Ruby Kitchen

Now this winter season, full of Christmas cheer, can prove the busiest time of year for independent makers. As The Hepworth Wakefield’s festive market returns to at Tileyard North over two weekends from today, the Harrogate artist is to be among those to attend. Such special events, with chances to meet the maker, support a whole new generation of incoming talent, said Miss Holmes. “They are really lovely,” she added. “We all enjoy doing them.” Miss Holmes, at the studio she shares with fellow s…

Crucially he also highlighted the importance of location, in an essay for the Evening Standard in 1946, citing the proximity of a bus stop as paramount. Now new research, almost 80 years on, shows how much and how little has changed. A pub’s location is still pivotal to its success, the University of York’s own Professor of Pubs Victoria Wells has found, proving make or break when it comes to choosing. “Pubs are just warm, welcoming places,” she said. “Location has always been important, but I t…

The family man, from Dewsbury, has been awarded a BEM for services to mental health for his work with the HR team at First Bus North and West Yorkshire. Heading up a network of Mental Health First Aiders, he saw people struggling in the pandemic and helped set up a support network. He has since published over 30 wellbeing newsletters with advice, strategies, and resources. To be recognised, he said, shows how important the work is that First Bus is doing to protect its workers’ wellbeing and the…

Nearly one in seven adults in the UK suffer from tinnitus, which can cause ringing in the ears and diminish many people’s quality of life. Now, as groundbreaking research today reveals the debilitating impact, a former Yorkshire councillor has backed calls for greater support. Mark Vesey, from Scarborough, said he has suffered since last summer when he attended a music concert in the Yorkshire spa town. Too many people are left without support, he warns today, as findings suggest the number wai…

There’s constellation trails, electric dance poetry and underground caves; stargazing safaris and then yoga, hiking and special revelations in science. The Dark Skies Festival, celebrating the International Dark Sky Reserves above the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, runs from February 9 to 25. Phoebe Smith, from the North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA), said the region is “beyond lucky” to have such access. “I have seen the Northern Lights in our skies, I have s…

Every year, hundreds of toads are killed crossing East Busk Lane in Otley, as they migrate to a pond near the roadside. Now, after a call for help from Wildlife Friendly Otley for the second year running, some 30 volunteers armed with buckets, torches and high visibility jackets have come to their aid. Two volunteers said it had been a great evening, holding a toad for the first time in their 60s and 80s. Another said her son was overjoyed with his bucket of four squeaking males. It is a “common…

“I do think ‘how have I got to this point?’”, he said. “I still find it baffling. It doesn’t seem like my life sometimes.” Stone dressing is working with reclaimed stone, from old mills or buildings, to meet modern regulations. Cutting and shaping, to square nice tidy edges. There’s also the dressing of new stone, putting on a fresh face to newly quarried works. Angling the chisel to chip away, oh so neatly, any odd bits or protrusions. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch. To Mr Robinson, aka T…

David Halliwell, born in Brighouse but dying in exile in Oxfordshire at the age of 69, wrote several TV dramas and a large number of scripts for the stage. Since his death in 2006 his acclaimed works have been largely forgotten, until a tranche of manuscripts were found in the archives of the University of Leeds library. It was the treasurer of Grassington Players, Robert Fort, delving into history, who uncovered the original script for a “darkly comic masterpiece” which the group is now bringin…

The Brotherton Poetry Prize for 2024, from the University of Leeds Poetry Centre, was awarded to Dillon Jaxx. They had mostly written only in secret, they said, until they first took a poetry course in 2011 after undergoing cancer treatment. The competition is aimed at nurturing newcomers to industry, and was open to adults who have not yet published a full collection. Jaxx, who is based in Sussex, paid tribute to a late friend and poet Kathryn Bevis as they accepted the recognition. “Winning th…

Now the father-of-three, from Scarborough, is made an MBE for services to CPR, teaching young people how to help and how their actions might save lives.It’s a strange feeling, he said, as the Cabinet Office letter lands through the letterbox. Even stranger still, to keep it a secret from all but his wife Claire until the honours are announced. “It’s not really sunk in,” he said. “Until the announcement is finally made, maybe even until I’m at Windsor or Buckingham Palace, I don’t think it will.…