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Archive ......Swannie's Blog |
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| 2010 |
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April
Well about time!! 1st sign of sunshine we have had for too long..........
Everyone can just about come out of hibernation now. 8th April
and the sun is out, hurray !!!! The cold weather has just been
too much for lots of shrubs in the garden, and the roads ..
Although the lambs are here and all the blossom seems to be
showing. Lets just hope this warmer weather lasts and lasts
and lasts and we can get out of the house and enjoy it.
Check out the daffs.(Spring has sprung!)
Wendy Swann, April 2010
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February
The lull after the storm.... So all's calm in the little
village of Scackleton, today anyway... We can now see the dry
road again, what a luxury. Although there is more snow forecast
it cant be as bad as last time, (can it)?
The Pantomime was a roaring success, thank goodness, we all
managed to make a few locals and not so locals, laugh. Four
nights, full houses is quite an achievment, thanks to all my
helpers, especially the unseen help, most had a thankyou but
may have missed the odd one like my husband who spent hours
fixing up the lighting.. oops!not that he will ever let me forget
that..... We raised £5000 which we intend to share between
Gilling Village hall refurbishment and our own Hovingham Village
Hall, so that both communities will benefit from our effort.
Check out the pictures. So all we need now is some warm weather
and wait for our beautiful daffs to pop up, they are peeping
now but still on the cold side out there. Roll on spring .
Wendy Swann, February 2010 |
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| 2009 |
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December
What else can you do on a day like this......................
Well December is well and truly here. I’m stuck in, cant
get out of my drive, stupid rear wheel cars...... I suppose
I could wrap a few presents, or even do some housework, naaaaaaa,
I’ll send a few lovely snowy pics to the blog.. Then get
some chestnuts roasting on the open fire - May even go down
to the Carol service and get into the mood, as we are having
supper afterwards and I’m not sure what I have to eat,
as Mr. Tesco WAS supposed to do my Christmas delivery tomorrow..?
I’ll get my wellies on and see how far I get.
The snow is falling quite consistant outside. I really do like
it at this time of the year (when I am ready) and not until.
I’m not quite ready as we couldnt get to the shops last
night as planned, as there hasn’t been any sign of grit.
There’s one thing for certain; I’m going to change
my car for a 4 wheel drive soon as possible! My car hasnt moved
for 4 days. There is a foot of snow on the roof. Well enough
of this.. Have a lovely Christmas everyone and a Happy new Year.
Byeeeeeee. See you at the Panto last week in January!
Wendy Swann. December 2009
November. Well, I suppose you could say that
winter has arrived... as its getting damp and misty and definately
cooler. All the leaves have fallen and are scattered everywhere
leaving the trees quite bare. Bonfire night was a huge success
thanks to Sally organising us all at the last minute,we were
well fed and entertained with a fantastic show of fireworks.
....... The Pantomime is in full swing, so I'm living dreaming
talking panto non stop, but it will all be worth it I'm sure,
when we entertain over 500 people at the end of January with
OUR VERSION OF THE SOUND OF MUSIC?????... thinking of getting
tickets ? hurry up because Saturday is sold out already. They
are available now at Hovingham Stores.(going quickly). Well
I think I'll go light the fire and close the curtains and get
the TV on, as its Come dancing.. X.Factor... I'm a celeb get
me out of here till Christmas (GREAT!!) only 6 weeks till Christmas.
Bye for now W
Wendy Swann November 2009
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October Talk about Indian
Summers... It's been a glorious month. I spent an hour in Malton,
sitting outside, (without my jacket).. it's really been quite
warm, enjoying my coffee, and watching the world go by every
Saturday, waiting for my grandaughter to do her thing... at
Ballet.
The fields are all drilled and sewn all nice and tidy, ready
for winter. The only exciting thing that I'm aware of this month,
was when someones trampoline ended up in the middle of the road
one windy day. But it didnt seem to alarm the Llamas..!! I have
added a few Autumn pics to the photo
gallery.
Wendy Swann October 2009 |
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August and September.
September seems to have been a nice warm dry month, which is
good for the harvest. Our Fayre in August was well attended,
and we managed to pass £500 raised by our hard working
residents of the village on their stalls, BBQ, Teas, Tombola,
Quiz etc.. There could have been more car boots there as it
was a lovely fine day. But, hey ho, its improving every year.
The fancy dress was won AGAIN...by our champion Master John
in his zulu outfit, must have taken days for Sue to get all
the war paint off! Second prize went to Molly Hicks dressed
as a beaurtiful butterfly. Also attending were 2 x Hawaii dancers,
Mr. Bump. Lightening god, Beautician, Cricketer.
Mr.Wainwright and his wife Susan did a great job of judging.
Once again a lot of catching up was done over a scrummy cream
tea. There has been a lot of change with residents in the village
lately, lots of children running around and livening the place
up, thank goodness for our speed limit. The goats went and Llamas
arrived..? (what next).. The great North Run was conquered by
Sally Mathews again. All these fit people running by and cycling,
making me feel very lazy, (but I do have a Pantomime to write).
Watch out for tickets for the end of January. Photos included..
Wendy Swann September 2009
July. Scackleton can now be recognised by the new wall
that leads into the village, re-built by A.O.N.B. how smart
is that? .....With our grass cut to such high standards, things
are really looking up.... Great excitement last Saturday as
the Village people all enjoyed a Safari Supper, 30 tickets were
sold, everyone met at the Church and had instructions where
they would eat their different courses, and ended up all together
at Mr, Firbys house for the Finale~ ..Well done to Sue John
for organising it and hopefully it will be an Annual event.
Our Village Fayre will be held on Sunday 23rd August combined
with a Lazy Car Boot, because it starts at 1pm to give you chance
to empty the attics/garages and leisurely come along and sell
your treasures ..Cream teas, stalls, BBQ, Fancy dress for the
children all help it to be a Family afternoon out. All Welcome
..Lets hope this nice warm weather we have had over the last
month will continue. I have added a few summer views of Scackleton
to the photo album. Thankyou
Wendy Swann July 2009 |
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April.... April just came and went, along
with our beautiful show of daffodills. Now its time for the
bluebells, if you're fortunate to walk through the nearby
woods. Everything is very dry at the moment, as we havnt had
any rain hardly for a month. We have a new contractor cutting
the verges, who seems to be making a great job, soon we will
look as smart as Hovingham! as we are having more cuts this
year. Hurray!! the 30 mph signs have been installed, now the
traffic should slow down a bit through the village. Check
out the pictures...thankyou. W.
Thats all for now. Thank you.
Wendy Swann 26 April 2009
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| ...March....What happened
to February? must have been under a blanket of snow!! Which
leads me nicely to this little spring poem:
Spring is the time when we look for the sun.
To romp and scramble and have lots of fun.
The lambs are all leaping,
The birds are all cheeping,
Busy making a nest for their young.
Out pops the snowdrop, its pearly white head to show,
A after being kept warm all winter by a blanket of snow.
There we are I'm a poet and I didn't even know it. Fits in well
with this time of year I thought.
Back to Scackleton ..Hurray,the roads have dried up after all
that mucky weather. But, the road is left with pot holes like
never before ..In fact the roads and the pavements are really
in need of some T.L.C. shame we are the forgotten village? but
at least our lovely daffs are all ready to bloom, that will
brighten us all up..
Bye
Wendy Swann 13th March 2009
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January............ The
last few months have been a little busy for me and haven’t
had the time to continue the Blog, but, now that the pantomime
is over, I get my life back again. Abbaladdin was staged in
Hovingham Village hall four nights, 7th to 10th January, with
a mixture of people from villages near by in the Cast and in
the Crew. Would not like to pay the wage bill for the amount
of hours spent on rehearsals, painting, building the set etc.
I wanted to do aladdin this year but the cast wanted Abba, so.........Abbaladdin
was born - with sanddancers belly dancers, people (trying )to
sing Abba tunes with the story of Aladdin vaguely running through
it. I really thought a riot had started when Sultan and Sultanna
started to sing the audience participating song. People were
stomping on the floor and booing the opposite side of the hall,
while trying to sing along to the words on the flip chart! Don’t
really know if its a childrens night out, but I think all ages
seem to find something funny in it, ranging from Sir Marcus
Worsley to Jessica, my 6 year old granddaughter. Wine was served
after the show and icecreams in the interval, a great way to
cheer up everyone in the gloomy month of January! Back to Scackleton,
no sign of footpaths, peed limits, or grit? The village nearly
came to a standstill last month in the cold snap - if you havnt
got a 4x4 car you didnt want to risk the ice. Telephone kiosk
is hopefully going to stay after one of our residents offered
to buy it for £1 from BT. We shall carry on hibernating
for a while until our daffs make their appearance. Roll on spring!
Bye
Wendy Swann 22nd January 2009
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October. Scackleton Fayre,
in September, was a huge success, raising £500 for the
church and over 60s. The weather was kind, cold, but at least
it was dry. Fancy dress was won by the John family AGAIN...
Well done Sue. Lots of car boots arrived and lots of bargains
were there to be had. We had a tombola instead of the raffle
that usually takes forever..Mr. White did his usual BBQ..Yummy
burgers and hot dogs. The treasure hunt was won by Mr. Mathews
and the Quiz was won by Michaela Pope. Everyone sat and ate
Mrs Edwards scones and a cuppa, and had chance to catch up with
all the news. This month has been very sunny and bright, a real
bonus for the end of the year.
Word has it there is going to be a 30 mph limit in Scackleton!
That's the best news we have had for a long time, with all the
children that are now running around the village. No sign of
the new noticeboard but I'm sure it will
just arrive one day soon.
Well all's quiet (the way we like it ) so that's all for now.
Thank you.
Wendy Swann 28th October 2008 |
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August: Well its official, the dullest wetest month
ever... So not a lot
of harvest done. Everyone too busy hibernating.
September; the weather isnt much better, but
the noticeboard has been ordered and District Council have personally
inspected our footpaths, so watch this space.
Unfortunately we lost our eldest resident, Robert Sanderson,
after living all his life in Scackleton, farming at Townend,
he died at the age of 92. He was greatly respected and will
be sadly missed. On a lighter note, the annual Fayre will be
held on the 28th Sept., including a lazy car boot sale, all
starting at 1pm. The village has a chance to catch up and raise
a bit of money for the over 60s and Church funds. The children
have a fancy dress competition and we just hope for a day without
rain.
That's all for now. Thank you.
Wendy Swann 16 September 2008
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What happened to July? Oh, thats it,it
rained and rained and rained ..Some Summer !!! Pictures enclosed
are of 1. The village pump, an old relic, preserved ..although
it does need a little T.L.C. or weed killer .. No.2 The phone
box. An old relic soon to be removed,(unfortunately.) ....Our
grass verges have had 2 of the 6 cuts,not that we could ever
compete with Hovingham. But we do try to keep up appearances.
A Council meeting was held in the church, our annual Scackleton
meeting, although it wasnt well represented by our own villagers.
There was more talk on our footpaths, and a mention of buying
a new noticeboard to be re-sighted on the wall at Manor Farm
next to the Post box, so thats something to look forward to,not
having to stand on a box to see it, and use a screwdriver to
get into it .. Heres looking forward to August and some nice
warm sunny weather
Thats all for now. Thank you.
Wendy Swann 4 August 2008
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Swannie's Blog
What a glorious beginning to the month of May. It has been so
warm and dry, although the farmers won't agree, the land is
in need of rain. Everything looks so lush and green. The blossom
has been beautiful. All we need now are the verges cut, but
that doesn’t happen until June, as we have to wait for
our daffodils to die off.
One of our fitter residents, Sally Mathews completed the London
Marathon this month, in 4 hours 24 minutes, raising money for
Heart UK. What a fantastic achievement! A sponsored walk to
raise money for St. Georges Church was well attended and supported
by the locals, making over £200.
A Farm sale was held at Townend, an end to an era, attracting
farmers from far and wide to chance on bidding for a bargain.
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Thats all for now. Thank you.
Wendy Swann May 2008
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Swannie's Blog - April
2008
They call it the forgotten village "Scackleton." Blink
and you are through it. Not a lot happens here,and we like it
that way. I moved here with my husband Paul, over 30 years ago,
and just about regarded as a local..
A lot has changed in that time. A quiet farming comunity, with
a few houses on one street. No shop, Pub, school, noise, except
tractors, sheep, birds, horses clip clopping by, and cars taking
a short cut through..
We do have a Church, hanging on by a thread, with regular services
shared with Hovingham and "The Street."
Scackleton is growing steadily. The last major development was
Roundhill Farm. The pig farm was replaced by 6 large dwellings
in the late 80s(some thatched). Things smell a lot sweeter now
and starting to look a lot prettier too, after the villagers
planted 1,000s of daffs a few years ago, and they are getting
well established now, all the way up the village. We also had
a project, in 2000, to refurbish two old water pumps which are
both looking more cared for now. There is a bench half way down
the street, on which the occasional walkers rest to eat their
sandwiches and gaze at our sheep and goats opposite.
April has been a very sad month for our village. We have lost
three of the elder farmers all in a couple of weeks. Mrs E.
Sanderson of Townend Farm and Mr. and Mrs Tom Ramsey from Grange
Farm. All who were well known and respected by the locals.
Thats all for now. Thank you.
Wendy Swann 17 April 2008
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Pictures from the Panto |
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