An Oasis of calm in the city - RSPB Saltholme

Yesterday we went out for the day to the RSPB reserve at Saltholme, Middlesboorough. The setting seems a little incongruous with backdrops of petro chemical tanks and burning off of fumes, scrap yards and cityscapes but all you hear is the sound of the birds. We decided to go via the Seaton Carew Road from Middlesborough which meant going across the famous transporter bridge which dominates the city's skyline. This is something that Julie had never done and I last did more years ago than I care to remember but at least 40. We didn't get many photos of the birds because they were too quick for me and my camera but it is a good day out for the princely sum of £3 to park the car. The cafe area offers very good coffee and reasonably priced meals and snacks. We were also pleased at the GTBS gold accreditation, something we have in common with the reserve, and the witty information signs around the place gave rise to a few smiles. Staff were all very friendly and helpful, particularly Helen Kipling who also has her hand in another pie as she designs and makes handmade quilts and has some good ideas about memory quilts, click here to see her blog. If you would like to see some other photos of the day in Saltholme click here and you will get an idea of the juxtaposition of the city with the site.

Whitby Goth Weekend April 2010

We are sometimes asked "What is a Goth", a question we hardly feel qualified to answer. That is until this year as we have now received copies of the WGW Almanack in which Mark Smith, editor of Unscene, has given a potted history of the Goth movement together with his definition. In short it appears that it is different things to different people but in the main has grown out of Punk of the 80s. Nowadays the clothes are a big part of the scene for some, as can be seen here with David and Sue from Hertfordshire. Although there are still people who find themselves intimidated by some of the Goths we have to say that we find them to be a harmless and friendly bunch and we regularly see our first "Goth" guest Joz who calls in to see us whenever he is in Whitby, even just for the day. We will never forget his comment on the booking site, "Arrived as a guest, left as a friend". Others of our regular guests come each year as "Goth watchers" - not really to take part but simply to see the spectacle.

40s Weekend

Paddy, one of our guests, enjoying himself at the 40s weekend. Each year the event gets slightly larger and a bit better than the previous one, althogh there is still a long way to go to be on a par with Pickering's "War Weekend" each October. Ideally the Whitby event could be a bit better supported and attract a few more participants but we hope that it never becomes as big as the Pickering event. Well done to those organising things and congratulations to Dolly's Deli for scooping the best dressed window accolade.

Updated Website

Our Website

We have just updated our website and would be delighted to hear what you think. There are one or two tweaks that have been suggested but we will wait a week or so before changing anything so that we can consider any other comments. We liked the clean green and white of the last site but didn't like that it was a bit "left heavy", i.e. there was a lot of white space down the right. if you have any comments please email us.

Fancy some Tapas in Malton?

http://www.ambiente-tapas.co.uk/

On our way home from Charlie our grandson's 4th birthday party we were debating what to do for dinner. As we weren't going to be home before 7:00 p.m. we thought that we would drop off into Malton to try out the Tapas bar that we had seen previously, we're glad that we did. On Tuesday evenings they have an all you can eat buffet for the princely sum of £9.95 and we tried a little of everything on offer, more than 20 separate items. Although it is designated a tapas bar the food is Mediterranean rather than purely Spanish.

We will certainly call again when we journey back from visiting family, particularly on a Tuesday when we can have such variety at a good price.

2010 Scooter Rally

Easter weekend resounded to the sound of hundreds of scooters in every shape and size. This one belongs to Bob, one of our guests, and very authentically reproduces the image of the scooters that I remember from the 60s and 70s. The difference is that in the 60s and 70s the riders of the scooters would wreak havoc wherever they went but now the majority are ridden by middle aged men who can afford the many thousands needed to buy an original Lambretta SX200 such as Bob's. The style is there but thankfully the violence originally associated with the riders is now a thing of the past.

Read Whitby Gazette's article on the rally.

Apologies to all for email delays - Broadband Down

We were off on Monday and Tuesday celebrating our wedding anniversary and so hadn't been able to respond to emails. When I sat down at the computer on Wednesday morning to send my mails our internet went down because of a flood and fire in Paddington. Initially the downtime was expected to be much longer but fortunately we werre back online in a little over 24 hours.To read a bit more about the problem see this link. Paddington Flood. We use Pipex (now a part of Tiscali).