A short email to the Stray Ferret office triggered a ferocious debate this week: would we accept an advert from a political party? There has been cattle rustling in Ripley, a chicken farm in Melmerby and, today, a person dressed as St Wilfrid will ride a donkey around Ripon for the annual St Wilfrid’s Procession. Last week, Harrogate was the place to be for its annual crime writing festival, which put the icing on the cake of a blockbuster month for hospitality businesses. Ripon celebrated a new boxing professional this week, when Ben Julian has joined the paid ranks. Now there are plans to extend it all the way to Beckwithshaw — which is quite a slog uphill, but great to ride downhill.