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| Church Street, Honley |
In Tuesday's glorious sunshine, I was keen to walk in unfamiliar territory. My drive took me north of Sheffield via Stocksbridge and Langsett. I was on the road to Huddersfield but at Holmfirth, I branched left for Meltham and that is where I parked my silver hire car.
I was no longer in South Yorkshire. This was most definitely West Yorkshire - once home to countless textile mills that tapped into the power of Pennine streams. Meltham shelters some nine thousand souls. The older houses are all built from hard sandstone. They are solid and they endure - just like the Yorkshire character itself. Once wool and cotton workers inhabited those streets but most textile industries collapsed long ago and places like Meltham have had to discover new ways to exist.
From Meltham I walked through woodland to Honley where I treated myself to a small bag of deep fried potato fingers - what we in England call chips. I shook malt vinegar and salt upon them then sat on a shady bench consuming them along with a cold can of diet Coca Cola.
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| Old timer sitting on a wall in Honley. He said he was "All right". |
Somewhere in Honley I managed to lose my house key. It must have escaped from the zip pocket on the front of my camera case. Fortunately, I did not also lose the key to the hire car which would have caused untold inconvenience and would also have incurred a £300 replacement fee.
I was kicking myself about losing the key but I still enjoyed the rest of my sunny walk via Netherton and Blackmoorfoot Reservoir, then on to the charming village of Helme where a woman on a chestnut black horse passed me by for a second time.
Luckily, my house key was attached to a clear plastic key ring into which I had inserted our telephone number on a green label. And as luck would have it, soon after returning to Sheffield I received a call from Honley. A woman named Rachel had found the key and had kindly left it in the village foodstore.
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| Abandoned Lord's Mill - an old woollen mill near Honley |
I have just sent the shop a stamped addressed envelope so that they can mail the house key back to me. Sometimes it is easy to forget that most people are like Rachel - kind, helpful and honest. They don't get as much airtime as they deserve - rather like Kourtney...
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| By Whitehead Lane, South Crosland - cow number 600937 - aka Kourtney |
Too often, we do forget the most people are kind and generous.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd lost the hire car key, you could've hijacked the horse from the rider!
Or, asked Kourtney if she would consider carrying you home. She looks like a kindly soul...but one who would stand no nonsense!
I have never ridden upon a cow before.
DeleteSince her tag says Hayden, I have to presume that she told you her name was Kourtney? Perhaps you should consider a hat to keep the sun off when on safari, lol!
ReplyDeleteHayden is the farmer's name Hilly! He told me her name was Kourtney. In fact the entire heard are named after The Kardashians.
DeleteThe photo of the older gent worries me.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand- what a lovely cow!
Glad your key was found. What a nice reminder that yes, there are still many very nice people.
I was also worried about the old man. I snapped the picture and then went over to talk to him. There was nothing else I could do.
DeleteYou're right. the good guys don't get enough publicity. The rats get all the press,
ReplyDeleteTrump is in the news a lot.
DeleteI'm glad your key was found and will be returned. Yes, I believe most people are good although the bad ones seem to make a stronger impression. Your photos from this trip are quite nice and Kourtney does looks friendly. I hope Clint does well with his hospitalization. ; )
ReplyDeleteHe will be okay chatting to the other damaged cars.
DeleteSounds like a nice day despite losing the key. And thank goodness for Rachel. "Chips" with malt vinegar and salt and a diet Coke would be an almost perfect lunch for me!
ReplyDeleteI just did a search for the size of Yorkshire out of curiosity. It's roughly 20% the size of South Carolina. I love how much you know about it and how you share it with us here. Thank you!
20% the size of South Carolina? I am weeping now. South Carolina is like a country in itself. South Carolina is bigger than Scotland and twice as big as Switzerland. Is big better?
DeleteNo, big is not better. Not at all
DeletePhew! That's a relief Jennifer.
DeleteLovely post, it always makes your day to meet people like Rachel and be reminded that kindness and honesty exist. The mill picture looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for calling by and leaving an encouraging comment Ruby.
DeleteLooks like beautiful countryside. Thank goodness for the Rachels of the world! (And the Kourtneys.) And good thinking to put your phone number on the key chain.
ReplyDeleteThat's the second time I have managed to get keys back - just through having my phone number on the key ring.
DeleteGreat idea to attach a telephone number to keys. I can imagine your relief when you got the call. And yes, there are so many kind people out there. "Good" and "kind" rarely make the news, it seems, although some papers and media outlets are trying to insert a little of that into their programming.
ReplyDeleteThey do pay lip service to good happenings but bad stuff always seems to win out.
DeleteI could hardly believe my eyes when I opened your post! You are writing about the place where I grew up. I was born in Holmfirth and went to school in Honley. My family all worked in those textile mills. (I was the one that got away to uni in London). It is of course the scene of that old TV comedy “Last of the Summer Wine”. You have made me homesick. I’m currently in Spain, on the Camino de Santiago, but I’ve had to stop walking because of a knee problem.
ReplyDeleteYou would have been better off on the Camino de Slaithwaite Margaret! I am pleased that my post rang some bells for you. I hope you make it to Santiago de Compostela.
DeleteOh that's good you got your key back, there are still some honest people in our world.
ReplyDeleteI think that most people are good.
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