Hungry kids across Whitby and the surrounding area had a flipping brilliant day when they tucked into a tea of tasty pancakes this week.

Events were held around town to mark Shrove Tuesday.

There were all sorts of fillings and flavours being used in the kitchens of luxury hotel Raithwaite Hall.

Head chef Darren Iddon prepared pancakes gourmet style for the children of Airy Hill School who donned chef hats to help him in the kitchen.

There were strawberry pancakes, syrup ones, sugar ones, chocolate and of course the traditional lemon juice favourites.

And down the coast at the Grosvenor pub in Robin Hood’s Bay it was packed out as local beavers and cubs also got in the act.

They paid £3 each for all you can eat pancakes. The Grosvenor went through 150 eggs but the event, organised by cub leader Sally Fewster and assistant leader Jack Newman, raised just short of £600.

Ingredients were donated by the Co-op and Lidl supermarkets.

The cubs section will use their share to sponsor a child in Africa and a surfing session and the beavers are also planning an outdoor activity.

]]> 1.4274476 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:02:58 +0000 http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/free_swim_for_blind_youngsters_1_4273882

BLIND and partially sighted children in Whitby are being invited to make a big splash at two special free swimming days coming up at the leisure centre.

They are on Saturday 3 March and Wednesday 7 March and have been organised by Action for Blind People.

Contact 0113 386 2800

Runswick Bay is popular with tourists who are drawn to the area’s peace and quiet, but a local twitcher says he has spotted a visitor never before seen on our coastline.

Sleights resident David Watkins has been birdwatching his entire life and said that on Saturday 4 February he saw a cirl bunting, a small bird normally only found on the coast of south Devon.

He spotted the bird at the Runswick Bay car park, with his wife Doreen, and said: “It was so surprising to me, they’re not supposed to be around this area.

“I’ve never seen one before but it was definitely this bird, with all its colourings and markings - very much like a yellowhammer but with a black cap.

“It was so colourful, I got a right good look at it.”

After spotting the bird he double-checked in an ornithology book and said that the cirl bunting entry was “as if I had taken the picture”.

In the UK the cirl bunting is at the limit of its European range and is primarily confined to the Devonshire coast.

There are just 862 breeding pairs recorded in Britain, but Chris Collett from the RSPB said that one appearing on the Yorkshire coast was not “beyond the realms of possibility”.

He added: “Occasionally birds do creep up in unlikely places, but there’s no way it would have come from the south west.

“If he’s seen one it’s probably a migrant bird.

“Because they’re very poor fliers, if it’s a migrant from Europe it’s probably come across ‘ship-assisted’, meaning it hitched a lift on a boat.

“It’s very unusual but not completely unheard of.”

Mr Watkins said that unfortunately he was not able to catch a picture, but that he has been spotting birds for many years and is therefore very confident he has correctly identified the cirl bunting.

“I’ve always been interested in birds,” he said.

“I used to travel around in my job in the Highlands and Shetlands on gas and oil installations, and I saw a lot of species.

“We’ve had everything you can imagine and I know them all.

“You name it, we’ve had it, but that was so colourful, it was really surprising.”

Mr Watkins added that the bird would have been attracted to Runswick Bay for the same reasons that he was there with his wife, which are also the same reasons he enjoys birdwatching so much.

He said: “We regularly go down Harwood Dale and Runswick Bay is a good spot too because the birds only come where it’s peaceful and quiet.

“It’s just nice to sit there quietly and watch.”

The cirl bunting is around 15cm in length with a thick seed-eater’s bill.

The male has a bright yellow head, with a black crown, eye stripe and throat, a greenish breast band across its otherwise yellow underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back.

The female is much more like the Yellowhammer, but has a streaked grey-brown rump and chestnut shoulders.

If you think you’ve seen one of these birds, or any other rare species, try to snap a picture and let us know by calling the office on (01947) 829910, email karl.hansell@yrnltd.co.uk or mention me on Twitter using @karlhansell.