Candlelight concert to be held in Harrogate in aid of charity

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata will be played by candlelight at a recital in Harrogate in aid of charity.

British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith (pictured above) will perform the sonata at the Wesley Centre on December 9.

The event will also feature music by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov and Gershwin.

The event is being held in aid of Artizan International, a charity that raises money for people with disabilities in the UK and the developing world.

Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £5 for students. The concert will start at 7.30pm.

For more information, visit the Ticketsource website.

Read more:

 

Residents invited to attend Jennyfields gas leak meeting

Residents are being invited to attend a meeting on December 2 to discuss the gas leak that affected 3,500 homes in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks has organised the meeting, which will take place at the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields.

The centre became an emergency hub from October 15 to 17 when NGN sub-contractors damaged an underground pipe on Ripon Road where roadworks were taking place.

Gas supply to homes in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 areas was cut off and thousands of electric heaters and food vouchers were handed out.

An NGN statement said:

“While incidents such as this are rare, it’s important that we reflect on what went well, and what we could have done better, so that we continually improve the service that we provide to our customers.

“During the session we’ll give a brief overview of how the incident unfolded, what support Northern Gas Networks provided to minimise disruption, and what we are now doing to make sure that an incident like this does not occur again.

“There will be then be an opportunity to discuss a number of key areas, including communication, support services and working with others.”

NGN said the meeting was aimed at residents, business owners, councillors, MPs, emergency workers and community groups.

To attend, you must register here by November 26.

Read more:

 

Parents call for Harrogate army college to be closed after abuse claims

Three parents have called for Harrogate Army Foundation College to be closed after claiming their children were abused.

Alison Blackwell, Charlotte Poad and another parent, known only as Kevin, expressed their concerns to the Child Rights International Network, which is a think tank that focuses on the human rights of young people.

The college on Penny Pot Lane, which provides basic training for the British Army for 16 and 17-year-olds, was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

CRIN sent an open letter to Ofsted yesterday questioning its rating and claiming the college is unsafe. The letter says:

“The ‘outstanding’ grade leads potential recruits and their parents to assume that the college offers the highest standard of care.

“With this open letter, we wish to repeat our concern that the college is unsafe, as evidenced by multiple formal complaints of abuse by staff, the routine use of stressors in training, and the imposition on recruits of legal obligations that deny them the right to leave at will.

“We believe that a civilian college with a similar record would be closed.”

The letter adds the army’s Joint Personnel Administration system had recorded 60 formal alleged incidents of violence against recruits aged under 18 by members of college staff since 2014, including assault and battery, and that 10 of the allegations were made since Ofsted’s inspection in 2017.

It also raises concerns about the college’s “very high attrition rate”, saying 30 percent of recruits aged under 18
drop out before they complete their training and that recruits have no legal right to leave during the first six weeks.

It claims the college operates daily use of physical and psychological stressors, such as the interruption of sleep and privacy and the use of humiliation to induce obedience.

Son died aged 17

Alison Blackwell is waiting for a Ministry of Defence inquiry into her son’s death. He died aged 17 while serving in the army.

She told the CRIN:

“My son told me he was hit, slapped, pushed, kicked and verbally abused by staff. He said he felt humiliated by this treatment and he never expected to be treated this way. He knew the training would be tough but this was abuse and the staff were power crazy.

“My son started drinking heavily and was very withdrawn, he rang me to tell me he was handing in his letter to leave. He told me his request was ripped up in his face. He was only 17 years old and devastated at not being able to leave. My son died last year while still serving in the army.”

Army Foundation College

Kevin, the father of a recruit who joined the college in 2015 said:

“My son had been bullied… he and the other recruits were talked down to, called the c-word and the f-word constantly, which seems at odds with AFC’s good Ofsted rating for health and well-being.

“I saw first-hand how the young soldiers were marched and drilled, brought into line. I saw lads who were limping, some with crutches, also being drilled and marched, trying in vain to keep up with the rest of the platoon. My son said that some keeled over and fainted as they marched and stood to attention.”

Charlotte Poad, whose son joined the college in 2016 said:

“I overheard several conversations with his fellow recruits discussing ‘bathroom beatings’ and ‘things going too far’. He also let slip he was actively encouraged to attend strip clubs by the staff members in charge of his group. We know that staff bullied and abused the young recruits, as well as encouraging fighting amongst peers.

“He is a completely different person since his time at Harrogate. He has attempted suicide and his mental health is permanently damaged.”

An instructor at the college was demoted at a court martial last week after being convicted of punching two teenage soldiers. Cpl Kimberley Hey was acquitted of six other charges of battery relating to three other soldiers. The court heard she told recruits, “you’re mine now, bitches” and punched teenage soldiers.

Read more:

The army’s response

An army spokesman said:

“We have very strong duty of care and safeguarding mechanisms at AFC (Harrogate) to ensure junior soldiers have the right support structures.  This includes multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines.

“We take every incident seriously and will refer an allegation to the Royal Military Police for investigation. We also have a Ministry of Defence police officer based at AFC (Harrogate) to assist in education and investigation.”

Last month’s Ofsted report praised the college for its “very good training .. immaculate facilities”.

It also gave positive feedback on its safeguarding saying the college investigated incidents throughly and made necessary improvements.

A new Commanding Officer was employed in July 2020, Lt Col Simon Farebrother MC, with a new vision for the college.

The report added his ethos of “emotional and psychological safety, inclusion and teamwork is firmly embedded” within the college.

Lt Col Farebrother said at the time:

“I’m absolutely delighted, the grade reflects the hard work of my military, civilian and contractor staff at all levels. I’m enormously proud of them, continuing to deliver throughout an extraordinarily challenging period.

“The junior soldiers depart with valuable qualifications, a bunch of new friends and walk into a brilliant career, full of opportunity.”

 

 

Harrogate Theatre panto tickets selling fast

Harrogate Theatre’s chief executive has said panto ticket sales are almost at normal levels despite the uncertainty caused by covid.

Tickets went on sale later than usual this year and David Bown said there was some initial nervousness about attendance figures.

But 80% of tickets in between schools breaking up and the new year have already been sold. The fortnight before Christmas, in particular, is proving popular.

Cinderella begins on Friday next week and will run until January 16. Tim Stedman is once again one of the main stars.

The pantomime is the theatre’s biggest event of the year and Mr Bown said the strong sales were welcome after a difficult 18 months due to covid.

“It’s great to see we are nearly back to levels in previous years but we still have a few reservations and people concerned about covid. We still don’t know what the government has as its plan B and as a mass gathering we would be the first to be hit.

“I think Harrogate is doing well for visitors, we’ve had a few sold-out shows at other venues and we really hoped the panto would be the same and we weren’t disappointed.”

Read more:

Building work won’t dull the magic

The theatre has been undergoing building work for about six months.

The 120-year-old building was in need of a huge roof replacement, costing around £1 million. As a council-owned building, the project has been run in conjunction with Harrogate Borough Council and Harrogate Theatre Trust.

But although scaffolding will remain outside the building until March, Mr Bown said the magic of the theatre is still intact.

The complexity of the work, difficulties in sourcing building materials and staff shortages has meant the works are now due to finish in March 2022.

Looking ahead to 2022, Mr Bown said panto ticket sales make him optimistic for future shows:

“Being back is a bit weird, in some ways it feels like forever and in others it feels like the pandemic never happened. Of course we’re nervous because the last 18 months has proven you can’t plan for everything but the audience numbers are very encouraging.”

If you want to get in the mood ahead of the panto, check out our Panto Stories performed by Tim Stedman.

Harrogate council asked British Legion about helter skelter location

Harrogate Borough Council has said it asked the Royal British Legion if it had any objections before placing a large helter skelter next to the war memorial.

The attraction appeared on the grass in front of the memorial on Tuesday. Harrogate BID, Visit Harrogate and the council hope it will encourage footfall during the festive season.

The Victorian-style ride has received some online criticism from residents who say it is disrespectful because of its close proximity to the memorial and its appearance just two days after Remembrance Sunday.

Others say the war dead would have wanted life to continue as normal and welcomed the idea of children playing on the rides.

A council spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret that it had chosen where to put the helter skelter “very carefully”. She added the council had received six complaints from residents about the structure.

The spokeswoman said the council asked the Royal British Legion if it had any objections beforehand, adding the charity did not but asked the council to monitor anti-social behaviour caused by the attraction.

Read more:

The spokeswoman said:

“We considered the location of the Helter Skelter very carefully and as part of our pre-event planning we consulted with the Royal British Legion on the proposed site. We received no objections but agreed with their only request that we are vigilant for anti-social behaviour in the area, which we are happy to do.

“We will monitor any anti-social behaviour caused by the attraction over the period and will act accordingly.

“The council have received half a dozen complaints in relation to its location, however we have also received a significant number of positive responses towards our Destination Christmas campaign.

“This includes many positive comments on Facebook from veterans and those whose relatives fought for the country, who are hugely supportive of what we are doing.”

Three men arrested after laptop worth £1,800 stolen from Harrogate store

Three men were arrested after stealing a laptop worth thousands of pounds from the Apple iStore on James Street in Harrogate.

Officers were called at 4pm yesterday after two men entered the shop and left with a MacBook Pro worth £1,899 making no attempt to pay.

Owners of the store reported to police that the men had left the area in a car.

North Yorkshire Police used CCTV to search for the car and the men were arrested on the outskirts of York just before 4.45pm, less than 45 minutes after from the initial report.

Two men, one aged 18 and another aged 20, were arrested on suspicion of theft and electrical items that were believed to be stolen were recovered.

Read more:

Both were charged with theft and the driver was also charged for driving without insurance.

A third man was released without charge.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 

“This is a great result, the speedy work of our officers on the ground has resulted in us returning this high-value item back to the shop.

“As we enter the Christmas period, we often see an increase in retail theft. I would urge all shop owners and members of the public who are out shopping to be vigilant and to alert police to any suspicious activity.”

Suspected ‘boy racer’ crashes car near Harrogate Asda

A suspected ‘boy racer’ crashed into two parked cars near Harrogate’s Asda supermarket in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A bystander took photos of the aftermath on Dragon Parade near to the roundabout at around 2am and sent them to the Stray Ferret.

The resident said he left his house nearby after hearing a loud noise coming from the road. He said the people inside the car that crashed “did a runner” and nobody appeared to be hurt.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said no arrests have been made related to the incident.

Read more:

There has been a longstanding issue of fast and loud cars driving through the town. Asda car park is regularly used as a meeting place for boy racers.

North Yorkshire Police launched “Operation Chrome” this summer to target speeding and illegally modified vehicles.

Superintendent Steve Thomas said:

“We are taking a zero tolerance approach to this dangerous behaviour.”

Do you think enough is being done to combat boy racers in Harrogate? Contact us on letters@thestrayferret.co.uk and give us your views. We publish Stray Views every Sunday evening. 

 

Harrogate jewellers Fattorini expected to close by Christmas

The manager of the oldest jewellers in Harrogate has said he expects the store will close by Christmas.

The Stray Ferret revealed two weeks ago that A.Fattorini The Jewellers had announced it planned to cease trading after 190 years.

Anthony Tindall, the manager of the shop and great-great grandson of its founder, has not set a closing date yet. But he said today it will close when stock expires in a few weeks time, probably before Christmas.

Customers have flocked to the shop on Parliament Street since news broke of its closure.

Mr Tindall insisted that there were currently no confirmed buyers and that he intended to go ahead with the closure, despite rumours that a buyer had been lined up.

Mr Tindall’s great, great grandfather Antonio Fattorini founded the business in 1831. His son, Antonio junior, moved it to Parliament Street in the 1880s.

He said if a buyer was found he hoped they would continue the Fattorini name — but this was definitely the end of the line for his family.

Mr Tindall said the decision to sell was a difficult one but it was time for him to retire and none of his family was eager to take it on.

‘This is the end for my family’

Mr Tindall said the rapid rate at which items were selling meant stock was beginning to “peter out”.

He added:

“We’d love to last until Christmas but if we have to close before then we will. If there’s no stock left then we will be closing.”

Jewellery is on sale for as much as 50% off.

Talking of the decision to close he said:

“I started looking at buyers a few years ago when I knew I needed to retire, we have a few offers but nothing confirmed yet. Inevitably we’ve had people get in touch since the sale but nothing has been confirmed.

“I’m going, you won’t see me here again. This is the end for my family.

“It could be that no one picks it up and it’s an empty site. I’d love to see someone take on the name and keep it as a jeweller.”

Read more:

Fattorini connection to the FA Cup

Antonio Fattorini set up another store in Bradford, Fattorini & Sons, with his sons John and Edward, who designed and manufactured football’s FA Cup in 1911. Remarkably, Bradford City then won the cup that year.

Mr Fattorini’s other son, Antonio junior, stayed to run the Harrogate business.

Mr Tindall said the response from customers since news of the shop’s demise had been surprising:

“I always thought people loved us but I didn’t know how much, I was worried we’d have no one at all. We’ve had people whose grandparents got their engagement rings here and are coming back.”

CNG employees in ‘horrible situation’ regarding redundancy payouts

Employees of the collapsed Harrogate energy firm CNG have described the uncertainty over redundancy pay as a “horrible situation” with Christmas just around the corner.

About 100 staff and chief executive Paul Stanley discussed the insolvency programme at an online meeting yesterday

Two different CNG employees, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret that staff had hoped to receive clarification about redundancy pay but were left disappointed.

They said staff had previously been told they would be paid redundancy by the company but that this was withdrawn. They were then told it would be paid by the government, but at yesterday’s meeting, they were not given answers on when this will be and how much they will receive.

One employee said:

“This is a huge kick in the teeth for those who have stayed loyal to CNG for many years”.

Another employee described the atmosphere of the meeting as “cold”. They added:

“We were plainly made to feel like a nuisance”.

Read more:

CNG ceased trading two weeks ago due to spiralling wholesale gas prices but administrators are yet to be appointed.

According to CNG’s annual accounts from October 2020, the company had, at the time, £36.7m in cash reserves.

Questions were put to Mr Stanley at yesterday’s meeting about what had happened to this money. One employee said Mr Stanley “swiftly avoided the question”.

The Stray Ferret approached CNG for a response but we did not receive one at the time of publication.

TV acting school for children opens in Harrogate

A drama school whose star students regularly appear in TV shows has opened in Harrogate.

Articulate Drama School and Agency supplies child actors for production companies on programmes such as All Creatures Great and Small, Gentleman Jack, Peaky Blinders, Emmerdale, and Last Tango in Halifax.

It is now running weekly classes for young people aged five to 21 at St George’s Community Centre on Mornington Crescent.

Stacey Burrows, director of Articulate, said:

“Harrogate is fortunate enough to offer lots of opportunities for young people to get involved in drama and the arts, but for those wanting to explore the art of TV acting and see how they get on in the industry, Articulate classes and representation can be just what is needed.

“We chose Harrogate because increasingly, our TV and film clients are asking us for children to film in nearby locations such as the Yorkshire Dales, York, Ripon and Harrogate itself.”

Some of Articulate’s talented youngsters include Tilly Kaye, who plays Biff in CBeebies series Biff & Chip and Austin Haynes, who has just finished filming as a leading role in sequel to the The Railway Children, which is set to be released in cinemas in April next year.

Read more:

Some of its actors have also worked overseas for TV and advertising projects. For example, Ilkley teen Henry Kent flew to Mexico to film a Coca Cola advert.

Ms Burrows said the agency’s set-up was geared purely towards TV and sessions were filmed so children could analyse their skills.

There is no singing or dancing, and she said often children without backgrounds in those areas adapted better because they were more natural. Anyone can take part.

Sessions take place on Wednesday evenings and cost £29.50 a month. A free trial is available.

For further details visit here. Or you can email dramaschool@articulatesdc.com or call 01274 033773.

Photo: (left) Aiden Cook on the set of All Creatures Great and Small and (right) Dexter Hughes with Suranne Jones on the set of Gentleman Jack