The Christmas Gift and Food Fair at Ripon Cathedral will return this month.
The popular event is usually staged annually but could covid restrictions meant it did not happen in 2020.
This year it will take place for the first time over two days, on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 November from 9.30am to 4.30pm on both days.
There will be 95 stalls offering a wide selection of unusual gifts, crafts and local food.
A pop-up café will serve hot turkey sandwiches, mulled wine, hot drinks and homemade cakes.
Ripon Cathedral
Live Christmas music will be provided by local choirs over lunchtime on both days in the ornate setting of the cathedral’s quire.
The fair is popular with families and although Santa will not be attending this year, there will be craft activities for children, who will be able to decorate a Christmas bauble to take home and hang on their tree.
Harrogate solicitors Raworths and Leeds wealth management firm Brewin Dolphin are supporting the event as part of their business partnership with the cathedral.
Zoe Robinson, managing partner at Raworths said:
“As a business partner, Raworths is delighted to play a part in the preservation and development of the Cathedral and to support local community-based events organised by Ripon Cathedral’s team, such as the wonderful annual Christmas Fair.”
Entry is £5 payable on the door by card or cash or online. Entry for accompanied children is free.
Read more:
Stray Jewels is a monthly column written by BBC Antiques Roadshow jewellery specialist, Susan Rumfitt. Susan started her career working for Christie’s auctioneers in Glasgow before establishing her own jewellery department, The Gallery in Harrogate.
In 2006, she joined the Antiques Roadshow and has since built up an extensive knowledge of and passion for fine jewellery.
Gifts for Lovers in Lockdown
If the thought of being spontaneously romantic fills you with dread at the best of times, then Valentine’s Day in lockdown could be even more of a challenge. I can give you a big helpful hint though – jewellery should feature high on the shopping list for dedicated romantics. Contact our many fabulous local jewellers and auction houses to find that perfect gift. Not in a relationship? Then shop to your heart’s content and buy what you really want – there is a world of jewels out there just waiting for you.
Here are a few themes to help you on your way. Diamonds, secret messages, hearts and flowers. Of course for those traditional romantics it is Cupid who decides love’s fate and he too has been depicted in jewellery for centuries.
Cameo brooch featuring winged Putti or Cupids, circa 1870
Are Diamonds your Best Friend?
What should one look for in a diamond?
Diamond is the stone of enduring love. The ‘Four Cs’ are seen as the most important attributes of a diamond and they relate to Carat, Cut, Colour and Clarity. Each is as important as the other to bring the best out of a diamond.
The cut of the diamond can seriously enhance the sparkle of the stone. The modern brilliant-cut diamond has long been the most popular cut for an engagement ring. Many say the bigger the carat (weight) of the diamond the better it must be! Grace Kelly and Jennifer Lopez both acquired emerald-cut diamond engagement rings that were over 10 carats. Another very fashionable cut is the Asscher-cut. Perhaps the most famous belonging to Elizabeth Taylor which weighed 33.19 carats and is known as the Krupp Diamond. It made $8.8million when it sold at auction in 2011.
The carat, cut, colour and clarity of diamonds are all important
But size isn’t the only consideration. Any specialist will tell you that a large diamond with poor colour, clarity and cut will not sparkle as much as a smaller diamond with better characteristics. The colour of the diamond and the clarity (the amount of flaws that are in the stone) are as important as the size. ‘Colour’ in a white diamond refers to the whiteness or lack of yellow tone in the stone. A better white diamond refers to one that shows no colour (or yellowness).
Secret Messages
Should you prefer historical jewellery then look at the Georgian and Victorian periods for inspiration. The heart pounding Netflix drama Bridgerton sets the scene for not only diamonds but the importance of coloured stones in jewellery during the Georgian period. Flowers and jewels were an essential way of expressing intensions for a loved one, sometimes secretly. This is known as ACROISTIC jewellery, where the first letter of each gemstone makes up a word. Eg LOVE would be represented by the stones Lapis Lazuli, Opal, Vermeil (now known as garnet) and Emerald and DEAREST with Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire and Tsvorite. Combined within a heart design this jewellery was exceptionally romantic. You could perhaps ask a jeweller to set various gemstones in a piece of jewellery to spell out your beloved’s name or set a gemstone in a piece of jewellery to represent their birth stone.
A Victorian gold heart pendant set with Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby and Diamond spelling REGARD
A Victorian blue enamel, pearl and diamond brooch depicting a forget-me-not flower
Jewelled flowers are also a great way to represent feelings. A rose represents true love, a pansy represents thoughtfulness and a forget-me-not flower – well that surely needs no explanation! Happy hunting.
Ripon department store hopes summer trade will secure its futureWrens, the Ripon department store that is home to 55 independent retailers, reopened on Tuesday, hoping that summer trade will secure its future.
Owner Mark Butler, told The Stray Ferret:
“The lockdown period has been an extremely difficult time for all of the businesses here and I think as we gradually come out of it, it will be a case of battening down the hatches and hanging on in there, hoping that the loyal customer base that has supported us, returns as we re-open our doors.”
Day trippers, visitors and holiday makers who stay in the Ripon area, make up 65 percent of the store’s customer base. With air travel out for many this summer, retailers hope that more people will stay in the holiday homes and nearby caravan sites and come to the city to spend their money.
Mr Butler pointed out:
“If we can get over the next few months and also see our tearoom re-open, it can help set us up for Christmas, which is always our most important trading time of the year.”
Wrens was established seven years ago, when the Fishergate premises, previously occupied by the Philip Hall department store, was transformed into an outlet that helps small independent retailers enter the market place at low financial risk, with affordable short to medium term leases.
The success of the concept, launched by Mr Butler and his wife, Philomena, can be seen in different parts of the city: Fig & Willow gift-shop, Antiques and Collectables, Eastwick handbags and the Easylearn toy shop, are all among Ripon retailers, formerly based at Wrens, who now have their own shops.
The department store continues to feature an eclectic mixture of retailers, from a cooper who turns the ends of barrels into unique clocks, to a trader who sells vintage toys and train sets.
Read more:
- Ripon Cathedral re-opens to the public for private prayer
- Ripon Post Office to move to more accessible location
In addition to handmade gifts, cards and collectables, there is a large women’s wear section and furniture department.
In 2014 Wrens received recognition for the ingenious way in which it nurtures new retail businesses with an award from the small business network and advice hub, Ingenious Britain,.
Now, Mr Butler and the retailers that he works with, will be showing all the ingenuity that they can to ensure that they make it through the tough times that lie ahead.