Saturday

Had one of those perfect lazy Saturdays. The three of us cycled up to Acomb Library where Rowan and I got some books out. Then spent the rest of the day in the garden, sorting out the vegetable garden whilst Rowan was playing on the trampoline. Watched a bit of a tough Giro mountain stage on Eurosport, then went a walk on the moor in the evening sunshine [photo]

Bee News

Danielle had a Quaker ex-beekeeper over last week, John, to have a look at her bees up on the roof. He has not worn the veil for 15 years, so I think he quite enjoyed the experience.
We have all really enjoyed Beat the Boss this week on CBBC, it is an Apprentice style kids program which is a real hoot http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/beattheboss/
The photo is of the Black Poplar on the moor.

Harrogatge

I cycled over to meet up with friend Derek in Harrogate yesterday. He was one of my MBA tutors, and used to attend Friargate Quaker meeting in York. Great to see him and have a real good chat over a coffee and pannini in Starbucks. The bike ride back was a real reward with a blinding tail wind to help me along - 1 hour 23 minutes - not bad.
The moor is looking at its best at the moment, with the buttercups, gorze and hawthorn all in flower.

Quakevine

I am still taking the cover photo's for Quakevine, the York Quakers monthly newsheet http://yorkquakers.org.uk/ Occaisionally I am really please with one, and this is one of those.

Photo Session

The photo is another of the lush garden we have at the moment.
I spent the morning photographing a school in West Yorkshire. I think it went well, the proof is always in the reaction to the photos though... here's hoping.
On the way back I was listening to a Radio 4 program on roadies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/musicfeature/pip/x1tsb/

and thinking "the only roadie I knew was Slouch, Derwood's mate". Imagine my surprise when Slouch got a name-check on the program "everyone knew that if you wanted to get to Gen X you went to Slouch". Made me smile.

Rain

Had a great meal out on saturday at some friends who live round the corner. Rowan was delighted to be babysat again, "you can go out earlier if you like.." she helpfully told us.

The rain has been incessant for the last 2 days, which does at least lead to a lush garden. This photo is of the Redwood, the pond and the 3 Birch trees, with the moor behind. By the end of the summer it usually looks pretty arid, but it is at its best right now.

Town and Gown

There is a series of lectures put on by York St John college [part of Leeds University] called Town and Gown, that aim to bring civic society and academia together [with free wine]. We ususally get to go to 2 or 3 a year. Last week I got to one by Lavinia Byrne http://www.laviniabyrne.co.uk/ who was OK, very sensible about Cyberspace and spirituality, but a bit too targetted at an audience of techno-phobic middle englanders for my liking.

The photo is of the prolific angelica, uses for which are still awaited.

Garden News

The herb spiral is looking good. The most successful plant is the Angelica which is magnificent but unfortunately useless - anyone got any good ideas of what to use it in?
The birds that are definitely nesting in the garden include Great Tits [in the nest box we made in the winter] Blue Tits [in another nest box] Crow [in the birch trees]. There are plenty of other nests I am sure, just not seen them yet.

Palmour St

I was googling, trying to find a contact for Hayne Palmour who is another Palmour photographer, in the US. I came across a public information film called Palmour Street. Made in 1957 [my year of birth] it is about black American life in Georgia. Danielle and I watched it {you can easily download from

http://www.archive.org/details/PalmourS1957
} and thought it pretty good. There is a weird symmetry about the whole thing and our family now. Palmour Street was picked as a typical street in a Georgian town [Gainsville]. Why it is named after a Palmour I will have to find out later...

Crocked

Edward and I played badminton this week even though [in line with current England football team practice] we were both carrying injuries. Edward had a sore lower back [which stopped him getting my short service back] and I had a knacked sholder [which stopped me hitting it hard] from riding into a lampost when nipping onto the pavement to miss a queue of traffic [cue inevitable "serves you right..." rants]. The end result was a game of subtle shots and no power, which made for a nice change.
The buttercups are coming out on the moor [photo]

Taylor Palmour Associates

I have teamed up with Bev Taylor who is another York based Quaker Management Consultant [a surprisingly populated field] and we are now bidding for work as Taylor Palmour Associates. Today was our first pitch for some work together. We travelled to Lancashire and it went well, we will have to wait a couple of weeks to hear if we have the work or not.
Auntie Alison let slip last week that she had once X-rayed Tom Finney's ankle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Finney
How did I not know this amazing claim to family fame?
The photo is from the Yorkshire Dales at Buckden

Bike Ride

Went a great bike ride with Dave and Ted yesterday. They have both forgiven me for the terror of the Pennines. Went to Terrington

http://www.terrington.com/
up a nice steep bank, then along to Castle Howard

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/metadot/index.pl

where we had a snack before a good ride back into York. Perfect.
The photo is another one from Sutton Park.

Vanilla Black

Saturday was our annual meal out with four friends. We went to a new vegetarian restaraunt in York called Vanilla Black

http://vanillablack.co.uk/
it was fantastic, we had a really great meal and a great night out. Already thinking of another excuse to go there.

Citizen Rowan

Today was Foundation Day http://www.mount.n-yorks.sch.uk/
at Rowan’s school. We were instructed to attend the prize-giving because Rowan had won the Citizenship Award from her class. This is given to the child who shows the most caring, good citizenship to her peers and others. We were very proud of her. The photo shows Rowan and her friend who got the award for the other class in her year, just before they went up to receive their awards.

The Apprentice

Never mind Martha Stewart, Donald Trump or Alan Sugar, here is the real life boss with her apprentice. The bees were bizarrely deciding to swarm around one of my potato plants, so Danielle attempted to get them into her nuke box [don't ask], then the bees ate the queen... [funny things]

Payback Time

Auntie Alison and Uncle Geoff have been staying in York for the week at the Marriott hotel just across the moor from us. It has been really nice to see them up here. On Sunday I picked them up from the station then on Monday Rowan and I walked over the moor to bring them back for a meal at our house. Today Danielle and I, Alison and Geoff all went to Sutton House [photo]

http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/houseyorkshire_sutton%20.htm
where we had lunch and a look around the gardens. I had not been before so it was good to see it at such a pefect time of year - sunshine, blossom and a perfect early summer feel

Signs of Summer

Two signs of summer yesterday. Firstly the cows have returned to the moor, always a happy day. Secondly the football posts on the pitch to the back of the house have been taken down, the season is over. The photo is of the Hob Stone and the blossom that is plentiful at this time of year.
This year I am trying to keep a log of the first day I see each type of butterfly. So far it goes:
17 April - Peacock
23 April - Red Admiral
25 April - Tortoiseshell
25 April - Brimstone
4 May - Orange Tip
4 May - Blue [Holly or Common]
8 May - Small White
10 May - Speckled Wood
All new to me, and quite exciting.

Bromley Contingent

I went down to see Mark in London at the weekend. Showing all the skills necessary in the present day Home Office, Mark failed to get the tickets for the Carol Thompson gig [Lover's rock singer from the early eighties http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/bios/Janet_kay-carol_thompson.html ] so we ended up watching Preston draw with Leeds in the play offs in the pub. Then we had a great Indian in Shaftesbury Avenue before getting back to his new house in Bromley very late [for me] Just like old times, except that Mark had fresh coffee on the go in the morning - things are looking up. The view from the guest room window was a typical London suburban scene, strangely interesting

Chris Petit

My favorite film of all time is Radio On by Chris Petit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3689364

which came out in 1979. After that his films were disapointing, but I have since discovered his books and they are brilliant as well. Psalm Killer is a really disturbing portrait of the troubles in Norn Iron [Northern Ireland] and I have just read Robinson which is weird but great. He's never going to be popular, but it is rare for someone to make great films [well, one great film] and great books.

Clifton Backies

I took my books [well, bits of paper] round to the accountants last week. It’s a bit of a ritual, I always go by bike and it used to be in Wimbledon fortnight, but I am a bit quicker now. My route goes via Clifton Backies – this was a World War Two airfield which has now been swallowed up by the usual mess of retail parks and new housing. Some of the runways survive however, only they have now been colonised by thick scrub [photo]. It is a beautiful and magical place that is now a nature reserve. http://www.communigate.co.uk/york/ynet/page1.phtml

Extension

We hope to go ahead with our extension this summer. We still await our planning permission, and there is a long way to go, but we are just starting to get excited. The architect has come up with a design we like a lot http://www.ukplanning.com/york/doc/Drawing-2881849?extension=.pdf&wmTransparency=0&wmLocation=0&id=2881849&location=VOLUME2&contentType=application%2Fpdf&wmName=&pageCount=1 and we hopeit all comes off.
This photo is from the Wolds, a church in the village where Rowan was riding.

Wakefield

I was working yesterday in Wakefield again, at the Orangery

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/01/24/tall_stories_orangery_feature.shtml

which is an 18 century building nestling in Wakefield right next to the railway. It was a really good session. There are plans to make the Orangery even more interesting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/04/13/wakefield_orangery_plans_feature.shtml
with a futuristic design. As it is, the building is host to lots of public art, including this wooden shape [photo]

Scary

The other week I was making a routine call to the tax office, and quoted my national insurance number - a number I have quoted a thousand times, and that I have had unchanged for 30 years or more. "No sir, that is not your NI number, that belongs to someone else, I will have to give you a new one". The panic, the fear, all my pension contributions gone to someone else, my identity wiped clean, someone else being me. Of course none of these things were true, after some very sympathetic handling from the tax call centre staff, I worked out that I had somehow mistakenly written down my NI number with 2 digets transposed. It was all my mistake, and was all sorted out. But just for a while the fear of idntity theft loomed large.
The photo is of the river derwent in the wolds, where we walked last weekend.

40 years ago

This picture was taken exactly 40 years ago. It is of my sister Rosemary and I the day before I was sent away to boarding school. Rowan is the same age now as I was then, so it is a pretty emotional day. Suffice to say that Rowan isn't going to boarding school.

Rowan Rides!

Rowan has always shown what I consider to be a healthy disinterest in horse riding and [most improtantly] ownership. On Saturday though she went to a birthday party that included an hour of riding over near Stamford Bridge [site of Harold's victory in 1066, not of Morinho's in 2006]

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/battles/stamford-bridge.htm

She enjoyed it quite a bit, but so far there have been no cries of "can I have a horse?"