Taylor Swift fans assemble in Harrogate for album release party

A die-hard Taylor Swift fan from Harrogate has arranged a party in town for fellow Swifties to celebrate an upcoming album release.

The party on November 13, timed to coincide with the new album, will include Prosecco, pizza, a Taylor Swift-inspired tarot card reader, cakes and a lifesize cut-out of the American superstar herself.

Swifties, as her fans are called, will assemble at the Starling Bar Cafe Kitchen on Oxford Street to sing the night away to Taylor’s new album, Red (Taylor’s Version).

Organiser Tiffany Snowden has been a fan for 15 years and said being a similar age to Taylor meant her songs often resonated with her own life.

A 10-minute version of her favourite song, All Too Well, is included on the new album.

Ms Snowden said:

“There’s nothing like a proper breakup Taylor Swift song to get all your emotions out. This album is really exciting.

“I just lost it when I found out we were going to hear the full version. This night could be the highlight of my year.”

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The party idea started after Ms Snowden asked a local Facebook page if fans would be interested in getting together. One hundred comments later and the event was planned.

She said 22 tickets have already been sold, with people of all ages getting ready to listen to the album.

“There’s a real range of ages coming and parents have bought them for the kids too,

“I can’t wait to be in a room with people who also know all the words instead of me singing alone!”

The event will begin at 7pm, tickets can be bought here.

Covid poetry raises funds for Harrogate hospital

A book of poetry and photography about covid has been published to raise money for Harrogate hospital.

The book, called Focus on the GOOD, was compiled by author Leah Knight and Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity.

The charity has been collecting thoughts, anecdotes, stories and photographs from colleagues, volunteers, patients, service users and families about their experiences over the last year. They formed the basis of the book.

Contributors include staff from The White Hart Hotel, Little Dragons Day Nursery, Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, Ashville College, Belmont Grosvenor School, Mike Brown Art, Stacey J Evans Photography and the Cedar Court Hotel.

Author Leah Knight said:

“Focus on the GOOD is filled with poetry inspired by stories of people we can all relate to, which is one of the many reasons it will always hold a special place in my heart.

“I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.”

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Sammy Lambert, business development, charity and volunteer manager at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“The last 18 months has been filled with much sadness, but there have also been times where we can laugh and smile too.

“This book reflects on what has been gained as well as lost, where hope and positivity overcame fear, and how through challenging times a sense of community spirit has shone through.”

All proceeds from the book, which costs £12.99, will go towards the charity. It can be bought here.

 

Harrogate’s Damn Yankee restaurant closes

The Damn Yankee restaurant on Station Parade has closed, just six months after the popular American diner was revived in Harrogate.

The restaurant was a mainstay in Harrogate from 1972 until it closed in 2017. It then became Burgers and More @ Original Damn Yankee in 2019.

Thanos Xhallo and his family reopened the restaurant at its original location in May this year.

In recent months it had received good reviews online from customers but a post on its Facebook page yesterday said that due to “unforeseen circumstances” it had now closed.

The future of the Damn Yankee brand in Harrogate now appears uncertain but the post suggests it will be changing hands to new owners.

“Reopening The Damn Yankee has been an amazing adventure, and we’ve loved sharing this time with you and listening to all your stories of previous visits. We’ve worked as a family to welcome all of you into a restaurant that we have become very fond of and we hope we gave all of your families some great new memories to share for years to come.

“Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we have no choice but to close and the restaurant will be changing hands. Today is our last day running the restaurant and will be open at 5pm! Will also call everyone that has reserved tables! Stay tuned for more information, we will keep you in the loop as much as possible and update you on the next chapter of this restaurant’s journey.”

The Stray Ferret approached the Damn Yankee for comment but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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The Damn Yankee was originally opened in 1972 by Denise Wiand and her American husband, Mike, who worked at Menwith Hill.

Ms Wiand told the Stray Ferret this year that the restaurant was a huge success when it first opened with queues of excited people down Station Parade looking forward to classic American fare and the lively atmosphere that it became famous for.

It was also owned from 2000 to 2017 by Nikki and Mick Triffit.

Disabled learners hold art exhibition in Harrogate

A Harrogate charity has held an exhibition to showcase the artistic work of its disabled learners.

Disability Action Yorkshire staged the event last month at its Hornbeam Park training centre.

The exhibition included art and photographs by 14 students based on the theme of heraldry and quiet places.

Students designed coats of arms reflecting their personalities and shot images of quiet places.

Harriet Walker, the charity’s deputy training manager, said:

“We were delighted to have held our first ever photography and art exhibition, which demonstrated the creativity of our learners.

For the last few months, they had been working on the theme of heraldic art and quiet places, which they captured on paper and in ‘megapixels’.

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Founded 84 years ago, Disability Action Yorkshire helps disabled people live the life of their choosing.

It has headquarters and a training centre on Hornbeam Park, a residential care home on Claro Road, and a holiday lodge in Lincolnshire.

Guy Tweedy, who joined Disability Action Yorkshire board of trustees last month said:

“During the short time I’ve been a trustee with the charity, I’ve also met staff and customers at its Claro Road care home and have been incredibly impressed by the dedication of all involved.”

The photo shows (left to right) disability learner Ian, Disability Action Yorkshire trustee Guy Tweedy, disability learners Emma and Charles, and Disability Action Yorkshire staff member Sammi.

Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber set for world championships

Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber David Steca is preparing to fly to Italy this weekend to take part in an over-60s world championships.

Mr Steca, 62, wrote another remarkable chapter in his story last weekend when he finished second at the IBFA British Championships in Gateshead.

The result qualified him to compete at the world championships in Rome.

Mr Steca owns male grooming salon Steca No 6 in Princes Square, Harrogate.

Besides bodybuilding, he also competes at polo.

David Steca

Showing tremendous rear conditioning.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning on this rainy Monday morning, welcome back to the traffic and travel blog, it’s Leah with you today to help make your journey as smooth as possible.

Keep checking our blog every 30 minutes for full updates on the roads and public transport. I’ll let you know about any delays, traffic hotspots or roadworks.

You can get in touch if you spot anything, and it’s safe, on 01423 276197.

The morning blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

Caution Penny Pot Lane flooded on approach from Dutchy Road, avoid if possible.

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8.30am – Full Update 

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8am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking busier this morning, with no hotspots just yet.

Traffic is building here:

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7.30am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet.

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7am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. Watch out for Standing water at Plumpton Rocks on the A661.

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6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. Watch out for Standing water at Plumpton Rocks on the A661.

Road closures:

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More than 500 excess deaths in North Yorkshire during coronavirus

There have been 559 excess deaths in North Yorkshire during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures have revealed.

Excess deaths are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected when compared to previous years and can be used to show the overall impact of the pandemic.

Figures presented to a meeting of North Yorkshire’s Outbreak Management Advisory Board showed 11,347 deaths from all causes were expected during the weeks of the pandemic based on the five-year average.

A total of 11,906 deaths from all causes were recorded up until 1 October – giving an excess of 559.

Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told today’s meeting that these figures were “largely reflective of the national position”. She said:

“The largest peaks of excess deaths, unsurprisingly, were during covid’s first and second wave.

“This was followed by periods where deaths were actually a bit below the expected number, however, those periods were not enough to offset the very high numbers of excess deaths that we saw during both wave one and two.”

According to Public Health England figures, there have been a total of 1,227 deaths in North Yorkshire where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

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The recent rate of Covid deaths and hospital admissions has increased slightly since the end of summer, however, the figures are lower than previous waves.

20 patients still in intensive care

Despite this, Sue Peckitt, chief nurse at NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said the heath service was still facing “unprecedented” demand with 171 Covid patients currently in the county’s hospitals.

She told today’s meeting that the majority of these patients were over-65 and that 20 were in intensive care:

“We continue to see high demand into our primary and emergency care departments.

“Whilst we are seeing high numbers of Covid infections in our younger population, it is the older population that is presenting into hospital.”

Ms Peckitt also said the vaccine rollout was continuing with a focus on booster jabs for over 50s and increasing uptake for 12 to 15-year-olds who will be offered their single dose by the end of November. She added:

“The schools programme for 12 to 15-year-olds is now rolling out through our provider Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, but we have also opened up three sites on the national booking system.

“These are the pharmacy site at Knaresborough, the Askham Bar site at York and the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.”

Harrogate drama group returns to the stage with Oliver!

The St Peter’s Players’ annual show returns next week with a production of the musical Oliver!.

The Players, who have been performing for over 20 years, are made up largely from members of the congregation of St Peter’s Church in the centre of Harrogate.

Members range from nine to 80 years old and include the vicar, The Reverend Dr Alan Garrow, who will be playing the comical Dr Grimwig.

The performances will take place daily from November 4 to 6 at St Peter’s Church on Cambridge Street.

After two years apart, the 55-strong group were keen to get back to rehearsing and found inventive ways to deal with covid.

John Hain, the director of the production, said:

“For people who haven’t been in a group, getting together for the first time in a long time, especially for the children, it’s been a joy.”

“The hardest thing has been that people can’t come to rehearsals because they’ve been self-isolating. So, we’ve had a few people attending rehearsals remotely!”

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Last year, the Players were forced to cancel their production, producing a short film instead.

Mr Hain explained:

“The last production we did was during lockdown and was a film cobbled together from everyone’s clips done at home. We wrote the script specifically around the restrictions, and the result was surprisingly successful, raising over £800 for the church.”

Tickets cost £10 and can be bought online. Children under 16 go free. All proceeds go to St Peter’s.

Another 124 positive covid cases in the Harrogate district

Public Health England has recorded another 124 positive cases in the district in the past 24 hours.

The total number of people who have tested positive in the Harrogate district since the pandemic began now stands at 20,855.

The average day case rate in the district is now 526.6 (latest data up to October 27). The North Yorkshire average rate is 492.5 and the England average stands at 423.5.

Although daily cases remain relatively high, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further covid patient deaths.  It remains at 193 in total.
The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of last Monday.

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Stray Views: Older people in Harrogate are being ignored

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.

Older people’s needs in Harrogate are being ignored

It’s all very well trying to encourage cycles and walking, but what about the aged population in Harrogate? Does no-one care any more about the largest population in Harrogate, who cannot walk everywhere or who are in wheelchairs and need to be as near as they can to what they have struggled to get out to do? And how many use the cycle lanes anyway, bad weather puts everyone under cover in a car?

It all started to go wrong when they made West Park a one way thoroughfare. When Ripon traffic could drive straight through it saved all that mess of having to do a loop through and round the town to get out to Leeds.

Harrogate planning has a lot to answer to, both in this and in housing and the plans they pass.

Lesley Dalton, Harrogate

Pollution on Cold Bath Road

Regarding your story about pollution and Western Primary School, closure of the road during school drop up and pick up times would reduce car pollution at these times which would be beneficial for the children

Richard Blackshaw, Harrogate

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Sheep killed at Pinewoods

Regarding the recent report of sheep being killed on land adjacent to the Pinewoods. Perhaps the temporary signs being put up could also remind dog owners that farmers can legally shoot any dog caught attacking sheep.

Richard Stobbs, Harrogate

A lovely gesture by a bakery

I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Avenue Bakery in Harrogate for making stottie cakes for my elderly father who has dementia.

Dad had been reminiscing about stottie cakes and I popped into Avenue Bakery and asked them if it was something they could make for him. They made him two and gifted them to him .

Such a lovely gesture for an old man and he enjoyed them so much.

Joanne Bolton, Knox

Avenue Bakery stottie

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.