Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Harrogate today for the second day of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
More than 17,000 tickets have been sold for the four-day festival, which ends on Sunday with a discussion featuring TV historian and author Lucy Worsley.
Today’s special guest is Ann Cleeves, creator of Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez, who was due to be interviewed by Vaseem Khan at 8.30pm.
But the attendees also included Ms Sturgeon, who stood down after more than eight years as First Minister in March.
Arts charity Harrogate International Festivals, which organises the event at the Old Swan each year, uploaded this image of her looking relaxed alongside fellow Scot Val McDermid on its social media sites today.
Ms Sturgeon is no stranger to the festival — in 2019 she interviewed Ms McDermid at the event.
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Harrogate business Glawning Ltd has been named microbusiness of the year at the Federation of Small Businesses awards.
Glawning, which sells awnings and accessories for campervans, was set up in 2013 by husband and wife James and Sarah Martin.
Since then, the company has flourished, and last year turned over more than £500,000.
The annual awards, which celebrate the best of small business and entrepreneurship, attracted more than 3,000 entries from the UK.
Glawning won the Yorkshire award before defeating 12 other regional finalists at yesterday’s event in Glasgow, which was hosted by TV presenters Clare Balding and JJ Chalmers.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also there to address the nominees.
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Ms Martin said:
“We set up our business after identifying a gap in the market and this award is very much a testament to all the work we have put into creating and launching a product that we ourselves need and use.”
The company now plans to launch in Europe and the USA this year.
Martin McTague, FSB national chair said:
“This is an example of a small business that recognised an opening for a new product and worked hard to create something that has been a success amongst the campervan community.
“I wish them success as they continue to innovate and create new products and take on the international markets.”