In recovery!

Frank left with his bionic bits a week past Friday. He is progressing well being grateful for all the support, both professional and social.
Already medical support is in place making us so grateful for a National Health Service that often is taken for granted.
We are back to Blackpool tomorrow and after the New Year Frank will be attending the cardiac rehabilitation programme in Westmoreland Hospital as well as being monitored by the local Townsend Surgery!

2012 and all that

Goodbye 2012 & Hello to 2013!

As another year passes, the second in Austwick residence, living the country life, we reflect on a memorable time. Everyone rallied around to ensure that Elaine’s 100th year celebration was one of the highlights for so many. However the prior weekend with Halle at Giggleswick and house guests with over-spill at Anne & George’s was brilliant too!

Our stall at the Street Market at the end of May once again helped to raise funds for the village good causes and we participated in the annual birthday and Halloween celebrations in the Game Cock raising £1,055 for the local school funds.

Birthday celebrations seem to be a theme this year with Frank reaching 65 and in a “retired mode” apart from some health concerns, keeping active and relatively healthy! I wrote the previous sentence before 23rd November when Frank suffered a heart attack but in the excellent care of Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital’s newly developed Lancashire Cardiac Centre, I hope to have him back home very soon.

Alec joined the local Patient Participation Panel in the hope of making a contribution to local NHS in highlighting the specific health related issues faced by LGBT patients and staff.

Other work has been a run of visitors, bed and breakfast's and establishing a dog sitting service, causing some confusion as to the hospitality for human’s and canine care. As yet we have not hosted both. It has been great to have visitors and friends calling, loving the village and lingering longer.

As we face 2013 reflection is certainly in the forefront of our thinking but also knowing how precious time together is and needs to be valued and enjoyed.

Surprise surprise!

Just wanted to let folk know that Frank has not been well and this morning (friday 23rd November) had a heart attack while trying to win at the Gala! Blackpool Victoria Hospital – where they do the triage – with a stent fitted to the left ventricle but some complications with furring of the right one.

Frank Update Monday 25th November) - First thanks for your support and thoughts. Frank is progressing well and when I visited him on Sunday morning he was out of bed, cheery, looking much improved. However he is still rather poorly with the consultant arranging a MRI Scan today with the prospect of fitting a pace-maker combined with a implanted cardioverter defibrillator – the pacemaker to regulate the heart beat and the ICD that send an electric shock to the heart that reboots the heart and gets it going again.
The prospect is that he will be staying with the excellent team in the Lancaster Cardiac Centre based at Blackpool Hospital for at least the next week. http://www.lancashirecardiaccentre.nhs.uk//

Again we appreciate all your thoughts and wishes for Frank’s speedy recovery! I’ll keep posting updates!

Austwick Halloween

After only a couple of weeks to get the event organised it became the best ever raising £1055.00 for Austwick School PTA! Brilliant support with kind folk donating charity auction items that were sold for reasonable prices that should help people look forward to next year!
The village trick or treat wander was guided around the village by "responsible adults" led by the wicked queen with out "batty boy" who opted to get ready for the auction of gifts and the pub quiz!

The some 30 children were given treat or treat bags with starters of cinder and bonfire toffee then parade to village homes for top ups, returning to the Game Cock for hot dogs and pumpkin carving! The auction raised over £800 with the pie and pea supper over £300! The throat gave up a few times but with Crafty Devil on tap I was able to project the voice and get everyone involved! A pub quiz could well be on the Game Cock social calendar! Eric and Maree were so kind with a beautiful bunch of flowers given to us and an invitation for a Christmas Dinner at the pub, so we have booked in for 21st December our 7th wedding anniversary!

Yes merry Yule is on it's way with the first real snow falling this Sunday morning!

We hope to have visitors before the festive time gets underway with friends joining us for New Year. Dog sitting is on the cards over the next few weeks with Paul rediscovering life after the Game Cock as he starts a new job tomorrow, dealing with fire and flood insurance claims. Sadly he might be very busy!

Happenings and the future!

There has been such a lot happening since my last posting in this "quiet village in the Yorkshire National Park". Anything but quiet as you can see! Again we had been having more work done in the garden, espalier established for the fruit trees and moving the plum tree to the front garden. As everywhere the weather has been a major factor with what feels like constant rain threatening flooding but actually going just that when the beck overflowed. We were fortunate with only the greenhouse in about a foot of standing water, the next job to be done, a concrete base put down.
Our social life is about the village and includes the weekly gathering at the Game Cock. We are help organising the Halloween Night again and hope to follow on from the success reached last year. Once over I expect the target will be Merry Yule, although visitors don't have to wait until then. TRAMPS (the Riversdale Area Moving Picture Show) are doing the monthly presentations again with "Exotic Marigold Hotel" being its first, well supported and excellent feel-good movie. November is "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", so we will be watching that in the village hall.

Assignment - BBC World Radio

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00xs1qb

Homosexuality is not against the law in Iraq. Yet for years now, gay men and women have been persecuted for being different. In the lawless years post-Saddam Hussein, people blamed the radical militia groups but today - in a supposedly free Iraq - victims say that the state run police are also involved in the arrest, torture and sexual abuse of homosexuals. Natalia Antelava investigates for Assignment on the BBC World Service.

Listened to this broadcast in the early hours of this morning. Just trying to give more exposure and help us appreciate what happens in countries "we" liberate.

Allan Horsfall

Pictured here with Ray Gosling (on the left) Allan Horsfall was first active for gay law reform in the late 1950s. In 1964, he founded Britain’s first ever grassroots, gay-led rights organisation, the Manchester-based North-West Homosexual Law Reform Committee, which became the Campaign for Homosexual Equality in 1971, when I first met Allan during the Southampton and the Sheffield CHE conferences. In the 1970s and 80s, CHE was the UK’s largest ever democratic, mass membership LGBT rights organisation, with several thousand members nationwide. Allan was president of CHE from 1974 until his death. In 1997-98, Allan co-led the successful campaign to free the Bolton 7, who were facing jail for sex acts involving more than two men, under Britain’s antiquated, homophobic sex offence laws. We all walk in Allan’s shadow. He was still campaigning for LGBT rights until a few months before he died.
His activism spanned more than 50 years. Allan worked for the National Coal Board from 1959 to 1971 and then for the Salford Education Committee. He later campaigned for improved bus services as an executive member of the National Federation of Bus Users.From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, he was a Labour councillor in Nelson and a regional chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

In 1960 he unsuccessfully lobbied the Labour Party to support the Wolfenden Committee proposals for the decriminalisation of male homosexuality.Horsfall saw Wolfenden as a brave but flawed first step; being critical of the limited decriminalisation proposed and scathing about Wolfenden’s refusal to support public initiatives for the implementation of his report.Although much of his life was spent working for law reform, Allan sympathised with radical politics and encouraged each new generation of LGBT activists.A contemporary of Harry Hay and Frank Kameny in the US, and predating Harvey Milk by two decades, Allan ranks with Antony Grey, Jackie Forster and A E Dyson as one of the great pioneers of LGBT law reform in the UK.

For 48 years he was in a relationship with Harold Pollard, a head teacher and former chairman of CHE, until Pollard’s death in 1996.

Typical Tories

Conservative MP for Basingstoke Maria Miller, who was appointed yesterday by David Cameron as culture secretary and has direct responsibility for the newly moved Government Equalities Office (GEO), is under the spotlight after a number of activists noted her questionable voting record on LGBT equality.

According to the politics website PublicWhip.org.uk, since becoming an MP, Mrs Miller has either voted against or been absent from all major LGBT rights votes in the House of Commons.Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted on Tuesday evening: “Maria Miller is now in charge of the equalities unit consultation on equal marriage. She voted [against] gay adoption”.There have been three votes in parliament of significance to the LGBT community since Mrs Miller entered the Commons in 2005.She was absent from the vote on the Equality Act of 2007, and she voted against allowing same-sex couples access to fertility treatment in 2008.However, in May of this year she urged Prime Minister David Cameron not to succumb to pressure from some on the right-wing of the Conservative Party, but to continue with the joint-coalition agreement to introduce same-sex marriage by 2015.Mark Pack, blogger of the LibDemVoice website, wrote that it is important to remember that there was equal displeasure by others when Home Secretary Theresa May was initially given responsibility for the GEO in May 2010.Whilst also having a questionable LGBT voting record, Mrs May subsequently demonstrated her commitment to supporting gay rights by recording an Out4Marriage video earlier this year.
In other reshuffle developments concerning gay parliamentarians, Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles has been promoted to the position of planning minister, and Reigate MP Crispin Blunt is returning to the backbenches after losing his job as prison minister.In May of this year, Mr Blunt joined the likes of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour MP Andy Burnham in recording a video for the Out4Marriage campaign.In his video message, he said: “If like me you were born in 1960, the pace of change around all the equality issues over the last decade or so has been incredibly impressive, and what it means is that issues like same-sex marriage and a lack of access to it now just seem like the anomalies that simply leave those remaining examples of inequality, that everyone now really accepts is unacceptable.” Mr Blunt came out as gay in 2010, when he separated from his wife of 20 years.

Discrimination

British courts have found overwhelmingly against Christians, occasionally comparing their beliefs unfavourably with secular principles. Now the issue has reached the top of the legal process, and, by making this an oral hearing, the European Court is clearly troubled by it and taking it very seriously.
Its findings will constitute a watershed moment in what has become a slow-acting, but profound, social change. Attention will focus especially on the ruling in the cases where Christians claim they faced discrimination by being forced to provide services to gay people despite their belief that homosexual practise was wrong. It seems likely that, whatever is decided in Strasbourg, that Christians will soon be able to wear crosses at work, but the judgement on their beliefs about homosexuality will be far-reaching. In Scotland the question of independence will I have no doubt reach the people of Scotland to decide alongside the equity agenda of same sex marriage probably reaching statue by 2014! Get saving for the parties folks!

Scarecrow scare

A surprise visit by our former Matron of Dishonour was a perfect excuse to visit Kettlewell for the annual Scarecrow Festival and lunch at the Blue Bell. Marie's return visit somewhat delayed as she is such a busy women supporting the Labour Party and Unison retired members in Fife, cut short as she is attending Alex Falconer's (former MEP for Mid-Scotland and Fife) funeral on Tuesday, but crammed a lot in. Arrived last Friday in time for the committee meeting in the Game Cock which became welcome back to Austwick. Skipton market on Saturday with us popping in to "Art in the Pen" at the cattle market. How many folk take a long term vegetarian to the local meat market? We had not seen Marie since leaving Kirkcaldy on 4th october 2010 and Marie had not visited us in Austwick since the previous April, so her returned visit meant we had a lot of catching up to do. As the Scot's say "haste ye back">

Our dear mate from downunder

At long last Robin arrived safe and looking fabulous from Sydney (first class guy in first class travel but let down by British Airways on his travel to Scotland) via Fife! As you can see he was awe-struck at the magnificence of Aysgarth Falls comparing them to the streams used to in Oz! We managed to supply a bit of a bus-man's holiday visiting garden centres, formal gardens in the lake district, especially dramatic being Holehird Garden Centre operated by the volunteers of Lakeland Horticulture Society. Then much to our shame, as after visiting Skipton for many a year we had never had a tour of the Castle, the home of the Clifford family since 1314 but begun being built in 1090! It was an excellent example of a medieval castle in England. So travelling all points of the compass to the village we enjoyed the all too short visit and being joined for the last few days from Andy seen here at Holehird Garden. Morning walks with Winnie and Toby set the scene in and around the village and a couple of visits to the Game Cock completed the North Yorkshire experience. Some rainfall when visiting Kendal did not dampen our joy at having Robin and Andy with us and we hope they enjoyed the experience before they headed off South to experience the Olympic having tickets for the diving! Nor hanging about with plans for seeing some West End shows while in the capital. Robin's travel plans with Andy then include Paris, Versailles, Germany and then back to that first class experience on Quantas! Safe journey and as Frank would say "haste ye back".

Annual visitors

What a difference we saw in Lucy who visited with her Mum and Dad over the weekend! At four years old she is certainly doing the growing up quick. The weather was a missed bag with showers and some sunshine. Clapham Street market was bathed in sunshine and rhythmic drums of the Batala

Batala is a form of Samba Drum music which originates in Salvador de Bahia in North Eastern Brazil. Batala was formed as the European wing of Cortejo Afro (a style of Brazilian Samba) by Giba Gonçalves in Paris in 1997. Giba is the maestro of the Batala sound, which he composed after the style of his home town Salvador, in Brazil. The music has its roots in African traditional music which found its way to Brazil and has been incorporated in to Brazilian culture since. Using this influence, Giba formed a 60-piece drumming band, called it Batala, and encouraged anyone with an interest in his music to form their own Batala group under his name. There are now eight such groups across Europe playing the same funky rhythms. Samba-reggae compositions with noted African influences beaten out on four different types of drum. The result is a raw, hypnotic combination of emotion, beats and rhythm.

However as expected the Ouessant Sheep took the prize as far as Lucy was concerned! The breed comes from the small island of that name, about 12 miles off the most westerly point of Brittany. These charming little sheep are claimed to be the smallest in the world, with the rams shoulder height at just 48-50cm and the ewes 45-46cm. Comparable measurements for the smallest British breed, the primitive Soay are 51-61cm for rams and 49-54 for ewes. They very rarely produce twins, and it’s unlikely that such a small sheep could carry or raise more than one lamb.The little Ouessant sheep carries a thick fleece of long wool with a dense undercoat. The ram’s fleece weighs 1.2-1.8kg, the ewes fleece 1-1.5kg.As with most primitive sheep, lambing is usually easy and this hardy breed can live outside except in very wet or exceptionally stormy weather.The Ouessant can be kept on a smaller acreage than other breeds, but they must be moved regularly to to avoid the build up of intestinal worms or other parasites.The original breed of Ouessant sheep existed purely on the Isle of Ouessant until the start of the 20th century. The inhabitants spun and wore the wool for their clothes.There were originally two lines of Ouessant, the Morbihan and the Vendeen, that eventually merged. The Morbihan was of a small size and black, brown or white in colour. The Vendeen was taller, only black with impressive horns.Some people suggest that the Ouessant breed descended from a Viking breed carried on board the ships and left behind on conquered lands.The Ouessant sheep were kept on the Island until the mid 1900’s. The breed almost disappeared and was saved from extinction by a group of Aristocrats, who allowed the sheep to graze on the land surrounding their chateaux.

Sunday saw a visit to a children's farm where Lucy was in her element feeding the lambs. Then relaxing in the rain back at Highfield.

We now look forward to Robin's arrival from down under to be joined on Saturday by Andy! With everything crossed for some sunshine or at least dry times August has arrived like Autumn! Terrible wet rain that has soaked the ground and effected tourist visitors. We hope that Robin and Andy can stay awhile and see some of the Yorkshire Dales in that elusive sunshine before they resume their travels thoughout Europe for three weeks!

Farmer Frazier

Sure he is destined to be as Frazier likes nothing more than being outside, mucky and in the thick of the work action, helping his dad Paul and grandad George, of late laying our concrete paths around the house in time for Elaine's do!
That went well and pictures are great with an article in the Craven Herald this week. So we move on with the next major diary date the visit to Robin and Andy at the beginning of August! Really looking forward to seeing Robin again as we have not visited down below since 2006!
Thankfully the weather seems to pciking up again but the temperatures will not be a welcome for Robin!

Birthday applause

People have been very kind about Elaine's birthday with cards, letters and words of appreciation. Just shows the greater side of village life here in Austwick.
One of the intended objectives seems to have been achieved, Elaine having few calling in to wish her all the best for her century. Last year folk were still visiting after two weeks which was enjoyable but a little wearisome for her.
Back to routine with George and Paul moving the marquee and Frank winning the bonus ball of £60 at the Game Cock!

Family Visitors

Before all the excitement of a 100th birthday bash, Kathleen and Mary, Frank's niece and sister came down from Scotland for a few days. The weather was not brilliant but it did not stop us getting out and about!
Once again dinner at the Game Cock was excellent as well shopping in Settle, Boundary Mill but rain stopped us wandering the market in Skipton.
We look forward to their promised return in November!

Message from the Queen

This time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for Elaine special birthday! Here with her niece, Maggie, sharing that special moment! I think it looks very touching!
So now a few days of chilling until Robin and Andy appear for Robin's 60th birthday jaunt all over Europe!
Our last visit to down under was in 2006 so we are looking forward to offering some hospitality as well as Robin bringing some sunshine with him!

100 not out!

Elaine's birthday was a successful event with over 80 of her friends, neighbours and of course her niece Maggie, supporting her throughout the day. The children from Austwick C of E Primary School came along to sing "Happy Birthday", play their musical instruments and present Elaine with a wonderful hand made card. Our garden party, with the rain missing, was enjoyed, with it hitting the right note so that Elaine now can relax knowing she does not need to go through it all again until 105 when she will next get a card from the monarch!
Here is the gang after everyone was fed and watered! From left to right, Doogie, Bill, Frank, yours truly, Rod and Barrie. Thanks to them all for their hard work! I don't know about them but I was knackered, although we did escape to the Game Cock for a post party meeting!

Halle at Giggleswick

The rain and I do mean serious wet stuff, poured from the sky all day and we suspected cancellation of the Halle at Giggleswick School would have been cancelled. it was not and we were so pleased! It was not an excellent event it was a memorable stupendous event to mark the school's 500 anniversary! The concert  featured soprano Sarah Fox, tenor Barry Banks and baritone Sir Thomas Allen.The event, was rounded off with a spectacular fireworks display, celebrates 500 years of education in this dramatic Yorkshire setting and the concert performed on playing fields next to the site of the first school, founded in 1512. The programme of light classical, musical theatre and operatic favourites, had been compiled by the concert’s Musical Director, James Burton and included works by Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, Handel and Bernstein, building to the rousing 1812 Overture complete with spectacular fireworks finale.The Hallé is the 4th oldest symphony orchestra in the world and Britain’s oldest.They and the soloists were joined onstage by a youth choir from Giggleswick Junior School and by the Giggleswick Choral Society. Sir Tim Rice introduced the evening, paying tribute to his "Countdown" friend Richard Whiteley OBE who died in June 2005 but who lives on at the local theatre based at the school. An invigorating and memorable evening!

Our holiday!

Not far to travel, just next door looking after Bailey (the dog) and Richard Parker (the cat) while Anne and George were attending a weding down in Shropshire. RP kept bring home some livestock as a present, mainly mice with Bailey refusing to leave the house in the torential rain, who could blame him! Lindsay and Rick's home is flooded once again, as they live near Austwick beck. As they are away too neighbours rallied round with pumping still going on! Weather is due to imrpove so everything crossed for the weekend, we have a full house with people overflow at Anne and George's for the Halle at Giggleswick! Not much fun standing in a field getting wet on the outside even if the music is going to be outstanding! Ready for the first visitors arriving today, so again hoping for some sunshine. George and Paul are going to try and complete the pathways arouns the house as long as the weather holds! Celebrating Frank's belated 65th birthday this coming Wednesday with having family here, off to the Game Cock! What a week and next week too!

Happy Birthday!

Sixty-Five has arrived for Frank! Recent picture taken after the Austwick Street Market where everyone got together for the Diamond Jubilee. Hope that this grand age will help Frank come to terms with "village life" and reflect on working years with joy. Naturally the only way to celebrate is a trip to Gala at Morecambe and dinner at the Game Cock, might put the latter on hold until next week when his sister and niece are in residence. Thankfully another sunny day before the forecast rain ones! Into the garden to get the borders done! Ah well! Happy Retirement!

Catch up

My how time does fly! Frank faces his 65th birthday tomorrow (20th June) and it has been such a busy time here with the Street Market, friends visiting and plans for the Halle at Giggleswick, Elaine's 100th birthday garden party with us, plus the return visit of Frnak's sister Mary and his neice Kathleen! Also we are still dog walking and sitting in at Springfield looking after Bailey this week!
The Street Market was a sucess with Bill, Barrie and Frank selling "stuff" and raising £255.77 for the event! Afterward we had a "Jacob's Join" on the village green which really showed the community spirit associated with the day. The picture is of the "Flaming Olympian" Joyce's cuckoo created by, we you can guess! it got second prize! We were shocked and will talk about it for the rest of the year! The day itself raised nearly £8k for use in Austwick. More news on the website http://www.austwick.org/
We now look foward to "Bailey Watch" while Anne & George are away to a wedding! So news of that on the next blog!

Dogging for beginners!

It was with great pleasure that we looked after Gillon while Jess and Paul were having a well earned break in Paris! Starting with a couple of "sleep-overs" then a three day stay, the labrador retriever was a delight, giving me an excuse to learn about dog training using the techniques written about by Jan Fennell. "The Dig Listener" was recommened by Anne, who knows about these things and is herself someone who inspects homes for rescue animals. Jan Fennell's methods are based on insights into the psychology of dogs which she developed from observing wolves. Her suggestions are so simple that, as a dog owner for many years, I thought they could not possibly work. I was so wrong that I was amazed. Within days my two labradors were so much more relaxed and better behaved that I experienced a fresh delight in keeping dogs.I leanrned that the way we instinctively treat dogs, based on human perspectives, is against the best interests of the dog. What we perceive as being kind is often, to the dog, a source of anxiety. Much - indeed most - dog care and training is really anti-dog because we have never taken the trouble to understand the true nature of the animal. So totally got me but sadly Frank did not want to know - must find a book that works on him!

Sadness but with some proud moments

Denise Candlin left us on 24th January after a short illness. The village rallied around and her family funeral was an appropriate tribute for a women who had touch so many lives. It was a honour to be there.

Taken at the Halloween Party last year Denise did such a great deal for those around her and she will very much be missed. Her two sons gave moving tributes and Peter moved amongst the gathered hundreds just being Peter!

We were pleased that our invite for the Burns' Supper was accepted and hoped that it helped cope with some of the pain! I don't mean the haggis! This was read as a part of the tributes:

The Dash Poem!
I read of a man who stood to speak,

At the funeral of a Friend.

He referred to the dates on this tombstone,

From beginning ….to the end.

He noted that first, came his date of birth,
And spoke the following tears.
But he said what mattered most of all,

Was the dash in between those years.

For the dash represents,

All the time he spent alive on earth.

And how only those who loved him,

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars, the house, the cash,

What matters most is how we live and love,

And how we spend our dash …

So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough,

To consider what is true and real.

And always try to understand,

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more,

And love the people in our lives,

Like we’ve never loved before.If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile …

Remembering that this special dash,

Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read,

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

And how your spent your dash?

By Linda Ellis

Janey Buchan Passes On

I knew Janey Buchan in her role of patron of Outright Scotland, a strident supporter of gay rights in Scotland and beyond. A former MEP and anti-apartheid campaigner Janey was the partner of Norman and mother of Alasdair.

However she was a Scottish Labour Party member so a leader for many. When Janey became a patron for Outright Scotland it was at a time when gay rights were not at the forefront of political values or agendas. Janey was a consistent fighter for those facing prejudice in any of its forms. Oh how we need a Janey Buchan today!