Junior Prom

It was Rowan's Junior Prom last weekend. No idea what that means but it looks like a posh disco to me. She enjoyed it a lot.

Breakfast at the Sidings

Here is Danielle at the sidings at breakfast. That is the main line a few metres to her right.

Ouse

From the Sidings we walked at Beningborough by the River Ouse on a perfect still sunny morning. Spring is still a way away, very few leaves emerging but it can't be long now. We saw Goosanders on the river [the new Mallard round here].

The Sidings

Danielle had got a Groupon voucher for my birthday [long ago] for a stay at The Sidings, a hotel consisting of old railway coaches just outside York on the East Coast Main Line. We have been to the restaurant a number of times over the years. It is a strange place, built with love and passion and attention to detail by a railway enthusiast, it is now owned and run by people who know nothing of all the railway memorabilia that is strewn around the place. The new owners do, however, look after it. Anyway we had a nice-ish meal and a fun stay.

Morning Light

It is great to be waking up in daylight again. The sun filters through the trees to send a 60 shadow on the wall from the etched glass, and to silhouette Danielle's small collection of jewelry on the chest of drawers.

The Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge was opened in York just after we moved here. It is for cycling and walking and forms a crucial part of many people's routes around the city: hard to imagine life before it was built. I meet Danielle here, in the middle of the bridge when we walk back from her work together, a very peaceful place.

Mother and I

Ro took this photo of Mother and I at the home in Framlingham last week.

Mornington Crescent!

Rowan got the plane back this morning. I must admit it does not get any easier to see her go; we have had a really lovely time for the past two weeks. The key thing is that she loves it over there and it was definitely the right thing to do.
When we were in London we paid a pilgrimage to Mornington Crescent [spoof radio 4 panel game].

More Wolds

Rowan in the Wolds with Milo. I hope this shot gives you an idea of the steep dry valleys.

Rowan in the news

Wolds

Rowan Milo and I got a walk in the beloved Wolds last week. As beautiful and deserted as ever.

More London

Rowan enjoyed her day in London I think.

Nearly 90

My mother has now moved permanently into the residential home near Ro & Pete in Suffolk. Her Alzheimers has made it the best solution. We all went down to see her at the weekend, with a mini-celebration ahead of her 90th birthday which is in a couple of weeks.

All Change

When I moved to London in 1980 I used to love exploring on foot and bike. The Regents Canal and Victoria Park in Hackney were interesting but just a little derelict, isolated and dodgy. It has all changed, the canals are now officially greenways with good surfaces, signage and lots of people. This cafe at Victoria Park is a lovely place to have a coffee.

Trad

Rowan has missed traditional English food whilst she has been away. So we put that right in London with an Indian meal and fish and chips.

London Walk

It is great having Rowan home for the spring break. Tuesday she and I went down to London and walked 20 miles or so from the Dome > Greenwich > Isle of Dogs > Canary Wharf  > Limehouse > Regents Canal > Vicky Park > Islington > Camden Lock > Diwana in Drummond Street > British Library > Kings Cross > train home. A really great day.

The photo shows the Dome on the right and Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs in the centre.

York Open Studios 2015

Not long to go now. Get planning that visit.

State Championships

Here is a picture of Rowan medalling at the Pennsylvania State Indoor Athletic Championships in the high jump.

West Yorkshire Moors #3

The third of our walks on the West Yorkshire Moors was this weekend. January had brought us snow in Oakworth, February brought us fog in Halifax, and March brought us rain in Riponden. It was a great route again up through the moss clad stone paths and bridges of the valley to the bleak moors, but it was wet and, by the end, cold. Quite a culture shock for Rowan. By my reckoning April should be blazing hot sun; time will tell.

Skinny Living

The three us of went to our first York House Concert, [gigs held in someones house] with Gwen Pam & Andy. It was a young Wakefield band called Skinny Living https://www.facebook.com/SkinnyLivingmusic who were just fantastic. Two acoustic guitars, a singer and a drummer hitting a box, making a great sound. Really fine.

Saw these crocus on the Knavesmire last week

Rowan Home

Rowan has arrived back home for the spring vacation. It was a not uneventful journey. Setting off 4 hours late from a snow bound Philadelphia Airport with most flights cancelled we were just glad she got here today. Everyone happy.

Another photo from Barlow Common.

Teazel

Teazel in the cold at Barlow this week. What do you think?

Barlow Common

There are plenty of naturally beautiful places in Yorkshire. Then there are also plenty of ex-industrial sites that have their own beauty too. Barlow Common was old common land south of Selby that became, basically, a huge dump for the railways in the 20th century. Then it was capped and allowed to become a common again. So now there are ponds and birch woods and a feeling of desolate beauty.

Kenwood

One last picture from the London trip; this is Kenwood on Hampstead Heath.

Saturday

Saturday night we went to see a band, The Jeromes, at friend Paul's local, the Volly. It was fun, good singer and some good players.
Rowan was jumping at the State championships [for Pennsylvania], she came eighth and seemed pretty happy with that. She shall be back with us by the end of the week - very excited [we are anyway].
Saturday morning we walked in the Wolds at Pluckham Dale; everyone happy.

Podcasts

I usually ask people that I know, what they are listening to if I meet them on the Moor with headphones on. Neighbour Peter was enjoying Elements, a series of podcasts by the BBC World Service, with each element getting a programme exploring the use of that element in the world. They are really well done and absolutely recommended. Today I caught up with Carbon, Mercury and Nickel.
The only podcast I have stuck with since hearing it is the Guardian Football Weekly which is funny, informative and irreverent enough to keep me coming back for more twice a week. Second best is NPR All Songs Considered, an American podcast on music that is eclectic and entertaining enough to get me listening most weeks.
Then there is a Sherlock Holmes podcast - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere - which is pretty good, but more than once a month would be too much; as with so many podcasts a healthy edit would do it a lot of good.
More of Less, another BBC podcast, is brilliantly entertaining and informative in its discussion of statistics in the news.
Radiolab is an American podcast on just about anything of interest in the world, which I am enjoying a lot at the moment [I only just discovered it].
The only other regular at the moment is Brain of Britain Quiz from the BBC which is pretty terrible [old fashioned and struggling] but just about worth listening to.

The photo is a truly bizarre one that Rowan retweeted this week; I love it.