Council hits back at "well-upholstered matrons" gibe

5:40pm Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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RICHMONDSHIRE District Council has hit back after a national newspaper characterised a local town as having "well-upholstered matrons with trolleys on wheels."

An article in the Sunday Times newspaper this weekend picked Richmond as one of its "five perfect minibreaks in Britain", and described some of the town's top tourist attractions.

But the article goes on to say: "Richmond is not Harrogate. Harrogate has sophisticated ladies in pashminas and pearls hurrying to their next reiki session or a cruisewear sale at the Snooty Fox. Richmond has well-upholstered matrons with trolleys on wheels, buying a brisket from Morton the Butcher on Finkle Street. And nowt wrong with that, as they say up here."

The article also mentions the town's historic castle - saying "it really is a dazzler", the Georgian Theatre Royal, the Station and the Green Howards Regimental Museum.

A spokesman for Richmondshire District Council said: "We're thrilled that the Sunday Times has highlighted Richmond as one of the top five tourist destinations in the country, although any Richmondshire resident already knows that the district is a fantastic place to live or visit.

"We also agree with the newspaper that there's nowt wrong with trolleys on wheels, or buying brisket from the local butcher.

"But that's not to say that the town isn't the perfect destination for sophisticated ladies in pashminas and pearls' too. Only last month a top fashion magazine was in town to do a photoshoot for a forthcoming issue, and we regularly get requests from TV companies wanting to film here - which just goes to show we can do sophisticated' as well as anyone.

"The message really is that Richmondshire has something to offer everyone, whether they want brisket, cruisewear, or anything in between."