Meet Harrogate’s Eurovision super-fan event organiser

In the week when it was confirmed the UK will host Eurovision next year, Harrogate resident Tania Hodson had more reason than most to celebrate.

The self-confessed super-fan helps to organise the annual EuroStarz gig, which sees former contestants perform again for a crowd of dedicated enthusiasts.

It takes place every summer, three months after the contest, and a handful of tickets are still available for this year’s event on Saturday, August 13. Tania said:

“We aim it for when people are starting to get post-Eurovision depression, before any of the songs for the following year come out.”

This year’s event  will feature Denmark’s 2018 entry Rasmussen, and Suzy who represented Portugal in 2014. UK entries James Fox from 2004 and Lindsay Dracass, who was just 16 when she represented her country, will also be on the bill.

It is held at the Water Rats in London, known for a number of landmark events including Bob Dylan’s first UK performance in 1962 and Oasis’s first ever gig in 1994.

Previous Eurovision entrants perform at EuroStarz in 2018

The annual event has a strong Harrogate influence – Tania and former Knaresborough resident Michael Woodhead make up half of the small team of organisers.

The graphic designer said they are thrilled about the return of Eurovision itself to the UK and are hopeful of getting tickets.

“I’ve only been to Eurovision once – it’s quite hard to get tickets and quite expensive.

“They do give more to the hosting country and I’m part of the official fan club in the UK so I’m hoping I can get some through that.”

Read more:

The exact location of the event is yet to be confirmed, but Tania knows her home town could never be on the list now, despite having hosted in 1982 – before she was born.

“I would love it, but it’s a bit big for Harrogate now. It’s not like it was then, with a little orchestra and everyone in formalwear.

“I heard rumours that Glasgow is likely to get it. It would be great if it came to Leeds so there might be some people staying around Harrogate.

“It would be nice to get it out of London, but to be honest, I don’t mind as long as I can get tickets!

“It’s really unfortunate it can’t be held in Ukraine, but we hope they will do enough to pay tribute to Ukraine. It’s not just about us, but it’s really exciting to get the opportunity to maybe go and also see all the events leading up to the contest.”

Harrogate district businesses asked to add their details to defibrillator register

Harrogate district businesses and other organisations are being encouraged to provide details of defibrillator units on their premises.

The Defibs-Ripon Group, working closely with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has been at the forefront of installing and raising awareness about the location of defibrillators in the city, but is keen to make the Harrogate district aware of a wider initiative.

Group member Alec Lutton told the Stray Ferret:

“The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has created an online log in site called The Circuit, which provides locations throughout Britain of defibrillators that can be accessed 24/7 by emergency services.

Now, the BHF is looking to expand this, by registering the whereabouts of every defibrillator by including location details for all of the life-saving devices.

Mr Lutton added:

“This will be achieved by including the business names and postcodes for those ‘restricted access’ units on the premises of shops, leisure and hospitality, other businesses and organisations, where the devices are only available for use during working or opening hours.”

“Our contacts at YAS have asked us to encourage all those with such units to support this important initiative.

“There are currently 23 defibrillators in Ripon and the surrounding area that can be accessed 24 hours a day and, as a group, we would also like to add onto our locations list,  the  names and postcodes of Ripon-based businesses and organisations, where there is restricted access.”

Read more:

Helping a heart attack victim

A heart attack or cardiac arrest could happen to anyone of any age at any time, day or night and the following advice is offered by defibrillator providers, if an incident arises:

 

‘Play like the star you are’: Harrogate gets behind Rachel Daly ahead of Euro final

Harrogate has thrown its support behind Rachel Daly ahead of England’s Euro final against Germany on Sunday.

Daly, who went to Saltergate and Rossett schools in Harrogate, will be among the squad which walks out on the hallowed turf at Wembley in front of a sellout crowd.

The Lionesses have captured the hearts of a nation during the tournament, which has seen late goals and thrashings of the likes of Norway.

Ahead of the semi-final against Spain, Mike Sweetman, who coached Daly at Rossett, told the Stray Ferret he was not surprised at her success.

“I’m not surprised she has had more than 50 caps for England.

“In all my years teaching I had not seen a better female player, saying that, she struggled with a bad knee at school and you definitely need a lot of luck along with talent to cement your place in an England team.”

‘Play like the star you are’

Now, Daly has the chance to make history and help lead England to their first Euro trophy.

Ahead of the seismic tie against Germany at 5pm on Sunday, the Stray Ferret asked our readers on social media what message they had for Daly as she prepares for the big game.

Jean Daly said:

“Play like the star you are – my lovely granddaughter.”

Lorraine Simcock said:

“Whatever the outcome, we are so proud of you all, you have done so much to inspire the younger generation and to promote women’s football. Good luck and best wishes.”

Read more:

George Miller added:

“Smash it up in the final this Sunday, we’re all cheering you on.”

Deborah Risdon said:

“Good luck we are behind you all and most important enjoy the moment.”

Tracy Atkinson said:

“Wishing you all the very best for the final, your dad will be so proud of you and he’ll be watching over you on Sunday.”

Residents criticise key Harrogate planning document as ‘incoherent’

A residents group has criticised a key council planning document for the West of Harrogate as lacking detail and “incoherent”.

The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy was due for completion in May – but Harrogate Borough Council has now said it expects it to be published before the end of the year.

It forms part of the wider proposals for the area and builds upon the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, which sets out how the area’s infrastructure and services will cope with 4,000 new homes.

Residents said they were disappointed after a meeting earlier this month over some of the proposals in the delivery strategy.

The Western Arc Coordination Group brings together organisations including Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, Zero Carbon Harrogate, Harrogate District Cycle Action and Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council.

After the meeting with the council, the group said:

“On the day, we were asked to provide comments on a document that only consisted of a series of diagrams in relation to a number of road junctions without any supporting data. The whole of this work came over as incoherent and lacking any real structure.

“After more than two years we would have expected far more detail than we were presented with and we still have real concerns that the end result of all this time (more than two years) and work will not bring about any significant improvements to overall infrastructure or tackle the existing, and increasing, traffic problems. At the very least we would have expected clear statements on why this work is being done and what it will achieve.

“Our argument has always been that the end result of all the West Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) and associated works should be a series of mitigations that prevents the overall infrastructure problems from getting any worse, and preferably should also help overcome some of the existing problems.”

Read more:

West Harrogate was identified for major expansion during the creation of the district’s Local Plan when a government inspector ordered the parameters plan to be made.

Once complete, both the delivery strategy and parameters plan will be used together to shape decisions on how west Harrogate will cope with 2,500 new homes – although as many as 4,000 properties are set to be built in the wider area by 2035.

A borough council spokesperson said the meeting was held to help design the strategy and further consultation will take place with residents groups later in the year.

In response to the concerns, they said:

“The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy (WHIDS) document – that is designed to help the long term co-ordination of infrastructure across the West Harrogate sites – will be signed-off later in the year.

“The information sessions recently held are helping shape this document, along with the support and guidance from technical officers and our appointed consultants.

“There will be further targeted engagement with stakeholders later in the year before the documents are signed off.

“This engagement, will also help inform other working draft documents such as the cumulative transport strategy, which will be subject to public consultation before any decisions are made on live planning applications in West Harrogate.”

In Pictures : the joy of Harrogate Carnival

Thousands lined the streets of Harrogate today as a colourful parade of dancers, costumes and music from all over the globe made its way from the centre of town to Valley Gardens.

This year’s Carnival was paid for by Harrogate Borough Council‘s tourism body, Destination Harrogate, and was put on by Harrogate International Festivals. Unlike the last carnival in 2019 when the weather was atrocious, this year the rain held off allowing everyone to have a great time.

Here are some images that aim to capture that carnival spirit:

 

Play tells story of Harrogate seance held by Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle

A seance held in Harrogate by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Houdini forms the inspiration for a new play by a local writer.

Paul Forster started looking into the 1921 event at the Harrogate Club when he was researching a new book about the town’s ghostly connections.

He said:

“I love history and things that are a bit spooky. When I found out the story about the Harrogate Club where Arthur Conan Doyle had gone, that really intrigued me.

“To then find out that Houdini – someone I really admire – was there, it was too good to be true, really.”

Paul then did more research into the pair’s relationship, which he discovered was fractious.

Houdini, still in the early stages of his career, was keen to make a name for himself and contacted the Sherlock Holmes author. Paul said:

“They enjoyed a good friendship together and came to Harrogate and visited the spa and went to the club, where they held a seance.

“Doyle was a strong believer in clairvoyance. Houdini was open-minded, but being a magician he could see a trick a mile off. He thought they were all fakes.”

The friendship between the famous pair was short and their contrasting views increasingly came between them.

However, inspired by the unlikely pairing and unusual event, Paul – a trained actor who has worked in the arts most of his life – wrote a play, Conjuring the Dead.

Read more:

A combination of lecture and performance, it sees him share his research into what took place, before reading some letters he has written based on imagined correspondence between the two.

After that, Paul transports the audience to the Harrogate Club, where he recreates the seance, bringing the story to life.

He has been performing it at Durham Town Hall as part of the city’s fringe festival this week, with the last show due to take place this evening.

Later in the year, Paul hopes to bring the show to Harrogate in combination with the ghost walks he already runs in the town. They take place on the first and last Friday of each month, setting off from the Royal Pump Room Museum.

He said:

“They’ve been incredibly popular – about 900 people have been on the walk.

“I’ve been rwriting a book about Harrogate ghost stories and I’ve found some new material to use.

“My plan is to do a new half-hour ghost walk just to a few locations from my book, then afterwards we go to the Crown Hotel and I’ll perform the show.”

Although describing himself as a paranormalist, Paul said he only saw his first ghost while researching the new book, when he was speaking to staff in the Turkish Baths on Parliament Street.

Spooky experiences

He said he saw a woman look out of a cubicle which staff later told him, without prompting, was haunted. They said the ghost often shut the cubicle door so Paul challenged the ghost to do so – and the door closed just as the interviews finished.

He then heard a woman’s voice saying “ha ha!” which a customer told him she had also heard on a previous occasion.

He has had a number of other spooky experiences – including at this week’s performances, where he made changes to the play after an incident on the first night left him and producer Neil Bradley-Smith perplexed.

He said:

“Something went wrong in the routine that shouldn’t and couldn’t go wrong. There was a bit with a fake key that I gave to an audience member and asked her to unlock a box.

“The key worked. I shot a look to my producer – neither of us could understand it. Then the lady tried it again and it didn’t work. How can a key work and then not work, when it shouldn’t work in the first place?

“I took that bit out of the play the next night!”

Harrogate Town to kick off third Football League season

Harrogate Town are set to kick off their third season in the Football League this afternoon.

Town will take on Swindon Town at the EnviroVent Stadium at 3pm.

Simon Weaver’s men will be hoping to consolidate their position in the EFL League Two and build upon last season’s 19th place finish.

Speaking ahead of the opening day, Weaver said pre-season had gone well for Town.

He said:

“It’s been a positive pre-season, as tough as we have ever given the lads to be honest both in the physical workloads and the games and the opposition they have had to face.

“When you take into consideration quite wholesale changes to the squad, it’s been quite challenging. But I think the last three performances have been positive and the results have suggested an upward curve as well.”

Wholesale changes

Town have made 10 new signings during the summer transfer window so far and seen 11 players leave the club.

Among the new arrivals is Tyler Frost, who signed a six-month deal this week and will be available for the Swindon clash.

Weaver said the squad needed to improve defensively on last season.

He said:

“We were reflecting on last season and there was no getting away from that defensively we weren’t good enough.

“We looked at how we could revamp it individually. First of all, we started with the shape and looked at the shape of our team and then looked at the players – round pegs for round holes – and then fitted the players for each of those positions we needed to sort out.

“There’s more youth about us as a squad, but also at the same time it has been more challenging bringing in more pedigree as well which is necessary. We looked at little bit raw for the level at times last year.

“But hopefully there is more flexibility within our squad now to be able to tweak and change when necessary, even within games. But overall we’re happy with the recruitment.”

Tough opening game

Town will take on last season’s play-off semi-finalists Swindon Town for their opening game.

Rory McArdle will miss the game with an injury sustained at the end of last season.

Read more:

Meanwhile, skipper Josh Falkingham also misses the game through injury, but is closer to a return to action.

New signing Max Wright will also miss out with an ankle injury which will keep him out for four months.

Weaver described the clash against Swindon as a big game for the opening match.

He said:

“They don’t get much bigger do they? They reached the play off semi-final stage last season and they’re a strong outfit, aren’t they?

“Historically, they’ve played at the top level and they’ve got some good quality players and it will be a test.

“This week, we’ve just tried to inform the lads of what to expect in terms of their style of play and how they like to keep the ball and get into key areas.”

Harrogate Town women’s team appoints new manager

Liam Cope has been appointed manager of Harrogate Town’s women’s team, the club announced today.

Cope has previously managed Ossett Town Ladies and been assistant manager at Leeds United Women.

He brings with him a backroom team including a nutritionist and goalkeeping coach, details of which will be confirmed later.

Cope has set his sights on taking Harrogate to the next stage up the football pyramid by reaching the Women’s National League. He said:

“The Women’s National League is somewhere I’d like to be again, I see no reason why Town can’t be playing in that league in the next year or two.

“The team has gone from strength to strength in the past few years and we’re going to give getting to the next level a real good go.”

Cope, who begins his role next week, has already set the ball rolling recruiting players for another season in the North East Regional Women’s Football League, which also includes the likes of Sheffield Wednesday Ladies and York City Ladies.

Read more:

He said:

“I’m looking to build a squad of players that are comfortable on the ball, with a good range of passing, technical and tactical ability, but most importantly have the right mentality.

“I want players to be brave on the ball, if a player makes a mistake we move on, but the one thing I will not accept is lack of intensity or lack of effort.

“We are welcoming new players who want to play good football in a positive environment with a coaching team that will support you 100% no matter what.

“If you want to join an ambitious club then this is the place to be.”

Player development

Cope will also play a role in the club’s player development centre, helping nurture young footballers throughout the development stages. He said:

“I know we have a real good programme coming through the girls’ player development centre and that’s something I want to promote and grow.

“The impact of the Euros is going to be huge, to beat Sweden in the manner we did shows the standard of women’s football in this country, if that encourages local talent to get involved at any age then that is a massive positive.”

Cope can be contacted on 07798 841696, or via girls development officer Becky Wilson at Beckywilson@harrogatetownafc.com.

Harrogate-based care provider receives top inspection ratings

A Harrogate-based care provider has had all three of branches rated “outstanding” by health inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission gave the highest rating for Carefound Home Care and described it as “being a role model to other services”. 

The care provider was founded in Harrogate in 2011 by Oliver Stirk and has branches in Bishop Thornton, Nottingham and Cheshire.

It currently employs more than 130 people.

Oliver Stirk, Managing Director of Carefound Home Care, said:

“It’s an incredible achievement for all of our branches to be rated Outstanding by the CQC and makes us unique in the UK.

“We are so proud of the brilliant people we employ across our teams and this recognition is testament to their compassion, hard work and dedication.”

The company is set to expand its branches to York with a new branch and is also investing in development of the service including in areas such as staff development, digital health monitoring and complex care.

Mr Stirk added:

“We’re incredibly excited as we continue to invest in growing and improving our service at Carefound Home Care, so that we can enable more older people to live a better quality of life at home.”

Read more:

 

Ex-Harrogate guest house owner Yoko Banks given court ultimatum

Former Harrogate guest house owner Yoko Banks was told today she would not be allowed to change solicitors again after the latest attempt to recover any gains from her crime was adjourned.

Banks, 74, of Scargill Road, was jailed for three-and-a-half years in August 2021 for renting out her properties to an Albanian drug gang for “industrial” cannabis production “in the expectation of significant profit”.

She appeared at Leeds Crown Court today via a link from New Hall Prison in West Yorkshire for a confiscation hearing.

It was the latest in a series of attempts to recover any financial gain under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

A previous hearing in May was postponed when the court heard Banks intended to appeal her conviction and wanted to leave her legal team in favour of another firm of solicitors.

At the hearing before that in January, the Crown said it was not yet in a position to make a financial confiscation ruling because Banks’ defence team needed more time to delve into her “complicated” accounts and extensive “property empire”.

The court heard today she intended to change solicitors again but Judge Christopher Batty told her there was “absolutely no way” he would permit this.

He told her she either had to stick with current solicitor Sian Barber or “deal with it by yourself”.

Read more:

Ms Barber said she had spoken with Banks, who has been granted legal aid, for the first time this morning and had 600 pages of notes to go through.

She added she was due to meet Banks again next month and therefore requested an adjournment.

In adjourning the case until November 4, Judge Batty said it had been a “wretched hearing”.

Michael Bosomworth, prosecuting, said:

“Her case has been dreadfully complicated. Frankly, she has messed everyone around for months.”

London gang

Banks was sentenced in August 2021, after the court heard that a London gang had invested tens of thousands of pounds into three cannabis factories at Banks’ properties on Alexandra Road, Woodlands Road and Somerset Road near Harrogate town centre.

The criminals had even dug a trench outside the three-storey Edwardian villa on Alexandra Road through which they fed electricity cables to the house to power the “highly sophisticated” cultivation system and bypass the electricity grid.

Their plot unravelled when police were called to the five-bedroom villa on September 26, 2020, after reports of a “disturbance” in the street involving what appeared to be two rival gangs vying for the cannabis farm.