Ebor Lecture

I took Mother to an Ebor Lecture at the Minster by Tim Gorringe http://www.yorkminster.org/learning/lectures-courses/the-ebor-lectures/ I think it is fair to say that the topic "The Book of Revelation and Climate Change" would not ordinarily have attracted my attention but it was actually very good. He was a very good speaker and covered a lot of interesting ground.

The photo is another of Beverley Minster

Haunted Hob Moor

Rowan and I joined over 30 other people on a "Haunted Hob Moor" walk last night. It was done by a professional story teller [this scary looking bloke] and aimed at kids: just for fun but it went down well with the target audience.

Beverley

Mother has come to stay with us for the half term week. This means lots of treats. We all went for brunch at Bettys www.bettys.co.uk after Rowan had been swimming on Saturday morning.

Sunday we went to a swimming gala in Beverley where Rowan got a second place and a "speeding ticket" which delighted her.

Definition of hell #1: Driving to a swimming gala on a quad-bike with a sat-nav listening to Quote Unquote.

Photo is the beautiful Beverley Minster

Windmill

Monday was the Friends of Hob Moor, Annual General Meeting. I was in the chair. It was actually quite enjoyable, we had a talk from the Holgate Windmill society http://www.holgatewindmill.org/  That's it for another year.

Sometimes you see a shot and think "That'll be great" only it isn't. This is one of those. Luckily it also works the other way round sometimes.

Wighill

This is Wighill [the h is silent] Church which is on the cycle route to the tea rooms in Bolton Percy. Danielle and I rode the route last week as part of our week off together. The tea room shuts down for the winter now, and the exhausted patrone looked well ready for the rest.

Harvest Time

Last week Rowan was in a performance at school - Harvest Rock and Roll which was a lot better than it sounds. Although it promises awful "swinging vicar" fare it was actually good fun, even when parents were instructed to dance as well. Danielle won a best parent dancer award. I did not.

The photo is another from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park; this is the building itself not a sculpture.

YSP

Saturday Ted, Dave and I did the Knaresborough bike ride. Ted told me about a good Noguchi exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=3 . So Sunday Danielle, Rowan and I went to take a look. It is a great place to run around, good for hide and seek, and the art is not bad either.

Joanna

Friday evening we went to the first BMS concert of the season - Martin Roscoe http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/a.asp?a=A607 on the piano. It was really good; we had both been a bit unenthused before we set off but were won over. He played a piece by Nielsen [Danish composer, not awful 70s singer songwriter] which was great.

The photo is of a sundial aside the Thames

Book Group

Our Book Group met this week to discuss Room At The Top by John Braine. Most of us thought this was a 60s book, but it was actually written in the year of my birth 1957, and set in the 40s. It seemed incredibly modern in many ways and it gave us one of our best discussions. John bought a great Argentinian Malbec wine as well.

Fact of the day. My mother and my sister both became grandmothers within 7 years of each other

The photo is of rowers on the Thames.

Last weeks bike ride took me up White Horse Hill which is 25% or 1 in 4 in old money, or "a bit of a bugger" in real terms. I made it up there on the racing bike. My pride was deflated when I realised that I'd left my keys on the table at home. Luckily Danielle had seen them, appraised the situation, and alerted a neighbour. This meant I could get back into the house and a bath: without that and I could still be siezed up now  I think.

Apples

We are both off this week, but staying at home. It is great. We went a walk from Helmsley to Riveaulx Abbey http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.17256 yesterday, it felt good to get out in the beautiful autumn countryside. 

After the walk we took 30 kilos of our apples to Ampleforth Abbey where Father Reiner has an apple press. What happens is, you get a reduced price bottle of the collectively produced apple juice per amount of apples you bring in. We left with 11 bottles of lovely juice.

Bike Show

Saturday I went down to London on a free 1st class ticket to the London Bike Show at Earls Court. It was interesting and a good positive event http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/ . 

I was looking on the Mosquito Bike stand expressing disbelief that a woollen top could cost £80 when I glanced at the person telling me it was well worth it: surely I recognised her. "Did you work at Mosquito in Dalston when it was a grubby collective?" I asked, and she did. The shop had come along way in that time. She said that someone else had asked her the same question the day before, the difference being that he remembered her from when he was a boy.

The photo is of a nice retro Colnago Italian racing bike.

Dig it

Friends of Hob Moor commissioned an archaeological dig to see if we could find the remains of an old water mill that used to be on the moor. They came, they dug, they found a load of debris and Victorian back-fill, and an old conduit for a stream but not any of the hoped-for mill. It was a shame but has still been worthwhile.

At the same time the moor lost a lovely 30metre Beech tree that had to be felled on account of fungal infection. See the before and after photos at http://www.friendsofhobmoor.org.uk/news 

One local came up as it was being felled and asked if they could keep a bit that had his name carved in it half way up the tree 50 years ago: hopefully he found it.

Salty Cow

After the Parakeet and the Heron the next sight by the river was of this cow on someones balcony. It was  a statue and it did say Salt on the side [for some reason] but it was still quite a surprise.

Heron there

Further on up the Thames I came across this Heron. Herons used to be shy and elusive; not anymore not in London anyway. This one seemed very happy to pose dramatically for me. And no it is not a plastic one that I stuck in the mud - honest.

Thames Walking

After work in Twickenham yesterday I walked along the Thames to Hammersmith via Barnes. It was a lovely walk and full of strange London sights. First off was this wild Parakeet on a tree by Kew. There are plenty of these birds in south west London http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3869815.stm but this is the first time I have seen one up close. Weird.

Quaker Gig

There was a "what are Quakers all about?" event at school on Monday. Danielle did a speech, I made a joke, and Rowan performed in a "news interview style" sketch on what it is like to be a Quaker - see photo.

GNR

Danielle completed the Great North Run half marathon on Sunday.

It was a beautiful day again, and Rowan and I explored the sea shore and the National Trust cafe at the lighthouse before meeting up at the finish. Danielle knocked 20 minutes off last years time, so that is good, and probably explains why she is sitting down.

Art

Friday evening we all went out for an Indian meal [it is great that Rowan can now enjoy a curry - it means we can too] then went on to the private view for a friends art show http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2007/01/24/rosalind_walker_artist_feature.shtmlRos is a friend of Rowan's mum. Danielle chose a painting for her christmas present, so that is that sorted. 

Rowan won her under 11 girls' cross country race on the racecourse on Saturday, although a boy did beat her - he better watch out next time I think. The photo is of all the medal winners - it was a cold old morning.

Jazz

Went into town for a drink with Adrian at a bar where there is jazz. He has broken his wrist and so has been eased out of the band; the new guy is not as good. Quite often the band will have people sitting in who are studying at the music school at the University. This evening there was a young guy on the trumpet who was really good; they jammed on some Miles Davis stuff and it sounded great.

Signage

This sign is at my work place in Doncaster. It must be working, the pigeons must be reading it, because so far I have not found a single pigeon head first in a toilet bowl...