2nd April 2024

Shibden Hall;  My long awaited belated birthday present from Andrew, a trip to Shibden Hall in Halifax.  We went by train and 'ubered' up to the park.  As we got off the train at Halifax about 30 odd young teenagers got on, they were heading to Harrogate for a football match there, they were Gillingham supporters. Noisy, proudly clutching beer cans they pushed their way onto the train.  They'll grow up one day;)

An Uber was summoned, in all these for hire cars I have been in, the driver is always from the Asian community, who are kind and courteous by the way.  Around the cities of the North, an Uber will arrive probably within 3/5 minutes, the buses will have to pull up their socks if they want to compete.

We got dropped off at the park, and had a meal in the cafe there. It was a very big park, noticeable by the amount of dog walkers and young children who were being paraded around.  Yes a lot of them ended up in the cafe, an Easter Monday treat. Creamy cockapoos were noticeable by the dark brown muddy legs they sported.  Many must have been due for a bath on arriving home.

Shibden Hall, this is where the famous lesbian Anne Lister lived and was the star of 'Gentleman Jack' not so long ago.  I haven't watched it, but I did watch the first episode last night.  They had managed to feature the hall in  bucolic green scenery which I thought was clever.  There is a coach crash at the beginning (dramatic effect) and then Suranne Jones in her role as Anne rolls in as the tough lesbian, driving the coach from York back to Halifax.  The driver had had an unfortunate accident, I did switch off when she shot the farm horse though at the end.  Though of course I know it did not really happen in real life! 

You will see from the following photos, that the hall's dark interior is due entirely to wood panelling, it gave a somewhat cosy appeal to the small rooms and must have been quite warm to live in. There was a beautiful magnolia tree on the front lawn, buds waiting to break and I hope Jack Frost keeps away, the flowers of magnolia always degenerate into a slimy brown when they die.

Anne Lister was obviously talked about, mostly for her mannish ways, she got 'married' to a wealthy young heiress to improve the estate of Shipden Hall.  She kept a secret diary written in code, but her brother deciphered some of it after her death but hid the diaries away.

Not forgetting, that my daughter went down a steep muddy bank to collect some garlic leaves, which were turned into a great pesto for the evening meal. She also found the following: when we say 'night, night, sleep tight' it goes back to when ropes underslung the mattress of the bed.  Make sure the ropes are tight!