I kicked cancer into touch! I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2009. Without treatment I was given nine months to live, so I took the treatment.

What else could I do? I had two young children who needed their mother and a husband who needed me too.

We lay on the bed holding hands and wept as we tried to digest the awful news. We had just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and I remember thinking ‘Fifteen years isn’t enough with this man. We haven’t had time to do all the things we wanted to do’.

After that moment of self-pity, instead of thinking ‘Why me?’, I thought ‘Why not me?’. Cancer is indiscriminate. It doesn’t care who you are or what you do or whether your children need you. It’s nasty and it’s sneaky and it has no place in my family.

My oncologist threw everything at it. He called it the gold standard of chemotherapy. And I took it all. Every last drop of the vile, toxic, poisonous substance that dripped its way into my poor, defeated veins.

I lost my hair, my figure, my confidence, but I never lost my will to live. The alternative wasn’t an option for any of us. One never truly defeats breast cancer. There is always a shadow hanging over you, but I am 15 years clear and even my oncologist calls me his ‘little miracle’. So for now it’s Helen 1, Cancer 0. Toughest match I ever played. 

I couldn’t bear the thought of children being hungry, so In November 2019, I set up the Back to Basics initiative to help families who struggle to make ends meet.

With the generous support of local busiesses and individuals, including, Janette Scarth, Angela Stennett at Morrisons supermarket, Tim Stothard of Highside Butchers in Kirkby Malzeard, Mandie and Tony Rushton of TMR Foods,  and fruit-and-veg man Brian Murphy of Ripon Market, I  am able to provide all the ingredients (even down to a stock cube or a garlic clove) for a healthy, nutritious meal and a recipe card to follow.

In all that time I have never missed a weekend. It’s not much in the scheme of things but what is remarkable is how the families have grown in confidence in the kitchen.

Some had never made a meal from scratch, choosing the ease of ready meals over the effort needed to follow a recipe. But the whole idea was that families got together to make the meal, chopping and prepping becoming an activity they could all share, and that providing a meal was not just Mum’s job.

It teaches children basic life skills. We have a group chat where ideas are shared and if someone discovers a great offer in a supermarket, they share that information too. 

Another remarkable thing about this project is the number of people who realise that there but for the grace of God go any of us. We are all just one wage packet away from catastrophe. So the Ripon community have faith in the scheme and donate either food items or help financially.

At Christmas, which is tough for many of us, this support enables me to take the pressure off the families by taking care of the food provision entirely.

For me, the remarkable thing about Back to Basics is the people I have met and the empathy they feel towards those who struggle to make ends meet. 

I love Ripon. I was born and bred here, I went to Ripon Grammar School and when the opportunity arose for a Director of Sport at my Alma Mater, I took it with both hands. 

My girls, Laura and Amy, also attended Ripon Grammar School and now I’m Deputy Housemistress in the girls’ boarding house. I feel if you sliced me through the middle I would have Ripon Grammar printed like a stick of rock! So I feel RGS is a big part of my life here and a big pull for anyone moving to Ripon. 

I also love the tradition of the hornblower and always take any guests we have staying to witness the setting of the watch. I still have my lucky penny from hornblower George Pickles, who sadly died a few years ago.

 I love the bustle of the Thursday market, the beauty of the cathedral, the tranquility of the remembrance garden, the pride of the army parades. You name it, Ripon has got it. 

There’s even – dare I say it – a rather tremendous netball club! To be fair, there are a few in Ripon, but I founded Ripon City Netball Club 10 years ago and it has grown exponentially, helping women of all ages and abilities to have fun, get fit and enjoy the buzz you get from playing a team sport. 

As a married couple my husband John and I set up home in Ripon in 2006. It’s a lovely place to bring children up and that was in our minds when we upped sticks and moved back from Northumberland. 

I always feel a sense of pride when I say I’m from Ripon. 

I’m not very good at relaxing but I do enjoy reading, and John and I like nothing better than being at home. I’d far rather throw a dinner party at home for friends than actually go out for a meal, although I do enjoy that occasionally. 

Lockdown cemented my contentment when I was with my three favourite people and my four favourite cats in our lovely home. We have a small garden (my father’s green fingers were inherited entirely by my sister) but my friend Caroline helps us make it look nice each year (she must despair) and I love sitting out on the decking with a cup of tea and a crossword while the waterfall trickles in the background. Sounds idyllic but simple pleasures are exactly that. I have a lot to be grateful for. 

That’s a tough one. I’m scared I’ll miss someone out! I adored Andrew Swarbrick the butcher and still miss him whenever I wander down Westgate.

I love The Little Ripon Bookshop and all they do to encourage reading. There is always some event on or other and they welcome schools into their shop for reading time etc. It must be so hard to compete with online businesses, but there is nothing quite so wonderful as opening the first page of a brand new book.

I love it when people know their professions inside and out, none more so than the formidable Ele Hartas from the Ripon Uniform Shop. To see Ele kit a child out in their school uniform knowing exactly what will fit and what will look right is a sight to behold.

Sarita McDermott of Realitea fame is one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. She is kind and generous and will literally do anything for anyone. 

Her Indian cooking is supreme and her knowledge of spices is second to none. It was Sarita and I that came up with the idea of Back to Basics together but not long after we started, we entered lockdown and Sarita had to plough all her energies into keeping her business going.