Why catgate

[catgate]

The tale of Catgate

In 1975 we bought a tired farmhouse, and a few out building, in order to look after my mother and father, who were entering into the last chapter. I could write a book on the story of how we brought some life back into it. Some of it had been made into "cottage" for the farmer's son many years before, and that bit was still occupied by a couple older than my parents. The remainder of the house was hall/kitchen/dining room/three bedrooms/bathroom. I built on a "granny flat" to house mother and father and then built on a large three car garage and workshop. I was helped enormously by the fact that one of my wife's brothers had a building business and if I needed serious help I could call on his assistance. (The other one was a solicitor )

It was situated on the edge of a village . The lane past our purchase went up on to the moorland. The farm got its name because of the gate just above the farm that was the gate onto the moorland above, through which the cattle came and went. (CATtleGATE)

The old chap in the "cottage" went to the big farmhouse in the sky after a few years, and his wife went into a old ladies bungalow down in the village. I then dismantled the changes and returned the "cottage" back to being part of the house again. Some more years past away and mother did likewise. Father followed her after several more years .

Suddenly the local authority decided to turn the screw once more and sent an army of “Valuers” to “re-assess” all the larger properties in the county. The work that we had done, combined with the fact that it was no longer a farm, had moved the “rateable value” into a much higher level.

Then one day in 1999 management and I suddenly realised that there were only two of us rattling about in a 13 roomed farm house! We lived there until 2000. The running costs, heating, lighting, etc. and particularly poll tax, were a drain on my pension and we felt we should try and find a new domicile.

I rang the Met. Office and asked which was the driest place in UK. "Thames Valley" was the reply. I said " I can't afford that. How about next to the driest?" He said that there was an area starting in the top end of Cambridgeshire and running up to just above York. So we came and bought a bungalow here in the Vale of York. Here we are eighteen years later and liking it. (and we are near enough to the dales to set off and have a day out in any of the dales .)

 

[AlanHo]

Another of your interesting tales

 

Roll on the next instalment.

[andsome]

Is it still dry or has it rained yet?

[D4\/!d]

I was trying to decide Weather of not you've got a Dry sense of humour.

[catgate]

"Is it still dry or has it rained yet?"

 

If you could give me a more accurate "start" and "finish" I might give you a better answer.

However, as I sit here the sun is out and the day has the appearance of  a warm summer day. We have had far more rain than mother nature needs over the last couple of weeks, and that is quite unusual.

Our village is quite a small one. It is basically one longish road with two very short dead end offshoots. The only public transport is the school bus every day and one service bus to Pocklington on market day.  Houses do not have numbers. They just have names. ( I have a suspicion that is because most of us are numerically ignorant)

[catgate]

We have just finished a late lunch after returning from a "tootle" round parts of the county.

It has been a very nice tootle. Blue sky, very light breeze and no sign of precipitation. We have not been on our own. There  have been lots of both motorists and motorbikeists.

The latter make us very jealous.

"Tempus fugit" and the careless actions of a supervisor, which ended up with my left thumb  being rendered extremely second hand and also  left me  only being able to pull in the clutch a few times before it became a very painful task. The clutch lever is the one operated (or not) by the left hand.

Over the years it seems to have become more sensitive, because we have done few continental trips without a little, or slightly, more discomfort.