The Village Pump (part 1)

Foxholes village pump and old style telephone box.

The pump is lacking a handle so I am unable to confirm if it still provides water.

I would guess not and that you probably wouldn't want to drink it even if it did.

Freedom Parade, Skipton.

We called into Skipton for lunch without realising that the main street was closed due to a Freedom Parade that afternoon.

I didn't know what a Freedom Parade was, but it sounded to me like a load of gays would be mincing around, protesting about wanting to be treated like normal people but to be able to continue acting like the deviants they obviously are.

So it came as a surprise to discover that the parade was actually the 'homecoming' of 2nd Batallion, The Yorkshire Regiment to their adopted town.

There was a massive police presence, with litter bins being made bomb proof (cling film and duct tape). Sadly, this was due to the possibility of disruption being caused by certain members of our community who only want to be British when the Social Security benefits are being dished out. 

Happily, everything passed off well and the soldiers simply reinforced the fact that this country has the best armed forces on the planet.

With the amount of assault rifles and fixed bayonets on display, I don't think that they would have needed to rely too much on the local Constabulary's protection.

199 Steps

A famous feature of Whitby is the route up from the Old Town to St. Marys Church and on to the Abbey. 

Comprising of 199 steps, they are much photographed and counted.

However, immediately to the side of them is the equally important, interesting but, sadly, mostly overlooked Donkey Road.

The Village Pump (part 2}

The nearby village of Butterwick has a rather impressive water pump, which has its own stage. I can exclusively reveal that if you move the handle, NO water comes out.

This is a photograph of it on recycling day, with the village bench in front.

Barry Sheene.

I saw Barry win his last race in Great Britain, probably his last race ever. It was a "classics" race after one of the Moto GP meetings at Donington Park.
He was unable to give an interview afterwards because of a sore throat. Within days it was announced that he had cancer, and within months he had died.
These photos are from the annual event held in his name at Olivers Mount Circuit in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

A (one way) Ticket to Ride

Foxholes Central Bus Station during rush hour (washroom facilities care of the green Portaloo).
There are three buses per day (Monday to Friday only), all of them before 12 noon, all of them are outbound from the village. Rather worryingly, there are no scheduled return services.

From Shitehole to Foxholes

...... and so we leave behind Burnley, the town where they'd stick the pipe if the world had to have an enema, and start a new life in the country at Foxholes in the Yorkshire Wolds.

It's a quiet village and the people have, so far, been very friendly. They haven't suddenly started to speak Welsh or anything when you walk into the pub.

Mainly because it's not in Wales but also because there isn't a pub.
Or a post office.
Or a shop of any description, except one that sells tractors and farming machinery.

Not much good if you suddenly run out of milk, but dead handy if you need to plough a few hundred acres.

The local church is St. Marys and it appears to be disused now which is a shame. It looks like a lovely building, although the Pevsner Guide from years ago describes it as the ugliest church in the whole of North Yorkshire.

Which is a bit harsh I think.

A partial, partial eclipse

Around half past nine this morning, we wandered out onto the Top Field of The Crows Nest Caravan Park between Scarborough and Filey in North Yorkshire to witness the spectacle of the much publicised "partial solar eclipse".

A decent layer of cloud meant any decent viewing was going to be unlikely.
However, all at once, the clouds are parted, light streams down in bright unbroken beams.

I Rush to snap some photos using the zoom feature of my phones camera.
Not bad results for a distance of 93,000,000 miles!

Another East Coast war relic.

Hiding at the top of a short path, alongside a new housing development called 'Aspiration' in Hornsea, is this WWII Pill Box. 

It was an anti invasion measure, protecting the inland against any possible beach landings should the Third Reich realise the strategic importance of Ashcourt Drive. 

Big Yellow Helecopter

Sunday 15th March, in Scarborough South Bay, just off the old outdoor swimming pool.

The Coastguard, RNLI, and RAF Search & Rescue held a co ordinated training exercise drawing a crowd of spectators as the helicopter landed on the Astro Map which has replaced the old Lido.
The Big Yellow Helecopter (could almost be the a song title, that! ) has been a fairly regular sight off the Yorkshire Coast over the years but, sadly, it's days are now numbered.

A newer, better replacement for the Westland, a Sikorsky,  is planned to take over soon. It will be based at Humberside Airport instead of RAF Leconfield wich will mean that the RAF lads are redundant as S&R is privatised.

What's next? The Red Arrows??