We Really Should Get Out More

 Like most of the UK's population we are under lockdown - confined to the house essentially - as the country, indeed the World, struggles on its way during the COVID 19 pandemic.  This is not too big an ask here at the now-extended water tower in winter.  We are in good health all things considered as as far as we know we have not had COVID.

Today there was hoar frost about which covered everything outdoors with glisten, not least a spiders web which straddled the space between the Shogun's front wheel arch and the wheel:

Proof if it was needed that the Shogun has not moved for a while.  The old girl is not forgotten though - she started first go today, cobweb or not.

Meanwhile this bitter winter continues to show the Dales in all their glory.  Below is the view from one of the accommodation rooms of the Station Inn at Ribblehead with the viaduct centre stage and Whernside in the background:

And here's one of Pen y Ghent with its winter coat on:

Meanwhile son-in-law emeritus Alan in Pittsburgh has done us the favour of recommending the water tower blog as a fascinating glimpse of life in the Yorkshire Dales.

And as cure for insomnia.

Diarlemma Solved

In normal years we pop along to Settle's Victoria Hall any Tuesday in November and get ourselves a page-a-day diary for next year but not this year.

We found ourselves diary-less quite a few days into January and the local place for such things had sold out.  We went onto E-Bay and bought a diary which arrived remarkably soon,  Only trouble was the pages were scrambled:

As Eric and Ern might have said "there's all the right dates but maybe not in quite the right order".

Not just that, the dates are on the insides of the pages - in the fold of the book - so they are invisible as you flip through!

We still needed a diary so took to Facebook's 'Settle Chat' group and, lo and behold, a Samaritan called Kenzie Forster came to our rescue.  She had a spare 2021 desk diary and she delivered it to us!  Remarkable.  Thank You Kenzie.   That's the sort of place Settle is.

The Settle Chat comments chain was amusing - why did we, or anybody else, NEED a 2021 diary the way things are!  Can't go anywhere, can't meet anybody and every day's the same.

The Old Vicarage Syndrome

The Old Vicarage Syndrome?  Yes.  When the CofE was rich they built vicarages in fine style and BIG.  Many survive but few still serve as vicarages.  They are the preserve of the secular rich who may be better able to maintain them or, most importantly HEAT them.  Hence the OV Syndrome - the vicar would retreat into a small self-contained part of the building while the rest remained unheated during the cold months of winter.  Then come spring the grander larger part would be re-occupied after 'spring cleaning' of course.

We are in a similar situation just now - the main tower is cold, both downstairs and above.  The underfloor gas-heated water pipes are getting no heat - possibly because their horribly complicated room thermostats have thrown in the towel.   The boiler is working fine, thanks to its service and is heating the Terminal 1 new annex - the kitchen, a WC and utility room.  The brand new bit (Terminal 2) is electrically heated and is warm as toast.   The rest, the stone tower is off limits for now.  Luke the plumber had seen there was a problem when he serviced the boiler and got it going.  We had a new boiler in late 2018 and he suspects that was incorrectly fitted, either in its plumbing or (more likely) its electrics.   He is liaising with electrician Steve Dinsdale and we shall try to sort it out but meanwhile the Combined Terminals 1 and 2 are proving an ideal winter retreat for the 'vicar', his wife and cat.

The room thermostats may be replaced with straightforward 'on/off and temperature' dial types.

Meanwhile it is cold.   Here is this morning's webcam image from Ribblehead station:

I've Invented a New Dish

 A Blog or three ago I mentioned the post-seasonal problem of eating up turkey.  Among the tongue-in-cheek suggestions was sweet and sour turkey.   From little acorns come giant oaks.  The other night we had, you guessed it, sweet and sour turkey:

Apart from the overall idea, my main contribution to this culinary breakthrough was a firm stipulation that the turkey pieces must be cut into cubes.

Turkey, let's face it, except when surrounded by the rest of Christmas Dinner, is frankly bland.  Cardboard would have more flavour.  It is a vehicle for topping up your protein and for making Bernard Matthews rich.  Jazzed up with a jar of sweet and sour + Pat's inspired secret ingredients it is another animal entirely.

To add to today's joy, the main tower's gas central heating has been serviced and repaired at almost zero notice via a local Facebook entry which announced the arrival in town of a new plumber Luke Tyler from Leeds.  Super chap who knows his stuff and has an empty order book - but not for long.

Finally, three post-Christmas pictures from online by Tom Nom Marshall.  Haworth Main Street, Keighley station and Saltaire, each a timelessly iconic Yorkshire scene

Pictures Still Keep Cropping Up

I am sure I have mentioned from time to time in this Blog that few pictures exist of the water tower as it was in its day such a commonplace building barely worth the cost of film.  Yet a couple more have appeared today courtesy of historian Nigel Mussett:

Above ; a sad and neglected water tower with trees starting to invade the coal yard.  The electric street light is at least functional

Below:  the south end of Settle station showing the now re-located signal box then standing by the large goods shed.   The platform was the still gas-lit and the up line water crane, fed from the water tower, can be seen:

Pictures - WR Mitchell collection

 

We've Moved!

 A lot of thought went into the design of our new extension (Terminal 2) on this challenging sloping site.  Among the reasons for doing it at all were:

1.  More bedrooms to enable family visits

1a. To create a retreat to make family visits even more enjoyable all round . . .

2.  To make use of an ungardenably steep slope

3.  To create a level, self contained suite of rooms should old age or disability arise

4.  To make use of modern efficiencies and so reduce our carbon footprint

5.  To add back-up to our reliance on gas for heating

6.  To invest in property in an era of sinking interest rates and economic uncertainties

7.  Should circumstances change, to have a workable 'retirement home' on site, with potential for resident carers

8.  For the challenge and satisfaction of doing a project from the ground-up

There are probably more.

Well, as the very final bits and bobs are happening* fate has intervened and forced us out of the tower and into Terminal 2.  The gas central heating has failed.  These things always happen to us at Christmas.  The Worcester Bosch nearly new boiler was overdue its first service and we have been on JD Mounsey's service list for weeks.  Our fault.  Man coming on Saturday to service and fix it hopefully.

Sooo, sooner than intended, we have done the obvious thing and moved in to Terminal 3 for now.

* An example of a bit and a bob is the second-fix connection of an outside light by the kitchen / fire-escape door, done today:

The wires had always been there but the actual fitting had to await the cladding panels.  The illuminated windows are from the kitchen, treated with sky-blue blinds.  Besides making the kitchen distinctly warmer they work well from inside - as you will I hope agree from the images which follow:

Cosy eh? 

Above- slightly cosier when the LED 'sky lights' are turned off

Farewell 2020

 

Little to show for it but I have actually been making great progress with the cladding panels, doing preparatory things which should ensure that the final results will pass inspection.   The severe frosts have been irksome though but the winter sunshine has been welcome.  I know you've seen all this before on this Blog but yesterday afternoon's sunlight was just perfect to get this glowing picture of the tower's west side.

2020 has been horrible for everybody but we've made it.  Among the Christmas cards was one of those letters from officialdom that rarely bring good or interesting news.  It was from surgeon Chris Newman to tell me that he had the results of a recent CT scan and blood tests which showed I was cancer free five-years-on from the operation that he couldn't personally do as he had a fallen off his bike!  Nonetheless he had been in charge of my ongoing monitoring

Glad to see the back of 2020 but glad to have seen it at all.   Actually looking forward to 2021.