Have your say in our charity calendar: Winter edition

Our readers will soon be able to plan 2024 with the Stray Ferret charity calendar, however we need your help to decide which images will be included!

Using our photo of the week entries, we will be creating a calendar that showcases the beauty of the Harrogate district.

From our furry friends enjoying the snow to misty mornings on the Stray, vote for your favourite images to be included in the winter months.

See the contenders in our gallery below and vote for your winner via our competition page!

Vote for your favourite autumnal images for our charity calendar

Help create the best 2024 charity calendar featuring beautiful reader images from across the Harrogate district!

The Stray Ferret will be showcasing the best photo of the week entries – posted every Sunday on our channels – in our calendar, but we need your help to decide the lucky winners.

The winning photographs will be included in the autumn months of the calendar, so whether you love the flaming orange leaves or a twinkling starry night, take a look at our shortlist below and vote for your favourite images via our competition page.

You never know…perhaps your own picture could be the winner!

Vote for your favourite summer photo to be included in our charity calendar

The Stray Ferret is launching a charity calendar to showcase this years’ Photo of the Week entries. Now, we need your help to decide the summer images.

From Studley Deer Park to flowing rivers, Photo of The Week showcases the natural beauty offered in the Harrogate district every Sunday.

See the contenders below and vote for your favourites on our competition page! The winning photos will be included in the summer months of the calendar.

Vote for your favourite photo of the week to be included in our 2024 charity calendar: Spring edition

The Stray Ferret is launching an inaugural charity calendar showcasing the very best images from our photo of the week feature.

Photo of the week is published every Sunday to showcase the beauty the Harrogate district has to offer, and now we need your help to decide which images will be included in the spring months of our calendar.

So, whether you’re partial to a warm March sunset or the famous Harrogate cherry blossom, have your say on our competition page to decide which photos will be included.

Take a look at the contenders below and click here to vote for your favourite.

 

Stray Ferret charity calendar to showcase Harrogate district’s beauty

The Stray Ferret is launching its inaugural charity calendar to raise money for our Christmas appeal and showcase the beauty of the Harrogate district.

As many of you know, we post our photo of the week feature on our website and social media every Sunday, inviting local people to send in their images of the district.

Now, we need your help to decide which photo of the week entries will feature in our calendar!

From cherry blossom on the Stray to furry friends and ferris wheels, the winning images will be included in our 2024 desk calendars.

Keep an eye out for each season’s gallery of shortlisted images and vote for your favourites via our competition page.

Calendars will be available to buy later this year as part of our Christmas appeal.

To send in your entry for photo of the week, email letters@thestrayferret.co.uk .

Royal visitor to Great Yorkshire Show revealed

This year’s royal visitor to the Great Yorkshire Show will be the Duke of Gloucester, organisers have revealed.

The duke, who is a first cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth II, will make his first visit to England’s biggest agricultural show on its first day, Tuesday, July 11.

In 2021, King Charles III and The Queen Consort visited and last year it was the turn of Princess Anne, The Princess Royal.

The duke will be taken on a tour of the livestock and exhibits with show director Charles Mill and lord-lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner.

Mr Mills said:

“We are delighted to welcome the Duke of Gloucester to the Great Yorkshire Show for the first time and look forward to showing him some of the highlights including horses, cattle and the latest in farming technology.”

Also attending on Tuesday will be some of the industry’s top-level leaders with MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

The chair of the cross-party environment, food and rural affairs committee, Sir Robert Goodwill MP, and committee members will launch a report on the merits and risks involved in species reintroductions in England.

TV presenter Adam Henson will then chair a discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the farming sector.

He will be joined on stage by: Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union; Mark Spencer, a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Sir Robert Goodwill.

The show will run from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 14.

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‘I hope we’ve made a difference’ says Harrogate charity founder awarded MBE

Founding and leading a specialist dementia charity has led a Harrogate woman to be made an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours.

Jill Quinn set up Burton Leonard-based Dementia Forward in spring 2012 and it has expanded rapidly in the intervening years.

She was notified of her award, made in recognition of services to people with dementia, three weeks ago. She said:

“I only told my children and my husband. It was tricky to keep it a secret at work.

“To be really honest, I thought it was a hoax. It came by email and there was a spelling mistake in it. My husband didn’t want me to get too excited.”

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Ms Quinn said the last year has brought some significant achievements for Dementia Forward, which was given the Queen’s Award for Volunteering as well as The King’s Fund Impact Award.

She and the rest of the team have more plans for the coming year, too. She said:

“I’m trying to be a local charity but we’re punching above our weight. we want to share our success wider than where we deliver our services.

“I think we are on to something. We’re managing to make a difference.

“Dementia is complicated and far-reaching for families. We’ve got a lot to do still, but I hope we’ve made a difference in North Yorkshire.

“Our biggest push now is for young onset dementia – that’s people diagnosed under the age of 65. People are treated the same whether they are 40 or 90 and that isn’t right.

“For the first time, we’re sticking our heads outside North Yorkshire. We’re saying we think our model is working really well and joining up with other people to try and get these things noticed.”

While there are plans in place for the charity from the new year, the next few days will be for family celebrations.

Ms Quinn only told her father about her award two days ago, knowing how pleased and proud he would be. She added:

“It’s hard to explain how it feels. It’s lovely.”