Harrogate’s first Polish Heritage Day to be held tomorrow

Harrogate is to hold its first Polish Heritage Day tomorrow.

The free event, which is open to everyone, aims to encourage people from different backgrounds to integrate.

It will take place at Harrogate High School from 10am to 2pm, beginning with a Poland vs England football match.

There will also be children’s activities, food, music and numerous stalls.

Aleksandra Timberlake, a teacher at the Polish Saturday School based in Harrogate High School, said this would be the first major Polish event in Harrogate, although smaller events have taken place previously.

Ms Timberlake said:

“The event is for everyone, not just for Polish-speaking people. We would love people in Harrogate to realise how big the Polish community is in this town.

“Our aim is to make sure we all integrate in a community spirit, no matter our national background.

“We want to show that we can all live together and we all can learn something from each other.”

The Polish school meets every other Saturday

There will be violinists, guitarists and pianists as well as singers, along with Polish folk dance, a health check corner and classic cars, including the iconic Fiat 126p — a symbol of communist era Poland.

Polish-born Ms Timberlake, who has lived in Harrogate for about 15 years, said there are four Polish shops in Harrogate and some 60 students.

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‘Crazy Russian’ found guilty of murder at Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove

A man nicknamed the ‘crazy Russian’ has been found guilty of brutally murdering Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove, Harrogate in December last year.

After two days of deliberation, the jury at Leeds Crown Court found Vitalijus Koreiva guilty by a majority verdict of 11-1.

Polish national Jaroslaw Rutowicz was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a majority of 11-1. Judge Rodney Jameson QC told him he will also receive a “substantial custodial sentence”.

Mr Balciauskas, from Lithuania, was just 41 years old when he was killed.

Body wrapped in a rug

The trial began last month with the court hearing how Mr Balciauskas’s body was found wrapped in a rug after a lengthy drinking binge involving the three friends turned violent.

CCTV footage was shown of the men leaving the flat to buy more alcohol on several occasions in the hours leading to the murder.

Rutowicz told the court how Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, erupted during a drunken game of chess with Mr Balciauskas at 5am, which led to Koreiva punching and then kicking him.

Read more on the trial:

Harrowing video footage taken on Rutowicz’s phone of a bloodied and bruised Mr Balciauskas was shown in court. The clips showed him being kicked by Koreiva whilst he was laying defenceless on the floor pleading for help.

In one of the videos, Rutowicz was heard shouting at Mr Balciauskas in Polish, “Why the f*** did you send us there? Now you look like this”.

‘The crazy Russian’

During the trial, Rutowicz said he had been threatened by Koreiva with his life if he called 999 after Mr Balciauskas died. He said Koreiva’s nickname in Harrogate was the “crazy Russian” and he had an unpredictable character.

However, prosecuting barrister Peter Moulson QC poured scorn on his claim and accused Rutowicz of lying.

Last week, Koreiva pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court he had been an alcoholic since he was 13. He argued he was not in control of his actions on the night Mr Balciauskas died, which the jury ultimately rejected.

Mr Balciauskas died of internal bleeding after being kicked in the spleen. The prosecution told the jury he could have been saved if either man had called an ambulance sooner.

Instead, the pair carried on their drinking session.

Koreiva and Rutowicz will be sentenced next month.

Harrogate man ‘out of his mind’ on alcohol admits attacking friend

Vitalijus Koreiva has admitted punching and kicking Gracijus Balciauskas during a drunken argument but that he was “out of his mind” on alcohol during the weekend he died.

Mr Koreiva, 36, and Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, are accused of murdering Mr Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate on December 20 last year.

Yesterday afternoon and today at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Koreiva was cross-examined by defence barrister Simon Kealey QC and prosecuting barrister Peter Moulson QC.

The court heard how Mr Koreiva, who is Lithuanian, had abused alcohol since he was 13 and there were periods during his life when he was drinking a litre of vodka a day or “until I get knocked out”.

He moved to Harrogate in 2017 to move in with his sister in a failed attempt to get sober and had previously been in prison in Germany for drug offences.

Mr Koreiva said he was working at the Morrison’s factory in Flaxby packing onions and carrots and had developed a friendship with both Mr Rutowicz and Mr Balciauskas whilst living in Harrogate.

Read previous articles on the trial below:

Game of chess

Mr Koreiva disputed Mr Rutowicz previous claim that the argument took place over a game of chess but said he could not remember how it began.

The court heard how on in the early hours of December 20, Mr Koreiva erupted after Mr Balciauskas told him to “go f*** himself”.

Mr Koreiva then said he raised his fists in aggression and punched Mr Balciauskas four times in the face.

A video was again shown in court, taken on Mr Rutowicz’s phone, that showed Mr Koreiva kicking him whilst Mr Balciauskas was laying bloody on the floor and semi-conscious.

When asked why he kicked a defenceless man, Mr Koreiva said:

“I was in such a state I didn’t know what I was thinking or doing.”

He then said he “did not remember” what happened after he kicked Mr Balciauskas.

‘I was in shock’

After several hours passed without either man calling an ambulance, Mr Rutowicz felt his pulse and told Mr Koreiva that he was dead. Mr Koreiva said he attempted CPR to try and save him.

“I had two hands on his chest and I was doing CPR. I saw the blood in his mouth at that moment Rutowicz said, ‘It’s too late, leave it, leave it.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. It was unexpected really.”

Mr Koreiva then said the pair had a drink of alcohol together “to give our last respect for Gracijus, a drink for our friend.”

Speaking about the assault on Mr Balciauskas, he added:

“If I was sober it would never have happened. I was out of control.”

‘Out of our minds’

Mr Koreiva also admitted to putting Mr Balciauskas’s dead body in a rug after he died. He said both himself and Mr Rutowicz were “absolutely out of our minds and in madness”.

He added:

“We didn’t know what we were doing. You can’t imagine me and Rutowicz carrying a dead body through Harrogate town centre? It was a situation when you are drunk, lost and don’t know to do.”

During cross-examination, Mr Rutowicz claimed that Mr Koreiva threatened him with his life he called 999, which he denied.

He said:

“He is trying to get out of prison. I wasn’t holding him or threatening him. He was free to go. He’s lying. He’s a good actor.”

Police interview

In Mr Koreiva’s original statement given in the days after the incident took place, he told police that he saw Mr Rutowicz strike Mr Balciauskas twice.

However, in court, he admitted this was not true and he initially tried to “create another version” of events because he feared Rutowitc would pin the murder on him.

Mr Koreiva confirmed that he did not see Mr Rutowicz be violent towards Mr Balciauskas on the night that he died.

He told the court, “I’m taking my responsibility for the death of Gracijus” who he called a “good man”.

Mr Koreiva added:

“I want to apologise to Gracijus’ family for everything that happened. He did nothing wrong and he didn’t deserve this”.

The trial will continue tomorrow.

Harrogate man gives garden a Ukraine-themed makeover

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has given his landmark garden a Ukraine-themed makeover to raise money for the Disaster Emergency Fund.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace for over 15 years and likes to decorate his garden with different themes.

When the Stray Ferret visited last summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden to raise money for Mind.

For winter, he created a ‘Toytropolis’ with toys to make children and their parents smile.

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This time he wants to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and also pay tribute to Poland for housing two million refugees.

During the 1990s, Mr Ivison was the manager of LGBT magazine, Now UK, and he is also displaying photos he took of celebrities including Graham Norton, Lily Savage and Ian McKellen.

The garden is open to visitors seven days a week and all of the toys are for sale. It’s been sponsored by the sweets supplier Maltese Connections. Some pictures are below:

To donate to his fundraiser visit here.

 

Harry Kane’s World Cup shirt auction to fund community groceries

Harry Kane has donated his signed shirt from the England v Poland World Cup qualifier to Resurrected Bites for an auction to raise money for a community grocery project.

The Tottenham striker and England captain scored in the fixture which ended 1-1 on September 8.

Kane’s shirt was signed by all of the players and also comes with a letter of authenticity.

Resurrected Bites usually takes in surplus food but this special donation was thanks to the team’s relationship with Gareth Southgate’s assistant manager Steve Holland.

Michelle Hayes, the founder of Resurrected Bites, said:

“Steve is the nephew of my step-dad Tony. Tony is one of our volunteers and washes up at one of the Resurrected Bites cafés every week.

“When he told Steve about Resurrected Bites, Steve offered to help us with our fundraising. We were over the moon to receive Harry Kane’s shirt which has been signed by all of the England players.

“We think this shirt could really make an exceptional Christmas present for someone. That is in addition to raising much needed funds for our organisation.”

Read more:

The auction is being held on the Resurrected Bites Facebook page, where people are invited to share their bids by commenting below the post.

Bidding will end at 8pm on Sunday, November 7. The auction started off at £100 and has already reached £340.

Steve Holland with Gareth Southgate.

All of the money raised will go towards the community grocery project.

Resurrected Bites set up its first grocery at New Park Academy Community Hub but plans to open a second in Knaresborough in December.

At the community grocery people pay £5 a year to sign up as members. They are then entitled to pay £3, £5 or £9 depending on the size of their family, for items that would typically cost £30.

It stocks a wide range of tinned, fresh food and frozen food as well as toiletries, sanitary products and nappies in various sizes.