Diary Wednesday 1st June 2016

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A new month and a warm day despite being cloudy all day. It never actually rained. I had planned for days for taking a long bus ride to another town to take photos of pub signs there. It then became apparent that my mum might be returning from the hospital after almost a month in there through her serious heart and kidney problems. My sister, who hates me and never talks to me is moving in with us, as my mum needs round the clock supervision and my sister is an experienced care-nurse. Though I am happy my Mum was coming back, I felt conflict between my sister and myself would not be good so I set off on my long bus ride anyway. I caught an early bus out to Skipton, in North Yorkshire, a lovely town with a medieval castle at its heart. Highlights included; The Rolls Royce Factory which I saw on the way into the town, though none of the cars n the staff car park were Rolls Royce’s, which reflects the wage imbalance between capitalists and their employees. The Castle itself is huge and as they charge a modest fee to get in, I was able to walk round the outer parts, including a long walk round the gorgeous woodland path by the river that provides a natural moat to the castle. I found a lovely pie shop that served delicious blueberry pies, and sat by the river surrounded by Robin Red Breasts who looked like they had strayed round into Spring from Christmas cards. I got lots of pub sign photos, though I only drank in one very nice bar, The Fleece Inn. My bus ticket was usable all day so I took a quick look round two Lancashire Mill towns the bus travelled through too, Barnoldswick and Colne. I got home about 5.30 pm, and my Mum was settled in nicely, so there was no tension for her between me and my sister who never even acknowledged I was home. My mum now needs a zimmer frame to walk round, and there is a commode on stand-by if she needs it urgently (mostly not though) It is lovely to see her, though sad to see her so dependent on assistance. The cat Smudge has missed her a lot so she was very happy to see her best friend is home again. I was very tired after my long day exploring Lancashire and Yorkshire. After some essential job search activity, I fell asleep for the night, and never got to write on Mylot all day. I have added one of many great pub signs seen during my adventure, The Beer Engine in Skipton, a newish pub with a quirky off-beat design featuring an old jalopy car run by beer from its own barrel. The driver may be discouraged from drink-driving, but it seems our cars can still get inebriated – maybe they should work on this design at Rolls Royce. Arthur Chappell