Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef  competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food  and sharing cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

I love Middle Eastern foods, so when I found out I was going to try authentic Syrian cuisine, I couldn’t have been more excited.

This week, I visited the Syrian Pop Up, which was held at Summerbridge Methodist Church, and hopes to become a regular event from next January.

The spread was the creation of Mohamad and Huda Al Habboul, who moved from Syria to Yorkshire in 2022.

It was a real family affair. The the food was laid out as a buffet – and there was lots of it! I could see the importance food plays in their culture just from first glance.

Mohamad and Huda Al Habboul.

The cold dishes included hummus, baba ghanoush, dolmas, Fattoush, and tabbouleh.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a healthy, Levantine salad which consists of finely chopped parsley, mint, onion, soaked bulgur wheat seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sweet pepper.

Variations include adding tomatoes, cucumbers, and spring onions, or swapping bulgur wheat for couscous. The dish can be made gluten-free by substituting quinoa for bulgur wheat.

Fattoush salad

The Fattoush salad with crispy pastry was fresh, vibrant and flavourful.

The salad is made from toasted or fried pieces of khubz – an Arabic flat bread – combined with mixed greens, radish and tomatoes.

Kibbeh

Kibbeh is considered the national dish of Lebanon and Syria.

I expected to see it on the night and there was not one, but three versions of it: vegetarian, lamb and an un-fried one, which resembles a dense pate.

To make this croquette-like dish, you need bulgur wheat, your choice of ground meat, pine nuts, onion, garlic, and spices.

The wheat is softened and kneaded until pliable enough to hold the filling.

It is a labour of love but when fried to perfection, it will wow your guests!

Some of the flatbreads that were also served.

Rice dishes

The hot dishes included bulgur with lentils and caramelised onions, as well as several rice-based meals.

Dolmas is seasoned rice wrapped in vine leaves before being steam cooked in a rich stock.

Ouzi is rice cooked with ground lamb or beef, peas, carrots, cinnamon, coriander, 7 spice blend, Aleppo pepper, turmeric, and toasted nuts before being wrapped in filo pastry and baked.

The final rice dish reminded me of the Afghan pulao, but the Syrian version didn’t include raisins, so had a savoury rather than sweet note to it.

Hot dishes

There were also three casserole-like dishes amongst the spread.

One included peas, potatoes, carrots, courgette, aubergine, tomatoes and onions – it was a truly heart-warming and delicious creation.

The second, horaa osbao, included beans, lentils and Swiss chard dumplings seasoned with coriander. It was the perfect winter dish.

The final one was lamb mince cooked with tomatoes and onions and layered with aubergine. It reminded me of a Greek moussaka and, again, was absolutely delightful.

Baba ghanoush, salads and side dishes.

Baba ghanoush

If you love aubergine, you’ll love the Syrian baba ghanoush!

It is made from fire-roasted aubergine, Tahini, olive oil and lemon juice. Their version had a touch of sweetness, which I suspect came from adding pomegranate molasses.

Dessert

Finally, it was time for dessert.

We had baklava, which is layered filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey – it’s the perfect after-dinner treat.

There was also mahalabia – a traditional Middle Eastern dessert – which consists of set milk topped with cashews and pistachio, topped off with glazed cherries.

I left with a huge appreciation for Syrian cuisine, which contains a balance of vegetables, meats and grains, topped off with indulgent sweets.

Read more:

• Yemi’s Food Stories: Behind the scenes at Harrogate’s Fodder
• Yemi’s Food Stories: Let’s talk oil

A charity near Harrogate that provides riding therapy to vulnerable children has been plunged into turmoil by the sudden closure of its bank account.

Sarah Kekoa, founder of Autism Angels, said Barclays told her last week it had inadvertently closed the account and would reactivate it within 48 hours.

But nine days later the issue remains unresolved, leaving the charity unable to pay staff or cash-in cheques worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Ms Kekoa told the Stray Ferret she was desperate for the situation to be resolved quickly because it threatened the organisation’s reputation and ongoing viability. She said:

“We can’t pay anyone — it is absolutely diabolical. Our money is somewhere in the ether.

“We deal with some extremely vulnerable children. We have to be here for them and their families and this is putting us in a very difficult situation.”

Sarah Kekoa (centre) with colleagues at Autism Angels.

Ms Kekoa said the charity’s five staff, who are paid weekly, had continued to work despite missing out on their latest wages.

She said three families of her family had banked with Barclays and Autism Angels had been a Barclays customer for 11 years but she was “beyond frustrated” at the length of time the matter was taking to resolve.

She added staff at her local branch had been helpful but it appeared to be a classic case of “computer says no” with messages not being acted upon.

The Stray Ferret has seen an email from Barclays to Autism Angels, dated Friday last week, in which it said it was “trying to get your bank account opened as soon as possible” and apologising for any inconvenience.

Autism Angels, which is based in Summerbridge, near Pateley Bridge, helps people with autism, mental health issues and in crisis ride horses and ponies for therapy.

A Barclays Spokesperson said:

“As part of our ongoing responsibility to help prevent financial crime, and to meet our regulatory obligations, we are required to keep up to date information regarding our customers’ accounts.

“We share a series of communications with our customers including writing to them by post, through alert banners on our digitally active customers’ online and mobile banking as well as reminder SMS text messages and emails asking customers to supply us with some important information relating to their Barclays business account.

“In cases where we do not receive a response with up-to-date account information, we will proceed with the application of card blocks and account restrictions, ahead of issuing final closure arrangements. Therefore, it is very important that account holders respond to these requests.”

Read more:

• Petition calls for investigation into leadership of Harrogate district school
• Man in 90s seriously injured after Harrogate collision

A house was struck by lightning and others faced flash flooding, as the Harrogate district felt the wrath of last night’s storm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service night shift summary reported crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough were summoned to a home on East Parade in Harrogate that had been struck by lightning at 22:38.

One occupant suffered shock as a result and was treated by a paramedic but was otherwise unharmed.

Police then cordoned the property due to “an unsafe chimney stack with some debris falling into the road”.

Boroughbridge crews also attended a power line in Ingmanthorpe after it had been struck by lightning, causing it to arc near trees. Crews remained at the scene until it was safe and “left the incident in the hands of power grid engineers.”

Read more:

• Flash flood warning for Harrogate district as heavy rain forecast
• Multiple fire crews called to barn blaze at Kirkby Malzeard

Throughout the night, multiple houses within the district were hit by flash flooding.

Summerbridge firefighters were called to a house on Crab Lane in Harrogate following reports of flooding inside the basement. Crews pumped out water using an ejector pump. This was then left in the hands of the owners.

A house on East Park Road in Harrogate, was also flooded during the storm. Crews assisted occupants in using buckets to remove the water.

Firefighters also attended reports of flooding on Skipton Road and Devonshire Place.

Find more information here.

A series of environmental activities are being held in Nidderdale as part of the Great Big Green Week, which runs from June 10 to 18.

The green week, which first started in 2021, encourages community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

Organised by the Climate Coalition, which includes organisations including the National Trust, WWF-UK and the RSPB, it sees tens of thousands of people take part in events ranging from litter picks to seaweed foraging to tackle climate change.

The activities in Nidderdale include a low impact lunch at Summerbridge Methodist Church, a biodiversity walk and talk at Bank Woods in Summerbridge, a community litter pick in Glasshouses

Make It Wild, Church in the Dale, Nidderdale Climate and Environment Group are among those organising the local events.

Details of these and other events being held during the green week are available here.

Read more:

• Developer challenges Nidderdale solar panels ‘visual harm’ claim
• North Yorkshire Greens accuse Tories of putting politics before climate

An insolvency firm has been appointed to handle the process of placing failed Harrogate firm Amvoc into administration.

Staff at the telemarketing firm were left shocked on Tuesday night when they received a late night email from chief executive Damian Brockway saying “all our offices are closed with effect from tonight”. It went on to blame “covid debts”.

Law firm Aticus Law has now been contacted by 145 former employees as it investigates the circumstances of the company’s collapse and concerns around how the redundancy process was managed, as well as whether ex-staff are eligible to claim for compensation.

Gareth Lewis, director of Leeds firm Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency, said today it was handling the administration process.

He said:

“I can confirm that following the directors’ decision to make all employees redundant on Tuesday evening, this firm was engaged on Wednesday to assist with the process of placing the company into administration.

“It is anticipated that the company will be placed into administration in the coming days, and we are now collating all financial and employee information to enable us to perform our duties.

“We have contacted former employees through our agents IPERA, who will assist employees with the process of making their claims through the government’s Redundancy Payments Service”.

Founded in Dacre

Mr Brockway set up Amvoc, the trading name of A Marketing Vocation Ltd, from a small office in Dacre in 2010. It sold telemarketing services, initially in the legal sector, and grew rapidly, moving first to Pateley Bridge and then to large offices at New York Mills near Summerbridge. 

It opened a new head office on Cardale Park in Harrogate in 2015, a facility in Leeds in 2018 and an office in Manchester in 2022.  It also had plans to expand to London.

Amvoc’s clients included BP, Barclays, Virgin Media, Leeds Beckett University, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. 

Its website said it employed 450 staff but the Stray Ferret believes the figure at the time the company collapsed was under 300.

Read more:

• Law firm to represent about 100 staff at failed Harrogate firm
• Hundreds of job losses as Harrogate company goes under

We again attempted to contact Mr Brockway today. An immediate emailed response said:

Councillors have approved a plan to convert a former fish and chip shop in Summerbridge that was owned by a Harrogate councillor into an office and living space.

Tom Watson, Liberal Democrat councillor for Nidd Valley, ran Valley Fisheries for 40 years before it closed eight years ago.

In 2019, Cllr Watson submitted a plan to convert the building into a home but it was withdrawn due to concerns from planners that the house that would replace the chip ship was too small.

At the time, 90 residents signed a petition calling on the local chippy to be saved despite it having closed its doors more than half a decade previously.

A fresh application to extend the building into a larger home was approved in 2020 but it has lapsed.

Read more:

• Demolition completed of subsidence-hit Ripon flats
• Council-backed Masham project to show how rural towns can keep young people

The new plan will see the former chippy form a home office and annexe for Lyndale Cottage, which is next door and also owned by Cllr Watson.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met this afternoon at the Civic Centre in Harrogate to consider the application.

Cllr Watson sits on the planning committee and along with fellow Liberal Democrat councillors Pat Marsh and Hannah Gostlow he sat out on the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.

A man was rescued after he became trapped under a tree in Summerbridge today.

Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon were called at 9am to help the male, who got trapped after trying to fell a tree that was hanging dangerously over a road.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said:

“Male had been rescued by contractors prior to fire service arrival.

“Male was given precautionary checks by paramedics but was discharged on scene with bruising and grazing. No action was required by fire service.

Strong overnight winds uprooted numerous trees across the district overnight, including two at Ripon Grammar School (see below).

The Stray Ferret asked the school about the incident but has not yet received any details.

Tree fell Jan 2023

Read more:

• Developer plans 24 homes in Summerbridge
• Mary, 87, retires after 47 years and 18,000 shifts as a lollipop woman in Summerbridge

Pupils past and present turned out in force to bid a fond farewell to North Yorkshire’s longest serving lollipop woman.

Mary Fisher has helped generations of schoolchildren cross the busy Pateley Bridge to Harrogate road outside Summerbridge Community Primary School since 1975. After 47 years and about 18,000 shifts, she retired on Friday.

Mary’s final patrol took longer than usual as dozens of children and adults turned out to cross the road and give her a hug.

At the school, children lined up to say thank you and give three cheers to the woman who has done so much to serve the community.

One of many hugs for Mary on her last day. Pic: Nevin Ward

Nevin Ward, a former chair of governors at Summerbridge school and near-neighbour of Mary, said Mary never forgot a child’s birthday and always gave them a small present. he added:

“She’s one of those lovely, selfless people who believes in being kind.”

An online fundraising campaign, set up to raise £100 to buy Mary a present, generated about £1,600.

A vacancy for a lollipop person now exists.

Friday’s emotional farewell at the school. Pic: Nevin Ward

Mary and her late husband Jim, who was a chimney sweep and volunteer firefighter, came to North Yorkshire in 1954 and moved to Summerbridge two years later.

They had four children, who all went to Summerbridge school and Mary developed an attachment to the school that eventually saw her become a lollipop woman.

Two years ago, when she celebrated her milestone of 45 years, she said:

“I love being outside and active as well. I have to be out and about rather than sat inside. Not a day goes by where I think I don’t want to get up today and do it.”

Read more:

• Mary, 87, retires after 47 years and 18,000 shifts as a lollipop woman in Summerbridge
• Firefighters rescue family trapped on black ice in Nidderdale
• Gallery: Stunning photos of Nidderdale in winter

Developers have lodged plans to build 24 homes in Summerbridge.

Nidderdale Estates Ltd submitted the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council to build the scheme on land at Braisty Wood off the B165.

It would see a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes built at the site, which is allocated for housing under the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035.

The developer said in documents submitted to the council:

“A high quality development is proposed that will sit comfortably within the village and the AONB setting. 

“The design and detail will build upon the qualities found within the local vernacular, creating a development with a sense of identity.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Read more:

• Harrogate council set to agree to buy land for new horticultural nursery
• Harrogate council refuses James Street aparthotel plan
• Plan to convert Glasshouses pub into holiday cottage rejected

A Nidderdale lollipop woman is set to retire after 47 years of helping children cross the road.

Mary Fisher, 87, is North Yorkshire’s longest-serving lollipop woman.

She has supervised generations of children crossing the busy Pateley Bridge to Harrogate road outside Summerbridge Community Primary School since 1975 — the year the Vietnam war ended, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and Leeds United were beaten in the final of the European Cup.

Now, after 18,000 morning and afternoon patrols involving thousands of children, she has decided to retire. Her last day is due to be December 16.

Nick Coates, executive headteacher of Darley and Summerbridge Community Primary School Federation, said:

“Mary will still be a regular visitor to school but in a guest capacity rather than a working role and is going spend her retirement taking it easy, gardening, baking with the odd bit of knitting thrown in.  

“We wish her all the best and of course, it goes without saying, all our love.”

Read more:

• Is Mary the Harrogate district’s longest-serving lollipop woman?
• Plan submitted for 20mph zones around five schools in Harrogate

Mary came to North Yorkshire in 1954 with her husband Jim, and soon became firmly embedded within the local community.

In 1956 the couple moved to Summerbridge, where Mary worked at New York Mill and Jim worked in the building trade.

Over the next decade or so Mary and Jim raised their four children, all of whom attended the school. It was at this point that Mary’s relationship with the school really began.

Bringing the children to school everyday, it was soon noticed by the local ‘bobby’ that Mary would make a great lollipop lady and despite initial reluctance, she eventually agreed.

Two years ago, when she celebrated her milestone of 45 years, she said:

“One of the best parts of the job is that everyone recognises you – everyone always waves at me.

“I love being outside and active as well. I have to be out and about rather than sat inside. Not a day goes by where I think I don’t want to get up today and do it.”

Now, after 47 years and five headteachers, she has finally decided to call it a day.