April 2023

In the photo shown on ‘Its the Trees 2’ the bare-looking tree on the right is a young-mature ash tree. Bare-looking because ash trees are virtually the last species to come into full leaf in late spring. It use to be said that the ash was the last to get leaves and the first to […]

The horse chestnut shown in yesterday’s photo has progressed from closed buds to full leaf in three weeks, despite the weather! The pinnacles of flowers (see centre) are much more prominent than the flowers on many other species of tree, although at the moment the flower-heads are being battered by a cold north wind, so

The view west from my living room window shows an image of another slow spring, like last year, although for opposite reasons. In 2022 there had been virtually no rain from the first of April, and this was to continue. This year April, and March, have been very wet, and with little settled sunny weather

The quote for the title of this new set of blogs/posts is a phrase I heard someone say in conversation to their friend sitting on a park bench where I was also sat. The person who said it was explaining in a short, but carefully considered, answer to the question ‘why don’t you move house?’

The construction of railways into the Humberside region further stimulated tourism, particularly day trippers. In his book (s.p.b.s) D’Orley presented a number of examples unearthed from his researches, these described on p.35. For example, on 22nd. August, 1844 a pleasure train from West Yorkshire brought 3,200 people to Hull in 82 carriages ‘being the longest

Near to concluding his coverage of the impact of pleasure trips by steamer along the Humber Estuary and its feeder rivers Trent and Ouse D’Orley (s.p.b.s) gives another example; those to the Yarborough Arms at New Holland. The Yarborough Arms (later Hotel) was one of the first buildings to be erected by the Manchester, Sheffield