Goodbye Amy, Alice and Winter

 

Sadly this fortnight we said farewell  to Amy Chambers who is returning to Canada to live after some seven years in the UK.  Amy used to work with Gail occasionally at Alliance Medical but latterly has moved to other employers.  She was a regular and founder member of our Aussie Day parties in Wetherby though so we took it on ourselves to travel to Derby and have a tiny farewell party lunch to say goodbye.  First was a meal in a French restaurant 

 
 Then cocktails in a Cuban themed bar

 

 While the food and drinks were super, goodbye's are always sad.  Good news is Amy and Paul will get great jobs in Canada from all reports , and will probably have a spare bedroom available on the west of that wonderful country for us in the very near future.   We have another friend, Kathy, in Edmonton, so that's two reasons to save up our dwindling pennies to return to that colony again. We enjoyed the East coast and are told the West is so much better.

 As we still had Alice staying as a house guest , Gail and her decided it would be another cultural experience to go to the Boston Spa (town next to Wetherby) Jazz Night.  It is run every Saturday night with bands from all over, This night it was a Newcastle band called Jazzmen and they did trad jazz and a bit of Dixie, with some soul.  Excellent if a bit formulaic for me but Gail loves it and Alice got another bit of Yorkshire/English village life experience. Big bunch of old farts. I'm the one throwing a wine down, mid picture.

 

 It would seem that not all attendees were avid Jazz fans, or, like me, were there because their partners really wanted to go.  This lovely lady endured the entire two and a half hours with ear plugs in and doing the weekend newspaper crosswords.  Gotta love it.

On the Sunday we headed off for a look at England's oldest licensed Inn, Bingley, yeah we had just been there with John and Vicky but Alice wanted to go so a pint was had before we headed off to ... 

 The Shoulder of Mutton pub at Kirkby Overblow for a fine Sunday lunch and a walk around the spectacular views of the village which is literally just along our road a-ways. 
  A stroll took us to the local church for photos and views over our valley of Wharfedale. I have posted many from here before so none this time.
  okay, just one.

 Never wanting to let one of Gail's Mondays off work go to waste we planned to head off and see Yorkshire's most northern productive vineyard.  Avid blog readers or those with great memories will know this is a frequent target for Gail and I .  The wines are okay but the scenery is gobsmacking.  Its at Holmfirth, where 'Last of the Summer Wine', a popular comedy TV series, used to be filmed.

 

Tina and Rob, some ex-Alliance friends who live in Holm were busy this day so just the three of us went for a pint, lunch and cake at the Fleece Inn before a short and cool walk.. before driving a mile or so to the Holmfirth Vineyard...

 

 

The vineyard sits facing north west, not an ideal aspect for wine in the northern hemisphere, so it was still covered with snow for the tour and lunch.  Still, has a certain charm in the winter even if the season was spring.  The vines were equally suffering from the cold.

 The food was spectacular, I had a chicken and bacon salad with a raspberry dressing followed by a mint lamb burger,  both very, very tasty.  The girls shared a high tea of sandwiches and cakes with champagne.  As you can see, the sun came out heralding the end of Alice's stay and the end of Winter, we would like to think. 



 

 The next weekend,our first weekend alone for over a month,  Gail and I took ourselves off to Ripon Canal for a 6 mile stroll to Bishop Monkton, Littlethorpe and back.  A lovely if chill day, hazy, but not wet and, no snow!
The fields were all a-gambol with fresh lambs and contented mum-sheep. 

 We found Bishop Monkton to be a delightful if quirky-quiet little village and stayed for lunch and a pint.

 After a pleasant if plain lunch at the Masons Arms, the pub used often in the filming of the BBC's Touch of Frost series, we continued on our stroll,

 back through villages, chatting to locals, dodging, tractors, horses and pushbikers.  Walking back towards the canal we got to talking to some barge owners who had sailed their 70' long, wide-beam (13'6") barge from Lincoln, up the Trent, Humber and Ure Rivers and into the heart of Ripon city.  Got Gail and I all canal boat envious again. 

On the walk we had to cross a chicken farm and it was quite the thing for Gail who, unlike me,  had not had a childhood experience of mass chicken farming.

 But it quickly became apparent where her natural leadership skills are best suited. 

It took me all my efforts to stop her picking one up to take home.  Gail has always wanted a couple of chooks in the back yard..... along with two Great Danes, a couple of donkeys and a house rabbit... 

So far I have not had to worry about these wishes taking on a real form,  but,  these chickens, with the fact that the farmer obviously frequently handles them, and that one or two were  'just lovely' had me worrying if I should be checking her bag .

The day was  a fantastic walk though and will go onto our list of things to offer to do with future house guests.