OPINION: Delighted to be hosting Harrogate fireworks event - Nick Hancock, Your Harrogate

It feels like it’s been a bit of a ‘tetchy’ week in Harrogate.

Now some people are always a bit tetchy in Harrogate! You know the ones. The ones who complain about pretty much everything.

The ones who tweet me to tell me they will never be listening to my radio station again as they did not like one of our news reports.

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Those people will also be making sure their two friends don’t listen again.

Oh, and they tell us all we need to #bekind to each other!

I mean us fairly positive and nice folk have felt a bit hot under the collar this week and it is quite understandable.

Life is still challenging. We all know families who have caught the ‘rona and are isolating and hastily changing school, work and social plans.

Half of Harrogate seems to be more gridlocked than usual at the moment (or maybe in the lockdowns we just forgot how crazy Skipton Road is on a morning?) and of course all of this has been compounded by the fuel faff.

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I really don’t think it’s my place to give an opinion on the petrol station situation but I do believe that everybody piling in to have a go at other people is not helping anyone.

At Your Harrogate we’ve tried to keep people posted on where fuel is available to save time and stress this week and we’ve even been criticised for that.

So, after all of that we need some good news, something to look forward to and an event to bring the whole community together.

I am delighted to tell you today that Your Harrogate will be hosting the annual Stray Bonfire and Fireworks display on the Stray on Saturday, November 6.

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This whole event is organised by John Carter and the team at Harrogate Round Table.

These guys are working closely with the council and other local organisations to make sure the event is safe and fun for everyone.

The Round Table team deserve an extra mention because they all really missed their excellent charity beer festival this year (and so did I) but they are keen to raise as much cash as they can for charity with this 
event.

The charity they have chosen is the Friends of Harrogate Hospital.

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After the past 18 months there is no better way of us all showing our gratitude to the amazing staff and volunteers at the hospital than by giving a few quid for the fireworks. I have had the pleasure of interviewing some of the team from Friends of Harrogate Hospital and they have so much passion and enthusiasm for what they do.

Over the past few months they have worked tirelessly to get out about to events like the Great Yorkshire show and their own fun day at Harrogate Railway to raise much needed funds and all important awareness. Please support them.

Get the fireworks on the Stray in your diary for 6pm on Saturday, November 6.

I’ll be hosting on stage alongside Will Smith. We will be playing tunes and doing shout outs on Your Harrogate as well.

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The bonfire will be lit around 6.30pm with the epic fireworks going off from just after 7pm.

If you’ve been to this brilliant event before you’ll know the format... if it rains bring wellies (think Bridget Jones at Glastonbury) and if it’s dry just be very very grateful.

Finally the other reason I am so pleased that this event is back on in Harrogate is that for me this heralds the start of the best time of the year.

Harrogate at Christmas is always so special with the lights, the shops, the parties and of course Sleeps to Santa on the radio!

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