Bank Newton (ringlets are out)

Whilst having breakfast on Wednesday I had noticed that ringlets were emerging, yet another sign that summer is here.  They were all feeding on thistles low down in the long grass, so it was difficult to get a decent picture.

Our first ringlet of the year - na bit hidden but you can see the eyespots after which it is named

Wednesday morning was spent in an NHS meeting discussing Dad’s care needs which, in turn, dictates the level of funding he can receive.  The ridiculous thing about it was, that if they felt his funding should be reduced, then a further meeting would need to be held with a social worker present.  OK, so that’s maybe not too ridiculous, but the wait for a social worker is between six and 12 months!  The money that the NHS must be wasting on overfunding is what is really ridiculous ☹

My brother Richard, who had come down for the meeting, had to get a train back to Scotland in the early afternoon, so we didn’t get to spend much time with him, but at least we had had a good alcoholic night on an alcohol-free day.

In the late afternoon we walked down to Gargrave to see Clive & Jenny who were moored a couple of locks out of the village.  John & Jayne joined us too; they are good friends of Clive & Jenny and we had met them at Foulridge a week or so ago.  Coincidentally it was an alcohol-free day for all three couples but, fortunately, all three couples relax that rule if socialising 😉  

Thursday promised to be even hotter, so we took it easy and just had a gentle six mile walk down to and around East Marton.  Just before we left I heard oystercatchers flying over for the first time since being here.  Strangely they now seem to be flying and calling around here constantly.  Another bird with a beautiful call.

I’ve mentioned before that Buddy finds it difficult getting water from this canal as the banks are generally very high but it doesn’t stop him trying:

We’re sure he’ll fall in one day

East Marton is a very small village and has a Norman church where we had our picnic lunch as the churchyard afforded plenty of shade.  Buddy was very excited to be going into the graveyard.

 

We couldn’t look around the church as, surprisingly, it was locked.

The windows in the bell tower seemed out of proportion to the bulky tower itself

 

The sundial was working well but it seems the brass numerals had been removed 😊  The date on the sundial is 1714 so is about 600 years younger that the church!

  

Whilst having lunch we chatted about the effect the building of canals must have had on villages that they passed through.  They would have been invaded by hundreds of navvies who, I believe, were often treated like some people treat travellers today.  By the same token, there would have been temporary work available to the locals too.

Looking back at the church as we walked back to the canal

We passed a delightful looking pub which was, oddly, closed on Thursdays and Fridays.  We wondered if it was to do with the hire boat trade and those are the least likely days they would be passing.

The Abott’s Harbour

On our walk back, we were accompanied by countless common blues, meadow browns and ringlets which was a delight.  The grass is now baked brown and we realised that we haven’t seem rain since the 3^rd May when we were moored in Stoke on Trent.