Lots of camps around the Sedbergh area this weekend, complete with dozens of beautiful traditional gypsy caravans and hordes of horses - many superb piebalds and coloureds, including foals. This evening we passed some camps sited at lonely river banks, the camp fire blazing, the smell of food in the air. One of these days I may decide to join them. That's the life for me! (It's the horse fair at Appleby this week, of course.) -- R o o n e y
"I always knew the entire Green party were nutters" - Ken Livingstone
If you happen to be heading along the A65 towards the Dales/Lakes about this time of year (Bank Hol w/es a speciality) and get stuck in a very long queue of traffic for about 45 minutes only to reach the head of the queue and find a slow-moving horse-drawn vehicle akin to a gypsy caravan, you might be inclined to smile less sweetly on these travellers who appear unaware of the queues of traffic behind them.
[Rant=off]
I don't mind finding that the cause of the hold up is a legitimate road user doing a legitimate speed for his vehicle. It can be irritating, sure, but at the end of the day it's not usually that important to save a few minutes' journey time. What I object to is things like the two old dears who were immediately in front of me yesterday in a 60mph zone. They were doing a steady 35mph and every now and then the old dear in the passenger seat leaned across towards the driver to either speak or to incline an ear. The queueueueue behind me was quite impressive; the cars in front were nonexistent. -- / Fran O(<|={ \
If you happen to be heading along the A65 towards the Dales/Lakes about this time of year (Bank Hol w/es a speciality) and get stuck in a very long queue of traffic for about 45 minutes only to reach the head of the queue and find a slow-moving horse-drawn vehicle akin to a gypsy caravan, you might be inclined to smile less sweetly on these travellers who appear unaware of the queues of traffic behind them.
[Rant=off]
Or you may feel priviliged to have caught a glimpse of a vanishing slower and less stressful way of life 🙂
Having a couple of miles of impatient drivers sitting behind me wanting me out of the way sounds pretty stessful to me! I'm sure they are aware of them...
"Rooney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Lots of camps around the Sedbergh area this weekend, complete with dozens of beautiful traditional gypsy caravans and hordes of horses - many superb piebalds and coloureds, including foals. This evening we passed some camps sited at lonely river banks, the camp fire blazing, the smell of food in the air. One of these days I may decide to join them. That's the life for me! (It's the horse fair at Appleby this week, of course.)
Saw then last weekend all the way from Alston, over Hartside and on to Sedbergh and Casterton. The old painted waggons arer pretty enough, though I don't like those "trotters" they scoot around in (and clearly the ponies don't either). I wonder is that pile of old pallets has been left behind?
I don't mind finding that the cause of the hold up is a legitimate road user doing a legitimate speed for his vehicle.
I don't mind either, providing they periodically pull off the road to let the queues past. Last (BH) Monday on the way back east across the A66, we past a (west-bound) queue. At the front were 3 horse-drawn gypsy caravans. At the back, 11 miles away (I measured it) were some *very* irritated people!
They obviously knew they were causing the hold-up, and obviously didn't care. Or possibly found it entertaining. Personally I think they should have been arrested as they were certainly breaking some law or other.
On the A66 they were probably responsible for stopping more people from breaking other laws (e.g. dangerous driving - there's no point in making a moronic overtaking manoeuvre on a blind corner when there's still 11 miles of queue in front of you!)
In an 11 mile (non-motorway) queue I think I'd just pull over and make something to eat and drink. I don't mind being held up by horses, probably because I'm a rider as well as a driver. I tend to avoid the Lakes/Snowdonia/Peaks on bank holidays and go where it's very quiet (parts of Montgomeryshire, for example, can be completely deserted).
As for the rubbish question raised elsewhere in the thread - sure, some gypsies are dirty. And some black people commit crimes. Need I say more? -- R o o n e y
"I always knew the entire Green party were nutters" - Ken Livingstone
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 10:51:31 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]
(Tim Jones) said:
Rooney said:
Lots of camps around the Sedbergh area this weekend, complete with dozens of beautiful traditional gypsy caravans and hordes of horses - many superb piebalds and coloureds, including foals.
There'll be some good eating on those.
regards
Tim
Just proving that we can all troll if we really want to 😉
A few days ago in the Languedoc my wife was horrified to discover that the local speciality was donkey sausages! -- R o o n e y
"I always knew the entire Green party were nutters" - Ken Livingstone
I think that there is something the traffic police can use in these circumstances ~ citing the offense "driving without consideration for other road users", or words similar.
Not sure about what the police can do, but maybe courtesy:
Highway Code, section 145
145: Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow moving vehicle. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.
I think that there is something the traffic police can use in these circumstances ~ citing the offense "driving without consideration for other road users", or words similar.
I'm sure that if it was a bunch of cyclists causing the hold-up the motorists would have reacted more vigorously. -- Gordon Harris
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 10:51:31 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]
(Tim Jones) said:
Rooney said:
Lots of camps around the Sedbergh area this weekend, complete with dozens of beautiful traditional gypsy caravans and hordes of horses - many superb piebalds and coloureds, including foals.
There'll be some good eating on those.
regards
Tim
Just proving that we can all troll if we really want to 😉
A few days ago in the Languedoc my wife was horrified to discover that the local speciality was donkey sausages!
You can't beat a real donkey sausage, dry cured ones are great backpacking fare😉
My only concern is that they may not actually contain donkey at all and just be a tourist gimmick to help sell some other inferior mainstream meat ;(
Just proving that we can all troll if we really want to 😉
A few days ago in the Languedoc my wife was horrified to discover that the local speciality was donkey sausages!
A friend of mine in Carmarthenshire breeds goats. Any kids that aren't 100% right for breeding stock end up in the freezer, usually as sausages. -- / Fran O(<|={ \
On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 11:33:15 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]
(Tim Jones) said:
Rooney said:
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 10:51:31 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]
(Tim Jones) said:
On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 23:43:35 +0100, Rooney <[email hidden]> wrote:
>Lots of camps around the Sedbergh area this weekend, complete with >dozens of beautiful traditional gypsy caravans and hordes of horses - >many superb piebalds and coloureds, including foals.
There'll be some good eating on those.
regards
Tim
Just proving that we can all troll if we really want to 😉
A few days ago in the Languedoc my wife was horrified to discover that the local speciality was donkey sausages!
You can't beat a real donkey sausage, dry cured ones are great backpacking fare😉
My only concern is that they may not actually contain donkey at all and just be a tourist gimmick to help sell some other inferior mainstream meat ;(
regards
Tim Jones
I don't know whether they were anything special as I wasn't permitted to try them! -- R o o n e y
"I always knew the entire Green party were nutters" - Ken Livingstone
A friend of mine in Carmarthenshire breeds goats. Any kids that aren't 100% right for breeding stock end up in the freezer, usually as sausages. --
A friend of mine came from a family who have a herd of Jerseys (the cattle, not the jumpers)for a specialist milk line. Any male calves born(as you know, cows have to calve to provide milk) used to go towards maintaining the family's line of St Bernards!
Mind you, that was some years ago. Maybe there's a way of choosing the sex of calves now (or even of prolonging or inducing lactation - I'm sure someone will know).
In an 11 mile (non-motorway) queue I think I'd just pull over and make something to eat and drink.
Assuming of course you knew it was 11 miles long and didn't end just round the next corner 🙂
Quoted message said:
I don't mind being held up by horses, probably because I'm a rider as well as a driver.
Presumably having a foot in both camps you also treaty motorists with some respect while you're riding.
Quoted message said:
I tend to avoid the Lakes/Snowdonia/Peaks on bank holidays and go where it's very quiet (parts of Montgomeryshire, for example, can be completely deserted).
Likewise - we were on our way back from Glen Affric at the time 🙂
Presumably having a foot in both camps you also treaty motorists with some respect while you're riding.
Yes, though there are quite a few places hereabouts where you just can't stand to and let them pass. But they aren't usually busy roads - quiet lanes mainly. I'd really enjoy a long distance journey in a horse-drawn caravan, but it would be one that made maximum use of green lanes etc. I think the possibilities in the Dales would be good. -- R o o n e y
"I always knew the entire Green party were nutters" - Ken Livingstone
Yes, though there are quite a few places hereabouts where you just can't stand to and let them pass. But they aren't usually busy roads - quiet lanes mainly. I'd really enjoy a long distance journey in a horse-drawn caravan, but it would be one that made maximum use of green lanes etc. I think the possibilities in the Dales would be good.
Not sure I'd like a farting horse in front of me for a long slow journey by road, but the whole family enjoyed three holidays on a Thames cruiser. It was hell getting back into the car and driving up the M1. -- Gordon Harris
Any kids that aren't 100% right for breeding stock end up in the freezer, usually as sausages.
I just re-read that. I know that large families can be a trial at times, but really..... I suppose a whole child would have to be quartered and kept in the freezer. -- Gordon Harris
