Ribbon Circus

Ribbon Circus is a yarn shop in Hebden Bridge, on the main road which runs along the valley, through the town.  That means it's not far from the river.  On Boxing Day (December 26th) there were severe floods along the valley - the river Calder filled the valley bottom and flowed along that main road, as well as in its proper channel.  The shops and houses along both sides of the road, including Ribbon Circus, were flooded - I was told that the water on the ground floor reached chest height.  Like many other businesses that were affected, the shop has not yet re-opened, but it has had a lot of support from spinners and the knitting community generally, and on Saturday they held a fund-raiser.  

Ribbon Circus following the flood

I went along to support the event.  I hadn't been in Calderdale since before Christmas, and it was shocking to see the aftermath of the floods.  There are still clusters of sandbags everywhere - not much use against water that's several feet deep.   Everywhere there are signs of repair work going on, and stacks of ruined materials outside buildings.

The fund-raiser was mainly a yarn sale - several spinners had donated yarn, and local knitters had cleared out their stashes.  A lot had already been sold by the time I got there, but there was plenty left.

The Hebden Bridge W.I. had baked cakes, and were offering tea, coffee and cake all day.  (The cakes all looked delicious, and I can confirm that the two I sampled definitely were.)  Several of the W.I. members visited Lee Mills last November to see some of the collection (I wrote about the visit here) , so it was great to see them again and meet Helen and Caroline of Ribbon Circus.   I'm told that the day raised £2000 towards the cost of repairing the flood damage.

I walked around the town, and saw that businesses are gradually re-opening.   A rather damp experience, as it rained all day - a completely unnecessary reminder of the reason for the fund-raiser.  The Hebden Beck, which flows through the town and into the Calder, was looking very full again.

Hebden Beck

It's hoped that the shop can re-open before the end of February.   I'll keep an eye on the website, and re-visit Hebden Bridge then - preferably when it's not raining.