Sue Woodcock: A bridge too far for a quiet day out

The evening he arrived we were invited to the village for a pub crawl and ended up competing in a pub quiz. We came second and rather enjoyed it. I think he really liked the beer having been in a non-alcohol country for months.

The next day he wanted to see Whitby, so off we went to explore. Although I have lived in this part of the world for some years I had never been there either. In fact, I have never even visited the North York Moors, so it was an adventure for both of us. Of course, the dogs had to come, too and en route we stopped off at Ripon so he could see the cathedral. I am afraid I only got as far as the ice cream shop before returning to the car. I like Ripon and wandered round the car park with the dogs.

I had been warned about a hill called Sutton Bank and how steep it was. It was only after we were well upon the moors that I realised I had climbed the hill without any problem. The moors were beautiful and bleak and covered with a vibrant purple and blue. It was interesting but we needed to press on. As we approached Whitby we could see the impressive ruin of the abbey high on the hill.

The entrance fee seemed a bit expensive to me but I will admit the abbey was remarkable and then we took it in turns to look at the museum. There were children learning how to be pirates in a tent and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. The museum was well laid out but unless you had infinite time to watch videos on screens, or had paid yet more money to use a talking guide, there was precious little history freely available.

Having seen our fill we headed down to the town where we encountered a major problem. The bridge saga was in full swing and the roads were gridlocked. The boats did look enchanting but I will visit another time when there is less traffic and fewer people.

Robin Hood's Bay was another place I had been longing to visit. Just outside the village we stopped at a very nice pub for the most delicious fresh Whitby scampi. There are some enchanting shops here and a good little museum and then we got on to the beach. Geologically I found the bay very interesting and many families there seemed to be having a great day. The dogs sniffed at exciting smells and actually behaved quite well and know better than to drink the salt water. As we wandered along we passed a child who had discovered a couple of crabs and was delightedly watching them in a plastic bucket. The weather was humid and thunder could be heard out at sea and rumbling round the cliffs.

We drove down to Scarborough and turned right through Pickering on the way home. I found a huge forest to walk the dogs in and then realised I was in need of a coffee. A wonderful pub loomed up and we pulled in to be greeted by Sooty the pub labrador.

Once home we relaxed, at least for a while. My brother was on a mission to help me to tidy up the place. He has a great deal of energy and has been wonderful. He has a brilliant sense of humour and is quite correct in identifying a lot of items I do not need. He did ask me if I had a nail brush fetish, having found rather a lot of them around the house. I chucked loads of stuff that was just clogging up the little storage space I have.

I needed to meet someone near Ilkley and my brother needed to buy a belt, so we visited the town and purchased some edibles there, including some delicious steak pie for later. I explained to him about the song of the carbon cycle On Ilkla Moor bah t'at and we went up to the Cow and Calf rocks.

Once home he began, with a little help from me, to fix the ceiling in the front bedroom and we toiled away. He has also explained to me some of the secrets of my computer and has helped with tidying up files and photos and the like. Another thing I seem to collect is CD cases which he assures me I do not need.

The two garage dogs came to stay for a day. They are very energetic so I took them and my three round Grimwith. The reservoir is very low and despite the rain there is not much water around. Since my last visit the bracken has grown dramatically and in places was way above my head as I followed the path through it.

The dogs enjoyed the walk and in one place I could let them all off the lead and they ran up and down a steep hill until even the garage dogs were tired. They even slept once back home for at least half an hour before they were ready to go again.

Later, I went to Skipton0 to do my stint with the Street Angels and it was a busy evening.

The next morning I was due to read the lesson in church and as soon as I got back it was more clearing up, work on the ceiling and clearing out. I very much wanted to go to a special songs of praise service that evening where some rattling good hymns were included. The vicar had researched the hymn writers and I learned a lot.

At the pub later at the weekly quiz we had a fantastically good meal and once home watched as a load of rotten wood, an old bench, and lot of rubbish burned merrily on the bonfire.

A friend called up the next morning with some super fleeces which I have stored for use later. My brother is busily painting the walls and in the much better front bedroom we have identified a rotten floorboard and someone is coming to fix it. Life is looking up!

CW 7/8/10