Sue (Mrs C) and I have just come back from a week in my hometown, Pickering in North Yorkshire. It was a welcome break, and quite novel for us to be able to stroll into town and pop into the shops or a cafe.
Of course, I took a few snaps to try and capture the place for you.
The hotel where I used to wash pots and chop veg as a teenager. Both sets of skills turned out to be useful in life.
Tea and cake (organic Darjeeling and Yorkshire brack) in a delightful garden at a tea shop. Brack is usually served with butter, but like Dan Corrigan, I don’t partake. When I turned down the butter, the waitress offered her sympathy, as if I was stricken with some terrible allergy. She didn’t quite say, “You poor thing”, but she looked as though she wanted to. I didn’t have the heart for an explanation, so I assured her that the cake would be delicious without butter, and I’m pleased to say that it was.
A little-used alley (or ‘ginnel’ as we say in Yorkshire), leads to a disused cinema that was turned into an auction sale room several decades ago – before my time at any rate. The door was open while a chap was moving stock around, so I asked if I could take a peek inside and take a photo- see below.
You can see a few rows of old cinema seats at the back. It was here, many years ago (I think I was around 16) that I spotted my first typewriter, an Olivetti Lettera 32 that I still have. I attended the auction and saw off a couple of other bidders to secure the typewriter. My heart was racing as the auctioneer did his bit, and I was thrilled when he brought his hammer down.
The North York Moors Railway was set up during my childhood, just a short walk through the fields from my house. The trains are mainly steam powered, but you can see an old diesel shunter here.
Sue (Mrs C) walking through a field not far from my childhood home. These fields are called the Rookers (pronounced ‘roo cuss’), and I spent many happy hours roaming around here when I was a child. The hills were great for sledging in winter and rolling hard-boiled eggs at Easter.
A little street that winds its way up to the castle. The pavement cafes were doing good business.
A little green by the Liberal club. The memorial isn’t a war memorial – the town has a Memorial Hall instead.
A typical Yorkshire limestone building, this one has a house on one side and a pet supplies shop on the other.
The bay window over a shop was a little office where my dad worked for several years before he retired. I remember dropping in from time to time to say hello.
That’s it for this post.
Comments are always welcome.
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Everybody loves bay windows, They look good from the street and add light and the feeling of extra space indoors. And they have an inherent aesthetic charm and often evoke a sense of mystery within them, especially when people are peeking. A bay window is a nook and nooks and crannies generally have “spacial appeal”. Similarly, walking around ruined abbeys and castles is fascinating because we can visualize how their interiors were laid out. Ruined spiral staircases are profoundly mysterious.
Thanks. Bay windows make great places to read too. Lovely to get all your comments. It sometimes takes me a while to reply.
The framing of the roof trusses in the antiques shop is attractive and the posts they rest on.
Glad you like them. I always try to look out for interesting features.
Lovely town. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks.
You are gracious enough to share these very special photos with all of us who will not be there in person. You never fail to uplift my spirit with them, as well as your explanation.
Thank you. That’s wonderful to hear.
What a sweet and quaint little town. Looks like a great place for a childhood…or even an adulthood!
Thank you. It does have a certain character. I was fortunate to grow up there.
My dad was born in Bradford in 1904, (I’m 80) and I love the photos. I live in the U S, and never made it to England. Your photos let me vicariously enjoy the country where he grew up.
Thank you.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy the photos, and I’ll keep sharing them.