Firstly, both Short Stop Tuesdays, lassn.org.uk/, were uneventful. Two referrals each week, both placed quite easily. But behind that bland statement are stories of war, sleeping on the streets and negotiating the asylum process. One of the referrals speaks no English, the host and I discuss how he will get to their home, luckily the referring agency have a special 'taxi' fund for such emergencies. I have used buses on my own in a country where I did not speak the language. I was a tourist with money and some confidence, but it was still stressful even though I knew exactly where I was going. I chat with other hosts, who I met at the meal in Leeds (see Thursday 7th March), about their holidays in Northumberland.
Coasties, www.northyorkmoors.org.uk, was up in the north of the Park in the middle of the month, at Skinningrove, almost on the beach. Whilst the step builders were in the lee of the cliffs, out of the wind, a colleague and I were clearing gorse in its full blast. Luckily there was a good deal of ground between the path and the edge, or we might have ended up blown into the sea. There is a wonderful restored fishing boat in the old dock area, here it is.
 |
| no, it's not a real person |
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1625894, this tells you more about it. We were cutting back the gorse just where the snow in the photo in this link starts!
 |
| not some exotic birds' eggs! |
The following week Coasties were clearing a ditch at Ravenscar. It is right next to the golf links and over the years many golfers have obviously been a little too ambitious with their strokes (is that the correct word?). Here are just some of the lost balls that were retrieved from the ditch. We left them there for the golfers to re-use!
The sun had been shining at Ravenscar, but the next day it was hail and wind at Farndale. The daffodils are now out, but sensibly the visitors had stayed at home.
Yesterday was a patrol from Thornton Dale, I walked up into Dalby Forest, or the Great Yorkshire Forest as it is now called, www.forestry.gov.uk/dalbyforest. It is the centre of an extensive series of mountain biking trails, where these muddy people can legitimately hone their amazing skills. But I was more impressed by this bike; it is specially designed to take a wheelchair, so everyone can now go where the bikes go. (Well may be not the steep bits). www.dalbybikebarn.co.uk, are the hirers. I don't usually link to commercial sites, but I will make an exception here.
Lastly our Fairtrade group has gone to the folk festival, or more precisely the Malton and Norton folk festival www.maltonfolk.co.uk/ . We had a stall during the day at the Blue Ball pub and in the evening at Suddabys for the main concert. We sold some things on behalf of Fairer World in York www.fairerworldyork.co.uk and had a good time as well.
 |
| Fairtrade stall at the Blue Ball |
We were able to use the wall to display the small bags and purses.
As I said at the beginning an average sort of fortnight, but that is what volunteering usually is, just getting on with it, week in and week out.
No comments:
Post a Comment