OFF TO THE HILLS

We are enjoying a bit of an Indian Summer with high pressure and a good forecast so emboldened we are off to Keswick, me by bus today, my wife following in a day or so. My interest is to continue doing Birkett routes in Lakeland around Coniston (unfinished business), and hopefully a day or two in the Shap Fells which can be incorporated into my return journey, Bags and sacs all packed so nothing to hang around for.

POETRY IN STOCKTON

Wednesday 23/09/09 For a couple of years now Apples & Snakes, a London based production company specialising in poetry, spoken word and mixed media performance works by modern writers has been hosting events at Stockton-on-Tee's ARC studio theatre. I like to go to these shows if I can, the exposure to young British poets is always interesting, if sometimes a bit weird for someone of my age but you might be witnessing the next Maya Angelou, Benjamin Zephaniah or Paul Muldoon, long shots I know but worth a modest punt for a good night out listening to new work from the up and coming wave. Tonight's show is called "Articulate" featuring three acts, the picture shows two of them at the end of the show outside ARC, they are Sheree Mack from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Lemn Sissay from Manchester and the star of the evening and both were good, it's a shame though that their published works were not available for sale. Lemn's performance of "Invisible Kisses" was especially enjoyable and this poem and "Sweetie" by Sheree Mack are featured on my Flickr page tagged by poets name.

BOOKS BREED ON THEIR SHELVES

I sometimes think books breed! but of course the reason I have so many is that I can't pass a charity shop without popping to see what gems might be sitting on their shelves, and one day Amazon just might bankrupt me! A good thing about no longer being in full time employment is that there is more time to read, however there is more time to do everything and of course this competition means that many things I fondly imagined I would do a lot more of, work against each other. I do a lot of biking, bird-watching and walking now, but I don't take books with me (they are too precious), so that cuts down on available reading time. Anyway I have bought two additional bookcases from Argos and spent this morning battling the complexities of flat-pack assembly. Very pleased with the results, the cases are quite cheap and cheerful and in Argos's current sale cost about £25 each including delivery, which is very good value indeed. Now I can get on with the exciting task of filling them up. I have quite an overspill in my "study" and am looking forward to sorting them out properly, fiction by alpha etc. I can see what the author Penelope Lively means in the following quote from her novel: Making it up: -

"The books win, always they win by their sheer numbers, by their dogged diversity. He sometimes sees them as a kind of chronic invasion-a culture that blooms where it can, and grimly proliferates when it gets a hold. The books always have the upper hand; silent, ineradicable". Too true Penelope too true.

Thanks to LibraryThing I can now look up my own book stats with ease, here they are: My catalogued library now consists of 1420 titles (up from 1360 at the beginning of the year), so maybe it's me who's breeding the books. I wouldn't want to be without them. The new shelves have been sited in one of our bedrooms they fit in quite nicely and I now have a chest of drawers which I will try to sell - bringing my costs down even further, a Scot to the end eh?

ALL HIS OWN WORK

Monday 21/09/09 I'm putting in some extra hours at the RSPB reserve at Saltholm, as next week I will be away in the Shap Fells on my ongoing "Birkett" campaign and might not get back in time to do my usual Thursday volunteering day. After that I could be working on a part-time basis with Debenham's Department Store in Middlesbrough over their busy Christmas period. I was employed there last year and have written to them asking for my old job back! So fingers crossed, a little income at Christmas is a good thing. Today's tasks start with the security patrol and opening up of the three hides: The Wildlife Watchpoint which gives access to the north-east reed beds, Paddy's Pool Hide which overlooks the lake and artificial island constructed by the contractors before the reserve opened in March 2009. It's named after the JCB digger operator who played the major role in building the island (I wonder what nationality he is). He did a good job and the island was "cockleshelled" by the reserve volunteers and has produced a wonderful nesting area for Common Terns (which are not as common as their name suggests), Saltholm produced a healthy crop of new terns this summer, so well done everyone. The final hide is the biggest one, called Saltholm Pools Hide, as the name suggests it overlooks two pools from a position midway between them, ie The West Saltholm Pool and Back Saltholm Pool. I took my camera round today and the picture is of the new fencing I helped Toby get in and up last week. The neighbouring farmer's cattle have been wading into the Haverton Pool, in the picture and coming up on the opposite side of the old inadequate fence to get to our pristine fresh grass, naughty things, the grass is for our Lapwings and Geese, not for greedy cows. The fence looks good and so far is doing the job intended, lets hope the cattle get the message. We use sheep on the reserve to help manage the grasslands but we do not want cows thank you.

RSPB SALTHOLM

Friday 18/09/09

With my ride round the Moors to Sea Cycleway stretching into an unplanned third day the only down side was that I missed my normal volunteer day at RSPB Saltholm. Being a volunteer, I can hardly be sacked but I feel a bit uncomfortable as although I have a new mobile phone, I did not have Toby Collette's number in it, and so could give him no warning of my non-appearance. So when I got home on Thursday, I emailed an apology to Toby and volunteered to come in on Friday by way of reparation. My day consisted of the early morning round opening up the hides and checking the security of fences and livestock, the neighbouring farmer's cattle have been getting into the reserve, not welcome, but today all was well on that front. This process of "opening up" takes about two hours and involves a two mile walk round the reserve with lots of opportunities to watch the birds from the three hides. On a good day this is not work so much as a delight. Later I cut the grass in the overflow car park a task which takes a couple of hours it's almost as large as a football field, but looks a lot better for it. I clocked out as usual at 4pm which with my 8am start and a ten mile bike ride there and back again keeps me going and I always sleep well following a day at Saltholm.

MOOR TO SEA PART 3

Thursday 17/09/09.

Minor roads out of Whitby heading west towards Dalby brought me to a bridle path loop that takes in the summit top of Beacon Hill, at this time of day this is exactly what I want, an off-road route over the moors with wide open places in which to pitch my tent. After a mile or two uphill, I came across a wonderful flat piece of springy turf in a sea of uncampable heather, and such are the good things in life! It was a bit early around seven pm but it was just too much of an inviting place and with no pre-knowledge of the way ahead, I wasted no time, this is the place for the night. And after the hassle of the day and the pushing the bike and anxiety of it all I got my head down, brewed up and I suppose it is possible that there was a happier man on earth, but if there was, he was very lucky indeed!

Woke to a fine dry morning, but with only about 40 miles max to do there was little incentive to rush, so I spent an extra hour, just oozing in the luxury of a great pitch, a comfortable pit and another brew, I realise at moments like this that I spend too much time trying to make the most of my time, (doing things) and maybe time needs you to do nothing at all.

Eventually, I stirred myself to the challenge of pulling up the last mile or so to the summit of Beacon Hill, with it's trig point, topo and beacon-holder (well what would you call it, look at the picture and let me know) and a grand view point it is, but as a vantage point to spot Napoleon's forces at the end of the seventeenth century requires a stretch of the imagination, it is a long way to the sea from here and only in perfect weather would it be possible to monitor shipping movements, it is a good day today and I can't see the sea! (I suppose "spyglasses" would have been helpful). From here a wonderful steepening downhill run to Danby, on a perfect tarmac track, so good and enjoyable after the stone littered bridle path of the ascent to Beacon Hill with all it's skittering about. I stopped for another cup of over milky coffee at the Moors Center (I never learn do I?)and then headed over the last miles home stopping briefly at Kildale for can of Coke and a Picnic Bar.

All in all a great ride and the network of routes forming the Moors to Sea Cycleway has many options yet to be tackled the Scarborough end has been completely omitted from this itinerary thus I have reasons and intention to return. This ride covered about 137 miles, with quite a hilly completment, but it's amazingly beautiful countryside and it's on my doorstep, so how can I not become addictied?

MOORS TO SEA, PART 2

This is Wednesday 16/09/09 and after a blissful night in Dalby Forest the morning started with some route finding problems, I found myself hacking through dense woodland pathways uphill and rocky, very hard riding and off bike for quite a bit. But in due course my compass and nose got me to the road on the north of the forest and I was now well on my way, the route quickly moved back into the trees and I recognised parts from my Tabular Hills walk of a year or so ago, I love these incidents of new routes crossing old ones. At Highwood Brow I elected to take the downhill route to Langdale End and then switched over to the Whitby route. Alas as I reached the summit of the ride at Lilla Howe, I got a puncture in my rear tyre, bugger, why is it always the back wheel which means stripping down the panniers and all that jazz! Well I did it and replaced the tube only to find that my replacement, was also punctured, double bugger, I must have picked up a spare not yet repaired from its previous deflation, pratt or what? So I set off to push the bike to Whitby, eight or nine miles away, fortunately mostly downhill! Amazingly after about half a mile I met two bikers going in the opposit direction who offered me their spare tube (size and valves matched, whoopee)! so we upended the bike and started again but to total dismay and consternation this brand new tube refused to inflate, theirs, or my pump made no difference, the valve was faulty and that was that, triple bugger!!! this was a blow, and what are the odds in such a situation of two tubes being useless? We shook hands and went on our opposite ways, two very good people, I should have taken a picture but all my attention was focused on the bike. Well with these two unplanned breaks, it has taken five hours to get to Whitby (Hawsker actually) and find a shop to buy a new tube from. And it was great to get riding again, into Whitby for some food then up out and West to Lingholme Moor for a wonderful camp.