An unusual charity dinner at Harrogate’s Rudding Park next month will see diners eat their main course blindfolded.

The event is being organised to raise money for Guide Dogs UK in Harrogate and to stimulate what dining out is like for people with a visual impairment.

Dine in the Dark will take place at the hotel on November 11.

Guide dog owner Kim Murphy said:

“Having my guide dog Jango has completely changed my life and events such as this are crucial for raising funds so that somebody else with sight loss can get a life changing guide dog like Jango.”

Nicola Ridgway, community fundraising manager for Guide Dogs UK in Harrogate, added:

“Dine in the Dark gives you the opportunity to enjoy great company and to have fun while experiencing the sensory effect of eating food with no vision.

“It will give you an insight into how visually impaired guide dog owners experience life on a daily basis.”

Tickets are £53.30 each (Inc booking fee) and are available here.

All funds raised will be donated to Guide Dogs UK.

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

This month the war in Ukraine dominated the news, with constituents across the district raising money, donating goods and offering their homes to refugees.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

• Mr Jones spoke about the Ukraine war nine times in the House of Commons this month. On March 2, he said: “My constituents have told me that they want to see the government continue to support the Ukrainian resistance in three ways: humanitarian assistance in the region; welcoming refugees here; and military aid.”
• On March 1, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council, Richard Cooper, who is also Mr Jones’ office manager, told a council meeting that the MP had written to Boris Johnson to ask if council housing stock could be used to house Ukrainian refugees.
• On March 4, Mr Jones met with the new acting chief executive of the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Jonathan Coulter, to discuss catching up on elective care and visiting arrangements at the hospital.
• Writing on his Community News website, Mr Jones praised the local fundraising efforts in Harrogate and Knaresborough for Ukraine. He wrote: “Locally, the outpouring support is typical of the generous and compassionate nature of our communities.”
• On March 22, the MP voted in favour of Clause 9 of the Nationality and Borders Bill. The clause is controversial and gives the Home Office the right to strip people of UK citizenship without warning. A petition calling for its removal received 325,000 signatures.
• Following news that rail operator Northern would be cutting several train services from Harrogate station, Mr Jones wrote to the company’s chairman urging it to ‘rethink’. Despite his plea, Northern announced on March 29 that the cuts would be staying.
• On March 24 Mr Jones called on the government to tackle fake ads that purport to be from consumer journalist Martin Lewis.
• On March 29, Mr Jones posed for a picture at a Sight Loss Councils event in Westminster. The group briefed MPs on issues affecting blind and partially sighted people.

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• New gritter tracker shows which roads in Harrogate district are being treated

• Harrogate council ranks in lowest 15% of local authorities for tackling climate change

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• The Ripon MP praised Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky following his speech to MPs at the House of Commons on March 8. “Incredible leadership and resilience,” he tweeted.
• On March 9 in the Commons, Mr Smith called on the government to “look again” at its approach to Ukrainian refugees.
• On March 14, he thanked his “many constituents” for offering their homes as part Homes for Ukraine scheme that launched that week.
• The former Northern Ireland secretary attended a St Patrick’s Day event at the Ireland Embassy in London on March 16.
• Eight of his 11 tweets were related to Northern Ireland.
• On March 14, Mr Smith voted against a Liberal Democrat amendment to the government’s Animal Welfare Bill that would force the government to publish the number of animals killed by sewage dumping in rivers every year.
• Posting on his website on March, 18, Mr Smith said he was pleased to hear that work on the A59 at Kex Gill is expected to start at the end of this year.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• On March 30, the MP praised the bravery of fellow Tory MP Jamie Wallis for coming out as trans.
• Whilst attending the Conservative Party spring conference in Blackpool, Mr Adams had another confrontation with ‘Stop Brexit Man’ Steve Bray. The MP said in a video: “I see a village has lost its idiot”. Last year, Mr Adams told Mr Bray to f*** off outside Parliament.
• On March 20, the MP met the Ukraine ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, in Blackpool. He said it was “great to see him join the standing ovation for Boris Johnson”.

A partially sighted Harrogate man has said it’s ‘shameful’ that many pedestrian crossings in Harrogate town centre do not make a beeping noise to let blind or visually impaired people know it is safe to cross.

John Raho, 80, relies on the noise to help him cross the road safely when vehicles stop and the green man appears.

But from the top of Cheltenham Parade up Station Parade and to the Victoria Avenue junction, 9 out of 10 crossings did not make any noise at all when the Stray Ferret tested them yesterday.

Similarly, the crossing by the Odeon cinema does not make a beeping noise.

Mr Raho said:

“I rely on the beep as a reassurance but I noticed that so many of them are not working.

“They are an essential bit of kit. It’s not big science.”

This crossing on Station Parade does not currently make a beeping noise.

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North Yorkshire County Council, which is in charge of highways in the district, is not legally obliged to add beeping noises to pedestrian crossings.

To avoid confusion, it might not have two machines beeping that are close together.

Some crossings may also have a small plastic or metal cone that can be touched. It turns when the green man lights up to indicate it is safe to cross.

This pelican crossing is the only one that beeps on Station Parade.

‘A reassurance’

However, Mr Raho said the beeping noise should be essential to improve town centre access for visually impaired people.

He said:

“It’s a reassurance for me, for others with worse eyesight it’s absolutely essential. You have to be careful.”

Mr Raho said he can just about make out a blurry green man on the other side of the road, but without a sound to guide him, he tries to take his cue from other people.

“It’s alright if other people are crossing, but people do rush across the road. 

“If someone gets knocked down, then it is bad news.”

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesperson asked Mr Raho to report any machines that are not working correctly via its website. They added that until he did so it was unable to comment.

This article is sponsored by Yorkshire Water

The Priority Services Register by Yorkshire Water helps customers who might be significantly impacted if they can’t access water for a short period of time, or people who need to tailor their interactions with the company.

Yorkshire Water customers can sign up for a variety of kinds of extra help.

• If you have sight problems or are deaf or hard of hearing, you can receive your bill in large print, braille or audio
• You can sign up for advanced notice of planned works; Yorkshire Water can even arrange a personal visit if there’s something big happening
• If you’re more reliant on a continued water supply (for example if you’re a new parent or have home dialysis), you might be offered a priority water supply connection or get bottled water delivered straight to your door if Yorkshire Water needs to interrupt your supply
• You can set up a security password so you’ll always know it’s a genuine Yorkshire Water employee if you’re concerned about unwanted callers
• If you’d like someone else to manage your account, you can nominate someone on your behalf
• Assistance with reading your meter, such as if you’re struggling to bend down or access your meter

Ash Roberts, customer vulnerability manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

“We offer our priority services as a way of providing a little extra help to our customers that need it most.

“As well as alternate bill formats, help reading your meter and the ability to set up a password so that you know it’s always us calling, customers on our priority services register also get extra assistance during a temporary interruption to their water supply, as we’ll deliver bottled water straight to your door.”

If you or a family member or friend would benefit from joining the register, it’s free and fast to sign up.

Fill in this online form, or call 0800 1 38 78 78 to sign up on the phone.

This Harrogate district charity has offered support to local people since war times and says it will continue to be there for the next 100 years.

Vision Support Harrogate District (VSHD), a sight loss charity, is celebrating is 100th anniversary this month.

It was set up in 1921 to help soldiers blinded during the First World War. Over the century it says it has diversified to meet peoples needs.

It now has a drop-in centre in Harrogate for regular eye clinics and classes. It also organises satellite meetings in Ripon and Pateley Bridge for those living rurally to still feel supported.

Members of the charity getting involved in a chair caning class.

The charity’s staff and volunteers work with anyone who has recently been diagnosed with an eye condition, is registered as sight impaired or needs help for someone they know who is experiencing sight loss.

During the pandemic, the day centre had to close and instead the team have been ringing members as often as they can and kept them up to date with newsletters.

The charity’s director Tanya Stimpson knows first-hand the impact of sight loss after becoming a member 24 years ago. She said:

“It’s been a difficult year but we’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of local people. We are so grateful to everyone involved in helping our organisation, not just at this challenging time, but over the last 100 years.

From our volunteers and trustees to all the local people and businesses who raise vital funds for us, we couldn’t have reached this amazing milestone without you.”

The charity works with Harrogate District Hospital’s eye clinic and low vision clinic patients through a referral service.

Charity members after their line dancing class – even the guide dog joined in!

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Founded on February 4 1921, a year after Parliament passed The Blind Persons Act, the charity began the Harrogate Blind Association. With Ripon being affiliated in 1922.

Ms Stimpson added:

“In some ways, what visually impaired people need and what we are doing now has not changed much in a century. We understand how frightening and lonely it can be for people experiencing sight loss, and we are here to help, support and advise them and their families as much as we can.”

In the 1930’s the members would sell what they had made in the charity shop.

It changed its name to Vision Support Harrogate District in 2016. It now has regular contact with over 300 visually impaired people, is a point of contact for 400 more and makes around 1,000 outreach visits each year.

Membership and most services are free to join.