(B+) Bill Guthrie

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Picture - All At Sea - by Nigel A JAMES

Bill Guthrie – The Night The Blue Wonder Saved Him 

Everyone in Toorington has one thing in common. Cleanliness. And, that's why everyone knows William Guthrie. And, William Guthrie, or Bill as everyone calls him, produces and sells cleaning materials. And, his wide range of very exciting products includes WC cleaners, floor cleaners, window cleaners, and paper towels, too, And, all of Bill's products are very, very good – and -so much so – that over the years Bill has made very much money. Bill is a very rich man. And, his hobby is very expensive. Bill is a sailor.

And, it was eight years ago that Bill had an adventure. The night he didn't come back! Bill and a few very good friends had gone out to sea for an afternoon sail. The weather was fine, in fact just right for an afternoon's sailing. And, his yacht, The Blue Wonder, which Bill had named after his best selling WC cleaner, was handling well. Sunday afternoon out at sea – a wonderful end of a super weekend. But, then came the fog.

And, round and round The Blue Wonder went. This way and that way, and, with the sea getting rougher and rougher, Bill and his friends were beginning to worry. There was nothing to see, no stars to guide them, they had zero visibility. But, there were the sirens and they were loud. The Blue Wonder was sailing in the middle of shipping. This was a dangerous voyage. But, Bill kept a clear head, and later that night The Blue Wonder sailed into port. Dry land again. And there, just over the road was a bar.

And, then came the real surprise. The barman couldn't speak English. And, nor could anyone else. They were in France. And, they couldn't believe it. But, they were happy and thankful – they were alive. And, the meal that they had was better than anything in England. French cooking is the best in the world!

And, in the morning they sailed home to England. The fog had lifted. And, as they sailed into port Bill looked up to the sky and whispered a thank you. He understood how lucky they were!

Everyone in Toorington has one thing in common. Everyone knows William Guthrie. And, that day in the fog out at sea was almost his last. But, Bill understood how lucky he was. The Blue Wonder was more than a boat, it was really a wonder as well!

Bill Guthrie – The Night The Blue Wonder Saved Him

(B) - An Old Wooden Spoon - Dry eyes and smiles instead of onion tears.

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Photo - Edith Neni by Nigel A JAMES

An Old Wooden Spoon

Last week, I went down to Hungary to visit old Edith Neni. And, when I got there, Old Edith Neni was chopping up onions. And, in her mouth was a very old long wooden spoon. And, it was there for a very good reason. Tears. Not tears of sorrow, nor tears of great joy, but, instead, for cutting up onion tears.

Every time, Old Edith Neni chops up an onion, she puts her very old long wooden spoon in her mouth. This makes sure that cutting up onions is no crying matter. And, it works every time. With an old wooden spoon in your mouth you will not shed a tear whilst cutting your onions. In fact, cutting up onions will be just like chopping up apples and pears. Dry eyes and smiles.

And, there is good news as well. This works with all wooden spoons. Old ones, new ones, long ones, and short ones as well. So, next time you want to cook a good Gulasch or make a good stew, put your old wooden spoon in your mouth. You will be surprised. The only tears there will be will be tears of great joy from your friends enjoying your cooking.

So, if you have no wooden spoon, go out and buy one. And you, just like Old Edith Neni, will enjoy cutting and chopping up onions.

Last week, I went down to Hungary and made a discovery. Old wooden spoons and all other wooden spoons, too, stop you from crying whilst cutting your onions.

An old wooden spoon. A tip from Old Edith Neni.

An Old Wooden Spoon

(B+++) - The North Yorkshire Moor's Railway - The train that comes in from the coast

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Photo - 825 Arriving at Pickering - by Nigel A JAMES

The train that Comes in from the Coast

Whitby to Pickering with the NYMR

In the north of England is a train that comes in from the coast. It's the NYMR and it runs from Whitby to Pickering. And, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is now is a museum of steam driven power in motion. And, it's special. It's the past and present in one, and, its first whistle blew a long time ago!

It was in 1836 that its first horse drawn train pulled out of Whitby. And, then after leaving the cheering crowds behind, it became very quickly clear that this was to be no normal ride on a train. It was, instead, to be a journey of beauty. For the country through which this train passed was possibly the best in all England. There were the rises and falls of the dales and the pastel shades of the moors that changed with the shadows of the wind driven clouds. And, in complete wild contrast were the rivers that savagely cut their ways to the sea. And, all this from the comfort of a carriage that was going with the speed of its horses. And, there was peace. There were the villages sitting in hollows and there were the farms that dotted the horizon. And, so it was, that the horses provided the power to connect. But, then, just 10 years later came the age of the steam and great change!

The line was modernized and one single track became two. And the NYMR thrived. And for the next 100 years it provided the villages and towns on its route with all that was required for life. But, then came the 1950s and the power of the roads. Lorries and cars were cheaper and more convenient than rail, and the LYMR slid into decline. And then in 1965, and very sadly, the last whistle blew and the last train left Whitby. The line then fell asleep.

But, it didn't stay sleeping for ever! In 1973, after much work and many years of loving restoration, the line was reopened as a fully working museum. And, once again it became possible to travel through beauty once more. But, of course, this wouldn't have been possible without the many dedicated enthusiasts who gave up their time to achieve this. But, the NYMR isn't only a museum. It is now doing that which a railway should do. It has, once again, become an essential part of every day northern English life, and now, just like then, it's still being driven by the magic of steam.

The line that comes in from the coast is still there and under full steam and waiting for you!

The North Yorkshire Moor's Railway.

The train that comes in from the coast

For more details, www.nymr.co.uk

Selected Vocabulary

age – Zeitalter

blew – (blow/blew/blown) – blasen

dale – Tal

dotted – punktet

fall - Hang

hollows – die Tiefen

lorries (lorry) – LKW

moor – Heide

motion – Bewegung

rises – Erhebungen

savagely – mit Gewalt

slid – (slide/slid/slid) rutschen

steam - Dampf

thrived – (thrive/thrived/thrived) – blühen

whistle - Pfeife

(B) - The Toorington Bells - Steven JORDAN - A very wet landing

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The Toorington Bells – Steven Jordan And A Very Wet Landing

Steven Jordan used to be the school bully. And, he got his comeuppance one afternoon in the afternoon break. It had just finished raining and the children were outside in the playground and having lots of good fun. And there, standing by an enormous puddle at the edge of the playing field was Robin Hall, a very small boy. Just right for a bullying attack. And, Steven Jordan went into action. This was going to be fun.

But, Robin Hall wasn't stupid. He saw Steven Jordan approaching at speed and quite rightly guessed his bully-boy intentions. And, at just the right moment, Robin Hall dodged out of the way and Steven Jordan went flying through nothing and into the puddle. And, everyone laughed. 

That is to say, everyone except Steven Jordan. He was dirty and wet. He had just met his match. And, that was the end of his bullying career.

And, from that moment on, Steven Jordan never again did anything wrong. He'd been beaten by a much smaller boy. And, that's how life is. Small can be clever and strong and big can be clumsy and daft.

Steven Jordan used to be the school bully. And, he got his comeuppance at the edge of a very big puddle. He tried to push someone in, but ended up getting wet and dirty himself. Not only an embarrassing end of his time as school bully, but a moment of fun for everyone else.

The Toorington Bells – Steven Jordan And A Very Wet Landing