the clinics.

The MPs’ vote was widely criticised across the House of Lords.

Lib Dem peer Lord Beith said: “[I]  cannot support a clause which criminalises a person who ‘seeks to influence, provides information or expresses opinion’m.”

He added: “This is the most profound restriction on free speech I have ever seen in any UK legislation.”

Similar sentiments came from Lord Frost (Con), a former government minister and Brexit negotiator.

The peers were debating  the Second Reading of the Public Order Act, controversially amended by a Labour MP to impose throughout England exclusion zones banning  pro-life actions of any kind  within 150 yards of an abortion clinic.

Lord McAvoy (Lab), quoting the grateful personal testimony of a woman helped by volunteers outside a clinic, said: “If we make it illegal to hand out a leaflet with offers of housing or support, we embark on a slippery slope to bans on other leaflets with which we disagree.”

Baroness O’Loan (crossbencher), a former Police Ombudsman, warned the proposed blanket ban was unnecessary and could even be harmful.

Home Office Minister Lord Sharpe, closing the debate, described the clause as a disproportionate response to pro-life vigils outside abortion clinics and not human rights compliant.

Jones and Smith were supporters earlier this year of making pills by post abortions permanent. This was despite repeated assurances to constituents that the practice was a temporary expedient because of the Covid pandemic–and despite many doctors’ fears of the dangers of coercion of girls and women by boyfriends, partners and relatives.

Both also voted in the past against an explicit ban on sex-selective abortion and against independent abortion counselling. In their 12 years in Parliament, abortions have soared in England and Wales  from 196,109 in 2010  to last year’s record of 214,256.

Tony Flanagan, Kirkby Malzeard

 

 

Ukrainian soloist to join Knaresborough choir to sing of peace at Christmas

A Ukrainian soloist will sing of peace on earth in a special Christmas concert set to take place in a village church near Harrogate.

Soprano Natalka Pasicznyk is one of three soloists to join Knaresborough Choral Society for Carols by Candlelight at All Saints’ Church in Kirkby Overblow.

She will sing Peace on Earth by modern British composer Errollyn Wallen, made particularly poignant by the war in Ukraine which continues to affect members of Natalka’s family.

The choir’s musical director, William Bruce, said:

“Errollyn Warren’s new composition, Peace on Earth, is just so appropriate and Natalka is going to sing that as a solo.

“We always strive to make our programme as diverse and inclusive as possible. Most of the audience won’t have heard some of the pieces we’re performing so although there will be some familiar carols in there, there will be something new too.”

As well as Natalka, the concert will feature tenor Alexander Kyle and bass Isaac Cooper, accompanied David Grealy.

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William joined the 50-strong Knaresborough Choral Society around a year ago and this will be the first time he has put together the programme for one of its concerts.

His full-time job is working with choristers at Leeds Cathedral, so he said the role with Knaresborough Choral Society appealed because it allowed him to select different pieces and explore some of the great composers, including Mozart and Bach.

He added:

“The choir members are very ambitious which is a real virtue because they are dedicated and work so hard through the week.

“My job is to put it all together which is wonderful, because some choirs only turn up for the social side. We do have that, but they also put the time in and we see the results.

“They deserve the best soloists in the country to come and sing with them so I’m really delighted with the line-up and I know we’re going to put on a great night of music.”

The concert takes place on Saturday, December 10 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the Shoulder of Mutton in Kirkby Overblow, Art in the Mill in Knaresborough, or by emailing Knaresborough Choral Society.

Spooky Christmas tradition set to be revived in Harrogate

The popular Victorian tradition of telling spooky tales at Christmas is set to be revived in Harrogate next week.

An evening of ghost stories will be held at Harrogate Library on Thursday, December 1.

It is being organised by Paul Forster, best known as the man behind the Harrogate Ghost Walk which takes place twice a month around the town.

He said:

“It’s bringing back that tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, which was big in the Victorian era.

“Charles Dickens was at the forefront of it all with A Christmas Carol and that paved the way for others.

“It was all about penance and seeing the best in people. It has got strong Christian messages, but with a spooky twist to make you think about lost loved ones.”

Paul has researched traditional ghost stories for the event, adapting them for a modern audience.

Tickets for the event are £15 each, including a mince pie and glass of mulled wine. There will be two sessions, at 6.15pm and 8.15pm.

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Meanwhile, Paul said his first year of running the ghost walk has proved hugely successful, with more than 1,500 people taking part. An increasing number of visitors to the town are attending each month, and Paul said some paranormal enthusiasts have travelled from across the country to try out a new walk in Harrogate.

A series of events around Halloween recreating a seance held by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini in Harrogate also proved hugely popular – but Paul said there were a number of strange happenings during the performances at the Crown Hotel.

“Some of it was in my control, but stuff happened that wasn’t in my control.

“The temperature in the room just dropped noticeably – you could see your breath.

“Then a woman in the front row jumped and screamed and said something had grabbed her leg. Her son, who is a complete sceptic, then said something had brushed past him. It was really odd.”

On the back of the events’ success, Paul is teaming up with close-up magician Neil Bradley Smith to run a residency at the Crown Hotel from December 16.

Under the title Forster and Smith, the pair will deliver their Impossibilities night of magic and mind-reading once a month.

Nearly half of Harrogate council meetings cancelled in November

A lack of Harrogate Borough Council business has led to nearly half of meetings being cancelled this past month.

The authority will be abolished in four months time and replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

The cancellation of so many meetings raises questions over how effective the council will be in its final days.

It had been due to hold 13 meetings in November — not including informal meetings — which included senior cabinet member meetings and a planning committee.

However, five of those meetings were cancelled. Last week the council did not hold a single meeting.

Just three public meetings were streamed live onto the council’s YouTube in November.

This included a cabinet meeting, where senior councillors made a key decision over the progress of three strategic housing sites.

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The Stray Ferret asked the borough council why so many meetings had been cancelled and why so few meetings had been streamed for the public to watch.

A council spokesperson said:

“Provisional dates for meetings are added to the calendar at the start of the municipal year. 

“Should these not be required, as there are no items to bring to said meeting, then they are cancelled.”

The authority is due to hold 12 meetings in December—- one of which has already been cancelled.

 

 

Harrogate girls to cut hair to raise funds for friend with luekaemia

Two girls from Harrogate will cut and donate their hair to charity to raise funds for The Candlelighters Trust charity.

Holly, 7, and Heidi, 5, will have their locks removed next month and donate their hair to the Little Princess Trust, which will turn it into real hair wigs.

The two girls have been growing their hair since last November in support of their friend Sophia Felgate, 7, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Sophia was first diagnosed in 2018, just a week after her third birthday. She finished treatment in August 2020, however the cancer returned last November.

The idea came from Holly wanting to give Sophia her own hair to “make her feel better”, after Sophia lost her hair due to chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

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The Candlelighters Trust provides practical, emotional and financial support to families of children with cancer.

They have been helping the Felgate family since Sophia’s diagnosis in 2018. They have provided the Felgates with counselling, family fun days, massages/haircuts/manicures for Sophia and pizza nights.

The fundraiser has already raised almost £1,000. If you would like to donate to the cause you can do so on the JustGiving page.

Owners of Harrogate trophy store retire after 40 years

A Harrogate couple who have run a small independent trophy store for 40 years are to retire.

Martin and Jane Newton have operated Trophies and Engravings out of their small shop on Valley Mount since the early 1980’s.

Before his career in trophy making,  Mr Newton worked for ICI at Hornbeam Park but left to set up a darts shop.

A keen dart player, he was running a number of darts leagues across the district at the time.

When he was asked to run a competition for Theakston’s Brewery and make the trophies, it marked the start of a new business that would soon take over his life for the next four decades.

Now at the age of 72, he said. it’s time to hand the business over to people younger.

“I was busy up to covid and I was worried afterwards that we wouldn’t have enough business but we’ve had queues since then and we’ve not stopped running. Once you hit 70  it is hard work.

Making trophies for the Great Yorkshire Show starts early in the year and goes onto June. We also have school presentations at that time of year and all the winter sports leagues ending, it’s manic. ”

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The trophies the Newtons have made and commissioned come in all shapes, sizes and budgets, ranging from £5 for a school award to hundreds of thousands of pounds for a bespoke trophy plated in silver or gold.

Whilst the couple have worked with local organisations such as the Army Foundation College, Harrogate Swimming Club and Yorkshire Gymnastics, they also have contracts much further afield.  Their bus awards – a gold coloured bus on a plinth- are popular in Australia and America.

Jane Newton has run the business with her husband. Even in a world now obsessed with social media, she said, there’s nothing like winning an actual physical trophy:

“People are really proud when they get their name on a trophy – they’re beaming”

The Newtons have now sold the business to Paul and Linda Shreeve who will soon be creating  moments of joy for award winners everywhere.

Sequins: What’s hot in the district’s fashion boutiques as party season kicks off

With Christmas just one month away, many of us are starting to think about our looks for the party season, as well as special gifts to buy or our loved ones.

Fortunately in the Harrogate district we are blessed with some fabulous independent fashion boutiques.

We asked four business owners what was currently flying off the shelves as we approach the big day.

Infinity & Co boutique, Harrogate

Sam Gallagher, owner of Infinity & Co boutique, which has just launched its newly-refurbished store at the Victoria Shopping Centre, said the key word for Christmas was “sequins – and lots of them!”

She said:

“We have trousers, tops, blouses, dresses and jackets in and they are so popular. They can be worn dressed up but it’s also fun to wear them casually too. We have them in lots of metallic shades of gold, champagne, copper black and rose gold, along with some brights too.

“We have also been selling chunky oversized cardigans to wear with boots and PU (synthetic leather) joggers, ideal for walking around a Christmas market.

“Colours this season are lots of neutrals of camel, winter white and black and for the bright colours we have had a strong reaction to raspberry, teal, emerald and cobalt.”

Porters, Harrogate

Andy Shuttleworth, manager of Porters, on James Street, said shirts and dresses were selling fast ahead of the party season.

He said:

“We have got a great selection of occasion shirts and party dresses. They are always very popular this time of year.

“Accessories, which can be bought for gifts and stocking fillers, like socks and underwear, are popular too.

“Brands people particularly like at the moment are Traffic People, which does wonderful party dresses, and shirts from Guide London and Claudio Lugli.

“The trend is currently ‘glitz’ and the shirts are bright and bold – ready for the party season.”

Fennec & Darwin, Harrogate

Aideen Fox, owner of Fennec & Darwin, on Montpellier Mews, said accessories to help you keep warm were currently proving the most popular.

She said:

“I’m finding gift items, such as my slippers and scarves which retail for £19.99, have been my top-sellers on the run-up to Christmas.

“Especially with energy prices going up so much, it’s important to keep warm.”

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Wild Thing boutique, Knaresborough

Dianne Houghton, owner of Wild Thing boutique on Knaresborough’s High Street, said it was currently all about the sparkle.

She said:

“Sparkling dresses are popular at the moment, but they are not just for Christmas. You can make outfits sparkle by accessorising jewellery and layering-up, but still being comfortable.”

New book reveals history behind Valley Gardens trees

A Harrogate woman has co-authored a guide to trees in the town’s Valley Gardens.

The book, by Jane Blayney and Simon Hill, documents 30 species of trees in the gardens and looks at how they make the area special.

The authors describe the shape, bark, leaves, flowers and fruit of each species and reveal how they were introduced to the British Isles. They also highlight some of the pests and diseases that threaten survival.

Among the trees included in the book are Horse Chestnut, Weeping Willow and Atlas Cedar.

Ms Blayney, who co-authored the book with president of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, Mr Hill, said the book was a labour of love during the pandemic.

She said:

“I have lived many decades in the Valley Gardens area.

“However, until I became chair of the Friends of Valley Gardens I did not realise the wealth and variety of the trees within the gardens.”

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Ms Blayney added she hoped the book will help more people to “realise the enormous importance of trees” and allow them to explore Valley Gardens with greater insight.

She said she was also grateful to Cllr Jim Clark, former chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, who helped to fund the book.

The 72-page guide also includes a foreword from Martin Fish, president of the Friends of Valley Gardens.

The book is currently available for £7.50 at the Valley Gardens website. You can find out more information on how to order a copy here.