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So yesterday I was playing squash and I in my shandy drinking way was chatting next to the bar after the game. The subject of what I do for a living was brought up and skillfully avoided, but it did lead the conversation on to why the Leyburn Leisure Club (where I had been playing [...]

Wednesday 11th June was the annual North Riding Dales LVA Charity Bike Ride through Wensleydale which took place in characteristic spirit. The idea is to cycle between Leyburn and Hawes in order to raise money for good causes. The participants cycle updale and downdale on alternate years. This year was the more difficult uphill struggle [...]

Living in Wensleydale we see a lot of sheep. Behind our house there are some very tame texels meaning that we can get some fairly decent close-ups. The little lambs are taking it easy these days – the sheep equivalent of teenagers. Lazing around in the balmy sunshine – a welcome break after their introduction [...]

Hardraw waterfall is the tallest single drop, above ground, waterfall in England. It is also the waterfall under which Kevin Costner’s bum double swam in front of Maid Marion in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The naked swim scene is famed for being the moment when Maid Marion first sees her future husband. The waterfall [...]

There’s often much politically incorrect talk of the “Housewife’s Choice” in betting around big events like the Grand National -that is, people who don’t normally bet and so go for the pretty grey horses. Click here for a list of the greys running in the 2008 Grand National. I’m all for silly strategies as I [...]

Here’s the view from the bottom of Wensleydale – Canada geese in the warm green fields along with sheep, against a backdrop of snowy hills. This was taken whilst on a run from West Witton to Wensley through the Bolton Estate over Lord’s Bridge. The beauty of this route is that it almost entirely off-road [...]

Since moving into “the Dale” there have been a few adjustments -not least because we have just moved back from Australia, but also because I hail from a slightly more urban area of Yorkshire. I was slightly confused when the local bus arrived with a Royal Mail emblem on the side only to recall an [...]

We have just moved into Wensleydale and, after a year in Australia, have had snow, frost and freezing fog in the last two weeks. I’m not complaining though. The whole area is very beautiful and especially cosy in the cold weather. Everyone has toasty open fires and there’s always a pub just a stone’s throw [...]

The Dalesman’s Club, is a wonderful place which exists in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, UK, in a town near where I grew up. It is a social club, complete with snooker tables, cheap drinks, jackpot machines and a large screen beaming out Sky Sports. Being, as I am, in Australia, I can’t get there. And also, [...]

Last week we bought the tickets. They cost a few pounds. Flying to Melbourne on the 8th December from Gatwick. I’m pretty excited. In fact, I’ve not been this excited for… ever. A one-way ticket, few funds and no plans add to the mix: I am fairly nervous. My only real worry is that I’ll [...]