Harrogate bar hosts sober night out for Dry January

North Bar in Harrogate is hosting a sober night out to promote Dry January.

The event will be hosted by North Yorkshire Connected Spaces, which was launched in September last year to provide support for the recovery community in North Yorkshire.

The 80s and 90s themed night is also supported by North Yorkshire Council and the Drink Drug Hub, which provides safety information about drink and drugs.

A spokesperson for NYCS said they “join together people and groups from all walks of life, meeting the needs for a stronger community, well-being, recovery from addiction and other harmful issues”. They added:

“Our aim is to get out in the community and run events so we can offer support for individuals involved with social issues connected with addiction. This includes homelessness, domestic violence, trauma, mental health, social care and probation.”

The group is working with the NYC public health team to tackle the harms associated with alcohol use.

NYCS said:

‘’North Yorkshire, connected spaces have been working with North Yorkshire Council on supporting their dry January campaign. As part of the campaign NYCS have organised the sober night out social event for people who are completing the month off booze.

“Dry January is a great opportunity for people to reflect on their relationship with alcohol.”

The event will be a “good chance to socialise with friends, have a boogie and meet new people – just without alcohol”.

North Bar will have  DJ for the night playing 80s and 90s hits in the function room and said the event will have the capacity to hold 45 people. Dress up is optional and anyone can buy food from Pizza Social next door and bring it into the venue.

The event takes place on January 19 from 7pm

Dry January facts:

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Prolific Harrogate burglar jailed for three raids including at restaurant and bar

A career burglar and “persistent thief” has been jailed for two years for a series of raids, while he was on a suspended sentence, for breaking into Harrogate hair salons.

Anthony Fraser, 38, targeted three premises including a bar and a restaurant in Harrogate town centre just three months after receiving a suspended prison sentence for raiding two hairdressers, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said that on April 26 the “recidivist” burglar raided North Bar in Cheltenham Parade after using a crate to smash a glass door. He then stole £500 of items including £198 of alcohol.

About a month later, he targeted a property under renovation at Princess Square after scaling the rear brick wall. He tried to force the door open but was unsuccessful and ran off.

On August 7, he stole more than £500 from a safe at the Estabulo restaurant on Albert Street after breaking in through a rear fire door. CCTV captured him looking around the office for a key to the safe before stealing the contents and riding off on a pushbike.

Fraser, of Swan Road, Harrogate, admitted two counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary with intent to steal. All three offences were in breach of his eight-month suspended prison sentence for three burglaries committed in January.

In those raids, Fraser stole thousands of pounds’ worth of products from the Hart & Hart hair salon and Nathan Cosgrove Barbers, both on Commercial Street, on the same weekend.

CCTV showed him smashing a window at Hart & Hart in the early hours of the morning, evidently with a brick. He then left but returned a few hours later and reached in through the smashed window to steal hair straighteners worth over £300.

He left the Nathan Cosgrove salon a “mess” after ransacking the place and stole about 30 items worth £6,851. He also took the till.

The following day, police raided a “drug den” in Mayfield Grove, Harrogate, where they found Fraser and a suitcase containing a “large amount of barbering equipment”.

Fraser had over 30 previous convictions for 50 offences, the majority for theft and kindred, dating back more than 20 years.

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He appeared for sentence for the new offences via video link yesterday after being remanded in custody.

Addicted to Benzodiazepine

Defence barrister Danielle Gilmour conceded that Fraser, a drug addict, was an inveterate burglar who “goes around looking for (opportunities) to burgle”.

She said that Fraser, who had been living in a hostel in Harrogate after being spared prison in March, was addicted to the prescription drug Benzodiazepine.

Recorder Dafydd Enoch KC branded Fraser a “recidivist burglar” with an “appalling” record.

“You have a very long history of burglary and other dishonesty offences,” added Mr Enoch.

“Most, if not all of it, is born out of a long-standing drug problem.”

He criticised Fraser for targeting yet more premises in Harrogate just three months after receiving the suspended sentence, including a “small business” from which he stole £500 cash.

Fraser was jailed for two years, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Boozy Tour of Harrogate to launch next month

The man behind the Free Walking Tour of Harrogate has launched a Boozy Tour in which people can enjoy alcohol whilst taking in the town’s history.

Harry Satloka grew up living in pubs with his landlord parents and said he had always been fascinated by their history, as well as by alcohol.

Over the past year, he has researched all types of alcohol including beer, champagne and gin to create a Boozy Tour which will take participants to four different venues for tastings.

The tour begins at the Old Bell where people will be offered three different beers and canapes. It then moves to Hales Bar where people will get the chance to taste champagne before heading to the Yorkshire Hotel for a gin tasting experience in the rooftop Sky Bar. Finally, they will go to North Bar for cocktails and charcuterie.

At each venue, Mr Satloka will tell the history of each type of alcohol as well as the venue. He said:

“It’s definitely not a booze cruise, it’s more of a cultural education experience with the benefit of getting a little tipsy.”

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The tour, which costs £55 per person, takes about three hours, with 45 minutes scheduled at each bar.

The tours begin at the Old Bell at 6.30pm on Friday and Saturday from April 15. Each tour can only take eight people so booking is essential.

WATCH: Harrogate basks in the sun as shopping and dining returns

Harrogate basked in the sun today as outdoor dining and shopping returned.

From today non-essential shops, hair and beauty salons, gyms and spas have been allowed to open.

It was a day many people had long looked forward to and it did not disappoint, with lots of people flocking to the town centre and some describing it as “absolutely glorious”.

The Stray Ferret went to North Bar, West Park Hotel and the high street to see how people were feeling about the big day.

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Harrogate venues warn of dire consequences of tier two

Some of Harrogate’s most popular venues have spoken of their concerns for the future of their staff and businesses if North Yorkshire moves to tier two.

North Yorkshire County Council warned yesterday the county could move from tier one to tier two by the end of the week amid rising covid infection rates.

Martin Greenhow, managing director of the Mojo group, said covid restrictions had already been “catastrophic” for the hospitality sector. He added:

“Moving through the tiers is like squeezing hard on the trigger of the executioner’s gun.

“We’ve already seen a reduction in trade of about 70% between pre-covid levels and the introduction of the curfew. Moving into tier two we’re expecting an 80% drop-off in trade, going by other sites’ progress.” 

North Bar in Harrogate is also concerned about the likely impact. Assistant manager Jessica Parkinson said:

“We’re worried for the staff, what it means for them, as we’ve already had to cut hours and seen less footfall, which is very sad.” 

However, Simon Cotton, managing director of the HRH Group, whose properties include the Fat Badger, the White Hart Hotel and the Yorkshire Hotel, said the main difference between tier one and tier two for venues was policing. He added:

“Do you look at groups of people and assume that they’re not a family or one household when they actually might be? There are lots of exceptions to the rule, such as meetings. For work reasons you’re exempt, so the rules are open to abuse so easily.

“Staff can politely ask the question but can’t be expected to strictly enforce this as we’re not the police.

“It does rely on the public doing what they should in terms of the government guidelines. It is not up to hospitality to police this.”

“We want to get it right” – district pubs delay reopening

A number of pubs in Harrogate and Knaresborough have taken the decision to not open their doors on Saturday, despite being given the green light to reopen.

This decision comes as many pub owners argue that it is too soon to reopen. They would rather “watch what everyone else does” this weekend. Many pubs said they were too small to open or not financially stable enough.

Blind Jacks in Knaresborough is one pub which has taken the decision not to open on Super Saturday. Owners Christian and Alice Ogley told The Stray Ferret that they do not want to rush into anything.

They said:

“We have ever precaution in place in order to keep it as safe as possible, but we have one chance to get this right from the beginning. We want to make sure we are completely ready.”

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North Bar in Harrogate has been running a pop-up beer shop during lockdown but realised that reopening fully on 4 July was going to be a difficult task.

Outside North Bar

North Bar in Harrogate

Debra Przychodna, general manager of North Bar told The Stray Ferret:

“We decided to delay our reopening because we want to avoid risk, people are going to get very excited this weekend. We have had so much support from customers and we are really looking forward to when we can finally reopen.”

Similarly Hales Bar on Crescent Road in Harrogate has taken the decision not to open due to the size and layout of the bar. Manager Amanda Wilkson hopes to reopen next weekend but only from Thursday to Sunday.