This morning was quite lovely. I had risen, showered, dressed and breakfasted early. Then I jumped into Clint's cockpit and headed off to the valley of The River Rivelin. It's only ten minutes from our house. The little river descends from the moors and makes its way to the Hillsborough area of Sheffield.
Like the city's other rivers - The Porter, The Sheaf, The Loxley and The Don, The River Rivelin once powered an array of metal-related workplaces. If you know how to look you can see evidence of that early boom period which foreshadowed Sheffield's emergence as the bustling centre of this kingdom's steel industry.
At the top. a mandarin duck swims in one of the mill ponds that were left behind and above an ancient packhorse bridge traverses The Rivelin. Below, I like the delicate look of those trees growing in the mill pond which served workshops connected with "The Wolf Wheel". For two hundred years, men and women were involved in grinding cutlery and razors in this vicinity.
Below, The Rivelin babbles over stones on the left as a man-made mill stream runs parallel to it. The stream would have turned a water wheel in a controlled manner.
Just beyond this point, I saw three people approaching: a man, a woman and a boy. To my surprise the man yelled out, "Neil!". He had recognised me from afar, even though we hadn't seen each other in ten years.
His name is also Neil. I first met him in the early eighties when he lived in a rental property with four mates, not far from our old house at Crookes. Back then we used to call those young men "The Young Ones" after the British comedy series of that name. There was a Neil in that too - played by Nigel Planer.
Today we chatted for a while - it was good to see him - but I was walking one way and he was walking the other. Before we parted, Neil insisted on hugging me even though I told him that I only really feel comfortable about hugging women. Neil is 58 now. It's hard to believe. Physically he has hardly changed.
Later, on the steep valley side, I passed this empty farmhouse - in the process of renovation. It's called Windle House Farm but there is no farm there any more.
Later still, Clint took me to The Valley Side Garden Centre where I enjoyed tea for one and a delicious bacon and brie panini sandwich with cranberry sauce. I also bought a healthy looking mint plant - ready to place in a corner of our garden. It had been a very nice morning.
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like that wee duck ...
ReplyDeletePoetry in the names of your rivers, reminding me of the source of the Clyde in the green Lowther Hills and school poetry ...
*The rivers Annan, Tweed and Clyde,
*Aa rise aff the same hillside.*
Meike has photos of the Rhine rushing through Cologne.
I looked up the Rhine's Alpine tributaries: Thur, Toss and Glatt.
Careful how you walk.
Perusing a back copy of The Prague Reporter online (September 24 2017) I read:
*Czech Actor Jan Triska in serious condition after fall from Prague's Charles Bridge.*
Update September 25: *Triska pronounced dead at Prague's Military Hospital.*
There is a YouTube video on how to walk so as to avoid falling.
Do not fret Herr Haggerty. I am a very careful walker because of falls in the past. The only way of avoiding falls is to stay at home. Nice to see you back here sir after your weeks away working as a ski lift attendant in The Cairngorms.
DeleteAh, Neil, as you get older you'll come around to hugging your fellows too. That lunch at the Garden Centre sounds delicious. (Why do you people have a problem with spelling though. Centre for Center?)
ReplyDeleteI believe the entire population of North America is dyslexic. You won't believe this but they spell words like honour, colour and valour without the vital "u"! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Over there, men even hug other men!
DeleteOh, one other thing. Mandarin Ducks have been spotted here in the highlands of Arizona as well as in your mighty England. What a treat!
ReplyDeleteThey started off in Japan, China, Vietnam etc..
DeleteBy the way, England is no longer mighty.
Love the walkabout, as usual, but the duck is glorious, as is the farmhouse, which I would love to have for myself.
ReplyDeleteIt is at the end of a quiet country lane but less than ten minutes from the suburb of Crosspool.
DeleteIt's a lovely little river and I wouldn't mind living close to something like that. I love the packhorse bridge.
ReplyDeletePackhorse bridges are only wide enough for packhorses
DeleteThat sounds and looks like a Very Good Day.
ReplyDeleteThe photo with the trees in the mill pond is like something one would expect to come across in an enchanted forest, dream-like.
They were delicately illuminated.
DeleteLovely photos, especially like the 'upside down trees' dancing in the mill pond. Funny how nature obscures all our handiworks and grows green. It happened in Chernobyl of course, animals and plants thrive.
ReplyDeleteGive it a chance and Nature will more or less obliterate evidence of human activity but we are constantly making the process harder.
DeleteKeep the mint in a big plant pot YP. There roots are very invasive. Mint will go do well with your new spudatoes. I thought only Ryanair sold paninis. What's wrong with a bacon butty?
ReplyDelete.
What's wrong with a bacon butty? It is vulgar and unsophisticated - the kind of fuel that manual workers fill their bellies with before putting their shoulders back against the wheel. By the way, the panini I had was cheaper than the ones that Michael O'Leary chucks at you aboard his flying cattle trucks.
DeleteIt does sound like a very nice morning.
ReplyDeleteThe duck is quite beautiful. More suitable for duck a l'orange or Peking duck? The trees and their reflections look very good.
Now if I had to learn to hug everyone, you can learn too. We need to be modern men.
There may be much human made in your photos, but humans can make beauty.
No hugging buddy! I am a hugging free zone - apart from women.
DeleteGhosts. Like "Remains of Elmet". A Herr Eaighertaigh-like comment minus the long quotations.
ReplyDeletePeople worked long hours in that valley to keep roofs over their heads and food on their tables. Of money, bosses of course took their unfair share.
DeleteSites like these make me ponder what will be left of my house, my town, etc. a few hundred years from now and what will those walking by be pondering when they see the remains.
ReplyDeleteThey will think - that is where President Ed lived!
DeleteLord I hope not. Something went terribly wrong if I became president.
DeleteTrees and water - hard to beat as a combination or on their own.
ReplyDeleteGood for one's spirits.
DeleteWell, as everyone else has said, that duck is a glory. And so are the trees growing like wisps in the river.
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to me that you have such a problem with hugging other men. You are right- it is done here far more often and with ease. I love seeing two men hug who truly care for each other. Mr. Moon, who as you know is as manly as they come (a little tongue in cheek there although he really is) easily hugs his good male friends. Not so much casually, but with meaning.
But you are who you are and that is fine.
I grew up in an era when British men never hugged each other. Such behaviour was considered unmanly. Even now, I never hug my son Ian. I shake hands with him with more love than a hug would ever contain. Just because other men are hugging these days, why should I follow the crowd?
DeleteGreat duck, thanks for taking us along for the walk
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Mr Penguin. I am sorry that you slipped on the stepping stones! It was a hell of a splash.
DeleteI wish I could send you our mint plants. We have two of them in pots and we have no idea what to do with them. Looks like a nice walk and funny that you ran into someone you knew way back when!
ReplyDeleteWhy not hail a taxi Steve? On a good run it will take you little over three hours to reach Sheffield with your pots of mint.
DeleteAny day you run into an old acquaintance is a good day. Throw in a little history and it's a post I like.
ReplyDeleteSorry I could not include Inuit people and pack ice.
DeleteExcellent photos YP - the ones of water are a balm for the soul. The photo of the duck is so clear, it looks almost unreal.
ReplyDeleteMandarin ducks first appeared in England from Asia in the 18th century as exotics on country estates but by the 1930's some pairs had begun to breed in the wild.
DeleteWhat a lovely area to explore! Thanks for taking us along, Neil.
ReplyDelete