Coronavirus restrictions have been brutal on Harrogate’s hospitality sector. Marik Scatchard, the landlord of Christies Bar on Kings Road, explains what it has been like running one of the town’s most popular pubs.
My Year: Harrogate student’s ‘distant light at the end of the tunnel’
The challenges of 2020 were faced by young people, too, including year 13 student Matt Roberts. Harrogate Grammar School’s head student, studying photography, economics and English language, reflects on his experiences in the last year.
My Year: ’10 months of hell’ for Boroughbridge travel agent boss
Peter Cookson, owner of Spears Travel in Boroughbridge, reflects on the way the covid pandemic undermined the business he had spent 30 years building up – and looks forward to the start of a new year.
My Year: Harrogate estate agent ‘luckier than most’ amid pandemic
Tim Waring was on a skiing trip when it suddenly dawned on him that the coronavirus pandemic would hit the world hard – and the impact on his business would be enormous.
My Year: Health boss on ‘sobering’ loss and ‘inspirational’ community action
Richard Webb, director of health and adult services for North Yorkshire County Council, led the authority’s covid response through the year. He tells the Stray Ferret he has not forgotten those lost to the coronavirus pandemic.
My Year: Policing in 2020 was ‘different to anything before’
Sgt Paul Cording, a traffic sergeant for North Yorkshire Police who lives in Harrogate, reflects on the most unusual year in his policing life, and how officers have dealt with the challenges.
My Year: Harrogate district mayor’s year brought one of ‘darkest moments’
As part of our special series looking back at a year like no other, the Mayor and Mayoress of the Borough of Harrogate, Cllr Stuart Martin and his wife April, open up about the devastating effects coronavirus has had on them.
My Year: ‘The animals come first, even on Christmas Day’ says Ripon farming sisters
In November, sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey, who farm near Ripon, helped to save a young bull and herd of cows from drowning in the River Ure. It has been a difficult 2020 for the rural economy, as Fran reflects on the farming year.
My Year: The Bishop of Ripon’s Christmas message of hope
In her Christmas Day column for the Stray Ferret, the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, reflects on all the things we’re missing this year – but that we can still have all we need, and fill that need for others too.
