AS Christmas approaches we generally look back over the past year and reflect what we have done since the last festivities.

For many people that equates to not a great deal.

We have lived and worked under tough Covid restrictions which curtailed much of our enjoyment. Businesses were closed, then they reopened, then they closed again. It was very much ‘ground hog day’ in Craven.

Markets traders were restricted to selling only food, then regulars were able to join them, before they were sent packing again. Now they’re back.

Here in Tier 2 we are better off than most parts of the country, but still we have to adhere to rules and guidelines. If you are a pub that only sells drink, then that is a tough one. Others have had to adapt to selling a ‘substantial meal’ or move most of their tables so people can sit apart.

It has been a year to forget for everyone and there is something to be said about that old chestnut: ‘Things can only get better’.

Don’t listen to the scaremongering about whether the vaccinations will work or not. We must all believe that we can get through this and hope the majority of our businesses can weather this storm.

We wish you all as merry a Christmas as you can possibly have and hope for a sincerely happier New Year.