Blue Peter Badge

After several attempts Rowan has been awarded a Blue Peter Badge. English readers will know the enormity of this event. Suffice to say that it makes the Nobel Peace Prize look like winning the sack race. When Danielle broke the news to Rowan she went running round the playground for five minutes before getting round to opening the envelope. She was awarded the badge for a toy catepillar she made, and sent an e-mail to Blue Peter with a picture of it [coming tomorrow]

Deaf

I am in London today, meeting with a few people, keeping contacts oiled.
One friend, who is more deaf than me, told me she is going to lip-reading classes. This has got me thinking that I should really do the same. I did attend a class about 15 year ago, but it was populated by old people who bid me a "welcome to our social club" - I didn't go back. Anyway Catherine has found that evening classes are better than day-classes, so I shall see what I come up with in York.
The photo is of the Millenium Bridge in London, looking from the Tate Modern to St Pauls

New York

We have only been in York 7 years but things have changed a lot. Since we arrived there is a designer outlet mall, a big new retail park, several new cycletracks [including the one across Hob Moor] the millenium bridge has been opened, you can now get a coffee everywhere [when we moved there was not a single Starbucks type coffee shop]. The City Screen cinema has opened in the city centre. The bin collection now includes seperate recyling bins for glass and plastic and paper. New housing has been built all over the place, some city centre blocks, lots of Barratt-house sytle. It really seems like a constantly changing place, certainly not static.

The photo is another from Fairburn RSPB reserve. This area is a reclaimed mining area, which gives it a strange moonscapesque feel.

After the storm...

The photo is of Fairburn RSPB reserve when we visited last week.

After yesterday today was a quiet one. I had a portrait to take of a client this morning, which went pretty well, then this afternoon Rowan and I tandemed to some friends for a cup of tea in St Pauls Square [the only square in York, and it's an oval at that]. Danielle suffering from a cold.

Glentress

Worst snow in the UK for ages, floods predicted. So what do we do? Drive up to Scotland for a days mountain biking of course. My friend Dave had an excuse for going [a treat for his 12 year old son and his two friends] so I hitched onto that excuse. 6 inches of snow, and pelting rain didn't stop us having a good time. Dave and I shared the driving up to the Glentress mountain bike centre near Peebles in the Scottish borders http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/index.html which really is a great place. Good routes, showers, great cafe [ok I admit it, I have listed them in reverse order of importance] Not what I normally do, but a good day out.

Tregelles

I was taking some photos for Rowan's school this afternoon. They need some good ones for marketing / publicity, so I said I would do some for them. It went pretty well. Whilst I was at it I took one of the school itself, so you can picture what it looks like.

Portait of Danielle

This was taken in the office with no flash - we like it.

This evening is a committee meeting for Tuke Housing Association http://www.housingnet.co.uk/housingnet-html/Tuke_Housing_Association_Limited.html which I must admit is not my favorite evening out.

Long long ago...

This is me in 1976 with my self-painted [no really] VW beetle, and our black labrador Sheba. This is the car that cousin Gill, friend Jude and myself travelled around Europe in. I remember my father sensibly suggesting it might be a good idea to check that I could change the wheels in case I had a puncture. Advice that was of course ignored. I did have brake problems though, this involved crossing the Alps with just a handbrake and the gears for braking...

Cliffords Tower

The light has been beautifully crisp for the last week or so. As we cycled across Hob Moor to school today there was a lingering mist hovering just above the moor.

This photo is of Cliffords Tower [York Castle] with two people ignoring the "keep off the grass" sign. Don't know who they are...

Fairburn

Rowan went for a sleepover at her friend Ella's on Saturday night. This meant Danielle and I had a night to ourselves. It was great, we just stayed in, had a meal together. Today we went to Fairburn our local RSPB reservce

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/fairburnings/index.asp in beautiful weather, still some frost and lots of sunshine.

The photo is another from the canal. Quite often canals get virtually suffocated by motorways that tend to follow the same valleys.

The route to the gym

One more photo from the Leeds - Liverpool, this is ancient ridge and furrow alongside the canal.

Danielle was governing at the Mount, so Rowan and I went to the gym for her trampoline class. The route we take on the tandem is great. We cross Hob Moor on the cycle track, pass the site of the gallows on Tadcaster Road, cross the racecourse, then the Millenium Bridgehttp://www.vryork.com/millennium_bridge_qtvr/ pass Fulford Barracks, across Walmgate Stray, through the University and so to the gym. Hardly any road, mainly cycle tracks and a couple of good hills thrown in too.

Edward and I had our weekly badminton session scuppered by the HM Treasury table tennis tournament [sounds like a front for some drug-dealing cartel, but it seemed genuine] so had to make do with lunch instead. Went to the Blakes Head http://www.blakeheadcafe.co.uk/index2.htm which is that near-oxymoron; a good, friendly vegetarian restaurant.
The photo is of a mile post from the Leeds Liverpool canal, as you can tell from the mileage it is not a direct route [70 miles as the crow flies]

Leeds Liverpool Canal

The weather today was perfect. Crisp and cloudless, a beautiful clear light. Rowan was playing at her friend Douglas' after school, so I took the chance to get a bike ride in. I took the train to Burnley then cycled along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal http://www.canaljunction.com/cleedsl.htm to Skipton. It was fantastic, beautiful and a privilege to be there. The canal is like a giant sculpture draped across the north of England, the bridges and tunnels are beautifully in tune with the surrounding countryside.

Last time I cycled here was 27 years ago when I set off from Liverpool with my girlfriend's fathers bike [ancient and unmaintained] and a sleeping bag. I had no tool kit [so I had to find a garage in Parbold to fix the chain] no tent [so I slept in a field above Blackburn] no map [I know...] and no puncture repair kit [so I had to ring girlfriend's mother when I was past Skipton]. The towpath then was far less inviting to cyclists [I had to scale a seven foot fence in Burnley], but despite all that I had a great ride, which inspired me to further travelling.

Retreating

I went to a very interesting talk by a friend, Chris, who is a psychiatrist at The Retreat http://www.retreat-hospital.org/pages/history.htm the Quaker mental hosptial in York. Then today I had a good day at work with a very vibrant Action Learning Set.
The photo is abother from Albania.

Albania

I will be posting a number of photos from slides over the next several months. This one is from Tirane in Albania. I visited Albania in 1989 when it was still Hoxha'd and communist. Several things struck me. It was incredibly peaceful in Tirane, the capital city, because there were no private cars. I saw several pairs of soldiers holding hands, which was strangely reassuring. When told by our guide that "no-one can earn more than twice anyone else" it had a certain appeal. Stalin was not disgraced. A visit now, fifteen years after the end of communism would be interesting and not necessarily uplifting.

Re Cycling

The Council have now started to collect glass and plastic bottles, as well as paper. This means that pretty much the only trash we have to put out is plastic stuff, and cardboard. So we have started to burn the cardboard and then put the ash on the vegetable garden - well that is the plan. The photo is of my assistant.

The reading book that Rowan bought back from school is "Drop Dead Danielle".

Groups

At Meeting today Danielle was taking a group of 5 year olds and under - getting them to make poppies from card. I was in charge of the Link Group - the group for 11 upwards - which today meant just me and Oscar. We were doing photography and had a good time learning the basics.

Favorite Rhyme Time.
This comes from a soul song by Laura Lee
"There's gonna be an avalanche
When I tell my cousin Blanche"

The photo is of me and my cuddly toy of choice - a bus.

York City Nil

Roland and I went to watch York City http://www.yorkcityfc.com/ play Burton Albion. It was my annual pilgrimage to see the lcoal side. They lost. They did not play well, although Andy Bishop their "star" striker still looked classy to me. Burton are player/managed by Nigel Clough, so there was the prospect of a former England player on the Kit Kat Stadium pitch, which would have been bizarre. Alas, he stayed on the bench.
The picture is of Rowan and Rhianna heading off for trick or treat.

Open University

As an Open University MBA allumni I get invited to talks and so on. Last night I managed to get to one - it was at some stockbrokers in Leeds http://www.redmayne.co.uk/main_code/index.htm explaining how it all worked, and the history of stock broking in Leeds which was a lot more interesting than it sounds. A good evening, with a bit of networking thrown in as well.

I have a cold and as usual am pretending it is not there in the hope that it will go away. It's not co-operating yet.

Rough Science

Rowan and I settled down to watch our favorite TV program last night - Rough Science http://www.open2.net/roughscience/ It is really good, a very positive program, and inspiring. So inspiring that we had to make some CO2 out of baking soda and vinegar before Rowan went to bed. Our small contribution to global warming.

Bike Ride

Dave, Eddy and I went on a bike group bike-ride on sunday. It rained. A lot. But we still enjoyed it. I looked around at one stage, seeing the water bouncing off the tarmac thinking how it must look terrible from the warmth of a car; but for us, generating body heat from the exertion, it was OK. But it was good when it stopped. We had a break at Bolton Piercy where the locals, including the vicar, were very friendly - and a little bemused.
The photo is of Rowan and her friend Clara who came for a successful sleep-over at the weekend.

New Flowers on the Red Sage

Autumn is taking a long time to really happen. The Lazy Ash has lost all its leaves but the redwood remains fully clothed. Looking out at the Herb Spiral at the weekend I noticed that the apple sage was flowering. This seemed a little strange for November, but it looks lovely.

I have got a meeting set up for another potential work-stream in the new year which sounds very interesting.

Murder in the Sardines

The bonfire on friday went really well. Soup, wine, feeble fireworks, good company, lots of kids charging about. Rowan was very taken with playing Murder in the Dark and Sardines when we got back to John and Katie's house after the bonfire.
The fireworks at Rowan's school were definitely not feeble, but less fun.

Hebden Cord"

Photo. Spot the Rowan.

I saw an ad in Cycle Touring magazine, saying that Hebden Cord were having a closing down sale. This firm make the best and longest lasting cycling trousers and shorts you can imagine. They cost, but they are worth it. So I looked up on their website to see what bargains I could get... except they don't have a website. Pahh I thought, no wonder they are going out of business. Anyway, I decided to ring and order a pair. An old lady answered the phone,
me "Do you have any 35" waist shorts?"
her "Oh, I'll run you up a pair"
me [imagining a mill in Hebden Bridge about to put countless workers onto the dole] "Thanks. Why are you closing down?"
her "I'm retiring!"
It then dawned on me that this was not even a "mom and pop" operation. It was just grandma. A real shame that she is giving it up, and the passing of a unique product.

The Minster Lit

We cycled down to the Minster on the tandem en route to the bonfire last night to check out the Minster Lights http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4386990.stm which are on for a week. The effect is of the minster being painted with different color lighting. It was good fun to see it and Rowan enjoyed "hiding" in the light. Overall though I think it fitted into the PBG [phenomenal but ghastly] category.

Cyber Palmours

Out of the blue I got contacted by a Mark Palmour from the US, via G mail. It is hard to get across the shock of seeing Palmour written down when not referring to me. Sounds interesting, his daughter may come and visit us next year when she is a student in Prague for the year.

This evening will be the third Brierly bonfire on their allotment, hopefully the rain will relent [unlikely] and we can have a good time.

The scan is of one of Rowan's paintings

Book Group #4

Book group was made great by champagne from John [left over from the wedding and in celebration of his birthday] and cake from Gwen. We had a great discussion about The Line of Beauty http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,1189089,00.html with some of us really liking it [David and I as usual] and others hating it. This is what you want in a book group. Our next book is Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Chronicle of a death foretold http://www.enotes.com/chronicle-death/ and we are going to have a game of Ex-Libris http://www.spiritgames.com/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=620 as well.

Tree Trimming

We had several huge willow branches trimmed today from our willow trees. The two blokes just nipped up the trees [with ropes] as though it was an everyday thing to do - looked incredibly scary to me. We are doing it so that the garden and lawn get more light in the summer when the trees are in leaf.

The photo is another from Kirtlington Quarry.

Halloween Too

Halloween is the time of year when things change. The cows will be leaving the moor today, and the compost heap will be covered up for the winter. I have been in the garden clearing up the last of the summer debris, including the courgettes plants that have finally given up the ghost. It is a beautiful day to be pottering around in.

Rowan and Rhianna had a successful trick or treat foray yesterday evening