York 24/7: The York exile
We asked writers to keep a diary of their day on July 24 for the York 24/7 project. Here’s the day of long time York resident Christopher Backhouse, now living in retirement away from the city
Exiled now to a small village near Ripon, my day started as it always does by reading Josh Easby’s newsletter, There is only one Arthur Bottom.
Amazingly it comes all the way from New Zealand jam packed with news of York City football club almost every day to almost 1,000 subscribers and it is free!
Next stop a whizz through the York Press online and YorkMix to keep in touch with other goings on.
Haircut this morning in Ripon as Wednesday is usually quiet at the barbers. Shorn, I pop into Appletons, the famous pork butcher, to buy a Yorkshire pasty for my lunch.
Into the car to pick up a birthday present for my wife’s forthcoming big birthday and from Harrogate to North Deighton to collect a salmon which I have had smoked, having caught it in Scotland three weeks ago. It looks good.
I spent an hour or so thinking about a new series of articles for YorkMix. The idea is to write about the main city streets, their history, and how they have changed over the last 50 years or so.
Taking Coney Street as an example, how many people will remember Marshall and Snellgrove, beloved of my mother, Maison Lee, the Picture House, The Yorkshire Evening Press office (much better title than The Press), Andersons, Leak and Thorp, Sainsburys and so on? I think there is some excellent material there.
Finally, picking red currants to thwart the local blackbird population.
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