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On this day in 2000, the Labour Government’s first attempt to repeal Section 28 was defeated in the House of Lords
Section 28 had been introduced by the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher and prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities. Later that year the Prime Minister Tony Blair would claim that opposition to reform was “a piece of prejudice, pure and simple“. The Shadow education secretary Theresa May called the defeat “a victory for…
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Spring has begun its journey
A sneak peek over the wall into the grounds of Kildale Hall. This is always a welcome sight at this time of the year. A reminder that spring is just around the corner. From the photo it looks like it’s the snowdrops that dominate, but actually the yellow aconites were more pronounced. Winter aconites, Evanthis…
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Tripsdale
Probably my most favourite place in the North York Moors. Lower Tripsdale is characterised by livestock farming, with clear boundaries between enclosed fields, farm settlements and moorlands, accentuated by contrasting colours. Upper Tripsdale is wild and secluded. But the secret little valley contains a wealth of history. The best way to get into Tripsdale is…
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Abandoned sandstone quarry near Turkey Nab
A pair of cairns have been constructed on the nab itself, where once a gibbet stood, last used so I understand, in 1729, when Willam Parkinson was hung there in chains. My notes say that Parkinson was tried at York assizes for the murder of a Scottish drover at Great Broughton. He was brought back…
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A poem wot I rote
There have been much enthusiasm recently about AI (artificial intelligence) generated text using companies such as ChatGPT. Always on the lookout for a lazy opportunity, I thought I would give it a go and downloaded the app. So to accompany today’s photo of the summerhouse below Roseberry Topping I thought I would get the AI…
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Long Causeway
A strange name for a farmstead, perhaps a reference to the post medieval trackway that can be discerned by a faint holloway parallel to the dry-stone wall in the photo. I once read that large earthfast boulders in a wall is an indication that the wall is of some antiquity. The farm was a beneficiary…
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Boundary stone on Stanghow Moor
Exploring hob country, the area of moorland south-east of Guisborough. This early 19th-century boundary stone marks an old parish boundary between Guisborough and Stanghow. It is about half way between Hob on the Hill and Hob Cross, which names denote a connection with those mischievious sprites that are supposedly the descendants of prehistoric inhabitants. The…
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A lesson for us all: beware of the tallyman
A few scattered hawthorn trees mark the vestiges of an old hedgerow. Little Roseberry and Black Bank in the distance. The massive credit facility needed by our former Prime Minister has been making the headlines recently. A lifestyle that demands this amount of money ‘on tick‘ is incomprehensible to me. At the turn of the…
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On this day in 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government
A short wander up Cliff Rigg this, reflecting on happenings 90 years ago today, Then, the elderly Weimar President, Paul von Hindenburg, was persuaded by the conservative elite to appoint Hitler as chancellor, the head of the German government. An appointment that was entirely legal and constitutional. At the same time, one of those conservative elite,…
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Proposal to explode a nuke under the North York Moors
Cracking sunrise this morning as I was running over Simon Howe Rigg, south of Goathland. Just the tetrahedron of R.A.F. Fylingdales breaking the horizon. I recalled the old golf balls of R.A.F. Fylingdales — built in the early 60s — now replaced by the tetrahedron. It’s not quite the same. Yesterday I ventured onto Wheeldale…
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