Opening performance strikes high note for chamber music series

An almost sell-out opening performance is boding well for the Harrogate International Sunday Series.

Strings to their bow:
the Pavão String Quartet 
which performs this Sunday.

Organisers of the programme – now in its 19th year – say they are delighted by the first event which began with a performance by internationally acclaimed pianist Artur Pizarro which featured works by Rachmaninov and Chopin.

The festival aims to bring the best international classical chamber musicians to Harrogate with a sequence of five concerts taking place at the Old Swan Hotel. 

HIGHLY REGARDED
This Sunday (5 February) sees a performance by the Pavão String Quartet, recognised as the most exciting ensembles of its type in the UK and highly regarded in both classical and rock, pop and jazz circles. The performance will feature a varied programme that includes works by Britten, Haydn and Mendelssohn. The quartet has enjoyed collaborations with renowned rock, pop and jazz artists, a contemporary dance company, and they have recorded music for the X-Factor.

Pianist Martin Roscoe will grace the Old Swan’s stage with a programme of Schubert, Beethoven and Schumann on Sunday 19 February, followed by clarinettist Julian Bliss on Sunday 18 March.

The series will end on Sunday 15 April with one of Britain’s foremost and best loved cellists, Paul Watkins.

Tickets can be booked by phone on 01423 562 303, by email on: info@harrogate-festival.org.uk or in person by visiting the office situated at Raglan House, Raglan Street, Harrogate, HG1 1LE. Booking forms are also available to download from the Festival website: www.harrogate-festival.org.uk

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Farndale gets spruce up in time for daffodil spectacular

Farndale locals teamed up with the North York Moors National Park Authority’s Make a Difference volunteers and staff to get stuck into some habitat management work along the area's renowned daffodil walk.

A cut above ... local resident Sally Potter and volunteer
 Dawn Rothwell cutting back willow and alder trees.

A wet grassland site – known locally as the ‘duck pond’ – on the walk to the north of Low Mill, had become overgrown with willow and alder trees.

Trees were pruned and the cut wood was used to make twiggy bundles and stakes which will be installed along a stretch of riverbank in the same area to help prevent erosion.

Farm conservation adviser
Sally Weightman.

Natural England consent was required before the work could take place as the area concerned is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the diversity of habitats and plant species in the area including the wild daffodil.

The national park authority's farm conservation adviser, Sally Weightman, said: "It was nice to see a variety of age groups represented by those people involved in the work tasks.

"The assistance of both members of the local community and volunteers was greatly appreciated and it is hoped that local community involvement will continue with further work projects in the future.”

Farndale resident, Sally Potter, said: "We wanted to mark the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in some way and felt this would give year round pleasure to both locals and visitors to the Dale."

More than 50,000 people visit Farndale each year during the daffodil season. To keep congestion on the narrow roads to a minimum, the national park authority runs a daffodil shuttle bus from Hutton-le-Hole car park to several stops along the walk.

This year the bus will operate on Sundays from 25 March to 15 April plus Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday. Timetables will shortly be available at www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/moorsbus or people can call 01439 770657.

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County library service launches recruitment drive for volunteers

North Yorkshire libraries service is offering volunteer opportunities which it says allow people to make a difference in their communities, build self confidence and boost their CVs.

Cost-cutting in the current financial climate means volunteers are playing a key role in the future of the service, according to the county council which has launched a campaign to raise awareness of opportunities to help.

County councillor Chris Metcalfe said: “Volunteers of all ages can gain valuable work experience and learn new skills, with young people in particular benefiting from the opportunity to add volunteering to their CV.

“For people who feel lonely or isolated, volunteering is also a great way to build their confidence and make new friends.”

CHANGED LIFE
Volunteer Linda Clark, who works in Harrogate's central library, said: “When I started I was so nervous. I thought I’d maybe last one or two weeks at most, but I became addicted and just love helping at the library. It has changed my life and made me a much better person. I hope I can volunteer for many years to come.”

Groups, clubs and organisations can also get involved by using space in libraries as their regular venue, which helps to make libraries a vibrant and exciting place that everyone in the community can enjoy.

Anyone interested in library volunteering opportunities can sign up to the volunteer scheme now at www.northyorks.gov.uk/libraryvolunteers

More information is also available by calling 0845 8727374, emailing libraries@northyorks.gov.uk or calling at any library.

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Regency Period chronicles brought into county's archives

Documents providing insights into political and social life in Regency England – from the ancient borough of Richmond to the royal court during the “madness of King George” – are recorded in a collection of private papers acquired by North Yorkshire's record office.

The papers consist of letters and other documents written by and to the holders of the Dundas and Zetland titles and their families between 1764 and 1820.

The three hundred papers relate to the affairs of Sir Lawrence Dundas, his son Thomas Dundas, first Baron Dundas of Aske, and his grandson Lawrence Dundas, the first Earl of Zetland. The family lived at Aske Hall, north of Richmond, and took a keen interest in the political life of the nation.  Sir Thomas, who was born in 1741 and died in 1820, was the MP for Richmond, and an associate of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.

SEPARATED
The main Dundas archive was deposited with the county record office in 1965, but an important group of papers had become separated and its whereabouts remained unknown until the documents were offered to the office by a private dealer.

With the help of a £1,000 grant from the Friends of National Libraries and £2,000 from the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, the record office has added the important addition to its archives for members of the public to see.

North Yorkshire county councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for library and community services, said: “This remarkable collection of documents will be of enormous value to people with many different and varied historical interests.

“As well as chronicling the affairs of a leading Yorkshire family, they give us an insight into  attitudes and behaviour at an extremely important moment in the nation’s affairs – the Regency crisis of 1788-89.

“We are very grateful to the Friends of the National Libraries and the V and A for their financial assistance in securing this collection for the benefit of all.”

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Photo of the Month: February 2012

FEBRUARY: winter trees and dramatic skylines again provide the inspiration for Andrew Munden, of Eat, Sleep, Design, Knaresborough, who caught this shot on the outskirts of Harrogate with an iphone.

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Dales lovers hear Bill's stories online, thanks to lottery grant

Lovers of the Yorkshire Dales will be able to go online to hear stories about life in years gone by.

Bill Mitchell. Photo courtesy
of nationalparks.gov.uk

A new archive is being set up by Settle Stories, thanks to a £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The word-of-mouth memories of a recently past age were recorded starting in the 1940s by Bill Mitchell, a journalist of many decades and now in his eighties. 

HUNDREDS OF HOURS
When Bill joined The Dalesman magazine, his editor told him to put people before things. This he did by recording hundreds of hours of interviews with the men and women of the Dales which formed the basis for his written work. This library of recordings, once digitised, will enable a new generation not only to read history but listen to it.

Bill Mitchell was born in Skipton in 1928. After gaining journalistic experience on the Craven Herald, he joined The Dalesman in 1948, later becoming editor. He retired in 1988, but continued to write about Yorkshire, producing more than 100 books, and many articles for other journals and local newspapers.

In 1996 he was awarded the MBE, and, in the same year, the University of Bradford awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters. 

Settle Stories director Sita Brand said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. It will allow young people to learn about their Yorkshire heritage and will make the archive available and accessible to future generations.”

Further information: www.settlestories.org.uk

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Diamond dates will add extra shine to gem of a visitor attraction

Staff at the North York Moors National Park are putting the final touches to a programme of events to mark the visitor attraction's 60th anniversary.

Wednesday 28 November is the official anniversary of the site which came into being in 1952. The North York Moors became the UK’s sixth national park – special places protected for all to enjoy. There are now 15 in the UK.

An £8,000 lottery grant through Arts Council England means the celebrations will start with an exhibition by five renowned artists who live in and are inspired by the area's landscape.

LANDSCAPE
Artists Peter Hicks, Len Tabner and William Tillyer will be joined by photographer Joe Cornish and Gillies Jones Glass for Inspired Landscape, an exhibition of new work at the Inspired by… Gallery, at Danby. The display will run from 13 May to 17 July and entry is free.

The grant will also make possible an exhibition entitled Your Place which will offer 60 spaces at the Inspired by… Gallery to up-and-coming artists of all genres whose work captures the landscape, wildlife and atmosphere of the North York Moors. The exhibition will be displayed from 21 July to 19 August.

Other events planned include a moorland festival at Sutton Bank National Park Centre on 29 July, and performances by Yorkshire Dance at several locations in the visitor attraction in July and August distilling the beauty of the moors and coast into movement and sound. The celebrations will also feature an exhibition of photographs illustrating the physical and cultural changes the area has seen in its first 60 years and a short story competition with local schools based on unusual place names in the North York Moors.

HERITAGE
Andy Wilson, chief executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority – the organisation that works to look after and promote the special qualities of the area – said: “The UK’s national parks are as important today as they’ve ever been providing a wide range of opportunities to experience the great outdoors and enjoy a wide range of heritage and natural beauty."

More information on the 60th anniversary events will shortly be available online at www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/60thanniversary. Details will also be in the free Out and About Guide which people can pick up from national park and tourist information centres from Easter.

Anyone interested in showing their work at the Your Place exhibition should contact Sally Ann Smith on 01439 770657 or s.smith@northyorkmoors-npa.gov.uk.

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Map for transporting county's timber goes for public consultation

A draft route map for transporting timber to lessen environmental impact in North Yorkshire has been drawn up for consultation between the county council, local communities and the industry.

Timber plays an increasingly significant role in the county's economy and provides employment but it has been recognised that transport from forests along minor roads has an impact on roads, local communities and the environment.

The aim is to reduce any adverse effects while sustaining a viable forestry industry. It has been prepared by the North Yorkshire Timber Freight Quality Partnership, which brings together representatives from the county council, the Forestry Commission, timber and forestry industries and haulage interests.

ROAD NETWORK
The map shows the locations of commercial woodland and the average number of haulage vehicles leaving forests and the routes they should take to reach the main road network.

Partnership chairman Jeremy Walker said: “The route map is a useful tool for both the public and the timber industry and gives all involved a better understanding of the routes that timber vehicles are likely to use. We want to know what local communities think and also have the opportunity to discuss the likely extent of local impact.”

County Councillor Gareth Dadd, North Yorkshire’s executive member for highways and transportation, said: “The timber industry is important to the economy of North Yorkshire. However we want to ensure that the impact on local communities and the road network is kept to a minimum."

The partnership is inviting the public to comments on the document to help develop the final version. The consultation runs until 13 April.  Further details are available at www.northyorks.gov.uk/timbermapconsultation 

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