Editor’s Pick of the Week: Harrogate Town cup cracker, Ripon pies and Knaresborough market drama

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The thought of Harrogate Town playing Leeds United in the FA Cup would have been dismissed as a fairytale until a few years ago, so there was real excitement when the two sides were drawn against each other in Monday night’s third round draw.

If manager Simon Weaver never wins another match he has surely provided the two biggest highlights in the club’s history: the play-off win against Notts County that earned promotion to the English Football League in 2020 and a trip to Elland Road.

Now Harrogate is a proper club, it needs to come up with a proper nickname. ‘The Sulphurites’ and ‘Town’ are hardly the most dynamic. Suggestions?

We’ve had some good exclusives this week, including the news Harrogate Spring Water is under criminal investigation, news of 480 homes in Harrogate and a man banned from driving after crashing his car in Valley Gardens. There have been empty shelves at Morrisons, news of the impending closure of Homebase in Harrogate but the biggest story turned out to be the theft of 2,500 pies worth £25,000 from a van at Melmerby, near Ripon.

There is something inherently funny about pies and national and international media were hanging on Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks’ social media pie heist updates. Even the New York Post reported on the ‘renowned culinary wiz’. The van was eventually discovered but the pies, alas, were written off.

There was more local drama in Knaresborough this week when news of Storm Darragh’s impending approach put paid to this weekend’s Knaresborough Christmas Market. But in a remarkable display of determination and community spirit, organiser Hazel Haas somehow managed to rearrange everything for next weekend in the space of 24 hours.

Let’s hope the forecast is calm next weekend. It's the best local market and a great day out.    

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