A little sleuthing , a little light relief

David Hockney's brother and sister

It can all be done on a mobile these days, the Sleuthing research I mean . Put me in a strange environment and  I need books , maps, libraries, people , and binoculars. I like to know the Topography , History and Transport logistics of wherever I am . It must stem from my teenage Youth Hostelling days, or maybe I have it completely the wrong way round. Did Youth Hostelling emerge from the teenage desire to know the Topography and History of places I found myself in or would like to revisit to sleuth away for myself.

When I was fifteen and on holiday in the North Lakes with best school friend and my family , best friend and I would go every evening to the Moot Hall in Keswick for a  free lecture. We sat through 35mm slides presented by earnest men . I learned about the Ice Age and how it formed the Lakes, another night I learned about Geology of the Lakes, next would be History, then Industry and especially Mining and then the Coming of the Railways, Wainwright and Tourism .
My friend Christine and I would tramp the fells with my father's Bartholomew map , much preferred to the OS ones. We got lost in Grizedale Forest , picked Billberries at Tarn Howes, saw Pencils made at the Cumberland Factory and took endless trips round Derwentwater to Hawse End and the Lodore Hotel. We read Mrs Tiggywinkle and had tea with my aunt, the village school mistress at Newlands Valley , in her huge slate roofed house lit by candles , and heated by coal fires only. It seemed to be one long search for information to enhance the delight of the PLACE.

In the 2000s+ , INFO related to  a stay in a strange environment may be accessed in additional ways. There is nothing for provoking study in me , as  a plaque on a wall. All my VAK learning styles now come into gradual use over a few days.
Here  is what tempted me yesterday .

I wonder if the security tapes of the Leeds Building Society   show hundreds of the curious, walking through their door to view the old stone neatly hidden behind the corner of the entrance. It might have been more sensible to have put the stone in plain view from the outside, but perhaps the establishment gets points for footfall stats like Filey Library might. So I now can get an idea of the extent of  medieval Leeds. I did a wander around Leeds bridge the other day trying to find Lamberts Yard, (where our Photograph was part of a Humans of Leeds exhibition several years ago)now not accessible  and for sale. The nearby Queens Court and Blayds yard gave me the idea however. Here I applaud the pubs and small cafes nestled amongst old domestic buildings in Georgian  LEEDS.  It can't be easy for them to comply with all the regulations both for Buildings and Health and Safety to provide good facilities for daytime and especially evening punters . Look up all you students of Leeds, enjoy the old bricks at the start of your nights out.





Sleuthing provided me with much joy at weekend .

The weather was mostly foul, but when Colin had this view from L19, I was entranced by the light shining on a lone gold dome to the West of the more obvious Parkinson building .  The search for the tower began . I googled gold domes in Leeds, victorian towers in Leeds, and got daughter to bring West Riding  Guide to the buildings of England,Pevsner, my 67 edition to the hospital . No mention there, and book now well out of date. 
Eventually after a huge thread (for me) on Facebook I was told it by husband of dear Leeds friend that the tower was the Clothmakers Centenary Hall. I walked to find it the next day, I walked  for ages in and around the University Campus next to LGI. Eldest Daughter held the fort at bedside of her Father.  Google Maps and Google Earth were no help, but after an hour of service roads , dead ends and wheelie bins I turned a corner , and there it was, like a pearl of great price for me on that Sunday . Its actually just a stones throw from the Tesco Express next to hospital , and now I see that Gold Dome everywhere.

Filey and the Social Media

I was just talking to our Filey Library manager Ann Colling on this National Libraries Day. Ive just done a #Thunderclap for the day and amazed I even know what it is. We were remembering how we started on the internet. She like me spent lots of time in the Evron
Centre in Filey in the early noughties doing all the Computer courses  going , when Gina Robinson was the manager, and Win and Paul the trainers. I romped my way through Text Processing, Word Processing, Publisher and WebPage Building with Frontpage with hundreds of others from Filey who needed Skills for work . I found that my very first certificate in Jan 2000 however came from Filey Library. Its the BBCWebwise certificate for learning to use the internet. The librarians at the time  helped me to get my first e mail Account , and its the one I still use. In folder on my email account , I have the very first email sent to me by my son 4 months later in April 2000. Ann and I were saying just how far we had both come in the cyberworld, both in the world of Social Media, she doing the Tweets for @FileyLibrary, and me doing the Tweets for @FileyParish as well as Facebook Pages and Groups.

I follow this Filey Nature Facebook Group for  updates

Here on the Social Media I learn new jargon daily .That doesnt mean I use it. This is my first and last LOL. It has different meanings and I don't want to sign up to one of them. A long time single friend of mine said she  was ready for love again and her children told her not to 'go on Tinder Mum.'   I did really laugh out loud at that one, firstly because she is in  lots of networks and will  find a new relationship I'm sure, but more because I actually knew what the Tinder site was. 

Some people try and hide their lack of knowledge  by decrying Facebook and Twitter . I wonder if they would have waited 20 years before getting their first Telephone or TV sets? Most people however that I talk to in my circles in Filey, use the internet to some degree, maybe Skype their relations abroad and look up the best deals for Electric Kettles before going to buy one in Dixons . I was upset to be hoist on my own petard the other day when I was cross that one can no longer buy Premium Bonds at the Post Office . I had to break my own rule for not shopping online for amounts larger than £20 ,seeds from online Seed Catalogues, or booking a room on Premier Inn as I had to buy my bonds online from my Sitting Room having first registered and waited to receive the confirmation Letter and PIN. A palava indeed when Filey Post Office is so convenient and the staff helpful,now that  they realise I do not want to be asked if I  want anything else, Thank -You !

Filey Library and the ALC in Evron Centre (January 2016) run Computer classes. Anyone with an 8yr old Grandchild has help to hand for getting started too, as I'm told that in Filey Junior School classes network together on their Chromebooks, or are on Utube at home learning to update their MineCraft skills. My grandchildren receive discipline now , not by being sent to their room as I was (though loved as could read) but by  having the wifi switched off in the house.That will only do until they have 4G on their smartphones, when they get them !

How many of us in #Filey love seeing the BBC and ITV weather pictures tweeted from Filey like those of  @rich_cowling  , and many of those in the Tourist Industry here, a staple of the economy, tweet pictures showing the beauty of the bay with a link to their Cottage for rent .

 8 years ago when the @FileyParish and @Filey_UK twitter sites began, only a handful of Filonians used the app at all . 

Simon Rudiger who had been in the Web developing  industry before working in Filey Parish for 18 months  until 2009 ,trained me into all I know for FileyParish Facebook and FileyParish Twitter and FileyParishBlog (now archived but receiving 100s of hits a day ) . His advice still resonates loud and clear to me about broken links and clear guidelines for SEO (Search EngineOptimization), and using real names rather than avatars, and making sure pictures of FileyParish showed people  ,not Buildings. He did not overwhelm me with technobabble and cascading style  sheets, but like all good trainers kept it simple. 

Now we have Natalie Bosomworth and the FileyBay Today magazine. She uses Twitter and Facebook effectively, and has managed to get FBT a great  website (some in Filey would never pass the Paul Nash test) . 

Together with Twitterers like @Filey_UK 2600 followers, and @OfficiaFiley with 1700 followers , interest groups on Facebook and Twitter continue to grow  . 

Some of the best are @fileybirder, Mark Pearson, whose articles are often in FileyBay Today , and 2 of my favourite Favourite Facebook Groups FileyNature , a public group, and the have to join, but fantastic Photos of Filey Old and New , well managed by Steve Eblet and Stuart Bowes, Social Media , Social History at its very Best .

Facebook group for all who love Filey .