The cautionary tale of the Saltersgate Inn
[Update April 2018. A planning decision last week marked the end of the road for the remains of the former Saltersgate Inn. Looks like there was no way to save…
Visit Lythe
The other day at Ormesby Hall there were loads of vintage travel posters pinned up on the walls in the old servants’ quarters at the top of the building. I…
Magic plastic and tiny trains
Even as a small boy, I already possessed that coveted talisman of middle age known as the National Trust life membership card. My father being a Yorkshireman, and reasoning quite…
Showtime
It’s years since I went to a proper country show. Probably about fifteen or twenty years, actually, to the point where my memories are hazy at best. The other day,…
Hard lines for Hoovers
I was reassured to learn today that the EU is waging a brutal war on inefficient vacuum cleaners. Good to know they’ve got our back.
A peek into the secret gardens
[Edit, Dec 2019 – Since I wrote this half a decade ago, the estate has updated its website, and there’s now a nice article about the gardens by Lady Normanby,…
Roaming in Newtondale
Yesterday I gave in to my itching feet and set out for a stroll on the moors. The initial object of my walk was to track down a fine-looking swimming…
Fifty shades of statistics
Remarkable the things you find when you’re moving house. A couple of years ago, I had a freelance job writing an ebook guide to Fifty Shades of Grey. Sort of…
Starting a new chapter
The term ‘a new life’ should really only ever be used of babies, since whatever major adjustments you might make to your existence, you’re still carting a whole lot of…
From the great man himself
This month’s cookstrip for the Get Active supplement of Scouting magazine is a little unusual. Partly because the editors gave me a full page for a change, and partly because…
