As some primary schools across the district prepare to reopen next week, parents discuss whether they are sending their children back to school.

The government says schools should look to re-open for pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from June 1.

“I’ve had enough” Ali Farr told the Stray Ferret after her wedding plans have been left in ruins.

Ali, a community nurse in Knaresborough and Boroughbridge, and her partner, Ben Cross, a paramedic, had planned to hold their wedding reception at the St George Hotel on May 1st.  More than a hundred guests were due to arrive from as far away as Singapore and Australia. Then lockdown struck and the date was cancelled.

So Ali and Ben re-arranged the whole thing -on the anniversary of day they got together 12 years ago, New Years Eve.  It meant moving everything, it was more expensive and they had to sacrifice the wedding ceremony at St John’s Church. Then a few days ago, Ali  heard the St George had gone into administration:

“I’ve had no correspondence from anybody. We’ve already paid £5,000 – most on credit cards but I think the £800 deposit will be lost because we booked it on a debit card two years ago.

“My dress is at the seamstress, I’ve got the bridesmaid’s dresses, the boy’s suits, I’ve paid a lot of money for the entertainment, the photographer, the videographer and a car.

“I’ve had enough. You don’t know what’s going to happen do you? It’s just tough.”

Throughout the crisis Ali and Ben have been working on the front line of healthcare.

“I am a nurse, Ben’s a paramedic, we’ve got a little girl. We’ve worked throughout the crisis as key workers.

My would-be guests have been lovely – on May 1st they made a video for us. On the day we had a cake to cut, we gave each other a present on the morning and my little girl threw some petals around – she was supposed to be our flower girl. “

Ali and Ben’s guests held a zoom celebration for them to cheer them up

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NHS figures released today report one further death of a patient who tested positive for coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital. It brings the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 61.

A further 147 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus, have died- 27 were in Yorkshire and North East.  It means the number of reported deaths in hospitals in England to 25,691.

Patients were aged between 43 and 98 years old.  Five of the patients had no known underlying health condition.

Harrogate District Hospital has discharged a total of 104 patients after treatment for coronavirus since the start of the crisis. Outside the hospital, there have been 51 deaths from coronavirus in care homes in the district.

Harrogate’s White Watch delivered war veteran Jack Rushton a surprise roast lunch and birthday cake today to celebrate his 96th birthday. John Rushton, known as Jack, survived the D Day landings and has lived in Beech Road in Harrogate since the 1970’s.

Last Sunday, White Watch made 50 roast lunches for people in need .,  much of the food then was supplied by Bruce Reid, the watch manager.

Today Bruce and his team made 89 meals and, this time, a whole of host of organisations donated food. Community group, Covid- Cooperation Harrogate, helped with deliveries.  Jack though was an exception, Bruce said:

“We haven’t done any deliveries- but we thought we’d bring Jack his lunch as it would be a nice gesture”.

Bruce Reid, watch manager delivering Jack his lunch

Neighbours clapped and Happy Birthday played through a tannoy as Jack received his birthday surprise. Jack said he didn’t what his neighbours had plotted for him but he had a suspicion  “it had something to do with lunch”. He told The Stray Ferret..

“I can’t believe they’ve done this for me- I’ve not done anything special”

But his grandson, Ben Rushton, begged to differ and said he was proud of him.

“What people don’t realise is that as well as being being a war veteran, my grandfather worked in public service all his life – in the finance department at Harrogate College. He’s contributed to the youth of Harrogate – it’s nice for him to get something back”

Asked what felt about being 96 years old Jack said  “Well, I’ve had a reasonable carry on….”

Today we report on the growing frustration and noise among the cycle lobby which has campaigned in Harrogate for better cycling routes.

The pandemic has led to fewer cars on the road, cleaner air and a boom in bike sales. These factors have strengthened campaigner’s resolve who see now as the time to push for transformational change.

Around half a dozen cycling and environmental groups exist in the district. All pushing for improvements for cyclists  and pressurising council leaders to deliver.

A lack of ambition, a need for more infrastructure and a sense of frustration were among the complaints from the groups the Stray Ferret spoke to, as promised schemes have yet to come to fruition.

Kevin Douglas, who chairs the Harrogate District Cycle Action group, said a lack of movement on any infrastructure has left cyclists disappointed.

He said: “It is frustrating. They did an excellent job in getting the funding but the delivery is the key.

“During the past five weeks, families and young people have been riding because the roads are quiet and they are doing it because it is safe.”

For others, lockdown has offered an extra boost to the message that more people want to cycle- a view which is backed up by research undertaken before the crisis.

In a survey by Andrew Jones MP last year, nearly half of residents who responded said the town’s cycling facilities were poor and needed to be improved.

Caroline Linford, founder of Sustainably Harrogate, said the town could improve its infrastructure after lockdown and called for more ambition from the county council.

She said that the lack of progress on Otley Road was indicative of the will of those in charge to deliver for the town.

She said: “I think for me what I would like to have seen is using it to make the town move again.”

“There is a lack of action and what I would like to see is some ambition from the county council.”

Tomorrow in our Focus on Cycling series we put the concerns of cycling campaigners to Don Mackenzie, the senior county councillor in charge of highways.

Harrogate Theatre has announced that it has raised £40,000 in its emergency appeal.

The theatre, which has always been widely supported,  has faced a funding crisis as it was forced to lower its curtains in March, due to coronavirus.

Alex Monk, a spokesperson from the Theatre told the Stray Ferret:

We rely on a very small amount of public funding, most of our earnings are from ticket sales, so our income has been stripped away, It’s been a worrying time… To raise £40,000 ( and still rising) is just phenomenal… a lot of that has been from audience members that have donated their ticket money from a cancelled show to our emergency fund.

We need £4,000 a week to keep the theatre going…Things are all moving and changing very quickly.. Our current closure notice is up until July at the earliest.

We are exploring models for social distancing in the theatre for when it is safe and possible to open our doors. This does reduce the capacity to around a third which would have severe financial implications.

Members of the community are pulling together to help raise money to try and keep the theatre-going.

Dance Matt,  a children’s entertainment business in Harrogate is doing a virtual 12-hour dance-a-thon children’s mini disco starting at 8 am tomorrow. All money raised will go to the theatre’s emergency appeal. Matt Pullan, who runs the company, has raised £410 so far, with a £500 target.

It’s a very special place to me, I used to go to the panto every New Years Eve with my gran. I’m sure the theatre has touched us all at some point, so I wanted to do something to raise money to contribute… It will be a long 12 hours, but it will absolutely be worth it.

Alex Monk thanked Matt Pullan for his gesture:

This is just one of many of the kind offers we have received. It shows the real strength and place that Harrogate theatre holds.

A mum from Harrogate told the Stray Ferret that she does ‘not see a way’ to be able to send her 6-year-old son who has Downs Syndrome back to school.

Wendy Puckrin’s son, Elijah, is in year 1 at Kettlesing Primary School in Harrogate.

The government says schools should begin reopening for children in nursery, reception, year one and year six, from 1 June. This would mean Elijah could return to school, but for Wendy, this would be very hard:

” I’m not saying homeschooling is going well, but I just don’t see a way he could social distance. He needs human contact to feel secure, he needs cuddles and he just doesn’t understand… He’s a beautiful little kid and I don’t want that trauma for him at such an early stage in life.”

The NASUWT teachers’ union representative in Harrogate has warned that reopening schools will be a logistical nightmare.

Sharon Calvert, who has decades of experience in teaching, said the local teachers she represents are very worried about plans to welcome back some classes from June 1.

“These young children will not keep their social distancing, The first thing they will want to do is run inside and hug their teacher, it will be impossible to keep apart. The headteachers I know are mortified about these plans,” she told the Stray Ferret.

She believes that schools should not be given any deadline to reopen. Instead, she says that they should only open when it is clear that it is safe.

Sharon said the guidance from the government is as “clear as mud.”

“This is very serious, it is like we are being asked to send our children over the top. The children don’t seem to be affected quite as badly but the children could take that home to someone who is vulnerable. The teachers are just as worried about spreading it to their families.”

What are schools planning?

North Yorkshire County Council has said it will leave individual schools in the Harrogate district to decide whether it is safe for them to reopen, as previously reported.

Each school will need to take a risk assessment and the council has said it will give them support and advice.

That leaves it up to headteachers across the Harrogate district to decide when they will reopen and how teaching will work with social distancing.

One primary school, Saltergate, in Harrogate has said when it opens it will try to replicate the system in Denmark. The school sent a notice to parents to say they will keep groups of around seven children in “protective bubbles.”

They will also keep social distancing to the best of their ability, focus on regular handwashing, and introduce staggered start and finish times.

Harrogate District Hospital has now released 104 patients after treatment for coronavirus.

It’s a really positive milestone for the hospital, with seven more patients released than last week’s figures.

On top of that, the hospital has not announced any more coronavirus deaths in today’s figures.

So far, the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has reported 58 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Outside the hospital, the latest information from the ONS shows there have been 51 deaths in care homes in the district.

Today’s figure bring the total number of deaths at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to 58. One patient died on Monday, the other yesterday.

NHS England has today reported 166 deaths across the country- patients were aged between 33 and 99. 37 of those deaths were from the North East and Yorkshire region.

The trust announced last Thursday that it had treated and discharged 97 patients with coronavirus since the outbreak began.

Outside the hospital, the latest information from the ONS shows there have been 51 deaths in care homes in the district.

The organisation has reported that its Covid-19 patient notification system was not operating for a period of time on Saturday, meaning some of the deaths reported during that time may come through in data released later this week.