On going north

A visit to Haworth

During a joyful trip north to visit our grandson Luke in Leeds two weeks ago, we were looked after right royally in the Yorkshire Moors home of Dan and Faye, enjoying their generous hospitality of a home-cooked dish, a fine pub meal, and Whitby fish and chips wedged in-between. Returning south, we detoured via Haworth to savour the wild romance of Bronte country from an isolated base at the Silent Inn. Dinner there was first rate, but at breakfast Ann opted for the 'continental' which consisted of a burnt-black croissant followed by fruit. The waitress asked, "what fruit would you like? An apple, a banana or an orange?" Opting for the banana produced a ready-peeled, melancholy piece of fruit, already sliced up and sitting forlornly on its plate. On settling up, the landlord said in his wide Yorkshire accent, "This is't best bit, getting the cheque!" Certainly, it was better than trying to eat Ann's breakfast.

Today I tried to go to Clare to walk the dogs and do a bit of shopping. It was nine a.m. but already the place was packed; the auction was on, Clare market had stalls filling the High Street parking places, and there was a fun-run in the park with paths roped off and the carpark already full, with an early traffic warden issuing tickets like confetti. Walking the dogs would have been impossible, so I went on to Haverhill where the park was deserted - I was the sole dog walker and mine the only car.

On Haworth Moors

Today, too is the Grand National, which holds the same appeal for me and Ann as it does for so many in England, binding the nation as once the Cup Final used to. We carefully chose our horses using a judicious mixture of reading the form, the potential endurance of the mounts, judging the going after the night's rain, the happy resonance of the horse's name to stir some romantic memory, and a helpful pin. I logged onto the Paddy Power website and discovered I still had £38 in credit from last year's race! I don't even know which horse came in to produce this vast win; I certainly didn't think we'd won anything, or I would have gone back to claim it.

So, this meant we could each back our favourites plus a second horse for an outsider interest - and it didn't cost us a penny! Now we can watch the race with double interest, and for longer than it normally takes our lead horses to fall.