It’s in the nature of news that a lot of the stories we read are, well, not very uplifting – robberies, redundancies and road accidents are not exactly mood-enhancers. 

But there is another, lighter side to the news, so as we turn our backs on the last 12 months, we thought we’d take one last look at some of the funnier stories that raised a smile in 2023. 

The horse that wasn’t a horse 

Back in January, firefighters were called to rescue a horse from floodwaters near Ripon, only to discover it was a metal sculpture. 

Group manager Bob Hoskins, who works for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, tweeted: 

“An officer trotted off to check out the situation and discovered a statue of a horse in the middle of the field. 

“There was ‘neigh’ further assistance required on this occasion.” 

The silhouette sculpture of a war-weary soldier and his horse was placed in the field in 2018 as part of a programme of events and commemorations to mark the centenary of the Great War.

The bossy steps 

In April, a set of steps at Harrogate railway station came to national attention when All Creatures Great and Small star Samuel West tweeted that he felt “slightly harassed” by it. 

The steps feature various injunctions, such as “Watch your step”, “Keep the left”, and “Don’t use mobile phones on stairs”, leading one X (formerly Twitter) user to call them a “seriously bossy set of steps”. 

Several said they would be too worried about tripping to read all the messages. 

A spokesperson for rail operator Northern said: 

“We carry out regular inspections of the stations across our network and we’ll certainly take this into consideration.” 

The £2,000 cowpat 

In May, a fresh cowpat helped Masham woman Kathryn Driver hit paydirt. 

Kathryn scooped £2,000 when she won Masham Community Office’s Cow Pat Competition, which was the surprise hit of the town’s coronation bank holiday celebrations. 

The competition saw four cows (see main image), named for the occasion Storm Pooper, Harry Plopper, Poo Patrol and Daisy Dung, let out to roam around a fenced-off piece of land. 

The land had been divided into squares, and tickets sold in advance at £1 per square. The winner would be whoever held the ticket corresponding to the square the first cowpat landed on. 

Hundreds of people turned out to watch, and after nearly an hour’s wait it was Storm Pooper who produced the goods on Kathryn’s square. She said:  

“I can’t believe it! It’s amazing. My mum got the ticket for me, so I’m going to use the money to pay for a holiday and take my mum away.” 

The event raised £5,000, which went towards the purchase of Masham Community Office’s building, The Old Police Station, retaining it as a community hub. 

Hayley Jackson, community office manager, said:  

“Who would have thought cowpats would bring the community together like this?” 

Have we got nudes for you 

More than 80 people shed their clothes in July to take part in the first ever naked walk around the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, near Masham. 

The two-kilometre hike for over-18s was one of a series of fundraising Naked Heart Walks organised over the summer by British Naturism, which promotes naturism. 

The walks at stately homes and gardens were advertised as opportunities to let people “feel the breeze on your skin as you raise money for the British Heart Foundation”. 

Sasha Jackson-Brown, estate and operations manager at the Himalayan garden, said the venue’s remote location made it suitable and the event attracted a good turnout, even though “the weather could have been a bit warmer for them”. 

The cow in the park 

In August, people enjoying the sunny weather in the Valley Gardens in Harrogate were shocked to see a loose cow casually ambling towards the Magnesia Well Tea Room. 

Dog-walker Lucy Emma Renshaw-Martin told the Stray Ferret she had no idea how the cow, which appeared to be a Holstein or Friesian, ended up in the park, which is nowhere near any fields. 

That mystery was not solved by a statement issued later by North Yorkshire Police, which simply said that “the cow was reunited with its owner”. 

However, Harrogate Writers’ Circle member Carole Keegan came up with a wordier response, penning a poem to mark the event.

The sleepless celebrity 

TV personality Gyles Brandreth took to Twitter (now X) after enduring a sleepless night on a tilting bed in Harrogate. 

The author and raconteur was appearing in September at the Royal Hall for his one-man show Gyles Brandreth Can’t Stop Talking. 

At 7am the next morning, he tweeted: 

“The view from right here right now… very little sleep on a bed that tilted to the left so that I had to cling on all night. The hotel is in King’s Road but has no number so in the dark we couldn’t find it. Taxi couldn’t find it either. Eventually we did. Rather wish we hadn’t.” 

The bed was so bad, he even tried to book into a different hotel in the dead of night, only to find it was full. 

Mr Brandreth declined to name and shame the establishment to his 208,000 followers. 

After his show, he hailed the “warm and wonderful audience” and said it was “a privilege to be on the stage that both Ken Dodd & Marlene Dietrich once appeared on. Not together. (Though wouldn’t that have been glorious?)”. 

Gyles Brandreth at The Ivy in Harrogate – before his sleepless night.

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A large horse sculpture has been delivered to the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The art work is made out of more than 600 welded horseshoes, collected from across Yorkshire.

The 750-kilogram piece is named ‘Os II’ after the Yorkshire slang word for horse and was craned into position outside the Yorkshire Event Centre today.

Its creator, Ollie Holman is a thirty-one-year-old artist from North Yorkshire, who has been welding since he was a teenager.

‘Os II’ will be displayed next to the Yorkshire Show’s art show from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 14 along with some of Ollie’s other sculptures.

The sculptor cannot wait to see his work displayed at the event and said:

“I hope it stops people in their tracks and creates a big crowd around it. It will be nice to see people’s reactions,”

“The driving force behind this one was to improve myself as an artist and really capture the raw physical power of the horse in more detail. I layered up the horseshoes to give it that sense of power.

Ollie has made many horse sculptures, including another 12-foot piece which was sold to Cheltenham Race Course, but he is especially proud of his latest creation, which took five years to make.

Charles Mills, Director of the Great Yorkshire Show added:

“Ollie’s sculpture is a true epic that I have no doubt will turn heads at the Great Yorkshire Show.

“We are proud of the high-quality equestrian classes we have at the Show each year, so this is a very fitting sculpture to have in such a prominent position on the Showground.”

Read more 

• Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show set for sell-out
• Royal visitor to Great Yorkshire Show revealed
• Poet Laureate unveils poem carved into stones at Brimham Rocks

This week’s photograph was taken by Alison Sturdy, capturing the New Zealand Pikorua sculpture in the Valley Gardens.

Alison Sturdy

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

A new sculpture has been completed at the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park near Ripon.

Yorkshire chainsaw sculptor Karl Barker spent three days carving out the model, which was made from a felled Hungarian oak tree.

The tree, which stood at 9ft tall, was felled for safety reasons last year.

In its place, the Himalayan garden team commissioned Mr Barker to create a new sculpture ahead of its reopening on Tuesday, April 4.

He came up with the idea to create a ‘hungry owl seat’.

Mr Barker said:

“As a chainsaw carver based in the heart of North Yorkshire I make a range of bespoke, wooden chainsaw sculptures each one filled with character and charisma. 

“I offer a stump carving service and am delighted to have created the hungry owl seat, transforming what was left of the Hungarian Oak Tree into something visitors can interact with for years to come.”

Will Roberts, owner of the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, said:

“We are delighted with the beautiful piece Karl has created for us. At the start of his three days beavering away with his many chainsaws we really didn’t know what was going to emerge from the stump.

“We really think visitors are going to love the new owl seat and wonder who is going to be the first to sit in it.”

Read more:

• Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards
• Display of 1,300 clay poppies takes over Himalayan Gardens

A historic luxury car and bronze horse sculpture are set to be auctioned later this month.

Ripon based auction house Elstob & Elstob is set to auction off a classic Ferrari and a 105cm bronze horse sculpture.

The Ferrari F355 GTS, one of the most sought-after cars of all time, will be sold at auction on November 25. The bronze horse sculpture by Sally Arnup will follow on November 30.

The exotic car is a 1995 model of the Ferrari F355 GTS in a red livery.

The model is well preserved with a black leather interior. It has racked up only 40,390 miles from three previous owners since its release in 1994.

The car is expected to sell for between £40,000 and £60,000.

The auctioneer, David Elstob, said:

“However revolutionary it was at the time, the F355 is now considered the last of the ‘old school’ Ferraris before the introduction of the 360 and, as such, is greatly revered by collectors and motoring enthusiasts alike.

“Its popularity has been further sealed by the classic Ferrari wedge-shaped styling and iconic pop-up headlights. It is a truly beautiful machine and a nostalgic icon of its time.”

Also in the auction taking place on November 25 is a 2011 BMW 6-Series and a 2012 Ford Transit Campervan.

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Sally Arnup’s bronze horse sculpture

The sculpture named Arab Horse Aslan was created in 1985 by Yorkshire-based artist Sally Arnup (1930-2015).

She is considered to be one of the finest bronze sculptors of her time with her life-like recreations of animals.

Her work resides in major collections worldwide and she had received commissions from Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, among others.

The bronze horse is expected to sell for between £10,000 – £15,000.

Elstob & Elstob’s paintings and sculpture specialist, Rohan McCulloch, said:

“This fantastic sculpture of a trotting horse really captures the fluidity and elegance of this beautiful animal. Arnup is famed for the life-like qualities of her pieces and used to work with the live animal in front of her rather than using sketches or photographs.

“In fact, it is said that the subjects often came to live with her family for weeks at a time while she studied them in detail.”

The late Duke of Edinburgh commissioned Ms Arnup to sculpt a statue of his fell pony Storm for his 80th birthday. He said:

“It is no mean achievement to be able to convey the character, and characteristics, of individual animals in bronze.

“Sally Arnup has a wealth of experience in the sculpture of animals, and she also has the talent to capture their personality.”

The sculpture is set to headline the paintings and sculpture sale which takes place on November 30. Two miniature oil paintings depicting two Derby winners owned by the acclaimed John Bowes will also feature int he auction.

The kiwi and marlin sculptures are being removed today from the New Zealand garden in Valley Gardens due to rot.

The garden commemorates Harrogate’s twinning with Wellington and the country’s airmen being stationed in the town during the Second World War.

Chainsaw sculptor Mick Burns carved the marlin, kiwi and a carved Maori bench in 2010.

In 2020, suspected vandals also ripped chunks out of the Kiwi bird and hastened its decline.

Friends of Valley Gardens, a charity that helps Harrogate Borough Council look after the park, said:

“It was always known that when these sculptures were carved that they had a limited life, the softwood rots naturally, but they will be sadly missed.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council if it has plans to replace the sculptures.

Read more

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Newby Hall has opened a new sculpture trail.

Newby22 features work from established and emerging artists in the gardens of the stately home near Ripon.

The exhibition includes 40 pieces from 21 artists in a range of mediums from bronze and stone to resins and galvanised wire or glass.

Newby artist in residence during the Queen’s platinum jubilee Freddy Paske and Knaresborough sculptor and prop maker Ben Greenwoodvare among those exhibiting.

Another Harrogate district artist displaying is Joseph Hayton, from Pateley Bridge.

Ruin by Joseph Hayton

Built in the 1690s, Newby Hall is the Compton family home.

Orlando Compton, son of owners Richard and Lucinda, assembled the collection. He said:

“It is thrilling to be able to stage our sculpture exhibition again after the pandemic enforced a two-year break.

“The exhibition features stunning artworks from artists from across the country and we are delighted to be able to showcase their talent to visitors over the coming months.

“This year’s exhibition is truly spectacular and demonstrates why art and culture are such an important part of life’s experiences.”

Blue Marlin by Graham Anderton

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This is the 17th year Newby Hall has held a sculpture exhibition.

It is open to the public until October 3. Admittance is included in the ticket price for the hall and gardens.

All the sculptures are for sale directly from Newby Hall.

Visually impaired people from a Harrogate charity are showcasing their art alongside professional sculptors at an exhibition in Leeds.

Nine members of Vision Support Harrogate District’s ceramics class will join other sculptors displaying their work at the Sculpture Show North this month.

The show, at the Corn Exchange in Leeds from October 22 to 31, includes work by 16 local, national and international sculptors.

Members of Vision Support Harrogate District have created sculptures of animals, teddy bears’ picnics and heads.

Vision Support Harrogate District president Pauline Nolan (left) holds her sculpture alongside Kay Latto.

Besides ceramics classes, Vision Support Harrogate District members are offered a variety of other arts and crafts classes as well as IT.

The charity works with over 300 visually impaired people regularly and is a point of contact for 400 more.

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The charity’s director, Tanya Stimpson said:

The National Trust and the Climate Coalition have unveiled an eye-catching new sculpture near Ripon to highlight the impact of flooding created by climate change.

Artist Richard Woods, who is known for his colourful architecture pieces, is behind the installation called Forever Home.

This work depicts an upturned house in the River Skell in the grounds of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

Fountains Abbey is one of 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that is already seeing the impact of climate change.

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It was installed during Great Big Green Week, a national celebration of action to tackle climate change, which ended yesterday.

Mr Woods said:

“I’ve always incorporated sustainability into my work, whether it’s the wood I’m using or the inspiration for the piece, it’s at the centre of everything my team and I create.

“This piece sits in such a beautiful landscape at Fountains Abbey.

“I hope it makes people stop and think about what will happen to these places if we don’t take immediate action to slow down the impact of climate change.”

Quite the juxtaposition.

Fiona Dear, head of campaigns at The Climate Coalition, said:

“We want Forever Home to inspire action and hope that, through this and the tens of thousands of people coming together for Great Big Green Week, a clear message is sent to the Prime Minister ahead of the United Nations COP26 climate talks in November.

“We care about nature and climate change, and we need your government to deliver a clear plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global heating and stop floods, heatwaves and droughts getting even worse.”

Patrick Begg, outdoor and natural resources director at the National Trust, said:

“The big flood events we’ve witnessed over the past few years in Cumbria, Yorkshire and the south-east, underline the growing risk from climate change to the places we love the most.

“We’re seeing a stark increase in the amount of our own properties at risk of flooding.”