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09
Mar
I've typed the words 'Harrogate Station Gateway' so often I'm thinking of asking Apple to devise a shortcut.
The subject never fails to get a response — usually negative — so this week's revelations that the cost has risen again and the scheme has been assessed to be 'poor value' generated a raft of comments on our Facebook page.
But even the hellish prospect of an upgraded One Arch foot tunnel pales into insignificance against the thought of having your mouth numbed at the dentist, only for the drill and lights to suddenly go off. It actually happened at one Harrogate dentist practice as part of this week's business-crippling intermittent town centre power cuts.
If there's one thing sure to provoke readers more than council spending on consultants' fees, it's councils refusing to disclose their spending on consultants' fees, as North Yorkshire Council did this week in announcing a review into the future use of Harrogate Convention Centre, or 'soft-market testing' as they call it.
Life imitated art in Ripon when author Malcolm Hollingdrake, famous for his Harrogate Crime Series of books featuring DCI Cyril Bennett, solved a real life mystery.
Even more improbably, Geoff Brown stepped down as chief executive of Ripon Farm Services. He's been at the helm since 1981 but even that timeframe is short compared with the 73-year-old billiards career of Pateley Bridge's Peter Chadwick, which ended this week.
Harrogate Railway
Finally, I made my first trip to Station View in Starbeck this week to watch Harrogate Railway FC vs Ollerton Town. Railway won 8-1 and looked like Barcelona at times going forward. Are they always that good?
A hugely enjoyable night for a fiver, but I was somewhat bemused by the sight of the smallest media office I've ever seen. Sadly it was locked — I was intrigued to see inside, assuming I could have squeezed in.
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