Harrogate school offers ‘sound baths’ to boost wellbeingPupils at Harrogate independent prep school Belmont Grosvenor took part in their first-ever sound bath experience as part of the school’s wellbeing programme.
Sound meditation practitioner Sudeshna Sarkar visited the school in Birstwith to run a series of sound workshops during Children’s Mental Health Week.
The older children explored the science behind sound and to learn how sounds can have a healing effect on body and mind.
A sound bath is a meditative experience where you lie down and are ‘bathed’ in different sounds.
All pupils had a go at playing the gongs, Himalayan bowls, chimes, crystal bowls and other instruments before experiencing a brief sound bath.
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Ms Sarkar, who is a mum to two BGS pupils, said she was overwhelmed by the positive response to the workshop from pupils.
She said:
“Participation in a sound bath requires no prior experience and is an excellent tool for children and adults alike to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, poor sleep and a range of conditions affecting the nervous system.”
350 tractors set to take to Harrogate district streets tomorrowAbout 350 tractors are expected to take to the Harrogate district streets tomorrow when Knaresborough Young Farmers Club’s tractor run returns.
The event, which was cancelled last year, raises funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Tractors will converge at the Great Yorkshire Showground for a 9am start and then pass through Knaresborough and Birstwith before stopping for lunch at Pateley Bridge at about noon.
The route passes through Pateley Bridge
They will then continue along country roads to Markington before finishing in Knaresborough at about 3.30pm.
The tractor run started as a private club event in 2012 but was opened to the public in 2018.
This year’s route.
Club member Mike Spink was a great supporter of the air ambulance before his death and the organisation continues to fundraise for it.
Steven Brown, chairman of the tractor run, said:
“Air ambulance is a cause close to the heart of farmers and anyone in rural communities.
“We work in solitary areas and they are always there when we need them.”
About 360 vehicles participated in the last tractor run, which was completed a week before lockdown in 2020. It is one of the largest tractor runs in England.
Anyone can turn up at the showground with a tractor and take part.
Although the event causes some traffic disruption, the route includes many minor and private roads to minimise disruption.
You can support the event by pledging a donation to the air ambulance here.
Harrogate district braced for Storm CorrieThe Harrogate district is braced for another wild night of weather as Storm Corrie approaches.
A Met Office yellow weather warning is in place until midday tomorrow, with gusts of up to 45 mph predicted.
Winds are expected to strengthen at about 8pm and peak overnight from 2am to 3am.
The district is still recovering from yesterday’s Storm Malik, which uprooted numerous trees and led to venues and events being cancelled. Some areas, including Hampsthwaite and Birstwith, also experienced power cuts.
The Met Office has warned further power cuts are likely, along with travel problems and damage to trees and buildings.
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Hundreds raised for charity thanks to return of Hampsthwaite vs Birstwith tug of war
Villagers raised around £800 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance after the Hampsthwaite vs Birstwith tug of war competition made a welcome return.
Hundreds of people watched the annual event at Hampsthwaite cricket ground on New Year’s Day, which was cancelled last year due to covid restrictions.
The tradition dates back to the 1980s, but about eight years ago it became a competition between two pubs in the neighbouring villages; The Joiners Arms, in Hampsthwaite, and The Station Hotel, in Birstwith.
The crowd cheered as Hampsthwaite claimed the victory in both the men’s and women’s events, which were captained by Robin Hardcastle and Nicola Binns.
Hampsthwaite’s winning men’s team.
This was despite Birstwith putting up a strong fight.
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The event finished with children from the villages having a go – with a bit of help from the adults – before people headed to The Joiners Arms for pie and peas.
Rebecca Cranage, owner of the Joiners Arms, said:
“I would like to say thank you to everyone who came to the tug of war and who donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. I would also like to thank Amy Howard, who organised both the Birstwith teams.”
Ms Cranage has lived in the village for 20 years and, like many villagers, has fond memories of watching the event.
It has evolved over the years after starting as a Brits vs Americans competition featuring men from the RAF Menwith Hill base.
Hampsthwaite’s winnning women’s team.
A raffle also raised funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Knaresborough’s Boxing Day tug of war was cancelled due to covid uncertainty, but organisers have said they are hopeful the event will be able to take place this year.
Organisers ‘hopeful’ Hampsthwaite v Birstwith tug of war can go aheadThe organisers of the annual News Year’s Day Hampsthwaite vs Birstwith tug of war competition have said they’re keeping their fingers crossed it will go ahead in a fortnight’s time.
The tradition dates back to the 1980s, but about eight years ago it became a competition between two pubs in the neighbouring villages; The Joiners Arms in Hampsthwaite and The Station Hotel in Birstwith.
Hundreds of people often watch the competition at Hampsthwaite cricket ground before heading to The Joiners Arms.
The event had to be cancelled this year due to coronavirus restrictions. Knaresborough’s Boxing Day tug of war has been cancelled this year but organisers have said they’re hopeful the event will be able to take place on the first day of next year.
Rebecca Cranage, the owner of Joiners Arms, said:
“We thought we’d definitely be OK for this year, we are just hoping it can still go ahead. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
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Ms Cranage has lived in the village for 20 years and, like many villagers, has fond memories of watching the event.
It has evolved over the years after starting as a Brits vs Americans competition featuring men from the RAF Menwith Hill base.
The upcoming event is due to include men’s and women’s teams, with 10 people on each end of the rope pulling for victory.
There will also be a raffle to raise funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Birstwith school appoints new headmasterNathan Sadler has been appointed the next headmaster of independent prep school Belmont Grosvenor.
Father-of-three Mr Sadler will take up the role in September next year. He is moving from GEMS Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis in Dubai, which he helped open more than a decade ago.
Set in 20-acres of grounds in Birstwith, the school and nursery welcomes boys and girls from three months to 11 years old.
Mr Sadler said he was looking forward to taking the Harrogate prep school forward “to its next chapter”.
He said:
“It is my absolute privilege to be joining Belmont Grosvenor School as headmaster starting next academic year and I am excited by the opportunity to collectively work with staff, pupils, parents and the governors to celebrate and build on the school’s successes and identity and continue to provide the children with strong foundations to thrive in their ever-changing world.
“I’m very impressed with the school grounds and emphasis placed on outdoor learning opportunities and look forward to embracing the whole school community and collectively creating life-long memories for the children.”
Gordon Milne, chair of the governors, said Mr Sadler brought a wealth of experience, including seven years in a senior leadership role in Dubai. He added:
“Nathan displayed a real passion for learning and primary education.”
Mr Sadler will visit the school in March to meet pupils, parents and staff, before taking up his position at the start of the next academic year.
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Children’s author visits Birstwith schoolPupils at Birstwith independent prep school Belmont Grosvenor were taken on an educational journey Down Under when children’s author Eleanor McKone visited.
The Leeds-based writer of the children’s series of Piper’s Passport books read her stories and encouraged pupils across all age groups to write.
Her visit was one of only a small number of in-person workshops she has run since the start of the pandemic.
Sophie Johnson Bannister, head of English at Belmont Grosvenor, said:
“Author days are an excellent way of giving children purposeful reasons to write. Listening to Eleanor explain the process of writing, how she corrects mistakes, proof reads and works on her books for long periods helps our older BGS pupils understand the processes they go through when writing.
“Having an author into school gives the children the opportunity to ask questions about story construction, about what it takes to be an author and ideas behind the books,” she added.
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Ms McKone said:
“It’s so lovely to be working with pupils in person, rather than over zoom, and I hope I have inspired them to travel, when Covid fully allows, as well as encouraged their love of reading and writing.”
Belmont Grosvenor, along with its Magic Tree Nursery, caters for children aged three months to 11 years and is based at Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith.
Family moves to Rudding Park to escape minus one degree homeA Beckwithshaw family has booked into Rudding Park hotel to escape its freezing home after two days without power.
Sylvia Skipper’s home was among thousands in the district to lose electricity when Storm Arwen struck late on Friday.
Power has returned to most but about 800 properties in the Harrogate district are still affected, according to a live map by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.
Ms Skipper, who lives on Shaw Lane, said her family had been without power since 9.20pm on Friday. There has been no hot water or heating, despite the freezing conditions, and they have been unable to cook. She said:
“Our house yesterday afternoon was minus one degrees.
“We couldn’t take any more and are now staying at Rudding Park. We have no idea whether power will be restored today.
“This is inhumane. We have lost faith as we have been forgotten about.”
Northern Powergrid’s live map shows 660 homes are without power in the Summerbridge and Bishop Thornton area, along with 60 in Spofforth, 30 in North Stainley, 20 in Pannal, 20 in High Birstwith, 20 in Kirkby Malzeard, fewer than 10 in Knaresborough, fewer than 10 in Greenhow Hill.
Ms Skipper said:
“The communication from Northern Powergrid has been dreadful.
“Until this afternoon we didn’t even have a phone signal on top of this so we had to venture in the car so that we could communicate with Northern Powergrid.
“I have seen their Twitter updates about providing hot drinks and support to numerous areas in the North East yet there has been absolutely nothing for us or our neighbours.”
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Steve Crisp, whose home between Beckwithshaw and Leathley is also without power, said:
“I keep trying to access Northern Powergrid but the website is unreliable and this morning when I rang and confirmed I would like to wait to speak to someone the system just cut me off.
“Patience and Dunkirk spirit being stretched!”
He and his wife were luckier than some because they had a log burner, which provided heat and a means to cook beans on toast.
‘One of worst storms for 20 years’
Northern Powergrid’s latest update at 11pm last night said it had restored power to around 208,000 of the 240,000 customers. About 100 engineers from other power companies had been drafted in to help. It added:
“The scale of damage in some locations is so extensive that in some cases, large sections of overhead lines will need to be rebuilt in order to restore supplies.
“Where it can, Northern Powergrid is deploying temporary fixes that get customers back on supply whilst its teams coordinate the necessary permanent repairs to get the region’s power network back to full strength.
Rod Gardner, Northern Powergrid’s major incident manager, added:
“The impact from Storm Arwen has been one of the worst we’ve experienced in the last 20 years.”
Image gallery: Birstwith Duck Race returnsBirstwith Duck Race returned yesterday after an absence of five years.
Hundreds of toy ducks were released into the River Nidd, each one carrying the hopes of whoever had drawn it.
They then raced downstream in the revived wacky village tradition. Holly Shaw’s duck took first prize.
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Birstwith Duck Race returns tomorrow after a five-year absence with around 1,000 toy ducks set to race to the finish line in this wacky village tradition.
The ducks will be dropped off Packhorse bridge, a village beauty spot, into the River Nidd and race downstream towards the finish line just before the weir.
The village tradition was first held in 2013 in conjunction with neighbouring Hampsthwaite but the course took over three hours to complete so the villages decided to do it independently instead.
But this will be the first one in Birstwith for five years.
The event starts at midday with tea, coffee and cake available in the show field, next to Kerry’s mill, and the ducks are due to be dropped at 2pm.
Organisers from Birstwith Horticultural Society and Birstwith in Bloom have said the ducks normally take about an hour to get to the finish line.
They added lots of tickets have been sold so they are expecting a few hundred people to visit.
Amy Howard, who sits on both committees, said:
“People have gone mad for the ducks, we haven’t had any village events for five years so I think everyone is excited to get out there again.
“It’ll be nice to welcome people back into the area.”
After the event, people are invited to The Station Hotel for food outside.
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