This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is to raise £30,000 for a much-needed minibus for Dementia Forward in the Harrogate district. 

The appeal is kindly sponsored by Vida Healthcare.

Please give generously to support local people and their families living with dementia. Let’s not forget who needs our help this Christmas.

Today, Flora spoke to someone on the helpline team.

Hundreds of families in the Harrogate district are losing their loved ones to dementia every day and now, more than ever, specialist support services are needed.

Today, Keith Townson tells us about swapping his working life in Qatar for a role on the Dementia Forward helpline.

“I was working as a mechanical engineer in Qatar.

“The maximum working age there is 60, so when I reached that, we moved back to Burton Leonard and I took on the role as chairman of the parish council.”

It was then that Keith spotted George Armitage House, Dementia Forward’s flagship hub in the village, and realised he wanted to give something back in his retirement.

He was offered a position as a volunteer bus driver in 2016 and spent five happy years transporting people across the county.

The minibus allows people to access vital care that they may not otherwise be able to access, and helps to combat loneliness those living with dementia may feel. It is also used to take people on day trips out and to social events, like going to the beach, to art galleries or even just to a café for a cup of tea.

Keith added:

“I loved driving the bus so much – it’s so lovely when clients are singing.

“What better thing can you do than help people?”

Two years ago, Keith was offered a position on the helpline.

“I actually originally suggested my son apply for the role – since he was out of work at the time – but after he was offered a job, Dementia Forward offered it to me.”

The helpline is the first point of contact for those with dementia-related enquiries.

The advisers help anyone in need — including family members, clients and medical practitioners — whether it’s providing emotional guidance to people losing their loved ones, or support on how to find dementia care.

It covers the whole of North Yorkshire and refers people to dementia experts in their local area or district.

Keith said:

“No two days are the same. You can receive some pretty horrible calls relating to very sad situations.

“But then there are some really lovely ones too — it’s a real mixture of emotions.

“The most common call is from a family member or loved one that has just received the devastating diagnosis and is looking for the next step.

“That’s what we’re here to give them.”

Dementia Forward’s flagship hub, George Armitage House

The helpline is one of many amazing services on offer for those living with this life changing disease, as well as their loved ones. Keith added:

“The helpline is a reason to get out of bed in the morning and come to work – it’s the best feeling I’ve had from a job.

“It can be heart-breaking though. No two people with dementia are the same, and I’ve learnt there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel…that it doesn’t get better.”

Dementia Forward helps hundreds of families across the Harrogate district every day. The charity eases the pain as much as it can – but it can only do so with the help of charitable donations.

Every donation to our campaign will go directly to Dementia Forward, helping us hit our £30,000 target to buy the charity a new minibus and bettering the lives of those living with dementia and the people around them.

Dementia Forward’s current bus is old and tired and urgently needs to be replaced. The charity would seriously struggle to afford a new one, which is why they need your help to keep this vital service going. Without it, many people living with dementia wouldn’t be able to access the help and support they need.

Click here to donate whatever you can – you never know when you, your family or your friend may be in need of Dementia Forward’s help too.

Thank you.

The NHS found 1 in 11 people over the age of 65 are living with dementia in the UK. For those who need urgent help or have a dementia-related enquiry, call 0330 057 8592 to speak to a helpline adviser.

An MP whose constituency includes parts of the Harrogate district received free tickets and hospitality to the FIFA World Cup from the Qatar government.

The latest MPs’ register of financial interests reveals Conservative Nigel Adams received match tickets, flights and accommodation for the World Cup valued at £2,880.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes southern parts of the district including Spofforth and Follifoot, was part of a parliamentary delegation attending the World Cup from November 29 to December 1.

He attended a dinner with UK and Welsh government ministers hosted by the British Embassy to mark the participation of England and Wales in the tournament.

England played Wales on November 29 although Mr Adams’ entry on the register of interests does not specify which match he attended.

Read more:

• Harrogate district MP Nigel Adams to step down at next election
• Local MP accepted £6,000 worth of free Euro 2020 tickets

Mr Adams, a former Cabinet Office minister who will step down as an MP at the next general election, declared the trip in accordance with parliamentary rules.

Eighteen months ago, he received £6,000 worth of free hospitality tickets to three England Euro 2020 matches at Wembley Stadium

Human rights 

The Qatar government was criticised for its human rights record during the World Cup.

Asked by the Stray Ferret about Mr Adams’ trip, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said:

“It would be deeply worrying if any MP accepting hospitality from a foreign government were to feel compromised when it came to raising human rights issues.

“As we saw with the debate around the World Cup, the Qatari authorities sought to downplay some of the very serious human right issues in the country and it’s entirely likely they saw these trips as a means to win over MPs.

“Amid Qatar’s unprecedented World Cup building boom, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were systematically exploited, and the tournament took place in a country where LGBTQ+ people run the risk of arrest and imprisonment, and where freedom of speech and women’s rights are unacceptably curtailed.”

Mr Deshmukh added:

“There is obviously an important place for parliamentary fact-finding trips, including as a means of raising human rights issues through private channels, but MPs receiving expenses from any government should ask themselves what might be expected of them in return.

“MPs’ own constituents and the wider public will expect politicians to continue to raise important human rights issues without fear or favour, regardless of whether they’ve been the recipient of a paid trip to Doha or anywhere else.”

The Stray Ferret has contacted Mr Adams about the trip but has not had a response.

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In February, war broke out in Ukraine and all legal restrictions for covid were lifted after almost two years.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, Mr Jones:

• Writing on his local “news” website, Community News, on February 1, Mr Jones commented on the release of the Sue Gray Downing Street parties report. He said he was “disappointed” the full report would not be published until after the police investigation but called the alleged events at Downing Street a “sorry state of affairs.”
• On February 15, the MP posed for a photo with Copgrove-based Abacus Manufacturing owner Ian Pattison. The pair discussed how the business had coped during covid and its expansion plans.
• The MP is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure. On February 23 he posed for a photo with chancellor Rishi Sunak and leading figures from the civil engineering industry.
• At PMQs on the same day, Mr Jones asked the prime minister if the NHS would review the system for identifying people most vulnerable to covid, as he said some are at risk of being missed.
• The MP defended Harrogate District Hospital after the Local Democracy Service revealed 800 patients were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested for covid. Mr Jones said :“This must have been extremely difficult for them particularly in the early days of the pandemic when the world was fighting against something new.”

Read more:

• New gritter tracker shows which roads in Harrogate district are being treated

• Harrogate council ranks in lowest 15% of local authorities for tackling climate change

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• The MP was uncharacteristically outspoken on Twitter during February. On February 1 he criticised prime minister Boris Johnson for suggesting labour leader Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile while he was Director of Public Prosecutions. He wrote: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can’t just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.”
• After Keir Starmer was harassed outside Parliament a week later, Mr Smith again called for the PM to withdraw the “false slur” about Jimmy Savile.
• In a tweet on February 26, he urged the UK government to “make an immediate open, welcoming and warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine. Rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”
• On February 9, Children from Masham C of E Primary School visited Mr Smith in Parliament. He tweeted that he was envious of their Happy Meal at the end of the day.
• The MP criticised fellow Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg who suggested civil servants do not make British life better. Mr Smith replied “Have to disagree. Massive thanks to all local, devolved & central gov civil servants.”

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• The MP said on February 1 he was “delighted’ that North Yorkshire would become an Education Investment Area. Ministers plan to offer retention payments in those areas to keep the best teachers and prioritise them for new specialist sixth form free schools.
• On Twitter, the MP praised his boss Boris Johnson for hiring the “fabulous” ex-BBC and GB News journalist Guto Harri as his new director of communications.
• On February 16, the MP visited Qatar for a trip to help drum up trade to the UK.
• Mr Adams’ constituency includes Tadcaster, just outside the Harrogate district, which was hit by floods in February. He told ITV the Environment Agency needs to ‘get their fingers out’ and invest in flood defences for the town.