This Time of Year.....

This is the time of year when my life starts to get some semblance of normality! From the beginning of December,until Boxing Day, I find that I have untold numbers of Church services to play for. In addition to these I have things like a Christingle Service, A Children's Nativity Play Service, A Bingley Live Nativity Play (which circulates around Bingley) - the choir providing a commentary to the events by carols they sing. Then for some unexplicable reason, there always seems to be a glut of funerals in the weeks preceding Christmas, and the undertakers are constantly phoning me. For the first time ever I found myself with the possibility of three funeral services to play for on the same day, but as the first funeral was only two hours apart from the last funeral, I had to say that I couldn't manage all three! Boxing Day usually heralds the start of the sales season. Over the years I have noticed that there are always some good bargains to be had, if you are prepared to do a bit of searching through all the offers on Amazon. Considering myself a bit of a film buff I have, over the years collected quite a goodly number of films on Video, and DVD. I particularly collect old black and white classics, so I was delighted to see the original Universal films of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Bride of Dracula all going for a bargain price in a 4 DVD Box Set! The British film organisation called Hammer Films, produced some very entertaining horror films on the theme of Dracula, Frankenstein etc. during the 60's and a box set of their short films made for Tv was another bargain I picked up. The 20 DVD Box Set of Morecambe & Wise contains all their work for the BBC and is an absolute "gem". I have managed to collect a few other bargains from Amazon's DVD department too.

This afternoon I managed to sit down and watch the classic Henry Williamson story of Tarka the Otter.

Bingley Nativity Live

My, how time flies! I see that my last post was in October, and having been in conversation with our dear friend's in the USA I was reminded that I hadn't posted anything for a long time. (I think Ros is suffering from England deprivation!!) - so here goes. Over the past month life has been extremely hectic with church activities and the run up to Christmas. There have been the ususal Sunday services plus a Christingle service, a Crib Service,a Carols by Candle Light Service, a Midnight Mass, a Christmas Mornng Eucharist, Carol Singing round the parish, and, probably the highlight of the Christmas period - The Bingley Live Nativity. This involved a full cast of the usual characters - Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Gabriel, Angels, Shepherds, Three Kings a live donkey, a flock of sheep, and an Innkeepers wife played by none other than Dorothy Bentley!! This event got a two page spread in the local Bradford Newspaper the Telegraph and Argus!

Tales of a Bargain Hunter!

Those of you who follow my adventures whilst on holiday may have noticed that I have not yet mentioned the purchase of second hand CD’s DVD’s and Books from Charity shops. Fear not, I have not forgotten! So what did I arrive home with this year?? Well fifty five CD’s, eleven DVD’s and thirteen books – total cost for the lot? Would around £50 sound reasonable? Well that’s about what they all cost! But let’s back track a little bit first. Whenever we go up to Arran I always take a pile of CD’s, DVD’s, LP’s, Cassettes, Books and Video Tapes, and these are donated to ARCAS – The ARran CAncer Support Shop – or ARCAS for short. The problem is I then purchase a goodly number of the CD’s DVD’s and books on offer at charity shops on Arran, Berwick upon Tweed, Melrose, Kelso and Wooler, so I usually arrive back home with nearly as much as I have donated! – Ah well there’s always next year!!! Being the organised kind of person I am (Dot would say I am paranoid!!) I usually have a “Wants list”. This year I was successful in finding some bargain second hand goods which were on my “wants list” A set of six DVD’s of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus was the prize discovery. Still in their original sealed box for just £3.99! A CD of Johnny Mathis’ Greatest Hits was another item on my “wants list”. The best bargain had to be a set of six James Last CD’s priced at 99p! I also discovered a second hand copy of “You’re Coming With Me Lad” a collection of humourous memoirs of a North Yorkshire bobby ( A sort of policemans James Herriot) which was also on my wants list! So all in all you could say I had a fruitful time searching through the second hand goods!!!!

Northumberland Holidays.......

Just in case you got the idea that we spent the whole of our second week in Bamburgh, I should explain that we also visited Berwick upon Tweed, complete with its Elizabethan walls, the Border abbey towns of Kelso and Melrose. It is at Melrose that we always call for a meal at Russell's Restaurant, which serves superb meals and features well on Trip Advisor! We also visited Newton by the Sea. A quaint little village square, with cottages on three sides and facing the sea on the fourth side. All the buildings are owned by the National Trust. It is here that you will find The Ship Inn a well know establishement for providing mouth watering meals - try their home made soup and ploughmans - ideal after a long walk on the beach! They also have a micro brewery which produces 21 (Yes you did read that correctly!) different brews. Usually three different ones each week. We visited Alnwick, and had sandwiches from the Tree House and also paid a visit to the world famous Barter Books, which is situated in the old railway Station, and advertises itself as "probably the largest second hand bookshop in the world" we also visited Wooler, which is a small market town situated at the foot of the Cheviot Hills and is a popular base for walkers. Sorry there are no photos of these places as I have taken dozens of photos previously, so didn't take any of them this year!

Bamburgh

Spending our second week at Waren Mill, just a couple of miles north of Bamburgh, we spent quite a bit of time in Bamburgh - for one reason it has a lovely sandy beach, which Ruby loves to run on as well as go in the sea, so above is a selection of photos of Bamburgh. 1. Bamburgh Castle viewed from the Wyndings (the road to the beach) 2. The Parish Church of St Aidan 3. The effigy of Grace Darling, the Victorian heroine who with her father rescued 9 shipwrecked sailors from the Farne Island during a terrific storm. 4. The tomb of Grace Darling in Bamburgh Churchyard. 5. The RNLI Museum which celebrates the life of Grace Darling (it was the 150th annniversary of the rescue) 6. The birthplace of Grace Darling (next door but two to the museum) 7. Looking down Church Street towards the Castle 8. Clarke's Greengrocers shop, where we always purchase our groceries and green groceries before we head home. It's one od those original and old fashioned establishements which doesn't have a till. All the working out is done on the back of a paper bag! 9. Dot outside "The Pantry" - where we usually purchase our sandwiches and drinks. Julie Spruce, the owner, originates from West Yorkshire, where her dad used to be a police seargent in Saltaire. 1o. The Castle Inn - one of the places we visit for an evening meal.

Arran Holiday

Well here we are safely back from our two week jaunt. The first week we spent on the Isle of Arran, and the second week two miles North of Bamburgh in Northumberland. As is usual, for this time of year, we were blessed with mainly crisp clear and bright sunny weather. On Arran we visited all our usual haunts, having meals at The Brodick Bar, Eilean Mohr (on the front at Brodick) and Coast (situated at Whiting Bay) and we were somewhat sorry to discover that Russell and Mark (the co owners of Coast) have put the business on the market.[Just £230.000 if you have the spare cash!] They are looking to expand, and have decided that the only way they can do this is to leave the island and purchase a business in Glasgow, where the pair of them previously worked. We have got to know the pair of them very well during our visits to Arran, and seen their restaurant grow in stature (if not in size) to become one of the most popular and highly thought of on the island. It's the place you find all the locals dining in, and if they support it you can gaurantee that it will serve high quality food and give excellent value for money!

Russell & Lee outside "Coast"

We paid a visit to Andrew and Rosie (George and Patricia's Uncle and Auntie), who we met at Stuart's wedding earlier this year. They have a beautiful holiday home on the shore of Loch Ranza.

Above are a few of our photos taken on Arran.

Twenty Four Hours per Day? It Doesn't Seem Like it!!

I don't know why it is, but in the weeks leading up to our holidays time seems to implode. Usually each day consists of 24 hours, and I can manage to fit all the necessary arrangements in, but come a pending holiday and everybody suddenly needs my services! Today, just a few minutes before I typed this, I was contacted by a local church asking for me to play for a funeral on Friday of next week. The office at my own church contacted me with details of a funeral which I need to play for on Wednesday. The carpet fitter called to ask if he could complete the fitting of some carpet edging strips on Monday, and I also have a Wedding to play for next Saturday. I also got a call from the Physio Department at the Yorkshire Clinic giving me an appointment there at 9.30 am on Monday! I sometimes wonder if it's worth booking holidays, because all that seems to happen is that the world becomes more chaotic in the weeks leading up to them! Seriously though, we look forward to a break away, and being the boring souls that we are we will again be going to the Isle of Arran for a week, then crossing the Scottish Borders and staying near Bamburgh for our next week. I've already had a look at the possible dates for our post Christmas break (we usually spend a few days at Masham) as I know that life will be pretty hectic prior to this holiday - Carol Services, Christingle Services, starring as Father Christmas, as well as family birthdays!

A Country View

Because we live adjoining fields we tend to take the view for granted. There have, however been times, when first time visitors have commented on how lucky we are to have the view we have to the rear of our property. Well, truth to tell, there are green fields stretching as far as the skyline, - something which I know a lot of housewholders would give their eye teeth for! Looking up the field today, there is a marked difference to what could be seen yesterday. I mentioned in yesterday's blog, that the farmer had been busy cutting, woofling and baling the grass. Here are the results of his labours.....

If you look carfully at the close ups of the bales you wll see the birds are having a crafty feed!

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness....

I woke up this morning, and looked out of the bedroom windows to be greeted by what looked like cotton wool! Rubbing my eyes I took a second look, and the cotton wool was still there. It was then that I realised that what I was actually seeing was a heavy mist. I could barely see to the top of the field behind our house.

Next door's car roof was covered in condensation - a sure sign that Autumn is on the way! Wow! What happened to Summer? The farmer has been busy in the fields for the last few days. First he set to and cut the grass. Then he came along with a woofler, which neatly turns the cut grass into rows. Today he has been along with a Hew Holland machine [a small hay baler] which gathers the straw and turns it into circular bales. A certain sign that Harvest is fast approaching!

The Saga of the Heated Towel Rail

On Friday 31st May, Bobby, our (almost) resident joiner commenced work on rebuilding the bathrroom so that a walk in shower could be fitted. Do note the date! I am typing this blog on Monday 12th August, and after having had a new heated towel rail fitted in the bathroom last Friday, Ben, the plumber informed us that it was not heating up properly, and that he suspected a blockage in one of the pipes. He did his best to clear this, but to no avail. The boiler refused to fire up too! I phoned the Gas Board (we have a service contract with them), and the following morning at 8.30 Adele, their engineer arrived. With a deft tweak of the boiler she soon had it working again and heating the water, however she confirmed that there seemed to be a blockage in the pipes supplying the heated towel rail, and said she would return on Monday morning at 8.00 am. She also suggested that we have some thermostatic valves fitted on the bedroom radiators and the dinging room radiator, which will reduce the gas consumption. Unfortunately to trace this blockage may involve ripping up floorboards…….. Adele duly arrived on Monday morning, and after careful consideration she began to take up the carpet and underlay on the landing. She then took up three floorboards, only to discover that the pipes underneath the removed floorbards were the domestic hot and cold water pipes and not the central heating pipes! After this, a colleague called Marie arrived and they decided that they would try and clear the blockage by draining the pipes each side of the heated towel rail and then hand pumping water into the system, under pressure. This they did and after this they decided that there was now no longer a blockage in the pipes. Everything was put back togther and the central heating system turned on. All the rediators heated up as expected, but the heated towel rail was still very slow to heat up. A further engineer was summponned and between the three of them they decided that somewhere in the central heating system the pipe work had been wrongly connected. The only way to eradicate this was……….. You’ve guessd it! to rip up the bedroom floor (which is laminated). We decied we would manage with a slow heating towel rail!

Bargains To Be Had

"Bargains To Be Had" - it seems like another "SALE" sign, which we see all to frequently in this age of austerity. Hardly a day goes by without somone offering "two for one", "Buy one get one free", "Three for the price of two", etc. All these are simply ploys to get you to make a purchase of the goods on offer (even if you hadn't intended buying them before you entered the shop)- and let's face it, they are not a bargain if you hadn't intended buying them. You have spent money on goods you didn't need! So why have I headed this blog "Bargains To Be Had"? For some time now I have made purchases of books from four or five online book suppliers - Amazon, The Book People, Postscript, Selections and Bibliophile. Of these, Bibliophile is quite unusual in that it is the only online book supplier with a Royal Warrant. The name Bibliophile was dreamed up by Australian Max Harris, with former owner Bill Smith in the 1980's. Bill Smith was the first person to open his then bookshops until 9.00 pm and always had a pile of baskets by the door so that his customers could use these to fill with their purchases. In the 1990's Bibliophile was joined by Fred Bass, 80 year old owner of the Strand Bookstore on Broadway, New York (following the death of the founder, Max Harris) Before the death of Bill Smith in 1992 he had arranged for the editor Annie Quigley to buy the business from his widow and Mr Bass. Fred and Annie still buy their books together at all the major book fairs, and have cheekily been called "herons" for the way they swoop on an unsuspecting supplier and hoover up all his books! At the turn of the Millennium (in 1999) a website was launched to list all the titles for sale, an to prove that you can sometimes judge a book not just by an excellent review, but also by its cover!!! During the last week I ordered the books you see below.

The Cover price total for these books came to £138.91! Bibliophiles price for them was £36.00. YES THAT IS CORRECT THIRTY SIX POUNDS!

Just on Our Doorstep!

I don’t know if you realise how fortunate we are to live so close to some wonderful and spectacular Dales scenery. The truth is, because it is always there, and so close, we tend to take it for granted. Dot and I regularly take a trip along the A650 and we drive along the Aire Valley towards Keighley, then take the A 629 heading towards Kildwick, but before we reach Skipton (Known as the Gateway to the Dales) we take the by pass and join the A 65 heading towards Gargrave, Coniston Cold, Hellifield, Long Preston & Settle. Settle is a typical limestone country market town. This 13th century market town is located at the foot of the Pennines in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, England. It is conveniently located 29 miles from the Leeds Bradford international airport and hardly a mile from the Settle Railway station. The main road B6480 which links to the A65 runs through the city and links it to Skipton. It lies at the southern end of Yorkshire Dales and is close to Three Peaks. The small town is famous the world over for its perfect scenic beauty. The population was around 2,400 at the 2001 census. It is in a perfect setting among caves, gorges and the river. It has a sweet blend of modern culture with the relaxed air of the past. The views are mesmerizing with equally comfortable weather. The limestone and grit stone grand waterfalls are spectacular and give a distinct beauty to the area. It is a great spot for exploring Yorkshire Dales. The rocks were formed between 280 and 350 million years ago. The nearby forest of Bowland is rich in wildlife and scenic beauty. Shopping, Eating & Relaxing in Settle… There are plenty of things to do in Settle, so spend a few relaxing hours experiencing the atmosphere and enjoying the sights of this lovely market town. Browse the interesting range of shops – few High Street names here – rather a great assortment of local, independent shops and galleries that cater for all requirements with that most precious of commodities – expert and friendly service. If you want a coffee, a snack or a meal choose from a great range of cafés, restaurants, wine bars and historic inns that have been catering for the town’s visitors for hundreds of years.

How on earth can this sort of thing happen in a supposedly Civilised Society?

I suppose, like me, you have read of the horrific life led by Daniel Pelka at the hands of his mother Magdelena Luczak and his step father Mariusz Krezolek. In four short years he was subjected to abominable horrors - starved, force fed salt, locked up in a bedroom with no internal handle on the door so he could not get out, subjected to near drowning and regularly beaten. We have various agencies charged with protecting the young - social services, the police, schoolteachers, doctors and hospitals to mention just some, and all these agencies were involved in some way or another with Daniel, yet the impossible has happened. A poor defenceless child has been killed at the hands of his parents. IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS SORT OF THING HAS HAPPENED Do you remeber the "Baby P" case? In truth, I am also afraid to say that I believe IT WILL NOT BE THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENS EITHER. Isn't it time that these agencies stopped pussy footing around such evil parents and took the stance we don't believe you until you can prove what you are saying is true. For far too long the attitude of these agencies has been stay at arms length - give the parents a chance. What sort of a chance? A chance to kill a poor defenceless little boy? All the theory and paperwork in the world will not stop this sort of thing happenning. We need to give our Social Services the teeth they need to step in and take control right from the first signs of problems. Decency forbids me from commenting on what I would do to the parents. Maybe some fellow prisoner will do it to them instead.

Yet Another First!

About a couple of months before I was due to have my knee replacement I was phoned by the secretary of Pudsey St Lawrence and asked if I could play for two weddings. The first one was two weeks after my operation, and I said that I wouldn't be able to play for this one, as I would not be able to drive so soon after my operation, but the other was to take place today (Friday 26th July) which is about six weeks after surgery, so I took a calculated risk and said "Yes, I'll be able to play for the wedding on Friday 26th July."

If you know the layout of St Lawrence Pudsey, you will be aware that there is a long footpath from the road to the church door, and to gain access to the organ requires that you climb three steps and then swing your legs over the organ bench. Walking the length of the drive with a music case full of music and also having two walking sticks to control can be a trifle chaotic, so I persuaded the good lady to accompany me and carry my music brief case for me.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, only to be greeted by the organ tuners who were completing tuning the instrument! when they had finished I clambered up the steps and swung my  legs over the organ bench. I found playing the instrument was quite straight forward, but what I hadn't reckoned with was that the bride would be in the region of forty minutes late!

I can comfortably manage about 50 minutes in any one position before the operated knee starts to stiffen, so to help matters I will then either have a walk about or change position. Neither of these options are particularly easy when you are seated infront of a congregation, and in full view of all who are in church!

View of the organ pipes from the organ console, which is situated at the front right of the church.

Unbeknown to me the Bride was to be 38 minutes late arriving at church, and I had started playing music for the guests, before the Bride arrrived at 1.28 pm The wedding was scheduled to start at 2.00 pm. By the time the service had concluded (at around 3.18 pm I had been sat on a very hard wooden organ bench for 110 minutes! My knee felt like it was dead, and it was with great difficulty that I managed to crawl off the organ bench, down the three steps and on to the church floor!

Luckily by the time I had taken half a dozen paces I was beginning to get some feel back into my knee! When we drove into Pudsey I said to Dot I'm going to celebrate the first wedding played - and I wonder if you can guess how I did that???

Yes, you've got it in one!

I called in a couple of charity shops and purchased four CD's!

So I'm now sat at my computer, with an ice pack on my left knee, listening to one of the CD's!

By the way I have a first wedding to play for at Bingley tomorrow.- But I've already hit the Bingley charity shops earlier in the week!!!!

Driving, Walking, Visiting Charity Shops, and the Odd CD or Two Purchased

What with all the excitement of the birth of Prince George, the family news tends to have been pushed on one side, so now that the dust has settled let me catch up a little on the more mundane stuff.

After visitng my consultant last week, he declared that I was fit to drive. A visit to my physiotherapist also got the response that I could now start walking (without sticks if I felt secure enough), so taking advantage of these pronouncements and the recent fine weather we visited Settle, Feizor and Austwick.

That meant me paying a call at one of the charity shops (Help the Aged) in Settle, and purchasing a couple of CD's.

This week I have also done a Shopping run to Asda, and whilst I was there I took a  walk around Shipley Market Place, and guess what - there are about six charity shops in the Market Place! Help the Aged, Heart, Scope, Cancer Research, An Animal Charity Shop and the recently opened Martin House Charity Shop.

Well I had been told to do a bit of walking, and a circumnavigation of the Market Place and a visit to all of the Charity Shops certainly seemed to fill the ticket (and cover a good distance), as I had already walked all the aisles in Asda prior to going round all the Charity Shops! Needless to say I picked up a few CD's - all at bargain prices - I mean at 50p a time you can afford to throw them away after you have listened to them, and not feel that you have wasted your money!

On Wednesday (yesterday) I had to call in at the Natwest Bank in Bingley, and again, the Charity Shops were visited. I purchased 9 CD's and four DVD's at the Jubilee Outreach of Yorkshire shop for the bargain price of £4.50! 

A selection of most of the CD's I have purchased from various Charity Shops over the last week or so.