This Is The Side That The Grass Is Greener On I was chatting with some of the girls during service last week and they were describing their desire to move away from "dull, boring old Ilkley". Now I'd have to admit that old Ilkers might not be the fast moving, up tempo place to live, but it is beautiful. I love travelling and I have been lucky enough to see beautiful places all over the world (and the odd hole as well), I was even marginally tempted by Australia for a while, but whilst all those places were lovely when you're on holiday, when you're living there and stuck in a hot and sweaty kitchen all places are pretty much one and the same. Sometimes people move or even emigrate because they think that they can leave all their problems behind them and begin afresh in a new place, for some folk that might work, but other people find that they are their own problem, it was never the location that was the trouble. I feel a connection to the landscape here, just looking up at the moors gives me a sense of peace and of belonging. Sometimes when I'm up really early in the summer a light mist lies along the river with the trees shrouded and ghostly, as the sun rises through it the scene has an ethereal, spectral beauty. At this time of year, as the sun sets beyond the top of Wharfedale it reflects in all the windows of the houses along Skipton Road setting them ablaze with glorious golden light. Later as the valley falls into darkness, house lights glow amidst the trees on the other side of the valley and it calls to mind Tolkien's descriptions of Hobbiton and Bree. My favourite place in the world I think is stood high up on Cam High Road, looking back down into Kettlewell an down Wharfedale. The dry stone walls in the valley bottom both mark out and are one with the landscape. Trees in strong and vibrant green stand guard around the village and are dotted along the valley. Where the valley sweeps up to the moors there are more trees and stands of gorse which early in the year will explode into vivid yellow flowers, here and there are set aside meadows in which delicate wildflowers flourish throughout the summer. Sounds will reach you on the road, sheep bleat, the buzzing of a farmer's quad bike, the haunting calls of golden plover and nearly always the wind, whether soft and cooling on a hot summer's day, or biting and freezing and carrying with it rain or sleet so hard that it stings any exposed skin, and being Yorkshire, this can be high summer as well. I love travelling, but I love being here as well, the Dales are in my soul.

Ilkley Ward Result Bruce, Vaughan - Liberal Democrat 553 Dundas, Andrew Peter Alan - Labour 719 Hawkesworth, Anne Gillian Conservative - 3,245 Websdale, Bryan Green Party - 526 Total electorate entitled to vote 11,158 Total number of ballot papers received(including rejected papers) 5062 Percentage poll 45 Number of rejected ballot papers 19 Bradford Council site with full results Less than half the electorate bothered to turn out, if you can't be bothered to vote, please do not inflict your opions about politics / government / immigration / global warming / pretty much everything really, on anyone else. You have your chance to change things at the ballot box so don't moan down the pub if you didn't get off your arse on Thursday. I voted for the Green Party candidate, who finished last but within touching distance of the Lib Dems and not far short of the Nu-Labour candidate. I think I would prefer a proportional representation system for voting, although this would probably allow the BNP to get more seats than the two it currently holds, it would also allow more Greens and Lib Dems onto Bradford Council. Bradford Council Seats 36 seats Labour 35 seats Conservative 14 seats Liberal Democrat 3 seats Green Party 2 seats British National Party

Vote Green "My family and I simply love living in Ilkley as I am sure you do too, however there are important issues facing us all. Issues such as school places, affordable housing, questionable redevelopement of fine buildings and gardens, the management of the moor, , over use of the car and under use of public transport, strains on local shops and business...the list continues. I feel that it is time to view these matters through a fresh, contemporary, ecological and sustainable lens. We know now more than ever how much our actions and behaviours affect not only our environment but also our lives and the lives of future genrations here in Ilkley and around the world. There are many ways in which we can individually or as a family change our impact but I hope that with a vote for the Green Party we can help to re-examine existing local policies and structures. I am passionate about our town and its influences elsewhere and I am very willing to listen, learn and work for you so that Ilkley remains a wonderful place to live and visit" - Bryan Websdale, Green Party Candidate, Ilkley Ward.

Cycling In The Dark = Suicide Last week as I was taking some of the staff home we saw a rather astonishing, or a rather incredibly stupid sight on Denton Road. At past ten o'clock in the evening a group of cyclists were meandering along the road. A car driver in front of me had pulled over and was having a word with them, there was a frank exchange of views and I agreed totally with the car driver. The reason for the argument wasn't the usual corner cutting or ignoring of red lights that many cyclists around Ilkley do, but these guys were two abreast, in the dark, with no lights at all. I'd seen the brake lights of the car that had stopped them before I realised that there was a group of cyclists behind him. They were not kids either, these were all adult men and really should have known better. I really don't understand some people, living on Nesfield Road I often see cars careering along at speeds which are far in excess of what is safe on a very narrow road. Looking at how some folk drive, why on earth would you think that cycling with no lights in the dark is a good or safe (or legal ?) idea ? While I am having a moan, the red light issue, why do cylists think that traffic lights don't apply to them ? And those white lines on the road at junctions ? You're not supposed to cross them when turning in to a road, so the cyclist that gave me the finger two weeks ago because he had to make a sharp adjustment in his course as I approached the junction should note that..... a) I was indicating and you were not. b) I remained inside the lines whilst approaching the junction whereas you came over the central white line onto my side of the road so you didn't have to slow down. c) If we do collide, it's not me who is going to be picking my teeth out of my radiator grill.

My Bird Table Big visitors to the bird table this morning, our resident Pheasant has found himself a small harem of females. Just a couple of feet away from the pheasants a male Chaffinch seeks to pick up a seed or two. And waiting a little further away one of a pair of Coal Tits won't approach until the bigger birds have moved away.

Ilkley Birdlife A Greenfinch feeding in a Hawthorn on the bank of the Wharfe. It appeared to be eating the opening buds of leaves. A pair of Goosanders hunting for fish in the Wharfe by the 3rd hole at Ilkley Golf Club. Opposite the 1st fairway at the club the river has eaten into the river bank this winter, cutting right throug the old footpath, but the newly opened bank has created some nice easy digging for Sand Martins. I was trying to get a shot of the swooping Martins when this Kingfisher flew in and perched on a rock. A clever crow, it had just flown across to the mooring below the Riverside Hotel where it pinched a big bit of bread that some people were feeding to the ducks. Finding the bread too dry for its liking, the crow dunked the bread in the river for a few moments. It is really hard to get good shots of wildlife, I think I ought to save up for a bigger zoom lens.

Jesus On The Cross It was a nice afternoon yesterday so I had a wander up to the retreat at Middleton and then come back down into the valley and strolled along the river side for a while.

R U A Scutter ? If so, then please keep the hell away from where I live, stay in your own dingy streets where you can live like pigs / animals / chavs etc. I love where I live, Ilkley and the surrounding areas are naturally beautiful, you only have to walk out from town for a few minutes to find yourself in the farmland countryside of the lower Dales. The fields are thronged with new life, tiny lambs tottering about or peering inquisitively through fences, their little tails jigging as they suckle. In the hedgerows and woods wild flowers are blooming, the first bluebells are alread showing and shortly they will all be awash with colour. Birds are nestbuilding and preparing to raise young, gathering straw from barns and wool caught up on barbed wire. It's all beautiful, and I love it. None of this is in any way improved by the litter throwing scumbags that drive around the country lanes. I'm not just having a rant about this, because just talking doesn't achieve a right lot. Periodically, when I go walking, I take a few binbags with me, fill them with litter as I go and the leave them by the roadside where I can pick them up later in the day. I havn't advertised this before as it's just something I do, I don't want heaps of praise either, however, if you think it's a good idea - why don't you have a go ? You could pick any stretch of road, around Ilkley there are lots of areas that could use some volunteer litter pickers. I have seen in the USA that roads are 'adopted' by various youth and community organisations, I presume these groups run litter picking days to keep the roads tidy, that's a great idea, perhaps if you're a member of a sports club or community group you could organise something like this. A couple of car drivers stopped for a chat today as I went tidying, and both of them suggested other roads where I could come and do some work, but you're entirely missing the point people, don't find me more rubbish to pick up, get out and pick up some rubbish yourself. Litter really annoys me, even in the more remote parts of Yorkshire / The Lakes etc., where access is by a few hours stiff walking, you still find litter. This defies all common sense, you walk for hours to see the most beautiful countryside, then after your packed lunch you stuff your empty coke bottle and crisp packets into a hedge. Smokers are about the worst offenders when it comes to chucking litter from a moving vehicle, I've picked up dozens and dozens of damp fag packets today. Mobile drinkers are probably next on the list, empty booze cans and bottles are a large part of roadside litter, and no matter how far you are from the dreaded golden arches though, and it's a fair drive to nearest McDonalds, McLitter gets everywhere. I don't suppose I have the sort of readers that chuck litter, but I know I have the sort of readers who are concerned for our countryside (and for city dwellers, street litter in towns is no more pleasant), might you consider taking a binbag or carrier bag next time you go for a stroll and doing a bit to keep the place looking spick and span ? Ta, Yorkshiresoul.

Not A Restaurant Review - Bar t'at, Ilkley I can't do restaurant reviews around Ilkley any more because everyone knows who I am now, but...... I've been in to the excellent Bar T'at a few times in the last few weeks, for dining and drinking, and it is really good. Bar T'at serves the best beers (and bottled beers & lagers & ciders & fruit beers etc), and the best selection of in town. On Tuesday we drank our way through a pint or several of Leeds Pale, Saltaire Blonde, Copper Dragon's Golden Pippin, Old Legover, and, er, well after that the memory becomes a bit fuzzy actually. We have also eaten there twice in the last week, at the very good value (for Ilkley) Thursday Steak Night, and on Tuesday when there are five specials on the board each priced at a fiver (plus VAT). I had grilled pork steaks with mash, black pudding and cider sauce from the main menu at £10, it was very good and the portion sizes are what we call Yorkshire portions, i.e. you won't be asking for seconds. The beers are great, the food good and good value, just don't be like the plonker at the bar last week who I overheard asking the staff if they had Carling, no mate, if you want plastic lager, go to a plastic pub. Bar T'at - Market Town Taverns

Walking Yorkshire : Home Beat By 'eck it was cold yesterday, the sky was filled with fast moving clouds pushed onwards by a shrieking, bitter wind, but it wasn't raining or snowing so I had a quick stroll up to White Wells and across to the Cow & Calf and back home in time for lunch. The Cow & Calf look quite nice in this shot, but the wind was blowing so hard I had a hard time keeping the camera still enough to get a good picture. The old bridge down by the Riverside Hotel.

The Manor House Museum, Ilkley Isn't it odd that you'll often travel half way around the world to see things, and yet there are sometimes places right under your nose that you have never looked at ? Manor House Museum. So this morning after a quick ramble around the moors I popped in to have a look. There is a small museum with a potted history of Ilkley from the Romans, through the Dark Ages, the coming of hydropathy to Ilkley, there are also lots of old photographs of Ilkley locations past and present. Upstairs there is a nice art gallery which at the moment is hosting the Burley-In-Wharfedale & Menston Arts Clubs 2008 Annual Exhibition. There are 80+ paintings on view, nearly all of which may be purchased when the show ends. I was quite taken by Babara Tower's watercolour of 'Autumn Evening, Grimwith'. I've walked around Grimwith many times and the picture will be a nice reminder of pleasant walks when I get it put up on my office wall.

Winter Arrived... ...at 3.45pm exactly. The sky turned dark, and lumps of hail fell at a furious pace. There you are, with the flash on you can see the lumps of hail falling at a furious pace. Winter doesn't seem to last right long these days, so under the circumstances you've got to make the most of the situation and....... ......build a 4 inch tall snowman ! All Hail Mister Snowey. Behold his Carroty Magnificence. Fall to Your Knees in Awe of his Cabbage Sack Scarf. Avert your eyes from His Terrible Peppercorn Gaze!!!!!!

Those Crazy Victorians From David Carpenter's 'Ilkley:The Victorian Era', a visitor to Ilkley's White Wells describes the experience......"The shock of plunging into the Ilkey bath is excessive, and an irresistible urge to escape from its influence is the first sensation produced." I'd have to agree with that, on my annual plunge into White Wells my first thought is always "Great, now I can get out again." The visitor continues...."The plunge is immediately succeeded by shivering - the extremities grow numb and pale - there is a contraction of the living fibre; the diameter of the superficial vessels is lessened and the blood is driven from the surface to internal parts..." Yes, my living fibre certainly suffered some contraction. "On emerging from the bath, the phenomena just enumerated are speedily followed by a very different series....the cold is now gradually succeeded by an equally universal sense of warmth and the weight in the head is almost instantaneously relieved. The bather feels invigorated....the vigour of the muscles is increased, and there is an aptitude for action...." My aptitude for action was to get a pint of hot coffee and a bacon butty inside me. "In short, the whole body is in a glow, every function appears to be carried on with increased alacrity - and all this is accompanied with great cheerfulness and a buoyancy of the spirits" Well, that sounds more or less like our experiences.

The Waters Receded At 10 o'clock last night we could see that the level of the flood had fallen by almost two feet, the lights reflecting on the engorged river from Skipton Road above were now showing dark patches of grass here and there in the flow. At the height of the flood, in the dark, the river looked eerily beautiful, the streetlights shone shimmering bands of orange and white light across it and the soft rushing, liquid noises produced a comforting sound. 8 o'clock this morning and most of the flood has gone, here you can see trees around the 18th green reflected in a pool of water at the edge of the course. Obviously the course will remain closed for some days yet, but it is beautiful with the ice and water on it this morning.

No Golf Today For The Foreseable Future Of course, if any visitors do come, they would be well advised to bring a wetsuit and oxygen tank. This was the 1st fairway at Ilkley Golf Club at about 1.30pm this afternoon, the river has come up much further since then. The footbridge from the 4th tee over the Wharfe. The sign on the tree says 'Fire Assembly Point', so, basically your choice is burn or drown. The 13th green, 6th & 10th tees. Looking from the elevated ladies tee down the 16th fairway. A stream pouring down out of Owler Park Wood and filling up the 16th & 17th. Car trouble on Nesfield Road, what was this bloke thinking ? The water is now deep enough and fast flowing enough for this car to almost have been pushed in to the deepest part of the dip, as it was it took a big swerve and only just made it out to the carpark. Looking across the 18th & 1st fairways at Ilkley Golf Club at about 4.30 this afternoon. This 4WD owner was wise enough not to chance his luck in the dip. No golf today then, and Duncan will no doubt be happy to accept volunteers for the clean up when the Wharfe does recede again.

2008 National Year Of Reading Not that I really need any encouragement. 2008 Year Of Reading I will be trying to read at least a book a week this year, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I read 75 books last year in addition to a daily paper, the BBC website, numerous blogs and magazines..... For local readers, Chefling Caorl has pointed out that there is a discount bookstore under The Moors Centre in Ilkley. I had a quick look round this morning and came away with a dozen books from the SF Masterworks series, there's a ton of stuff from all genres though. Paperbacks three for a fiver.

Water Hazard On The 1st, And The 2nd, And The....... Yesterday was a wet and windy day at Ilkley Golf Club. The morning view from the balcony looking over the 18th fairway to the treeline and the 1st fairway beyond. If you look just above the gate onto the course near the hedge at the left of the picture you can see the flag on the 18th green. The large building on the other side of the river is Ilkley Lawn Tennis Club. This car made it through the flooded dip in the road, the water continued to rise for a couple of hours and some drivers pushed their luck later on and were left in the flood with drowned engines, still, it keeps the bloke with the tow truck employed. The boating lake on the 18th fairway, no work today then.

Mad Blokes In Very Cold Water Again We get a year older, but we don't get any more sensible. As always, the brave, the intrepid and the just plain daft turned up at White Wells on Ilkley Moor for the traditional New Year's Day plunge into the icy waters of the spa pool. From the left, tattooed love god Terry, Wossername, father in law Brian and Yorkshiresoul. Oddly I actually look as if I'm enjoying it. Tony forgets his trunks and jumps in fully clothed, I hope you didn't freeze on the way home mate. Supermoo !!

Rainbow's End below Eller Ghyll, Ilkley

Raining on Ilkley Moor, Sunshine In Burley, Raining on Otley Quite often in these parts they say the weather today will be "changeable."

Ilkley Tarn

Sunset In The Wharfe Valley I do like a nice sunset.

Is Ilkley Really Posh Then ? That's the question that visitors to the golf club often ask me. "Well," I say. "My next door neighbour takes a taxi to work every morning." "That's nowt posh," replies the visitor. "I send the wife to Tesco in a taxi every Tuesday." "Ah yes, but your wife has a driver, my neighbour requires a pilot."

Pottermania - Ilkley Good evening, or is that good very early morning, Potter fans. Yorkshire Soul, along with Mrs YS., and we're reporting (almost) live from the launch of the most recent and final Harry Potter book. Crowds were gathering early outside Ilkley's purveyors of literature with some brave souls reporting that they had braved the bleak midsummer (i.e. howling wind and driving rain) conditions since 7pm that evening in order to get their geeky hands on the final installment of JK Rowlings pension plan. Please note, the above picture is not blurred, it's atmospheric alright! There were dozens queueing at The Grove Bookshop (a fine and independent business), hundreds more at W H Smith (homogeneous high street doesn't quite know what it wants to be store), and I'm glad to report that some fine enterprising and fairly pissed young men had gone to the effort of stealing the advertising banner from Tesco (Superhyperglobalwe'regonnaowntheworld) and paraded it in front of the crowds of geeks. Lucy A, fine waitress of this parish, was first in line at The Grove, and sported a fine Harry-esque scar, very fetching Lucy. Scars were de riguer in Ilkley tonight, as these two lasses in the WHSmiths queue show, these two had also, quite sensibly considering the prevailing weather conditions, gone for a combination bin bag / wizards cloak ensemble to protect them both from rain and the necromantic power of Lord Voldemort. Also in attendance were numerous representatives of the drunken youth of Ilkley, who, in 'hilarious' fashion, repeatedly shouted "Harry dies", ah, being dumb is so funny when you're pissed. As far as I'm concerned Rowling is fantastic, anyone who can create this sort of excitement for a book deserves all the plaudits and money that will be thrown her way. Also, geeks are cool, and speaking as a comics / sci-fi / fantasy / Tolkienite / MMORG / Eve Online / Pardus / D&D / cricket / wine geek, I should know. The geeks will inherit the earth, because we bothered to read books to find out how.

Rain At Last To be honest though, at 7am it's more of a light drizzle, let's hope it turns into a decent soaking later in the day. The BBC forecast says we might have to wait until Monday or perhaps Thursday for more rain. Drought warning, turn off those hosepipes, stop washing the car / dog / children etc.

Too Much Of A Good Thing We're basking in the sun, but here at the golf club at least, we are praying for rain. As the sun beats down, and the tabloid press gets some mileage out of global warming headlines, we have only had one period of decent rain in the last six weeks. The River Wharfe here at Ilkley is about as low as I can ever remember it, you can walk from bank to bank in parts and the water will hardly cover your shoes. It isn't just golfers and their employees who are worried about this, farmers would be delighted with this amount of warmth at this time of year, if it had brought some rain with it. Everything looks green at the moment, but fields and fairways are drying out, grass and crops won't grow for ever without rain. So whilst I'm enjoying the sun, you will understand if I do a little rain dance this evening.

Rubbish Or compost to be more precise. We generate quite a lot of green kitchen waste here at IGC, and in my efforts to be more green, recycle more and put less junk into landfills I'd like to get rid of it if I can. Wosser is going to take some, is there anyone else in Burley-In-W, Ilkley, Addingham that would like kitchen waste for their compost ? I can deliver the stuff if I'm passing through, although this may mean when I take the waiting staff home, so if you'd prefer not to have a large spiky haired bloke leaving bulging bin liners in your driveway after midnight maybe you could come round and collect. If anyone is interested just e-mail me and we'll sort something out. Yorkshiresoul@gmail.com A question for the green fingered types out there, although our waste is mostly peelings, leftover salads, fruit rinds etc., can these items be put into compost ? Used tea bags Used coffee grounds Eggshells Newspaper

Hello Summertime ...and goodbye social life. The clocks have been put forward, closing time here at IGC has gone back to around 7.30pm, new furniture has arrived for the patio, it's time to start welcoming some visitors back to the club and for us all to earn some money again after a poor start to the year. This last week of March is traditionally a good one as golfers make the most of the reduced green fees that are charged during the winter months, unlike some clubs though, we never play temporary winter tees or greens here at Ilkley Golf Club, the course is either fully open, or under water depending on the rain. It will be nice to the place full of customers again, here's hoping for lots of good weather to tempt the golfers out to play, and drink, and eat of course. Ilkley Golf Club

It's Fightin' Time In Espresso Land Cafedirect versus Starbucks. Ethical beverage suppliers Cafedirect have announced plans to roll out a chain of coffee shops to take on global market leaders Starbucks. Penny Newman, chief exec of Cafedirect said "It's about championing a different way of trading coffee. It is also about being a business, not being a charity." I'm afraid that I'm only going to offer lukewarm applause for this scheme, British city centres are already fairly dire. They are dull, uniform, homogenised, Americanised. It doesn't matter whether this new chain will be British owned and fairly traded, it will be just another faceless, same old, same old in a few years time. We don't need yet more chains of stores, what is wrong with you people ? It's the public that are to blame for all this plastic food and drink, you want the same burger in Leeds, Liverpool, Los Angeles and Lagos, so that's what you end up with. The same crappy coffee in Bradford, Berlin, Bermuda and Buenos Aires. I'm quite lucky, I live in Ilkley, and to some degree the town has managed to resist the march of the multinationals. We have a broad selection of independant, different, interesting, unique places to eat and drink. There are some chains of course, the Cow & Calf has become one of the Inkeeper's Lodge chain of same menu gastro pubs, Costa Coffee has moved in on our last small scale newsagent, and we're stuck with the empire building Tesco or the nicer/pricier Booths, but on the whole, it's a nicer, more varied place to live and shop than many towns. We're not quite as independant / quirky as Hebden Bridge, but it's not bad. It would be far nicer if your town could have an independant coffee shop, selling Fairtrade goods. Wouldn't you like your town to have more independant, more interesting shops and businesses ? Choose where you spend then, before you walk through the door of easy, comfort zone, Superhyperglobal Coffee Inc., tomorrow, stop and think, is there somewhere else you could shop ? Or maybe there isn't, after all, big companies always say they are only providing what the customer wants, and looking at our cities, what we want is interchangeable anytown UK-USA.