Leaving Lockdown - May 17.3

  

Awayday - Meltham Park



There is something nostalgic about a rusty goalpost and a big puddle. We've all played on 'the rec'. 
Em enjoyed it.
It looks like the TownDoor Estate is exploding. David Brown tractors closed in 1988. Now a complex of small businesses. 

How many small villages would be home to not one, but two large industrial businesses? Brook and Brown. Textiles and tractors. 


Meltham Mills history - local history society.

From Huddersfield exposed - 'Originally a rural area, it became increasingly industrialised during the 1800s when the Brooks expanded their cotton mill and built housing for their workers, along with a 
school and a chapel.

The Meltham Mills Provident Co-operative Trading Society Limited was formed in 1827 and was the first society to pay dividends on purchases'. Now a corner shop selling Farmers' Blonde in bottles.

Meltham Mills CC origins 1840, ground Thick Hollins Hall. Huddersfield Exposed suggested Bent Ley for the ground. Maybe both.

Meltham Park was named after a local worthy called Robert Ashton. In the grounds of Meltham Hall.

And a railway line - almost purpose built for the families and businesses. Lancs & Yorks actually.




Garden Glimpses



Notes

What a lot of column inches on who is saying what about what - virus variants, when to ease restrictions, vaccine resistance. Crowds of medics and scientists, planning and advising. Politicians make the decisions the basis of what - not always what the boffins say.

How appropriate then Start the Week, radio4. 'Noise' by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R Sunstein. Individual and team decision-making. Inconsistent because of background variation or noise.
  Individually - temperature, time of day, hunger will produce different outcomes for same problem. Simple rules and algorithms can help despite being designed by humans, still better.

Meetings often heavily influenced by first speaker for example. When the members make inconsistent contributions, the resulting so-called consensus will be an expensive problem. Indeed there may even be unspoken disagreement as to the purpose of the meeting.

Recommends the anthropological approach - anthrovision. View the totality of the culture. Take into account all stakeholders - consumers, staff, paymasters etc - the big picture. Assess the stuff that is not talked about.

Independent review helps. Ask people to reflect and explain what happened. I'd never have thought about that.


The year is moving on - May9.2


Beaumont Park



We think these are meerkats, but in these pics they look more like celestial visitors 
Perfect for Em to run around and have a swing

Garden Glimpses



We cannot name all our flowers but they are colourful and give us a lift

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We bought a cleaning solution for the garden concrete slabs. An improvement and we know the slabs are not mucky, just a bit stained. The sweeping brush head however is pristine.

Tins within 4-packs of San Miguel now come attached by little spots of glue. So effective you need a sharp knife and a good tug. Otherwise, after a wrestling match, watch out for the explosion on pulling the tab.

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So is Labour not electable? The workers are no longer an amorphous mass of miners, railmen and shipbuilders who put a tick where the unions say.
 

Purpose for facebook posts on choir page and group May9.1

 The choir facebook page came about as a result of a marketing initiative. Myself, Steve Flynn, John Middleton and others met regularly to see how we could get the choir name 'out there'. Digital marketing was one obvious answer, along with some very enjoyable local initiatives - Holmfirth stall, beer mats, free concert etc. We were also connected with the university business school and were one of their student research projects.

I can't remember how we got into groups on Facebook but one of the university research assistants signed us up for a group

I have had a personal Google blog (forever young) since 2013. A mix of content, including the choir, but mostly personal. Something about ageing well.

I set up a choir blog (swinglo) in 2015. News, events, gossip. The last entry was December 2020. I enquired on a number of occasions if this blog had legs - was anybody interested? Was it in competition with the website?

It has got complicated since. Both blogs link through to Facebook pages and groups. So lots of my personal content appears on choir Facebooks. I don't mind but the readers might if they clic on something and don't find anything connected to the choir. Few people contributed to 'swinglo', so it did become a bit of a personal site. I was always thinking what could I come up with next - it wasn't a natural outlet for choir opinion and discussion. A lot of people do clic on the choir Facebook links and thanks for that, but what have they to do with the choir?

The choir Facebook page is open and could end up anywhere. So, getting the choir out there. We do have lots of contact with other choirs and there are a number of individuals who take an interest. Great. We have 444 followers. Do they really want to see pics of my grandchildren?

The choir Facebook group is limited to the membership of the group (140). Some other singing organisations are involved. Anyone who asks to join mostly can. It is for the choir primarily (25), to share and prompt and have a conversation. Most of the group members are however friends and relatives and Honley Ladies. Yes, some of them do enjoy pics of my grandchildren.

We even went for a Facebook tutorial at Social Progress in Honley. Interesting and informative but I'm not sure we have moved on.

So what to do?

Scarborough April29.6

Hunmanby Distillery




Hunmanby to Filey


The Gap cafe, gardens overlooking barely visible RNLI red rib and the origin of our lunch.
I am poor with tide tables. Thankfully high tide was 6pm.
Someone needs to tell the gulls that our food is not theirs - we weren't actually attacked this time.


Round the Marine Drive




Peasholm and North Bay railway are open

Esplanade, Foreshore and Stepney Hill farm shop


The trees have gone from around the spa.
 The Stepney Hill butcher on Ramshill is no longer, but the farm shop is great. Brilliant meat pie. Horrid hailstorm, no alfresco coffee.
The harbour at low tide leaves boats up against the quay grounded on shelves, rope secured.

Filey Beach



not spring not summer
wind whipped raw waves roar white
unmasked untamed
get the jab


Dave's Scarborough notebook

Spa Gardens

So south cliff is safely glued with long metal pins. Improved treeless view. Lots of 12 inch plastic sleeves anchored in the steep soil slopes with leafy sprigs peeping out the tops. Restoration is underway. In the 19th century Victorian and Edwardian heyday there were six or so wealthy owners with private gardens (Rose, Italian, Shuttleworth and so on). Each had a micro-climate and exotic plants. Scarborough Council acquired the gardens in the early 20th century. The Clock Cafe was built during WW1. Now listed along with 22 beach chalets.
Today, 14 ornate historic shelters are crumbling, path drainage is poor and much of the land is overgrown. £4.6 m National Lottery grant. Increased maintenance budget. Passionate 'friends'. S Cliff community group. A combined effort opening April 2022.
The cliff lift split the gardens into two, connected by a tunnel under the tracks. To be reinstated.

The Town/Ramshill

Scarborough centre was tired before the pandemic. It's exhausted now.

At least three people maskless in M&S and many more with their noses hanging out.

B&Q shelves in the garden section were two thirds empty.

Social distancing good.

The church clock at the end of Albion Road is stuck at 12.25. Was this the time that lockdown started?

Odd couple with dog. Middle-aged. Cradling a big bulldog in a blanket cum rug. Matching Barbour-style long length waterproofs. Walking slowly round and round local streets, more than once daily. A ritual? Has meaning for them presumably.