With a splash here and a headline there, the latter half of 2019 has been eventful. From the scorching summer showcasing the best of our countryside, to the chillingly cold winter remembering the fallen soldiers on Remembrance Sunday - Ryedale really has it all.

JULY

The month of July will always be remembered for dodgy sunburns and, in Ryedale, the record-breaking 153rd Ryedale Show.

Thousands of people flocked to the annual show, with the showers eventually clearing to blue skies for a perfect day.

The Teasdale family, from Pockley, have attended the show for generations. Johanna Teasdale said: “I first came here 42 years ago when I got married and we have been coming ever since.”

Also attending were Johanna’s husband John, son Iain and his wife Ailsa and grandchildren Alfie, eight, and six-year-old Zara.

“They love it as much as anybody and getting involved with the show,” Johanna said.

This year’s joint show president were Frederick and Jane Fairburn, who farm at Rievaulx. The couple have particularly strong links to the event, with Frederick’s father being involved for many years and their son, Richard, being current chairman.

Frederick, who is usually showing cattle or stewarding, said: “It has been a great day and a real privilege to be chosen as president. The show is our shop window for the rural community, and it has been a perfect day for the show.”

AUGUST

Ryedale’s only open-air pool celebrated its 50th anniversary, with everyone enjoying a splash around during the summer holiday.

It remains one of only a handful of lidos in the country and received substantial funding last year to enable the pool lining and surrounding to be replaced.

Pool manager Charisse Charlton said: “We had a really good summer last year with the heatwave and with last month’s hot weather lots of people have been to the pool and loved it so much they have been back, even when the weather hasn’t been great.”

With wistful dreams towards a Christmas dinner, who doesn’t love this traditional Yorkshire addition.

A giant homage to the legacy of the Yorkshire Pudding was unveiled in Malton. The street mural, in Greengate, is dedicated to 18th century chef Hannah Glasse, who paved the way with the very first Yorkshire Pudding Recipe.

Tom Naylor-Leyland, director of Visit Malton, said: “It’s with great honour that we have installed a giant tribute to our treasured Yorkshire pud for all to see and appreciate, taking pride of place in the centre of town.”

SEPTEMBER

Tributes were paid to a young woman who was kind, caring, and full of life.

Emma Bottomley, 26, who lived in Malton, died on August 26 after fighting ovarian cancer.

Emma’s parents, David and Dawn, fiancé Jack Fletcher and her sister and brother, Laura and Jack, described her as someone who lived life to the full.

The family said: “Emma was always such a selfless person and didn’t want any of us to worry about her. She was a fitness fanatic and loved going to the gym, as well as running and doing Zumba and yoga.”

Emma’s fiancé, Jack, said they met at Malton School aged 14, and from the age of 20, they had lived together in Malton.

“When Emma first moved out she could barely boil an egg, but she went on to cook healthy, fresh food from scratch and loved cooking for fun.

“Emma lived life by setting goals and would go for it. She was very kind and so caring.”

Her dad, David, said they were grateful for all the support Saint Catherine’s had given Emma and the rest of the family. “She was a beautiful young lady who was full of life and crammed so much into it.”

OCTOBER

A teenager who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) as a baby took up a place at the prestigious Cambridge University.

Joe-Joe Graves is currently studying for a degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at King’s College.

Hoping to become an academic, Joe-Joe chose his degree after reading about the tales of King Arthur and Robin Hood as a boy.

“I fell in love with the period as there is so much depth and so much to uncover,” Joe-Joe said.

“I really wanted to do a degree in the period and was delighted to find the course and be offered a place.”

Despite suffering a year of ill-health while studying at Lady Lumley’s sixth form, Joe-Joe secured the university place after gaining an A* and two As in his A-levels.

Joe-Joe’s mum Katherine said it was a great achievement for him.

“We are absolutely thrilled for him, particularly as he has had several periods of ill-health and hospitalisation during his school years,” she said.

“As a mum you do worry about him, but he is ready to stand on his own two feet and we are very proud of him.”

NOVEMBER

Remembrance Sunday is a time for people to reflect on those who have given their lives for their country during wars and conflicts.

Romey Willis is remembering the 80th anniversary of the “Simon Bolivar” tragedy; a Dutch-liner which was struck twice by a German mine on November 18, 1939.

More than 120 people lost their lives, with only 98 surviving the tragedy: including her parents Ronald and Nancy Gourlay.

Romey said: “The whole event was a tragedy; you only think of the war claiming soldiers’ lives, but we forget about the tragedies involving innocent civilians.

“Children were orphaned, people lost their whole family - the sinking of the “Simon Bolivar” summarised the devastation of war.

On September 25, 1939, Ronald, 39, and Nancy, 27, were married at Saville Street Methodist Church in Malton after a quick engagement.

Two months later, Ronald took a position of assistant superintendent engineer for the Trinidad Coastal Service and the couple set off on a ‘honeymoon voyage’ to their new home - which sank after two explosions.

“It is important to remember the outbreak of war 80 years ago and what terrible carnage and heartbreak it caused,” she said.

“Amidst all that horror of the explosion on the ship, the stories of courage and heroic bravery of those saving lives and tending the injured are really what is important to remember and be thankful for.”

DECEMBER

A group of women bared nearly all in a charity calendar to raise money for the fight against female cancer.

Classic Bangers was the idea of Helen Miller, whose sister-in-law Robyn died from cancer the day before the photoshoot at Mathewson’s car auctioneers in Thornton-le-Dale.

Following Robyn’s illness and in reaction to other friends’ cancer diagnoses, Helen decided to organise the calendar project to raise awareness.

Helen said: “Robyn was only 52 and diagnosed with a rare cancer of the womb in February. The raw grief of losing your sister-in-law they day before took away the nerves.

“Robyn had just died, and I thought, come on, let’s do this.

“It’s for a really, really good cause. We all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer or ovarian cancer.”