Friendship is always to be cherished - and when a whole village can lay claim to such a rapport, those who live there truly are blessed.

The people of Sheriff Hutton have been recognised as friendly in a national village competition. As the inhabitants of this North Yorkshire village have also been praised for their enterprise and a strong sense of community, this is clearly a happy, progressive place to live.

Tellingly, the judges of the Great Britain Village of the Year competition were most impressed by a testimonial from West Londoners who had moved to the village. These incomers said that they had been "overwhelmed by the friendship extended to them".

If a Yorkshire village can cherish its deep traditional roots while also nurturing the new and the modern, then surely the perfect balance has been struck. Sheriff Hutton appears to be just such a place.