COVID is keeping a grip on the nation with no end in sight to the threats of local lockdowns in neighbouring cities and boroughs.

Many of us are feeling stifled, afraid to wander too far from home and deliberately avoiding crowds as the number of daily cases grow, including in Craven.

We look forward to the day we can enjoy the wide outdoors safely and without fear or needing to wear a face covering.

Suggestions are that is why the new series of All Creatures Great and Small, filmed around the district, has hit the right notes among viewers. It offers escapism and a feeling of freedom while a battle rages around us.

Equally heartwarming and buoying is this week’s story about a Skipton runner who has scaled each of Wainwright’s 214 Lake District peaks, consecutively, in less than 14 days.

Mel Steventon was also suffering from injuries to her legs and ankles sustained just two days into her quest, all of which is part of a bigger plan to walk/run the length of Nepal to raise money for two charities.

For someone who confesses to having hated sport while at school, she has shown immense strength and courage to complete her task. For me it reminds us that, with courage, we can beat Covid or learn to live with it.