The Cathedral clock struck 11am and Ripon fell silent for two minutes, as people reflected on those who lost their lives in World War II and specifically the war in Europe.

The city, home to The Royal Engineers and with a proud military heritage dating back to the First World War, remembered its dead both in the streets and houses and through a virtual VE Day ceremony inside the ancient church of St Peter and St Wilfrid’s.

Nestling next to the Cathedral is The Royal British Legion Garden of Remembrance, where small wooden crosses, each carrying a name and a poppy, stand as testimony to those from the city who lost their lives in conflicts.

Jack Middleton, who formerly served with the Army Air Corps and his partner Georgia Nelson, stood in silence with heads bowed.

Both (who feature in this video) have grandfathers who served in the Army and Jack told The Stray Ferret:

“With our families’ military connection, remembrance of those who fought and lost their lives is a tradition we will always observe.”

Following the two minute’s silence, the Cathedral’s virtual service began on YouTube and included a reflection from The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Rt. Hon. Dr John Sentamu, along with readings from the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Mrs Jo Ropner; a lesson from Councillor Jim Clark, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council; and prayers from the Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Dobson.

Music and singing was provided by the Black Dyke brass band; Dishforth Military Wives and Ripon Cathedral assistant organist Tom Coxhead, who gave a fitting finale to the service by playing William Walton’s ‘Spitfire Prelude’ – originally written for the 1942 film ‘The First of the Few.’

The heroes of Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) and other emergency services, are to be recognised in a special way at Ripon Cathedral, through the ‘Wing and a Prayer’ project.

The project will see the creation of origami paper angels, which will become part of an inspiring art installation in the nave, with each covered by requests for prayers, which members of the public can submit on an online form via the cathedral website.

People are being asked to donate ‘an angel’ to be placed inside the cathedral and the prayers that are placed on the angelic figures will be offered up by clergy during services.

Margaret Hammond, development manager at the cathedral, said:

“We are delighted that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance have agreed to partner with Ripon Cathedral to offer a way of individuals praying for their heroes, or remembering loved ones. At the same time, we look forward to raising funds to keep the YAA flying at this difficult time and to support the work of the cathedral in the community.”

The angels created through the ‘Wing and a Prayer’ project will be both downloadable and printable and in a format that can be shared on social media and placed in the windows of homes as a show of support for those who are working on the front line to keep communities safe during the cornavirus crisis and beyond.

Helen Callear, director of fundraising (North East) for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said:

“This is a project very close to our charity’s heart and with event cancellations and fundraising activities on hold, the YAA needs all the support we can get to keep our helicopters in the air and saving lives across the region.

The planned commemorations for VE Day on Friday may have been called off, but the community in Ripon is preparing to ensure the 75th anniversary will not go unmarked despite the coronavirus lockdown.

The city council is calling on citizens to join in a city-wide clap at 3pm, while earlier in the day at 11am, Ripon Cathedral will host a virtual service on YouTube, featuring the Archbishop of York, The Most Rev Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu. Commemorative planting has already been completed as a public display to mark the anniversary.

Councillor Andrew Williams, chair of the the city council’s events committee, told The Stray Ferret:

“The significance of 3pm on May 8th is the fact that this was the time when Churchill spoke to the nation 75 years ago, signalling the end of the war in Europe.”

Cllr Williams added:

“As well as encouraging residents to join in a city-wide clap, we are asking them to decorate their windows red, white and blue. We are extremely disappointed that the three days of celebrations we planned had to be cancelled, but we must at least acknowledge the service and sacrifice of those who served in the second world war.”

The commemorative VE Day service at Ripon Cathedral can be watched via the cathedral’s website and will include singing from the Dishforth Military Wives Choir and music from the Black Dyke brass band. The Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Mrs Jo Ropner, will give a short reading and the Archbishop will give a brief reflection. As the service draws to a close, Tom Coxhead, the cathedral’s assistant organist, will play ‘Spitfire Prelude’ which William Walton wrote for the 1942 film ‘The First of the Few’.

Originally the cathedral was to have hosted a service for the county on VE Day, but as with its Easter Day and other services, is  using YouTube to reach out to the community.

Ripon City Council has responded to the coronavirus crisis by buying £1,200 worth of material and sewing equipment for use in the production of scrubs and  other items for frontline healthcare workers.

The council is currently in isolation and town clerk Paula Benson, contacted all 12 councillors – who unanimously agreed to the purchase of the material. It’s now been supplied to an army of volunteers across the Harrogate district involved in making the items that include masks, sets of scrubs and scrubs bags.

The material and sewing equipment was purchased respectively from local suppliers Reynard Fabrics of Scotton and White Rose Sewing and Craft Centre, Harrogate.

The Mayor of Ripon and chair of the council, Councillor Eamon Parkin (above) , told The Stray Ferret:

“The city council is delighted to support healthcare workers in this way and we pay tribute to the many volunteers, working in their homes, who have collaborated to make items that are vital in our collective fight  against coronavirus.”

He added:

“The council is in harmony with the community in Ripon and I am proud by the response that residents have made through numerous acts of kindness – from active involvement in the production and delivery of PPE, to shopping and the collection of medicines for people who are in self-isolation in their homes. Whenever there is a need, you can count on the people of Ripon to rise to the occasion. This has been the toughest challenge we have ever faced, but we will win, if everybody in every community, continues to pull together.”

Cllr Parkin, whose own business – The Magdalens Pub – is currently closed, has turned the premises into a community hub, delivering shopping and vital items to residents in isolation in the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene Almshouses and to local care homes.

Earlier this month, in a Stray Ferret article, Ripon City and Harrogate district councillor Pauline McHardy, who worked as a nurse in the NHS for 41 years, expressed concern about the shortage of PPE for healthcare workers.

She said:

“With fellow councillors, I am absolutely delighted to support funding for these essential items.”

Ripon butcher Phil Marley, was amazed by the generosity of a Stray Ferret reader who made a large donation after reading the story which went online on Saturday about the way he and his colleagues are helping to feed families and individuals trapped in poverty.

Mr Marley, who has owned and run his shop on North Street for 20 years, has been supplying free meat packs to people in dire need who live in Ripon and surrounding villages and in Saturday’s story, said everybody must pull together to tackle the crisis and what lies beyond for people currently in financial difficulties.

After receiving the call from the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, he told The Stray Ferret:

“Following the story, I received a phone call and I was amazed by the generosity shown towards people who are in less fortunate circumstances. This means that we can help even more of those in need.”

The free meat packs comprising items including a joint of lamb, pork or beef, sausages and mince beef, are worth up to £25 and are delivered on a weekly basis.

Prior to receiving the donation, Mr Marley received support in both kind and cash from community-minded suppliers and customers.

Production of much-needed PPE for health workers in Harrogate and Ripon forms a common thread that links Eileen Jordan, Janet Collins, Caroline Lodge and numerous other people across the Harrogate district.

All have responded to urgent appeals made through social media, for people to either provide material, or use their sewing skills to support the NHS and staff working in care homes.

Hundreds of items, vital to the protection of healthcare workers in both the public and private sectors,  including full sets of scrubs, masks, scrubs bags and head bands, have been produced and distributed, with support from family, friends, neighbours and businesses.

Eileen (pictured above) who lives in Ripon has, with the help of husband Martin, produced almost 200 masks and is now turning her attention to making scrubs bags, with material donated by people such as Caroline Lodge, whose Rosie and Clover home furnishings shop in Westgate, Ripon, is closed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Eileen, whose husband is a retired Staff Sergeant who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, told The Stray Ferret: “I saw a FaceBook post calling for sewers to lend a hand in producing masks and decided to volunteer. I was put in contact with Janet, my ‘sewing buddy’ and it is great to be working with her.

She added:

“When I turned to making bags for scrubs, Martin was very helpful and a 15 metre length of parachute chord that he had in the garage, has come in very handy to act as ties for them.”

Janet, who is Australian, called on the help of friends and neighbours in Studley Roger and said: “I asked if they had spare sheets and duvet covers, that I could use as the material for making scrubs and was amazed by the number of items donated. My husband David is kept busy cutting out the patterns, while I do the sewing. The finished items are then sent to be laundered at 60 degrees before they are distributed to health workers.”

She added:

“We were due to visit Australia at the end of March, but our flights were cancelled. I suppose if we had been allowed to travel, I would have been making sets of scrubs for Australian healthcare workers.”

In addition to working with Eileen, Janet has been joined by two neighbours in Studley Roger, who are also putting their sewing skills to good use and both women would like to encourage anybody with a sewing machine and time to spare, to join the PPE production line, by contacting a group such as Harrogate Sewers for Face Masks, whose details can be found on FaceBook.

The weekly celebration of the NHS and other care workers organised in the Magdalens area of Ripon by Mayor Councillor Eamon Parkin, brought tears as well as cheers on Thursday evening.

Cllr Parkin, has transformed his pub The Magdalens – which is temporarily closed because of the coronavirus crisis – into a community hub and for the last five Thursdays, he has hosted the 8pm salute.

This week’s ‘thankyou’ to key workers in the front line of care, brought tears to the eyes of residents in the streets neighbouring the pub, as the Mayor played ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’  – the record that Captain Tom Moore has recorded with Michael Ball – who is one of his favourite artists.

Just two days after fundraising phenomenon Capt Tom was guest of honour via video link for the opening of the new regional Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate, his strong Yorkshire tones added to the poignancy of the evening.

Cllr Parkin, told The Stray Ferret:

“These Thursday evening celebrations are always emotional and I thought it was highly appropriate to play his song, in view of the incredible things he has done for the NHS.”

Former Ripon Grammar School student Ella Borchard (pictured above) has volunteered to join the NHS front line at Harrogate Hospital in its battle so save the lives of people stricken by coronavirus.

The 21-year-old, who is a nursing student at Sheffield Hallam University, is well-equipped to care for COVID-19 patients as she has received extensive training in the oxygen therapy, mental wellbeing and use of PPE.

Academics at the university have provided online lectures and training sessions about end of life care and COVID-19 policies and procedures, including simulations with mannequins.

Ella, who will be working under supervision from the nursing staff on the Wensleydale Ward at Harrogate Hospital, took up her place at Sheffield Hallam after studying biology, chemistry and Spanish at Ripon Grammar.

Looking forward to using her caring skills in a real-life situation, she said:

“Every day will bring so many issues to overcome, but it will give me lots of experience of nursing in an unusual situation, while having a defined support network. I do feel very excited to be a part of history.”

At university, the nursing students prepared for situations they might find themselves in and discussed how to look after themselves.

Ella pointed out:

“The training gives us some of the skills and information we need to tackle something like this, but I have spent nearly three years preparing for my future career as a nurse and working during the pandemic is only part of what I have trained to do. Further down the line I would like to take my master’s degree in advances nursing so that I can manage patients’ complete clinical care, from diagnosis to care planning and discharge.”

An enthusiastic supporter of Ripon Youth Theatre Ella, like her mother Jo, is a member of Ripon Amateur Operatic Society, taking part in many performances.

Ella in costume for a Ripon Amateur Operatic Society performance

Mrs Borchard, a primary school teacher and herself a former student of Ripon Grammar School, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am so proud of Ella, she is wonderful, caring daughter, with lots of energy, drive, focus and attention to detail.

“Whatever she does, she strives to do it to the best of her ability – whether dancing in an operatic society show, or putting her professional skills into practice at the height of this world pandemic  crisis.”

The Prince’s Trust Coronavirus Support Hub for young people is to receive £2,705, after Ripon Grammar School Student Araminta Praud, organised a charity Colour Dash at the school.

With competitors coated in the colours of the rainbow at the end of the event, those taking part were reminded that there is continuing hope that COVID-19 will eventually be conquered.

Araminta, who lives in Boroughbridge, anticipated that the Colour Dash would raise £1,000, but with support from students, families and teachers within the school community, almost tripled that amount.

The final total of money raised from the event, which was staged in the Ripon Grammar grounds the day before the government brought in restrictions on mass gatherings, has now been calculated and 18-year-old Araminta told The Stray Ferret:

“My aim was to raise £1,000 and I didn’t expect to raise this much. In these testing times, I know the money is going to a great cause. The Prince’s Trust is helping young people with the new Coronavirus Support Hub, as well as continuing to provide opportunities through other programmes for those aged 11 to 30.”

Araminta (pictured above) who has worked with the Prince’s Trust previously through the school, arranged the Colour Dash as part of her extended project qualification. Support was received from a benevolent fund and Yorkshire-based Harron Homes, which paid for the non-toxic paint used to provide the rainbow’s end effect at the finishing line, where she handed out medals to those who took part.

The work of the Prince’s Trust is very important for Araminta, who said:

“They help underprivileged young people my age and give them the opportunities that I am lucky enough to have. I strongly believe everyone should have the same opportunities, no-one should be limited.”

The Ripon Grammar School community has been involved in a number of activities in a bid to beat coronavirus and support the NHS and healtchcare workers, including a YouTube video recorded by the Sladden family, whose son Ned, is a year 8 student at the school.

The musically-gifted family, whose vocal talents have been heard in the Ripon Cathedral choir, recorded their version of Take That’s hit song ‘Shine’ adapting the words to present an important stay at home, stay safe message.

Ripon Grammar has also given practical assistance to the NHS, by donating protective glasses and other equipment usually used in the school’s laboratories.

The Stray Ferret has tried to establish what role locally the district’s two MPs have played in the weeks since lockdown began – with little success.   

The House of Commons has been in recess since March 25th and is due to resume tomorrow, so neither has been required to be in Westminster.

A month ago at the start of lockdown the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP, Andrew Jones, announced he was launching a scheme to match people who were self-isolating with someone who could help them. He sent out 9,000 emails to constituents asking them if they needed support or if they could provide help – saying his team would help match them.  

Andrew Jones MP

Mr Jones has since kept a low profile about this work– with no detail on how his scheme is progressing or how he is supporting his constituency. Last week the Stray Ferret reported on how care homes are crying out for support from their local MPs to help them source PPE. We asked Mr Jones at the time if he wished to make a comment but he declined.  

In the absence of information, The Stray Ferret today contacted a number of the local volunteer networks and business organisations.  They told us Mr Jones has had no involvement in their work which some said had disappointed them. 

It’s a similar picture in Ripon:

Julian Smith MP

Julian Smith, conservative MP for Ripon and Skipton too has remained silent about his work locally. The Stray Ferret has tried to contact him on the telephone and has sent four emails to his office since March 18th, in which  we have sought his views on issues affecting his largely rural community.  Mr Smith has not responded. We have contacted coronavirus volunteer groups in the area and they said he has not been in touch. 

The Stray Ferret has looked into the work of other conservative MPs in Yorkshire by way of a comparison- a number have communicated more often and appear to be more openly involved in the issues their constituents are facing.

The Stray Ferret asked the district’s MPs these questions again earlier today:  

To Mr Jones:

• How has your volunteer scheme progressed?  How many isolated vulnerable people has your team connected with support?  
• What role have you played or support have you offered in the creation of the Nightingale Hospital at the HCC?

To both MPs:

• What role have you played in helping care homes and other medical facilities source PPE?  
• How many constituents have been in touch with you concerned about how they are going to financially survive the crisis and what have you been able to do for them?  
• How can you support local businesses as an economic recession looms?

Neither MP has responded to our questions.

When the Nightingale Hospital opens tomorrow at the HCC, it’s likely Mr Jones will be present to thank those involved. What’s less clear is what work our elected MPs have done to support their constituents in the past month.