Harrogate ex-prison governor raises £5,000 for charity

A former prison governor from Harrogate has raised almost £5,000 for charity by giving speeches about her 35 years in the prison service.

Veronica Bird, a Harrogate resident of over 20 years, worked with some of the most notorious criminals in the country, including Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, and Charles Bronson, a man labelled ‘the most violent prisoner in the country’.

Proceeds from Ms Bird’s speaking engagements will be handed to nine local and national charities at an event on Tuesday. The event, which will be held in a garden on Cornwall Close, will be opened by Brackenfield school choir.

Ms Bird, who received an OBE for her work in the prison service, said:

“I came from a big family, a lot of poverty, and so I know what it is to be without food, without clothes.

“My school motto was ‘not for oneself, but for all’ and that is what I try to follow. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

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She has chosen local charities Saint Michael’s Hospice and Girlguiding’s Birk Crag Centre. Cheques will also go to Jacqui’s Million, Barnsley Hospice, St Leonard’s Hospice, and Mind, alongside the MS Society UK, Royal British Legion, and the NSPCC.

The event begins at noon, at 100 Cornwall Close, Harrogate, on Tuesday 2nd November.

‘It could happen to anyone’, says Harrogate woman who had stroke at 37

At just 37-years-old, a Harrogate woman suffered a stroke that left her needing emergency surgery and permanently altered her outlook on life.

Caroline Brady is sharing her story today, on World Stroke Day, in hope of raising awareness that a stroke can happen to anyone, no matter their age.

On January 17, 2020 she was working as a fitness instructor at Harrogate’s David Lloyd gym when she began slurring her speech.

Ms Brady finished teaching her abs class but over the next two hours continued to slur and felt dizzy.

Her colleagues grew concerned and called for an ambulance. The paramedics performed a stroke assessment, which she passed, so she was taken to Harrogate District Hospital for further investigation.

Four hours after the initial signs, Ms Brady lost control of her left side and had a stroke in hospital at 1.30pm.

By 4pm she was in theatre to remove a clot on her brain. She said she remembers “a feeling of urgency” around her but it wasn’t until she came round that she understood what had just happened.

Fresh outlook on life

Since then, Ms Brady has been focused on recovery. She said she was “extremely lucky” to have recovered to the extent that she’s back at work, walking and even running.

She has returned to David Lloyd working part-time as a receptionist, but said her outlook on life has changed.

“It’s been a hard journey back to work. I was very work conscious, always picking up extra hours and covering for people but going back after the stroke I knew I couldn’t do the same.

“So I had a word with myself and said ‘you aren’t weak to slow down’. When you have such a shock at a young age, with no underlying health issues, you can’t help but think differently.”

She no longer teaches gym classes and has been advised to stop weight training but says she is happy just to be walking and occasionally running again.

Ms Brady is enjoying the outdoors again.

Following her experiences, she is determined to raise awareness of strokes and who they can affect.

She added:

“For anyone that knows me it was a huge shock, you never expect to hear ‘I’ve had a stroke’ from a young person. But it can happen to anyone.

“There’s also a misconception that if you have one at a young age you will recover well, but that’s not always the case.”

Ms Brady said she was extremely lucky to be treated so quickly. Other young stroke survivors she’s met were left for hours waiting for a diagnosis by doctors who didn’t diagnose a stroke.

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She is holding a 12-hour charity event at the gym today from 8am to 8pm. Members and staff are walking or running on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time to raise funds for A Stroke of Luck, a charity that gives stroke survivors access to fitness professionals to help with recovery.

To donate click here.

Stray bonfire organisers appeal for more donations

The organisers of the 50th anniversary charity bonfire and fireworks on the Stray have appealed for more donations to ensure a successful event in nine days time.

An online gofundme page set up by Harrogate and District Round Table has so far attracted £1,220 in donations towards a goal of £8,000 with just over a week to go until the event on Saturday, November 6.

There will be a bucket fundraising collection on the night and people will be encouraged to text to donate £5. But with the current total being so short of the goal, the organisers have appealed for a flurry of online donations over the next week.

The event is organised by volunteers, who try to keep costs low but they have to spend money on fireworks, transportation of pallets and road traffic management.

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The £8,000 figure is how much the event costs to put on, and the Round Table always donates any profits to charity. This year’s charity is the Friends of Harrogate Hospital.

John Carter, who is in charge of organising the bonfire for the Round Table this year, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are going to put on a big bonfire and fireworks display. We hope people will enjoy the event after a pretty miserable 18 months.

“There is the online fundraiser but we will have lots of bucket shaking on the night as well as the text to donate. It is the first time we have done the online fundraiser.

“Over the years the amount we have raised on the night has dwindled as people don’t tend to carry cash so we are encouraging donations in other ways.”

Harrogate’s Firecracker Ball cancelled for second year due to covid

A major fundraising event in Harrogate has been cancelled for the second year running due to covid.

The Firecracker Ball has raised £3 million for children’s charity Barnardo’s since 2002.

The spectacular event, which is usually held at Rudding Park Hotel in November, is also one of the highlights of the social calendar.

Each year the ball adopts a different theme in the hope of encouraging people to donate and get involved in the charity auction too.

Barnardo’s, which organises the annual event, has assured people it will return in 2022. In a statement the organising committee said:

“The Firecracker committee reluctantly decided that the Firecracker Ball 2021 had to once more be postponed until we are able to hold our usual spectacular event in 2022. The decision has been a difficult one, as the funds you generously help us to raise have never been more important for Barnardo’s.

“We are making sure that we do our best to raise as much as we can in other ways at such a difficult time for everyone.”

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The previous ball in 2019 raised more than £250,000 for the charity.

The committee said it launched a justgiving page last year so people can still donate towards the work Barnardo’s does in Yorkshire.

Harrogate giant pumpkin to raise money for charity

A Harrogate couple who have grown an absolutely gigantic pumpkin have invited people to guess its weight to raise money for charity.

Ian and Natalie Hutton have raised £300 for St Michael’s Hospice so far but hope as they travel around with the pumpkin that they can raise even more.

The pair have been outside St Michael’s shop on Ripon Road. Today and tomorrow they’re at the Wellington Inn in Darley and will be at Kendalls Farm Butchers on Skipton Road next Friday.

If you cannot visit the pumpkin in person but want to donate then you can do so on JustGiving by clicking or tapping here.

Not your average pumpkin!

For £1 people can guess the weight. Whoever is closest will win a surprise first prize. The second prize is a £30 pork pie voucher from Kendalls and third will take home a scarf from Shine on King’s Road.

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A very proud Mr Hutton, who has been perfecting his pumpkins for the last six years, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s about choosing the right seeds, getting them in the ground at the right time. Then it takes a lot of luck and a lot of water. I have been giving it about five gallons a day.

“A lot of people ask if we have pumped steroids into it but everything we grow is natural.

“We have lost a couple of friends who were looked after by St Michael’s Hospice so we wanted to give back. Now is the right time to donate, especially after coronavirus curtailed fundraising.”

When the fundraising is over Mr Hutton is going to attempt to carve it for Halloween and take the seeds to try and grow an even bigger pumpkin next year.

Just to give you an idea of the weight of gigantic pumpkins -the current Guiness World Record for heaviest pumpkin is 2,624 pounds and 9.6 ounces, which was grown by Mathias Willemijns in Belgium.

Knaresborough memorial golf event raises £1,200 for hospital

An annual event held in remembrance of an avid golfer has raised over £1,200 for Harrogate District Hospital’s Intensive Treatment Unit.

Golfers from across the region descended on Knaresborough Golf Club to compete in the 12th annual Lee Flintoft Memorial Trophy Golf Event.

Mr Flintoft died after being stabbed aged 37 in 2009. He worked for SB Utilities in Knaresborough, which would hold frequent golf days to increase networking opportunities for the company.

Lee Flintoft (left)

Lee Flintoft (left), pictured in 2008 with Andrew Cooke and Robert Harris.

After his death, the corporate event became a charity fundraiser in his memory and has raised over £6,000 to date for local charities.

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This year’s competition was won by Gordon Dunn, who took home the coveted trophy.

Mr Flintoft’s sister, Tina Harris said:

“As a family, we think it is wonderful that everyone involved is fundraising for such a fantastic cause.

“Lee meant so much to his family and friends that they have continued to fundraise in his name for the last 12 years for the care he received at HDFT.

“This year we raised £1,200 at the golf day. Darren Swales, commercial manager at Knaresborough Golf Club, puts a lot of time and effort into this event every year and I would like to thank him for his help.”

Harrogate’s visually impaired showcase their sculpture

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.

Their tutor, sculptor Kay Latto, is also exhibiting at the show. She said:

“The class is really excited to be able to show their work to a wider audience, and we are very grateful to Sculpture Show North for giving us this opportunity.”

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:

“Art can make a real difference to people experiencing sight loss, giving them a creative outlet and helping them to understand their capabilities and build their confidence for independent living.

“As a charity that depends on the support of our volunteers and trustees, we can’t thank Kay enough for her commitment to providing such enjoyable and valuable art classes for our members alongside her own work as a sculptor.”

Bike ride in memory of Harrogate businessman raises £20,000

More than 30 cyclists took part in a 170-mile coast-to-coast challenge to raise money for charity in memory of a Harrogate businessman.

Richard Jones, who was well-known in Harrogate and Wetherby, died aged 51 in January this year with acute myeloid leukaemia, which is a type of blood cancer.

Mr Jones ran design agency Finepoint in Harrogate and audio visual company Clever Association.

He was due to take part in a cycle ride this year, which his friends have now completed as a tribute and to fundraise for Phoenix Health and Wellbeing.

Members of Wetherby Rugby Union Club completed the Way of the Roses cycle route for the challenge.

Richard with his son Frankie at the rugby club.

On day one they travelled 95 miles from Morecambe in Lancashire to Wetherby. On day two they took on 75 miles from Wetherby to Bridlington.

When the group returned, others club members welcomed them with homemade cakes and a barbecue.

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The club has already agreed to do another cycle race next year on September 9 and 10. Proceeds will go to Leukaemia Research.

Gill Trevor, who works for Phoenix Health and Wellbeing, and helped organise the event, said:

“We were delighted with the support from Wetherby RFC, especially with the event being in memory of someone like Richard.

“The monies raised will help so many people with mental health issues, who without our support, wouldn’t have access to our services.”

Since his death, Wetherby Rugby Club has raised £50,000 towards refurbishment of its Grange Park Clubhouse and £11,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice.

New residents for Harrogate almshouses after £200,000 upgrade

The Rogers’ almshouses in Harrogate have undergone a £200,000 refurbishment and welcomed three new residents.

Bradford mill owner George Rogers built the almshouses in 1868 for former employees when he retired to Harrogate.

They have provided low cost housing to people in need ever since.

Harrogate district mayor Trevor Chapman yesterday opened a new almshouse, which was created by converting an old laundry on the site.

Two other houses have been refurbished, meaning three new residents will move into the 15 dwellings, which are opposite St Peter’s Church of England Primary School on Belford Road.

The work was funded by a £95,000 grant by Homes England, which is the government housing agency, and funding from the Rogers’ Almshouse Charity, which owns the site.

The one-bedroom homes are run by a board of trustees, which includes the Dean of Bradford Cathedral, the vicars of Christ Church and St Peter’s Church in Harrogate along with a team of volunteers.

To qualify for an almshouse, residents must be aged over 60, have lived in Bradford or Harrogate for at least three years and meet hardship criteria.

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Guests from Homes England and the Almshouse Association were among those present at the opening of the new homes.

Schoolchildren from St Peter’s, who traditionally support the almshouses  by carol singing and presenting gifts at Christmas, sang at the event.

Stuart Holland, chair of trustees at Rogers’ Almshouse Charity, said:

“The grade two listed building is admired by so many as they pass by.

“They look at the brown plaque, enjoy the award winning garden and dream of living in such beautiful houses.”

When will big charity balls return to the district?

Charity fundraising events in the Harrogate district have been slowly returning.

But whilst the smaller events have successfully returned, such as HELP‘s Nidderdale walk or Saint Michael’s ‘Go Purple’, the big set-piece charity balls are yet to return.

The balls play a vital role in the annual fundraising calendar for many charities – often raising significant amounts of money. Such as the Firecracker Ball, which raised over £250,000 in 2019.

Claire Mills who’s partner, Tony Furlong, received end of life care from Saint Michael’s Hospice, has organised one of the first balls to return.

The event named ‘The Tony Furlong Memorial Ball’, will take place at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, on Friday, November 5. It has already sold over 150 tickets at £60 per person.

Ms Mills said:

“I am looking forward to welcoming friends, family and colleagues of Tony to the ball, I am hoping that we raise a huge amount for St. Michael’s Hospice whilst remembering Tony and sharing some great memories. Tony loved to attend a black tie ball, particularly as he spent his career managing hotels and I am sure everyone attending will do him proud by having a fantastic evening, particularly after such a challenging year, I think everyone is ready for a party.”

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Other annual charity balls, such as the Barnardo’s Firecracker Ball, Martin House’s Glitter Ball, and the Candlelighters Ilkley Ball – have not been confirmed to be returning this year.

The Glitter Ball, though, is scheduled for May next year at Rudding Park. 

Sara Cracknell, senior events fundraiser at Martin House Children’s Hospice, said:

“We are excited to announce that the Martin House Glitter Ball will return to Rudding Park Hotel on Friday 6th May 2022, hosted by Bargain Hunt star Charles Hanson.”

“The Glitter Ball is our most glamorous fundraising event, and also our biggest – in 2019 it raised over £172,000.”

The Ilkley Candlelighters Ball, will not return in 2021, with 2022 still under review. In past years the ball has raised upwards of £52,000 in donations.

Alison Clay, chairman for the Ilkley Candlelighters Ball, said:

“With rising costs and dwindling returns, year on year, and the current situation we all find ourselves in, we are fearful this type of event will ever happen again! I sincerely hope and pray that this is not the case as the charity provides an invaluable resource for patients and their families in the most dire of circumstances and I urge all our supporters, past and present, to do their utmost to make sure that the Ilkley Candlelighters Ball continues for many years to come.”

For more information about the ‘The Tony Furlong Memorial Ball’, contact: cmills@classiclodges.co.uk and to support Claire’s fundraising for Saint Michael’s click here.