Current Weather at Strickley

Friday, 9 January 2015

Old technology and new resources

Well not really old technology as it seems to be experiencing a bit of a renaissance. I've always had a record player, or Turntable as it's usually called now. I think it would be 1961 when I got my first one for either Christmas or Birthday (or maybe combined, though my parents were not as cruel as someone who bought me one flipper for my Birthday and left me to guess what I would get for Christmas four days later).

This was the latest must have music player, as you could stack up to six records on the spindle, and they dropped down and played one by one. It saved you having to swap records every two or three minutes (songs were shorter then). It wasn't a perfect system as sometimes two would clatter down at once. But I could play the records I'd bought with Record Tokens or hard earned Saturday job money. At the time I was a shop girl in Currys, who not only sold electricals (radios etc) but bikes and toys. I think I got 2/6 an hour. So an eight hour day earned me £1. Singles were then 6/8 so if I felt like splurging out I could buy three. Or save up for an EP at 10/6, or an LP at over a £1.

Even then I never threw anything out, so we still have a lot of Sixties singles. By the Seventies married life and children meant there was less disposable income and I only bought occasional LPs (or albums as there were beginning to be called).

We now had a flashier looking record player (but you could only load one record at a time), with the ubiquitous teak finish.Eventually we "moved on" to cassette tapes (I still have a large collection of course) and eventually CD's. In fact I bought a CD (The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel) just before we bought a CD player. This was not just a CD player, but a complete system - twin cassettes, FM/AM radio, 6 CD changer and of course a turntable. We bought a smart (pine this time) cabinet to put it all in - one that had room for all the records as well. It started off at Over Bleaze and has moved via the Strickley kitchen to the sitting room.

When we decorated (and knocked out a window to make a new door to get the new settees in last year) we reconnected all the bits and pieces and speakers and checked it out. Of course it still worked (no inbuilt obsolescence). The needle didn't seem too good, so I checked the manual for the model number (never throw manuals away), and used the new resources (re the Blog title) and found a supplier on Ebay. Three days later it was good as new.

We don't play records very often, but I like to know we can. I bought a new "Vinyl" copy of an album  at a gig last October, and at Christmas bought Henry a sought after album that never made it to CD. So as we were  taking down the decorations I got that one out to play. But maybe because we had been ignoring it for a few months, the turntable didn't turn. But with the aid of the Troubleshooting in the manual - and Ebay - we got a new belt and last night had a Shadows EP blasting out (it was the first one that came to hand).

Sorry - it's turned into a bit of a self indulgent ramble - but on a wet and windy day there's not much farming to report on.

And P.S - if anyone wants to offload old records please let me know. You can even come round and listen to them.

Monday, 5 January 2015

Walling and Wildlife

Henry's brother Arthur is a keen and very good waller. He is on top of all the wall gaps and most days (other activities permitting) he is down the fields working on his own. But not quite on his own. Lately he's had company. It's our own Strickley pheasant that seems to like company. When the stock was out it followed James around as he fed the heifers.
And now Arthur has someone to talk to  . .




New Year - and a promise to keep up the Blog!

It's not that I've had nothing to say, but that I've somehow lost the knack of putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). Often in the middle of the night when I'm lying awake with my mind whirring and refusing to shut down, I compose pithy and witty posts, but come the morning there's always something else to do (at least I think there is).

So what have we been up to lately?

The stock is all inside, so while there is no going round the fields to check on them, there is more to do round the buildings. 225 (at the last count I think) take a lot of feeding, bedding and mucking out.
Twice a day, every day. Including all over Christmas and New Year when when people knock off for a couple of weeks. We do try to have some time off, but that usually means working more in advance. On Christmas Day we got up an hour sooner to have more time off. And in between "doing up" there's plenty to do - muck spreading, hedging etc.

But we've made time to wind down and get away - at least for three separate nights.

Here's a clue as to where Henry and I have been -


Over the past few years we've become quite familiar with budget hotels and can rate them not only on facilities but car parking, distance from venues, deals with taxi firms etc. And views. Few can beat this from our hotel window at Glasgow - just across the river from the Clyde Auditorium.


I don't usually take photographs during gigs, partly because I'm not very good at it, but mainly because I want to enjoy the moment live, not through a viewfinder or screen, but I do like this one quick shot I took of Glenn Tilbrook at The Lowry.


These photos were taken with the camera on my phone, but as I got a new "real" camera for my recent Birthday, I've been practising round the house and yard. So far I've discovered I can snoop on houses over three miles away

and see craters on the moon.

And it's also obvious I'm very shaky. I'm also a fair weather photographer, so expect to see more examples as the weather improves.

And watch out for photos of the new project at Strickley.

More later.

Monday, 15 December 2014

Good News, Bad News

The good news - Claire has passed her driving test.
The bad news? - Rob has a "radial head fracture" (broken elbow)
The good news - he has a chauffeuse!

Saturday, 13 December 2014

Herd Competition

Last night was the Annual Dinner for the North West Regional Association of Shorthorn Breeders. This was a good night held at The Lowther Castle Inn at Hackthorpe. After the meal,as the final raffle tickets were sold, the President of The Shorthorn Society, Neil Madeley gave a short encouraging talk, exhorting us to continue to take every opportunity to publicise  the breed and to register all our animals, The herds had been judged in September by Basil Lawson, and he gave a brief talk of his tour round our region and presented trophies and prize cards to the winners. We returned two cups from last year, and came away with three (plus two raffle prizes), so it was a good night out for us. And in bed just before one in the morning. The alarm at 5.30 seemed far too soon.

Here's the full list of results in the various classes. And apologies - as I copied and pasted a Word document, the formatting may be a bit odd.



NORTH WEST REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SHORTHORN BREEDERS

HERD COMPETITION 2014

JUDGE - BASIL LAWSON

BEST LARGE HERD

1st       Whitchester Herd                             C Hall
2nd     Winbrook Herd                                 G  A & D W Dent
3rd      Brafell Herd                                       J Teasdale & Son
4th      Strickley Herd                                   Messrs Robinson

BEST SMALL HERD

1st       Briscoll Herd                                     Mrs I Coulthard
2nd     Beaconview Herd                            J Handley
3rd      Moorriggs Herd                                 P Armstrong
4th      Irthingelt Herd                                   T Moscrop

BEST YOUNG STOCK (LARGE HERD)

1st       Parton Herd                                      Messrs Hewson
2nd     Winbrook Herd                                 G A & D W Dent
3rd      Brafell Herd                                       J Teasdale & Son
4th      Strickley Herd                                   Messrs Robinson

BEST YOUNG STOCK (SMALL HERD)

1st       Oakthwaite Herd                              M J & J A Dobson
2nd     Moorriggs Herd                                 P Armstrong
3rd      Beaconview Herd                            J Handley
4th      Newpark Herd                                  D Craig

HEIFER IN CALF

1st       Winbrook Vi 143rd                           G A & D W Dent
2nd     Strickley Starbud 54th                     Messrs Robinson
3rd      Tahuna Dewdrop                             D Jackson
4th      Moorriggs Sparkle 7th                     P Armstrong

HEIFER IN MILK

1st       Strickley Goldie 217th                     Messrs Robinson
2nd     Moorriggs Lady Barrington 3rd         P Armstrong
3rd      Beaconview Annabella 3rd              J Handley
4th      Screel Erin 3rd                                 S Wilson

COW HAVING CALVED TWICE

1st       Briscoll Graceful Lady 7th              Mrs I Coulthard
2nd     Winbrook Foggarthorpe Lass 5th G A & D W Dent
3rd      Strickley Starbud 48th                     Messrs Robinson
4th      Brafell Molly 8th                               J Teasdale & Son


PROGENY OF ONE BULL

1st       Bishopsbrae Royal Appeal                        C Hall
2nd     Panorama Aramis                            J Handley
3rd      Winbrook Marmaduke                     G A & D W Dent
4th      Llandovery Jinny's Empire             Messrs Robinson

BEST BULL ON INSPECTION ONLY

1st       Middlebankend Digger                    N Barker
2nd     Brafell Royal Lad                             J Teasdale & Son
3rd      Winbrook Pedro                               G A & D W Dent
4th      Nejay Errol                                        Messrs Robinson

BEST BULL ON INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION

1st       Nejay Errol                                        Messrs Robinson
2nd     Middlebankend Digger                      N Barker
3rd      Winbrook Pedro                                G A & D W Dent
4th      Brafell Royal Lad                               J Teasdale & Son

BEST COW ON INSPECTION ONLY

1st       Winbrook Peeress Rose                 G A & D W Dent
2nd     Strickley Goldie 198th                     Messrs Robinson
3rd      Kenprest Lady Hermione 19th        J Teasdale & Son
4th      Parton Perry Blossom 13th              Messrs Hewson

BEST COW ON INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION

1st       Strickley Goldie 198th                     Messrs Robinson
2nd     Winbrook Peeress Rose                 G A & D W Dent
3rd      Kenprest Lady Hermione 19th        J Teasdale & Son
4th      Parton Perry Blossom 13th              Messrs Hewson

BEST PURE BRED ANIMAL

1st       Kenprest Lady Hermione 19th      J Teasdale & Son
2nd     Dunham Margaret 122nd               Mrs I Coulthard
3rd      Oxton Foggathorpe 677th              T Moscrop
4th      Newpark Barbara                            D Craig

                       









Monday, 8 December 2014

Just a quick note

I know that I've been very lax in Blogging lately (where does the time go?) - but a quick note, and an aide memoire for us, today all the rest of the stock came inside for winter. All the counting, contemplating and calculating worked out as we still have an empty pen!

Wednesday, 3 December 2014