Family just got bigger

Anne and George have increased their family stock by the addition of a beautiful Great Dane! The dog is massive and will certainly be a presence in the Robinson household. Very placid until it spied the doorstop in the shape of a cat!
I think we know our expectations and ould never take on such a huge responsibility but we know that our friends can!
Progress in the house is painfully slow with the fire still not finished although it is the plastering todo so we are using the fire. Experimentation rather than using is the name of the game! We should be sorted the beginning of next week but have begun to strip the walls so decorating is the name of the game! A neverending story I fear!
My visit to Bradford Royal Infirmary went without problems, traveling on 4 buses and the train! I hope the results prove that the journey was worthwhile

First cut is the deepest

George Osborne set out the story that he is hoping to see unfold - the deficit tamed then eliminated, welfare reformed, waste cut but spending on the NHS, schools, big transport infrastructure projects and overseas aid all protected.
Those who work in the public sector will get paid less and have to pay more for their pension - if, of course, they keep their jobs. And, since we are "all in it together", we will all have to work longer before being entitled to a state pension.
It is not the government, however, which writes the whole of this story.
The next chapter is likely to examine the consequences of unprecedented cuts in welfare spending. The headline saving - £18bn in total - is, remember, the equivalent of 18 million households losing £1,000 each. A significant number of people who now depend on housing benefit, council tax benefit, tax credits and what used to be called "sickness" benefit will receive significantly less or stop receiving benefits altogether.
Turn a page or two and we'll find out which jobs and services councils have to cut to save around a quarter of their budgets.
Keep flicking forward and we'll see how long the relief felt in schools and hospitals lasts given what is still the tightest settlement for them in many, many years.
None of this will determine how this saga ends - that will depend on whether the economy grows enough to absorb the cuts and the consequent job losses or whether it stalls, leaving people to dwell on what many will, undoubtedly, see as the unfairness of it all.
The chancellor's speech suggested a title for the work he began today - "Back from the Brink". He knows that if he's got this wrong he will be accused of pushing Britain "Over the Precipice".

Run Alan run

Towards a man I hear! Well done to Alan on his magnificent result in the Great North Run last month! Coming in at a brilliant time of 2 hrs 54 minutes and 34 seconds Alan was 35431st over the finishing line and with the many thousands taking part this was a real achievement! Now for next year - fancy company? Uncle Bill perhaps?As you see him here fondling the winner's medal alongside a friend Alan's life who looks on in envy - so perhaps more runners in 2011! Tablets Matron!

Norber erratics

The Norbic erratics were just a name until yesterday when Russ and I wandered up to them in brilliant October sunshine! I have to say for my third walk out of the village it was a challenge and showed how out of shape I am! I know I keep saying this, but we are really fortunate to have such a place to live! Now for the education bit:-
The underlying rocks are of Paleozoic age. The oldest rocks are sandstones, gritstones and slates of Ordovician and Silurian age. These formations form the rock surface in the valley. They are well exposed in Crummack Dale to the north of the village where they are strongly folded along east-west axes. The rocks are relatively impervious and restrict the flow of groundwater.

Massive limestone rock formations of Lower Carboniferous age rest above the older Ordovician and Silurian formations. The contact between them is unconformable whereby the Carboniferous limestone strata are more or less horizontal relative to the strongly folded older formations the surface of which had been eroded to form an ancient rolling landscape. The limestone formations appear as scarp slopes along the valley sides and karstic pavements in the uplands. They are well drained via joints and bedding planes, which enlarge as infiltrating precipitation slowly dissolves the limestones ultimately resulting in the formation of the caves and potholes in the surrounding area. The infiltrating precipitation collects as groundwater in the limestone formation and flows through the joints and bedding planes. The discharge of this groundwater emerges as springs locally at the contact of the limestone with the underlying relatively impervious Ordovician and Silurian rocks. One such spring at Norber was the source of water supply to the village until recently.

Limestones, sandstones, and shales of the Yoredale Series and then the Millstone Grit rest above the Lower Carboniferous “Great Scar Limestones.” These rock strata are exposed on the upper slopes and summit of Ingleborough to the north and Penyghent to the northeast.

Austwick Calling

Well at last we have left Scotland and the move to Austwick is completed! Now we have to try and fit two houses into one although we have managed to unload sell and generally redistribute our possessions!
Funny that after nearly 31 years in a place I left feeling little regret! George and Anne "removals" arrived very early after leaving the village in the early hours and it only look an hour and half to get the van back on the road again! Derek called in to disconnect the alarm system on his way to install another post burglary alarm and found himself in the midst of moving stuff! Thanks for the help! Perhaps the ploy was to get us gone quicker! The neighbours were kind with lovely cards and gifts for our new home, as it does feel exactly that!
So expecting to walk into a fantastic place only to find the new stove had not been installed owing to a personal bereavement of the sweep, rooms full of furniture and the lounge with dust covers instead of carpet! But hey ho we coped! The local neighbours rallied around and the Luton Truck was soon empty and ready for returning to the fire firm in Skipton.
Amidst the chaos there was only one thing to do! We retreated to the Game Cock Inn for an excellent dinner and libation.
Frank had three leaving parties one which I attended was really appreciative of his work over eight years and I know there was genuine regret at him leaving but happiness for us in a new phase of being!