Ruby's Morning Bus Ride #2 The Scary Statue of St Chad's Church

I tried to leave a cliff hanger yesterday, saying I'd post a mystery exciting scene which I pass on my daily bus journey to take Little J to school. But my cliff hanger was upstaged when I mentioned in passing the creepy statue outside St Chad's Church, which looks like a giant insect, and which scares me.

You wanted to see it ... Are you sure? Are you sure sure sure? Too late to change your mind now anyway, here he is :

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

I told you he was scary!

The first time I did the bus ride to school with my son, I was pointing out interesting things to him, to try and get him to enjoy the journey. As I glanced up at the statue above the church's main entrance, I was going to tell him to have a look - then I saw it properly from myself and my pointy finger went right back down, I can tell you. He has never noticed this and I shall not be showing him, either. *Shudders.*

I don't know what it reminds me of exactly. A fly? A half-hatched pupa ? I had a look at the church website to see if it said anything about who the statue is meant to be (St Chad himself?) but they make not a mention of it. I don't blame them!

Tomorrow, the mystery special place we pass on the final part of our morning bus ride, which also involves a special ritual ...

Ruby's Morning Bus Ride #1 - The Knavesmire

Every morning at 8.15 I leave the house with my youngest son to catch the number 11 bus to his school. Looking out for familiar landmarks has become a ritual.

First is the Knavesmire on the edge of the racecourse (pictured above), where in the cold weather we sometimes see kids skidding across the ice, because the middle of the Knavesmire is waterlogged and frozen over. Public executions once took place here (urgh!) - the most notorious person to be hanged on the Knavesmire being Dick Turpin.

Next is Terry's chocolate factory, then St Chad's church where there is an unpleasant statue above the door, which I think is of a holy person but looks like a giant insect, and I am frightened of it.

Knavesmire School is next, then Terry's again from a different angle, then a long expanse of road going past York Crematorium, York College of Law and the Bustardthorpe Allotment Association, whose name makes me laugh (I have a mature sense of humour).


The most exciting place of all is last, just before we get off - photo tomorrow.

Ruby in Tesco

Tesco in York is very big. It takes me ages to get round it. Rows and rows and rows of stuff. It's in fact a bit too big for my liking but sometimes I go there anyway because I know I'm going to find everything I want in the same store. Eventually.

Have you noticed lately that when brand names are pluralised - such as Shoot in that sign in the top right - it seems to be becoming more and more acceptable to use greengrocer's apostrophe (an appostrophe where it shouldn't be, as in "apple's 70p a pound."

Shoot's £1. State of that. I think I'll go and find the manager and say "Hello, my name is Shoot, can I have my £1, please?"

Changing View, January

Very January. The park by Clifford's Tower is deserted and colours, distinctly muted. You can just see the York Tour bus in the distance on the road, providing a splash of red.

I've decided to take a picture of this view every month, to see how it changes - a lovely idea which is not my own, but is from Marley over at Cheltenham Daily Photo. I've been really enjoying his recent Changing View series, which he began in September, and have been amazed at how much his scene changes in as short a period of a month - what a difference passing time and the seasons make. Thanks Marley for the inspiration - I hope you don't mind me adopting your idea for YDP.

Clifford's Tower is probably York's most well known landmark. Very distinctive up there on its hill, where it has been standing since 1069, built by William the Conqueror as part of his campaign to subdue the Northerners. Anyone out in town in York on a Saturday night will soon see it clearly didn't work ... ;-)

The Spooky part of the Museum Gardens ...

When you go into the Museum Gardens through the main gate on Museum Street, and turn right as soon as you enter, this is what you see. Wander a little further down, and you see there are tombs inside this tunnel, and the ceiling is a Norman vaulted one.

This section of the ruins in the gardens is actually part of the remains of St Leonard's Chapel and Hospital, a place where the sick and poor came to be healed - in spirit as well as body, and was apparently the largest such place in the north of England. It was rebuilt after a fire in 1137, which is when these ruins date from.

Not pictured here (I'll post a photo when I have one!) is a spacious undercroft, off to the left from the tunnel, which has some beautiful arches. I was actually too scared to go down there and get pics the other day when I took these as it was getting dark! It was the prospect of meeting one of the dodgy types that sometimes hang around here that put me off though, more than the prospect of ghosts. Although I admit, that did also cross my mind. Eek!

This part above definitely does spook me a bit. It's the inside of the "tunnel" and the graves are Roman ones. I seem to remember reading that they weren't found on site, but have been found at excavations in other parts of York.

Funny how just across to the right beyond the park's railings is one of the busiest roads in York, with bus stops, people and loads of traffic. Then along at the end of this tunnel, which you can just see, is the forecourt to the library with people constantly coming and going. I can't help feeling in a totally different world just here though, and civilisation seems far away.

Gates to the Garden

I can't ever walk past the gates to the Museum Gardens without going in. They tempt me. They have everything: Roman coffins, an observatory, the Yorkshire Museum, benches and flowers, dodgy types hanging about among the abbey ruins (they would have sooo got moved on in Bury St Edmunds). There is even a burger van, on occasions.

The photo above shows The Lodge in the background. Just after I took this photo, I went to have a closer look at it. There was a poster in its window advertising the events of the Yorkshire Philosphical Society, which I hadn't heard about before.

Then I went to have a look at the spooky bit of the gardens, which I really like, but which frightens me a bit as well! Photo tomorrow!

Red Letterbox Day!

I am finding myself trying to seek out bright colour, in dull and dingy January, and when I do find some I feel very cheered. Especially by my local post box which has just been repainted. There's even a bit of a red splodge on the wall next to it - oops. All very nice and cheerful though. It's almost enough to make me want to start sending letters again, instead of emails!

Ruby has written a guest post today on the blog of her good friend and writing partner Karen, aka Almost Mrs Average of The Rubbish Diet. A link to the post is here: Ruby's Rubbish Surprise: reporting live from York. Do pop over and see my post about York's bins - or the lack of them, inspired by my post on this blog yesterday!

CAT!

The cat on the roof here looks like it's ready to leap down and check out all these tempting bin bags with who knows what tidbits inside, left out for collection on bins day.

Not that the cats in the neighbourhood get much chance for bin bag attack. Bags can only be left out after 7pm of the night before collection. And why no wheelie bins, you may ask? Well in certain areas of York where there are back access alleys to the houses such as this one, wheelie bins are not allowed - to avoid the problem of people leaving them out permanently, where they look unsightly!

All well and good, but even in the short window of available time, cat attacks can and do happen. Aaaargh! Here comes one now!

Addendum: This cat actually disappeared through a cat flap in the gate of the house where the leaping cat is positioned!

Pictured: Back access passage between Knavesmire Crescent and Curzon Terrace

The Home of the Chocolate Orange

The imposing builiding above (photographed yesterday morning on my way back home after the school run) is the home of the Chocolate Orange. Yes, it's Terry's, the chocolate factory! Or should I say, it was. Sadly, in September 2005 it closed its doors for the last time. Chocolate Orange production now takes place outside of the UK, at Kraft foods in Sweden, Poland, Slovakia and Belgium.

So what of the building?

Since its closure, the factory has been standing empty, but plans have been drawn up to convert it into a complex of luxury appartments, business and retail outlets, and a leisure centre. There have however been planning permission problems. And the project has not been mentioned for a while now. The hoardings advertising the development are still there (above) but with the current downturn in the housing market, I wonder if it is actually going to happen?

WOW!

Is it just me, or is this not likely to get anyone else hot footing it into the newsagent for a copy of the Malton & Pickering Mercury either?

Or maybe some people think differently ...


Pics taken on a day out to Pickering, a bit further up into North Yorkshire than York.

Colour

January can be such a grey, bleak month, without much sunlight at all. The berries on this otherwise bare tree provide a welcome splash of colour in Rowntree Park.

Penthouse Living

At the end of my regular riverside walk into town, I pass these appartments, just before I come up onto Skeldergate Bridge. Look at the penthouse flats on both of them!

For a long time, I have thought of these penthouse flats as my dream home. Imagine the views! Well funnily enough, while browsing houses online, I have noticed that there are appartments in the penthouse suite for sale at the moment - so I don't have to imagine the views any more, I can actually see them: Lookee here!! Click number 5 to see the view - WOW!

£485,000 for a lease on a 2 bed flat though? How bout no! Weirdly enough I almost like the houseboat moored below it just as much. Says she, trying to convince herself ...

Boats on the Ouse

Following on from Wednesday's post, this was taken a little further up the river when I was on my way home. In the background, down the river, you can Ouse Bridge, which features in Wednesday's photo. I guess these boats, moored by some of the new(ish) riverside appartments, must be privately owned. Handy if it floods!

House Hunting 2009

This year, I'm going to be house hunting.

Having risen to ridiculously high peaks, the house prices in the UK are now dropping again, and will need to drop some more before I can afford to buy. So I'm watching, and waiting, and in the meantime, am very often tempted by houseboats and caravans ...!

I pass this particular boat on my way in to town. It was for sale a little while ago, but presumably has a new owner now. No, not me, but I was sorely tempted!

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!