Yorkshire Imperial Measures

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Hortoris

€   No half measures

Yorkshire was a part of the British Empire that adopted the system of imperial units or the imperial system  first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824. Unfortunately the EU tried to confuse the rest of the United Kingdom with a Napoleonic measurement system.

The most precise measurement of the Imperial Standard Yard is 0.914398416 metres or one stride as I was taught. The Metropolitan police HQ is to be renamed New Scotland 0.914398416 metres under EEC rules or New Scotland Murdoch Mansions under Aussie rules.

Other notable measures of length include Chain 22 yards as in cricket, a furlong one eighth of a mile as used at Yorkshires race courses and a league or 3 miles back to cricket again. I can’t fathom it out as 2 yards so I must ask Vince Cable 100 fathoms.
25 links one rod, 4 rods one chain but it is a bit fishy that a perch is a rod times a rod and an acre is a furlong times a chain – want to be in the land measurement gang?

Getting on to drink a Gill is 5 fluid ounces or quarter of a pint except in Yorkshire where a Gill is a half a pint! No half measures in Yorkshire.

An ounce is 28 and a bit grammes and stone me a stone is 6350 and a bit grammes. I hope that helps with those pesky metric recipes on the Rhubarb Triangle

Drinking Measures

Quart Pint is 2 Pottle or Half Gallon
Gallon has 4 Quarts.
Peck is 2 Gallon.
Kenning or Pail is 2 Pecks
Bushel is 2 Kenning or 4 pecks
Barrel is 36 imperial gallon
Hogshead is 72 gallon but in American beer 54 gallon
Butt or Pipe is 128 gallon
Tun is 256 gallon

I’d like a tun of beer for my birthday but will drink a Pottle or double pint at a time.

Posted in Food and Drink & Yorkshire Products | 1 Comment

Holiday Makers Are Coming

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Hortoris

Scarborough

A weak pound means there will be a large increase in the number of foreign holiday makers arriving on our shores and sensibly heading for Yorkshire. A strong pound means visitor to Yorkshire will not be put off by uncontrolled events.
More stay at home holiday makers means our Yorkshire tourist spots will also be doing good and well deserved trade.
Even ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ are doing their bit promoting the region and our counties heritage.
Long may this tourist bonanza help our balance of payments.

All good news and I do not want to carp on but here goes:

Improve the Tourists Experience

  • Our streets and beauty spots are often despoiled by litter and dirt. It is partially our slovenly habits and partially our poor management of street cleaning. Time for proper action!
  • Immigration at our ports and airports seems slower and more complex than at other European destinations. I do not want to encourage illegal immigration, far from it, but are our checks and resources fit for purpose?
  • Railway staff particularly around Europe where I recently enjoyed a 3 week rover ticket were brilliant. When I got home to my local station the surly, uncommunicative staff were not a joy to behold, in fact they are a local joke!
  • What do you remember about your foreign holidays. For me it is often the interaction with the locals. Why not reciprocate and talk to a few tourists if the opportunity arises.

Tourist Black Spot – Bradford

  • Bradford has tried to brand itself as a tourist attraction with Saltaire, Howorth and the National Media Museum as key features. Well it fails miserably, the National Media museum over looks the iconic building of the Alhambra and the diabolical state of the Gaumont/Odeon that has been left for decades to deliberately decay!
  • The former Colour museum now the Colour Experience is only open to pre-booked groups. The nearby buildings are 75% boarded up and a young family who had parked their car on Chain Street were surveying the smashed in windows when I walked past on 28 July 2011.
  • Vincent Street and Roundhill Place once proud areas of mills and industrial revolution
    were littered to glory and weeds grew out of roof tops like tumbleweed in the Wild West.
  • Less said about Forster Square and City Hall bomb site the better.

Summary

Yorkshire is a great place for a holiday and is good for our local and national economy. (Then of course we all knew that but it is just dawning on Johnny foreigner).

Yorkshire was renown for its coal pits but now it is Bradford that is the Pits. Go and see for yourself as they need all the help they can get.

Keep Yorkshire Tidy, take litter home, put litter in the bins and encourage your council to keep on top of ugly, dirty litter strewn sites.

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Dougie World Trials Champion From Silsden

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Hortoris

 

When Dougie Lampkin was only 33 but he had already accumulated 12 World Championship titles including 7 consecutive World Outdoor Championships and 5 Indoor.

Motor bikes   run in the Lampkin family. Dougie’s father Martin was the first trials world champion in 1975. Dougie’s  uncle Arthur was even more famous, riding for the army in 1958 and becoming nationally famous during the sixties.  Scrambling was often on the TV and many lads dreamt of riding a bike as Arthur so frequently did.
Alan Lampkin was the other less successful brother but he did win the Scottish six day trial in 1966.

Pictures of Arthur

 

‘Even at the age of forty years old Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin continues to rewrite the history books as he added a record extending tenth Scottish Six Days Trial (SSDT) victory to his palmares that also includes an impressive twelve FIM Trial World titles and ninety-nine Grand Prix wins. To put Dougie’s latest achievement in to its true context, no other rider has won the SSDT more than five times during its more than one-hundred-year history.’ Red Bull Update

We should have this sport as an Olympic event! If we did Dougie’s existing MBE for services to sport would be upgraded!

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Dragons in Hebden Bridge

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Hortoris

Hebden Bridge

One of the animals at this charity shop must be a Dragon.Theo Paphitis by name and former dragon by nature.

Theo Paphitis wss one of the Dragon’s Den personalities that entrepreneurs would like to capture. Good luck to any aspiring business in Hebden Bridge who is looking for new investors. After the floods Hebden Bridge needs all the support we can muster. Take your business and retail spending to the town but remember dragons are so named for a reason. They are not business angels and they are not angelic when it comes to money.

 

Enter the Dragon

Theo’s life story is published by Orion Books in paperback. It gives an insight into the thoughts and aspirations of one of the UK’s most popular entrepreneurs.

In this revealing and controversial memoir, Theo not only takes the reader behind the scenes on Dragons’ Den, he explains how he made his fortune. He also provides a master class in business methods that will enable anyone who reads this book to learn so much about how they too can improve their business acumen.

From Amazon with other Dragon books

A new Dragons Den season starts soon with a new dragon on board. Hilary Devey started Pall-Ex in 1995 and back then it was a one truck, one woman, pallet exchange business. She initially signed up 35 haulier members, enabling Hilary to cover the length and breadth of the UK. Now her multi-million pound empire distributes up to 9000 pallets a day from its central hub in Leicestershire. Today she has set her sights on even bigger goals, and as CEO is currently overseeing Pall-Ex’s pan-European expansion.

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Give Me Five – Leeds Museums

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Hortoris

1. Royal Armouries Museum

Leeds is home to the oldest museum in the UK, the Royal Armouries. Britain’s national museum of arms and armour is an international attraction. There are over 8,500 objects on display in five galleries: War; Tournament; Oriental; Self Defence and Hunting.

It is an exceptional opportunity to see a great historic display in a modern building. Clarence Dock is worth the short walk from the city center.

2. Abbey House Museum – Kirkstall Abbey

Visit the Victorian Streets in the old Abbey House. There are lots of interactive activities for the young children and the older ones amongst us will remember many of the exhibits at our homes or those of our grandparents.

3. Leeds City Museum
The old Civic Theatre has been converted into an exciting new museum in the heart of Leeds. Out of Africa, Ancient Worlds, The Leeds Story and Life on Earth are just some of the galleries to explore.
Relax on the Leeds Arena balcony which overlooks the giant map and enjoy the rolling films suspended from the ceiling – showcasing iconic images and famous landmarks in the city.

4. Leeds Industrial Museum Armley Mills

Based in what was once the world’s largest woollen mill, Leeds Industrial Museum houses a wealth of gems in a beautiful canal and riverside location. Armley Mills contains exhibits from the 18th century to the present day and tells the history of manufacturing in Leeds, including textiles, clothing, printing and engineering.

5. Thwaite Mills Watermill Museum

Visit the fully-restored working watermill which is nestled on an island location between the River Aire and the Aire & Calder Navigation. There are good local walks and it is only a couple of miles from the city center.
See ‘Scotch Derrick’ the working steam crane, two waterwheels and ‘Titian’ the historic tractor in action.

 

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You Say ‘Graffiti’ – I Say ‘Graffito’

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Hortoris

self 011

Rude and crude graffiti has been obliterated on this wall near  Menston railway station.
Rather than leave the offending and singular graffito the potential ‘Banksy’ has been covered with this ugly blue gunge. Putting one graffito on top of another must make it a pluralist graffiti.
If only the first one had been professionally and chemically removed we would have had graffitno!

In seeking an influence to calm me down I noticed that these sheep in Wharfedale have suffered from the degraffitiser and have also been painted blue. I wonder what the original message said. ‘Ewe got preggers OK’?

wharfedale

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Visiting Churches – Buildings, Interiors and Environment

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Hortoris

shipley St Paul's

What do you ‘look for’ and ‘look at’ when visiting a church for the first time or the umpteenth time come to that?
This is just a quick list of some of the items you may want to consider on your next visit.

The Environment

  • What and where is the village, town or parish and how has it developed alongside the Church.
  • What is the setting and positioning of the church, its elevation and relationship to other buildings and physical features.
  • What spaces are around the church and why are they there?
  • What is distinguished about the churchyard, crosses, lychgates and statuary.
  • What materials have been used in the construction and also what has no been used to put the building into context with the surroundings.

The Building and Architecture

  • Have a good look around the building in general and then in some detail (pick a fine sunny day for this and you will be totally absorbed and potentially sun tanned).
  • Towers if present may have battlements or be a later addition, they may not be built in the usual western end of the church.
  • Is there a spire and how are high parts accessed?
  • Look at the nave and chancel to see if they are under one continuous roof.
  • How many doorways are present, have any been blocked up are the fittings medieval and if the main door is not in the south wonder why.
  • Are there any low windows or unusual high ones like Otley.
  • Porches are common on Anglo Saxon churches but Normans were left out in the cold. Some churches have external stone benches.

Interior

  • Buy, borrow or read any guidebook or information panels.
  • Windows and roofs can be very informative. The east window over the chancel and altar generally provide the majority of the light. The clerestory is an upper row of extra windows.
  • Stained glass often tells a story, but what of the story of the funding and installation.
  • The font is traditionally placed near the entrance to indicate it is easy to enter the church through baptism.  Font covers or lids may be present or at least the former hinge locations. Puritains were not against smashing the font cover or even the font itself.
  • The altar will not escape attention but the nave, pulpit, lectern and furnishings are often fascinating.
  • Memorials, effigies, wall tablets, inscriptions, curiosities and miscellaneous items often tell about the life of the church through the decades and centuries.
Posted in Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire History and Heritage | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fred Trueman Still Speaks Out

Posted on June 11, 2016 by tejvan


Book Cover

Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE Fred Trueman to All Yorkshire Folk

All Yorkshiremen have a favourite Fred Trueman story and mine goes something like this: Opening the bowling as usual from the Kirkstall Lane End Fred’s first ball rapped the openers pads and Fred bellowed Owzat only to get a firm shake of the head from the umpire, the next ball created an audible snick and firmly Fred appealed to get an even firmer ‘Not Out’, on the third ball Trueman flattened the middle stump and remarked to the umpire ‘Well umpire we nearly had him that time!’

Fred was a great raconteur and afterdinner speaker amongst his sporting tallents and this CD brings back many memories and the dulcet tones of a great Yorkshire personality and character. I for one wish he were still around to give vent on Twitter, that is about twitter not using it like some current footballers.

Bluebells in Woods

Take a walk on the wild side in April or May and the chances are you will smell the wonderful scent of our Yorkshire bluebells.
Bluebells grow best under the edge of woodland in dappled shade of deciduous trees. The sun and light in spring, before the tree leaves fully develop, encourages the nodding, bell shaped, violet-blue flowers of our native bulbs.

Unlike the foreign imports from Spain and Italy our Yorkshire Bluebells have a wonderful scent. They can also be recognised by the curved back petals and creamy-white anthers.

The scent attract insects to Bluebells delicately scented flowers which aids pollination. The resultant seed helps spread the bluebells into large drifts.

God’s Own County is part serious / part humorous look at the great county of Yorkshire. Everything from the wonderful scenery of the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors to the best place to park your bike in Leeds city centre. We celebrate the great icons of Yorkshire from Hannah Hauxwell to Bernard Ingham and Geoffrey Boycott.

We cover everything from photos of ‘Idle – Working Man’s Club’ to the growing movement of Yorkshire Independence!

We love to hear from anyone with a passion for Yorkshire or you can just enjoy the typical Yorkshire wit.

‘Now Willie you mustn’t be selfish you should let your brother have the sledge half the time’.
‘I do Mum, I have it coming down and he has it going up’.

Classic Yorkshire Bluebell Locations

  • Our native bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is widespread in low level woodland such as Freeholders Wood Nature Reserve Wensleydale
  • Other good smelling spots include Bratt Wood near Hull Nunburnholme
  • Stittenham Wood Sheriff Hutton
  • Sutton Wood Sutton-on-Derwent
  • Burton Bushes Bluebell walk Beverley
  • Hackfall Wood near Ripon
  • Middleton Woods Ilkley and Grass Wood in Wharfedale.
  • Newton Woods at Roseberry Topping
  • Millington Wood near Pocklington & Hagg Wood Dunnington
  • Renishaw House and Woolley Woods Sheffield
  • Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire A hidden beauty spot near Hebden Bridge. The three-mile Mill Walk is the ideal place to see a mass of bluebells in spring..
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Likely Lads from Bingley – Rodney Bewes

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Hortoris

Book Cover
Rodney Bewes was born near Bingley Grammar School in 1939 and was a sickly child suffering from asthma. At the age of 12 he read in the Daily Herald that the BBC wanted some child actors and he wrote in, was auditioned and featured in several Children’s Hour programmes.
Rodney moved to London aged 14 to study at RADA but was expelled for failing to work. Undaunted he developed his acting career and was cast in Billy Liar alongside Tom Courtney, Julie Christie Wilfred Pickles and Leonard Rossiter. Billy Liar was largely filmed in Bradford as a 1963 film based on the novel by Keith Waterhouse. It was directed by John Schlesinger.

Rodney Bewes as Mr Rodney wrote, produced and sometimes presented Basil Brush – Ha Ha Ha Boom Boom! It was the Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads that made Rodney a household name.

DVD’s and T-shirts are part of the Likely Lads memorabilia available from Amazon

The Likely Lads starring Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris and James Bolam as Terry Collier is an aimless but endlessly entertaining saga that ran from 1963 when it featured on Christmas Night with the Stars. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ the script and characterisations hit a funny bone on the elbo of the public. The series is the equal of Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Fawlty Towers, Dads Army, or Blackadder in the minds of many.
Bob often found himself ‘timidly chafing at the clutches of domestic “bliss” as personified by wife Thelma. He’s frustrated by or jealous of the footloose Terry who thinks the world has done him a bad turn.
December 1964 episodes were Entente Cordiale, Double Date and Older Women Are More Experienced, giving some clue as to the basis for the laddish humor that also gave the odd chortle to all the family.

The series was watched by some 27 million people and the sitcom made Rodney Bewes and James Bolam household names. Friends in the series Rodney’s TV jealousy continued as he fell out with James Bolam over the rights to earn fees for repeat showing. Rodney also had a high profile dispute with George Harrison’s widow over a garden fence. A case of ‘Bewes Bingley Bitchiness’ or a Likely Lad still putting it around?  It has also been reported that he told a harmless but personal story about James Bolam and his wife in a  press interview and despite seeking to apologise  Bolam put the phone down and has ever spoke to him again.

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Provident, Payday or Credit Union Loans

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Hortoris

Not having money costs you and it is a vicious circle of debt and high often unfair cost.

Cheap at No Price
118 118 Money are offering loans over 2 years at a representative 99.9% APR. (Annual percentage rate)
Instant Payday UK offer to lend £200 for 30 days: Total amount payable = £240 @ 1223% APR (Variable)
Quick quid 1294.1% APR
Wonga.com were a new phenomenon in the personal finance world setting out to challenge Yorkshire based Provident Financial Services, ‘The Provi’.
Yorkshire folk are canny with money and I couldn’t believe we would be sucked in by a new company offering loans that advertise interest rates of 2,689%. One way they explain the annualised interest rates are to show a short loan of 5 days at the rate is 3253% – so that’s OK then. Todays advertised headline rate is APR of 1,261% APR At least when it became known that the Church of England were investing wonga in Wonga the Archbishop created a media storm and the rate started to come down.

Provident on the other hand advertise a rate of 254.5% about 10 times the going rate on an expensive credit card but needs must when the devil drives. Small loans without charges can still cost  APR.  The old proverb ‘neither a borrower or lender be’ had been forgotten. Prior to the latest financial crisis looking at Wonga’s interest rates even I might have been tempted to be a lender ( not really).

Provident History
In 1880 Provident was founded in the West Riding by Joshua Waddilove an insurance agent. The company intended to help some working class families who struggled to pay for essential items such as furniture, clothes and shoes. Repayments were collected in small weekly installments. By the time Joshua died in 1920 Provident Clothing and Supply Co Ltd had grown into a nationwide business with over 5,000 agents operating from a head office in Bradford.
The company also operates Vanquis Bank now based in London. In 1962 the company became a public listed company and the business model is now rolled out internationally through International Personal Finance plc. and Provident Finance plc is still a FTSE 250 listed stock. According to wikipedia the ‘Company’s biggest business is (still) lending to people in their homes via a network of doorstep agents. Out of an estimated 2.5 million people who borrow from Home Collected Credit providers, 1.5 million place their business with Provident Financial…’

Credit Unions

The Association of Credit Unions list 17 Yorkshire based organisations that may have financial products that could suit certain borrowers at far cheaper rates than home or internet collected credit.
If your bank manager isn’t of the listening kind try talking to Citizens Advice Bureau for free advice. There are over 150 recorded under Yorkshire on the CAB web site or your local library would be willing to help find one.

 

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