Update 9th November Remembrance Sunday, Matilda returned at just after 11:00am following a two minute silence! Thank you.
Sadly our cat disappeared yesterday, she is called Matilda and is tortoiseshell colour, with white on her tummy. She is pictured here a couple of summers back in the garden. Normally she is in and out of the house throughout the day, but yesterday [5th November 2008] she was not seen after about 10.00am. She is a very loving and easygoing animal and is greatly missed by my wife and I. I pray she returns and has not met with some awful fate. It is very sad to loose a family pet, Matilda is not our first pet to have gone missing, but here at least we felt she was in ideal surroundings, virtually no traffic, plenty of space and always a warm spot near the fire in the winter, unlike the previous home. So if any readers are local and do spot her please get in touch,
Thanks
Archive for the ‘Aberford’ Category
Lost Cat :: Matilda
Thursday, November 6th, 2008Snowy Easter
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008The sudden arrival of three or four inches of snow prompted many people to get out their cameras this Easter, here are a few taken locally and a couple by a friend, who sent them by email.
Additional photos are available here: my dotmac account
The Triumphal Arch on the Parlington Estate
The former Almshouses
The gatehouse to the Almshouses.
The Spitfire
Friday, February 22nd, 2008During the Second World War the inhabitants of Aberford, contributed towards the cost of a Supermarine Spitfire and in June of 1941 an aircraft, a Mark Vb serial number: P8640 was delivered to RAF Brize Norton. A recent enquirer, Johnny Lyttle of Aberford asked if I knew anything about the aircraft.
Being off topic I had not pursued the history of the plane, however I recalled a picture of the plane in a book produced some years ago, titled “Aberford in Times Past” by A.G.Bennett, T. Hayton, K.Hewitt. The entry gave a serial number for the aircraft, so I passed this to Johnny with the suggestion that the MOD might be able to provide more information on the life of the plane. He took up the baton and has been successful in discovering some of the history of the aircraft.
Stone Coffin
Saturday, January 26th, 2008One of the eeriest things in Aberford is the stone coffin which is leaning against the perimeter wall of the graveyard. It is clearly very old, but think of all the work required to hew the stone into that complicated shape. It is as if it’s standing there waiting to be used…
Of course if it fell over on anyone, they would most certainly be confined forthwith!
Aberford Bridge
Friday, January 25th, 2008
The Lost Windmill, Aberford
Thursday, January 24th, 2008Sadly the Windmill which used to dominate the skyline around Aberford was demolished in the early 1980′s. A good picture of the old structure can be found on Leodis
There is also an explanation of the removal of the stone work by Mark Jackson. Below is a photo of the very stone being loaded and carted away to Barwick in Elmet!
March 2008 addition
A late headmaster from Aberford Primary School, a Mr W. Pickles undertook a collection of water colours depicting local scenes, the picture below is one from the collection, It is the lost Windmill of Aberford on Windmill Hill between Aberford and Lotherton the road was diverted in the 1960′s to facilitate the A1 bypass, since realigned in the 1990′s to accommodate the A1-M1 Link. According to details from the local publication Aberford in Times Past
, the old mill was in use from as early as 1458! The ironwork from the rotating head of the mill was partly dismantled during the Second World War for salvage, the mill houses were demolished sometime after the war. Given these facts it seems likely that Mr Pickles water colour was painted from a photograph
Secret Writing
Thursday, January 24th, 2008A friend in Aberford, Mark Jackson, has collected cards of local interest for some time and this one shown below has a coded message as set out below.
Code
(Ap)I (ap)am s(ap)end(ap)ing th(ap)is
c(ap)ard s(ap)o y(ap)ou c(ap)an s(ap)ee
a(ap) b(ap)eaut(ap)if(ap)ul b(ap)uild(ap)ing
f(ap)or th(ap)e p(ap)oor
c(ap)it (ap)is j(ap)ust (ap)on th(ap)e (ap)oth(ap)er s(ap)ide
fr(ap)om m(ap)e
(ap)it (ap)acc(ap)omm(ap)od(ap)at(ap)es tw(ap)o b(ap)egg(ap)ers.
(ap)i h(ap)ope y(ap)ou w(ap)ill
kn(ap)ow wh(ap)at (ap)all th(ap)is (ap)is (ap)ab(ap)out
B(ap)est W(ap)ish(ap)es
De-Coded
I am sending this
card so you can see
a beautiful building
for the poor
it is just on the other side
from me
it accommodates two beggers.
i hope you will
know what all this is about
Best Wishes
MB
Aberford Main Street, Moon Hill
Sunday, January 20th, 2008
A recent acquisition, is this charming print, by J Ayrton Symington, described by the vendor as an antique print from the end of the nineteenth century. Aberford House the earlier post, is behind the wall beyond the last property on the right, just past the cart parked on the roadside.