Countdown’s Susie Dent, the 8th Earl of Harewood David Lascelles, Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan, veteran broadcaster Peter Snow and former president of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, are amongst the guest speakers headlining at the 10th anniversary year of Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival 2022.

They will be joined over the course of the four days by British philosopher and author Prof AC Grayling, The Great British Dig’s Dr Chloe Duckworth, writer and theatre maker Stella Duffy, political journalist Otto English, and novelist and playwright Stephen May.

Produced by Harrogate International Festivals, the literary event is being held between Thursday, October 20 and Sunday, October 23 at the town’s Crown Hotel.

This is the tenth year that Harrogate law firm Raworths has been the headline sponsor.

Beginning with a literary lunch starring lexicographer Susie Dent, best known for her role in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4’s Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cat Does Countdown, the festival continues with a programme of author interviews, panel discussions, book signings, a yoga workshop and a pop-up Waterstones bookshop.

Other speakers adding their name to the line up include political news correspondent Carole Walker and BBC Radio 4 producer and journalist Phil Tinline, who will join a panel to discuss what’s next for British politics.

Read more:

• Harrogate man ‘running the date’ of the month each day for mental health fund
• New music festival to mark composer’s link to Nidderdale village

One of the country’s leading psychotherapists and author of Sunday Times Best Seller Ten to Zen, Owen O’Kane will be joined by psychiatrist and psychotherapist Penelope Campling to examine how covid has affected our mental health.

Harrogate International Festivals chief executive Sharon Canavar said:

“Over the years, this four-day event has grown in stature and importance, and has rightly claimed its place as one of the country’s leading literature festivals. As ever, we are incredibly grateful to our sponsors, Raworths solicitors, who have been our partner in this event for a decade.”

Simon Morris, from Raworths solicitors, said:

“This is one of the premier literary festivals in the UK, and we are delighted once again to have our name associated with this wonderful four-day celebration of books and writing.”

Further information about the festival is available here.

A former Harrogate headteacherhas been spared jail after he was found guilty of making over 3,000 indecent images of children.

Matthew Shillito, 43, repeatedly visited a Russian website where he viewed sexual images of children, York Magistrates’ Court heard.

Shillito, who was appointed headteacher at Western Primary School in 2019, was arrested after police searched his home in January 2020 and seized a Dell laptop and Macbook Pro, on which they found thousands of sexual images of under-age girls.

On Friday, district judge Adrian Lower told Shillito his teaching career was now “in ruins” as he handed him an 18-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Shillito was also placed on the disbarring lists preventing him from working with children ever again.

Shillito was convicted of the offences last month following a trial at the magistrates’ court. He had denied making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between September 2007 and December 2015, claiming the illegal images inadvertently found their way onto his devices while he was looking at other photographs online.

But judge Mr Lower found him guilty of both counts and said the evidence against the disgraced former teacher was “incontrovertible and inescapable”.

‘Repeat viewing’

Shillito – who was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools – had claimed that he was searching for holiday snaps because he had an interest in photography.

He also said he visited several websites for educational purposes because he was “dissatisfied in the way sex education was being taught at school”.

But prosecutor Philip Morris said that Shillito – who was understood to be in a relationship until shortly before his arrest – had visited some of these websites “30 or 40 times”. One of these websites was called ‘Pre-Teen Love’.

He added:

“It is deliberate and intentional, repeat viewing of (indecent) images and (web) pages.”

There was evidence of Shillito viewing the illicit images  in 2011 and then again in 2015 when further images and “albums” with titles such as ‘Girls Line Up’ and ‘Girls Love Girls’ were found.

He had used search terms such as ‘Lolita’ while trawling the web for the illicit material, said Mr Morris.

‘Previous good character’

After being arrested in January 2020, Shillito was immediately suspended from his teaching post and subsequently dismissed.

Kevin Blount, mitigating, said that Shillito had since “re-trained in another role” following the collapse of his teaching career.

He added:

“Clearly these are matters that are going to live with him for the rest of his life.”

Judge Mr Lower told Shillito:

“I know you are a man of [previous] good character. You have worked in the teaching profession for a number of years, achieving the rank of being a headmaster and I’ve no reason to [doubt] that you did all that was expected of you in the course of your employment.”

He added, however, that Shillito’s “disgrace is complete” following the discovery of the sordid images.

He said Shillito had a “corrosive, addictive interest” in viewing indecent images of children, adding:

“You will realise… that you are never going to work in the teaching profession again, a profession to which… you gave your all.

“This kind of behaviour is serious and the law-abiding public… would expect me to send a strong message to people like you, that if you are guilty of this behaviour you are going to be punished for it and you can have no complaint about that.”

Imposing the 18-month community order, Mr Lower told Shillito:

“The very fact that you have been found guilty and the consequences that follow from that is probably more punishment to you than anything else [in terms of sentence] I can propose.”

Read more:

• Ex-Harrogate headteacher found guilty of making indecent images of children
• Former Harrogate headteacher ‘repeatedly accessed’ website with indecent images, court hears

As well as unpaid work hours, Shillito will also have to complete 24 days’ rehabilitation activity. He was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for five years and made subject to a five-year sexual-harm prevention order to curb his internet activities and allow police to monitor his online use.

He was also ordered to pay £600 prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

None of the offences related to Shillito’s employment at any of the schools where he worked.

Detective Constable Andy Lowes, of North Yorkshire Police’s Online Abuse and Exploitation Team, said:

“North Yorkshire Police is committed to preventing child sexual abuse, helping victims and bringing offenders to justice.

“Those who obtain and distribute child-abuse material directly contribute to the sexual exploitation of children. This is because the children involved are continually re-victimised every time the images are viewed.”

A man from Harrogate is ‘running the date’ with an extra mile everyday to raise money for fund set up in memory of his close friend.

Darren West, from Bilton, started with one mile on September 1 and will build up to running 30 miles on the last day of the month.

He is fundraising for the Alastair Mackenzie Fund, set up by his wife Christina after Alastair took his own life.

The fund works with local groups to ‘raise awareness of suicide prevention and improve the mental health resources available to those in need.’

Mr West and Alastair Mackenzie started as work colleagues but became good friends. When Alastair died, he said it was “absolutely devastating.”

Mr West first saw the idea for the challenge on social media.

After having taken a break from running, he thought it would be able to get back into the sport. He said:

“I thought, that’d be doable. I’d quite fancy that.”

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Initially going to run for fun, Christina Mackenzie asked if he would do it to raise money for the fund.

She is managing the fundraising whilst Mr West focuses on the challenge.

Work and the school run means that Mr West usually has to run in the early hours of the morning.

However, he says that he does not mind it:

“I don’t really get much of a chance in the day to run so I actually run on a morning. I’m not a very good sleeper so my running time normally varies between 1am in the morning and 6am.”

He manages to get some sleep back through power naps during the day.

Here is your traffic and travel update for Monday September 12 – sponsored by HACs.

Road :

Ripon Road – multi-way lights in the New Park area of Harrogate as Yorkshire Water carries out essential work this week.

Oakdale and Kent Road in the Duchy – road closures and diversions in this area from today until September 23 for gas main replacement work.

Just outside the district Sutton Bank on the A170 between Helmsley and Thirsk is set to undergo an extensive maintenance programme.

Due to the scale of the scheme, a full road closure will be in place from until 7pm on Sunday, 2 October.

Bus Cancellations

The following bus services are cancelled today – go to the transdev website for updates

The 1A
Aspin to Harrogate 8.06am

The 1C
Carmires to Starbeck 9.16am
Carimires to Harrogate 6.59am
Harrogate to Carmires 8.51am

#The 7
Weatherby to Harrogate 6.50am
Harrogate to Leeds 7.25am
Leeds to Harrogate 9.25am

#The36
Starbeck to Leeds 6.23am
Leeds to Harrogate 7.40am, 8.55am, 9.55am, 10.25am, 11.55am
Harrogate to Leeds 7.35am, 9am, 9.25am, 10.55am

Rail 

Rail services are running to time this morning on the Harrogate line. Check for further updates with Northern Rail. 

Planned strike action for the 15 and 17 September has been suspended due to the death of Her Majesty the Queen.

Belzona which manufactures polymeric repair and protection systems and has a base on Claro road in Harrogate, has announced the appointments of Charli Yu Walton as Corporate Development Director (China) and Fred Lu as Technical Director (China).

The appointments follow the creation of Belzona Molecular Technology (Nanjing) Ltd in 2019 and mark a significant next step in the company’s international expansion strategy.

Mrs Walton originally from Harbin, China, joined the company’s Harrogate-based marketing team in 2011.  She will be responsible for creating and implementing marketing strategies to consolidate and accelerate Belzona’s growth plans in China.

Speaking of her new appointment, Mrs Walton said:

“I am delighted and proud to be appointed to the first Board of Directors of Belzona’s new Chinese company. China has, for many years, been a significant market for Belzona and the formation of the new company demonstrates Belzona’s commitment to growth in the region.

“Through our great brands, products, and distributorships, we bring cutting-edge solutions to our customers in China. We have set an exciting growth agenda for our brands, where innovation, digital marketing excellence, sustainability and collaboration play a crucial role.”

Mr Lu will continue to lead Chinese business from the technical perspective and will head up the development of Belzona’s training programme and technical service support in the region.

He said:

“I am proud to be a member of the Belzona family and am honoured to take on this new role. Belzona has unrivalled experience and expertise globally. Our new Company is a technical hub, providing extensive and customised training programmes to our Distributors and customers in China.

I will keep working hard and do my best to ensure that we achieve our goals and fulfil our great potential in the Chinese market.”

Belzona’s technical support centres based in Harrogate (UK), Miami (USA), Chonburi (Thailand), Ontario (Canada), and now Jiangsu, provide a worldwide presence, enabling the organisation to support its customer and distributor network.

Read More:

• Harrogate’s Hustle & Co renamed as new owner takes over
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Knaresborough Business Park goes carbon negative 

Rabbit Hill Business Park in Knaresborough has announced that it is now a carbon negative business.

The park has been mapping its carbon footprint to develop and improve its carbon reduction strategy and has been working with Mark Thwaite from CarbonNow on an audit.

The report highlighted:

“Rabbit Hill has already made great strides to reduce their carbon footprint, for example using solar panels. Our report reflects the excellent work that they have done and acts as a benchmark so that they can continue to set their fine example as a beacon for other low carbon businesses.

“Rabbit Hill has also invested in sources that contribute to offsetting carbon. They have a solar panel grid on their premises from which they sell generated electricity back to the grid and onto their clients. They also have a very well landscaped site, with trees and hedges that contribute to carbon sequestration.”

Richard Kay, MD of Rabbit Hill Park, said:

“Working with Mark has been very inciteful. We now have several strategies to help reduce our carbon footprint even further, which we will implement over the next 12 months. I would recommend the services of Mark’s team at www.carbonnow.co.uk and get your carbon mapping journey started.”

Residents from across the Harrogate district have gathered to pay their respects to the late Queen today, and to welcome the new King.

Proclamations of the accession of King Charles III were made at the war memorial in Harrogate and at Ripon Town Hall at 4pm.

At the former, the Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate, Cllr Victoria Oldham, read the words of the proclamation to the gathered crowd. She said:

“In an age where modern methods of communication convey news around the globe in an instant, the proclamation is no longer how people learn for the first time that they have a new monarch.

“Today, however, is one of the first occasions when communities have an opportunity to come together and reflect on the moment in our nation’s history when the reign of our longest-serving monarch came to an end and our new sovereign succeeded.”

The ceremony included “inverting the mace” as a symbol that the crown had passed to a new sovereign.

Several hundred people stood in silence until she concluded by declaring “God save the King!”, echoed by the audience.

It was followed by three cheers for the new King.

Among the dignitaries taking part in the ceremony were the council chief executive Wallace Sampson and its leader, Cllr Richard Cooper. Those gathered included Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as many local councillors.

All were dressed in black and wearing black armbands.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Richard Compton, centre, with other dignitaries outside Ripon Town Hall

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, was present for the city’s proclamation of the new King, along with its Mayor and Mayoress, Cllr Sid Hawke and his wife Linda.

The proclamation was read out by Richard Compton, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, at Ripon Town Hall.

The crowd then sang the national anthem before giving three cheers for King Charles III.

Read more:

• Bells ring out across the district once more as Charles III proclaimed King
• King Charles III’s long links to the Harrogate district

Meanwhile, this morning, hundreds of people gathered at Ripon Cathedralfor a special Sung Eucharist Service, at which prayers were said to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of His Majesty King Charles III.

What was originally scheduled to be a civic service for the Mayor of Harrogate changed its focus following the Queen’s death on Thursday.

Cllr Oldham was in attendance along with the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon, Councillor Sid Hawke and his wife Linda, as well as Ripon MP Julian Smith and the chair of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Margaret Atkinson.

The service was led by the Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev John Dobson. As chaplain to the Mayor of Harrogate, he was also in Harrogate this afternoon for the Proclamation of King Charles III.

This column is written for the Stray Ferret by Sir Thomas Ingilby, of Ripley Castle.

I was 18 when my father died and too young to appreciate how his unexpected passing would change my life forever.

I inherited a title (a Baronetcy – the most junior rank of knighthood), an ancient castle and an institution that was steeped in seven centuries of tradition. I inherited a privilege – and an imposition. The life and freedom that I had fondly dreamed of disappeared: I was metaphorically handcuffed to the castle radiators. Having been given a title by accident of birth I have spent 49 years trying to earn it.

But the pressures that I faced were a tiny microcosm of the huge challenge that the 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth inherited when her father died. She found herself catapulted into the global spotlight and suddenly had to deal with momentous matters of state every day while bringing up a family of four.

People expect their monarchs to be wise but not arrogant, dignified yet personable, firm but with a sparkle in the eye, to have a cheerful countenance all day, every day: there can be no such thing as ‘an off day’ or ‘a bad day at the office’ for a monarch. Mistakes at that level can have terrible consequences and when you are under that kind of pressure it is impossible to relax. Little wonder that she found so much contentment away from the spotlight at Balmoral, a place where she could just be herself.

We were fortunate to meet the Queen on several occasions and she was always the consummate professional, chatting to everyone, no matter who they were, putting them at their ease, captivating them with the sparkle in her eyes. She was genuinely interested in everyone that she met and it showed in the warmth of her approach. She had an agile mind and a great sense of humour: any nervousness that you had about being in her company was rapidly disarmed by her approachability.

Deep and genuine faith

At times of stress the pressure must have been almost unbearable – the strain showed in her face. Her deep and genuine faith and her determination to meet the challenge head on while listening to the counsel of her husband and other trusted advisers always saw her, and the nation, through.

Hers was a Herculean responsibility and she gave it her all for 70 years, a truly remarkable achievement given the enormous personal, national and international crises that arose during her reign. She inherited an institution that was steeped in over a thousand years of tradition and transformed it into something far more appropriate for the modern age – something that can and will continue to evolve to meet the nation’s needs.

The national sense of grief and thanksgiving is a verdict delivered: she overcame everything that fate through at her and set an exemplary standard through her leadership. In contemporary parlance she took on the job and absolutely smashed it. She has richly earned our respect and gratitude: she can finally rest in peace alongside her beloved husband.

King Charles III becomes the 33rd monarch to assume the throne during my family’s time at Ripley. In that time we have saved the life of one king (Edward III), fought for another (Charles I during the Civil War), been implicated in a conspiracy to blow up another one (James I in the Gunpowder Plot) and extended our warm hospitality to several others.

But all that is in the past and as we pledge our allegiance to the new monarch we wish Charles III a less testing reign than his predecessors as he seeks to help guide our nation forward through these precarious times. He has big footsteps to fill – but clearly shares his mother’s passion for the challenges ahead.

God save the King!

The former director of the Great Yorkshire Show, Bill Cowling, has paid tribute to the Queen who he chaperoned during her last visit in 2008.

Mr Cowling, who is also a retired Deputy Lieutenant of North YorkshireDeputy , said her death was a “tremendous shock” and it felt like losing a family member.

He described the Queen’s visit to the showground in Harrogate as one of the highlights of his career.

He recalled talking to her in the back of a Range Rover and enjoying lunch with her at the president’s pavilion.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I was so very lucky to have met her. To think I sat and talked to her over an extended period of time was a huge honour. It’s something I shall remember forever.

“Her ability to put me at my ease – and everybody else she met – was an amazing thing. She was such a consummate professional at what she was doing.”

Read more:

• ‘I chatted to the Queen in the back of a Range Rover’: Her Majesty’s many visits to the district
• Flags raised back up to full mast across the district as Charles III proclaimed new sovereign

Mr Cowling said not only was the Queen a lover of animals, but she also had a great appreciation of agriculture and rural life.

He said:

“She knew what she was looking at in the way of horses, but also cattle and sheep. She had a huge interest in all the exhibitors and their livelihoods.”

The Queen unveiling a plaque to commemorate the start of work on the Regional Agricultural Centre in 2008.

Mr Cowling said, like the rest of the nation, he will now start coming to terms with the change.

He said:

“There’s no doubt a change has happened. But I’m confident King Charles III will make a splendid King. Again at the show, I was privileged to have met him a few times and his interest and empathy with rural life is the same.”

This column is written for the Stray Ferret by the Chair of The Royal Hall Restoration Trust, Russell M Davidson. 

There is huge national grief at the passing of a much loved Queen, yet as the mourning period gradually passes, thoughts will increasingly turn to her successor.

The Royal Hall Restoration Trust has been privileged to have the new King, in his capacity of Prince of Wales, as its patron for some fifteen years. I had twice met the Prince before I got involved in the trust, but those meetings were at formal events and while he was affable and friendly, I had no knowledge about Charles beyond the ups and downs one reads in the press, including the negative stuff following the death of Diana.

It was not until I met Charles again, with my predecessor, the late Lilian Mina, at the 2008 reopening of the refurbished Royal Hall that I first saw the kindness of the man. Lilian was gravely ill and had difficulty standing and walking, yet the Prince never left her side, helping her up and down stairs, while constantly letting her hold onto his arm for support. I succeeded as Chair of the trust after Lilian’s death and the trustees set about a range of further projects. I discovered the close personal interest Charles takes in those charities he is involved with.

It is not just a case of having a grand name on the notepaper – in contrast, regular contact is maintained with each charity via the private secretaries. The relationship is very much a ‘How can we help you?’ one. When the trust needed assistance developing a future project for the rear of the Royal Hall, we sent our initial designs to the Prince and were immediately invited to visit his architectural foundation in London. We discovered an impressive set-up, housing a school training young woodworkers and designers (beautiful examples of work on display) and were greeted by a friendly American architect who had led the scheme to restore Dumfries House and who provided further expert help without charge. I learned from him that Charles personally, and regularly, reviews the work undertaken by each of his charities and draws on his extensive contacts to find ways of making useful introductions to assist.

He must work incredibly hard, for our trust is only one of many that he is patron of.  We learned that the drawings and letters we sent, via the private secretaries, were actually looked at and discussed by him. Suggestions as to how to alter the presumably not so liked aspects of our designs were made so very tactfully too! And when we have asked for a visit to help with fundraising, there have always been efforts to find a diary slot, difficult though his schedule makes that. We have never had a ‘no’.

It is evident the new King cares passionately about our country, its community and the environment, both built and natural. I am confident, based on my personal experience of dealing with him as patron, that Charles will prove to be a good and kindly King.

Read More: 

• ‘Fondly’ remembering the Queen’s visits to the Harrogate district
• Harrogate ceremony to mark proclamation of King Charles III on Sunday

King Charles has built strong links with the Harrogate district over many decades.

He is patron of the Royal Hall Restoration Trust, a position he took up when the group faced the mammoth challenge of raising £2.7m to save the historic building.

Opened in 1903, the hall was forced to close less than 100 years later when part of its ceiling collapsed, leaving it in need of more than £13m of repairs.

An urgent project was undertaken to carry out repairs, led by Harrogate Borough Council and the Royal Hall Restoration Trust, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Once work was completed, King Charles officially opened the newly refurbished Royal Hall in 2008, welcomed by its chairman, the late Lilian Mina MBE.

In support of the trust, King Charles said:

“As Patron of the Royal Hall Restoration Trust, I am delighted to lend my support to the Trust’s efforts to raise the funds towards the restoration of this unique part of our national heritage.

“Over the past one-hundred years, this magnificent building has faithfully served the people of Harrogate and the surrounding district in many different roles.

“The inherent versatility of Frank Matcham’s brilliant concept for this theatre building has enabled the Royal Hall to be used for a range of purposes – from a cinema to a boxing arena, from an area for exhibition displays to a dance hall; from ballet to theatre performances, from school speech days to concert hall – the list is almost endless.

“It has truly justified the “act of faith in the future of the town” made by those far-sighted local leaders who were so inspirational in its creation and who saw it as a vital part of Harrogate’s future prosperity.

“I would urge you to support the appeal in any way that you can.”

Read more:

• Mayor leads Harrogate tributes to Queen’s ‘constant source of courage’
• Ripon hornblower holds two minute silence to mark Queen’s death

King Charles has other long-standing links to the Harrogate district.

King Charles is a freeman of the city of Ripon, an honour conveyed to him in 2002 for his support to the community.

A plaque was unveiled near the front door of the town hall to mark the occasion and the future king visited the city for the occasion.

His interest in farming and the countryside saw him become patron of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society in 1998, taking the role from the Queen who had held it since 1952.

His first visit to the Great Yorkshire Show was the following year, 1999. He returned in 2006, 2011 and 2015, accompanied by the Queen Consort.

Their last visit was last summer, when the show was held over four days for the first time in order to enable more social distancing during the covid pandemic.

Read More: 

• ‘Fondly’ remembering the Queen’s visits to the Harrogate district