WEA celebration day at The Lowther

Yesterday I joined students and tutors at The Lowther Hotel in Goole for a celebration get- together and tour of the famous murals. There were around 50 of us from classes held in Goole, Snaith, Howden and Eastrington.

 I have been teaching local history classes for the WEA for over 30 years and many of my students have become good friends.  We all enjoyed a buffet, had our pictures taken and were then taken on a tour  by owner Howard Duckworth who, with his wife Julie, has restored new Goole's first ever building from near dereliction into a prestigious hotel.

Today was Pentecost and we went to church. The day is often also known as Whit Sunday and the following day, Whit Monday was traditionally a holiday. Villages and towns had processions and everyone wore new clothes.

 It was a lovely hot sunny day and I spent the afternoon gardening. My broad beans are not doing well but the greenhouse tomatoes are romping away.

All the time I was outside I heard the incessant call of a cuckoo in nearby woods. It seemed a timeless sound.

Newport (Yorkshire) new bridge

I have recently been looking at some fascinating pictures of the bridge at Newport showing it with several steam rollers parked on top of it. I was not sure of the date and looked it up using the newly available newspaper search site where you can look up articles in the Hull Mail.

As soon as I realised that the Hul Mail newspaper was available I took out a subscription as there is so much information to be found about East Yorkshire, including Goole [of course Goole used to be part of the West Riding of Yorkshire].

Anyway, I found the reference which told me all I needed to know. Have a look at the extract which appeared on September 17th, 1930.

There is not much to say about gardening at the moment. It remains cold and I have taken a risk by planting out my broad beans. They were growing leggy in the greenhouse but I hope the move to the cold wet soil will not be too traumatic and that they will get going!

There is a rumour that it might be warmer next week. I do hope so.

Family history day

I spent yesterday at the family history day at Goole Waterways Museum. Sadly we did not have many visitors. Some people, who had come for a boat ride round the docks, wandered around the stalls but, along with the Boothferry History group, the Isle of Axholme family history group and the Marshland history group, I was in a room down a short corridor and so few general visitors  found us.

This, we all felt, was a pity as there was a lot of information on display and we were all there keen to help family historians but there had not been much publicity for the event and I do not think local people knew it was taking place.

Those of us manning the stalls in the main already knew each other and so we had some pleasant conversation but looking out at the sunshine I felt I might have been more profitably been doing some gardening!!

I had my new DVDs on display - 5 compilations of Goole pictures [ about 30 on each disc] covering the shipyard and launches, ships visiting Goole, the docks, the railways and the town. I shall be putting more information about them on my website.

Below is  one of the more 'modern' pictures from the ship disc showing the paddle steamer Lincoln Castle visiting Goole in, I think, 1976. I remember going on the trip and looking at the engines as they thudded their way along the Ouse.

Lincoln Castle visiting Goole

Country notes

I have just been looking in my greenhouse where my seed potatoes are looking very wizened and sickly.  It just never seems to stop raining at the moment. The plot where the potatoes are going is rotovated and ready for them but we never seem to get a dry spell which coincides with my having a bit of spare time.

At least we now have plenty of logs to keep us warm in this miserable weather. Robert came last weekend and sawed down  two dead elms and some elder bushes. Locally they are always referred to as 'bottery' bushes or 'blummin ole bottery' and grow like weeds. They take their dialect name from the phrase 'bore tree' as when they are dried out the centre becomes hollow and in country areas the smaller trunks were sometimes used as simple water pipes.

As I was outside looking at the trees I heard the cuckoo - once so common but now quite rare. My mother always quoted the rhyme,

 'The cuckoo comes in April and sings its song in May.
 In the middle of June it changes its tune and in July it flies away'.

This is a very old rhyme but possibly less popular today as fewer people hear this evocative sound and thus have no opportunity to quote the verse.

In the meantime I am working on making DVDs of some of my old photographs so that even those without computers can look at old pictures of Goole, Howden and the surrounding areas. They will be for sale at £5 each, initially at the family history day at the Goole Waterways museum on Sunday [13th May].

Goole boxing pictures

I was contacted by a friend who had read my previous post about the Smithson family of Goole. She was particularly interested in the fact that at least two of the family were well-known boxers and has sent two pictures of Sam Smithson.

She has also sent me some  other pictures of local boxers which were taken by Goole photographers but as yet we do not know who they all are. The only other Goole boxer I have any knowledge of was called Joe Carroll  but I would not know whether he is pictured here.

Tommy Gilchrist on the right and officials

Goole boxer

Another Goole boxer

Sam Smithson

Lance Corporal Eric Lawton KOYLI

Sam Smithson and man in suit

 If you can help identify any of these men do please get in touch.