The pressure is on – we’ve announced that my quirky blogs are appearing on the website! Best I get writing and make it quirky then!!
The Dales are quirky for certain but in the very best possible way. How much do we all miss the community spirit, the old fashioned and traditional, the slow and simple life and those things that spark memories of bygone days? Well, here in the dales, they might make up every day life and Henry and I were just chatting the other day about the reaction we see from guests to certain things we now take for granted here.
The market square is free to park (except on Fridays when the market is there!) I have seen a traffic warden in the town a handful of times but it’s fairly laid back – no congestion charges, no traffic jams (unless sheep are out!) The local magazine reports a dog missing, a herd of cows out on the main road or a pint of milk taken from Annie’s doorstep in the monthly crime summary. There’s no need to security tags every alcoholic item in the shops – it just isn’t necessary so no-one has thought about it and long may that last.
The Little White Bus that trundles along the Dales driven by volunteers is a lifeline in the area. Sometimes it’s the only excursion of the week to collect groceries from Leyburn for those living remotely in the family farmstead owned by generations of sheep farmers deep in the countryside. I heard once that, on returning home after driving the bus all afternoon, the driver discovered a loaf of bread on the seat where old Tom had been sitting. He restarted the bus and delivered the bread to Tom’s farm that evening, knowing that Tom would be without bread that week unless he did. Priceless and wonderful.
Waiting with a group I’d just taken on a walk and wild swim, at a bus stop for the twice daily service of the volunteer bus, the local school bus driver passed in his coach on route to pick up a stag do from a local pub. Seeing us, he stopped the coach, persuaded us (without too much effort!) to jump aboard and join the party via another pub before waiting to deliver us safely back to the Lodge. It was a beautiful day and the group were utterly amazed by the community spirit, the good behaviour of the lads simply having a beer and good clean fun, the generosity and patience of the bus driver without any mention of payment and the friendliness and genuine welcome from all we met along the way.
What a joy! It takes so little to make everyone feel welcome, happy, valued, respected and at home. The Dales community once again have made me realise the importance of those little things – kindness, generosity and community. Spread the word everyone and let’s hang on to those old fashioned, quirky and local values that mean so much.