Walked from Asselby to Goole yesterday, along field tracks. The birds
were in good voice: skylarks ascending, buzzards ‘mewing’ and a
whitethroat singing its scratchy summer song from a blossoming hawthorn
hedge. I think I spotted a redstart at the edge of the woods. I’m more
certain about a corn bunting, which landed, like a fat sparrow, at the
top of a tree, and regaled me with its repetitive little song… which
sounds like a bunch of keys being jangled. I’ve always thought of the
corn bunting as a farmland bird of the southern counties; I can’t recall
seeing - or hearing - one as far north as Yorkshire. Since numbers have
declined throughout the country, due to changes in farming practice,
it’s reassuring that they can still be found in the fields around
Asselby. I’ll be looking out for them.
A wander round Goole offers fewer delights for the elderly flâneur.
One pub wouldn’t serve me because I have neither a smartphone nor the
requisite app. I had a warmer welcome in the Tom Pudding, a friendly
micro-pub. I walked up Aire Street, toward the docks, counting the empty
shops. It was almost as big a surprise as hearing a corn bunting to
find that The Mackintosh, Goole’s best - and most characterful - pub is
once again open for business. You don’t need an app to drink in the Mac: just a
little spending money and - ideally - a facial tattoo. I’ll be back.
Corn bunting (pic Creative Commons)...
No comments:
Post a Comment