Spotlight Nor'East
In the January edition of the Newsletter:
- Chenda Chats
- Wensleydale weekend
- Where was Geoff?
- Help to develop and grow the society by becoming a Mensa Ambassador
- PLUS Crossword
Chenda Chats
I drove a couple of Canadian cars for several thousand miles last summer. (Well, it's a big place, is Canada, and I still didn't manage to see it all). At least, I presume they were Canadian cars, because that's where I hired them. The first one was a large one called Dodge and the second one was an even larger one called Chrysler. I was ever so excited when I got in the second one, to discover that all the knobs and buttons were in the same place as in the first one. This led me to conclude that Dodge and Chrysler are probably related in some way. Maybe they did a merger or a face-saving take-over or whatever some time in the past. (A bit like Alitalia merging with Bradford and Bingley, or whatever the latest rescue plan is).
I also noticed that they had the same bits missing. I'm used to American (which for the purposes of this point includes Canadian) cars not having gears, but now they seem to have done away with the handbrakes as well. Or, at least, I never found the handbrake on either car, despite driving them for three weeks. Good thing I didn't need to do any handbrake turns, isn't it? I did several thousand U-turns, though. I blame the maps for that. Admittedly they weren't as bad as Guernsey's maps, nowhere in the world has maps as bad as Guernsey's; but they weren't good. Maybe, in the next rescue package, the Ordnance Survey could take over the world, and then at least they would all have good maps.
The other odd thing about Dodge and Chrysler was that they both beeped at me when I locked them. I don't know whether all Canadian cars do this, because I didn't drive them all, or maybe it's peculiar to Dodge and Chrysler, but I can see this having certain disadvantages. Be difficult to sneak home late at night without the family or the neighbours knowing, wouldn't it? And if you happened to live next door to one of these people that pop out in their car for ten minutes roughly six times an hour, I would think it could become profoundly irritating. I'm surprised Dodge and Chrysler (and possibly all manufacturers of Canadian cars) haven't discovered this yet.
And having survived all that unscathed, I came home and drove to work in my own car and parked it too close to the wall in the car park at work, and caused our office to be ram-raided. I don't really know how I got too close to the wall because there is a bump in the car park about six feet from the wall, and when I feel the back wheels hit the bump, as I back in, I know it's time to stop. I was quite surprised to find the car only about two inches from the wall, when I got out. That was amazing good luck because, as with other multitasking, I could just as easily have got it more wrong and hit the wall. (Fooled you there, didn't I?). What else was I doing whilst parking the car? Convulsing with amusement at a Janet and John story on the radio, as it happens.
Maybe convulsing and reversing aren't compatible. Anyway, apparently, the chap who parks next to me lines his car door mirrors up with mine as he reverses in... but his car is bigger than mine, so whilst I was merely close to the wall, he was in it.
Look forward to seeing you.
I'm Chenda Appleyard
Wensleydale Weekend
Deborah and I spent a few days in Wensleydale, courtesy of RamSig, in September. We are not great walkers, but the opportunity to take a break from city living was irresistible.
We drove up to Wensleydale from Sheffield on Friday in torrential rain. Water was the order of the day, whether it fell from the sky, was sprayed up by the traffic or covered the roads, it was everywhere! Consequently, it took 3 hours to get there, at a maximum speed of 50 mph, if we were lucky. This wasn't helped by the fact that Deborah left her spectacles at work, so we had to collect them before we departed.
Although the M1/A1 was passable, the A684 through Wensleydale was covered in sheets of water, and I wondered whether we would be able to make it to our destination. Despite the fact that the last mile was through a flooded road alongside a River Ure in spate and overflowing, we got there.
Arriving at about 6pm, we dumped our belongings, greeted our fellow weekenders and went to the nearby pub for a meal. This was the Green Dragon at Hardraw, an old pub, much bigger than seemed necessary, but was a free house, and they served Taylor's Landlord! One of our fellow weekenders did not know that Taylors was a Yorkshire brewery, so I set his mind at rest, as it originates in my home town, Keighley.
The rain continued to fall until well into Saturday, and several walkers returned defeated by the inclemency. I went to Hardraw Force, just up the lane, and was overwhelmed by the quantity, the force and the noise of falling water as it leapt the 98 foot drop into a deep pool. There was 20 feet of spray shooting across the landing pool and I could "feel" the noise of the fall.
The Hardraw Gorge was the scene of Brass band contests in the 19th Century, as it is a natural amphitheatre, and these have recently been revived, in fact we missed the next one by a week.
On the Saturday, the weather eased off, and we went into Hawes to explore. The Gayle Beck through the town was also in spate, and despite normally being a gentle mountain stream, was a monumental force of nature as it passed under the bridge in the town. Hawes is at the head of Upper Wensleydale, and has numerous shops and pubs. I was impressed by the extensive grocers in the centre, selling all manner of organic whole foods and other exotic comestibles. Also, as befits a small country town, the chemists was also the off-licence. A trip to Hawes Rope makers is always worthwhile, it is a thriving business, not many are left in the country. We also drove up to Garsdale Head, on the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and a bleak and unforgiving spot it is. This was the site of an awful collision in 1910, when it was known as Hawes Junction, and which highlighted the danger of gas-lit coaches.
On the Saturday evening we were treated to a home-produced three-course meal, followed by a general discussion into the night as is often the case at Mensa weekends.
Sunday dawned sunny, so we went to Aysgarth Falls, where the normally pretty and picturesque gently trickling falls were replaced by massive amounts of falling water, peaty brown and extremely forceful. It was hard to believe that a fight scene from "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves" was filmed here. Not the place for a picnic today.
We ate at the café in the Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre, which we can recommend, and we were treated to the sight of many different types of woodland birds using a variety of bird feeders nearby. The nearby church of St Andrew has the largest churchyard in England. There are Theasbys in it.
We visited Semerwater, which was much higher than normal. In fact it covered the road so that we could not tell where the road was, let alone how deep the water. We retraced our steps and visited Stalling Busk, the home of Raydale Preserves, manufacturers of tasty spreads and chutneys. A pretty hamlet, very remote, and with a beautiful outlook, its own church and such tranquillity!
On Monday we made our way home. The weather was a complete contrast to Friday, being dry and sunny. We returned in 2/3rds of the time we took on Friday. Reading the papers on our return, after three days without access to the radio, tv or other media, we found that there had been 6 deaths and lots of flooding.
On returning to the city, we immediately discovered what the peace and quiet of the countryside was really worth. The city is so noisy! We do not want to live in remote countryside, despite the peace and quiet, because of the proximity of the shops, newsagents, vets, public transport, doctors, hospitals, etc, in the city. We don't even want a holiday cottage, but, if we were young, well-off and untrammelled, living in the quiet countryside could well be an option worth pursuing.
Geoff Theasby
Where Was Geoff?
Whilst on the weekend at the Bunk Barn, Geoff took the photograph of Hardraw Force which appeared in Spotlight for December's Where Was Geoff?
Following on from all that open space and countryside, Geoff now moves back to an urban landscape with a long, but not thin, building.
Where did he go next?
All will be revealed in February's Spotlight.
Help to develop and grow the society by becoming a Mensa Ambassador
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