A recent group walk at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds, a couple of miles outside Grimsby, was an ideal opportunity to spend valuable time in nature by inspecting the source of the River Freshney. The event became so much more, however. For here, history, ancient culture and folklore came together, right where the Freshney's …
At the time I was writing my feature article, ‘Open for Visitors,’ for publication in the September, 2004 edition of ‘Lincolnshire in Focus’ magazine, the Far Ings Nature Reserve at Barton - the article’s subject - was undergoing a significant planned expansion. The project was a commendable one, which I summarised in my feature as …
As befitting a writer known to have a ‘butterfly mind,’ my blog comprises a potpourri of posts written on a random range of subjects. Lacking an overarching theme or intended direction, the various essays have been prompted by whatever may have occupied my thoughts and tickled my imagination at the time of writing. However, a …
By the time the sun rose over the Taff valley in South Wales on the morning of October 21, 1966, it had been raining there almost non stop for three weeks. In that time, six and a half inches of rain had fallen, saturating the hillsides. Drenched, too, was the number 7 spoil heap, towering …
Signage on the approach roads to Thornton Curtis proudly proclaims the small North Lincolnshire village to be the home of a Tournai Font. Despite having jouneyed through the village countless times, I'd never been tempted to examine the said relic - until several days ago. It was one afternoon during the recent hiatus between the …
“Every war is ultimately a civil war for we are all brothers and sisters, one to another.” Dillon Burroughs When I was a lad in my early to mid teens I would regularly obtain books from the village’s lending library. These were novels, mainly. Of the few non-fiction books I borrowed, there was one I …
I have already declared on here that I’m an avid reader of novels. Of those I’ve read over the years, I’m sure I could count on one hand the number that were written by women. That statement may be interpreted as sexist, but it is in no way meant as such. I’m not discrediting female …
When researching subjects for my ‘general interest’ posts, information trails can often pick up threads to other, diverse topics. This post is such an example. It began with a simple desire to discover the background to the name of a local breakdown recovery firm. My research led me from a windswept patch of North Lincolnshire …
Elsewhere on this site I’ve expressed my love for cycling the near-deserted backroads and byways of my local area here in north Lincolnshire. One place which features regularly on my circuits is the village of Goxhill. When visiting Goxhill for the first time, the signage on each of the approach roads aroused my interest, proudly …
Several days ago, Julie and I decided to make the most of the pale, February sunshine, and having gathered our winter coats, walking boots and binoculars, we ventured out, travelling the short distance to our favourite local nature reserve. Now known as 'Ness End Farm', the reserve, run by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is still …
