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| Fishing by The River Wharfe |
Yorkshire is a big county. It's the biggest county in England. Though I have spent most of my life within Yorkshire's boundaries, I haven't been everywhere in this illustrious county.
Yesterday we headed up the A1 to Boston Spa. It is a large village on the southern bank of The River Wharfe twelve miles south west of York. I had never been there before.
We were there to see Shirley's sister Carolyn. She moved to Boston Spa six weeks ago. Long term readers of this humble blog may recall that Carolyn's husband dropped down dead in the summer of 2011. It was most unexpected but there his lifeless body lay - on the floor of their utility room. He was not yet fifty years old.
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| Riverside property and drooping flowers |
Via the magic of the internet and after kissing a few frogs, Carolyn eventually found herself a new man. Her two grown-up sons had already moved out of the family home. That house has now been sold and she has moved in with her new fellow - a resident of Boston Spa.
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| Weir on The Wharfe |
Richard - that's his name - has been married twice before. He divorced his first wife and his second wife died. He has four children, two step-children and nine grandchildren. Quite impressive for a chap who is five years younger than me.
We all had lunch together in a local cafe and went for a walk around Boston Spa. It's a lovely place. One of Yorkshire's most famous sons lives there - Sir Geoffrey Boycott the great cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England. We went down to the river and along to the old spa buildings before climbing back up into the village. I bought a round of drinks at "The Fox and Hounds" where Richard trapped two wasps in an upturned pint glass.
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| "Tom Foolery" bar-restaurant |
First impressions are that he is a nice man - a gentle soul. Of course we sincerely hope that he is the right man for Carolyn. She has made a big leap of faith in moving to Boston Spa to be with him. In life, I guess you sometimes have to simply take the plunge or you would be hanging around for ever and a day weighing things up. Best of luck to both of them. All five accompanying pictures are from Boston Spa.
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| Sunny Side Place |
Tom's brother died at 56, he literally fell off of an exercise bike in the gym. Without being flippant maybe that is what put me off exercising, lol. He would have seen the joke.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great day out. I like the name Sunny side Place, everytime I had to write my address it would make me happy.
Briony
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Sunny Side Place is better than Cemetery Avenue or Gasworks Lane. Sorry to hear about Tom's brother. We never know when the fellow with the scythe is going to say, "It's your turn!"
DeleteI hope that Carolyn and Richard find happiness together. Sounds like your sister in law will be gaining an instantly large family!
ReplyDeleteShe is a very nice person and she deserves a chance of happiness. Her late husband was a control freak who at times made her life a misery.
DeleteI wish all of the best for Carolyn and her new man. Yes, we have to make a leap sometimes but if there is love, it can be so worth it.
ReplyDeleteI hope that there is love but perhaps it's mostly companionship.
DeleteSometimes I wonder how people dare. On the other hand, sometimes I look back and wonder how I dared this or that myself.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to forget the times when we leapt.
DeleteI wish your sister-in-law and her husband all the best. I hope their marriage enriches both of their lives.
ReplyDeleteThat's lovely Jenny but they are just "together". There is no marriage on the horizon at this moment in time.
DeleteOops. Should have read more carefully!
DeleteI wish your sister-in-law well. I hope her new Life's chapter brings her much happiness, love and peace.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Christmas dinner table has an extension or two attached....the numbers are increasing!
Each step we take in life we hope is the correct one, no matter the direction or purpose...we never know until we try.
"We never know until we try"... That simple truth has brought humanity to its present position. If we hadn't tried we would still be living in caves.
DeleteI'm a great believer that you do have to just take a leap when it comes to affairs of the heart. It's nice that you and Shirley like the new man, it always helps.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of the town!
Lovers' Leap.
DeleteThe Boston Spa (within Thorp Arch Trading Estate) branch of the British Library (the Document Supply Service) is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-east of the village and outside the civil parish.[8] This branch contains almost the complete British Library newspaper collection.[9] (Wikipedia).
ReplyDeleteI thought I knew the name Boston Spa.
I didn't know the info you provided here Margaret.
DeleteMy Dad remarried and it was the best thing that ever happened to him . I wish this couple many happy years together.
ReplyDeleteI admire her bravery and her hope.
DeleteIt sounds like Carolyn deserves a gentle soul in her life and by your photos, she gets the bonus of a pretty place to live. Good stuff
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a nice place to make a new start and she's only fourteen miles from her sons.
DeleteI love the pics, and all the best to the two people. My Dad remarried 22 years ago when he was 65 and marriage number two is still going strong.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned however that Richard 'trapped two wasps'. I hope he removed them to a place where they were less annoying and released them, rather than dispatching them. I would here in NZ, however, as they are invaders.
Another, even smaller thing: I think those flowers grow that way, kind of droopy. I think that are an Echinacea species.
I think you might be right about the flowers Kate. Thank you. And he did let the wasps go when we left the pub garden.
DeleteBoston Spa looks a nice place and Richard sounds a nice man. Carolyn's story has certain parallels with my own - with the exception that my late husband was not a control freak, and O.K. has no children or grandchildren (although he does have an ex-wife, but we are friends).
ReplyDeleteI wish the two of them all the best, and hope that when O.K. and I will take "the plunge", whatever shape it will take, one day in our old age we will look back and know it was the best thing we could do.
It would be nice for the two of you to share life and not just weekends and holidays.
DeleteThat looks like a beautiful town -- but like Kate above, I hope Richard released those poor wasps! :(
ReplyDeleteYes. He did. Just as we left. They seemed pretty drunk.
DeleteThank you for sharing your article. This is an interesting and informative blog and it is very helpful.
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