14 February 2020

Flash

Flash is a tiny agricultural settlement that sits on a ridge between the Rivelin and Loxley valleys west of Sheffield. It should not be confused with  Flash in Staffordshire which is the highest village on this island at 1519 feet above sea level.

Our Flash clings to the ridge like a limpet on a rock at the seaside. It needs to have a good grip because this hilltop is often buffeted by winds. I am sure that the winter temperatures up there are significantly lower than those recorded at lower altitudes in the city's river valleys. Below you can see Flash Lane near its junction with Riggs High Road.
And here's another picture of Flash itself. Some people think that it is just a single farm - Flash Farm - but there are in fact three residences there. One of them is owned by a doctor who worked at Shirley's health centre until his retirement a few years ago. I am secretly quite jealous of him because he and his wife recently holidayed in Bhutan in the Himalayas.
I was walking on tarmacadam lanes yesterday afternoon - deliberately avoiding muddy fields and slippery paths. My two hour route was circular, leading me past Flash, down Dobb Lane and along Woodbank Road then climbing up to Stannington. 

Clint was parked in the little lay-by next to Bowshaw Cemetery - a small Quaker family graveyard that I have blogged about before. It was as I was taking my boots off that I realised I was no longer in possession of  my Hull City beanie hat. What a calamity! That hat has been one of my favourite inanimate companions for twenty years or more. To lose it would be a terrible blow.

I sped back to Christ Church in Stannington where I had been snapping ecclesiastical pictures and there was my beloved woolly headgear sitting on the wall. My spirits immediately brightened in  a pleasant flash of  heavenly relief!
Christ Church, Stannington

31 comments:

  1. The second photo is my favorite today.

    So happy the Beanie was found. Old friends are important--even the inanimate ones.

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  2. Stunning! Carrying your camera was well worth it on this trip!

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    1. I must have taken a further twenty photos on this walk.

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  3. Whew! Glad you got your hat back! I've had a few close calls like that with my hat too, but so far I've always managed to retrieve it.

    We had a dog named Flash when I was growing up -- a blue-tick hound.

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    1. I bet your Flash could retrieve a stick or ball in a flash!

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  4. Oh my god. This is how my mind works. By association. I see your header "Flash" and prepare myself for a good telling of yours how best to clean, not least the bathroom.

    U

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    1. Well I am pleased you foresaw that and not your faithful correspondent "flashing" at the farm animals.

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  5. A beautiful photo of the church. I love the shadows across the path. Glad you were reunited with your beanie. Does it have a bobbe?

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    1. It does not have a bobble JayCee. It is black and it has "Hull City A.F.C." embroidered neatly across the front in amber wool with the image of a tiger's head on the back.

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  6. I'm never quite sure what to expect with your titles but I'd never have guessed that Flash was a place. However had you mentioned a flash of inspiration or whatever I could have come up with “Someday your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.” Gerard Way

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    1. That's a good saying but it's not easy to create such a "film". It is much easier to get distracted and waylaid.

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    2. I could not agree more YP. The Gods of Distraction and Waylaying see me and rub their hands with glee.

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  7. Like Graham, I would not have guessed that Flash was the name of a place. And like Mary, the second picture on this post is my favourite. The way the sun's rays come through that opening in the clouds is just beautiful.
    Hopefully, your beanie will be your trusted companion for at least another 20 years!

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    1. In 20 years I would be 86 but I do not believe I will make it that far. I shall have to ask Shirley to put the Hull City hat on my head when they lever me into my coffin.

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  8. Here, Flash would be called an abandoned village

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    1. The few people who live there might protest about that Red!

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  9. I had to look up what a beanie hat was. Here we call them toques but they serve the same purpose, keeping your coconut warm.

    The photos are lovely and I am envious of the green grass. Everything is still white here, covered in snow as we've had a fair bit of snow this past week.

    I especially love the photo of the building with the bare tree.

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    1. Toque? Sounds like those French Canadians had something to do with that strange word!

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  10. I thought you were going to say you'd been caught by the flash of a speed camera, or caught flashing something else.

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    1. Hey, they don't call me Tasker Dunham - driving around like a bat out of hell! Or lurking in a plastic mac behind the girl guides' hut!

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  11. These are beautiful pictures. It almost looks like Spring. Isn't it a great feeling when you think you've lost something and you go back and find it. I'm glad you found that special hat.

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    1. Yes. It is a nice feeling Bonnie. By the way in this week's pub quiz, we were asked - In which state is Kansas City? (Following Trump's error re. The Chiefs).

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    2. Yes, we saw Trump's brilliant remark. Actually the state line runs through a portion of the city so there is a Kansas City, Kansas. But the primary city is in Missouri and it is Missouri taxes that paid for the Chief's Arrowhead Stadium!

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  12. Ah, that second photo speaks to me. So many times I've seen the rays of light stream through a break in the clouds, and not had my camera to catch it - or worse, had my camera and not had a scenic foreground to go with the light. Excellent, Mr. P.

    And why, pray tell, did we not get a photo of your beanie on the wall? I'm really disappointed not to have that part of your story illustrated with a picture :)

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    1. I just wish there had been a figure - human or animal coming along the lane when I took that picture. I may honour your second request very soon.

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  13. Things tend to fall from the top of one's head when the chin goes up to compose a photo.
    I assume the road at Flash is built along the ridge. I live along a moraine of the last ice age, and most of our township roads are built along the ridges down into the valley. Expensive roads to maintain here as they tend to shear away over time and slide down the hill. Does your Flash have a more moderate landscape?

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    1. It is quite a steep climb up to the ridge from both sides. The few lanes that take you up and down are pretty old and quite stable too. I am sorry that my pictures didn't show the full geographical reality.

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  14. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos, Yorkie.

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