Issue No. 20 August 2011

Parish Council News Sports Day Moor Monkton Open Gardens Village Clubs Village News Moor Monkton History Part 5 Church News Weather Watch Cover Photo: Crowds on East Lane during the Open Gardens (Photo by Eric Lambert) Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 1 Parish Council

Things have been very quiet on the Parish Council front since the last report in May. At the Council’s last meeting on 5th July the following items were discussed.

NYCC Area 6 Highways Meeting

Chair Cllr Peter Gibbs reported on the meeting of Area 6 he attended on the 6th of June, where various parishes voiced their concerns over the quality of work being done by contractors recently. NYCC reported that contracts are up for renewal and new contracts would give the council greater powers of redress should the work be found to be sub-standard.

Issues raised at the meeting by Cllr Gibbs were; • Poor quality of workmanship on simple jobs (such as the repairs done to Moor Monkton’s “No through road” sign) and the time taken to complete remedial works. • Winter gritting and snow clearing. The panel stated that the priority remains the main routes and that the village could well receive little assistance during particularly harsh conditions. NYCC are considering the approval of work being carried out by local contractors, however this would have to be funded by the local Parishes. This proposal is to be progressed by County Cllr Savage and District Cllr Leather. A grit bin may be installed at the A59/Church Lane junction. • A request to improve the access for A59 residents turning right into their properties. This was turned down because of the need to comply with road design standards.

Cllr. Gibbs thanked those involved with the recent resurfacing of the A59, which residents present at our meeting confirmed had been completed with minimal disruption.

Finances

The meeting approved the year end balance sheet and the Clerk reported that the internal audit had now been completed (thanks to Alan Warwick), but had been delayed considerably by bank statements being lost as a result of a change of Parish Clerk. The External Audit and Annual Return can now be submitted to the Auditors, the Council have been excused missing the 30th June deadline following the Clerk’s plea of mitigating circumstances.

Other Matters

Dog fouling in the village is still causing complaints among residents despite the Parish Council’s best efforts and frequent reminders in this newsletter for dog owners not to let their dogs out unattended. The Borough Council Dog Warden is increasing patrols in the village and will impound any dogs found straying. All we can do further is to urge residents to be vigilant and report fouling incidents (make a note of the time, date and place it happened, including a description of the dog and the person and if you know, the person’s name and address, or vehicle registration number) to the Warden on 01423 556633 or [email protected].

It was noted that more windows had been broken in the telephone box at the A59 junction and Cllr Walker offered to contact BT to ask them to replace the windows. (This was done

2 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 extremely quickly). Cllr Walker also volunteered to become the main YLCA ( Local Councils Association) representative. Vice-Chair Cllr Kirkham reported that he had been working on starting up a ‘village plan project’ and intends to circulate his ideas soon. He proposed having an open session at the Schoolroom so residents could come and discuss/put suggestions forward for what they would like to see happen in the village in the future.

The Parish Council’s next regular meeting will be held on 11th October 2011. Our meetings are open to all. Cllr Elaine Hall

Moor Monkton Open Gardens 2011

Money Raised: £3042 Paying Admissions: 315 Community Spirit: Priceless

There is no doubt that the Open Gardens was a resounding success and that is not just considering the money raised. After months of background work by the committee and effort put into the preparation of the 12 gardens by the garden hosts, it was wonderful to see the community come out in force on the day and make it go so well.

The Main Street was thronged with visitors for most of the day and the volunteers in The Schoolroom had a busy time serving out refreshments. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere could only be described as friendly and relaxed. Many positive comments were made by the visitors, praising the gardens, organisation and “efficient courtesy” of the villagers. In fact, one seasoned Open Garden visitor has allowed us to quote him saying that it was the best Open Gardens he has been to!

Not only did the gardens look superb but also much work had gone into the presentation of All Saints Church and Red House Chapel which were both open to visitors

The money has gone to The Richard Kay Charity to be used for the good of the community, to help finance village clubs and improve The Schoolroom.

Moor Monkton’s resident “Traffic Cop”, We have gathered together some accounts of the Debbie Horner, directs vehicles in the day which, with pictures, will help to form a good village car park (Photo by Eric Lambert) impression of the event.

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 3 Open Gardens through the eyes of a 6 Year Old

I helped Mummy make ice cream and me and Jan [my brother] bought an ice cream and we were at Red House. I had a raisin one. I do not know what flavour Jan had. We went on a bicycle to the village and I won a corkscrew in the tombola. We looked in lots of gardens. Lots of gardens had ponds and my favourite garden had fish in. My favourite fish was a gold fish. It was the biggest fish in the pond. The fish was the biggest fish I have seen. We went roly-polying down the hill and the was there. When we came back from the village my friends were there. Timmy Gordon (aged 6)

A Dog’s Account of the day The Red House Chapel Floral Display was put It was a nice sunny day, just right for a together by Jean Close and Amanda Thompson. swim in the river. But I didn’t get one. The overall effect was quite stunning with pinks I’d just had my meat and biscuits when and white blooms used in the light areas and this couple came in our gate. So I fetched whites contrasting against the dark oak panelling my nylon bone to show them, and gave (Photos by Amanda Thompson) them a good wag. They said they really liked the bone and gave me a pat. I’d left them looking at the flowers when this other couple came in and I went and fetched my bone again. And then four more came, then some others. You could have knocked me down with a feather.

After two solid hours of greeting people I had to go and lie down for a snooze in the shade. When I woke up there were hordes of them all around. They kept saying things like how friendly people were in the village (but they forgot to mention me) and how lovely all the gardens were (for me gardens are best when they have cats in) and what a Visitors find some shade by the pond at Barley smashing cream tea they’d had in the Mow. The temperature reached 30°C in the Schoolroom (but nobody gave me any). afternoon and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. This certainly helped to boost the sales of ice By the end of the day I could hardly move cream at Red House my tail and, on the Monday, I was so (Photo by Eric Lambert) 4 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 worn out I didn’t even feel like going for a swim. Open Gardens was a very good day, though I could have done with some cream tea to keep me going. Sam Burrows (aged 6 ½ dog years)

Some of the gardens threatened to get quite Mike Ashford, Ian Hartley and Amanda crowded at the peak of the afternoon Thompson at Barley Mow (Photo by Eric Lambert) (Photo by Eric Lambert)

Looking north across the River Nidd from the Parasols were needed while admiring the Whitehead’s garden at Willow Reach Burrows’ garden at Nidd View (Photo by Eric Lambert) (Photo by Eric Lambert)

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 5 A Garden Host

Yes, it was Sunday the 3rd of July. All the hard work of our gardens was done or had to be left undone. The weather ... we were blessed. Preparation had seemed to be going on for a long time; not only in the garden or committee but wrapping up beautifully made hand soaps with Zoe. She had made them with her Mum all laid ready in a suitable basket. We hoped and prayed that all would be well for us all. Norma in her garden in front of the “Bramley Garden” themed area created by her granddaughter, Zoe Checking around the garden one (Photo by Andy Atkins-Krüger) more time, I could hear the unfamiliar sounds of the village. No it wasn’t just Debbie [Horner] riding out on one of the horses or her lovely ducks quacking and chickens happily clucking around nor just cars being driven over stones on driveways or familiar voices that surround us daily. These were unusual sounds for a Sunday morning in Moor Monkton. The sound of busy people and the occasional lorry unloading wafted through the air and the sounds increased as the morning clock ticked nearer to noon. It was not an unpleasant sound of people working well together with an air of efficiency and care.

As someone who had never opened their garden before I wondered what it would be like having people going around your own personal place. But it was an unexpected pleasure to welcome people and just see them enjoying the day.

Rachael, Mark and Zoe spent most of the afternoon in the garden with people, Zoe, accompanied by her Mum, near her own Bramley Hedge Garden.

Did we have a busy day? Yes! Were we tired afterwards? Yes! Did I along with many others, especially the organisers, feel as if we needed a very long rest? Oh yes!

As the sounds of of the village slowed down, Katherine, her family, friends and neighbours and the hard working team clearing away and most of us winding down, putting on the kettle for a well deserved “cuppa”. The evening was still and lovely and a sense of tired, contented quietness settled over us. Yes, it had been a good day, a very good day. Zoe Pickering tends to the pond at Moor End Norma Hunter (Photo by Norma Hunter) (On the West Front, Moor End) 6 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 The Schoolroom provided the focus for the day with queues forming outside the door at lunch time. The “excellent” food, supplied by people in the village, consisted of sandwiches and a variety of cakes. Kathryn Wright oversaw the operation and was helped by an army of volunteers. (Photo by Eric Lambert)

The last Open Gardens in 2000 Plant stalls lined the verge at the end of Church Lane by the entrance to the car park. Members of the Organising Group who (Photo by Andy Atkins-Krüger) remembered the last time we did Open Gardens, 11 years ago, were surprised at the amount of work it was this time! One of the A V O N reasons was that, in 2000, Trevor Woodward Hi, I am the Avon representative in your area. took on such a substantial share of the If you would like a free brochure please organisation. Both he and Anne also put in a contact me. Avon has a great range of large amount of effort in the village fund products such as make up, daily essentials, raising and planning for the major haircare, jewellery and gifts. A brochure is restoration of The Schoolroom. We are sure free and you don’t have to purchase everyone will want to join us in sending anything. 90 day returns on all products. Anne and Trevor our very best wishes for a Great offers in each campaign. full and speedy recovery from their Contact Hayley 07821 155985 recent health problems. the company for women The Open Gardens Committee

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 7 Sports Day

The Richard Kay Charity held the annual Sports Day on the 31st of July in the tranquil surroundings of Debbie & Kevin’s orchard. The event had been postponed from the 16th of July due to bad weather. We had no worries about the weather second time around, it was breezy but we had glorious sunshine all afternoon. The youngsters enjoyed competing in races such as ‘bat and bean bag race’ and ‘piggy- back with an adult race’ and the races finished with an exciting ‘all-age relay’. Competition was keen in the welly- throwing, the clear winner being James Wilson, with Katie Wilderspin winning the ladies’ prize and Tom Jackson the under 16’s winner. The tug-o-war followed with the usual adherence to the rules (basically a free-for-all).

After a welcome ice-cream break, the Kwik Cricket tournament commenced under the expert direction of John Barnes. Bystanders were cajoled into forming four teams and each took turns batting with the remaining teams all fielding. The batsmen displayed skills which varied from abysmal to impressive and we saw some spectacular catches and equally spectacular misses! Luckily the geese didn’t mind the ball being retrieved from their pen.

The presentation of the prize money followed along with refreshments. We were fortunate enough to have Rev. Paula Robinson to officiate and present the Millennium Shield to a Revd. Paula Robinson presents very worthy winner – Timmy Gordon (age 6). Timmy Gordon with the Millennium Shield I would just like to thank Debbie & Kevin for hosting the event at Nidd Grange, John Barnes for doing a brilliant job of running the Kwik Cricket and Ian Myers for donating the cash prizes for the children’s races. See you all next year.

Elaine Hall Schoolroom Committee

One of the tug-o-war “pulls” of which there were many. No team won outright as there was far too much cheating going on (Photos by Eric Lambert)

8 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 Church News

Church Open for Visitors

On Moor Monkton Open Gardens Day All Saints was open for visitors. A constant stream of people entered the church asking questions and marvelling at the building. Many people could not believe that the church only received electricity two years ago and were treated to a demonstration of how dark it was without the lights. The church is usually kept locked but a number of people have keys and are very willing to open up for visitors. It is open for worship on the second and fourth Sunday in each month at 9.00am or at any other time by arrangement. Churchwardens are Mrs. Christine Grice 738355 and Mrs Zoe Barratt 737171.

Harvest Time

The harvest season is upon us all, farmers and gardeners are reaping the fruits of their labours and we start our thanksgiving on Sunday the 25th of September at All Saints Moor Monkton at 9am, continuing on Sunday the 2nd of October in Hessay Chapel at 6.30pm and concluding on Tuesday the 4th of October with worship at 7pm followed by supper and a sale of produce.

During the harvest thanksgiving season we collect items for the work of Carecent in . Carecent is the breakfast centre at Central Methodist Church for the homeless, unemployed, disadvantaged and lonely. This year they are in need of the following:- Tinned meat (which can be served cold such as ham, spam, corned beef and tinned hot dog sausage), sugar, cereals (other than Cornflakes and Weetabix), instant porridge, tins of whole tomatoes (without herbs and spices), baked beans (without added items), tinned spaghetti, biscuits, coffee, marmite and honey. Carecent also distribute socks, hats, gloves, deodorant, shampoo (in small takeout sizes) and jeans. If you have any of the above we would be pleased to receive them to pass on.

The preparation of All Saints Church for Harvest thanksgiving will take place on Saturday the 24th of September from 10am. It is a team effort and open to anyone of any age who wants to come along and join in. Gifts of flowers and produce can also be left in the porch on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Farewell to Paula

It is a sadness that I have to report the resignation of our priest in charge, the Revd. Paula Robinson. She has been a joy to work with and has met many people in the parish. Paula had her last service in the benefice on Sunday the 31st of July and will leave for her new home in Manchester shortly. We send all our good wishes to Paula as she moves to pastures new. Christine Grice

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 9 Village Clubs

Moor Monkton Gardening Club

At the time of the last edition of the Moor Monkton Mercury our garden club visits were just underway. After Alistair Taylor’s talk to the Club in February, the visit to his garden in Green Hammerton was as special as anticipated. Alistair taught Landscape Design at Leeds Metropolitan University and has developed some very interesting garden features and plantings.

Living in the flat lands of the lower Nidd, it is always a delight to travel up the dale to the higher reaches of the Nidd and our visit to Pat and Tony Hutchinson’s two acre garden in Dacre Banks in Nidderdale did not disappoint. Set on a slope facing north-east above the River Nidd, the garden has been carefully designed to take in the wonderful long view of the moors and hills. It is a garden with secluded garden rooms and seating and designed for flower arrangers with a good mixture of perennials and shrubs. It has a running stream down the hillside (the candelabra primulas by the side of the stream were at their best) finishing with a circular pond towards the bottom of the slope.

The Summer Social held in Nidd View by kind invitation of Paul and Barbara Burrows was another garden of note. After the village open gardens, the garden still looked spic and span and it was here that we weighed our competition “potatoes in buckets”. We were like children opening Christmas presents. Such is the excitement and anticipation as to what we would find in our buckets. We must all be perfecting the technique of growing bumper crops in buckets because this year we had two record breakers – Paul Burrows’ The judging of the potato competition at Nidd View potatoes weighed in at 3lbs 15oz (the (Photo by Tony Gordon) previous being 3lb 8oz in 2008) and Jean Close had a single potato at 16oz (the previous heaviest potato being 12oz in 2009).

Results Heaviest crop: 1st Paul Burrows 3lbs15oz 2nd Barbara Burrows 2lbs11oz 3rd Joanne Walker 2lbs Most potatoes: 1st Barbara Burrows 15 2nd Joanne Walker 14 3rd Kate Branton and Eileen Hildreth 12 Heaviest single potato: 1st Jean Close 16oz 2nd Paul Burrows 9.9oz 3rd Tony Gordon 8.6oz

Our Autumn programme begins on Thursday the 22nd of September at 7.30pm in The Schoolroom with a return visit from Hilary Dodson speaking to us on “Apples and Pears”. If you are planning to plant any fruit trees in Autumn, this talk is a must. This is followed on Thursday the 27th of October with a talk entitled “Make your own Daffodils” by Ann Wright.

10 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 On Thursday the 15th of December we will be holding our Christmas Social with a return visit from the ever popular Joe Maiden talking on “House Plants”.

Everyone welcome – you don’t have to be a member to come to the talks but of course we would love you to join this friendly village club. More details from Isobel Ashford (738384)

Saturday Playgroup

We have only had one meeting since the last Mercury but this was well attended and much fun was had by all in the Schoolroom with storytelling, singing and craftwork. Some of the mini gardens that were created by the children were put on display outside the Schoolroom on the Open Gardens Day. Congratulations go to James and Claire Wilson on the birth of their daughter, Abigail, and we look forward to meeting her soon. The next session will take place on the 8th of October in The Schoolroom. All young children and their parents/carers are welcome. Beate Gordon

Youth Club

Moor Monkton Youth Club needs new members!!! Are you in Year 6 or above? Come and join the Youth Club. We meet monthly at The Schoolroom in Moor Monkton village. Recent activities include pizza and quiz night, self portraits and pancake tossing. Our next meeting will be in September. Look out for dates on the noticeboards. First session is free and then £1 per session afterwards. For more information contact Kathryn Dunn on 01904 738778 or email [email protected]. Kathryn Dunn

Yoga Club

Elaine Hall (738642) is planning to start a Yoga group. Please contact her for more details. Neighbourhood Watch

There is little to report apart from a minor incident by the Ouse at Red House. A fisherman had left his trolley at the top of the bank while he spent the day fishing. When he came to load up he found it had gone. A quick search around Red House, to see if someone had taken it thinking it had been abandoned, proved fruitless. The trolley was homemade with two mountain bike wheels and a handle. It had little value but was purpose built to fit the angler’s fishing gear. Much inconvenience was caused as the fisherman had to take many trips from the river to his car by Redhouse Reservoir carrying his gear. If anyone sees it let Robin Gordon know. The Police will post any useful information on village noticeboards so please keep an eye on these to stay informed. Sandra Wilson

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 11 Village News

The Pickerings’ Cycle Holiday (or Their LEJOG Trip)

Congratulations to Iain and Sally Pickering who have just completed a 1008 mile (1613 km) cycling trip from Lands End to John O’Groats. They set off on their tandem on the 10th of July and completed the journey on the 23rd, averaging about 70 miles a day. Of course they were not doing this just to inflict pain on themselves but have managed also to raise over £800 for Cancer Relief and The British Heart Foundation (and the money is still coming in). See their blog at www.pickers.co.uk where you can see more pictures and make a donation.

Mission accomplished! A weary, and no doubt saddle sore, Iain and Sally at the top end of Britain. The journey was not without its incidents with a few bike repairs to do in the early stages and a crash into nettles near Bristol.

Here they are in Looe, Cornwall after an “epic” section over the hills. Iain says the best parts of the trip were the downhill section into Tinturn Abbey, the last few miles into Glencoe village and, of course, reaching John O’Groats.

This is Iain repairing a puncture in a remote area south of Glasgow after they had run over a paving slab and nearly been unseated. The first puncture of the trip did not occur until just south of the Lake District when they ran over a pothole, but then they had another one at Kendal on the same day.

12 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 Weather Watch

After the very dry March and April, which were considered in the last Mercury, I have kept monitoring the rainfall. The graph giving the daily rainfall amounts since the last issue is shown below.

Daily Rainfall at Red House in 2011 20 18 16 14 Rainfall 12 (mm) 10 8 6 4 2 0 May June July August

It can be seen, as if we need reminding, that the rain has Rainfall at Red House from January to August been falling fairly constantly, 500 464 with larger amounts falling in 427 450 403 Rainfall July. In fact, the 9th and 20th 400 (mm) 350 were the wettest days of the 303 311 307 305 300 269 274 year so far. I then compared 250 the total rainfall from 200 January to August every year 150 100 since 2003. This graph shows 50 how, over time, our weather 0 does remain fairly constant. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Years

Thinking back to the big freeze of December last year and the heatwave of April this year I have constructed a graph to show the maximum daily temperatures recorded at Red House. This shows how the weather has warmed up since the winter, with the high temperatures of April appearing similar to those of June and July.

Maximum Temperatures Recorded at Red House from January to July 2011 35

Maximum 30 Temperatures 25 ( o C) 20

15

10

5

0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul

Robin Gordon

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 13 Moor Monkton - A History Part 5

A Short History of the York to Harrogate Railway

On the 16th of July 1846 the East & West Yorkshire Junction Railway (E&WYJR) obtained an Act to build a line from York to which would then join on to the existing Harrogate and District Railway thereby giving Harrogate direct access to the North. The line was let in two contracts - the Kirk Hammerton Section of ten miles and the Knaresborough of about four. Although the Kirk Hammerton part, which included our station of Marston Moor, was relatively easy to construct, the first contractor went bankrupt. Knaresborough did not yet have a railway, the great viaduct across the Nidd had first to be built to get the line to Starbeck as well as a tunnel dug on the York side of the station. In March 1848, when the viaduct was almost complete the centre pier collapsed and the viaduct fell into the river. After an investigation, it was found that poor workmanship was to blame and it had been a wonder that the structure had stayed up at all. There were also delays in the completion of the tunnel and, as a result, when the line finally opened in October that year it terminated about a mile to the east of Knaresborough at a temporary station. Prior to this, inspections to the line had revealed serious shortcomings and delays with sections of track having to be relaid and signals failing to be connected on time. The inspector concluded that if the line opened in its present state then it would be “attended with great danger to the public”. In the meantime this did not stop the line being used to transport people on a free train from Knaresborough to an agricultural show in York and also to carry the railway workers with “banners flying and bands playing” on a celebratory trip from Poppleton to Knaresborough and back.

The E&WYJR had never actually intended to work the railway and they had trouble finding someone who would. Branchlines were not usually profitable and this line was not yet even connected to Harrogate. However they did manage to persuade the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway (YN&BR) to take on the running of the trains. By March 1849 the E&WYJR was in a poor financial state and a survey revealed that too much money had been spent The station house, platforms and signal box of Marston on the elaborate station buildings. Moor Station in 1977 It also stated that bridges instead of level crossings had been built for livestock to cross the line. This was in spite of the fact that a level crossing had been used where the line meets the Great North Road at Hopperton (Allerton). By August 1849 the tunnel at Knaresborough had been completed and a contract had been awarded for the reconstruction of the viaduct. This did not please the original contractors who employed men to throw the rubble back into the Nidd as quickly as it was being pulled out. By August 1850 the final keystone of the viaduct was laid and the line was eventually connected to Starbeck in 1851. However the track to York was already in a poor state of repair and had to be improved. As a

14 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 Marston Moor Station

Marston Lane Coal Depots Dock Down Platform

Up Platform

Signal Box Station Buildings

To York To Harrogate

Marston Lane

A plan of Marston Moor Station which served the village of Moor Monkton for 110 years. Originally the station was named just Marston, it only gained the “Moor” in 1896. result, the number of passenger services had to be reduced from three to two a day. Finally, in 1862, when the line was built from Starbeck to Harrogate, trains could travel directly from York to Harrogate.

In 1872 the Chairman of the North Eastern Railway (NER) said of the Knaresborough to York line that it had only one locomotive which was worked hard hauling passengers, goods and coal at a speed of 4mph. There was only one set of carriages and trains were often delayed because the locomotive had broken down or its fire had gone out. He suggested that the line had been of little use to the public! In 1902 there were complaints in the local press about people spitting in the Harrogate to York trains and that the carriage floors were beginning to resemble spittoons. By 1906 a steam autocar was introduced to increase the number of services. On the 18th of August 1958 diesel railcars were introduced although some services were still pulled by a steam locomotive. It was not until January 1959 that all passenger services were worked by railcars. Unfortunately for Marston Moor station it had little chance to experience the new service as it was closed to passengers on the 15th of September 1958 along with Goldsborough, Hopperton and Hessay. Goods traffic was also eventually stopped between Knaresborough and York in 1965, although a private siding to the military depot at Hessay was still in use up until 1995 when the depot closed. Under the Beeching plan, the line was to have been closed completely in 1964 but, after 337 objections were made, this plan was shelved. Since then there have been few changes apart from the introduction of a Sunday service in winter, staff reductions on the trains and the conversion of the line to single track between Hammerton and Poppleton in 1973.

The line has had its share of incidents and accidents over the years, mostly involving crashes at level crossings. The worst of these tended to occur at the Hopperton crossing of the A1 and it was not until 1962 that a road bridge was built over the railway. However, in 1988, a lorry hit the bridge parapet, knocking rubble onto the line and the truck was left balancing over the edge until it was removed. Marston Moor station gained its moment of fame when, in 1972, a locomotive ran away from the Harrogate goods yard, set off down the line towards York and smashed through the level crossing gates at Starbeck. All the down line level crossing gates were set to open and the signalman at Marston Moor was asked to board the engine if it was travelling slowly enough. This he duly did and brought the locomotive under control.

(With due acknowledgement of the book “The Railways of Harrogate and District” by James Rogers from which I have shamelessly pinched material. Robin Gordon

Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011 15 Sports Day Extra

Introducing the new sport of “cats cradle with Paula Robinson presents the Golden Welly to a tug-o-war rope” in which Mark Pickering James Wilson after he won the contest with a and Elaine Hall seem to be struggling casual throw that left the opposition feeling a (Photos by Eric Lambert) little downtrodden

The Moor Monkton Barbecue

The village barbecue will take place at The Schoolroom sometime in September. Please check noticeboards for the date. Adverts will also be posted around the village.

Advertising: This is a great way for local businesses to support the Mercury £25 for sponsorship including half page advert Adverts: £20 half page, £10 quarter page, £5 eighth page

A big “thank you” to all those who contributed to this bumper edition of The Mercury. Special mention goes to Andy Atkins-Krüger for his time and expense in printing the Mercury. If you have any stories or events that need publicising let the editor know.

Printed by WebCertain Global, Northminster Business Park, Poppleton (www.webcertain.com)

Editor: Robin Gordon (738483) [email protected]

The information appearing in this newsletter is taken from a variety of sources and the Editor cannot take responsibility for its accuracy or any opinions expressed

16 Moor Monkton Mercury No. 20 August 2011