Claudi's Grand Adventure
- our trip to England with a 7 week old
baby -
Part 4 - A Little Bit of Yorkshire
We set off early on Monday 12th to drive to York, where we would be staying with Melissa's father's cousin Sheila and her husband Michael. We were looking forward to seeing them, and they had rung to say how much they were looking forward to seeing us and meeting Claudia.
After an early feeding stop at a motorway cafe (where we amused ourselves by pretending that the businessmen meeting in the next car were up to something illegal), we made good time up the motorway. We had marked a couple of stops on the way, but decided to press on until we were closer to York. Hardwick Hall, home of the famous Bess of Hardwick, was pegged as a likely place to get out and wander, until we realised how close we were passing to Sheffield and, hence, Dronfield.
Melissa's
father George was born in Dronfield, as were many of the Rogerson
family. In 1992, Michael and Sheila had taken me to Dronfield to
see the family home (Bowshaw House), and we had been kindly
invited inside when we knocked to ask if we could take photos.
(The house was for sale - for a cool 350,000 pounds or so) We'd
then forgotten to take the photos we were there for, so I was
keen to get one, as well as show Fraser and Claudia some of the
Rogerson heritage.
We could follow the maps as far as Dronfield, then we were on our own. Based on dim memories of that one visit, I somehow managed to get us to Bowshaw House, where unfortunately no-one was home. Perhaps this was fortunate - we could get photos of the house and grounds! It was interesting also to visit the local pub (part of the Innkeepers chain) which is now called the Bowshaw Arms.
Back into the car, we headed for the Dronfield Parish Church (St John's), where various Rogersons including George had been christened. There is also a sampler there which was stitched by the Ladies' Aid committee, bearing the name "M. Rogerson" - no not me, but Sheila's mother Mary. I totally lost all sense of direction finding this place, but we got there by finding a spire & driving towards it. We must have friends in high places.
After Dronfield, we got back into the car to finish the drive to York. Having had a great run all the way, we now experienced motorway roadworks for the first time - and wondered whether we would make it to York at all that night!! Once we changed motorways thing sped up though, and we figured we were half an hour away from York, with Claudia due for a feed any minute now. Relying on "the Bristol Principle" - that she would be content as long as we were driving above 30 km/hour - we decided to save the feed until we arrived. Thus was born "The York corollary to the Bristol Principle" - that the faster you drive with a hungry baby, the longer you can delay a feed. By the time we hit the outskirts of York, after yet another delay due to roadwork, she was an hour late for her 3-hourly feed and screaming any time we dropped below 70mph.
It's hard to describe the welcome we got, and I can't explain why staying with Michael and Sheila always feels like coming home. But good food, good company and good conversation will go a long way. Their love of York and depth of knowledge about the city shines through and makes them fantastic advisers for visitors - and Michael's love of cooking made a welcome change from the generally mediocre food we'd eaten so far.
Tuesday October 13th we spent orientating ourselves in York. Fraser had never been there before, so after finding a good car park we visited the Minster, the Shambles and other major tourist areas. We also had to (re-)acquire the idiosynchrasies of the local language; a "bar" is a gate; a "gate" is a street and what we call a bar is an inn to them. Claudia fell asleep as we went through Bootham Bar; the only time she would wake in York proper would be in the Jorvik Centre, so technically in the Roman or Viking town.
Wednesday 14th October was, quite literally, the day we had come for - our visit to the set of the Yorkshire TV drama series Heartbeat. We made good time getting there, enjoying the scenery of the North Yorkshire Moors, and spent a marvellous day with cast and crew. (More about this trip).
Tired from our busy day in Goathland, we
spent Thursday resting and catching up on our washing, before
heading for the National Railway Museum on Friday. (This was the
first of three "Anorak" activities Claudia would endure
over the next 12 months, the other two being the World Stamp Expo
and a World Science Fiction Convention). You don't need to be a
train buff to be amazed by the collection of trains at the NRM,
which at the time of our visit included Stevenson's Rocket. The
NRM also has a sensational baby room, as well as highchairs and
nappy facilities in all the ladies' toilets (and some of the
men's too I believe). This was another welcome change, being the
first well equipped baby room we had met since Portsmouth.
One of the
trains on display was the old Royal train, and they also showed a
plan of the route that was taken during the ?1920s? for the King
and Queen to travel by train from Scotland. I gather it was
horribly uncomfortable, even despite all the luxury and obvious
care for Their Majesties' comfort. The picture at left shows the
reception Fraser and Claudia were given as they played the regal
part.
Friday night, Michael and Sheila gave us little choice. It was off to The Original York Ghost Walk, with Claudia left with babysitters for the first time. I'd managed to express a little milk - enough to keep her going, or so I hoped - but had left the dread tetra pack of baby formula just in case.
We enjoyed the walk - which has been so popular that there are now 7 or 8 "Ghost Walks" of some kind or another running every night in York (several with actors as "ghosts" to jump out from doorways and do other eerie things). This was a "straight" walk, although our guide's theatrical manner helped to bring the ghosts back to life as we strolled the deserted streets, learning amongst other things the REAL tale of "Georgie Porgie" (who kissed the girls and made them cry). I must confess though, that the tour was somewhat nerve-wracking for me, and I spent most of the time checking my mobile phone in case something had gone wrong and they had to call us back to see Claudia. Needless to say they didn't, but as soon as the tour was over I hurried Fraser back to the car, jumped in and proceeded to order him to take my special short cut back to York. 15 minutes later, we were well and truly lost, and my short cut ended up costing us at least half an hour's travelling time.
We rushed in the door, worried that something was wrong, to find Claudia playing happily on the floor. She'd had the milk and not wanted any more (although this all changed now her private milk bar was home), and had apparently enjoyed her evening with her English cousins. And we had broken the drought - after 11 months (including the pregnancy) we had finally been separated. I thought I had been very calm (unlike so many people, I'd actually made it out the door and down the driveway), but Fraser laughed about the "psycho mummy" for months.
Saturday 17th was pouring with rain, but brave Michael ventured out into York with us. He could give Fraser a much better tour than I could, and we extended our sightseeing to take in the English Teddybear Company (the bears we bought for presents were quickly kidnapped by Fraser). We also visited Hoppers Jewellers, where almost everything was out of our price-range, but we did buy a small Yorkshire Rose charm for Claudia's (future) charm bracelet.
Sunday 18th was exciting in three ways. First of all, Claudia started playing with her rattle in a much more complicated way - first she would hold it in her hand, then wave it around, then she'd look at it occasionally and finally bring it straight to her mouth. Only a first-time parent could be excited that their child had worked out how to get things to her mouth, but we were (we're still trying to work out how to STOP her from taking things to her mouth!).
We spent the afternoon at Castle Howard. I'd been keen to visit on two prior trips, but the castle is closed between October and March, so I'd missed out both times. I understand that the family live on the property all year, but only in the main building while it is closed to the public. It was worth the wait, though. The castle provided the setting for much of the filming of Brideshead Revisited, and is truly lovely. Quite different from Longleat; here the home was the attraction (with a small souvenir shop and tearooms), without all the extra "attractions".
Returning to
York, we found some surprise visitors at Sheila and Michael's;
Sheila's father Noel had come over to visit. We were able to get
what will probably be our only photo spanning 4 generations of
Rogersons, although we foolishly didn't think to have a photo
with Sheila to include the full 4 generations.
Family friend Klaus and his daughter Susanne were also there to visit overnight, so we had a very enjoyable evening listening to stories of "the old times" (including a few that my father probably wishes I hadn't heard!). Apparently breastfeeding is less of a done thing in Germany, at least among young people (Susanne is in her early 20's and studying to be a doctor), as she was shocked when I started feeding Claudia, and fled to the kitchen to talk to Michael instead.
Previous - Part 3 - Bristol and Beyond... Next - Part 5 - Yorkshire and home - coming soon.
Copyright © Melissa Rogerson 1999, 2000.