Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes

Hawes is a lovley town, with markets, lots of craft work including a stall selling old musical instruments.  OMG has anyone ever lifted a tuba.  The one we tried weighed 13.6 kg.  Imagine marching with that and playing in tune!

It had an incredible museum, fabulously curated with really friendly knowlegeable staff. I sort of knew about tin mining but I had no idea that knitting was such a part of Dales culture

In Hawes hand-knitting cottage industry was at its peak in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Whole households, men, women, and children, knitted continuously while walking, carrying loads, or sitting around the hearth. 

An average family would turn out 6 to 10 pairs a week. In the late 1700s, the Dales region produced roughly 5,000 to 6,000 pairs of stockings every week. This added up to over 250,000 to 300,000 pairs of hand-knitted socks and stockings per year, which were sold across Britain and exported to military forces abroad.

To produce that quantity purely by hand, knitters in Hawes used knitting sticks which were to strapped to the waist to anchor one needle, allowing knitters to use both hands for rapid, continuous movement reaching speeds of over 200 stitches per minute. I loved the rag rug, I used to make those with my grandma.

One section of the museum was in the train.  It showed regular life in the Dales but the police section had a notice displaying crimes for which you could be jailed including false thoughts! 

And all that Jazz!

 

1 August is Yorkshire Day

It's celebrated by all things Yorkshire, food, parkin, brack, Yorkshire puddings, cheese as well as  beer, flat-cap throwing, parades, dancing and much more daft stuff.

Yorkshire flag.

The Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity is read aloud every year on Yorkshire Day in York, the historic capital of the region at four designated points along the ancient city walls: Micklegate Bar, Bootham Bar, Monk Bar, and Walmgate Bar.

It was a protest against the changing of traditional boundaries.

I, [Name], declare that Yorkshire is 1,141 years old. That it is the largest, finest, and most noble of the English counties, and that its borders are to the North, the River Tees; to the South, the River Humber and the county of Derbyshire; to the East, the North Sea; and to the West, the Pennines.

I declare that Yorkshire comprises the West, East, and North Ridings and the City of York, and that no part of it has been transferred, ceded, or severed by any act of government, local or national, or by any other authority whatsoever.

God save the King and the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of York. 

I'd better tune up, I guess we'll be singing On Ilkley Moor Baht 'at 

the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire!

Meanwhile our choir has been enjoying its tour of England.... Bravo! Sounds like a fabulous tour.

Watch out! Wallace is about!

Off to Hawes today... I love how everything, like France is only twenty minutes away and so much to see and do.  First stop the market which was full of fresh fruit, veggies and seafood.  We stocked up with scallops, salmon from Scotland and tiny prawns which were so yummy. 

Then off to the creamery... Wallace and Gromit country. 

 

I love Wallace and Gromit... and of course Shaun the sheep.  My favourite episode is A Grand Day Out, where Wallace builds a moon rocket  to find more cheese! Couldn't resist watching it again on youtube... and yes of course we bought cheese. 

Then off to the most amazing museum... more of that next post.

 

A Bubble of a Birthday, Wedding and Auction

My birthday started with phone calls, cards and flowers..from around the world, continued with a wedding and an auction and ended with champagne and seafood!  What a day! 

Though now a famous auction house based in Leyburn, Tennants actually started as a small local firm right here in Middleham. It auctions vintage cars, bikes, artworks fashion, grandfather clocks and TAXIDERMY! which is quite confronting when you walk into a room of stuffed animal heads.

It famously auctioned a rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for £80,000. It was one of only 500 hardbacks printed in the original 1997 first run. The author's name was listed simply as "Joanne Rowling," and had quite a few typos. It gives us writers and editors hope!

When we arrived, the complex was buzzing as a massive Indian wedding was in full swing with hundreds of guests. Each side of the family wore a distinct colour, and this particular group was dressed in vibrant pink saris. It was an extraordinary sight!

We had chosen Tennants for Anna and Ben’s visit specifically to catch the fashion exhibition and display of auction items, featuring pieces by Louis Vuitton and Dior (just your average everyday wardrobe, of course!). With Libby studying textiles and design, we hope she will enjoy it when we come for lunch next week.

 Actually managed to get in a short walk around town too.YaY!

There's some reight queer signs in Yorkshire!

Of course they're not real cats!!! What do you think we are!  Percy Shaw from Halifax, got the idea for reflective road studs in 1934 after a cat's glowing eyes reflected his car headlights on a dark, foggy night, saving him from driving off a steep road.  They must have saved thousands of life. My dad always remembered him because he had 5 television sets!!

 My parents always called me a daft Apeth (halfpenny) when I was a kid, but we never saw signs for extreme wildfires.

The 'give way to oncoming traffic' sign is a daily trauma as the road narrows to a single lane bridge or laneway...  and the Kettlewell sign is just fun!

That’s the Moors for You!

An easy 5-mile walk today... across the moors and along the river.

Of course, we got lost straight away, but we crossed paths with a lovely guy from Leeds who pointed us in the right direction. He told us that not so many years ago, the village didn't  have electricity, and even now, there are still only two streetlights! Back then, they relied on a local hydro scheme, and twice a week, you’d take your batteries down to the river and get them recharged.

Once we got our bearings, onto the moors we went. They really are  steep .When you’re walking across them, it feels like your ankles are bent at right angles to your feet! Of course, we saw sheep, more sheep, and... yes, even more sheep.

The moors are vast, and right now, there’s just the faintest blue haze before the heather develops its purple bloom in September. 

Walking here brought back so many memories. Growing up, it was drilled into us: If the fog comes in, DON'T MOVE. Sit down and wait. Fog can descend in an instant, and one wrong step could send you into a deep chasm. I can still remember sitting huddled in grassy hollows with my friends, watching the mist drift past, until suddenly it cleared and we were bathed in sunshine - or, more likely, pelted with sleet and rain.

Well... that’s the moors for you!

On the way back we  e\ven found a kissing gate ... a teenage delight! Still fun!