A Gaggle of Locals

The River Ouse…

I appreciate a misnomer as much as the next person and this is a splendid one. This river doesn’t ooze but I am always transported to medieval times when I hear its name, as if it was then a sludgy, slow-moving, reed-filled cesspool limping sore across the pristine Yorkshire countryside.

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Swift Half

England has single-handedly turned around my reluctance to visit pubs.

For one thing, I love being able to suggest to The BB that we “slip out for a swift half.”  As regular readers will know, I don’t even like beer, except as reading material, but that phrase, garnered from British TV shows, is too evocative to pass by. I use it to convey a desire for a chilled beverage of any persuasion, ingested from a container of any dimension.

Castle Howard Visited

When visiting a castle, one does expect crenellated walls and towers but Castle Howard was not constructed for defence. The 3rd Earl of Carlisle, Charles Howard, commissioned it for aesthetic pleasure and self-congratulation. This grand asymmetrical house is apparently listed as one of the world’s top ten greatest mansions in Lonely Planet’s 1,000 Ultimate Sights.

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Positions Vacant

Bridge trolls required. Multiple positions available in quiet village. Suit extended family of small-stature seeking creek change. Must be ugly with loud voice. Will be employed by individual homeowners to repel yet fascinate passers-by. Apply Thornton-le-Dale Tourism Council, Yorkshire.

It’s All Relative

Can you imagine the Right Honourable’s excitement? A relative, and a ‘celebrated’ one at that, tucked away in England, hailing from down Tadcaster way.

Not Drinking But Reading

I’m not, by any measure, a beer person so why spend ten minutes in the beer section in the Stratford Garden Centre near Warwick? Because of the names. Check them out.

Road Sign

Following Mary?