This and That

Early morning....just listening to the seagulls that live and sleep on the chimneys round here.  Sometimes they sound like a dog or a cat, occasionally in the middle of the night a great cacophony will break out as they all talk at once. Pale blue eyes and a sharp beak that is how they first strike you, pretty chequered black and white tail on the one that flies down into the yard braving our next door neighbour running down the steps and shooing them off.  We have starlings, sparrows and pigeons as well in the yard fed by my other neighbour.

We have made arrangements for the spare bed to go to a charity, and he arrives this morning to take it away.  Yesterday evening we had the electrician, Chris in to 'pass' all our electrical stuff, took two hours, surprising what you have in a small cottage!  They all have their small 'pass' tickets now, tis an odd world we live in, making safe everything that could possibly go wrong - is it possible?

Yesterday we braved the new enormous 'Wetherspoon' restaurant, pub and hotel which has gone up in lightening speed next to the harbour; all chic and modern, not my favourite place and the food did not look inspiring.  But we made arrangements to go to Todmarden with the family on Sunday, they are so impressed with the place.  Saturday there is a lecture at the museum on the Anglo-Saxon Loftus burial discovery, but I have a feeling I am expected to go out to tea with the children, so no lecture for me.

There is something also to keep an eye on in my old town Bath.  The council have put forward a plan for the building of several hundred homes on green field sites (yes welcome to the new planning laws bought in by the conservatives- sod green belts! ).  One estate is to be built up on the downs at a village called South Stoke,(South of Bath of course as is North Stoke - North; A/S names) and the people of South Stoke are not too pleased about it.  Further it blights part of the Wansdyke that starts at Maes Knoll hill fort, though there is some disagreement here.  The 8th century Saxon dyke is very slight here round Bath, it is probably a territorial mark, and apart from using the River Avon as part of the 22 miles length also took in an old Roman road over the downs to Chippenham.  Most people are familar with the East part of the dyke that runs over the Marlborough downs and its much more substantial  bank and ditch. Battle has commenced with early medieval historians taking up the campaign and Rescue making a weighty objection.
Bath has of course a Saxon history as well, and I have probably written about it elsewhere but not on this blog, North Stoke has an old church built on the foundations of a Roman building, making it slightly angled from the position of east/west.  The late Roman villas round Bath were very substantial and though most interest is in the Roman baths plenty of stuff round the city attests to wealthy, presumably 'veterans' Romans taking up residence.  Just reading a very good book on Boudicca, a stormy lady no doubt but with a good cause......

Old photo of Egton

Yorkshire road