Stopping for a coffee break.

Late afternoon on Sunday. Been to Barton, been to Barrow, and New Holland. Ready for a coffee. I have everything in the car to make one. I know a place, Thornton Abbey has a car park. The Gatehouse is pretty spectacular. It is closed at the moment until they make some repairs. 

You can see more photo's on these two blog posts. 

8th October 2013

15th May 2020

Cheers, get yourself a coffee. 

It's Tuesday now, and a lot colder today. The leaves on the silver birch trees are turning golden. Mayze is inside, Mickey has gone back to bed, Oscar has his hidey hole in the garden. I have been to the post office in the Church. Now it's lunch time. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

New Holland is not in Holland, nor is it in the Netherlands

Good morning. I had better get on and spit out some more blog posts, I've got them coming out of my earholes. Leaving Barrow, I made the short drive to New Holland. Another small village. This one has a large docks and warehouse area on the banks of the Humber. There is a bypass which keeps lorries out of the village. This is the Wiki page for it. Lots of information here. There used to be a ferry crossing the river at this point, to Hull. That closed when they built the bridge. 

This is Manchester Square. A big green area surrounded by terraced houses on three sides. With a bit of TLC I imagine it could be a great place to live. Sadly some of the houses have not had many upgrades and they are in a poor state of repair. 

Access around the back is where residents park their cars, and the lorries empty the bins

. 

The Community Centre looks tidy. 

There is a small railway station with one single track. 

Private land past this point. 

The flowers brighten things up a bit. Arbor Forest is a big importer of timber from Scandinavia, which comes in on barges. 

The shop is open. 

This is Christ Church, as it is now. 

Now look at how it was. Picture from Wiki. What a difference. Looks like it is privately owned now. Fenced off and the yard is full of broken down vehicles, and junk. 

This shop looks like it is being used for warehouse storage. Inside is a lot of catering equipment. What a lovely old fashioned shop front. 

The Methodist Chapel which looks in a poor state of repair. 

Overall view of New Holland is it looks a bit neglected. People have made an effort to tidy up parts of it. So much more could be done, but as moral is at an all time low at the moment it is difficult to get anyone motivated enough to lend a hand. 

Time to move on. I could do with a coffee break. I'll find somewhere interesting to park and get the stove out. 

Thanks for popping in. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

A look at Barrow on Humber.

The problem I had last night with the unwanted popup seems to have solved itself. It's gone. 

So, after leaving Barton on Sunday I did a little tour of the top corner of North Lincolnshire. There isn't a lot to see, it's mainly agricultural, with a lot of the waters edge out of bounds because of the massive docks and warehouses. Camera at the ready, there must be something of interest to take a few photo's of. Let's go to Barrow on Humber. This is the Church of Holy Trinity. It stands proud on a hillock in the centre of the village. Pity it wasn't open, I would have liked a look inside. Take a look at the Parish Council web site. 

The dates on some of the buildings tell us how old they are. 

This building has been turned into holiday lets. Each cottage has it's own front door. There doesn't seem to be much happening inside when I looked in the windows. 

This is a huge Village Hall for a small village.

An interesting entrance. I like the coloured glass in the front door inside the porch. 

Lovely village shop. 

There is a map next to the bus shelter in the Market Place. 

Barrow is famous for John Harrison. He was a carpenter and a clock maker. He invented the Marine Chronometer. 

There are two pubs. This one, 

And this one. 

This shop has items of historical interest in it's windows. 

There is a small park. Nice for a stroll, with a playground for young children. 

I had about an hour walking around. It had a nice friendly feel about it. Where to next? Come back and I will reveal the next village. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Sunday afternoon bimble

Good evening. I've got a pop up in the middle of my screen and I can't get rid of it. It's in the way and I can't see what I am doing. That's why there is a big gap above this, I've had to start typing a bit lower down. I will have to speak to my computer man tomorrow. 

I went out this afternoon exploring. Not very far, to places I have been to before. First stop was The Ropewalk at Barton on Humber. Checking out the exhibitions and took a few pics. 

A needle felted wall hanging. 

Very strange textile sculpture. It's like a very big vase. 

A fox and a mouse made with wire mesh. 

This is a box with bits and bobs stuck on the inside, with a fancy top. 

A short walk away is the Waters Edge Visitors Centre. There was a gathering of American cars on show. It was a bit disappointing because there wasn't many there, and not many visitors either. The weather was a bit cooler, perhaps that put people off coming. 

I picked up a few supplies from Tesco, and carried on to my next explore. Barrow on Humber is a small village. More pics to come. 

Thanks for popping in. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

A bridge too far

Good evening. 

I put this out on my channel yesterday. It's had 2.2k views and 74 comments.  

The toll booths are going to be taken out on the Humber Bridge. Their web site tells you what you must do to pay for your crossing. Once this kicks in I don't think I will be crossing it so often. I will still walk across, or get the bus over it to go to Hull, but I doubt I will be driving over it. I will have to get used to the trek around the motorways if I want to go to east Yorkshire. 55 miles to Beverley. We will see what happens next. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Thank goodness for farmers

 North Yorkshire Weather Updates

 

21h ·

11.00 A171 Fylingdales: 1 fire crew remain and local farmers are using tankers, spreading water to soak the peat to stop it smouldering. The Road is open

Big shout out to the farmers!

They help massively with blocked roads when it snows. They help locals get around in floods and also help the fire service/ locals with fire.

All this out of their own pockets.

They do it because it’s the right thing to do

I take my hat off to all farmers.

All stay safe!

Here here.   ilona xxx

NIMBY. edited

 

15 August 2025

An application for a solar farm in North Lincolnshire capable of powering more than 12,500 homes has been submitted.

Culham Renewables is seeking planning permission for Pilfrey Solar Farm on agricultural land between Ealand and Keadby, near Scunthorpe.

It would cover about 210 acres (about 85 hectares) and span seven fields, and it would have a capacity of 49.9MW.

If approved, construction of the solar farm is predicted to take six months, and it would operate for 40 years.

Read the article here. 

Getty images.

Who are Culham Renewables? 

Image R. Classen. Shutterstock.

A large battery energy storage system (BESS) in Culham, Oxfordshire, has been approved following recognition of the pressing need for energy storage to support the national transition to renewable energy.

The 500-megawatt facility was proposed by Culham Storage Limited for land at Culham Science Centre and would be used to help store and export energy from renewable sources, helping to balance production and demand.

But South Oxfordshire District Council declined to grant planning permission. The site is within the green belt and is part of the Nuneham Courtenay Grade I Registered Park and Garden (RPG).

Read the article here. 

Culham Campus is in Oxfordshire. 

Culham Campus offers a stimulating campus environment for a thriving community of like-minded people, who are passionate about making a difference across sectors including: fusion energy, robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace and life sciences.

UKAEA’s Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation (LIBRTI) programme announces significant steps to fast-track fusion fuel development.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)’s £200 million Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation (LIBRTI) programme has announced a series of significant steps to advance fusion energy development.

This is where I get lost. You may want to read about it. 

It is looking like the push for renewables is going ahead anyway. No matter how much we protest about our agricultural land being covered in solar panels and windfarms, targets have to be met, as we march towards 2050. Our Government is intent on becoming world leaders in this field. All these little tweaks to our lifestyles are about changing the way we do things. We can try to protest, but they, our  Government, will do anything in their power to shut us up. Free speech is dying a death. Join the dots and you will see a pattern. 

Reminds me of a song by The Fortunes. 

Freedom come, freedom go
Tell me yes and then she tell me no
Freedom never stay long
Freedom movin' along
Freedom want, freedom stay
Freedom love and then she flies away
Freedom never stay long
Freedom movin' along

It is within us all to make the most of what we have now. Enjoy the life we have now. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona  

EDIT

Moving On (Film)

Friday night entertainment, from Forgotten British Television on yoootooob. 

2009 drama from the BBC. 44 minutes long. 

112,246 views 22 Apr 2025

   • Moving On [Complete]   2009 DRAMA Anthology with contemporary themes. Liz, a lonely widow,returns home from her holiday in Torquay with Damar, a Nepalese ex-Gurkha, whom she intends to marry. Her grown-up,divorced daughter and son are hostile to him because they never imagined Liz would find another man to replace their father

For British film fans. Grab a cuppa. Enjoy.   Toodle pip.   ilona 

A picture within a picture.

Good afternoon. Another hot day. I will do a village walk later this evening. 

One of my photo's has been chosen to be displayed in the Village Hall. The previous ones have been hanging there for a long time. It was decided by the committee that new replacements were needed. 

On Monday I photographed them. The sun was streaming in so it was almost impossible to take clear good quality photo's of pictures when they have glass in front of them. I knew it was hopeless, so I decided to deliberately distort them on the computer. So you will see two pictures merged together. I used them as mirrors, looking for reflections of our Crafty Club members. Your eyes will be confused. Me and my Christmas lights picture. 

I particularly like this sunset mirage overhead. 

I tweaked the colours here to maximum saturation. Interesting result.

 

Could be an oil painting. 

Looking down the High Street. 

It was an interesting experiment. Something to salvage from the photo's that were almost impossible to take. 

Thanks for popping in. Have a good weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona