How Yorkshire Dales and my town are adapting to the pandemic – Susan Briggs

Or at least it did until now. Every day sees a new adaptation, a different way of doing business, a change in the social fabric.

The floods were a challenge. Many properties were affected. My own house was flooded three times in two weeks. It was a minor inconvenience compared to the coronavirus.

Visitors are the lifeblood of the local economy. Or they were. Now we’re begging them to stay away, to avoid infecting residents and putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk. Rural medical services are already stretched.

Many of us talk about a good ‘sense of community’. Now we’re really seeing it in practice, and very grateful for it. Shopping has always taken a while in Masham where I live. People stop to greet each other, trading gossip and friendly banter along the way.

It still takes time but in a different way. It’s a much more measured affair, thanks to the ‘one in, one out’ policy in the local shops. There’s hand sanitiser on a small table outside both butchers for all to use. The name on the bottle is familiar: Spirit of Masham. Our local gin distiller having quickly adapted production to make sanitiser.

Almost every Masham business has had to adapt. Black Sheep Brewery has created a delivery service, speeding bottles of beers to thirsty customers, with an amusingly-named “Deliverewe” meal takeaway service. At the beginning of the crisis, Vennells Restaurant had a cancellation for a party of 30, leaving chef Jon with ingredients he couldn’t use. He speedily offered a high class ‘ready meal’ service and sold over 150 meals on his first night, feeding more than 10 per cent of local residents in one evening alone.

Masham Gallery had to close but owner Josie has come up with a creative ‘secret service’ solution for locals seeking a card or gift. She offers photos of gallery shelves for us to choose and pay online for a special item, with pick-up from a hidden spot during the Government-approved exercise hour.

We’re all learning about each other in different ways. Phone numbers of ‘shopping angels’ are provided for vulnerable people who can’t leave their home. The churches, Women’s Institute, and other local clubs have rotas of people to call each day and have a chat. Volunteers send round a daily email update from Masham Community Office.

I hope one of the positives is that we all really appreciate our local shops and services even more than before. When I shop for a neighbour, the greengrocer is precise about the exact size of potatoes my neighbour prefers. The wine shop owners know their favourite tipples. The pharmacist doesn’t just hand out prescriptions – they ask after sick relatives.

The Masham online community is equally strong. Our curate offers patterns for those who’d like to make their own face masks. Acts of worship are shared online. The school governors have gathered on Zoom. Artist Ian Scott Massie has adapted his music and art lessons so he can still teach online. The highlight comes on Sundays when our local joiner transforms himself into the glamorous Yvette Nightingale to give motivational YouTube talks in full make-up.

Despite these adaptations and can-do spirit, there’s one sector that is in real difficulty though. Tourism businesses are really hurting, struggling to find alternative ways to do business. Some of them will benefit from the financial support announced by the Government. Others fall through the net and are facing very uncertain times.

Over the last few weeks I’ve spent hours offering support to over 400 tourism businesses. They all need guidance on practical steps they can take to secure their future, and emotional support to deal with troubled times. I haven’t done any paid work for three weeks, instead focusing on offering free support where I can. We have some difficult times ahead but I think we can be optimistic, too.

When the recovery comes, surely people will want to flock to the countryside to enjoy their freedom? We hope they’ll take advantage of the opportunity to meet up in Yorkshire.

The longer we’re in lockdown, the longer the wish list of places to eventually visit. Until then, we’ll keep sharing photos of the beauty on our doorstep and hope it’s not too long until everyone can enjoy it again.

Susan Briggs is director of The Tourism Network, a grassroots organisation based in Masham.

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