It has been precisely 14 months and three days since I published the inaugural news article of Macclesfield Nub News in April 2020 and there are no prizes for guessing it was on the topic of Covid-19.

It was an incredibly uncertain time for everyone as we were settling into the routine of the first lockdown, with all of the baking, work from home buzz and Joe Wicks exercise routines that entailed.

Fast forward to today and I'm writing my final articles for Macclesfield and Sandbach Nub News as we make our tentative steps out of what we all hope is the final lockdown.

It has been an incredible privilege to report local news within the vibrant Cheshire towns of Macclesfield and Sandbach over the past 14 and eight months, respectively.

Despite being a difficult time, some of my favourite highlights from Macclesfield centre on the early days of the first lockdown where we saw the community pull together in a way not seen for a long time with the likes of garden concerts and socially distanced street parties to mark the 70th VE Day celebrations.

Sandbach was a town I got to know well before my time at Nub News, as a trainee reporter at the Chronicle.

Reporting on the town council has proven to be one of my enduring highlights in Sandbach. While it can be dysfunctional at times, such as last month's annual meeting, on the whole, it has been great to see local democracy in action with people from different walks of life come together to try and make life better in a town they are passionate about.

Macclesfield readers will have already seen the excellent stories from my replacement, Alexander Greensmith, over the last six weeks. I have no doubt he will take our online newspaper to new heights.

Readers of Sandbach Nub News will also be left in the very capable hands of an experienced new editor who I can't name just yet. All I will say is the new editor will reach the heart of this wonderful community to bring you the stories you want to read.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make Sandbach and Macclesfield Nub News the successes they are today and most of all, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read any articles. I really appreciate it.

-James Kelly