Do you remember the books of Alf Wight?
No? Then how about James Herriot - Alf's pen name. There can be few people over 40 who don't remember either the books or the tv series. James had a habit of stopping his car and taking time out to pause and look at his working environment. James was an "offcomer" to Yorkshire and like many such visitors he appreciated the Dales in a different way to the locals. He would see majesty where the farmer would sometimes see difficulty. He would see beauty where they would see problems.
Those of us who were born here do appreciate the wonderful setting in which we live, but perhaps we should take more time to stop the car and take a while to look at our heritage.
This was a Saturday morning a week or so ago, on the way to Appleby to present our Newton Rigg petition. It's probably the last Winter picture of this blog - I can feel Spring in the air and I'm looking out of my window expecting the first lambs very shortly.
