The Chandler family took over the Spar Shop in Pateley Bridge in 2016 and as 2021 approaches, they hope to put a year of floods and pandemic behind them. Lee Chandler tells their story for the Stray Ferret.

On Valentine’s Day, people were buying wine and chocolates for a romantic night in, but the following morning Storm Dennis hammered the UK and Nidderdale.

Over three days, we went from a relatively quiet start to 2020, into the teeth of gales, deep waters and floods.

As the River Nidd rose to its highest recorded levels and shops and businesses in Pateley Bridge were flooded, who could have known this was just the precursor of worse to come?

Back in February, many members of the community pulled together to save the High Street – among them, James Clarkson, Hillary and Roger Jefferson (even though Roger was recovering from heart surgery), County Councillor Stan Lumley, Aaron Dunn, Chris Hawkesworth and many more.

Flooding in Pateley Bridge at the beginning of the year. Photo by Sharon Clarkson

Just as we completed the clean-up and, like the town’s other retailers, started putting out the stock for Mother’s Day and Easter, we were back in crisis.

A virus that only medical experts and scientists had heard of came sweeping across the world. Nobody was safe.

While Nidderdale has not suffered the same level of infections and deaths as other parts of the Harrogate district, the lockdowns from March to June and November to early December temporarily closed the majority of businesses in the town.

However, with people isolating in their homes in Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley, we were among the essential retailers allowed to remain open and found our shop transformed into a kind of distribution hub.

Countless boxes and bags containing food and drink, prescriptions, pet supplies, books and DVDs were assembled for delivery by an army of more than 60 volunteers coordinated by Nidderdale Plus with fabulous assistance from the Rev Darryl Hall.

More than 90 deliveries went out on some days – both near and far, including urgent supplies that went up Greenhow Hill by bicycle with trailer ridden by Heather Tuffs, an instructor from Bewerley Park Outdoor Learning Centre – itself in lockdown.

We also had the ‘buddy scheme’ checking on the vulnerable and set up a food bank donation point which remains to this day. It is run by Bewerley Park and Nidderdale Plus.

Read more:

• Bishop of Ripon reflects on what we’ve missed – and what remains to give us hope
• Pateley Bridge hamper competition boosts Mayor’s Fund

Staff at Spar and other shops that remained open worked extremely long hours, in a collaborative community effort – that also saw us, later in the year, clubbing together to support the town’s Christmas lights appeal.

With our late-night Christmas shopping event another casualty of covid-19, the extended lights have brought us some cheer and we will have them for years to come.

In among all this, we took over the local bakery just across the road, which had closed before the first lockdown – some might call us gluttons for punishment!

It has been a challenging year, but we kept our heads above water, maintained our sense of humour and hope to come out of it stronger.

As CEO of Harrogate Neighbours Housing Association, Sue Cawthray has led her team of carers through the toughest year of their professional lives. At the same time, they’ve all had their own difficulties to face, as she tells the Stray Ferret.

The last ten months have been challenging for all of us.

I have worked within social care for the last 27 years and it has been hit so hard – I have never experienced anything quite like it.

Personally, I have found it one of the most difficult times in my career having to be nimble in responses to the ever-changing goal posts and the potential impact, and aspiring to be a ‘mother figure’ to all my staff as well as a confidante.

I am a very positive person and my cup is always half full, but some days the negativity of our new normal lives has been mentally taxing. As there has been no respite, some days I have felt anger, frustration and huge waves of despair.

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• New scheme launched to care for carers
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Being apart from my family has been the biggest challenge for me – my daughter isolated in the Cayman. You may say how wonderful to be in such a lovely place, however when you are forced into a situation and you were expecting to see each other, it has been tough – the choice was taken away.

I struggled with not being able to see my mum for nine months – she is 91 and lives in the south-east and was shielding. We managed two days in September but were unable to hug and be in the same house, and then we faced a Christmas without seeing each other, like so many others.

As a Mum and Grandma, not being able to see my grandchildren and children whenever I wanted to and to spend time together doing all the ‘normal’ things you do as a family has been so tough. Even when we were in a bubble and providing some childcare support, I have been constantly worried about my situation as a front line worker and how the virus is transmitted.

The hardest has been not being able to do the natural things of hugging friends and family, and not being able to console people when they are struggling with their own personal meltdown and, equally important, all the people we care for at work who have needed us more than ever.

Sue Cawthray has kept smiling for her staff and residents, despite the challenges this year

Constantly washing hands, wearing a mask, the use of hand sanitiser, cleaning your car down every time you get in it and not wanting to go to the supermarket or any shop… Having to wipe down everything you touch all the time and always being aware of staying a distance from people.

We’ve all had to learn new ways of communicating with each other and, whether we have used Zoom or any of the other virtual platforms, it’s been a fantastic way of staying in touch with people and given us all the opportunity to continue to work and meet together – but it is just not the same.

We have lost all the social aspect of life –  whether it is going to the cinema, theatre, concerts, eating out, popping to the pub, or meeting friends and for me singing with my wonderful ‘Sing Bramham’.

Life is just not natural and all I ask for in 2021 is some return to life as we all knew it.

Sgt Paul Cording, a traffic sergeant for North Yorkshire Police who lives in Harrogate, reflects on the most unusual year in his policing life, and how officers have dealt with the challenges.

The one thing that really stands out in my mind in 2020 is the start of the first lockdown when we were stopping cars on the A59 Skipton Road. At that moment I realised this was different to anything I’d ever done before.

You never know in policing what you will be faced with and have to be prepared for anything but nothing in my career led me to think I’d be stopping drivers in the middle of a pandemic and asking them to validate the purpose of their journeys.

I’m fortunate because I still have a job. I’m acutely aware many people haven’t. But the pandemic impacted my working life hugely. There was instantly a massive reduction in traffic on the roads. I remember driving between two junctions on the A1 and seeing just two HGVs — that’s on a road that usually has hundreds of thousands of vehicles every day.

The government advice on the pandemic was challenging to work out but the actual legislation did give us other avenues to stop vehicles and question journeys, rather than have to start with the usual questions about tax and insurance.

A police coronavirus checkpoint in action. Photo: Sgt Paul Cording

It was a difficult time and some police forces were criticised for being heavy-handed and flying drones in remote places. But the situation was different to anything we had previously experienced and you have to remember we were – and still are – in the middle of a pandemic and communities in the Dales have as much right to be safe as anyone else.

In those early days the ambiguity over how far you could travel and how long you could take your daily exercise for meant there were an awful lot of people descending on the Dales.

North Yorkshire Police has a reputation as a friendly force. This year has seen some strain on relations between the police and the public. Look at some of the large protests that have taken place nationally on issues such as covid and Black Lives Matter. There has been some unrest, but we haven’t seen any in North Yorkshire and, personally, I don’t think relations with the public have been strained here.

There has been much more community spirit this year. People seem more inclined to spend their money locally and I met more people in my street during the VE Day celebrations than I ever had before.

Fortunately this year I had Christmas Day off so I could be at home with my wife and son. I’m on the day shift on New Year’s Eve, but the days of going from pub to pub on December 31 have gone. I predict there will be a big uptake in orders for patio heaters as more people celebrate New Year at home!

The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate, Cllr Stuart Martin, has had his mayoral year extended after Harrogate Borough Council was unable to hold its annual mayor-making ceremony in May. However, that was just one minor event in what has been an extraordinary year for Cllr Martin and his wife April, as he tells the Stray Ferret:

Little did I know when 2020 started that it would be a year like no other and one that would have a great personal impact on myself and my wife April.

I had been elected to the office of the Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate in May 2019, which was a great honour. A very busy year ensued, with April and I attending many different and varied events. About February, approximately eight months into our Mayoral year, news was circulating around the world of a virus that was making many people seriously ill and unfortunately resulting in many of those infected, dying.

We had our main fund-raising activity planned and it took place in the March, a Black-Tie Ball event raising £10,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The ball was a magnificent affair and everyone really enjoyed it. We didn’t know it at the time but this was to be our last event before the whole country went into the first lockdown.

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Read more:

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Sadly, the week following our ball, April began to feel unwell – at this stage we were unsure if it was coronavirus. However, within a few days she started displaying symptoms that suggested it was. She had developed an awful hacking cough so we followed the government guidance and self-isolated for 14 days just in case.

As time went on, April became worse, necessitating a call to 111, however the paramedics who visited didn’t feel April was ill enough to go to hospital, which was something April as a former nurse wanted to avoid. However, despite continuing to care for her at home she became so breathless, made even worse by the continued hacking cough. We had no alternative but to call 999; this time April was taken to Harrogate A&E.

This was to become one of the darkest moments of my life. I was told I was not allowed to go with her but I could say goodbye in the back of the ambulance, which I did and I went back inside my house.

This is when I realised, I may never see or speak with April ever again. April was admitted through the emergency department where she was stabilised before being sent to the Intensive Care Unit. We are a close family, but we were not allowed to meet other members of the family. I was left feeling bereft and alone: what do I do, who do I turn too?

Later that night, I had a conversation with the consultant who informed me that April was critically ill and only time would tell if she would pull through.

The turning point was when April came onto a normal ward, still very ill but at least we were able to speak and see each other through modern technology – what a relief and joy that was. In time, April was discharged home and her slow recovery began; in fact, some six months later she still experiences breathlessness and fatigue.

Harrogate’s Mayor Cllr Stuart Martin with his wife April, in their formal robes and chains.

My thanks go to not only the skilled medical staff who did save her life and to whom I will be forever grateful, but also to the ancillary staff who played an enormous part in April’s recovery, many of you who I know offered your own prayers and words of kindness at this terrible time. We were so grateful to those people who dropped off meals at our door and for all the good wishes we received.

Thankfully, we were able to move on with our year, many meetings being held over zoom. We have managed to attend events albeit socially distanced and wearing masks around the district, these included planting of bulbs in the Valley Gardens, visiting an elderly lady for her birthday, attending Remembrance services in a very different way and very early in the morning, to name but a few. However, we now have hope for the future with the vaccine rolling out across the country.

My thoughts are with all of those families who were not as lucky as myself: over 60,000 and the death toll continues to rise. I hold deep in my heart the staff at Harrogate District Hospital. My thoughts also go to the many local and national businesses who have suffered greatly, so many people have lost jobs. Finally, in the festive season, I think about our communities and the efforts and sacrifices made by everyone.

I wish everybody a very Happy, healthy Christmas, stay safe, enjoy the festivities with those you can and look forward to rebuilding our lives in 2021.

Main photo: Andrew Dobbs Photograph

In November, sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey, who farm near Ripon, helped to save a young bull and herd of cows from drowning in the River Ure. It has been a difficult 2020 for the rural economy, as Fran reflects on the farming year.

Being born into a farming family with livestock to look after, the animals have always come first.

From being toddlers, Hannah and I have happy memories of cold Christmas Day mornings, watching the cattle and sheep being fed and bedded.

Today, as has been the case for the three years since we started running our own farm, it will be us doing the feeding, mucking out and providing fresh bedding.

Our Texel Mule sheep and lambs, Limousin, Simmental and Belted Galloway cattle and Quincy the bull, will be checked and fed before we open our presents.

A lovely addition for us this year has been five Valais Blacknose lambs – a rare breed that we look forward to showing next summer, if covid restrictions allow. They came from Switzerland and are called Hettie, Hannah, Hyacinth, Honor and Hollie.

There’s no question that this has been a difficult and unpredictable year for farmers across the Harrogate district, with extremes of weather, covid-19 and uncertainty over Brexit.

For us, Brexit could have an effect on exporting lambs and the price of them. It could mean tariffs, which would reduce what we get. However, we remain hopeful.

Farming sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey with some of their cattle

In the wider farming community across the Harrogate district, arable farmers producing vegetables had a very wet start to the year and flooded fields reduced yields and made life difficult, even before the coronavirus crisis caused additional problems.

Fortunately, Hannah and I were able to keep our animals safe and fed away from the sodden ground and they have thrived

We had a good lambing time from April to May and it was all systems go with Hannah clipping her first 300 sheep.

The very hot weather in spring and summer meant we had to ensure that our sheep were as fly-free as possible and treated accordingly.

Read more:

• Nidd farming sisters save bull from drowning
• Harrogate district farmers fearful of post-Brexit future

Perhaps one positive thing that has emerged from the coronavirus crisis has been the need for communities to pull together and look after each other.

As farmers, we are part of the community, and the message that people should support local producers has never been more important.

It’s not only good for the local economy, but reduced road and air miles are good for the environment – something Hannah and I feel strongly about as we play our part in being countryside custodians.

In her Christmas Day column for the Stray Ferret, the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, reflects on all the things we’re missing this year – but that we can still have all we need, and fill that need for others too.

I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Oti Mabuse and Bill Bailey were crowned the winners of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition.

I have dipped in and out of this year’s series. I watched all of Bake Off and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here (which secured me a point in this year’s Ripon Runners’ Zoom Christmas Quiz: I knew that Jordan North was the runner up!), but Strictly has not really been on my viewing radar, and I’m going to have to catch up on that one.

But the sight of Oti and Bill rejoicing at their win and so much wanting to run around and hug the other contestants but not being able to do so was a poignant moment of joy and grief all in one.

Ripon Cathedral was reopened by the clergy in June, after the first lockdown was eased

I still haven’t been able to hug my parents. My dad completed his cancer treatment just before lockdown, but then both had to shield. They are in a tier 3 area, and so Christmas won’t be the same; we aren’t risking the opportunity to meet up indoors.

Out of lockdown and tiers, catch-ups have been in our garden. We celebrated their golden wedding anniversary back in October on a mercifully mild and sunny autumn day, a Bettys celebration iced fruit cake the delicious centre-piece of the distanced picnic-table spread.

‘Lives pulled apart’

Covid has impacted all of our lives, and while I have been uplifted at the stories of community care and resilience, it has been hard to hear about the pain of lives pulled apart, and of loneliness, isolation and struggles. This year Christmas isn’t the same, and we aren’t able to gather with friends and family.

I will miss the Boxing Day pilgrimage to Fountains Abbey, and blessing the City of Ripon at midnight from the Town Hall balcony with raucous crowds assembled below on the Market Square, and fireworks offering a rousing welcome to the new year. No, it’s just not the same at all.

Yet what is the same is the Christmas story. I shared a reflection on this at a recent Auction Mart drive-in carol service. Using a Christmas cracker, I spoke about how a cracker contains surprises: a joke or riddle, a paper crown, and a gift. The baby who was born over 2000 years ago was something of a surprise; he was the answer to the musings of prophets; he was a king unlike any other; and in his life all of humanity received a gift: God becoming one of us, experiencing our joys and sorrows and going ahead of us into the unknown.

Now, to some, that’s just daft, but this is a narrative of hope that has endured, and it’s a narrative that grounds everything that I try to do, say and be.

And you can see it at work all around us too: in the kindness of strangers, in the magnificent NHS, and in the process of the rapid development of the vaccine. Maybe you can think of your own example too?

I’m struck by lots of images of Jesus’ birth, how the child radiates light illuminating the faces gazing upon him. All the light we need is that which can help us take the next step. We don’t need a floodlight.

Glimpses of hope, love, light and joy are everywhere, and if we don’t see it, perhaps we can be that light that someone needs today. Just enough to help us get to the next day, and the day after that. That’s what the Christmas story is about: not ‘me’ but ‘us’: God with us.

Happy Christmas!