Aaron Bertenshaw memorial service to be held next month

A memorial service celebrating the life of Harrogate singer-songwriter Aaron Bertenshaw will be held at St John’s Church in Bilton on January 4.

Aaron, a former pupil at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died suddenly aged 26 this month. He had struggled with diabetes and mental health issues.

Sammy Oates, his mother, said everyone was welcome to attend the service, which begins at 11am. A wake will be held afterwards at The Empress on the Stray.

Donations will go to Diabetes UK and CALM, the campaign against living miserably.

Sammy added the church has capacity inside for 160 people and the event would also be livestreamed because Aaron had family in New Zealand and South Africa.

She said the service would be an upbeat celebration of Aaron’s life and asked people not to wear black suits. Aaron loved tweed and Sammy suggested this as a possible alternative.

A fundraising page set up by Sammy to help people with diabetes overcome mental health problems has so far raised over £5,000. You can donate here.

Read more:

Sammy said she planned to raise the issue of diabetes and mental health to parliament as part of her campaign to fund a service that treats both illnesses together.

She is trying to find a counsellor within a 20-mile radius of Harrogate who is either diabetic or understands the disease.

Anyone who can help put her in touch with a suitably qualified person can contact her on social media or email us and we will forward on messages. You can email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Aaron was a popular figure on the Harrogate district music scene. He was a regular at the Blues Bar, where he first performed and at many other venues, such as Hales Bar.

Bilton church holds gathering to remember the dead

A church in Bilton is holding an event tomorrow to remember those who have died over the last 18 months.

The gathering of lament and remembering, which is open to everyone, will be held at St John’s Church on Bilton Lane.

It will commemorate those who have lost their lives to covid and anyone else who has died since the pandemic began. It will take place two days before All Souls Day, the annual Christian day for remembering the dead.

The 45-minute event starts at 3.30pm and will include music, hymns and reflection. There will also be the opportunity to light candles.

Pre-pandemic, the church held two memorial services each year primarily for families it had taken funeral services for.

Rev Simon Dowson, rector of St John’s and St Luke’s in Bilton, said:

“The last 18 months have been a very challenging time for our community in all sorts of ways, and grief and sadness have been emotions that many of us have been experiencing.

“Our gathering ‘A time to lament and remember’ offers people an opportunity to come together in a sacred space to acknowledge that grief and sadness and hopefully be helped in their journey of bereavement.”

Read more:

 

Man sentenced for possessing knife in Harrogate church

A man has been given a suspended sentence for possessing a knife in a Harrogate church.

Christopher Earle, 46, was charged under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 with having a yellow kitchen knife without good reason or lawful authority in St John’s Church, Bilton Lane, on September 17.

Earle, of Dragon Avenue, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court for sentencing on Thursday.

He was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 18 months.

Read more:

He was also ordered to pay a victims’ surcharge of £128 and £40 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The court took into account Earle’s guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

Rev Simon Dowson, rector of the church, told the Stray Ferret he wasn’t aware of anyone having a knife in the church but the incident may have happened in the church grounds.

‘I was meant to walk down the aisle today’

Bride to be, but when?

Julie Yeoman, was meant to be walking down the aisle today to marry her fiance, Troy Scott. However, due to coronavirus, they are left in a ‘waiting game’, with no real certainty of when the ceremony will be.

Julie and Troy who live in Harrogate were due to get married at St John’s Church in Bilton today, then on to the reception which was to be at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate.

However, with all weddings put on hold because of the ban on gatherings of more than two people to stop the disease spreading, their big day can not go ahead.

Julie told The Stray Ferret that it has been one long waiting game:

“We spent a lot of time waiting to see what would happen as if we cancelled ourselves we would have to pay… Once the church and venue cancelled, we postponed it to February next year, but we have since found out that our marriage licence runs out at the end of June this year.”