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Yesterday we reached the one week marker - we've been in this country for over a week now, and it feels simultaneously too short and like we've been here forever. We've been to so many places, done so much driving, and done so many things, it would be impossible to blog about each one of them and do them justice. So instead, I'm going to create a list (I'm good at lists) - at the very least it will jog my memory about what I've done here in Yorkshire, and it might also give you a sense of what we've been up to:
1. Visited Halifax, especially the Piece Hall - lovely place, but the roads are atrocious.
2. Visited David and Paline, Ralph's cousin, in Keighley.
3. Visited Carolyn, my cousin, in Macclesfield.
4. Visited Elaine and Bernard, Ralph's cousin, in Wilmslow.
5. Researched documents relating to Jaime's family history at the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Halifax (traffic still atrocious, probably worse).
6. Explored Blackley, especially St Peter's Church, where Jaime's ancestors were married, and Phillip's Park Cemetery, where Ralph's mother is buried.
7. Visited Moston Lane, where Ralph grew up, and Moston Lane Primary school where he went to school. Saw the place where he lived, above a shop on Moston Lane (now a convenience store). Moston's a pretty rough part of Manchester, but we completely failed to be mugged or have our wheels stolen. In fact, we were stopped by a few people in the street to chat, who were intrigued by us standing around, taking photos of a shop. All were very friendly...
8. Walked along the canals in Hebden Bridge, and got intimidated by a pair of goslings (neither of them Ryan, to Jaime's eternal dismay) and their aggressive parents. We bravely strode past the geese, and completely failed to be mugged by the geese or have our lunch money pinched...
9. Spent an afternoon discussing family history at the Hebden Bridge History Society, and got some leads for Jaime's research on the LINGARD side of her family.
10. Visited Jodrell Bank and saw some really cool science-y stuff, and got excited by watching a 76m radio telescope move slowly on its tracks. Wow! ;)
11. Visited Elaine and Bernard in Wilmslow again.
12. Visited David and Pauline again, and toured Bronte Country (Haworth). Due to a wedding, though, we weren't able to go into St Michael's and All Saints Church, and we passed on the Bronte Parsonage/museum (too expensive) and the Bronte Waterfalls (too rainy/muddy/far away), but did spend the rest of the afternoon on the Steam Train from Howarth to Keighley, and then up to Oxenhope and back to Howarth. Got to sit in a first class carriage - however, it was fifty years too late, and was a little worse for the wear.
Whew! And that's not including the regular stuff like eating meals in the wonderful restaurants and pubs around Hebden Bridge, driving fromplace to place (racked up over 400 miles already) or the boring stuff like sleeping.
It's been a full-on week, and it looks like the next three weeks are going to be even busier, having to move between seven towns in 21 days. I'm feeling tired just thinking about it. If it wasn't for the fact that the sun has made its first appearance in seven days (nope, it's gone. Oh wait, it's back again), I might have gone for a snooze. Instead, we're off to Heptonstall up the road, to take advantage of Yorkshire's summer - with luck, it will last the day!
- comments
Jaime ... And the results on Heptonstall are in... It was AWESOME!
Sally Lloyd That's what a travelling holiday is all about - you will need a holiday when you return! Enjoy the summer weather as it is pretty crap at home!
Mich sounds like an amazing time