No.92 Village Chronicles: A Splash of Red, Medical Dramas, and Wildflower Quizzes

A splash of red … tulips at Races’ Corner … 01-05-2017

Coming up … more details in church gazette and separate wel-e-bulletins

Thu 18 May WI 7.30pm, Village Hall

Mon 22 May Parish Council Annual Meeting 8pm Village Hall

Thu 1 Jun Crime Prevention Surgery 4pm to 5pm Whitegates Nursery

Sat 10 Jun Plant sale and coffee morning 10am to 12 noon, Village Hall

Barry Hutchcraft

There was a medical drama in Welbury on Sunday 14 May. Directly after a public altercation with the pub landlord (about proposed developments and the joint access driveway), Barry drove off feeling unwell. By the time he reached Nunn’s farm on the Deighton road he had a serious heart attack and practically died at the roadside having stopped breathing. Fortunately the Taylors from Wray House came by and resuscitated him (Chris is fully first-aid trained) in telephone contact with the emergency services.

The fibrillator from the pub was called on with the aid of paramedic Rob Gaudie. Both air and land ambulances arrived and Barry was taken to James Cook University Hospital. His heart function was restored but worries remained about possible brain damage from lack of oxygen supply and Barry passed away at the hospital on Monday evening 15 May. Barry was a very lively outgoing big-hearted village personality who will be sadly missed.

Potholes…

Another medical drama occurred Sunday 30 April when Iain Turnbull, a cyclist from the PTR team, hit a pothole by Spring Hill and catapulted off, hitting his head and bursting a blood vessel. An ambulance was called and eventually attended. Iain is “very much on the mend now”.
Photo: Spring Hill entrance (not the same pothole) 01-05-2017

Quiz of the month…

Wildflowers? What yellow flowers might be said to conceal bovine teeth and where can you find them growing wild in Welbury parish?

Answers from last month (as far as we know; tell us if you know better).

Bluebells? No one identified any bluebells growing wild in Welbury but there are plenty in the gardens. East Rounton has a good bank of wild bluebells (and garlic) just above the Wiske bridge and East Harlsey has some on the roadside opposite the cricket field.

Weather from Rod…

After a very warm March with just 4 nights down to zero and a minimum of –1.2 °C, April seemed only a little warmer. Again, 4 nights fell to zero and the minimum was –1.2 °C, but the average monthly temperature of 8.5 °C was much higher than April last year (6.9 °C), which was a particularly cold month. April 9th was the warmest day of the year so far at just under 22 °C and the only day in the month to exceed 20 °C. With less than 10 mm of rain in the first 3 weeks of the month, April was heading for our driest month on record, but showers in the last week brought the monthly total to 19 mm – still very dry, but more than April 2015 (15 mm) and April 2013 (10 mm). April is frequently our driest month of the year, but looking back to April 2012 I see we had over 150 mm of rain, our wettest month ever!

Up until 13th May, this month has been cold with an average temperature a couple of degrees lower than the same period last year and just one day, the 10th, reaching 20 °C. Although, we’ve had a few spots of rain, nothing has yet registered on our rain gauge this month – stand by for hose pipe bans shortly!

Book of the month…

Small Great Things
by
Jodi Picoult

You may have come across this author’s work before; Jodi Picoult has written twenty-three bestselling novels, including ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, ‘House Rules’ and ‘The Storyteller’.
‘Small Great Things’ is her very latest book, only recently published. As usual, the novel is beautifully crafted and Picoult engages the reader from the first page.

When a new-born baby dies after a routine procedure, there is no doubt about who will be held responsible; the nurse who had been banned from looking after him by his father. This is the harrowing yet gripping story of how the death of the child changes irrevocably the lives of the nurse, her lawyer and the father – in ways they might have expected and those that they would not. As a reader, it is sometimes hard to digest the lessons about prejudice and power and the things which unite and divide us as humans.

Jodi Picoult has never shied away from dealing with uncomfortable subjects in her work and this book certainly pushes boundaries in examining the fraught landscape of race relations. Picoult is a great storyteller and we are swept along by the pacey narrative. The courtroom scenes are especially memorable and full of tension and suspense. The only reservation I would have is that the ultimate conclusion of the story is not, perhaps, what is hoped for after we have become engaged with the seemingly well-intentioned aim of the book – to draw attention to racism. However, it is a compelling read with some excellent dialogue and well
worth getting hold of.

Sarah Hoiles

W I Report (April)

From Dervor Hanson

Dressed very prettily in period
gown and bonnet Rhoda Fraser entertained with a tale of Richmond from the Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill to the present day touching on the drummer boy, the builder of the hotel and several others on the way. The competition for a piece
of lace tied for first place between Dervor’s Grandmother’s
handkerchief with a photograph of
the lady, Tina’s inherited table cloth
with a deep border, and Jane’s
Christening robe made from a ball
gown by her great grandmother
and worn by five generations of her
family so far.