Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 6

The remainder of the week was spend relaxing. We went to Bempton Cliffs, very close to where we stayed on Flamborough Head. The cliffs are up to 400 feet high, and we were somewhat surprised to find fishermen with all their fishing gear, rods, nets etc. perched on the very edge of the cliffs, fishing! It was a complete surprise and we wondered how dangerous it could be. But Carol spoke to one of these fishermen and discovered that he was fishing for cod, and that he had caught cod up to 10 lb in weight! He was perched on the very edge of the cliff, and was in danger of falling over the edge and into the sea! This area of the coast is an R.S.P.B. reserve (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.). The next day we went to Dane's Dyke, which we had seen signposted on the road between Flamborough Head and Bridlington. We went there with the dogs (having parked, we discovered we would need to pay, and the parking ticket machine was some considerable distance from the actual car park.) and then walked down through the woods towards the beach, and discovered a really beautiful beach, and the sea was as still as a mill-pond and looked like the Mediterranean Sea rather than the North Sea.

Woodland at Dane's Dyke

 Beach at Dane's Dyke.

We found a display board near the beach, and on it we read that the coast around Flamborough Head is a 'No-Take' zone, which means there is no fishing, nothing to be taking at all. There is a limit of so much  going out to sea from the shore-line, but it would appear that those fishermen we came across at Bempton Cliffs are breaking the law. I'm not sure what the legal position is, but I would say they are definitely breaking the 'No-Take' regulations.

Bridlington seen from Dane's Dyke Beach

We came home from Yorkshire on the Friday morning, leaving quite early. We made sure that the cottage was left clean and tidy, loaded up our things in the car and got the two dogs settled in the back. We left around 8 a.m. The journey back to Milton Keynes was relatively uneventful, although once we got on the Motorway the level of traffic increased considerably. There were no hold-ups to speak of and we got home around 2 p.m. Immediately we got in we had an hour's rest and then Carol went with Daniel to Asda to do more shopping. We hadn't used all the food up we'd bought when we were away in Yorkshire, but there were a few items which were needed for the weekend.

Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 5

We went to Bridlington on the Sunday as we'd need more groceries. We use Aldi's in Milton Keynes, as their prices are very reasonable. We'd looked up their address in Bridlington and went there early on Sunday, but we got there far too early as they opened at 10 a.m. on a Sunday. So we had to go off and waste an hour in the centre of Bridlington. We managed to park the car and walked along the sea-front towards the harbour and found people fishing on the harbour wall. It's a busy place, with lots of fishing boats coming and going and boats being loaded and unloaded. There is something fascinating in such places. Although the summer season was over, there was quite a lot of life still going on in the place, although most of the holiday-type attractions were closed up for the season.

Bridlington Beach and breakwaters

Bridlington Harbour

Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 4

We have had several holidays in Yorkshire. We first went there in 2006. We hadn't known each other very long, but we decided that we loved the place. The cottage was in Cowling, further west, along the Pennines and almost on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border. We then went again the following April, and stayed in a village called Slingsby, a short distance from Castle Howard. Our last holiday there was three years ago, when we stayed in a converted barn near Northallerton. We have decided, when the time is right we will move to Yorkshire. Carol had seen a job she was interested in advertised in the T.E.S. (Times Education Supplement) but the job would have started too soon. It would need to have started next September. To be able to apply and give us time to look for accomodation in the area. She read more about this school, Trinity Academy in Halifax, and it sounded the sort of school she would like to teach in. She emailed to say that she would like to visit to have a look round, and that we would be in the area. They eventually emailed back to say that they were interested, having read her C.V. and the fact that they were moving from an old building into a new, a similar situation which Carol has had with working for Milton Keynes Academy, where the school was originally in an old building, the Frank Markham School (now demolished) and moved into a new building and becoming an Academy. On the Monday we went out with the dogs, driving up the coast towards Whitby. The scenery was breathtaking. Having lived in the south of England for most of my life, which is, generally speaking, reasonably flat, to come to Yorkshire and see some 'proper countryside' is really great. On the way back Carol rang  the school in Halifax on the mobile and was told that we could visit the next day (Tuesday) and that there would be someone available there to shows us around at 11.30 on Tuesday morning.

 Old car we saw at petrol station as we were filling up with petrol ourselves. I have no idea what sort of car it is. Any ideas, please let me know. It would be easy if you recognize the shape of the bonnet etc.

 Whitby Abbey, as seen from the road as we drove past.

The next day (Tuesday) we decided to leave early for Halifax. The dogs were left in the cottage with water and food, and we drove away, leaving at around 8.30. We had around 60 miles to Halifax. Most of it was on Motorway. We know the Halifax area reasonably well (Cowling is around 20 miles further north.) and is in the Calder Valley. Coming off the M62 we had a bit of a problem finding the right road for Halifax, and once we got there we had to ask a lady who was walking past for some directions. We found the school alright, and went in, having parked the car. We had to wait in reception until the lady from H.R. came to see us and give us a guided tour. This lasted around 45 minutes. Apparently the school was impressed by Carol's C.V. and said to keep in contact as there are going to be vacancies in the science department when the school moves to the new building (which we saw being constructed, further down the hill from the old building.)
On leaving the school we headed back towards Flamborough Head, but went via Cowling, just to say we'd gone through it, and eventually through such places as Haworth (where the Brontes lived and wrote their novels.) When we'd come to Yorkshire in 2006 we went on a steam train along the Werth Valley (which, incidentally, was used for filming the  Lionel Jeffries film "The Railway Children" in the 1970's and starring, Jenny Agutter, Bernard Cribbins and Dinah Sheridan.) We stopped at Haworth, and walked up the hill to the parsonage, although we did not go inside. We eventually got to Saltaire, just outside Bradford, and visited Salt's Mill. We had a break and went to the restaurant and had soup and a roll.

Salt's Mill, interior. This is a World Heritage Site and was a spinning mill, now turned into a retail centre and art gallery.

This is somewhere we visited on our first Yorkshire trip in 2006.  I was interested to visit, not only from a historical point of view, but also due to the fact that there is a permanent exhibition of paintings by one of my favourite artists in Salt's mill, and also local boy, David Hockney. Carol bought me Hockney's fascinating book when we were here last, "Secret Knowledge." We also visited the National Media Museum, which was well worth a visit. Hopefully, if we move to Yorkshire, all these places will be virtually on our doorstep.

Exterior of Salt's Mill, Saltaire, Bradford, Yorkshire

We left Saltaire and got onto the road out of the area, and eventually met the M62 and crossed Yorkshire back to the cottage on Flamborough Head. 

Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 3

We unloaded the car, and, having explored the cottage, we went back towards Bridlington as we needed to get groceries for the week. We had come past a branch of Co-Operative (as their slogan goes 'good with food.') and decided that we could do our shopping there. The usual basic items like milk, bread and washing-up liquid, which would see us through the week.

 Anyway, the boring bit out of the way, and taken back to the cottage and unloaded, we decided to then take the dogs out in the car, regardless of the fact that we had driven some 250 miles. We went to see the coast-line only a mile or so further up the road from where we were staying. North Landing is a steep cliff-wall down to the beach, and there is a life boat station there where the lifeboats are launched. The dogs had a good time scrambling down the steep incline and Alfie had fun climbing down some metal steps onto the beach. Carol and myself found the slope quite hard going. If you were to run it would have been dangerous, as well as the climb back up the cliff and incline. There are limestone cliffs and in some of these cliffs caves and on one side arches carved out by the wave action of the sea.

Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 2

On Saturday morning we got up really early. It must have been 5-6. We had packed and were ready to go. We had decided that the dogs would come with us. Daniel was prepared to look after them at home (he had a week off work and college was on half-term.) so there would have been no problem in that department. We've taken Poppy before, and we'd specially booked a cottage which allowed pets, but we wouldn't find out the lay-out of the cottage until we got there. Meaning, if we wanted to go out without the dogs, how would we leave them? Was there a room we could leave them in which they wouldn't damage? Neither dogs has a habit of destroying furniture or making any sort of mess. They are thoroughly house-trained, but still there is the likelihood that they will make a mess if not let out regularly. Here they can run in and out to the garden all day. Alfie hasn't been on holiday with us before and doesn't travel well in the car (as mentioned in earlier posts.) although he seems to have settled down more recently when we've taken him out in the car when he goes in the cage in the back of the car.

We continued on our way and eventually found the cottage on Flamborough Head at around midday. We had looked on Google Maps before we'd left so we had a reasonably good idea where we were going, and to be honest, it's not exactly complicated as regards the road network or towns, villages or houses in that area of Yorkshire, so we didn't have much of an excuse. We knew that Flamborough Head Lighthouse wasn't far away, so with that as a landmark, we had no difficulties in finding where we were staying for the week. If we'd driven on, the road would just come to a stop at the edge of a cliff, and we'd have fallen in the North Sea!

Swallow Cottage, Flamborough Head, where we stayed for our week's holiday. Looking the other way you can see Flamborough Head lighthouse.

View of Flamborough Head Lighthouse from Swallow Cottage

Carol managed to get both dogs into the car, with Alfie in the cage and Poppy in the space at the back of the car. With the parcel shelf in place they seemed quite happy. We drove off without any sound from the rear of the car. Alfie doesn't 'do mornings' generally. When he sleeps, he goes off like a light. You daren't disturb him. If you do, it's at your peril, as he will growl at you. I don't think he'd bite you intentionally, but he can become quite snappy. I think he was half asleep when he was put in the car, and I assume he fell asleep. So he would have spend most of the journey north totally out of it. We had to stop at the Shell petrol station to fill up with petrol, and then went to get on the M1 just outside Milton Keynes. We didn't stop until quite some way 'up North.' One of the Service areas, when we used the toilets. We didn't disturb the dogs. We came off the Motorway near York and drove towards Bridlington and found a rather nice picnic area where we got tea and had something to eat, letting the dogs out to stretch their legs. (What the Americans call a 'comfort stop.') There were decent toilets, a kiosk to buy a snack and cuppa and a place to sit and the dogs could have a run. As soon as we opened the back of the car up, Alfie started his yapping, so everyone knew he was around! He can get quite excited and attacks the cage door with his teeth, and tries to catch the lead with his teeth also, and makes a lot of noise. Poppy, on the other hand, takes it all in her stride and doesn't need to make so much noise.

 The old Flamborough Head Lighthouse

Holiday In Yorkshire- Part 1

We've been away for the past week, on holiday in Yorkshire, and Flamborough Head to be more precise. So that will explain to those of you who are regular readers of my meanderings on here, why I have not posted anything. It would have been nice if I had been able to write each day's 'doings' as it were, but the cottage where we stayed, although very pleasant in every other aspect did not have wi-fi, so we were unable to read or send emails or write this blog. We took lots of photographs, so I should be able to amend my jottings with some of these pictures.

We took both dogs with us. We've taken Poppy before, but not Alfie. As I must have mentioned elsewhere in these posts, he doesn't travel well in the car. We got a cage which sits in the back of the car and he's reasonably happy going in that. Carol managed to get both dogs into the car without much fuss. I think perhaps it was so early that Alfie was half asleep when she did it! Poppy seemed really quite happy to sit in the space in the back of the car without making any fuss. Perhaps with the boot closed and the parcel shelf in place both dogs were safe and secure which might explain why they made no noise for most of the journey north to Yorkshire.

We had decided that we would leave for Yorkshire on the Friday, after Carol finished work, but, after some discussion, we thought it would be more sense to go up on the Saturday morning, really early, as it would mean we'd have had a good night's sleep, and we would be driving during daylight. It's a good four-hour drive, if not slightly longer, and going up on the Friday would mean that the last part would be in the dark. When we last drove to Yorkshire, when we'd stayed in a cottage near Northallerton, we'd gone up late and found it quite difficult finding the cottage in the dark.

Bright and Sunny . . .but it's cold outside!

It's a deceptive sort of morning. It looks really bright and sunny, but as soon as you step outside the door, as we did at around 7.30 to drive to The Academy, we discovered how cold it was. There were pink streaks of cloud across the Milton Keynes sky, and there was a full moon, which might explain why it's so cold; there's no cloud-cover. Well, it's the end of this half of the term at The Academy today, so things can't be too bad. We had to clear the moisture from the windows of the car before we drove off. There was a mist hanging along the grid road as we crossed over to The Academy. Almost creepy, in a corny Hollywood horror film sort of way.

Changeable Weather

It's windy and cloudy this morning. The sun keeps coming out and then going behind a cloud. Very unsettling. It has been quite cold in the evening so we had to have the central heating on at around 6 p.m. on Saturday. It's turning wintery, definitely, but there again it's mild. The sort of weather that means you can never be too sure what to wear when you go out. I wore my new red Regatta fleece to church yesterday morning, but then when I got there I took it off as I was far too hot. It looked as if it was going to rain, but then it didn't. Dark clouds building up, making it look as if rain was on the way, then it changed it's mind and the sun came back out.

Broken Washing Line and Unforgiving Female Driver Who Couldn't Park Properly (and other matters.)

The washing line broke. I was in the middle of pegging clothes out when the thing snapped. Everything pegged onto the line went down. I knew this was going to happen as the line was somewhat frayed and it was a matter of time before it would break. I have already put up one new line across the garden, so I just needed to get some fresh line to replace the old, broken line, and a couple of screw eyes or something to put in the wood of the fence to thread the line through. I decided to drive to Homebase and get some fresh washing line and, hopefully, a couple of screw-eyes, or something that would hold the line. I first went into Wickes, which is in the same industrial estate as Homebase, but I could see nothing suitable, so came out and drove the short distance to Homebase. I parked near the entrance and went inside to have a look round. I soon found some washing line (exactly the same as the old line, as I had a good idea where to look.) I spent some time deliberating over some hooks and/or screws but couldn't find anything suitable. I then heard a message over the Tannoy. It was to the effect, could the owner of the green Atoz please come to the front of the shop? I had to listen again to make sure it was for me. This has never happened to me before. I hurried to the front and went to a cash-desk. The cashier there had no idea what I was on about (which wasn't very encouraging.) She insisted on checking out the washing line I had in my hand. I went outside to the carpark, to find two women, who'd parked next to my car, making a great deal of fuss over the fact that their car was parked close to mine, so one of the couldn't get in the car. Rather pathetic, I thought. If it was me, I'd have climbed in through the passenger side door. The woman blamed me for parking too close. I think it should have been the other way round; she parked too close to me. I drove round so she could get out, with no apology and a certain amount of bad temper from the woman.  I have to admit it made me laugh, and was determined to come home and write about the incident on this blog. I re-parked the car and returned to the store. I had to ask an assistant whether they sold anything suitable to attach the washing line and was taken to another area of the store where there were screw-eyes, but not really suitable for the job I wanted. I got some other screw-eyes and said thanks to the member of staff and went back to the check-out. It turned out that the other cashier had wandered off, to goodness knows where, but left the washing-line on the counter with a receipt. I took this to the nearest available cashier and it turned out that the item had been voided by the other cashier. I paid and left the store. I then returned home and was able to put up the new washing-line across the garden, using the screw-eyes by putting them into a couple of points, each on the sheds we have in our garden, take out the old, rotten line and replace it with the new, and managed to end up with quite a lot of line left over and could attach the other end to a screw-eye which was already in the wall of the house near the patio doors. We have far more washing-line now than when I began this project and put a load of laundry on and when it was finished, pegged it out on the new washing line.

Outing to The Cotswolds and Rollrights Stones

Yesterday morning we didn't get up until quite late. It was a reasonably good evening on television, with "Strictly Come Dancing", the finale to the current series of  "Doctor Who", followed by the first in a new series of "Merlin."  We didn't get to bed until fairly late.
The last week or so has been very warm, temperatures reaching heights not normally reached in late September/Early October. We decided to make the most of the sunshine and have an afternoon out. Carol has wanted to visit the Rollright Stones out the other side of Oxford, near Chipping Norton, so we made a sort of picnic up and took the cameras and set out. I have to say that the Cotswolds are my favourite places to visit in this country. Having worked in Cheltenham in the late '60's as a Student A.S.M. at the Everyman Theatre, I know the area well. My mother had relatives around the Cotswolds, and visiting them was always a pleasure. We would have taken the dogs, but it would have meant them spending a lot of time in the car, and Alfie, in particular, doesn't travel well, and he is very susceptible to heat. We went to the Shell petrol station along Grafton Street and then towards the A5 and out towards Towcester. It was a real joy to be getting out of the house and to be out in the countryside. We have found, when travelling west from Milton Keynes, there is (or was) a problem with the M40. It seems to get in the way. It is difficult to cross. This may sound odd, but you try it. We have more recently discovered that you need to go through the village of Aynho and find a bridge that goes UNDER the motorway. We were trying to get to a National Trust property (Hidcote) and spent around 2 hours trying to avoid the motorway and get through Banbury. We have found this route thrrough Aynho and it makes the westerly journey so much easier. Anyway, we had to go through Banbury to get to Chipping Norton and then find the Rollrights Stones (having looked on Google Maps and a print driving atlas we have.) Attempting to get through Banbury and finding the correct road was something of a problem and this happened on the way home. Why can't local authorities do something about signage? It wasn't very good. Neither was signage approaching the Rollright Stones, you had to really concentrate to see where the turning was to get there and then there was a tiny parking space near the stones.There is definitely something mysterious about this place. It has a strange atmosphere, somehow, very similar to that at Stonehenge, which we have also visited. Together with the spectacular scenery, it makes an interesting afternoon. We visited the single stone which is set within it's own field over the road from the ring of stones. We sat on the rocks and ate our picnic. We had to get something to drink when we stopped for petrol at the Shell service station. The heat made us very thirsty. I took photographs of the scenery (and hope to upload them onto this blog later this week after I have sorted out the iMac which has no further space on it's hard-drive, due mainly to having around 12,500 digital photographs on it. We have an external hard drive ordered from Amazon and should arrive by Wednesday.)

Rollright Stone Circle

There are three areas to visit at the Rollright Stones. The first area we went to was opposite the main area of the 'complex' (as you are supposed to term it, apparently, having read the little handbook we later purchased at the near-by garden centre.)  This is called the 'King Stone' and stands within a fenced area. This is, apparently, to disuade people from chipping of chunks of it, as it's supposed to be lucky this stone.) It has all the appearance, from a distance, of a stooping figure, probably covered in material or something. As the legend which surrounds these stones is that a witch turned a king and his nights to stone. That figures.  It really does look like a person. This is where we sat and ate our picnic. Then we walked over the road to the main site, where we came across the ring of stone, 'some 40 strides across' as it says in the handbook.) A legend states that if you count the stones, on each following attempt, the number of the stones will change! We did not immediately take up the challenge, but as we were taking photographs, two couples appeared and one of them began to count the stones. The second couple had a go. Both came up with different totals. Then we had a go. We made the total 81. Who knows the correct number? To the east, at the far edge of a field, are the ruins of a so-called 'Portal-dolemen' called the Whispering Knights. We didn't attempt to walk to this site, as it was some distance from the main site. Having taken enough photographs, we decided to leave. We knew, from reading a sign near the lay-by where we parked the car, that there was a garden centre nearby which sold the handbook and other Rollright-Stone related items, and where we could get a cup of tea. So we left and made for this garden centre. Having had our cup of tea we left, making our way home back through Banbury towards Towcester and onto the A5 and home to Milton Keynes.

I have since learned that the Rollright Stones were used as a location for the filming of a "Doctor Who" story in the '70's, which makes our trip there all the more interesting. The story was called "The Stones Of Blood" and it was quite a good story. Being a "Doctor Who" fan I am more than interested. I do remember the story quite clearly. It was a Tom Baker story, and apparently the 100th serial.

Eye Trouble

Last weekend, and, infact, for several days leading up to last weekend, Carol had been complaining about some problem with one of her eyes. I wasn't sure what it was, whether it was itchy, bloodshot, or whatever, but it got so bad over-night Sunday/Monday, that she phoned in sick to the Academy. I said I'd ring the doctors' surgery and get her an appointment. As mentioned in previous posts, the system for making doctors appointments with the Grove Surgery is a mystery. You can go directly to the surgery (which is open around 8.00 a.m., so you can queue up outside if you so wish.) and then sit and wait until the receptionists open up the appointment bookings for that day. Will some one PLEASE explain to me in words of only a few syllables, why they can't open the bookings at 8.00 a.m.? Why do you have to sit and wait for 15 minutes? What ancient and strange mythological law is it that the N.H.S. has says you have to sit and wait 15 minutes? Does this allow the receptionists time to have coffee, file their nails and generally behave in a non-receptionist kind of way? It seems wasteful in the extreme. Anyway, that is what happens if you turn up in person. If, on the other hand, you decide to telephone, then you are in for a long haul. You get a very snooty recorded voice, which says, usually, that 'the surgery is experiencing heavy volumes of call, and you should ring back at another time.' The system then very unceremoniously cuts you off, without any sort of apology for this somewhat curt behaviour. You can try at regular intervals (all this kicks off at 8.15 a.m. Why? If it's any automated system, why can't you leave a message and they ring you back? There again, why doesn't this surgery have a 'Ring Back' system? This means you can press a special key on your phone's touch-pad (usually 5) and you hang up. When the queue reaches you in the system, it automatically rings you and you can speak to the receptionist and then make an appointment. The doctor's surgery at Hilltops ( our surgery when we live the other side of Milton Keynes, at Crownhill.) had this system. They also had more flexible surgery opening times, opening at 7.30 a.m. and closing at around 7 p.m. as well as opening on Saturday mornings. In fact, times to suit the patients on it's books and not to suit their staff.

I digress. I attempted around half-a-dozen times to try and get through, and then, at around 8.40, I managed to get through and make an appointment.

The appointment was for 10.40. We arrived at the surgery in good time. There weren't that many other people in the waiting room. We didn't actually get into the doctor's surgery until gone 11.00. I know it must be very hard to keep the appointments running to exactly the times you are given, but to have to sit and waste around 20 minutes seems a waste of time. Can the surgery have better reading material whilst you are waiting, perhaps a coffee machine, something to watch on the television screens, instead of the endless information about bowel cancer, not eating salt in your food, and all the material that doesn't concern about 95% of the known universe?

The doctor looked at Carol's eye, and said she'd need to do some sort of test. She produced a sort of  long cotton wool bud thing from out of a drawer and proceeded to stab Carol's eye with this. She didn't say to Carol:' Excuse me while I do this. It may hurt a bit.' She just shoved the thing into poor Carol's eye. I remember when I worked as a home-carer, we were trained to warn our clients fairly well in advance if you were going to do something such as this, although we never did this sort of procedure. It was basically because in some cases you are open to abuse and it's a sort of contract between carer and client. The doctor never did this.  The doctor left things that the surgery would telephone to give the results of the tests from this procedure. She gave Carol a prescription for some drops, and we left the surgery. When we got home, Carol said that her eye hurt. Not from the initial problem, but as a result of the doctor poking the eye with the cotton-wool bud thing. I have to say that I'm not exactly over-joyed by the service given at the surgery, and we've decided that we may try and find another surgery in the area.