Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Happy 70th birthday to my Dad

Colin and I went to Stockton at the weekend for a family meal to celebrate Dad's 70th birthday.

We ate at the Sutton Arms in Faceby, a lovely pub in North Yorkshire with a Boro fan landlord (best sort) and after lunch had a stroll round the village.

Faceby Church, St Mary Magdalene is worth a visit. We noticed the grave of a man from the local Manor who died just days before the end of the first world war and was awarded the military cross. Unfortunately I didnt write his full name down, but I noticed several plaques to others of the same surname - Morrison - in the church so they were obviously a very important local family.

There were little mice symbols of Mousey Thompson on many of the pews too.

A large plaque detailed a charitable fund/trust that was set up in the 1600s to provide 1 shillings worth of bread every Sunday for the poor. I wonder how they manage that these days? A loaf a year at Harvest Festival?

I noticed a proliferation of apple trees in full fruit, one in nearly every front garden, interesting, I wonder why that is? The houses are 300 years old in some cases, so they cannot all have been built on an orchard, the trees would not still survive.

Anyway, we all had a lovely afternoon, culminating in cake and champagne back at my sister's house and it was great to have all my nearest and dearest together in one place (nearly all of them anyway).

Happy Birthday Dad - the offspring have sprung for a hot air balloon ride, rather him than me though!

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