Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata will be played by candlelight at a recital in Harrogate in aid of charity.
British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith (pictured above) will perform the sonata at the Wesley Centre on December 9.
The event will also feature music by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov and Gershwin.
The event is being held in aid of Artizan International, a charity that raises money for people with disabilities in the UK and the developing world.
Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £5 for students. The concert will start at 7.30pm.
For more information, visit the Ticketsource website.
Read more:
- Ripon auction to raise money for armed forces charity
- Local Fund for the Harrogate District awards £85,000 to 29 community groups
Residents invited to attend Jennyfields gas leak meeting
Residents are being invited to attend a meeting on December 2 to discuss the gas leak that affected 3,500 homes in Harrogate.
Northern Gas Networks has organised the meeting, which will take place at the Styan Community Centre in Jennyfields.
The centre became an emergency hub from October 15 to 17 when NGN sub-contractors damaged an underground pipe on Ripon Road where roadworks were taking place.
Gas supply to homes in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 areas was cut off and thousands of electric heaters and food vouchers were handed out.
An NGN statement said:
“While incidents such as this are rare, it’s important that we reflect on what went well, and what we could have done better, so that we continually improve the service that we provide to our customers.
“During the session we’ll give a brief overview of how the incident unfolded, what support Northern Gas Networks provided to minimise disruption, and what we are now doing to make sure that an incident like this does not occur again.
“There will be then be an opportunity to discuss a number of key areas, including communication, support services and working with others.”
NGN said the meeting was aimed at residents, business owners, councillors, MPs, emergency workers and community groups.
To attend, you must register here by November 26.
Read more:
- Harrogate gas leak: public meeting to be held
- Parents call for Harrogate army college to be closed after abuse claims
- Harrogate Theatre panto tickets selling fast
Harrogate Theatre panto tickets selling fast
Harrogate Theatre’s chief executive has said panto ticket sales are almost at normal levels despite the uncertainty caused by covid.
Tickets went on sale later than usual this year and David Bown said there was some initial nervousness about attendance figures.
But 80% of tickets in between schools breaking up and the new year have already been sold. The fortnight before Christmas, in particular, is proving popular.
Cinderella begins on Friday next week and will run until January 16. Tim Stedman is once again one of the main stars.
The pantomime is the theatre’s biggest event of the year and Mr Bown said the strong sales were welcome after a difficult 18 months due to covid.
“It’s great to see we are nearly back to levels in previous years but we still have a few reservations and people concerned about covid. We still don’t know what the government has as its plan B and as a mass gathering we would be the first to be hit.
“I think Harrogate is doing well for visitors, we’ve had a few sold-out shows at other venues and we really hoped the panto would be the same and we weren’t disappointed.”
Read more:
- Oh yes he is! Tim Stedman stars in Harrogate panto as Buttons
- Harrogate panto director promises comedy and magic
Building work won’t dull the magic
The theatre has been undergoing building work for about six months.
The 120-year-old building was in need of a huge roof replacement, costing around £1 million. As a council-owned building, the project has been run in conjunction with Harrogate Borough Council and Harrogate Theatre Trust.
But although scaffolding will remain outside the building until March, Mr Bown said the magic of the theatre is still intact.
The complexity of the work, difficulties in sourcing building materials and staff shortages has meant the works are now due to finish in March 2022.
Looking ahead to 2022, Mr Bown said panto ticket sales make him optimistic for future shows:
“Being back is a bit weird, in some ways it feels like forever and in others it feels like the pandemic never happened. Of course we’re nervous because the last 18 months has proven you can’t plan for everything but the audience numbers are very encouraging.”
If you want to get in the mood ahead of the panto, check out our Panto Stories performed by Tim Stedman.
Harrogate Borough Council has said it asked the Royal British Legion if it had any objections before placing a large helter skelter next to the war memorial.
The attraction appeared on the grass in front of the memorial on Tuesday. Harrogate BID, Visit Harrogate and the council hope it will encourage footfall during the festive season.
The Victorian-style ride has received some online criticism from residents who say it is disrespectful because of its close proximity to the memorial and its appearance just two days after Remembrance Sunday.
Others say the war dead would have wanted life to continue as normal and welcomed the idea of children playing on the rides.
A council spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret that it had chosen where to put the helter skelter “very carefully”. She added the council had received six complaints from residents about the structure.
The spokeswoman said the council asked the Royal British Legion if it had any objections beforehand, adding the charity did not but asked the council to monitor anti-social behaviour caused by the attraction.
Read more:
- Will you be going for a spin on Harrogate’s helter skelter?
- TV acting school for children opens in Harrogate
The spokeswoman said:
“We considered the location of the Helter Skelter very carefully and as part of our pre-event planning we consulted with the Royal British Legion on the proposed site. We received no objections but agreed with their only request that we are vigilant for anti-social behaviour in the area, which we are happy to do.
“We will monitor any anti-social behaviour caused by the attraction over the period and will act accordingly.
“The council have received half a dozen complaints in relation to its location, however we have also received a significant number of positive responses towards our Destination Christmas campaign.
“This includes many positive comments on Facebook from veterans and those whose relatives fought for the country, who are hugely supportive of what we are doing.”
Three men were arrested after stealing a laptop worth thousands of pounds from the Apple iStore on James Street in Harrogate.
Officers were called at 4pm yesterday after two men entered the shop and left with a MacBook Pro worth £1,899 making no attempt to pay.
Owners of the store reported to police that the men had left the area in a car.
North Yorkshire Police used CCTV to search for the car and the men were arrested on the outskirts of York just before 4.45pm, less than 45 minutes after from the initial report.
Two men, one aged 18 and another aged 20, were arrested on suspicion of theft and electrical items that were believed to be stolen were recovered.
Read more:
- Harrogate Army Foundation College instructor demoted for punching teenage soldiers
- Cold Bath Road police chase leads to three drug arrests
Both were charged with theft and the driver was also charged for driving without insurance.
A third man was released without charge.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:
“This is a great result, the speedy work of our officers on the ground has resulted in us returning this high-value item back to the shop.
“As we enter the Christmas period, we often see an increase in retail theft. I would urge all shop owners and members of the public who are out shopping to be vigilant and to alert police to any suspicious activity.”
Employees of the collapsed Harrogate energy firm CNG have described the uncertainty over redundancy pay as a “horrible situation” with Christmas just around the corner.
About 100 staff and chief executive Paul Stanley discussed the insolvency programme at an online meeting yesterday
Two different CNG employees, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret that staff had hoped to receive clarification about redundancy pay but were left disappointed.
They said staff had previously been told they would be paid redundancy by the company but that this was withdrawn. They were then told it would be paid by the government, but at yesterday’s meeting, they were not given answers on when this will be and how much they will receive.
One employee said:
“This is a huge kick in the teeth for those who have stayed loyal to CNG for many years”.
Another employee described the atmosphere of the meeting as “cold”. They added:
“We were plainly made to feel like a nuisance”.
Read more:
- In Depth: Why Harrogate success story CNG ended in collapse
- Ofgem appoints company to take on CNG customers
CNG ceased trading two weeks ago due to spiralling wholesale gas prices but administrators are yet to be appointed.
According to CNG’s annual accounts from October 2020, the company had, at the time, £36.7m in cash reserves.
Questions were put to Mr Stanley at yesterday’s meeting about what had happened to this money. One employee said Mr Stanley “swiftly avoided the question”.
The Stray Ferret approached CNG for a response but we did not receive one at the time of publication.
A drama school whose star students regularly appear in TV shows has opened in Harrogate.
Articulate Drama School and Agency supplies child actors for production companies on programmes such as All Creatures Great and Small, Gentleman Jack, Peaky Blinders, Emmerdale, and Last Tango in Halifax.
It is now running weekly classes for young people aged five to 21 at St George’s Community Centre on Mornington Crescent.
Stacey Burrows, director of Articulate, said:
“Harrogate is fortunate enough to offer lots of opportunities for young people to get involved in drama and the arts, but for those wanting to explore the art of TV acting and see how they get on in the industry, Articulate classes and representation can be just what is needed.
“We chose Harrogate because increasingly, our TV and film clients are asking us for children to film in nearby locations such as the Yorkshire Dales, York, Ripon and Harrogate itself.”
Some of Articulate’s talented youngsters include Tilly Kaye, who plays Biff in CBeebies series Biff & Chip and Austin Haynes, who has just finished filming as a leading role in sequel to the The Railway Children, which is set to be released in cinemas in April next year.
Read more:
- Watch ex-Harrogate Town footballer’s reaction after winning £1m on lottery
- Will you be going for a spin on Harrogate’s helter skelter?
Some of its actors have also worked overseas for TV and advertising projects. For example, Ilkley teen Henry Kent flew to Mexico to film a Coca Cola advert.
Ms Burrows said the agency’s set-up was geared purely towards TV and sessions were filmed so children could analyse their skills.
There is no singing or dancing, and she said often children without backgrounds in those areas adapted better because they were more natural. Anyone can take part.
Sessions take place on Wednesday evenings and cost £29.50 a month. A free trial is available.
For further details visit here. Or you can email dramaschool@articulatesdc.com or call 01274 033773.
Photo: (left) Aiden Cook on the set of All Creatures Great and Small and (right) Dexter Hughes with Suranne Jones on the set of Gentleman Jack
Harrogate Christmas lights switched on by ‘Harry’s Heroes’
The finalists in the search to find the Harrogate district’s community champion were invited to perform the official Christmas lights switch-on in Harrogate last night.
Lauren Doherty, Greta Knight, Susie Little, Helen Mackenzie, Mark Oldfield and Cath Wilson asked to perform the duties outside the Victoria Shopping Centre at 5pm.
Mark was unable to attend but the five others were there, along with representatives from Harrogate Business Improvement District.
Those selected are finalists in Harry’s Heroes — an event run by the Stray Ferret in conjunction with former BBC Look North presenter Harry Gration and Harrogate Spring Water to find the people in the district doing exceptional things to help others in the community.
The BID, which organised the switch-on, did not publicise it in advance this year to avoid any covid risk caused by crowds gathering.
The BID, which is funded by a levy on businesses, aims to increase footfall in Harrogate town centre and boost trade.
It is also involved with this year’s Christmas Shop Window contest as well as the Father Christmas Experience at the Crown Hotel.
Read more:
- Deep clean of Ripon alleyways to be first BID project
- Harry’s Heroes Finalist Vote
- Watch ex-Harrogate Town footballer’s reaction after winning £1m on lottery
Two Harrogate district soldiers killed during World War One have finally been laid to rest today with full military honours.
Their bodies were among nine sets of human remains found during civil engineering works in the Belgium town of Beselare three years ago.
Archaeologists from the Flanders Heritage Agency subsequently discovered the remains of the trench, a bomb pit and a separate bomb pit outside the trench.
Eight of the nine bodies found inside the trench are believed to have died at the same time as the result of an explosion in October 1917. The ninth was found separately.
Through a combination of military research, anthropology and DNA, Ministry of Defence ‘war detectives’ managed to identify seven of the nine soldiers by name.
The men included 21-year-old Lance Corporal Stanley Blakeborough from Pateley Bridge and 28-year-old Private Harry Miller, who worked as a farm labourer in Burton Leonard.
Read more:
- Story of the lone Japanese First World War soldier buried in Ripon
- Wreaths laid at newly restored Harrogate war memorial
An eighth casualty, who remains unknown, is believed to have served with the same regiment (11th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers) whilst the ninth and final casualty is unknown by name or regiment.
The service in Belgium today. Credit: Ministry of Defence
Nicola Nash, from the Ministry of Defence said:
“After working on this case for nearly three years, it gives me an immense feeling of pride to see these men finally being laid to rest. It has been wonderful to share this emotional day with so many of the family members, who have travelled as far as Australia to attend.
“The sacrifice these men made will never be forgotten.”
Today’s service was organised by the MoD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre and was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Tyne Cot Cemetery near Ypres in Belgium.
The MOD war detectives also traced the relatives of some of the men, with five different families attending the service.
The Duke of Kent attended the service in his capacity as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Harrogate Male Voice Choir returned on Saturday evening for its first performance in two years.
The choir has existed since October 1969 but members were forced to practice over Zoom during the pandemic.
Members performed at a charity event at St. Mary’s Church, Boston Spa in aid of Martin House Children’s Hospice. They raised £1,050 for the charity.
The choir sang renditions of Amazing Grace, Bring Him Home and In Flanders Fields, among others.
It was the debut of the choir’s new musical director Richard Kay, who has been a member of York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir since 2002. He also sang a range of songs solo during the evening.
Choir member Lawrie Coulthard said:
“It was a wonderful experience for both the choir and audience.
“This was the first time for some years that our performance included solo items – the audience really enjoyed them!”
Read more:
- Music-loving Knaresborough couple nominated for choir award
- Plan to convert Ripon Cathedral Choir School into townhouses