Haunts

Yesterday's plan had been to go to Helmshore, the village where I grew up and went to school. But we had an emergency doctor's appointment instead (Joe's much better now) and it turns out that the weather today was even nicer so off we went.

After a pot of tea and a toasted teacake, we had a walk around the village. Things have changed a bit since I was little in that developers seem to like building executive housing on every spare piece of land. So where there were clusters of houses and lots of gaps, things are now a bit more sprawling. But there are still sheep in the field opposite the shop (not sure where the chickens were today - I told Joe they were probably busy laying Easter eggs).

At one point, around five years ago, I had my name down for one of these allotments. Just as I reached the top of the list I moved to Bond Street (which is maybe five miles away). Typical!

We had a wander around the park and I revisited the clock tower, where my schoolfriends and I would meet up in the evenings to smoke illicit cigarettes. We didn't inhale (not knowing how). But we looked good - or so we thought. And that's very important when you're hanging around in a park trying to impress one another.

More signs of spring.

And more. Miniature narcissi planted in a specially-cut stone flag. In the older parts of the village there are still flagged pavements. And cobbles. Which are nice to look at but difficult to traverse with a pram...

I couldn't get to the front of these cottages to photograph them as the path's very narrow with Joe's taxi. But they overlook a river and some steep fields inhabited by some very shaggy ponies.

I had no chance of getting across the bridge today. I don't take the baby sling when out walking alone. It takes two people to get the baba in and out of it. So I just had to stand and look longingly towards the hills. Oh well, maybe next time.

This is the view down the road from my old primary school. I think that's one of the things I miss - wherever you look, hills. 

And these are some of the houses opposite. The school bell was ringing when I went past to signal the end of break time. We had a huge school field with a church and farm at the far end - chickens used to come in under the fence.

That's Musbury and Tor in the background. Tor is a huge pudding bowl-shaped hill which is hard work to walk up but there's a little cave at the top. You get to wander through a cute little farmyard on the way too.

When we got back it was still early afternoon so I planted out the echinacea and alchemilla mollis (fingers crossed on that one surviving). And I'd brought home the Free Press so I can catch up on the local news later on. Fortunately I'm not yet at the age where I go straight for the obituaries.

Anyway, that's the end of today's sentimental little post. Thanks for coming along...