Lockdown is not the end of the world – what would be however, is breaking it. This would risk not just you, but everyone with whom you come into contact.
So, how to manage in a world where the culture is to nip out if something is needed, eat out, eat takeaways, do as we wish? Where families are often far flung – and contact is by telephone or IT.
What we have to do is depend on community; you know; that all too often long ago reality where we knew our neighbours, and shopkeepers – and everyone cared for everyone else.
But will neighbours step up to the plate? Will the community? What about the shopkeepers? Does the plate, and community even exist?
In Thirsk , a small market town, people haven’t just stepped up to the plate. They have stayed and built on it, and asked of themselves as much as their hearts and energy could give – and then some more.
Neighbours, those young enough to be allowed to shop, collect lists from the rest of us. They return with arms down to the floor. Books are loaned, texts of advice and support exchanged. Cakes, and even homemade pate are left on doorsteps, or a bottle of wine. One of our neighbour’s knocks and leaves Magnums, chocolate covered icecream lollies for the uninitiated, and ruinous to the diet, and which, sorry but… I consider an essential. The WI, the U3a groups continue to function in a variety of ways.
The local shops have excelled, and here I mention only those we have used. But there are others. The wonderful community conscious shops and cafes I feature have, with great entrepreneurial gusto turned themselves around overnight, setting up delivery services, determined that those in the community should continue to be served, and their small businesses should survive.
The Greengrocer at 93 Market Place Thirsk YO7 1EY is exhibiting no, not virus symptoms, but this amazing entrepreneurial spirit has responded to demand, and the team put together boxes for delivery, (£15 and £25) Extraordinarily fresh, I repeat fresh vegetables, fruit and eggs. Phone them, 01845 527899.
If you do not want certain vegetables or fruit, talk to them. They are always happy to help. In common with other local outlets in Thirsk, the team at The Greengrocer is working its socks off, and let’s hope this side of the business stays as thriving as it is now. I have to say, that the shop is such a picture on the Market Square, with the fruit and vegetables displayed, and the PLANTS.
Just round the corner from the Market Place, at 1 Kirkgate, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 1PQ. 01845 523212 / 07973 117354 is Johnson’s the butcher. But not just a butcher – they are so much more. They offer an extensive range of local meats, plain or prepared; eg Beef Stroganoff for you to cook. There are pies, game, smoked fish and ready meals, and a delicatessen.
Ever versatile and quick to respond to changing circumstances, there is now a lockdown steak night pack with 2 sirloin steaks, 2 mushroom bakes, garlic roasting potatoes and a sauce, all this for only £16. The speed at which the owners turned around the shop, to cater for those who couldn’t leave their homes is a testament to their determination to rise to the challenge of a community in need. As with The Greengrocer, they now have a successful and ever growing delivery arm, which serves not just Thirsk but surrounding villages. I reckon a fair bit of exhaustion runs alongside, as with all these businesses taking up position on the plate. www.Johnsonsofthirsk.co.uk
I mentioned cafes. Well, here is Bliss cafe and Patisserie. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bliss-Cafe-Thirsk/ email. blisscafe@mail.com
Bliss Cafe welcomes dogs, ours adore Jacqui, and it’s not just because of the slices of sausage they are both given on arrival. We, the grownups. don’t have slices of sausage, but we do have coffee and cake. Or breakfast, or lunch… Yet, again, at the start of lockdown, Jacqui and her daughters turned the business around overnight and now deliver cooled, or frozen ready meals, cooked by their own fair hands. (In addition they do take-away: 9 am to 1 pm.)
Our particular favourites are Fish Pie and Beef Lasagne. Even the dogs get a treat when the meals are left on the doorstep: a bag of sausage slices. Jacqui explained that she worried about her regulars, and wanted to make sure they were fed, so the prices are ridiculously reasonable and they leave the meals on the doorstep, and that way she can stop worrying about us.
This, guys, is what community is all about. But these small businesses are not just community minded, they are also enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and are endlessly finding ways to thrive in a small market town. In this way, they continue in a positive onward sense, and, so does the community. In Thirsk, there is a buzz, a hope, an energy.
But I’m not done yet.
The Community Works is the result of a coming together of The Clock and Thirsk Community Care. These two charities have merged their staff, resources and services and through Community Works they offer practical help at all times. But during lockdown they are particularly invaluable, as they are able to offer prescription collection, and shopping for the vibrant independent, hilarious and doughty people of the area. We’ve used them, they’re fabulous. 01845 524494
I am now going to sneak another in, the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse. This was recommended to me by people from around the country, including London and Morecombe. So I had to try it. The fish arrived within 48 hours. Today we had salmon and cod, and we tasted the sea. We really did. Try them, I beg you. www.Lancastersmokehouse.co.uk or 01524 751493