Stainsby is a tiny village in North East Derbyshire. It has just eleven houses. Stainsbybrook is even smaller. Yesterday, I parked Clint between the two diminutive settlements.
"How long are you going to be this time?" he quizzed me with emphasis on "this".
"Oh not too long. Two and a half hours maximum."
"Well get moving then!" he sighed.
It was a lovely afternoon as I followed paths over the fields then down under the M1 motorway to Hardwick Park which sits in the shadow of Hardwick Hall. The historic site is managed by The National Trust and they even have a little shop which was open to visitors. There I treated myself to a cone of vanilla ice cream which I consumed at a picnic bench surveying Miller's Pond.
The temperature was so balmy under a milky blue sky and I was glad that I had opted not to wear a jacket. At Hardstoft I saw a couple approaching along the field path. He had a dog on a lead as she trailed along behind. Because of social distancing guidance, I stepped away from the path. As he approached I smiled at the man and said "Hello" then did the same to his partner. Neither of them responded in any way. Not a flicker. Perhaps I had become temporarily invisible though I could see myself just fine. What's wrong with some people?
I marched on to Astwith, another small village that I first visited in August 2015. The village's disused telephone box has now disappeared into history. I like that little place; Astwith in the parish of Ault Hucknall.. Peaceful and off the beaten track. Though small it has some characterful houses.
Onward to Hawking Lane then back to Stainsby. Once again the circle was complete. Clint jumped as I unlocked his tailgate.
"You gave me a shock!" he announced, stirring from his slumber. "Can we get back to Sheffield now?"
"Just getting my shoes on," I explained.
Hardwick Hall seen from Hawking Lane
So I read that 'new' Hardwick Hall stands next to 'old' Hardwick Hall. Is that the buildings on the far hill? Or is that a town. The buildings are massive.
ReplyDeleteYes. They are the two buildings on the hill. Bess of Hardwick was the second most powerful woman in England during the Elizabethan era.
DeletePeople who we meet and have no response to our greeting are a complete mystery.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that I am not alone in noticing this strange phenomenon.
DeleteThe correct response from the walkers you made way for would be "thank you" recognising that you had moved to ensure their safety.I don't understand why people who are engaging in the same activity as you such as a hill walk on a beautiful day are so reluctant to acknowledge your existence with a simple greeting. What miserable lives they must lead.It happens here too, although strangely enough in lockdown people were much more likely to say hello in passing on the street.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely spot to enjoy an ice cream. We have Canada geese resting in the paddock next door as they prepare to fly north now that golden Autumn is here.
Adele
People smiling back and giving acknowledgement when in lockdown? Yes - I have noticed that too - making that couple's lack of response all the more dumbfounding. Now back to the knitting Adele! Get those needles hot, hot, hot!
DeletePerhaps they had been arguing- that often makes other people invisible (and deaf).
ReplyDeleteYou might be right.
DeleteAs for the couple, obviously rudeness runs in the family. When ignored if I have greeted people, my mind says 'sod off then' but never aloud of course.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I have actually said similar words but yesterday I managed to keep them within.
DeleteAt times you can be surprised by people who say hello to you on the street. At times you can be surprised by people who don't respond to your greeting. Were they younger and you an invisible older person? Nevertheless, it looks like a great walk and I kind of wish I was with you.
ReplyDeleteThey were probably in their sixties like me. I suppose they could have been Australians!
DeleteWhat an enjoyable walk, YP, thank you for inviting us along. I remember visiting the Hall years ago - it's set in beautiful countryside.
ReplyDeleteThere is no accounting for folk and their weird ways, but it's surely no hardship to respond pleasantly when people speak - unless they're being offensive of course!
Have you thought about buying a long lead and something akin to those fancy dog harnesses, and taking Clint with you on some of your walks? He might be a bit of a drag, I suppose, but he would benefit from the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Might it have a calming effect on his surly ways? Though perhaps not such a good idea, unless you want to listen to him griping the whole way!
Taking little Phoebe with you, when she's a bit older, is such a good idea.
Taking Clint would be like dragging an overgrown Rottweiler along but he would have made those two ignoramuses respond to my cheery "hellos". Trouble is that Clint has wheels where legs should be. He would have trouble climbing over stiles.
DeleteOh, I hadn't thought of that - is he too chunky to take a running jump at them?
DeleteSome of my blog commenters should take a running jump CG!
Delete"What's wrong with some people?" Are you sure that's the right question?
ReplyDeleteYes. In spite of what Robert Owen once said.
DeleteI have always been intrigued by Hardwick Hall and would love to visit sometime, when this is all over. It seems to be one of the jewels in the National Trust's crown.
ReplyDeleteIt is a special place - with one ruined hall and then the new one that Bess of Hardwick had built at massive expense. Nowadays it stands guardian over the M1 motorway, checking vehicles heading into the land of Up North.
DeleteWhat Adele and you say about people outdoors during lockdown and greeting, I can confirm for my area as well.
ReplyDeleteYour walk was beautiful! It was so cold here these past days that I would not dream of having icecream outside, but apparently we are in for a very nice and rather warm rest of the week.
I hope your weather forecasters got it right Meike.
DeleteI'd love to be in that stone cottage in the first photo, although it might be tad cut-off. My sister-in-law lives in a village of just 11 houses. It boasts a mail pillar box but no shops for miles.
DeleteIt's five minutes from the M1 motorway and perhaps fifteen minutes from Chesterfield town centre so not all that isolated ADDY.
DeleteMakes me think of the many times when I have held open doors for people (men and women) who have walked past me as though it was my job to hold the door for them. Never acknowledging my presence. My standard response was to call out, fairly loudly, "You're welcome!" in a cheery tone as I walked away. Startled more than a few of them. Twits.
ReplyDeleteThat has happened to me many times Mary. I wonder if "door holder" is a profession and how much it pays.
DeleteA lovely way for me to start my day. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteNow go and get some nursing done!
DeleteLovely walk. Don't pay people like that any mind. Whatever their reasons for not acknowledging others is theirs to worry about.
ReplyDeleteIf I had been walking in America I could have taken out my handgun and said "Say hello or else!"
DeleteIt sounds so idyllic to live in a village with 11 houses, though I suppose it would be a drag if 10 of them were occupied by reprobates. The scenery of Hardwick Hall and the pond looks amazing. And yes, isn't this weather change a treat?
ReplyDeleteIt's odd that those people didn't respond to you. Just curious -- were they older or younger? I find some young people seem generally uninterested in greeting strangers -- perhaps a carryover from childhoods when they were taught that all strangers could be dangerous.
These two were in their fifties. I find that people in their fifties are extraordinarily ignorant whereas people in the sixties are very pleasant and well-mannered.
DeleteI recall visiting Hardwick Hall, gosh that must be year ago now - how life flies by.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean "years" The Bike Shed?
DeleteI do!
DeleteThey do sound like twits. How ignorant of them not to speak.
ReplyDeleteIt made me cry.
DeleteStainsby. A village of just eleven houses.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine it on an afternoon in March.
*Do you remember England?* To quote Ernest Dowson.
Voces8: Lux Aeterna Edward Elgar.
Nimrod - the London Symphony Orchestra and the voice of Sir Winston Churchill.
Both YouTube.
To think that our nitwit Nationalists want to dismember the Union and create a hard border between Scotland and Stainsby. Self-mutiliation and suicide !
Haggerty not yet in hiding.
We will need that hard border in order to collect hefty fees from all EU lorry drivers crossing into or from England. It will be a huge money spinner - better than a magic money tree.
DeleteFleece the Jocks, is it? Begob, it will only stoke the Stalinist paranoia of the vengeful Nats. Independence will lead to ruinous inflation, all right.
DeleteTwo articles in The New Statesman (19-25 March) on post-Brexit Britannia:
The System Cannot Hold by Roberto Mangabeira Unger.
How To Remake Britain by John Gray.
The UK no longer makes enough goods and services the world wants (Unger).
Devolution boosted nationalism which Tony Blair consigned to history (Gray).
Watch Neil Oliver on YouTube, talking about the corruption in Edinburgh (a toxic assembly inside a tacky building).
Neil Oliver: The SNP is not about freedom of speech, it is about silencing freedom of speech (talk Radio 17 March).
Neil Oliver: There is no longer a political honour code (talk Radio 4 March).
I calm down by thinking about Stainsby, and listening to Voces8 (YouTube) my latest discovery.
Voces8: Ne Irascaris Domine and Civitis Sancti Tui, William Byrd.
Voces8: There is an Old Belief, from Songs of Farewell, CH Parry.
Voces8: Song Seven: Si Le Le, Bobby McFerrin. Interactive song. April 3.
Haggerty in harmony
Are you sure they are not British geese? Thanks for the lovely walk in the sunshine, brother.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Canadians as they were well-balanced and handsome.
Delete