half term is almost over

Here we are then, closing days of October 2009, half term nearly at an end but, the weather, so very un-Octoberish. Temperatures in the high teens. No frosts or early snow, just blue skies and sunshine. Hells teeth l am not complaining. Mr Moo's has had a good week with visitors, both regulars and newbies paying us a visit, coming for that special treat or for top up on ice cream, any guilt about those calories being erased by a gentle walk down to the beach along the farm walk.

It has been a pretty good summer for our wholesale customers too as holiday makers indulge in this year's trend of 'staycation'. In fact, Hippy Shake in Whitby is looking forward to a major ghoulish weekend, serving up such delicately named flavours as 'blood n guts' and 'bramble stoker'. Whitby, to the uninitiated is not only home to the most exquisite fish & chips but also to Dracula who can been seen most days stalking through the town followed by his acolytes, dressed to impress in layers of black & grey wearing the most incredible gothic footwear that looks more like surgical boots than jimmy choo!

So, there you go. A busy week for everyone, here on the coast. Families enjoying quality time together, a walk along the sea front combined with a bucket & spade day, something simple & fun. Memories are made of this, it may not be the Mediterranean, but the weather has been glorious and the English pound buys so very much more than the Euro!

PS: the first picture is of the new fish restaurant in Leeds, Nash's on Merrion Street.

Blue plastic bags

Today, right at this very minute l am cross, very cross, blurdey MAD to tell the truth. Why oh why do people in cars view the countryside as a free for all rubbish dump? We know from the detritus strewn along the grass verge that it takes from the local MacDonald's to here to eat a Big Mac meal, we have tesco carrier bags stuffed full of picnic waste, carefully tied and then hurled from passing car windows. Why?

So, by this evening, after having attended a nervous persons all time nightmare in the form of an HSE meeting, that l saw a white van. l was enjoying the final leg of the farm walk, dogs walking smartly to heel at this point. This was not any white van but a YEDL one, well, actually a contractor to YEDL. It was pulled in casually just alongside the roadside gate with its back doors pulled wide open, a man rustling about in the back. Nothing suspicious about that, perhaps someone was having a pee or bird spotting? Then l saw it, or rather HIM. He was carrying a blue carrier bag, carefully tied at the top to prevent anything 'spilling 'out in the back of his van. Then, with the skill of a Driffield rugby club player, tossed the bag with amazing accuracy into the hedge bottom in the corner of the footpath.

Well, l am a bit of a rottweiler when roused and l was roused! Marching across with Gordon & Lucy-Piglet in tow, l shouted into the back of the van. He must have had a hearing problem as there was no answer. Bang bang, l rapped on the door. A face appeared looking not exactly pleased. 'What the hell are you doing' l thundered? 'Take your flipping rubbish home with you!' l continued, my voice becoming more 'Cheltenham' by the minute.

He looked even more angry; me a mere woman telling him off? Poor deluded fellow must have thought l was really stupid, he told me this was work things for tomorrow which he would collect in the morning. Farmer drove past in the JCB. ' That's the farmer', l said, not at all sure that this guy was going to back down. l continued, 'rubbish does not biodegrade in hedge bottoms and dustmen do not walk along footpaths collecting trash, l have to do that!'. I stood there, glaring at him. Lucy-Piglet looking fierce. The prat tried again, ' I am coming back tomorrow to fix the electricity pole'. Aha thinks l, that pole there by the bunker belongs to US and is not connected to the mains. My remark was oh so casual, ' & will that be to bring more rubbish to join that bag over there?'.

He gave up. Leapt over the gate [ impressive] collected the rubbish bag, threw it in the back of the van. I stood on guard just in case he chucked it back when my back was turned and waited purposefully until he drove of.

Farmer, when l told him about the YEDL contract man, asked had l got the van number. Ergh men.

Sir Jimmy and a large ship

So we were delivering ice cream to Cobble Landing this lunch time, when Stu casually mentions in passing that The Queen Mary was sailing close in to Filey at about 1'ish. Quick check of multi-coloured Swatch watch which reads 12.45 followed by hard stare out to sea, 'it's going to be more like 3', replied the amusement arcade chap from next door. The slight crowd thronging the sea front at Filey might be in for a wait.

No such wait in the bracing sea air for us, mon brave. Onward with deliveries, mustn't keep the customer waiting. In Scarborough, Farmer parked up on North Marine Drive with the van window facing North Bay & then scuttled purposefully off to meet with a possible new customer. The cars casually drove along Marine Drive, pedestrians ambled passed as the tide came in, their dogs held firm on leads whilst the waves roared up the beach and then crashed down on the sea walls.

From the first picture, you can see the weather was bright and cheerful although out to sea, to the north, there was a squall bustling towards the land. By about half part two, the roadside car parking began to fill. People emerged clutching binoculars and cameras. wearing woolly hats rammed down hard on their heads. The squall got ever closer, the waves even larger. The weather clamped down, visibility at a minimum.

Suddenly there she was, bow emerging from behind the castle headland. Traffic stopped, people braved the sea spray and rain, cameras flashed as automatic flashes went off. The ship's passengers flashed back in unison. Then, slowly the Queen Mary turned, once past the Sea Life Centre, to head back out to sea, disappearing into the gloom that had by now completely enveloped North Sea.

The last time a large cruise liner came THIS close was a few years back, when local resident, Sir Jimmy Saville Fixed It for himself to embark locally via fishing boat. This time our local celebrity was going to join the cruise in Edinburgh this evening and so had asked Cunard to Fix It for the inhabitants of Scarborough to receive a right royal sail past!

Ideas & days out

From now on in, the ice cream parlour and wholesale becomes a lot less manic, it gives us a well earned break but also, more importantly, a chance to forward plan for the next 12 months.

This summer we ran an competition for our customers to design a new flavour to grace our pots, the response was immense and we are still sifting through the entries looking for that winning entry.

Other interesting things that happen during the Autumn and winter months are 'days out,' or to be more correct, an 'afternoon away''. While most people have days out during the summer months, we have to wait until things quieten down before we can hit the road and visit the many wonderful sights that are to be found here in Yorkshire.

Photos: Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.

Timewasting

This week l don't seem able to settle down and concentrate, l fidget and waffle about, drink coffee, walk the dog, sweep up the leaves and open the shop but l just can't sit down in the office, open up the accounts software program and get cracking on invoices, bills, statements and bank reconciliations. The mind is not engaged. The computer is turned on, the pages from ebay open, emails shoot back & forth but, as the business returns to the seasonal norm perhaps l too am slowing down or am l getting ready to either hibernate or fly south for the winter?



The geese stream across the sky & l watch. Where would l go? I think l might like to visit India and travel around in an elderly car taking in the sights and sounds and smells. Staying overnight in glittering palaces, sipping gin & tonic as the sun sets behind the Himalayas. Riding through the tea plantations as dawn breaks.


Oh hell, you daft bat, stop it. Pull yourself together. You must ring up that customer who hasn't paid for 8 weeks and give them what for................!