Home again, Madrid, Sunday 14th June, 2026
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| On the Bolton Abbey train to Embsay. From left to right: Gill, Sarah, Gael, Chris, me, Mark, Simon and Eladio. A group of old friends and their spouses remembering their youthful past in Bradford. |
Good morning folks.
We are home. Our Yorkshire holiday, the return to my roots and seeing friends is over and although the weather played up, we had a marvellous time. I got my Yorkshire fix which, hopefully, will keep me going until next time. Oh how glorious God's own country is.
Last Sunday we woke up in Keighley in Phil and Kath's beautiful Victorian house. We were leaving that morning and I had quite a bit of packing to do. We said our goodbyes and hope we will see each other again soon if we make it to El Cuetu in the next week or so as they are driving their camper van to the north coast of Spain. They are going to much better weather. The weather was not good in England apart from the first 4 days. In Spain we returned to temperatures in the mid 30ºs which was quite a shock.
I ordered an Uber to take us to Simon and Gill's house in Sowerby Bridge (pronounced Sore-be) which, as you may know, if you are a Happy Valley fan, was filmed around here and in nearby Hebden Bridge. Simon is my best friend Amanda's brother who I have known nearly all my life. He went to Bradford Grammar School where my father taught and it was thanks to him that Amanda and I were introduced to his friends and made our own happy "gang", the gang we met up with this week in The Dales. We are talking over 50 years ago. Our families were close and it is wonderful that their memories live on in us. We have talked a lot about the past these days which is so comforting to me. The only sad note was that Amanda and Andy could not come. We plan to make up for that by putting together a trip to Spain in October where we can have another great get together. We have felt so at home with Simon and his wonderful wife Gill who we now consider our friends and it is good to have friends in England.
We got a warm welcome and were happy to be back in their beautiful Yorkshire stone house in such a stunning location. Let me show you:
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| Simon and Gill's stunning house and garden in Sowerby Bridge near Halifax |
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| Just arrived at Simon and Gill's |
We hadn't seen them since 2022 when we all met at my father's funeral. Simon joked about Eladio's age and sent the photo above to his sister saying: "Masha and a young man impersonating Eladio have arrived safely". No one believes his real age and it is often a joke with people asking if my husband has a pact with the devil or similar. I have to say he does look good.
Our hosts served us a splendid Sunday roast, with all the trimmings. Pudding was divine; rhubarb and strawberry crumble with the former coming from their garden and oh what a garden it is. It is like a small version of Harlow Car gardens in Harrogate.
And here are our friends getting the meal ready in their large and beautiful kitchen.
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| Simon and Gill are wonderful hosts |
Monday dawned and it rained from when I got up at about 6 am until 10ish but then, my friends, the sun made an appearance which completely transformed our day. We had a leisurely morning and left at around 11 to drive to nearby Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is in Calderdale, Yorkshire (of course) and is a very vibrant progressive and bohemian market town. It is also a very popular tourist spot. It was once called the Trouser Town for its massive clothing industry. The town is completely unspoilt. If you took the cars and signage away, it would look just like it did 150 years ago with its cobbled streets and back to back terrace houses made of Yorkshire stone all blackened by the smoke of the mills. The Rochdale canal runs right through it and in the past served as a way of transport for the clothing. Today there are leisure barges and it is great to walk on the tow path and watch how the locks are unlocked. But first we headed for the centre to have a wander round. This is one photo I took of our friends to share here and to send to Amanda. Notice the chimney of an old mill in the background.
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| In Hebden Bridge on Monday |
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| The random bride going into the restaurant where we had booked a table for lunch. |
The groom later arrived on crutches. I thought they were some sort of stunt but they said they were for real. Later when we were leaving, they had removed their wedding gear. Funny wedding I imagine. We had a great meal at The Old Gate. Simon and I went for fish and chips which I could not finish and Gill and Eladio chose a lobster "chowder" which they loved.
As we were leaving, a very friendly Scotsman who I mistook for being Irish, took our photo and then played a jig on his mouth organ to our delight. He was about our age and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and said he was off to see his girlfriend but had run out of Viagra! His name was George and I shall remember him, as will all those in the pub garden who witnessed the spectacle hahaha.
Fun in Hebden Bridge on Monday
Hebden Bridge is known for having a large LGBTQ community and for drugs. Not for nothing is the name of the TV series called "Happy" Valley. So when I posted some of the photos of this Yorkshire town someone said it was a "den of iniquity". Well, hardly so. I loved it.
I also loved our walk on the tow path along the Rochdale Canal with geese and ducks and barges and the sunshine. Simon and Eladio had started quoting Green and Latin poets from lunchtime which then turned into a lesson in Philosophy. Eladio studied Theology and Philosophy as well as learning Latin, ancient Greek and Hebrew and his memory is amazing. Simon did Classics at Oxford and then law, so there we had 2 very cultured men debating the meaning of life and remembering Gods and philosophers as far back as Plato and Socrates. They got rather excited. There was a bit of a language barrier as Simon pronounces Greek and Latin with an English accent and Eladio with a Spanish accent. I was fascinated and felt very uncultured compared to them. But when Eladio said Bertrand Russel, the English philosopher and much more, said humankind was as important as an ant having being stepped on by an unaware passerby, I had to disagree. The conversation started in the pub and carried on late into the night. My head was reeling when we went to bed. I'm not sure they noticed their surroundings on the tow path while being so engrossed in their high brow conversation, but I did and here are some pics.
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| Pretty Gill on a bridge on one of the locks on the Rochdale Canal on Monday |
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| Eladio and Simon engrossed in conversation about philosophy and classics during our walk by the canal |
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| One of the barges on the canal |
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| Dinner at Sowerby Bridge on Monday night |
During dinner, the conversation got deeper and deeper. Is there a God? Is there eternal life? What is the meaning and point of life and in the end they concluded there is no answer. I was delighted to see my husband enjoying the conversation so much. I am ashamed to say also I have never really had a conversation like that with my extraordinarily cultured and knowledgeable husband and felt very uncultured myself but could only admire him more if that is possible. I told Gill that one of the reasons I fell in love with him was for how cultured he is. I think I even felt a little more in love with him that night if that is possible.
Tuesday was the day of our trip to The Dales where we would be reunited with our friends from our youth and their partners.We were to be 8 although we would have been 10 with Amanda and Andy who were sorely missed. Before we left, Gill and Simon fed us again and gave us a tasty brunch to last us until our 7.30 meal at The Fell Hotel in Burnsall. That was where we headed to at around 1pm. We got there at about 2.30 and were given our rooms, each one named after a village or landmark in The Dales. Ours was Grassington and we loved it.
Dinner was at 7.30 pm at the hotel and what a wonderful dinner it was. Apart from the food and drink we had a very jolly time, laughing and making a lot of noise which may have annoyed some of the diners. We celebrated with a bottle of champagne which truth to tell I am not keen on and agree with my father when he said it was overrated. Before digging into the delicious meal, we had a photo taken by the lovely Polish waitress to remember the moment.
We had a great agenda that day. It started with taking the Embsay and Bolton Abbey steam train which wasn't new to me but it was to some of the others. This railway line built in 1888 was built to connect Skipton and Ilkley. It was closed in 1965 and restored in the 80's and 90's and it is now run, much like the Worth Valley Railway in Keighley, as a route for tourists and train enthusiasts. The carriage we were on was from the mid 60's and the engine was a 1945 one. Thus it would be familiar to us all. As a child I would travel to London with my family to spend Christmas with my father's beloved sister, Aunty Gloria and her family. We would take the steam train to London on similar carriages and I always hated the loud whistle when we approached King's Cross. I well remember the billows of smoke from the engine. Today a tonne of coal costs 500 pounds.
Once in Embsay, we watched with fascination how they moved the engine to the other end of the train for the short return journey to Bolton Abbey.
When I later posted some of the photos on my social media profiles, I added "you can never get enough of Bolton Abbey and the Strid" and you can't. I would be taking these memories back with me to keep me going.
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| I was delighted that our room was called Grassington |
Soon Chris and Gael, Mark and Sarah arrived and we convened in the bar of this lovely Yorkshire hotel which was quite luxurious. Before dinner, some of us we went for a walk, despite the rain which puzzled my husband. In Spain if it rains everyone goes inside. Not so in England I told him "come rain or shine". This is a photo of us braving the rain with the hotel behind us.
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| Braving the rain to go on a walk in Burnsall on Tuesday afternoon |
Luckily it didn't pour it down and we enjoyed walking on the 1000 year old path in Burnsall by the River Wharfe although we had to navigate lots of puddles.
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| On the cold, rainy and blustery walk on Tuesday in Burnsall |
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| Celebrating the occasion of our reunion at The Fell on the first night |
She will remember the moment too as she got into the fun of it and we had a hell of a laugh especially when she gave a bottle of Sauternes for Simon to smell.
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| A hilarious moment on our first night with Simon being offered the bottle of French dessert wine to taste by the Polish waitress. |
Mark was on top form too so if you don't know him just look at what a marvellous chap he is. He was so funny telling me the next day that I was a lousy kisser when actually he is remembering the wrong girl as I never kissed him.
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| Mark was on top form as was to be expected |
Mark was like a brother to me as were they all. We used to go out most weekends to the Mucky Duck (the Black Swan in Frizinghall now closed) and many a Saturday I held parties at my house for all of us and more. Mark used to be the gatekeeper as he played in the First 15 of the Bradford Grammar Rugby Team. I honestly don't know how my parents let me have so many parties or any at all. My father, being their teacher, used to hide but my mother held court in the kitchen feeding us her Chinese rice well into the night. Chris remembered a moment when he heard my father saying "Masha, tell them all to go home"!
But back to The Devonshire Fell dinner. The banter between Simon, Chris and Mark was thoroughly enjoyed. Oh how I miss the English sense of humour. They had me laughing all night until I couldn't any more, until it was time for bed.
We slept marvellously in the Grassington room with the heating on maximum as it was freezing outside. It was cold too when I went out with my cup of coffee to smoke a cigarette or two on Wednesday morning.
We all convened for breakfast around 9 am which was not to my advantage as it was mostly savoury. Some enjoyed a full English and others had eggs with something. Thus by the mid afternoon I was starving and couldn't wait for dinner which wasn't until 7.30 pm.
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| Breakfast on Wednesday morning |
The old station at Bolton Abbey has been restored lovingly to look like one from the late 19th century and which was very familiar to me from my childhood. Getting on the train was a great opportunity for a photo shoot of all of us. I have chosen one of them for the feature photo and here is another with the station master who even clipped our tickets. What a treat.
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| Photo shoot just before getting on the heritage train. From left to right: Gill, Sarah,Gael, Chris, the Station Master, Mark,Simon and Eladio |
And this is me with Gill on board.
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| With Gill on the Bolton Abbey heritage train on Wednesday |
The next item on the agenda was a short drive to the Cavendish Pavillion next to the River Wharfe on the Bolton Estate from where we wanted to walk to the Strid through the Strid Wood which is a beautiful walk I have done countless times since I was a child and adult. I was so, so happy to be back. We had been to the Abbey and stepping stones and to the other entrance to the Strid but not to this part right by the river. So I was ticking another, if not the last box of the things I wanted to do in Yorkshire. The Bolton Estate is one of my favourite places in the world if not my favourite.
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| The lodge, the Cavendish pavillion on the bank of the River Wharfe, a great starting point for trekkers. |
We had coffee and tea and the walkers, Chris, Gill, Simon, Sarah, Eladio and I set off for one of my favourite walks in the world, through the Strid Woods. It didn't rain at all during our walk and we were in for a treat.
The prize is arriving at the narrow stretch of the river which is dangerous, slightly sinister and eerie but a beautiful bit of geography which unfortunately has claimed many lives because of the slippery stones or daredevils, like my brother did who jump across the rocks at the narrowest point. They then get sucked in by the whirlpools and there is no way out. We didn't go very near but took lots of photos. Here are some to remember the day and to show you.
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| Visting the Strid for the second time during our stay in Yorkshire |
Once back at the Pavillion I had a cup of tea but wished I had had something to eat as I was starving in the afternoon and had to wait for dinner which was at The Red Lion, also in Burnsall, at 7.30 pm.
We rested a while before dinner and shortly before, Eladio and I meandered down to the village from the Fell Hotel eager to get photos of the hotel from the Burnsall village. We looked round the now familiar village and enjoyed the village green by the river, the lovely old bridge and the pretty stone houses, all of them with flowers in their gardens. Here are some of the pics to remember and to share with you. I took one of Eladio outside the Red Lion remembering being there with Chris, Mark, Andy and Amanda on many occasion during our youth.
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| Beautiful Burnsall |
We had bad news just then which threw me and spoiled my evening completely but I cannot go into it here as it is private. This is the cross we have to bear. On the other hand, despite our problem, we have to live and live we will despite the things life throws at us.
I did not sleep well night and was up on Thursday at around 6 am after about 4.5h sleep. We were leaving that day. It was the end of our incredible reunion which we must repeat next year. Our final time together was at breakfast in this gorgeous hotel I would love to come back to.
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| Our last breakfast together at the Fell Hotel in Burnsall on Thursday |
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| Eladio about to tuck into his full English breakfast on the last morning in Burnsall |
It was sad to say goodbye but, happily, we shall all meet again in Devon in September for Amanda's 70th Birthday, something to look forward to.
It was to rain all day on Thursday so we did an indoor thing and our friends took us to Salts Mill in Saltaire which I wrote about last week; the model village built by Sir Titus Salt in the 19th century for his workers.
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| Salts Mill today |
The Mill closed as late as 1986. Today it is an art gallery with bookshops and cafes and it houses the largest collection of artwork by Bradford born artist David Hockney who contributed to the conversion of the mill. David Hockney went to Bradford Grammar School and is probably its most famous pupil. He is renowned for being one of the most influential and versatile British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He never forgot his Bradford roots and was a very colourful figure who in his work championed homosexuality. He never quit his wonderful Yorkshire accent and in this clip of an interview by the BBC he explains why.
He was also a great smoker which he said was good for his mental health. I warm to him too because of the love he showered on his two dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie who he painted frequently. He said of them "They sleep with me; I'm always with them here. They don't go anywhere without me and only occasionally do I leave them. They are like little people to me". He is my man. He smokes and loves his dachshunds. This is just some of his work we saw at Salts.
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| David Hockney's painting of Salts Mill and a close up of him smoking from one of his paintings as seen at Salts Mill on Thursday the day before the 88 year old died. |
It was a coincidence and a shock to learn the next day that he had died aged 88. Britain had lost its greatest art figure of today and a wonderful person. Mark, Chris and Andy, my BGS friends, wrote on our Dales trip Whatsapp group that they remembered him visiting the school when they were young for he maintained ties with the school always, although he was never a good pupil. A quote from one of his school reports said: "Hockney can't rely on art to make a career". How wrong that was. Chris wrote "it was alleged that Oates the Chemistry Master kept Hockney's exercise book because it had wonderful portraits in the margin". Mark wrote "I seem to recall he quickly sketched Jock Gross the English master on the blackboard who rubbed it off after he left!". Andy wrote: "Does anyone else remember David Hockney coming into our class in about 1968? Wearing a pink suit and big Stetson knee length boots? I've never forgotten". A friend of theirs wrote too saying "He once visited our English lesson at BGS. We transitus pupils were astonished by the flamboyant peroxide character who invaded our English lesson". How lovely that these now old men remember meeting the larger than life English art genius.I would have loved to. Tributes have been paid to Hockney from the world over. As I looked at his wonderful colourful works at Salts that day I had no idea this giant of the arts world was at death's door but how lucky I was to see the fantastic exhibition of his work at Salts near Bradford the day before he passed away, presumably accompanied by Stanley and Boodgie who will miss him more than anyone. They will feel bereft and my heart goes out to them and all those who were close to the man.
We continued our visit of Salts paying special attention to the part dedicated to the history of the Mill a story that fascinates anyone who visits. It is part of Britain's history but also part of mine as we used to live less than a mile away when we moved to Bradford in 1964 when the Mill was still working at full steam.
After all that art and culture we made our way to the cafe for tea and two crumpets for me and soup for my husband. And thereby ended our visit to Salts Mill.
We were home again at Sowerby Bridge in the late afternoon and it was still raining. Last on the programme that day was curry for dinner at Syhaba nearby. It is Simon and Gill's local favourite and they know everyone there. We were in for a treat as after our meal I declared it the best curry I have ever had. Here are some pics to remember that great Punjabi meal. Do note the hanging naan which I have never seen anywhere else.
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| We had an absolutely marvellous curry at Syhaba restaurant in Sowerby Bridge |
I slept better that night and when I woke up on Friday morning it was bloody raining again which was a bit depressing. We had pretty bad weather in England, much worse than expected so I am happy to be home to enjoy the warm weather in Madrid.
It was our last day in Yorkshire and, despite the rain, we enjoyed it to the full. It was to be a day to remember. Donning the same clothes I had been wearing so often and thoroughly tired of my yellow coat and my M&S fleece, we went into Halifax, in fact into M&S for a quick fix for me. Eladio calls it "Masha's cathedral" hahaha. We just got some food to take home that we love and can't get here. I bought smoked mackerel, sliced roast beef and salmon pate as well as one large sausage roll. We had a quick lunch at the M&S cafe which was full of women representing what they call in England "the grey pound" and of course women of my age who love M&S and shop and eat there often. After that we visited the most important landmark in town, the Piece Hall which is one of Britain's last standing cloth halls from the 18th century, built before the Industrial Revolution. It was a "dedicated marketplace for hand loom weavers to trade their "pieces" of woolen cloth and became a highly visible monument to the region's immense industrial wealth". Halifax went on to be a very rich town, like Bradford. Today the Piece Hall is a cultural centre and is used for markets and a lot of concerts.
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| The Piece Hall in Halifax, its biggest landmark |
We came home to rest and in the afternoon, when the rain finally ceased, we drove to Baitings Reservoir belonging to Yorkshire Water to walk around it. The scenery is stunning but it was very, very windy and scaringly so.
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| It was very windy at Baitings Reservoir on Friday afternoon. |
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| The beautiful Shibden Mill Inn |
All good things come to an end and our lovely dinner at that beautiful and scenic pub did too and Gill drove us back home. We were in bed by 11.30, our last night in Yorkshire.
I was up at the unearthly hour of 5 am on Saturday, the day of our departure. Packing was a bit of a nightmare but I did it as I always do. Our Uber arrived with a bit of help from Gill and we were off and very grateful to our wonderful hosts who took such great care of us and with whom we had the time of our life. Thank you both Simon and Gill and especially for looking after Eladio. We got to Manchester airport in about an hour and were through security very fast. Thus we had at least 2 hours to kill the time which was easy. Here is Eladio waiting patiently to see which gate we had to head to for our flight to Madrid.
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| Eladio waiting patiently at Manchester airport |
Notice he is wearing long trousers and a jumper and has his coat with him. I was wearing my coat when I boarded the flight as it was so cold; just 13ºc. Eladio took a photo of me saying goodbye to my dear but cold country.
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| Saying goodbye to England in the cold and wind, hahaha. |
Our flight left on time and was a bit boring as flights are these days. We arrived to sunshine and 20 degrees more. A big shock to our systems.
Passport control was a bit long but our luggage was fast and we were soon outside which felt like a sauna. Suzy came to pick us up in the Mini as the VW has no petrol which we shall remedy tomorrow. It was lovely to see her and to be home but it was too warm. I immediately put on the air con in our room and it took me a while to unpack. I met some of our guests, all of them students who were relaxing by the pool after their exams. Tana was off on Saturday and will be back on Monday. She has looked after the house and the guests splendidly.
Today is Sunday and we have no plans apart from returning to our routines which you will know well if you read my blog often enough.
England was great, or rather Yorkshire was and we had a good time but I got my fix until September and now it's back to normal. Thus next week's post won't be half as exciting as this one. But that's life with its ups and downs.
Must sign off to get on with the day. Cheers to you all till next time,
Masha
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