As always this is a personal reflection, so much goes on in Chester these days that its impossible for me to list everything, so please don’t be offended if your event or business etc is not mentioned. Let’s look back…

• January

Market Traders Pop Specs triumphed on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, winning a £75,000 investment in return for 12% of the business from three Dragons. With the city coated in snow, the Council issued a statement about the walls collapse of 2020. With no word since a temporary walkway had been installed to maintain access, the long awaited update stated that complicated legal and access reasons had held up the repairs. Things were a lot warmer a week later when the Market was evacuated due to to “the cooking of a quantity of chili oil, vapour from which had entered the ventilation system.” No one was hurt.

• February

The Ginger E-scooters made a shock departure from Chester, after having been a feature of city life since December 2020. Possibly linked to Government inaction on the status of E-scooters and the seemingly never ending trial period, the Chief Executive of Ginger commented that “We are reviewing our operations and trying to find a way to come back to Chester, which has been a great place for e-scooters“. The colourful Chinese New Year celebrations were back with Lord Mayor Sheila Little excelling with a paper fan. Argos Extra on Sealand Road closed their doors for the last time.

• March

A new Chester themed Monopoly board was announced, triggering all the clever people to say that there already was one ( actually Chester and Cheshire themed). Mr Monopoly himself came to Eastgate street for the press launch revealing that the public could nominate properties for the board. Long serving Rows business Chester Health announced their closure, having opened back in 2014. Back on street level, the long awaited Boheme opened, promising an exciting new culinary destination for the city. Restaurant 28, from the team behind the Chef’s Table opened on Pepper Street and soon received rave reviews with Times food critic saying that the fried chicken bao bun was “worth the trip to Chester in itself”. Bowling returned to Chester after a decade absence with a 28 lane Ten Pin Entertainment centre opening at Sealand Road retail park.

• April

The 10th annual Chester Duck race raised £31,000 for the Countess of Chester charity. The Northgate Arena Duck won the race. Meanwhile the Civic Trust announced their always interesting good, bad and the ugly awards. Picturehouse were recognised with a special award, and praise went to oH Foundation, the Market and the revived Lock Vaults. The state of Delamere street, the collapsed wall and the closed off section of Bridge street row all received “”bad” awards, as well another collapsed wall ( Liverpool Road) – 7 years and counting. On the plus side American Pizza Slice made their Chester debut on Bridge street.

• May

This was a month of openings with the Town Crier welcoming mini golf attraction The Hole in Wand to a former retail space on Eastgate street. An M&S Food store opened at the Hospital and Poise Dance Studio opened in Boughton. Bakery chain Gails opened on Bridge Street, and were not welcomed by all, but the business was soon booming. Bridge street coffee opened their second location, filling an empty space in the Coachworks arcade.

In other news, in preparation for his Cathedral wedding the Duke of Westminster and his fiancée announced that they would be funding the summer’s floral displays. The couple also visited 3 Chester charities including Storyhouse.

The arrival of a big pink Harrods Beauty bus for a pop up event on Eastgate street, right outside the empty Brown’s building began a summer of speculation. Kinky Boots at Storyhouse was a sensational and memorable production, concluding with a runway fashion show in the kitchen area.

• June

The Duke’s wedding to Olivia Henson took place on the 7th June attracting crowds to the Cathedral and surrounding streets, with footfall boosted by the Duke’s free ice cream offer. With the couple emerging from a massive floral archway, even the disruption caused by some Just Oil protesters, who had been hiding in plain sight all day, couldn’t spoil the moment.

Chester Heritage Festival returned with a programme of walks, talks and events with the addition of Roman Zumba in the amphitheatre. Medieval music in the historic surroundings of St Johns was another highlight as well as the always excellent Midsummer parade. A successfully crowdfunding campaign saw the return of the pirate ship to the event. Another successful raft race, the 47th, closed out the month.

• July

The General Election was held with Samantha Dixon succeeding in the bizarre construct of Chester North and Neston and Aphra Brandreth winning in the just as bizarre construct of Chester South and Eddisbury. Splitting the city in two along the river was a head scratching and confusing decision. AxHaus brought axe throwing to Chester for the first time, another fun new experience based attraction filling an empty unit. The very first Chester Festival of Ideas was a big success with 100 free events, and over 1000 people attending events at the Town Hall. The university led event will return in 2025. The expensively built and curated Boheme stunned Chester with their shock closure just 5 months after opening. July also saw the opening of ARTLAB at ōH, a new pop-up creative space in a previously empty commercial unit on Bridge street row, above the oH Foundation’s main premises.

Disability Pride was another joyous spectacle as a parade led by a brass band made its way through the city, an event that had clearly grown in size and scope since its creation.

Picturehouse and Chester Heritage Festival collaborated on the Heritage Festival summer celebration. Taking place in Exchange square and inside the cinema, the event brought together many heritage interests and provided fresh momentum for the festival, filling the community space with art, giants and music.