BB1234 : Who's That Knocking At My Door?

Thursday 18th October 2012

Well, nothing really, it's just the odd sort of thing that appeals to mathematicians or actuaries, even lapsed ones like me.

However, this led on to something else that amused me, perhaps influenced by the onset of grandchildren (or, maybe, by my return to childlike behaviour), namely, the old nursery counting rhyme:

One, Two, Three, Four
Who's that knocking at my door?

That was as far as I could remember so, naturally, I consulted Google and had a bit of a shock.  There, I found what I had hoped to find:

Five, six, seven, eight
 Hurry up and don't be late

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve
Got a secret I can't tell
Flap your fins, flip your tail
School is out, ring the bell!

If you want to have your own private Shamanic experience, click on the picture above and listen to The Shaman's Journey with its hypnotic drumming intended to change your state of mind.  I had to switch it off - all that knocking on the door business was too much like being inside a MRI scanner. But you never know- one could be transcendentalised!

"Get on with it!" I hear you say.  Quite right. It's time to stop waffling and start reporting on today's expedition.

 One, Two, Three, Four

Not four.  There were going to be three of us but Tony had to drop out at a late stage so we were not three either.  Just two.

Who's that knocking on my door?

Who is that knocking? Whey-hey, it's James!  In his vroom machine. Taking us to Kirkby Lonsdale.  We had talked about catching the bus but as James does not have an old person's free pass, he preferred to vroom.

Five, six, seven eight
Hurry up and don't be late

No chance of not hurrying with James at the wheel.  But there again, to be late you need a due time and that we had not!

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve
Got a secret I can't tell

We discussed many things through the course of the day.  Even if I could remember them, I couldn't possibly tell. What's said on t'boot, stays on t'boot.  Unless it's particularly juicy, of course! 

Flap your fins,   flip your tail

After parking in Kirkby Lonsdale, we headed towards Underley Park.

Underley Hall appears

School is out,  ring the bell!

Spires and chimbleys, Underley Hall

Underley Garden Shool

Within the grounds, but not visible from the path, is another school that, although it has words common in its name, should not be confused with Underley School with which it has no association.  Located in the old walled garden is the appropriately named Underley Garden School and Children's Home.  This is an independent special school and home for young people with complex learning disabilities.  To find out more, visit its website: Underley Garden.

At the bridge over the River Lune we stopped for the team picture and to watch a couple of fly-fishermen.

Fly-fisher number two

At Beckfoot Farm there were two bridges over Barbon Beck.  One was an old narrow pack horse bridge.  The other, a more modern bridge that had obviously been seriously damaged in the storms a couple of years ago and had been massively reinforced.

James insisted on me taking a photo of him on the new bridge then he one of me on the old. Was he trying to tell me something?

We had planned to have lunch in the Barbon churchyard but James had forgotten to bring a flask so first we entered the Barbon Inn for a coffee.  Yes, you read that right.  We went into the Inn for a coffee!!  

It would have been rude to eat our butties in the Inn so we then reverted to the original plan and ate in the churchyard, sat on a bench protected from any breeze and in the unexpected direct sunlight.  Delightful.

Our route south to Casterton and down to Devil's Bridge took us past several very fine houses and, at the bridge, several very fine motorbikes that would have really excited Tony. Indeed James was waxing lyrical and debating the merits of Ducati with one of the leather-clad clan.

Down the Lune

Ruskin's View

No-one was risking life and limb by jumping from the bridge today, so we continued along by the river then up the steps to Ruskin's View.  The multi-coloured barn, painted in protest against a failure to be granted planning permission, is well faded and consequently its effectiveness is now rather diminished.  After crossing the churchyard, we entered the Orange Tree Hotel where we enjoyed a fine pint of Kirkby Lonsdale's own brew.

James needed some cash so we moved on into the town where he negotiated with a hole in the wall before taking me into the Red Dragon, a Robinson's house.  Robinson's is a Stockport brew and I well remember from my youth the smell that hung over the town when the vats were being cleared out.  A smell not unfamiliar to Edinburgh residents as I recall from when Jamie lived there.

Here, to our surprise, we discovered the Shaman who incanted his summation of how the day would have been if only Tony had been able to join us.  

We were so moved that we raised a glass to Tony and all other absent BOOTfriends.

Although I was close to an altered state of consciousness, James hadn't had enough to drink which was just as well as whom should we see on leaving the pub but his wife, Catherine, carrying a very remarkable picture.

Don, Thursday 18th October 2012

  STATISTICS:

To discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing see
Which Wainwright When?

For the latest totals of the mileages and heights see: BB Log.

  E-mail addresses on this web site are protected by

 Spam Trawlers will be further frustrated by
 Spam Blocker: help fight spam e-mail!  

BOOT boys

If you want to join
The BOOTboys
Inter-continental
Fan Club
let us know and
you will receive
automatic notification
of new BOOTboys reports.

Click on
to contact us.

For the index pages
of our various outings
click on the relevant
link below:

DO NOT
Click on the photos
for an enlargement
or related large picture.

 Wainwrights

To see which Wainwright
top was visited on which
BB outing see Which Wainwright When?.

To download a log of heights and miles and which Wainwrights
have been done by which BOOTboy in the"modern" era, i.e. since the advent
of
click on BB Log