Stocks Reservoir - CCG Birdwatching Trip

Look out - We're landing!

 A big thank you to Gerald Light who led the Craven Conservation Group trip to Stocks Reservoir on Saturday 29 January 2011

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

We saw Cormorant, Greylag Geese, Pintail, Goosander , Widgeon, Teal, Long-tailed tits, Siskin and more..

I am pleased with my Lumix TZ10 camera - It takes wide angles and telephoto and in close-up pictures it can focus on the object, not the background.

And here are some birds on feeders close to the hide

Bluetit on feeder near the hide

Long-tailed Tit

 But back to my favourite -these tree Canada geese flew in, and the two already lazing in the water had to scoot!

You can see a list of Craven Conservation Groups events at www.craven-conservation-group.org.uk
Why not join us?

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Barn Dance - a great success

How many people came to the Barn Dance on Saturday 15th?

Well the Elizabeths and Mary  cooked 81 potatoes.

I counted 12 potatoes left before people came for seconds - that makes 69 people at the meal.

You can see 64 people in the picture.. A few left before the meal, one couple to escape flooded roads.

Annie Park, the caller from Kendal, is a Scottish Country Dancing teacher. She showed us some excellent easy dances. 14 people came from Scottish Dancing classes in Settle and Ingleton came and three people came from the English Country Dancing group at Langcliffe. She kept us on our feet dancing all the time..

To continue the Scottish flavour, it being only 10 days away from Burns night, I and Michael Cullingworth processed in, with me carrying haggis and neaps (including veg haggis) and Michael reading Burns' poem.

Just before the beginning of the dance, just as people were arriving and we then only had about 40 people, I asked everyone

"Go and find a person you don't know - at all, and ask them their name, where they come from and ask them to tell you one interesting thing about themselves."

Whilst one or two people groaned at this, most took it up enthusiastically -

.. so we each learned a new person's name. I recommend it.

We served Cool Earth Coffee - I never had time to announce it - but people enjoyed the coffee. And I put the Greetings cards out in the adjacent "primary room" and a few people enjoyed looking at them and 3 bought some, but most were too busy dancing.

A big thanks to the Elizabeths and Mary for  cooking the chili, chili veg and mince,  and to all the people from different churches who brought deserts - from pavlova to trifle to gateaux to shortbread.. and to the helpers who blew up the balloons, collected the money, sold the tickets beforehand.

We raised £109.06   for the Rainforest Fund and £109.06 for Churches Together

If you wish to try out a Scottish dancing class we meet at 7.30pm each Thursday evening - except February 3rd when there is no class. Annie Park will be taking the classes for a few weeks.- .

Barn Dance tonight in Aid of Rainforest Fund and Churches Together in Settle

Tonight we are holding a barn dance in joint aid of the Rainforest Fund and Churches Together in Settle.
The caller will be Annie Park from Kendal. She is nobly teaching our Scottish Country Dancing class whilst Robert Rushton our usual teacher is away. She came this Thursday and is great .. and will keep us in order!

We have been selling tickets and have sold just over 50 but don't know whether we'll get 50 people or 80.
Elizabeth says that they are catering for 81 - 81 baked potatoes - because that number is divisible by 3:  and there are three cooks - one cooking chili mince, one cooking ordinary mince and one cooking vegetarian chile. I am going to bring some haggis as the dance will have a Scottish flavour, and it is only ten days away from Burns' Night. .

We can also have the Selkirk grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat,
and some wad eat that want it,
but we hae meat and we can eat,
and sae the Lord be thankit.


which apparently was actually in use long before Burns time.

I wonder if I will have chance to play my tape from Ian Walker's record:

Chorus:
Some hae meat and cannae eat
Some would eat that want it
But we hae meat and we can eat
Sae let the Lord be thankit

From my armchair window on this world
Before my eyes appearing
Foods for breakfasts, dinners, teas
For in between meals feeding

From my armchair window on this world
I see butter mountains rising
And fish thrown back into the sea
And leaders compromising

And then I see one bowl of rice
A child's eye staring at me
With feeble bones life never owned
Reaching out to touch me

Just down the road a million miles
Our children they are crying
Too weak to eat they've got no meat
They spend their living dying

(as sung by Ian Walker)

You can here some people singing it here

Happy New Year - Ripon Cathedral Watch Night Service

 I attended the Watch night service at the Ripon Cathedral - well almost Watchnight Service - we actually left the cathedral at 11.45 in time to walk up to the Market Square for Midnight.

The New Year is a very special time - time to make resolutions - so I am happy to attend a watchnight service.

The Cathedral is Old - The Saxon Crypt was built in the 600s but the Much of the church you see today dates from the 12th century, though most of the nave was substantially rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries.

When these walls were built the dodo still happily roamed Mauritius (- Dodo- discovered 1598, extinct by 1681.)

but on the other hand we didn't have potatoes to eat in this country!!

 The cathedral was packed - I knew to attend very early to get a good seat. I sat next to a group that had come in from Leyburn 20 miles away and to another group that had a visitor from Philadelphia.

The Dean invited us to invite more friends next year so that we could have double the attendance

I only took the pictures as people were leaving.

During the prayers we  had lit our candles




Then we processed out of the cathedral

I was reminded of earlier in the month when the ground was white with snow







Here is a picture I took before the service with the hornblower (Actually a friend standing in for the regular hornblower who was on holiday) waiting at the Town Hall to accompany the mayor to the cathedral. The hornblower has been blowing his horn at 9pm, on the Square and at the Lord Mayor's House for many 100s of years -- (Well he was blowing it in 1943 as evidenced by this Pathe News video)

The market pace was full of people. Just before midnight, the Bishop and then the Lord Mayor came to the Town Hall balcony. We counted down to midnight.
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.  And cheered.

The Fireworks were let off.

Happy 2011 everyone.

Deschampsia cespitosa - Tufted Hair-grass

Tufted Hair-grass in  road verge;

Grass of the Month

There are several mentions of "grasses" in the Christmas story in the Bible and I shall list them at the end of this blog article.

However Tufted Hair-grass, or Deschampsia cespitosa is not found in Israel - rather it is a plant of northern  places of countries around the North Pole. ... where Father Christmas lives, with his reindeer and it grows on clay damp soils.

I chose Tufted Hair-grass for this month because it is a big grass which the cattle and sheep avoid eating, and there are still tussocks of it left.. and because it is one of the easiest grasses to identify vegetatively.

(And because I took some photos in November before the snow arrived in December) the picture on the right was taken on 25-11-2008 and has Ingleborough in the background.

Winskill Stones Reserve in 16 June 2009

In summer, in areas of low grazing, the  animals selectively go for the surrounding grass leaving the tussocks standing proud. Low grazing can thus increase the abundance of this plant. This is what is happening on the right at Winskill Stones Nature Reserve.

However now the animals are hungry and they are eating it down.

Winskill Stones Reserve in 16 June 2009

Deschampsia cespitosa likes deep clay soils. It can swamp out smaller species.

 There are lots of fun things to look out for on the plant.

Six easy-peasy ways to identify Tufted Hair-grass:

1.  Extremely strong ribs on the leaves. 
2. Green and white stripes on the blades when you hold a blade to the light. The ribs are green and the grooves between the ribs are colourless and let the light through, so you see green and white stripes.
3. Very rough blades if you trail your finger down the blade.There are tiny silica hooks on the blades which can cut you.
4. Very long ligules -  1/2 cm to 1 1/2 cm long
5. Beautiful big silvery panicles. the culm can be up to 1.5m tall.
6. Tufted or even tussocky clumps.

All these features make it easy to identify. 

Tussock of Tufted Hair-grass at Foxglove Covert 25 Nov 2010

                                                       -------------------------------------

                                           Excerpts from Christmas Readings

Genesis 3 v 17 and 18 - Living Bible

God said to Adam... ".. Because you ate the fruit..  I have placed a curse upon the soil. All your life you will struggle to extract a living from it.  It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat its grasses (other versions plants/ herbs/grains)

Isaiah 37 v7

The parched ground will become a pool, with springs of water in the thirsty land. Where desert jackals lived, there will be reeds and rushes!

Luke 2 v7
Mary laid Jesus in a manger
- The manger would contain straw or hay or other animal food

Luke 2 v 8
Shepherds were in the fields, guarding their flocks of sheep.

Matthew 2 v 11
The Kinkgs gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh
Although not  grasses, both Frankincense and Myrrh are plants which are now on the IUCN Red Data endangered species list. Both myrrh and frankincense grow as small trees or shrubs; they are of the botanical family Burseraceae. 


    ---------------------------------------

Well that's twelve grasses for 2010!

Next year (less than 48 hours away) we shall start on another twelve.

           All the best for 2011

And may you learn 12 new grasses in 2011.

Cool Earth Coffee and Christmas Day Community Lunch at Settle

 A big thank you to everyone who came to the Settle Community Christmas Lunch because we all contributed to its success.





The lunch, held in the Methodist Church Hall was open to everyone living around Settle and we advertised it in the Craven Herald and on posters on local notice boards, and earlier in this blog.
Eleven of us came for the full meal - plus two people who came to cook and then went to help at another Christmas Meal - so that made the 13 that we expected. Then two extra groups of three who called in during the afternoon, one group helped wash up and all six people enlivened the proceedings.

My biggest Thank you goes to Ken and Angela - If they had not been keen about helping organise the meal I could not have done it myself - and especially to Ken who I discovered enjoyed organising and doing most of the cooking. It gave me the chance on Christmas morning to attend Langcliffe round the tree carol singing and the Christmas Service at St John's Church. The three of us enjoyed planning and buying materials for the meal beforehand.

We wished more people would have come - and I had tried hard with publicity-  but the late start in organising it may have prevented some people from coming. However having a small group meant that we could all get to know each other better - and we all counted!!

I would encourage individuals elsewhere to think of organising such an event.

The people who came were all so grateful that the event took place - Just the thanks that some people gave me beforehand that we were doing it.. It would have been worth doing the whole meal if only for that... I realise now it gave us all something to look forward to.
 Discovering people's backgrounds when we talked on the day was a real insight - an insight that I could not have predicted when planning the meal.



After the meal, we had a round when everyone was invited to say if they wished,  where they were born.
Then we read poems or articles that people had brought in - people had enjoyed bringing something. Then we sang carols. "Pass the parcel" was cut this year to a "lucky dip" choice of wrapped present from a bag. Then Christmas Cake, mince pies and Wensleydale cheese.

But it is because we ALL came is what made it so good for each other. So Thank you!

And an event on this blog at this time would not be complete without a jar of Cool Earth coffee - reminding people to support Care of the RainForests -

Happy Christmas - Snow scene near Settle

Happy Christmas to all Readers. Enjoy these best of my Winter photos in December 2010. I displayed some of these on the church hall notice board. Right is a tree near "Spinning Jenny" between Gargrave and Hetton.

Below was 6th December at Lower Winskill.

Below again is the view from a friend's window in Settle.

And below that again is above Stainforth on 5th December, looking above Helwith Bridge Quarry above Foredale towards Ingleborough

Settle Community Christmas Day Lunch - Do come if you live near Settle

25th Dec 2010 - St John's Methodist Church Hall, Settle BD24 9JH

Christmas Day Lunch
(A similar event is arranged for 2015 - and this year  50 people are expected!!! -still space for a few more)

Coffee 11.45am and lunch at 12.30 

Afterwards (optional) light party games and carols, followed by tea

A special invitation is given to old people and to people living by themselves, and also to people where there will just be two or three people together. If you need transport, please request a lift.

And a special invitation to people who had planned to go away but get stuck at Settle due to bad weather!!

People of ALL AGES welcome.

Picture of last year's event
This year there will be both old people and younger
people -so come whatever age you are

Volunteers, helpers, drivers, participants, people needing lifts - all very welcome and should contact Judith Allinson or Ken and Angela Barton ...Email

Anticipated cost between £5-00 and £8-00 - We will run it on a part organised, part Jacobs Join (Bring and share) basis

Please get in touch as soon as possible to offer help and to contribute ideas on activities during the lunch or book.   It is for people of ALL AGES .

This is following on from the splendid lunch under the banner of Age Concern lunch run by Margaret Holgate and Jean Carr but they are not able to run it again this year so we are starting from (almost) scratch, and running it as a Community Lunch.

Please tell other people who you think might be interested. Email for more details, or to book.

We start with coffee at 11.45am - Cool Earth Coffee! - one jar saves on rainforest tree.

Here is a picture of last year's event - this year there will be both old people and younger people - so come whatever age you are..

This morning Ken and Angela and I planned the food and  then went into the Hall to plan the event.

Afterwards I took photos of Settle:-

Here's Settle Methodist Church looking through an arch of the Settle Carlisle Railway line. The Church Hall is on a side alley left of the van with the black window.

And here is the Church Hall seen from Castleberg Flagpole

Here is the same picture but wide angle - can you see the hall - it is a third in from the left and a third up from the bottom.

 Castleberg cliff seen from Settle Christmas tree - my car is next to it.

The moon was rising as I drove home - the white line above the sheep is the Settle Carlisle Line

Ribblehead Station Carols 2010 and Cool Earth Coffee

The annual Ribblehead Station Carol Service (N Yorks)  took place this Thursday 9th December with slightly reduced numbers due to the potentially foggy and snowy conditions. We rush out and sing for the passengers on the 5.42 train as it stops on its journey from Carlisle south to to Settle and Leeds.

The vicar from St Leonard's Church in Chapel le Dale organised the readings

The picture shows some of the carol singers enjoying  Cool Earth coffee - 

(The sale of one jar saves one rainforest tree)

We also had hot punch and mince pies.

We raised £29 for the Children's Society

Right: one piano accordion in its case on Ribblehead Platform before going home

Settle Telephone Box Star

This is the telephone box in Settle next to the Cenotaph. Churches Together in Settle now rent it from the Council. We hope to follow the example of Gallery on the Green  in upper Settle which maintain the telephone box there as an art gallery.

The star started shining ready for Settle Lights-On on Saturday 27 November. Inside there are some of the cards listing the Christmas time services of all the churches in Settle.

I hope we may get some positive involvement of the people/children in the neighbouring Northfields estate

Same pictures but bigger:

And here are pictures of the Gallery on the Green in Upper Settle taken on 14th November. They have an excellent exhibition about 3D photography