FAREWELL EDWARD ELGAR

    ---               ---

Farewell Edward Elgar

Farewell Glaisdale moor

Farewell Gawsworth Hall, 

Ryton Rig, and Ipswich Toon.

Farewell Harrogate Spray,

Farewell Macclesfield, 

Farewell York and Weston,

And everywhere between.

We have bluebirded over, 

The white cliffs of Dover,

And sung with the Rastrick Brass Band,

We have driven the Loire,

Seen Salisbury's spire,

and skipped along Whitby sand.

Farewell Harrogate Blog,

You have served us right grand,

We lay you to rest as we leave,

 This green and pleasant land. 

UNDEFEATED IN 2008

The esteemed bunch of intellectuals below were photographed during a tense quiz night at the famous Dick Turpin in York. What was the name of the film released in 1949 and based on a book by Scott Fitzgerald starring  Alan Ladd? We pulled that one out of nowhere and won the quiz. Talk about highway robbery. At least two of the team are making an effort.

SNOW- SNO IT ISN'T - YES IT IS

The top two photographs were taken on 2nd January en-route to visit friends in Malton. Most of you will have already guessed that the second photo is included because the field shown contains gallops used by the nearby thoroughbred racing stable.

We had a great afternoon at the house of Romey (Gourlay), with her sister Marty and friend Jenny (Laverack) and their respective husbands Roger Willis, Bill Thompson and John Capstick. Sorry no photographs this time, but plenty of reminiscing. Romey, Marty, Jenny and Kerry all grew up (slight exaggeration) together in The Avenue, and went to St Andrews school together. Kerry is the only one who has moved away to live.

Afterwards we visited a photographer in the town to have some 35mm slides digitised, and lo and behold I found out that I knew the shop owners. I was at Amotherby school with Audrey Fairweather, the lady in the shop and at Scarborough school with her husband,David Wakely. If we had not given a contact name there would have been absolutely no recognition by any of us. So after bemoaning the fact that in all our visits to Malton over the years we have seen no one we recognise, we have now caught up with a large number of past acquaintances. Maybe if we walk round with large labels on our coats we will probably find we know everyone.

The three bottom photographs are included as supporting evidence for the above comments in italics.

A KID AT HEART

STAR PLANS TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

The star of the blockbuster Pantomime Dick Whittington, has announced that she will be touring SE Asia and Australia in 2008. The star's entourage and french management team 'Liaison International Australian Management', (LIAM) are due to touch down in Melbourne around the 27th March. The photographs show the star at a private party following the sell out performance in Solihull on 29th December and again celebrating the new year with a rendition of Old Long Ago, which we suspect is some reference to her uncle. But which one?

A CANAL TOO FAR

The top picture is taken at Ballsall Common near Birmingham, where Kerry took a trip down memory lane to where she began her teaching career.

After the Solihull Panto we spent a busy Sunday with Rob and Sanna Rolls and their lovely kids, Becky, Emma and Jonah in Bromsgrove. We had a great day playing with the Christmas presents including a "Flying Helicopter" and then had a delightful walk across the fields, then along the canal to The Queens Head Inn --A very salubrious hostelry, as can be seen in the photos. During the walk we managed to drain one of the canal locks of all its water. We do hope we have not flooded England again.

O LITTLE TOWN OF HARROGATE

AN ARROGATE CHRISTMAS IN YORK AND MALTON

We just could not buy a white Christmas and so made the most of an off-white, sort of greyish foggy, sometimes rainy, slightly damp, occasionally cold but not real frosty Christmas just like the ones we used to know. Where the tree tops glisten, and children listen through i-pods in the car.

On Christmas eve we started with a lovely meal at Manor farm, Ryton, with Dave and Jane. This was after I had visited "A Cut Above" the Malton hair stylist for discerning farmers located on the top floor, ney attic of the Yates farm supplies emporium. The best little snipper in the North.

We travelled to Ryton via Swinton Grange to photograph the house where I was born, the house where I was bred, and the school (now a house) where I was buttered. (See Photos).

Then in the early evening we took the A64 to see the Celeb D and his wife T. After a couple of J2O's in the Bishopthorpe working dentist's club, and some sliced meat in Garbett Way, we started a foggy pilgrimage to the replica of St Peter's - Rome, in Norton for mid-night mass. The road to Damascus got lost in the fog. The vicar who gave a very good sermon announced that the Norton St Peter's Church of England had approval to dispense the sacriment to non-conformist rif raf, and so I joined Kerry and John at the kneeling rail with those who truly repent or at least those who needed to.

We arrived back in Harrogate at 2.00am, but were soon back on our Garbett Way for Christmas dinner and present opening, at the home of the York celebrity dentist.

This self same dentist who prides himself with cooking and stuffing, provided a teast of furkey, three stuffings, sour fauces, ten vegitables and a flaming plum pud in a lake of brandy sauce.

The final of the Garbett Way darts competion was also held on Christmas day, but as with the Celebrity Come Dancing final, the result will not be announced until all the votes are in, and drug testing is complete. Remember if you want to vote for John dial 01324 567 4567 28 7 2345 65 23 45 89 01543864 247687 98234 3421 7643986 21 followed by 01

On Boxing day we joined 3,640 other disciples to cheer York city to a famous 2-1 victory over the high ranking H*%*$^?>!by United. Kerry must have some reason for sitting in a freezing soccer stand and watching non-league football. Could it be Racing Withdrawal Symptoms?

Finally, today the 27th December, we visited as surrogate neighbours, our close friends Stephen and Christine Upton at 20 Yew Tree Gardens for post Christmas drinks and nibbles. And so that was Christmas and a blogging 2007 draws to a close.

VEST WE FORGET

It is a Marks and Spencer, And I purchased one of three. "By thy long shirt store and vestibule, My investment has made me free.

"The changing room doors are opened wide, And I am keen to buy; The vests all fit, the fee is low: May'st hear the merry cry."

I held them with my skinny hand, "There was a shirt," quoth he. "Hold off! unhand me, greybeard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

I took them to the counter bar The serving girl stood still, And listened like a three years' child: The shopper hath his will.

"The vest was bought, the bus was caught, Merrily did we ride, Oxford Street and Charing Cross, And on to Leyton’s Pride.

The sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he! He briefly shone on Macclesfield then Went down into the sea.

"And now the Storm-blast came, And he was tyrannous and strong: He struck with his o'ertaking wings, And blew us North, where we came from.

And now there came both mist and snow And it grew wondrous cold: In Glaisdale, York, and Harrogate the winter grip took hold.

And through the shirts, the Aussie shirts, Did send a dismal sheen: Nor sign of hat nor scarfe we ken - The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around: It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a swound!

At length I found my Marks’ vest, From Marks' bag it came; As if it had been a Christian soul, We hailed it in God's name.

It warmed the air, it warmed the feet, And round and round I knew. The ice did split with a thunder-fit; The vest had got me through!

EH UP

On Saturday we went to a Christmas Concert at the "Harrogate International", which featured the famous Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. The Band had recently won nearly every prize in the National Band competition, which must make them the most accomplished brass band in the world.

By gum it were right grand.

As declared in blog 1, on our trip to Blighty our aim was to re-aquaint ourselves with England’s green and pleasant land and traditions: and this was certainly one of them.
We stood with the large audience of “noo theners” and sang with gusto Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory followed by a Yorkshire version of “Ark the Erald Hangels” which I recognised instantly.
Among a wide range of music, the band played a piece from Wagner’s Lohengren which was simply amazing.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

In spite of high security, the international photographer working for this publication has secured exclusive wedding photographs of the marriage of Nick and Nicola. On December 21st at a secret location in Yorkshire, Nick and Nicola tied the knot. Only close relatives were in attendance at the ceremony, but this blog site has learned that there will be a huge celebration next year when other family members, including the "We never miss a wedding Rolls' " roll in. This blog-site and it's international readership wish Nick and Nicola every happiness in their married life.

The international photographer and his wife were given rapturous applause when they were spotted in the audience at the pantomime "Sinbad the Sailor" at the Theatre Royal, York. The lead role of Dame played by actor Berwick Kaler, and - according to sources ,close friend of society dentist John Rolls, read out a special announcement welcoming the visitors from Australia. John and his sister spent an hilarious evening "booing" at the evil alien, shouting "He's behind you" at every opportunity, then singing the Yorkshire pudding song with enormous gusto. Which all goes to prove, a missed childhood can always be recovered.

Other events of this winter season included : A night of singing at the Harrogate International Centre, entitled "Beyond the Barricades", Lunch with Audrey and Joan at the (I thought it would be famous by now) Chinese restaurant in Scarborough, and an abysmal performance at the Dick Turpin quiz night to celebrate John's **th birthday.

HORSE HAIR, HUMAN HAIR, AND THE PRICE OF MEAT

The car temperature gauge read -1 C, the barbed wire fence agreed. From where did those fence decorations appear? The answer is: from horse hairs: But how does a single horse hair produce a 1/4 inch wide strip of ice? You tell me!

Human hair! Where was the picture taken? I can tell you. In Leeds market. If you want hair, then here is the place, a veritable hairem. And if you want meat, the market is also a right shambles of cheap chops, sheep shops and cheap shots - let me tell you.

SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS -- WELL NEARLY

There is evidence of Christmas everywhere. The top two photos are from the little village of Grassington in the Yorkshire (Pennine) dales. Everywhere the shops are lighting up, both inside and out, with christmas decorations, which turns the short dark December days into a magical time.

On Thursday and Friday we went to stay in Yarm with Eric and Eileen Mason, and had a lovely time reminiscing about the early 60's in Malton. The Reverend Eric B.D. married Kerry the same time as he married me! The picture shows Eric, Eileen and Kerry going into the local Church!

On the way back to Harrogate, we called into Northallerton, to see my cousin Ann and her husband Brian. Ann grew up at Swinton Grange but is four years older than me. She also has a strong recollection about sledging and being nithered, and infact has written a poem about those days, including the sledging. Brian played football for Amotherby and then took up bowls and has represented Yorkshire at bowls. The bottom two photos show the winter lanes en-route to Grassington and the shop lights in Northallerton. Yarm and Northallerton are about 40 miles North of Malton and this visit was the first time both Kerry and I had been there. You just couldn't get decent horses when we were young.

NITHERED TO THE BONES

A word of explanation may be needed for Gary, who may never have been nithered. The daily temperatures for the last month have been varying between zero and 12 degrees C and when the wind decides to blow, childhood memories come flooding back - nithered being one of them. Extreme nithering happened when we went sledging -meaning tobogganing, not cricketing. We were clad in an old gabardine rain coat, welly boots with knitted socks, gloves and a balaclava. The last three were knitted by my mum.

How she knew to do all those things before television, is a mystery. A whole television industry has grown up in the UK on the correct way to dress, eat or to blow your nose etc. This is needed to balance the TV dramas which aim to demonstrate how to shout at people and behave badly. Jilly Cooper first coined the phrase, -- "the tele-ocracy" , and this bunch of the British work-force certainly has far more influence and status than say, the aristocracy.

Back to sledging. The cruel part arose because we wore short trousers -- summer and winter. (I guess the girls had dresses so had the same problem). When you fell off the sledge, which happened regularly, the top of the welly boots scooped up loads of snow, which had then to be levered out of the boots. The trudge home after a day's sledging was sheer agony. Soaking knitted socks, badly chapped knees, and a balaclava that kept your ears warm, but presented the mouth with a band of frozen saliva (slaver). Don't mention a runny nose! -- I won't.

The photographs show some scenes in and around Harrogate in winter. The first is near Grassington, on our way to pick up a famous Pately Bridge meat pie. The second catches Kerry hoping for a lucky LOTTO ticket.

The last one is included hoping to catch the attention of Helen Rolls. Helen has a lead role in the Panto Dick Whittington in Solihull this Christmas and we believe the production is still short of a horse. Kerry and I have been busy making up a short-eared donkey outfit. So far we have made the front and back, (shown modelled in the photograph), but have yet to make the middle bit. Helen, please note, we expect to -- "Neh", we will-- be ready in time for the Panto. I think that should guarantee me the front half.

CIDER CONFIRMATION

I have just received confirmation from the Australian Chapter of " the Knights that say ni" that the place where cider is made is called a Squashery !! (See comment on the previous blog).

However, in a rather disparaging exchange, a Harrogate neighbour (see above photograph) has just called around asking "Are you whackers from a nuttery?" If so, will you do a trade with these freshly harvested cannabis leaves?

WESTON - OLD SODBURY - BEDFORD THEN HARROGATE

We were right royally entertained in Weston Super Mare by Bruce and Pat, with a visit to the local garden centre and it's winter wonderland ( see photo) and to the Thatchers Cider Squashery. (Any advance on squashery?). On Thursday we took Molly, the new pup, for a walk on the Mendips, (see photo) then in the evening Steve, Jane, and their grown up kids, Tom and Vicky came round for a chat. We had a lovely time, lubricated with cider of course.

Friday became very cold, but on Saturday the temperatures improved and we decided to watch a bit of local soccer. We arranged to meet Jerry at the ground and then follow him to his beautiful home to stay the night in Old Sodbury. Tom (18) was playing for Locking, and the old war-horse Jerry (46)was playing for Hutton. We called at both grounds and found both were wearing No 9 shirts. Alan Shearer eat your heart out. The photo below shows Jerry in full flight giving the opposition a hard time. Clearly there is more to living in Old Sodbury than meets the eye. We stayed the night with Jerry and Anne and again had a lovely meal and chat.

On Sunday we headed to Bedford to stay with Pam (Kerry's surrogate Mum in Bromham) and George, and to catch up with friends from our Cranfield days. En route we called in on Martin and Jane Eshelby in Rushden and got an update on Cranfield University. The following day we visited Pat Chapman, took Pam and George for lunch in Goldington Green, visited Margaret and Mike Darlington, and caught up with Lisa Butterworth. (Bromham friend of Kerry Lou) In the evening we went to The Swan in Bromham and had dinner with Mick and Chris Darwood. Mick and Chris were our next door neighbours in Bromham and Mick - was and is - Mr football, Mr cricket, and Mr bowls in Bromham. We had a lovely meal and replayed a few tough games of football, winning all of them, of course. The photo shows a few old posers after an evening at The Swan in Bromham.