diff --git a/gira/cache.py b/gira/cache.py
index 08ab765..bdd94cb 100644
--- a/gira/cache.py
+++ b/gira/cache.py
@@ -34,12 +34,3 @@ def cache(name: str, url: str) -> pygit2.Repository:
             ["git", "fetch", "origin"], cwd=str(repo_dir), check=True, capture_output=True
         )
     return repo.Repo(repo_dir, ref="HEAD", bare=True)
-
-
-def messages(name: str, url: str, a: str, b: str) -> list[str]:
-    """Return commit messages between two revisions a and b for cached git repository
-
-    @deprecated use cache() and repo.messages() instead.
-    """
-    repo = cache(name, url)
-    return repo.messages(a, b)
diff --git a/gira/gira.py b/gira/gira.py
index 4329b3f..1b3fd9a 100644
--- a/gira/gira.py
+++ b/gira/gira.py
@@ -53,9 +53,16 @@ def gira(config: config.Config, stream: TextIO, format: str, ref: Optional[str])
     for upgrade in upgrades:
         if upgrade.messages is None:
             url = config.observe[upgrade.name]  # this might return an object with more information
-            upgrade.messages = cache.cache(upgrade.name, url).messages(
-                upgrade.old_version, upgrade.new_version
-            )
+            try:
+                upgrade.messages = cache.cache(upgrade.name, url).messages(
+                    upgrade.old_version, upgrade.new_version
+                )
+            except KeyError as e:
+                logger.error(
+                    f"Repository {upgrade.name} does not contain {e.args[0]}."
+                    " Might have been deleted locally or remotely. Skipping"
+                )
+                continue
         logger.debug(
             f"Messages for {upgrade.name} between {upgrade.new_version} and"
             f" {upgrade.old_version}: {upgrade.messages}"
diff --git a/gira/repo.py b/gira/repo.py
index 5815f25..3da1936 100644
--- a/gira/repo.py
+++ b/gira/repo.py
@@ -122,9 +122,7 @@ def messages(self, a: str, b: Optional[str] = None):
         """
         logger.debug(f"Getting messages between {a} and {b or self.ref} for {self.path.name}")
         past_commit = self.repo.revparse_single(a)
-        current_commit = (
-            self.repo.revparse_single(self.ref) if b is None else self.repo.revparse_single(b)
-        )
+        current_commit = self.repo.revparse_single(self.ref if b is None else b)
 
         if not isinstance(past_commit, pygit2.Commit):
             past_commit = past_commit.peel(pygit2.Commit)