Forget the John Lewis TV ad — the unveiling of the Bettys Christmas window marks the start of Christmas for many people in Harrogate.

It has been a low key occasion for the last two years due to covid. But tonight, for the first time since 2019, the company is making an occasion of it.

The fun will start at 5pm with Christmas carols outside the flagship Parliament Street store. The first 200 people attending will receive free hot drinks and mince pies.

Branch manager Janet Parker will appear shortly before 5.30pm to welcome everyone and lead a countdown, which will end with the blind going up to reveal the display.

There will also be a raffle and the shop will stay open until 6pm.

Staff will be on hand to manage the crowd and to prevent people from spilling on to the road.

A Bettys spokeswoman said the display was installed last night and is being kept hidden until tonight. She added:

“Let’s just say it will be a Christmas cracker. We are really excited to have everyone back. “

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A person required medical assistance at lunchtime today after an incident at the crossing outside Bettys in Harrogate.

Paramedics covered the injured person in blankets and administered first aid until an ambulance arrived at about 2pm.

The person was lying on the ground near the traffic lights on the opposite side to Bettys.

Traffic on Parliament Street was diverted into a single lane while help was administered.

The Stray Ferret has asked Yorkshire Ambulance Service for further details.

The crossing outside Bettys has been the scene of numerous incidents involving pedestrians and traffic over the years.

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In the bright morning sunshine, two Harrogate Borough Council workers and their friend started putting up the annual knitted poppy display outside Bettys, ready for Remembrance Sunday.

Frank McCann and Michael McElhinney both work as as civic attendants — but today have been putting up the poppies display with volunteer, Lindon Wallace.

Mr McCann told the Stray Ferret:

“The poppies have all been hand knitted by thoughtful volunteers in Harrogate and we’ll put them all around the war memorial.

“It reminds people of the sacrifice made and on a beautiful day like this it really adds a splash of colour and interest.”

On the pavement there are bin liners full of the handmade poppies. The men have no idea how many poppies there are — they have 500 ties so Mr McCann said hundreds, maybe thousands, will be put up in the coming days.

Mr McCann added:

“It’s been very noticeable over the last few years that there’s been an increasing interest in this. Ever since the 100th anniversary of the First World War — it brought people’s mind back into focus.

“As another part of my role, I will be up at the war graves at the crematorium. Young people are buried there — a lot from Canada. Something like that hits home. They were really little kids who died all those years ago.”

The Royal British Legion will formally launch its Poppy Appeal on Thursday. To donate click here.

Remembrance Sunday is on November 13.

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Ten friends who met whilst working at the Betty’s bakery in Harrogate are taking on a challenge of walking three million steps in September after being inspired by a colleague who was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

David Smith, 55, was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma tumour in March this year.

The challenge is part of the Yorkshire Brain Tumour Charity’s Step into September campaign, where supporters ‘walk, jog, dance or climb’ to raise funds for research and patient support.

Throughout the month, the colleagues and ex-colleagues will aim to walk as many steps as possible in an attempt to raise £2,000.

They hope to do most of the steps on Saturday, September 17, when they will walk 20km around Roundhay Park in Leeds.

Read more

• Harrogate mum shares daughter’s brain tumour battle
• Harrogate woman aims to complete 20 fundraising challenges

The walkers have been getting their steps across the local area, including in the Crimple Valley (photos: Yorkshire Brain Tumour Charity)

Gemma Pickup, Mr Smith’s manager at Betty’s, said the group wanted to continue raising funds after the challenge.

The group’s ‘Do it for Dave, do it for Yorkshire’ idea is for the three million steps to be just the first challenge out of 20, with baking, fishing and swimming all on the agenda.

Ms Pickup said:

“I came up with ‘Do it for Dave, Do it for Yorkshire’ because Dave has been lacking motivation recently.

“Dave will have worked at Bettys for 20 years in September and we have all known him that long, so I came up with the idea of 20 challenges in 12 months to try and give him something to aim for and also a chance for people to reconnect with him and make some fun memories.”

The Yorkshire Brain Tumour Charity works to support brain tumour patients of all ages and their families across Yorkshire.

The charity has funded research at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and at the Universities of Hull and Sheffield.

Over 1,000 people are diagnosed with brain tumours across the Yorkshire and the Humber region each year. Around 10% of those diagnosed are under 18 years old.

The board room at the top of Bettys on Harrogate’s Parliament Street provides panoramic views of the town centre.

Spectacular as they are, it’s impossible not to look down now without a sense of trepidation.

Recession, cost of living crisis, inflation, recruitment problems and energy bills are rarely out the news and you wonder how many of the shops and businesses will still be around in a few months time.

Simon Eyles, a member of the collaborative chief executive at Bettys since June 2016, says it feels like the most challenging time in his career.

“It is a tough time for the High Street and I do worry where things are going. Every retailer needs to be on top of their game in the next six months time.”

Even Bettys? The queue for the flagship tearoom in Harrogate still snakes around the corner but Harrogate’s best-known brand is not immune to the turbulence.

Its latest accounts, published in July, warned of ‘significant trading challenges’ ahead and revealed that although turnover grew by 8.8% in the year to October 31, 2021, operating profit fell by £1.6m to £15.5m.

Mr Eyles says recent accounts are difficult to read because there have been so many one-off costs due to things like covid but accepts these are tough times.

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He quotes ex-boxer Mike Tyson’s famous line that ‘everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’, adding: “It feels like we have been punched in the mouth a lot recently.” But he remains upbeat.

“I’m an optimistic person because if you were a worrier you would get yourself into a pickle right now.

“There’s an insight we have that says ‘there’s nowhere quite like Bettys’. That’s something I want every single customer to feel when they leave.

“We need to ensure our menus keep changing by doing things like making sure we have the best service, more vegetarian options. We don’t need to reinvent ourselves or have a revolution — it’s about how we carefully and skilfully change.”

Northern roots

Born in Stockton-on Tees and now living near Boroughbridge, Mr Eyles has spent his entire student and working life in the north.

He did business studies at Sheffield Hallam University and subsequently held senior marketing and commercial roles with household brands in the food and retail industry, including Asda, McCain and Lurpak.

A Middlesbrough FC fan and former county tennis player who now plays for Boroughbridge Tennis Club, he joined the Bettys & Taylors Group as marketing director for Taylors of Harrogate in 2011.

In 2016 he transferred to his current role at Bettys, which employs about 1,450 staff at its Starbeck bakery and five tearooms. He says:

“This place grabs you. It has deeper connections, deeper history. It can be a weight to carry knowing how precious and valuable it is.”

Outside Bettys’ flagship tearoom in Harrogate.

Five chief executives

My Eyles is one of five chief executives under Bettys’ unusual collaborative structure. He says:

“I find it a supportive model as the five of us have different perspectives and areas of expertise, meaning that we can make better, rounded balanced decisions.

“We can move at pace when we need to but sometimes it’s better to discuss, listen to each other’s views, in order to make a more informed decision.

“We certainly are not a ‘command and control’ business, as we have all worked in organisations that have this power dynamic and believe that this is a more rounded, considered approach to leadership.”

The leadership isn’t planning any fundamental changes. Bettys will continue to operate five tearooms: Harrogate town centre, RHS Harlow Carr, York, Ilkley and Northallerton. Mr Eyles says:

“We are Yorkshire through and through. There are no plans to open in London or anywhere.”

Harrogate town centre and York are the busiest and attract more tourists for afternoon tea. Harlow Carr, he says, does well on the retail side from people popping in as part of a trip to the RHS gardens whereas Northallerton and Ilkley have loyal local followings seeking tea and cake.

There’s also Bettys’ bakery in Starbeck, which is significantly affected by rising energy costs. My Eyles says:

“We have to work really hard as to how we can absorb those costs.

“You can’t just keep putting prices up, you have to find the right balance and the queues are sign we have got that equation right.”

Christmas build-up begins

September marks the start of Bettys’ build up to Christmas, which is its busiest time of year.

The window displays and products are planned and the Christmas catalogue will soon be published.

Last year’s Christmas window display in Harrogate.

Last year the company reported its highest ever sales figures for a Christmas period. Online sales have doubled since the pandemic.

The premium market Bettys serves is to some extent insulated from the recession but equally many people are more cutting back on treats.

Recruitment remains a major headache, especially for kitchen staff. Brexit, he says, is having a delayed effect and making recruitment harder. It’s also prompted the company to stop trading in Europe:

“We ship a lot to the United States and Australia but the complexities that are involved with shipping to Europe means that we are not doing it because it’s not worth it for us. I don’t think Brexit has done us any favours.”

Bettys was founded in 1919 by Frederick Belmont, of Switzerland, whose family still owns the company. Mr Eyles, who has a 14-year-old daughter and two labradors, says the family is not involved in day-to-day business but are regularly updated and make strategic decisions.

“Bettys will be thriving for years to come. We will have evolved but at the heart of it we will always be a magical experience.

His advice for companies struggling to survive?

“If you freeze and wait for things to settle down, that is a big risk. You need to be proactive.”

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss breezed into Harrogate today as part of her campaign to be the next Prime Minister.

Local Conservative Party members paid £10 to take part in an Ask Liz event at a private house on the Duchy estate. Attendees didn’t receive the address until this morning.

Those who arrived early made the most of the sunshine by sitting on a wall in front of the property, many dressed in their finest attire.

One woman said Ms Truss had “come across very well” at a recent hustings in Leeds, another said she was there to “see what she’s got to say”.

And there were mutterings that there was no support from MPs in the district, including Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones and Skipton and Ripon MP  Julian Smith. Both are backing rival leadership candidate Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Instead Alec Shelbrooke, MP for Elmet and Rothwell, hosted Ms Truss’s visit. He could be seen with other prominent members of the party waiting at the large black metal gates to greet Ms Truss.

Graham Swift thanks people for attending.

Harrogate Borough Council deputy leader Graham Swift, who the house is believed to belong to, was also spotted at the event.

Read more:

• Liz Truss set to speak to Conservatives in Harrogate tomorrow
• Rishi Sunak ‘warmly received’ in Masham

Stickers and signs emblazoned with the words ‘In Liz we Truss’ and ‘Liz for Leader’ were given out to visitors, as they were directed to a garden at the back of the house.

The press weren’t invited to attend, however the Stray Ferret captured a video of Ms Truss arriving in a black Range Rover, before she was whisked into the property by security, which included the Metropolitan Police.

Although the event was billed for 90 minutes, Ms Truss left after about 30 minutes and then made a fleeting visit to Harrogate town centre.

Liz Truss leaving the venue with her security entourage.

After a walk up Montpellier Parade, she was shown the sights of the Stray and the town’s war memorial, which was surrounded by people enjoying the 25 degree heat.

From there, the leadership hopeful headed into Bettys Tea Rooms armed with her entourage, before swiftly leaving to head down Parliament Street.

Passing the queue at Bettys. Pic: The Stray Ferret

With that she was gone on to the next leg of her campaign to defeat Sunak when party members vote to choose the next leader.

The result of the race to replace Boris Johnson will be announced on September 5.

Bettys Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate has created a new window display celebrating the release of The Railway Children Return movie.

The front window features a biscuit version of the steam train featured in the film, hand-decorated at Bettys Craft Bakery.

As the sequel to one of the most beloved family films of all time, The Railway Children Return stars some of the original cast and is described as “an adventure for a new generation”.

Like the original film, it is set in West Yorkshire with scenes shot in and around the countryside of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway .

The movie is currently playing in cinemas and has received generally favourable reviews with the Guardian concluding it’s “an amiable and ingenious tribute to the innocent, good-natured spirit of the original”.

In partnership with the film, Bettys has created a limited-edition gift box, filled with a selection of treats.

Bettys’ waitress Rose Seddon with the limited edition gift boxes

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During the week, Lauren Kenworthy works as a chef at Bettys in Harrogate.

At the weekend she glams up in high heels and bikinis to compete in bodybuilding competitions.

She’s rather good at it too — so far this year she’s won four national titles and now has her eye on becoming Ms Universe.

Ms Kenworthy started going to the gym to increase her strength for mixed martial arts.

But Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber Dave Steca noticed her potential and persuaded her to compete. She’s been hooked ever since. She said:

“My first show was in 2016. I came fourth out of five but absolutely loved the experience.  This, coupled with some reoccurring injuries from MMA, pushed me to make the switch to bodybuilding.”

Ms Kenworthy has won a string of titles since, but her highlight to date was winning the NABBA Ms Britain at St George’s Hall in Bradford last month.

Female bodybuilding competitions have evolved to include various categories for women depending on the level of muscularity they aspire to.

Ms Kenworthy competed in the athletic figure category at the British finals, which is more about shape and balance than pure size.

Her next competition will be in September but the NABBA Universe in November is her main goal this year.

She is coached by professional bodybuilder Wendy McCready who looks after her training and diet. She said:

“I train five days a week and do daily fasted cardio.

“My training style is heavy and to failure, focusing on two-to-three body parts each session. I’m always looking to progress my strength.

“I eat six times a day, all typically lean meat or eggs and vegetables plus a carb source, which can be either rice, oats or potatoes. This is supplemented with shakes either side of my workout.”

Ms Kenworthy, who trains at Coach Gym on Hornbeam Park, can leg press 320 kg at a body weight of 62kg, or 136 lbs. She said:

“My ambitions are to become a professional body builder and I would also like to start coaching.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber set for world championships
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The first day of the Queen’s platinum jubilee has been blessed with warm, sunny weather in the Harrogate district..

There were cakes to judge, events to attend and lots of opportunities to chill with family and friends.

It isn’t over yet — tonight will see beacons lit across the district at 9.45pm as part of a national initiative. But here are five highlights so far.

Our live blog will be back tomorrow with more rolling jubilee coverage. Send us your photos to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will include them in our coverage.

1 Dignitaries turn out in force in Ripon

The city’s cathedral hosted North Yorkshire’s service to honour the Queen. Among those attending were The Archbishop of York, Ripon MP Julian Smith, Grantley Hall owner Valeria Sykes and former Look North presenter Harry Gration, who is also a deputy Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

2 Bilton’s Party on the Pitch is a big hit

Bilton Cricket Club’s Party on the Pitch attracted a huge turnout of families. It showed there is a big appetite in Bilton for a community event and how much the area misses the annual Bilton Gala.

3 The first street parties get underway

Sunday is the main day for street parties but residents of Castle Hill Glade in Pannal Ash decided they didn’t want to wait that long and got cracking today.

4 Ripon mum wins Bettys Jubilee Bake Off 

The moment Lori (centre) found out she had won.

Lori Hendry’s Victoria sponge beat three other shortlisted entries in the Bettys Jubilee Bake Off.

Three judges deliberated for half an hour before deciding the Ripon mum’s delicious offering was number one.

5 Children flock to Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

The offer of free activities and facepainting was always likely to be a surefire hit with families and that proved the case as families descended on Harrogate’s Valley Gardens today.

There was also the opportunity to watch the BBC’s coverage of Trooping the Colour on a big screen on the Stray.

Read more:

• Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones MP named as Tory ‘rebel’
• JUBILEE LIVE: Dignitaries attend Ripon Cathedral for county service

A Ripon mum has baked a cake judged to be fit for a Queen as part of the Bettys Jubilee Bake Off.

Lori Hendry beat three other shortlisted bakers with a Victoria sponge decorated with red, white and blue icing adorned with a crown and Union Jack flags.

Ann Hedges, food and nutrition teacher at St Aidan’s, Paul Farr, food and drink director at Bettys, and Lisa Benninson, development chef and Bettys Cookery School teacher, judged the final on Wednesday, June 1.

Ms Benninson thanked the shortlist of Lori Hendry, Irene Threadgold, Louise Winter and Edward Lee for baking their cakes and said it was tough to pick out an overall winner.

The moment Lori (centre) found out she had won.

The three judges deliberated for around half an hour and assessed each cake against the criteria Bettys uses to test all of its new products.

Delighted with the win and prize of a course of her choice at Bettys Cookery School, Ms Hendry told the Stray Ferret:

“I am feeling shocked to be honest, really shocked. I didn’t expect to win it at all. I am very chuffed.

“I first got into baking because I started baking for the kids really. When you have three kids you always need a cake on the go!”

Read more:

• Harrogate district jubilee celebrations begin
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Paul Farr, food and drink director at Bettys, said:

“I’ve been in the industry for nearly 40 years but when you are judging you need to be able to pull on all of your experience and your honest appraisal on products.

“There was a high standard so it comes down to those fine points of difference that makes a cake stand out from being really good to being the winner.”

(Left to right) Louise Winter, Irene Threadgold and Lori Hendry. Edward Lee could not make it but his cake is second in from the left.

Ann Hedges, food and nutrition teacher at St Aidans, said:

“It was a real privilege to be part of the judging process. With so many potential winners, I think everybody brought something slightly different to the competition.

“For me it was fantastic to see people’s skill level. We had the cake making, meringue making, the piping. All of those skills are an art at the end of the day. We were very lucky to be able to judge that art.”

Lisa Benninson, development chef and Bettys Cookery School teacher, said:

“I thought it was really great. As chefs and bakers it is always a treat when somebody else makes a cake. It was a really nice thing to do to judge a cake competition fit for a Queen on the Platinum Jubilee.

“We had lots of different flavour combinations. We had a rose and pistachio, lots of Victoria sponges. There was a close finish but it was about attention to detail in the end – and that’s Bettys motto.”

The shortlisted cakes

Lori Hendry’s winning cake (Left) with Edward Lee’s cake.

Louise Winter’s cake (Left) with Irene Threadgold’s cake.