Lockdown 2.0: Six tips on how to stay happy

Once was hard enough, but twice feels pretty bleak. And, this time we’re doing it as we enter the darker and colder winter days.

It will be a challenging month for everyone; whether it’s being separated from loved ones, worrying about older relatives or closing your business once again… It’s an uncertain time, and for some this can really impair mental health.

Judith Williams, Director of Complete Life Coaching, Harrogate.

So I have turned to Harrogate life coach, Judith Willliams, Director of Complete life coaching to get some tips on how we can  keep happy and healthy during lockdown

‘With the announcement of a further national lockdown, the country is now facing more separation, stress and concern for their own safety and that of their loved ones. During lockdown the importance of connecting was clear. But with the nights drawing in and the weather changing, how can we stay positive and connected?’
  1. ROUTINE–  Make sure you have one.. Whether you are working from home or not, it is really important to have some routine in your life. Focus on healthy lifestyle habits (diet, exercise, sleep)
  2. STAY CONNECTED– Schedule regular times to connect (preferable via video chat). We are actually less likely to reach out when we are feeling low, so commitments to people help us avoid isolating ourselves.
  3. GET CREATIVE – This is an opportunity to spend time creating Christmas gifts that are meaningful. Things like personalised playlists (or mixtapes as they were known), photo books or a homemade knitted scarf. It’s a great way to spend time and keep loved ones in mind. It can also help to keep costs down when finances may be stretched.
  4. SPREAD SOME LOVE– This year spend time personalising your greetings cards. We are so much more aware of how important the people in our lives are to us, tell them why.
  5. VOLUNTEER– There was a huge feeling of togetherness in the first lockdown, in which thousands of people signed up to volunteer. This may be needed again and is a fantastic way to spend your time and improve your mood.
  6. ZOOM- QUIZ  Bring back the Zoom quiz. So many did it the first time around and it brightened a lot of peoples weeks.

During the last lockdown we had the weather on our side, which really helped. Days were warm and the sun shone which meant people took to gardening, enjoyed BBQ’s and did plenty of walking… I actually got to the point where I was having a little competition with myself on how many steps I could do in a day..

This time around we are faced with shorter colder days now, which means outdoor activities arent so fun… BUT we adapted last time and we can do the same again…I think it is really important to plan little events and milestones, both things to look forward to when restrictions lift, and also little things within lockdown… So maybe a bake-off with your family, a zoom fitness class, getting your house ready for Christmas or even just making a note of the release date of a Netflix drama you are looking forward to..

Harrogate has the most amazing community spirit so let’s look our for each other, stay safe and get through lockdown 2 together.

If you have anything lifestyle related that you would like me to cover please get in touch- ami@thestrayferret.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harrogate pub wins CAMRA award after one year of opening

A Harrogate pub has won the CAMRA pub of the year award after just one year of opening.

The Disappearing Chin, Beaulah Street, has been awarded the prize for the Harrogate and Ripon district.

Owners Hannah and Jack Woodruff opened the pub in April 2019 and say they pride themselves on their loyal customers and good beers.

The Campaign for Real Ale award looks to recognise those pubs which serve quality beer and are “worth seeking out and visiting”

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But this year has seen pubs fall on hard times due to the coronavirus pandemic, with 10pm curfews and closures during two national lockdowns.

Hannah said the award was a ray of light during dark times for the pub.

She said:

“It has been really positive for us.

“For us to be recognised that we are serving good beer, that is really important to us. We never thought that we would get it in our first year.”

Like other pubs in the district, the Disappearing Chin had to make alterations in order to be covid secure and keep customers safe.

A screen had been put up along the bar so punters can still chat with the bar staff and space was created both inside and outside.

The pub was hoping to celebrate its first birthday this year, but the celebrations fell victim to the first national lockdown.

Hannah and Jack had specially brewed beers from the north east prepared, as well as a cake.

Instead, the occasion was commemorated with a Zoom call amongst the pub’s regulars. Hannah said it was a “real boost to morale”.

Now, Hannah is looking forward to when restrictions are relaxed and pubs can return to normal.

She said:

“I’m looking forward to taking a mallet to that screen on the bar.

“I cannot wait for the point when we can get back to normal and get more people in.”

WATCH: Harrogate before and on first day of lockdown

With near empty streets today, Harrogate is clearly a town in lockdown.

Shops selling goods deemed non-essential are closed for the next month so there are fewer reasons to visit.

Some people are still walking and driving around town but there has a dramatic shift over the last 24 hours.

We filmed at the same spots in the town centre at about 3pm yesterday and today to see what had changed.

Harrogate at the same time on Wednesday and Thursday. The day before and first day of lockdown.

Ripley Castle and Harewood House grounds stay open

The gardens and grounds of Ripley Castle and Harewood House will remain open to the public during the coronavirus lockdown.

The castle and house closed to the public today but the outdoor areas remain open. Both venues will provide takeaway food and drinks.

Ripley Castle will be open daily from 10.30am to 3pm with last entry at 1pm. Adult tickets are £3; entry for children is free.

The owners are also considering keeping the gardens and grounds open up to Christmas. They usually close during winter.

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Booking is currently unavailable online but tickets can be bought from the tea room. There is free parking in the main village car park, which is open from 9am to 6pm daily.

Harewood House will also keep its grounds, gardens and adventure playground open during the lockdown.

It will be open 10am to 4pm daily with last entry at 3.15pm. Pre-booked tickets are required.

Santa taking a break

Ripley Castle has also confirmed it will not be running a Santa experience in the run-up to Christmas this year.

The big man has decided to take a break this year so he won’t be in his grotto at the castle.

Harewood House has also cancelled its Lord Whitney’s Upon a Christmas Wish this year. However, it will be replaced with Christmas at Harewood.

Other places still open in lockdown

RHS Harlow Carr, Brimham Rocks and Fountains Abbey will also remain open for outdoor walks during lockdown.

They will all operate a takeaway service to keep people warm and fuelled for their autumnal and winter walks.

Garden centres are also open.

£1 a pint: Harrogate pub’s pre-lockdown deal

Christies Bar on Kings Road, Harrogate is selling pints of cask ale for £1 today to shift the last of its beer before lockdown begins tomorrow.

Landlord Marik Scatchard told the Stray Ferret it had around 200 pints of Black Sheep and Roosters beer to sell this afternoon — and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Mr Scatchard said business this week had not been as busy as expected and the offer would save the beer from a probable fate down the plug-hole.

He was disappointed the pub has been forced to close due to the month-long lockdown, and is waiting for news on financial support from the government. He said:

“There really hasn’t been any [financial] help this time. We still had to pay full rent last time for three months, which was a bit of a nightmare.

“We’re covid-secure and have had no issues since reopening.”

Mr Scatchard said he was unsure if there would be a melancholic atmosphere at Christies this evening, as drinkers sup their final pints for several weeks.

He hopes the pub will be able to welcome its regulars back on December 2.

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Care home confusion brings more distress

Local health officials still do not know whether people will be allowed to visit relatives in care homes when lockdown begins tomorrow.

North Yorkshire County Council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.

But there is confusion whether this window of opportunity for visits will prove short lived.

Richard Webb, the county council’s director of health and adult services, said at a press briefing today:

“Our advice still applies as of today but we are promised further government guidance on what will happen with care home visits tomorrow.

“I am assuming there will be restrictions on care home visits. As it stands we are just trying to support families and residents and care home providers.”

Judy Bass, a Harrogate resident, used to see her 99-year-old father with dementia in a care home every day before the first coronavirus lockdown.

Today will be the first time since March that she will be able to see him for a ‘door visit’ after a ‘window visit’ three weeks ago.

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She will wear full PPE to stand at the door of her father’s room. Ms Bass feels the stop-start nature of visiting will confuse her dad:

“I do not want to say that it is all bad because I am actually seeing my dad tonight for the first time in months. The communication has just been poor.

“It seemed that all of a sudden we were allowed to visit care homes and there has been a big rush this week to cram the visits in. But now we have no idea what will happen.”

Harrogate district to get local test and trace system

The Harrogate district will be part of a local test and trace system operating in North Yorkshire from next week.

It comes amid reports the current national programme for test and trace is only managing to reach about 60% of those who have come into close contact with a positive case.

Dr Victoria Turner, a public health consultant for North Yorkshire County Council, revealed the news this morning at a briefing by North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of organisations that responds to emergencies. She said:

“This follows the national trend where most councils now are moving to a local component of contact tracing. These obviously started in the areas of greatest concern, those that were in tier three.

“From Monday we will do contact tracing. Public Health England will start to hand over cases for us to follow-up from tomorrow. It’s been quite a fast turnaround on that.”

If the national test and trace system is unable to reach someone they will hand the case to the local team.

Calls will be carried out by trained staff at North Yorkshire County Council’s headquarters in Northallerton seven days a week.

Dr Turner expects more people will engage with tracing if calls are made from a local number.

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The local call centre will also be able to signpost people to local support groups.

Richard Flinton, chief executive officer at North Yorkshire County Council, called on the community to pull together ahead of tomorrow’s lockdown:

“We have got to positively embrace the national lockdown. I do understand it will have a knock-on effect for businesses and also for people.

“That’s why we need to make sure that we look out for each other and think about those who we live near to. If we work together we can keep this lockdown limited and get to those benefits on the other side.”

Coronavirus in numbers

The briefing revealed there are currently 15 coronavirus patients at Harrogate District Hospital — down one from last week.

The full-time testing site in Harrogate is testing about 150 people a day, which is about half of its full capacity.

The Harrogate district currently has a seven-day average infection rate of 252 cases per 100,000 people — higher than the national average of 225.

Green groups in Harrogate unite to push for radical change

Green groups in Harrogate have joined forces to increase the pressure on Harrogate Borough Council to tackle climate change.

Harrogate District Climate Action Network represents more than 4,000 residents from 13 groups, including Extinction Rebellion Harrogate, Long Lands Common, the Pinewoods Conservation Group and Zero Carbon Harrogate.

The group is separate to the Harrogate District Climate Coalition, which the council set up at the beginning of the year to bring together councillors as well as green groups and local businesses.

The coalition has been criticised by campaigners for being little more than a talking shop.

The new network has said it will campaign for swift and radical change.

In an open letter to HBC council leader Richard Cooper and cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, Phil Ireland, the network calls for a “step-change in the ambitions and speed of activity” at HBC regarding the climate.

The letter says the network appreciates the council setting up the coalition and developing internal change plans but adds:

“However, the network is very concerned about the limited progress made so far.

“We believe there needs to be a step-change in the ambitions and speed of activity, one which reflects the growing and alarming body of scientific evidence and the urgency needed to mitigate and adapt to climate breakdown.”

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Responding to the open letter, Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability said the council had made “good progress” on its climate targets, which are set out in the authority’s Carbon Reduction Strategy.

He said:

“Responding to the climate crisis facing us all is not just an issue for the council.

“It’s an issue for every resident and business across the district. That’s why we created a climate coalition, so we have the right organisations around the same table to jointly tackle climate change together.

“When compared to councils of our size, and with the resources available to us, we have made good progress so far against an ambitious action plan.

“We had already agreed to meet the group before it issued its news release although a convenient date has had to be agreed.”

A full list of HD-CAN members is below:

Extinction Rebellion Harrogate

Harrogate District Friends of the Earth

Harrogate Cycle Action Group

Harrogate & District Green Party

Knaresborough SPARKS

Long Lands Common

Love Sustainable Knaresborough

Nidd Gorge Community Action

Nidderdale Climate and Environment Group

Pinewoods Conservation Group

Sustainably Harrogate

United Nations Association Harrogate

Zero Carbon Harrogate

Harrogate district businesses urged to give leftover food to needy

Shops and restaurants in the Harrogate district that will close this week due to lockdown are being urged to donate their leftover food to needy people.

Resurrected Bites, a not-for-profit group that aims to fill bellies not bins, provided weekly food parcels for 1,350 people in October.

It now hopes to generate enough donations to help vulnerable people during the second lockdown, which starts on Thursday.

Knaresborough businesses Mother Shipton’s Cave and Scarlett’s Vintage Tea Rooms have already donated food.

Michelle Hayes, director of Resurrected Bites, told the Stray Ferret:

“The vulnerable people we have helped already have called us a life-saver. Businesses will be sad that they have to close but they are happy to help.

“At the moment we have around 180 people on our system that we help. Many were worried about the end of furlough so are happy that it will continue for a month.”

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When the March lockdown started, Resurrected Bites closed its cafes at St Mark’s Church in Harrogate and Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough and instead delivered food to those in need.

While it is still delivering food to those in need, its cafes will remain closed. The charity expects its cafes will remain closed until Easter next year.

Businesses wanting to help can email Ms Hayes by clicking or tapping here.

Harrogate spring flower show set to go ahead in 2021

The organisers of the Harrogate Flower Shows have said the spring event will go ahead in April but with visitor numbers reduced by two thirds.

The spring show usually attracts 60,000 visitors over four days and provides a major boost to the district’s hotels, bars and restaurants.

However, numbers will be limited to 5,000 people a day over the four days, which means the event will only attract about a third of its usual footfall.

The North of England Horticultural Society usually stages spring and autumn flower shows at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate but this year’s autumn event was cancelled.

But it has introduced measures that it says will adapt the spring show to covid-safe guidelines.

This means visitor numbers have been limited and all tickets have to be bought online in advance.

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A spokesperson for the North of England Horticultural Society, said the many acres of space at the showground meant the event could be adapted to meet covid requirements. The spokesperson added:

“If the situation improves in the New Year, as many top advisers have indicated they expect, then we can adapt again to take advantage of any improvements.”

Visitors will be allowed to attend in two timed sessions each day.

The event is due to take place from April 22 to April 25.

The society said it was aware government policies may change, forcing the event to be cancelled, and that it would work with partners to adapt to any changes.

The pring event — called Spring Essentials — will showcase gardens and nurseries and include live theatre.