Ferret Unlocked: what you missed in news last week

With Christmas upon us, the Stray Ferret news agenda included a story which had a sense of festive spirit to it this past week.

Over the weekend, we published a feature length interview with Yorkshire’s very own Grinch.

The character, played by North Yorkshire man Ryan Swain, 34, is based on the lead from the 2000 film 'How the Grinch stole Christmas' starring Jim Carrey.

We caught up with the man behind the mask to find out more about the Yorkshire Grinch and what he has in store for the festive period.

Has devolution been good for North Yorkshire? That was a question which politicians clashed over this past week.

Amid the publication of the devolution white paper in parliament, which included the prospect of setting up a swathe of new unitary councils, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Tom Gordon, suggested that the move had “solved nothing” in North Yorkshire.

Naturally, the Liberal Democrats comments were not received well in the Labour Mayor’s office or by the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council. You can read more about it here.

Meanwhile, we sat down with Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, to reflect on a year of challenges and change in the NHS.

In a wide-ranging interview, he said Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust was in need of capital funding from government, discussed how the hospital is handling winter demand and revealed that the trust has set targets to improve A&E performance.

Subscribers can read the feature length interview here.

Finally, our reporter Flora Grafton spoke with Victoria Hatton, mother of 17-year-old Liz who died 10 months after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive sarcoma on November 28.

Liz Hatton was 16-years-old when she was diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumour. It is so rare that only 12 cases are recorded each year.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret, Victoria reflects on Liz’s life. You can read the full article here.

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