Leaf

This is a beech leaf that I picked from an overhanging branch in The Derwent Valley just yesterday. I was walking with my lady to the ruins of Derwent village which normally sits below the surface of Ladybower Reservoir. She hadn't been there before.

There were many leaves like that one - mostly scattered beneath the trees that bore them. Every autumn leaf is slightly different from the next one and I don't know about you but to me each leaf is rather like a mini work of art - kindly created for us  by Mother Nature.

Addressing

Nebuchadnezzar by William Blake (circa 1795)

I know that this will come as a huge surprise to many who visit this blog, but my real name is not Yorkshire Pudding! That is just a pseudonym I adopted for personal reasons in order to hide my true identity and thereby frustrate ill-intentioned searchers.

My real name is Nebuchadnezzar Smith. 

Now I have absolutely no problem when friends or acquaintances address me by my first name. That's sociable and nice. "Hi there Nebuchadnezzar! How are you doing?" or "May I buy you another drink Nebuchadnezzar?" Sometimes these known people even abbreviate by name and I don't mind that too much - "Lovely weather today Neb!", "Neb! Good to see you buddy!" etcetera.

If I could turn now to e-mail communications from businesses. They are definitely not my friends and I very much prefer that my relationships with them should be formal and business-like Consequently, I bristle with annoyance whenever they address me by my first name without my agreement.

Take yesterday for example - I received an e-mail from my gas and electricity provider - Octopus Energy. Instead of writing "Dear Mr Smith", they began their message with "Hi Nebuchadnezzar". Previously, I informed them that I did not appreciate this pally form of address that would have been considered outlandish in past times. The people at Octopus Energy are not my friends. They are a profit-focused service business and I resent their deliberate strategy to create an illusion of friendly togetherness. I want distance.

Octopus Energy are by no means alone in this. It has become a widespread and rather sickening e-mail communication habit. Insurance companies say "Hello Nebuchadnezzar"  while Booking.com and Trip Advisor say "Dear Nebuchadnezzar" as if by getting personal they have really got me on board their ships.

To all businesses or service providers I deal with I always want to be "Mr Smith" and never "Nebuchadnezzar". As customers and clients we have allowed this misplaced informality to develop over recent years and I guess that very few of us have raised any form of protest about it. In the final analysis, I know that I am like King Canute trying to turn back the tide but that still does not make the presumptuous informality right and proper.

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Keen observers of this blog may recall that I  tackled the same subject back in December 2015 in a post titled "Salutations"

Sheep

Let us return to Friday afternoon at Edale End Farm. Instead of crossing the farmyard, the fenced public footpath wound round the back of the farm buildings. I turned the corner and there were two hundred sheep corralled into this long confined area. It was only six or seven feet wide.

When the sheep saw me, panic ran through the flock and they squeezed up even more. I have often had this effect on women. One of the horny ones rattled the fence by butting it but there was no way out, They were trapped by The Yorkshire Pudding Monster.

Yet I had my own dilemma. To proceed with my country walk, I had to progress through this ovine blockage to the wooden stile at the end. Momentarily, I pictured myself being trampled to death by dozens of  silently hysterical sheep.

I edged closer to the flock and they squeezed up even tighter than before. There were a few "baas" but mostly it was a quiet scene. I sensed their flock mentality - thinking and acting as one - not like individuals. I hoped to stick to the fence and push my way along and then good fortune kicked in.

One of the old girls decided to make a dash for it - running past me to the empty part of the path I had just walked along. And when  she went another fifty sheep bravely followed. It was like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.

The sheep did not speak. There were no leaders shouting, "Come on girls! Let's go!" Their escape choices were communicated telepathically. With three more of these sudden bursts, all of the flock got past me and you know - as they ran past - not one of those sheep touched me. I would have counted them but feared I might fall asleep.

Why were they there? I think the farmer had deliberately sealed them in the space pending some act  of animal husbandry. Perhaps they were about to be wormed or simply inspected but it all added a frisson of unexpected excitement to my peaceful rural ramble. And what is more - I lived to tell the tale!

"One"

"One" by Carole King
The 2018 version

Poetic phrases come to mind
Whenever I find injustice being done
And I wonder, what am I gonna do
What am I gonna do

What can one do except be one
Talking to two, touching three, growing to four million
Each of us is one
All of us are one

Open your heart and let the love come shining through
And you will do what you need to do
To know just where the other you is coming from
We are one

It just amazes me that I can be
Part of the energy it takes to serve each other
And I wonder, what am I gonna do
What am I gonna do

What will we do
We’re gonna run
Reach for the sun
Come together as one
Show ‘em how it’s done
At the end of the day we’ll be able to say
Love won.

Circuit

At Hope Cross

My silver companion, Mr Clint, was parked at the junction of Fullwood Stile Lane and Edale Road, north of the village of Hope.

"How long are you going to be this time?" said Clint with an undertone of irritation in his voice.

"About three hours. Maybe four," I replied as I pulled my boots out of Clint's rear end.

"I suppose I should be happy you've parked me here," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I can see some sexy European babes as they come across that bridge over there. Did you see that Fiat 500 that just passed by? The coffee coloured one?" drooled Clint. "She winked her left headlight at me."

"You dirty dog!" I exclaimed, reprimanding my lusty South Korean friend as I pressed the "Lock" button on my Hyundai keyfob and set off on another circular walk.

The Roam road to Hope Cross

Up the narrow lane to Fullwood Stile Farm - crossing the railway track that traverses The Vale of Edale. Then I met the old Roman road that heads up the valley side to Hope Cross. 

It was a long steady climb. The swathes of bracken - so vigorous and green in summertime  - had all turned golden brown like ripe tobacco. Occasional ragged sheep observed me plodding by. I was walking quite literally in the footsteps of Roman soldiers who had regularly tramped that little track almost two thousand years before.

Edale - illuminated like dream scenery

How beautiful daylight can be in early November. I marvelled at my favourite valley down below - lovely Edale - illuminated like dream scenery - and beyond were the brooding moors that separate the east of northern England from the west. A toy train moved like an arrow on its way from Sheffield to Manchester.

Slack Barn in The Vale of Edale

Hope Cross marks an ancient moorland crossroad. Here drovers, jaggers, thieves and farmers rested a while in days gone by. I opened the nearby galvanized gate to allow two mountain bikers through before descending to Jaggers Clough. Then up again and then down the long diagonal track that leads to Clough Farm. Here I turned west by the little River Noe and enjoyed its wordless company all the way back to Mr Clint. 

"Wake up! Wake up!" I called  for he was sleeping - zeds emerging from under his silver bonnet - or what Americans call a "hood". Funny that. I thought a "hood" was where dangerous fellows wearing gold chains and baseball caps hung about dealing drugs and suchlike while voicing indecipherable rapping lyrics. Yo!

"Errr...you're back! What time is it?"

"Three thirty. Let's go home."

This was just yesterday.

At Edale End Farm two hundred sheep were blocking the public footpath

Americans

Behind the scenes, Blogger allows blogmakers to check out their visitor statistics. As this is a British blog, the biggest number of visitors have invariably and understandably hailed from the British Isles. However, this year I have seen an American takeover and the USA now sits comfortably in top spot.

For example, last month "Yorkshire Pudding" attracted 7412 visits from the USA and only 4535 visits from Great Britain (aka "The United Kingdom"). Incidentally, in third position came another English speaking country - Australia with 1239 visits recorded and fourth came Canada with 779 visits.

Now - how do I feel about this American takeover?

To tell you the truth, I'm rather pleased. As I have confessed before, I am an unashamed Americophile and during my sixty five years I have fortunately been to The States several times. There are lots of things I love about America including its natural beauty, its varied landscapes, its creativity, its bustling cities and its people...well, most of them!

In my opinion, we should never put all of the inhabitants of a country in one basket. In that respect, generalisation is usually a form of unconscious racism. For example, you might hear someone say "I love the Greek people" or "I hate the French". These are stupid remarks because each Greek is different from the next and the same is true of French people. 

Inhabiting an especially wealthy and powerful country that spawned great international media empires and produced "Coca Cola", Microsoft and Ford cars, Americans often come in for unfair criticism.  It's easy to knock those who walk in the spotlight and I have heard countless thoughtless and ultimately stupid remarks about Americans such as "Americans are big-headed", "Americans know nothing about the rest of the world", "Most Americans are obese and exist on fast food and fizzy drinks", "American women are sexy", "Americans are naive". It's the generalisation that is so wrong. Don't you agree?

America's present population is 326 million. As with Greeks, each member of that vast community is different from the next. There are still many thousands with Native American blood in their veins and there are black trumpeters and professors, war veterans pushing shopping trolleys filled with all of their worldly goods, people who live in cabins deep in the woods, Latinos. Muslims, loners and party goers, nurses and nutcases, inventors and fishermen, wheelchair users and dancers. 

America is like one of those wonderful handmade quilts that adorn so many American beds - a patchwork of differences - shapes and colours and stories. So I say hello to any American visitors reading this blogpost and thank you for calling by. You are very welcome here and please -  Have a nice day!

Update

As longtime visitors to this blog will appreciate, 2018 has been a very significant year for our beloved son Ian. In April, the vegan recipe book he wrote with his his old school friend Henry was launched at a special event in Borough Market, London. Since then the "Bosh!" book has sold very well - much better than expected. At one time it was the best-selling non-fiction book in Britain  and top of the Amazon uk bestsellers list too. It is now our nation's best-selling vegan recipe book of all time and has received many plaudits.

Today, November 1st, is another special day in the "Bosh!" journey. The book has been shorlisted in the Food and Drink category of The National Book Awards 2018 sponsored by Specsavers. The winner will announced at the awards ceremony on November 20th.

You can see "Bosh!" at the top of this post - alongside the other nominations - "Nadiya's Family Favourites", "Prue" by Prue Leith, "Cooking on a Bootstrap" by Jack Monroe, "Jamie Cooks Italy" by Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi’s "Simple"..

Apart from anything else, it is amazing to see a vegan recipe book in the mix for this prestigious award. And if Ian and Henry do not get the final nod, they can still be immensely proud that their baby made it into the final six. All will be revealed later this month.

Today is special for another reason in "Bosh!" World. Ian and Henry will be announcing some very big news to their legions of fans and internet followers. After keeping it under wraps for ages, they are going to tell everybody that their second plant-based cookbook will be out next April - exactly a year after the first one was launched. It will be called "Bish! Bash! BOSH!" and this time the book design theme colour will be green, not orange.

How will it do? Only time can tell but already the signs are good. Going vegan is becoming more and more newsworthy and Harper Collins publishers know what they are doing - that's for sure.

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LINKS

"Bosh!" website.

"Bosh!" Facebook .

"Bosh!" Twitter

"Bosh!" Instagram

"Bosh!" YouTube Channel

Ian on Channel 5 News this very evening - 1/11/18