Howden Minster visit

Last Saturday  I was at Eastrington show, sitting behind our stall, displaying and selling old photos and honey. It was a good day, hot outside but cool enough in the village hall where our stall was and - as an added bonus - we were able to buy a very good bacon sandwich for £2.

Our eggs won first prize too - but since then we have lost another hen to a visiting fox.  Very upsetting to see the evidence. We think our hens are not frightened of a fox as they are so used to Molly. So until we can be sure the fox is not going to come again the remaining birds are confined to quarters with large heaps of green weeds to compensate.

On Tuesday afternoon we visited Howden Minster. The students from my Howden and Goole WEA history classes joined together along with a few friends and we looked in real life at the building we had studied over the winter months.

There is so much to see and the church members - Hazel, Maynard and Dave could not have been more helpful. Gilbert Tawn, a member of my Goole class has produced a small booklet about the MInster stained glass while another student, Pauline has been looking at the hatchments in the Saltmarshe chapel. We were able to walk outside in the ruined choir

and a few intrepid people climbed the tower. I  made it to the top some years ago but this time decided that I would stop at the ringing chamber. The spiralling stone staircase was obviously designed for longer legs than mine!!

The photo above was taken the morning after the fire in 1929. We were initially puzzled as the window shown is clearly not the one there today. But then we read that a few days later all the glass fell out and a completely new window was put in.

It has been a historical week as on Friday night I went with some friends to Harswell church near Holme on Spalding Moor. The church is very small and down a long track and this was a fundraiser to repair the uneven floor tiles.  We listened to fascinating talk about the history of the church and village given by historian David Neave. And the canapés afterwards were good - although it was a bit chilly.

Now looking forward to more rural pursuits such as dog walking.