"Yorkie Goes to York"
Those damned weather forecasters got it wrong today. It was meant to be cold and sunny up in York but it was cold and grey. There were even a few snow flurries but not sufficient to make me put my hood up.
At the last moment, Baroness Pudding decided to accompany me on my train journey - not for the lengthy walk I had planned but to mooch around the city's shops and have lunch somewhere. Above - York railway station soon after we had alighted from the Sheffield train. Below - by The River Ouse - two of York's most famous offspring are celebrated:-
The River Ouse is prone to flooding and Clifton Ings north of the city is a wide grassy area that captures millions of gallons of flood water when levels get worrying. There I spotted this egret with its long neck tucked in:-
By the river a couple of miles out of the city I spotted rowers from St Peter's School on a training session:-
I am not sure why I took this picture of a parked van. Possibly I was thinking about New York City and wanted to show that there's a much older city that bears the name of York:-
Joseph Rowntree was a great man of York. See the second picture. His far-seeing charitable legacy continues to this day. I spotted this plaque on the wall of a grand house just outside the old city walls:-
York's skyline is still dominated by a magnificent medieval cathedral called York Minster. It requires continuous maintenance. I spotted this tarpaulin on the south side of the building today:-
Just before I dived into a Middle Eastern cafe to buy a delicious chicken shawarma with a can of Diet Coke, I noticed this brass marker in the pavement (American: sidewalk). York was an important northern settlement for The Romans. They called it Eboracum which possibly meant - place of the wild boar though there are other etymological theories. In contrast, the title of this very blog means - place of the old bore! Namely, me!
The egret is sublimely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteRailway stations are what we do well in Britain.
Why did John Major's corrupt government privatise the railways and ruin them ?
Joseph Rowntree, a great social visionary, would condemn these rotten Tories.
It's 12.55 a.m. and I would love a cup of coffee from Betty's Tearoom in York.
Betty does not serve as late as that. You will have to go to the 24 hour McDonalds instead.
DeleteA glass of warm water before sleep will help shrink the prostate.
DeleteUsually I drift into dreamland looking forward to my morning coffee.
Edward Hopper painted *Nighthawks* - a late night American diner.
There is a witty parody of Hopper's painting with Elvis as the barista.
The insomniacs in the lit-up diner are James Dean, Marilyn & Bogie.
You can see it on a blog *Disclosures of a Dilettante*.
York Minster looks just so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI wondered if your station platforms are lower than the ones here and then I figured it's probably the scale of the photo that makes it look smaller. We don't have rooves over stations, either.
I hope you both had a good day out
York Minster is a most wondrous building. The ambition of medieval church builders was flabbergasting and the stone carving was incredible. I don't understand what you are getting at with regard to railway platforms.
DeleteRowntree sounds like a decent bloke, the confectionary man I see. R especially wants to visit York Minster. We've changed trains at York but we were a little stressed and unimpressed with first class on TransPennine Express and took little notice of the station. The photos viewed large sized seem very good. You must be pleased.
ReplyDeleteI am not entirely pleased with the new camera but I will persist. By the way, please tell Agent R that you have to pay to visit York Minster - currently £16 per person.
DeleteAn interesting collection of pictures.
ReplyDeleteI gather you did not go inside the minster? If I remember correctly, I have been inside only once, and very briefly. They charged something like 10 pounds per person to enter properly, and so we decided against it, although it is understandable that they need a constant influx of money merely for the most urgent repairs.
Did you meet any ghosts? York is said to be full of them, a Roman Soldier being one.
There were ghosts all over the place - some of them still in chains and others carrying their own heads. I said "Whooooo!" to a bunch of them and they ran away scared.
DeleteIt now costs £16 to visit The Minster and £22 if you want your visit to include the tower. I didn't have time yesterday.
I shall continue to buy lottery tickets in hopes of one day seeing York for myslef.
ReplyDeleteWhen you win the lottery I will be your personal guide throughout your visit to York. I trust that you will give me a handsome tip.
DeleteI would quite like to visit York again. My last visit was in 1986.
ReplyDeleteDid Mrs Pudding enjoy her day out too?
Yes she did and managed to get back to the railway station in time for the 17.15 train .
DeleteDid you ever visit the Rowntree factory when it was still operating? My school always took visitors, such as the language exchange groups.
ReplyDeleteNo. I never went there but in the sixties we had several school trips to York.
DeleteMy last visit there was in 1994 the day Ayrton Senna died. It was announced on the car radio. It's a wonderful place to visit rather like Canterbury.
ReplyDeleteYork is much, much, much, much, much better than Canterbury.
DeleteThere are two Wetherspoons in Canterbury.
DeleteAgreed!
DeleteAgreed that York is far, far, far, far, far better that is!
DeleteNorthsider judges places by the number of Wetherspoons pubs they have. He would hate Antarctica!
Delete
DeleteAs so many of them are closing he may well have to change his allegiences!
Spent a couple of hours there once, I should go back.
ReplyDeleteIf you do I hope the weather is brighter and better than what we got yesterday.
DeleteWell, you have York, and we have New York. I don't even have any idea if ours is named for yours.
ReplyDeleteNew York got its new name in 1664 from the Duke of York whose forces had wrested the growing town from The Dutch who had called it New Amsterdam. The Duke of York's title came from the city of York that I visited yesterday.
DeleteThat tucked in neck egret looks like a hoodlum up to no good.
ReplyDeleteIt takes one to know one.
DeleteI had to Google Joseph Rowntree as I had never heard of him. What a fine man he was.
ReplyDeleteDid your wife make any purchases? Are there photos of what she bought? I can be very nosy! :)
Sorry no photos of what she bought as they were intimate items.
DeleteAlways good to go through some new territory and see some different things.
ReplyDeleteI just wish I had seen it in sunshine colour.
DeleteIt's strange how a lot of the confectionery manufacturers like Rowntree and Cadbury's were benefactors. I suppose it's because a lot of them were Quakers
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I have no idea how that came about. Also - Fry's.
DeleteI had no idea Judi Dench is from York. As for Rowntree, there's a street a couple of blocks from us here in West Hampstead called Rowntree Close. I wondered where that name came from. (But apparently not enough to look it up.)
ReplyDeleteWe can't know everything Steve. That's impossible.
DeleteThey should call yours Old York and ours New York; or York 1.0 and York 2.0.
ReplyDeleteCarlos adores Dame Judy and would love to take a walk on her!
To use one of your pet expressions, Carlos might "hit on her"!
DeleteSorry to hear that the new camera isn't yet up to your expectations. Your photos look as good as always YP, but it's a gloomy looking day. It will be interesting to compare photos taken in sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThe egret looks cold - perhaps he's waiting for the snow.
I will persevere with the camera - after all I paid £300 for it!
Delete