A Musical Wagon from Yorkshire

Followers of this Blog will know that our coal wagon Albert was made in Wakefield, Yorkshire by Chas Roberts and Co.  As evidence, you can play a slightly off key version of Ilkley Moor Bah't 'at on her buffers.

Here's proof (sound on):
Ilkley Moor Ba'ht 'at. Solo coal truck.

Video courtesy of Albert Wright's son Bill.

Oh Look Philip - There's Mark

Nothing happens on the Settle-Carlisle railway without the bush telegraph being activated.   Today at 1630 the Royal Train went through Settle - en route northwards, in the direction of the Commonwealth Games presumably - buffers whitened and Royal headcode aglow.

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I'm sure they will all have been looking out for the water tower.

"Do you think the Queen knows all about me?"

"Sure to dear but it's time for tea"

Meet the Reeses

Two most welcome and delightful visitors were Anja and Martyn Rees from Adelaide, South Australia

They had seen us on TV in Australia and have been following this Blog.   They wrote in the visitors book "This building is why we came to Settle and it has been well worth it".

They were en route to Hawes and their journey coincided with yesterday's Waverley steam train going north over the Ribblehead Viaduct.   I do hope they saw it.

On in the US of A

 Ages ago we were filmed by a TV crew from Dallas, Texas for a TV show called 'You Live in What?'  Herinafter YLIW?

click to enlarge, but it's quite big enough already I reckon

It was to have been shown on Homes and Gardens TV Channel in the US.   Hereinafter HGTV.

Yesterday, we heard from the film producers AMS Pictures (hereinafter AMS) that YLIW would be shown on Great American Country TV channel.   Hereinafter GACTV.

Got it?

GACTV is part of HGTV I believe.  See 

http://www.gactv.com/

 if you can stand the pace.

Not only that we now have a PROVISIONAL transmission date of 19th September.   Looking at the blurb for earlier programmes with definite dates it seems likely that there will be repeats in the days after first transmission.   See

http://www.gactv.com/gac/shows_hyliw/episode/0,3564,GAC_46063_93697,00.html

for the link to the first programme in the series.   Maybe our American viewers * can watch it and let us know if we should run for cover on 19th September.

*  Looking at this Blog's audience statistics I see we had more page-views in the USA last week than from the UK.   Curious that.

Hey, We're a Postcard

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Thanks to the design skills of Rachel Griffiths at Imagerail

Click here for the Imagerail website

Gladys and Albert's Bottom

Andy Hyles has got into photography in a big way.   He spent a morning crawling all over Gladys and all under Albert.   Here are a couple of his piccies:

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This one shows the  extent and excellence of Ged Pinder's joinery blending the new timber with the old in the cramped and awkward confines of the coal truck's underparts.

Gendarmes in Yorkshire

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One of the delightful sights of the magical Tour de France de Yorkshire was that of French Gendarmes on motorcycles working with British officers.

It was really good to see this working together. The Job is essentially the same the world over. In my police career I worked for short but intense spells in France and Belgium to very good effect.

 My favourite foreign police anecdote was on entry to Tunisia for a holiday. On the plane you had to fill in an entry form which called for 'profession'. Throwing caution to the wind I put 'Police Officer'. At the desk was a fierce looking cop with a gun and dozens of bullets on a belt across his chest in case one was not enough. He glowered at the incoming passengers ahead of me.  On reading my form his face lit up.    Through garlic breath he said, "Welcome colleague".

Flower Potty and the Tour de France

5th July was when Yorkshire went crazy.   In Settle the flower pot men proliferate.   Here are our two.   Ian, the original is having a gender crisis as (s)he now sports a Northern Rail female chiffon necktie:

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Meanwhile, Settle station and the trains simply could not cope with the sheer volume of people trying to get to Skipton and Leeds to see the opening stage of the 2014 Tour de France.   Unsurprising as millions of people were trying to get out and about.   This amazing picture shows the riders nearing the top of the remote Buttertubs Pass, forever now known as the Cote de Buttertubs.  You cannot even see the road!

A Surprise Donation from the GMB Union

In the absence of the key we (me and the FoSCL treasurer) cut the lock off the milk churn with a slot in the top which has been standing by our visitors book since before we moved in and is there to raise money for good works on the Settle-Carlisle line.   There were some hundreds of pounds in there - all safely banked by said FoSCL treasurer.   Thank you to all who have donated - sometimes very generously - after their trip round the tower.

The bank wouldn't take the item above - the precise thickness and diameter as a £1 coin.   It bears the letters GMB, some 0121 telephone numbers and 'Birmingham City Council'.   The Brummy branch of the General, Municipal and Boilermakers Union presumably.   Well, the thought was there(?).

Thank you, Brother.

Meet Isambard

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Settle's Flowerpot Festival has caught on in a very big way indeed.   The few businesses that do not have flower pot men are at distinct risk of being seen as spoil sports and of being named and shamed.   As well as Ian the FPM (covered previously) the water tower now has Isambard (a pro-tem name only).   Isambard sports a very trendy Network Rail hi-vis jacket (from an undisclosed supplier), a flower pot hat, not unlike THE Isambard's stove-pipe hat, topped with a Settle-Carlisle hard hat to satisfy the elf n' safety police.   Isambard takes advantage of the humanoid elements of our water crane.

It is great to see people coming up the station drive and dissolving into fits of laughter, then photographing him.

Our dentist Dr Dundas commented that his teeth needed attention, in her opinion.

Station Taxi Service

  100 year old Gladys Emmanuel did taxi duties last weekend when 24 hardy souls from daughter Lorna's law firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co took on the Three Peaks challenge.   They all did it in under 12 hours so earning themselves handsome certificates and medals.

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Picture shows gluttons for punishment Charmandip Atwal, Phil Bostock and Carl Squires rejoicing in their safe arrival at Settle water tower after an air-conditioned ride in Gladys.   Apart from conquering the three peaks they raised thousands for charity.

Many of these London and Birmingham types had never seen the Yorkshire Dales before and it was a privilege to be part of their introduction to God's Wonderful County.