Ripon library will close next month for a nature-inspired refurbishment.

The library, in The Arcade, will be redesigned with the beauty of the natural world in mind.

The new children’s area will include decorative shelving and brightly coloured furniture, along with a story wall for children to share their reading experiences.

North Yorkshire County Council has also spent £3,000 on reading material that includes picture books, board books and audio books, as well as popular junior fiction and non-fiction titles.

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North Yorkshire County Council’s libraries manager Chrys Mellor said:

“Ripon library is always filled with children and families so news of the refurbishment has been welcomed in the community. We are continuing to invest in new reading material for children in many of the county’s libraries to encourage them to support their local branch and start reading from an early age.

“Unfortunately the library will be closed to the public for a short time but we are doing our best to accommodate users. Loans will be extended over the closure period and arrangements have been made to cover home library service deliveries.”

The library will close for refurbishment at 2pm on Saturday, May 14. From Monday, May 23, it will reopen except for the children’s area, which will be temporarily moved to another space.

The library will operate its full services from Monday, May 30.

The nearest alternative libraries are Boroughbridge community library, Knaresborough library, Harrogate library, Mashamshire community library, and Nidderdale Plus community library.

Harrogate International Festivals has announced the full programme for the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

The four-day event offers the chance to discover the next big names in crime fiction and hear giants of the genre discuss their work. It includes panels, workshops and talks.

The line-up has been curated by this year’s festival chair, the novelist Denise Mina.

Special guests headlining the festival include crime fiction authors Lynda La Plante, Paula Hawkins, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Connelly, Lucy Foley, Charlie Higson, John Connolly, CL Taylor and Kathy Reichs.

Other speakers set to appear include broadcaster and crime fiction debut author, Rev Richard Coles, comedian Frankie Boyle and TV chef Rosemary Shrager.

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This year’s programme will also feature two author dinners, attended by popular crime and thriller writers including: politician and debut novelist Alan Johnson, author Andrew Hunter Murray and bestselling thriller writer Syd Moore.

The festival runs from July 21-24 at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel.

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce the programme for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Denise has done a wonderful job curating a line-up which demonstrates the amazing breadth of crime fiction writing and points to an exciting future for the genre.

“We can’t wait to hear all these brilliant speakers take to the stage and share their insights, stories and predictions of what lies ahead for crime fiction and thriller writing!”

For more information visit HIF’s website.

An independent Harrogate bookshop is set to move this year in an effort to improve business.

Imagined Things, in Westminster Arcade, will move to new premises on Montpellier Parade.

Georgia Eckert, owner of the business, said she felt it was time for a change.

Ms Eckert said the new premises will be more visible, have more storage space and also be more accessible for disabled customers.

She said:

“I’m hoping that it will mean that a lot more people will find us.

“It is quite a popular area.”

The current store in Westminster Arcade.

The Montpellier outlet has a better layout, Ms Eckert added, and will be easier for customers to find.

She said:

“We are quite tucked away at the moment.

“We often have to explain to people how to find us.”

Ms Eckert hopes the move will also allow her to give staff more hours in an effort to grow the business.

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The bookshop has been in Westminster Arcade for five years and has acquired a loyal customer base.

Ms Eckert and her three members of staff are set to pick up the keys this month and are aiming to open the new store in June.

A crowdfunding campaign has also been set up to help fund the move, which has so far reached £3,000 of its £30,000 target.

Mrs Eckert said she was grateful for all the people that have helped and has offered rewards, such as merchandise bundles, in return.

Coppice Valley Primary School is hoping to raise £10,000 to improve its library and provide a space for students to be inspired by books.

The current space inside the Harrogate school is more than 20 years old and the second-hand shelving is beginning to collapse.

The plan is to use the funds to completely redesign the space with new storage, books and floor mats.

Ms Emma Meadus, headteacher, said the school set up a covid-safe book swap outside during the pandemic and because of that many books weren’t returned or were returned in poor condition.

The school wants to improve its current library.

The school has had a quote from a design company of £8,800. Any remaining donations will be used to buy new books.

Ms Meadus said:

“It’s been a make-shift, make-do area and the books are in need of an upgrade. We knew it needed to be better for our kids, we have a lot of catch-up learning to do after the pandemic and we want a beautiful space for the kids to be inspired.”

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The school is celebrating its 50th anniversary in September and hopes the library will be a legacy project.

Although the target is £10,000, the school wants to raise £20,000 over the next two years it so it can build another library for younger children in a separate area of the school.

To support the school’s appeal, click here.

Refurbishment of a former Chinese takeaway on Leeds Road, Harrogate, has unveiled a “ghost sign” of a tiny library that closed around 50 years ago.

Liberty Library was a subscription library where readers paid a nominal fee to rent books. It’s believed it was there from the 1930s until the early 1970s.

Subscription libraries were popular alternatives to larger public libraries in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Harrogate’s Boots chemist also offered a subscription library service in the town at the time.

Pannal and Harrogate historian, Anne Smith, said she remembers visiting Liberty Library in the early 1960s.

She said the books were not “highfalutin” and catered mainly to the female reader. It also sold toys, sweets, stationery, stamps and newspapers.

Ms Smith said:

“It was very useful. There was a big table the back with all different books on it. The books were tremendous.”

The sign was made by a business called Wilson Signs

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Leeds Road

Liberty Library also sold annuals for children such as School Friend, Dandy, Beano, Knock Out and Film Fun. Children would save up their pocket money throughout the year and come before Christmas to pick up the end-of-year editions.

Ms Smith said the section of Leeds Road looked different in those days. Some of the buildings that are shops today were houses and had gardens where there are now usually parked cars.

Other notable Leeds Road businesses at the time included Paul’s Bakery, Padgett’s greengrocers and Scott’s.

Leeds Road in 1955, with Liberty Library on the left. Photo credit: unknown.

Liberty Library closed in the early 1970s as subscription libraries went out of fashion.

Two people on social media shared their memories of Liberty Library with the Stray Ferret.

Brian Skinner said:

“I remember visiting it and borrowing books before I joined the children’s library in town. It must have been in the late 40s. We also ordered our Christmas annuals, paying for them over a period before Christmas. Happy days.”

John Carr said:

“I remember the Liberty Library from growing up in the area in the 50s & 60s. I used to buy my matchbox cars and other toys from it.”

Mr Carr has a directory of businesses from 1948 that lists Mrs E Worfolk as the proprietress of Liberty Library.

He added:

“I recall an elderly (weren’t they all when we were little?) man who ran it but didn’t know his name.”

The sign was spotted by Ghost Signs, a website and social media account that is dedicated to the fading remains of hand-painted advertising.

Anyone else spotted this find from @speccy2?

Would love to know more about the library, and what the tiny lettering bottom right is, likely a signwriter's signature…#ghostsigns #ghostsign #libertylibrary #harrogate #shopfront https://t.co/9ixNCusoLv

— Ghostsigns (Sam Roberts) (@ghostsigns) March 8, 2022

Harrogate district students studying away from home can apply for a grant to help pay for books, equipment or travel costs.

Any student currently taking a post-16 education course at a school, college or university outside of the Harrogate borough is eligible to apply.

The fund, which is administered by North Yorkshire County Council, has been made available by Haywra Crescent Educational Trust following the sale of a former education property in Haywra Crescent, Harrogate.

This year the trust has around £1,000 in total to distribute to students.

Further information and application forms are available by emailing post16@northyorks.gov.uk

The closing date for applications is January 31.

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Simon Armitage summed up the power of poetry when he read a selection of his works to a packed audience in Ripon on Saturday.

The Poet Laureate, whose poems brought laughter and sadness to 200 people at Ripon Grammar School, said words on a page take on a different character when spoken.

Armitage, who was the star attraction at the fourth Ripon Poetry Festival, described verse as having ‘a kind of primitive magic”.

The West Yorkshire-born and bred poet told the Stray Ferret he was delighted to perform at the four-day festival, where he brought some of his own primitive magic and talked about his local connections.

He said:

“My auntie lives in Ripon and I have many memories of visiting here and going to the cathedral and seeing the hornblower.”

The festival anthology of poems (left) and programme.

Poetry boom

Talking about lockdown, he said:

“Sales of poetry books have done well during the pandemic, as people have had more time to reflect.

“Many recalibrated their lives and decided they were not  going back to the way things were before.”

Lockdown also gave Armitage, who was appointed to the 10-year office of Poet Laureate in May 2019, the opportunity to focus on his work.

He said:

“It gave me the time to complete my translation of the long medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale.”

Saturday evening’s audience was given a taste of the epic poem, which focuses on the quarrelsome conversation between the two birds, as they show their mutual dislike.

The newly-published work featured recently on BBC Radio 4’s hit podcast, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed.

There were also readings from Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems, a collection that provides a guided tour in verse of the village where Armitage grew up.

Ripon festival success

His lines, which paint a picture of home-town life and experiences, were very much in keeping with the theme of the festival.

Andy Croft, who was one of the organisers of the four-day event, that included 17 sessions at venues across the city, said:

“We are pleased to report that we are now the biggest festival of its kind in Yorkshire.”

Testimony to the growing popularity of poetry was the fact that this year’s festival anthology, The Other Side of the Looking Glass, contains 92 poems covering a broad spectrum of styles and based on a wide range of subjects, including life in lockdown and the environment.

Mr Croft pointed out:

“It contains poems from people of all ages, who live locally and is the largest edition we have published.”

A pair of bicycles are to ride around Harrogate town centre projecting images and handing out free books to promote the forthcoming Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival.

The bikes will set off at around twilight on Friday, October 15 as part of the build-up to the festival, which takes place from October 21 to 24.

The three-wheeled cargo bikes are attached to projectors and stereo systems. Riders will hand out a selection of novels by inviting people they pass to ‘stop me and book one’.

Harrogate International Festivals chief executive Sharon Canavar said:

“Last year, we lit up the Raworths office on Station Parade. This year, we are taking our message to the streets.

“Two special bikes will be riding around the town projecting animations onto buildings and pavements. And for those who stop them, they will not be presented with ices or lollies, but free books.

“These mini mobile cinemas are great fun and a terrific excuse for families to bring out their torches, head into Harrogate, and be part of an entertaining and illuminating experience.”

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This year’s festival speakers include Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, comedian and broadcaster Robin Ince, ‘Dogfather’ Graeme Hall, 2020 Costa Book of the Year winner Monique Roffey and former chief prosecutor, Nazir Afzal

Readers have whittled the potential winners of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award down to six authors.

Organised by Harrogate International Festivals, the award is widely regarded as the most prestigious in crime fiction.

The shortlist is designed to celebrate the best of crime writing and transports readers around the world from Calcutta to California.

Author Chris Whitaker hopes to claim the trophy on his first ever nomination with We Begin at The End, which is a story of crime, punishment, love and redemption in California.

Sunday Times bestselling author Rosamund Lupton’s Three Hours tells the story of gunmen opening fire on a school in Somerset and explores white supremacy and radicalisation.

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Elly Griffiths is hoping that her seventh prize nomination, The Lantern Men, lead to the title. The story sees Ruth Galloway return to the fens to hunt down a serial killer.

Trevor Wood’s meteoric rise continues with his novel The Man on the Street, which provides insight into the story of a homeless Falklands veteran with severe PTSD turned criminal investigator.

Scottish-Bengali author Abir Mukherjee’s Death in the East is a mesmerising portrait of India, Assam and East End London, which could be a case of third nomination lucky.

The final title on this year’s shortlist is Northern Irish author Brian McGilloway’s The Last Crossing, which looks at The Troubles from the perspective of a view of former operatives.

People can vote for the winner here.

Simon Theakston, executive director of T&R Theakston, said:

“This is it: the crème de la crème of crime. This shortlist really does showcase the breadth and depth of the genre.

“It’s going to be a fiercely fought prize this year so make sure you vote for your favourite.”

The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel from Theakston Old Peculier.

The full shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021 is:

• The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
• Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)
• The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
• Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
• We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)
• The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)

Pupils from a Nidderdale school are hoping to spread Christmas cheer and the joy of reading with children across Yorkshire.

Belmont Grosvenor School has donated more than 500 books to Bradford Stories, the campaign from the National Literacy Trust and Bradford Council which aims to improve literacy levels in the city by promoting reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The books, ranging from babies’ first picture books to simple readers, topic books and young teenage novels, will be gifted to children across the Bradford area, many of whom don’t own a single book.

Imran Hafeez, manager of Bradford Stories, said he was delighted to receive the donation of books – and pledged to deliver them to families across the city who need them most. He added:

“Last Christmas, before the pandemic, we found that more than 5,000 children in Bradford don’t own a single book and our fear is that with the closures of libraries and lockdown restrictions, this number will have increased.

“We are continuing to reach out into our communities through partners and volunteer Literacy Champions with the gift of books and we are aiming to distribute over 10,000 by Christmas this year. This kind donation from Belmont Grosvenor School allows us to fulfil this task during a very difficult time.

“We hope to bring the joy of reading to many children who otherwise wouldn’t have a book.”

This week, staff from the independent school, based in Birstwith, travelled to Bradford to deliver the boxfuls of books to the Bradford Stories storeroom in the city.

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Belmont Grosvenor School’s book donation comes as Premier League footballer Marcus Rashford announced the launch of a national book club to promote literacy and reading. His aim is to give away thousands of paperbacks and hardbacks to children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Jo Henderson, who runs the nursery at Belmont Grosvenor School, said:

“All our children here at Belmont Grosvenor School and Magic Tree Nursery are lucky enough to have access to books, and to benefit from the joy and escapism that reading, and being read to, brings.

“We hope that by donating some of our school’s books to Bradford Stories we can help, in some small way, improve the lives of children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. We know the books will be distributed to those who need them most and we hope that brings some happiness over the festive season.”

Bradford Stories operates a number of other community-based projects to tackle low-literacy levels in some of the city’s most disadvantaged wards. These include the Bradford Schools Literacy Project, working with 53 schools across the city to improve literacy, and running a team of Literacy Champion volunteers who support and inspire their local communities to engage with reading and writing.