We had a lovely time in North Yorkshire. The heather was ‘out’ and the moors looked spectacular. There are some beautiful villages, and really good pubs. The walk across the top of Sutton Bank (James Herriot’s favourite walk) gave spectacular views across the vales below. Afternoon Tea at Betty’s in Harrogate was a great experience – well done Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford for initiating this great British tradition!
York Minster was very grand, but I preferred the Abbey Church at Ampleforth – perhaps because an excellent tour from ‘Father Paul’ was rounded off by him giving Sylvia and I a private tour of the crypt. Crypts, cellars and basements always hold a strange fascination for me. Freud would have a reason, no doubt, but I think it’s the element of secrecy and discovery that gives them that allure.
We visited the home (and factory) of ‘The Mouseman’, Robert Thompson, whose trademarked furniture we also saw in the Minster and Abbey, and the local church. Spotting the mouse is rather fun . The adzed scalloping to the tops to his tables, pews and other furniture reminded me of our Tudor boatbuilding module – where, ironically, the adze was used to create a flat surface!
I rather fancy making one of these.
Hutton-le-Hole, a beautiful village just south of the North York Moors, is home to the Ryedale Folk Museum. Nothing to do with folk music, it is a collection of reconstructed buildings from the Bronze Age to late 9th Century, and home to the Harrison Collection (of more than 10,000 curios and artefacts collected by two brothers).
The Harrison collection includes many medical artefacts:
Of course, faecal transplants are becoming mainstream practice now, so perhaps we shouldn’t be squeamish about eating poo!
This last exhibit reminds me of a story from WW2. Churchill was asked if a supply of condoms could be sent to the Russian allies fighting in severe wintry conditions. They wanted the condoms to cover the ends of their rifle barrels, to stop them getting stoppered with frozen snow. “Yes, of course,” said Churchill, “Just label the boxes English, Extra Small.”
Back at Boathouse 4 this week, we have started our two week ‘Painting and Varnishing’ module. Our task is to paint the hull and varnish the brightwork on Westerman, a Navy whaler. I had de-rigged her before our holiday, and we had removed her caulking and done a few minor repairs. Now, we have to get her looking good and – hopefully – ready for the water.
Ah, the weekend … time to relax. A classic boat festival nearby, at Birdham Pond Marina this weekend was too good to miss. Sylvia and I went yesterday, and there were some super classic yachts and small boats, as well as some classic cars and vintage bikes. AND there was no charge for the beer and wine, because they had not requested the temporary licence in time. Very good Pale Ale, and all the better for being free!
One of my fellow students, James was there, and we met our recently-retired Instructor too. Now I believe it when people say I look so much better since I retired – after just two weeks, Bob was looking years younger already! James and I did some networking with local jobbing boatbuilders, and with Tim who runs the boatyard here. Altogether a super afternoon.
And today, Sunday, we had our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren for lunch and the afternoon.
Our Grandson has a new pedal bike, a step up from his balance bike. He soon got the hang of it and enjoyed pedalling up and down our road.