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.

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.

Classified Ad

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?