A Harrogate resident who takes pictures of discarded face masks believes they are a “sad sign of the times”.
Glyn Hambrook, a retired university lecturer, has built up a collection of images over the past couple of weeks.
He doesn’t go out of his way to find them littered on the ground but has still managed to snap 17 on his daily school run.
The official guidance in England is to wear reusable masks when possible. If you use a single use mask you should dispose of it in a black bin bag.
However, Mr Hambrook has noticed an increasing amount thrown on the floor, leaving them to others to clean up.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I am by no means an environmental activist but I noticed how, as coronavirus restrictions eased, the truce we had with nature seemed to become lost. To me, these images I have taken are quite poignant. They blend the tragedy of the pandemic with the melancholy of autumn.”
Besides creating a sad sight on the streets, the masks pose risks to wildlife. The RSPCA has encouraged people to “snip the straps” of masks amid concerns about the number of animals caught in litter since lockdown.
Have you noticed face mask litter on your street? Send in your pictures and stories to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Harrogate Turkish Baths: decision on same-sex sessions due next yearHarrogate Borough Council is set to decide next year whether to end same-sex sessions at the town’s Turkish baths.
The council, which runs the baths, told the Stray Ferret today it planned to publish a report based on its recent consultation by early next year.
The council has said a timetable consisting entirely of mixed sessions would reflect “equality and balance”.
It opened an online consultation in July seeking views on the possible axeing of same-sex sessions. The consultation, which ran while the baths were closed, has now finished.
Harrogate’s Turkish baths remain closed for sessions but have been open since August for treatments only.
A spokesman for the council said it would publish its report on the consultation “in December of possibly January”. A decision will be taken shortly afterwards.
The baths stopped male-only sessions back in 2011 in the wake of reports of “inappropriate behaviour,” only to bring them back five years later.
It is unclear when a new timetable, if implemented, would happen. The government has not indicated when saunas or spa rooms are set to reopen.
Image Gallery: Ripon and Harrogate resplendent in readiness for remembranceIn the run up to this year’s Remembrance Day, almost 40,000 knitted poppies have appeared around Harrogate and Ripon.
Between 25,000 and 30,000 poppies can be seen at prime locations throughout Ripon, after people involved in the Ripon Community Poppy Project spent thousands of hours making the stunning displays.
Many of the poppies were put in place over the weekend. The cascading display on the walls of the town hall (below), was installed with help from a Ripon fire station crew.
The ones seen in Harrogate town centre were donated to the Poppy Appeal campaign last year.
They were put up this morning by a small socially distanced group including Harrogate Mayor Cllr Stuart Martin.
Fiona Burks, of independent business Yarn Etc helped to coordinate the effort, and will be offering poppies to businesses for their window displays.
Cllr Stuart Martin said:
“The comments we’ve had since putting them up this morning are just tremendous. People are so pleased that we’re making an effort for Remembrance Day and you can’t help but smile when you see them.”
Cllr Martin is encouraging people to commemorate Remembrance Day on November 11 by observing two minutes of silence from their doorstep, and placing poppies in windows.
Cascading display down Ripon’s town hall.
The entrance to Spa Gardens.
Volunteers in Ripon fitting the knitted poppies to the railings along Kirkgate.
Along the shopping street of Kirkgate.
Spa Park. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin
Along the railings outside the Wakeman’s House.
Ripon bus station. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin
Across from Harrogate war memorial. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin
Along the railings outside of Bettys cafe in Harrogate. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin
On the corner of Cambridge Street, Harrogate. Credit: Cllr Stuart Martin.
Harrogate Town supporters have raised concerns about the number of people allowed in the club’s home ground on Saturday to watch the team play.
With spectators banned from attending matches due to covid, many fans paid £10 to watch a livestream of the game against Barrow.
Town won 1-0 and many fans in the Harrogate Town Supporters Facebook group hailed the team’s performance at the EnviroVent Stadium.
But 15 fans posted comments in the group about what they considered to be an excessive amount of people in the stands.
Although fans are not permitted to attend fixtures, club directors and staff, media and match volunteers, such as ballboys and girls, are allowed in.
One fan said it “was an absolute joke the amount of people in the ground today”.
Another said it was “not fair on the fans” and one described it as a “kick in the teeth”.
Harrogate Town declined to comment when approached by the Stray Ferret.
The club has won a lot of praise recently for its off the pitch initiatives as well as its performances on the pitch.
Earlier this month, club chairman Irving Weaver told the Stray Ferret it was a “big loss” not having supporters in attendance during the club’s first-ever season in the English Football League.
Do you think there were too many people at Wetherby Road on Saturday? Watch the highlights below and judge for yourself.
Art event will raise money for Harrogate hospital charityLocal artist Jos Haigh will sell her work at a preview event to raise money for Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity.
The event, at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate on November 27, will showcase Ms Haigh’s vibrant wildlife art while also generating funds for the charity.
One hundred percent of the sale prices will go to the charity, which funds specialist equipment, training and services at Harrogate District Hospital outside what the NHS provides.
The charity recently funded colouring and art materials for patients at the hospital during the pandemic.
People who attend the preview event will have the opportunity to meet Ms Haigh, who lives in Harrogate and exhibits all over the country, as well as enjoy mince pies and mulled wine.
Christmas gifts and the charity’s newly launched 2021 calendar will also be on sale.
Ms Haigh told the Stray Ferret her works of art had been in a gallery in York for three weeks but lockdown had restricted viewings so she decided to donate them to the charity. She added:
“I chose to donate these paintings after the extremely tough year HDFT has had dealing with a global pandemic as well as the usual challenges that healthcare brings.
“I wanted to say a rainbow thank you to my local NHS trust for all it has done and continues to do.”
Sammy Lambert, business development, charity and volunteer manager at HHCC, said:
“We are so grateful for this incredible donation of paintings from Jos. They are beautiful and will brighten up people’s homes, even more so in the knowledge that they are supporting their local NHS.”
The preview evening is free to attend but tickets must but pre-booked. To get one, email hdft.hhcc@nhs.net.
If you can’t make the evening, Ms Haigh’s paintings are available to view and purchase here.
Harrogate International Festivals cuts more than half of jobs
Harrogate International Festivals has laid off more than half of its staff after missing out on an estimated £850,000 due to covid.
The arts charity, which was set up in 1966, now has just four staff remaining.
in a statement today, it warned of “further difficult decisions ahead”.
The charity was forced to cancel its entire summer season of events in March, causing a huge loss of income from ticket sales and sponsors.
Fiona Movley, the chair of HIF, said:
“Whilst we are often recognised as an extremely resilient organisation, agile and adaptable for over 50 years, times are still extremely challenging and HIF unfortunately did not qualify for the recent emergency Arts Council England grants that have been reported in the media.”
Harrogate Theatre received £250,000 from Arts Council England. Also, £238,590 was awarded to Deer Shed Festival near Topcliffe, £117,500 to Ripon Museum Trust and £54,339 to Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.
HIF has said it will need to raise funds to “secure its future”, having used its reserves to support individuals and the creative community.
Sharon Canavar, chief executive at HIF, said:
Covid-safe Halloween trail begins this week in Harrogate“We are more than a series of events; we are at the heart of Harrogate’s cultural life and have been a magnet and income generator for local tourism for more than 50 years.
“If we are to survive we urgently ask for your continued support and appreciation of Harrogate International Festivals and its crucial role in our town’s cultural, economic and social future.”
Families in Harrogate can take part in a new town centre Halloween trail, thanks to Harrogate Mumbler and the Harrogate Business Improvement District.
The aim of the trail is to find Halloween images in the windows of 10 Harrogate shops.
Once the trail is complete, children can collect a Halloween treat.
The initiative will run from Thursday until October 31.
Parents group Harrogate Mumbler and the Harrogate Business Improvement District hope this alternative to trick or treating will entertain children during half-term and encourage families to support the town centre.
All resources, including easy, medium and hard sets of clues and answer sheets, can be found on the Mumbler website here.
Harrogate Mumbler founder Sally Haslewood said:
“As a mum of two, I know how difficult it can be to shop with young children, yet there has never been a bigger need to support our town centre retailers.
“My hope is that this Halloween trail makes a trip to town much more fun for young families, provides a completely free activity for families during half term and brings some much-needed footfall to our town centre.”
To ensure the trail is covid safe, those taking part are asked to do so in small groups or within households or support bubble. All displays are visible from outside so there is no obligation to enter any shops.
Harrogate BID acting chair Sara Ferguson said:
‘Dangerous’ highchair recalled two years late, says Bilton grandma“The trail will allow them to fully explore Harrogate town centre, taking them down streets and into shops they may not have visited before. And once they see just what the town has to offer, I’m sure they will return time and time again.”
A grandmother from Bilton has raised concerns after the “dangerous” highchair she returned to Argos two years ago has only just been recalled.
Liz Carnell bought the Cuggl Plum Deluxe highchair from Argos in Sainsbury’s on Wetherby Road, Harrogate, in July 2018.
One day when her grand-daughter was sitting in the chair, the back of it collapsed. Liz said:
“One Sunday lunchtime the baby was in the highchair when there was a loud ping and a spring shot across the floor as the back of the chair collapsed. If she had been on her own, she would have fallen out.”
The grandmother has accused the retailer of being aware of the danger for nearly two years but failing to act. She returned it in January 2019 to the Harrogate store and was assured a hazard form would be filled out.
She received another chair from the same range, the Little Sheep model, in exchange.
These three models have been recalled from Argos after testing showed they “could fail”.
Not only has that model now been recalled, but the one which Liz reported to be dangerous two years ago has only just been recalled as well.
Argos recalled three Cuggl models – Plum, Little Sheep and Pumpkin Deluxe – last month, saying “in some cases the back of the highchair could fail, resulting in a child falling from the highchair.”
Liz added:
“I’d like to know why Argos didn’t act on this problem much sooner and what happened to the hazard form I was told would be completed?
“I was lucky that as the original buyer of the highchair I received the recall notice, but there may be many families out there who bought them second hand who won’t know of the danger.”
Argos said it received a small number of reports regarding the design of the back of the product but only within the 2020 batch of chairs. The design was the same as the one purchased by Liz in 2018 so it was recalled as well.
A spokesperson for Argos said:
Number of positive covid cases in Harrogate district rises by 55“The safety of our products is our highest priority and we have processes in place to ensure any issues with an item are immediately investigated. Unfortunately in this case our product safety team has no record of this customer’s experience and we are looking into this.”
The number of positive covid cases in the district has risen by 55 in the past 24 hours. The district has recorded 253 positive cases in the past week.
Whilst other parts of England moved to higher restrictions over the weekend, Harrogate remains in the lowest category of the government’s three-tier local lockdown system.
It brings the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 1,692. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this week the government would consider a district-by-district approach to its tier system.
Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the main cause of spread of coronavirus in the county was between households.
He said he supported the new tier system as it would help to tackle the spread in the county.
StrayArt is a monthly column written by Johnny Messum, Director and Founder of art gallery and centre, Messum’s Wiltshire, London and Harrogate. Johnny’s passion is for contemporary art and sculpture.
Each month he will look at art, exhibitions and events across Yorkshire and sometimes further afield with the aim of guiding and inspiring us.
It is a challenge to feel clear about the immediate future. We have new structures to adhere to, I have visors supplied for my team in the car, along with the NHS track and trace QR code to go in the window.
What should have been alongside me instead, was the formidable British sculptor, Bridget McCrum, whose family, the Bains, hail from Leeds. Now in her late eighties she was planning to come to the opening of her show in James Street.
Along the way I had imagined us discussing sculpture in the landscape, something that is taking on added dimensions, not least because it is one of the few places where we can safely view art without PPE, but also because it is, in itself, interesting and complex.
Amongst the myriad attractions of Yorkshire, the landscape has to rank amongst the highest. It is a daunting partner to duet with as a sculptor. There is nowhere this subject is more comprehensively demonstrated than at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where I went to see the work of a friend, Sean Henry, and of an artist I am showing in London, Jorgen Haugen Sorensen.
Set into the landscape there, each work takes its cue from the ground around it. I sometimes think that of all the artists, perhaps only local boy, Henry Moore, had the swagger to meet the rolling landscape toe to toe, so to speak. His work stands resolutely chest open to the wind and wilds.
A stunning life-size sculpture ‘Seated Figure’ by Sean Henry at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Above picture and featured image credit: Jonty Wilde curtesy of YSP.
The rule of thumb in placing sculpture in the landscape is one of scale and context. Seldom best placed in wide open spaces, they often prefer the same locations humans do, close to the house, in glades between shrubs or woodland corpses. This is seen well in the locations chosen in the Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, which is open to the public until November 1, 2020.
Utopia: A stunning vista of the Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grewelthorpe.
Sculptures placed outside really come into their own in the autumn. They become the key focus until the verdant spring surges forward once more. It is the perfect time to head into the open air as the greenery falls away and the landscape itself becomes more architectural.
Do be careful though with the choice of materials; the weather does not spare sculptures any more than other objects, so stones need to be wrapped if it gets cold and on a hot afternoon rub beeswax into the exposed bronzes. Perhaps the artist who most willingly accepted the ravages of time is Cheshire-born artist, Andy Goldsworthy, whose work picks up and changes with the rhythms of the seasons.
Next time I shall be bringing the boat to harbour so to speak and talking about living with art in the house – combining old and new objects and thinking about ways of displaying artworks to their best advantage.
Messum’s Yorkshire is open from Thursday to Saturday 10am-5pm. For more information, visit the website by clicking here.