Ilkley

Yeah, so, yeah, a lot of people in the same situation, excited.

How was Ilkley?

Ilkley Book Festival was lovely.

Such a warm, different experience to do a book festival as opposed to a gig.

Yes.

I've only done one or two book festivals.

I should do more, but I suppose because I'm gigging all the time.

But Ilkley's beautiful.

with the movement.

I went this year to Ilkley and it was really bad weather so I actually didn't hit that much on the grass in the first week in Ilkley so I hit maybe for a maximum of three hours on the grass and then next week was dublin so i trained for like two three days on the grass there but i didn't train on the match courts because there was only like four match courts you train at a different club and it's like the grass is so bad you don't there's definitely barely any slide in there so i didn't slide one time on grass and then in my first match second game i slid like not trying to but i slid and fell like just in the middle of a rally you know and got back up that

video was actually funny that's funny yeah

but i just don't trust like i just don't trust sliding and not knowing if you're gonna stop or if you're gonna like dig too hard into the ground and go

Another ancient house close by contained a priest's hole where were found some religious books and an old carved oak chair.

Middleton Lodge, near Ilkley, had a secret chapel in the roof, which is now divided up into several apartments.

in the grounds is to be seen a curious maze of thickly planted evergreens in the shape of a cross from the fact that at one end remain three wooden crosses there is but little doubt that at the time of religious persecutions the privacy of the maze was used for secret worship when slindon house sussex was undergoing some restorations a priest's hole communicating with the roof was discovered it contained some ancient devotional books and against the walls were hung stout leathern straps by which a person could let himself down the internal arrangements at plowden hall shropshire give one a good idea of the feeling of insecurity that must have been so prevalent in those good old days.

Running from the top of the house there is in the thickness of the wall a concealed circular chute about a couple of feet in diameter, through which a person could lower himself, if necessary, to the ground floor by the aid of a rope.

And that's really important because that's a hard thing to build is confidence, I think.

And, pushing yourself so yeah it's it's really interesting to hear you kind of go back over the years and like the Ilkley Moor Walk I remember it so well because at the time um Becky who works for YTO at one of my really good friends is um was actually running the Dales Way so before I'd come to lead you guys on the Cow and Calf I'd gone to meet her because the Dales Way finishes doesn't it in Ilkley yeah yeah so I'd gone to meet her um wherever it finishes so I'd seen her in off a hundred mile run um and I just really remember that and um and yeah it just god it feels like an absolute lifetime ago it really does um

yeah

And so many years, though.

They went...

Ilkley.

She lived in Ilkley for quite a few years.

And then they moved south again.

Um...

But yeah, I think she lived in some really fancy house up in Ilkley.

Some hall or other.

Oh, I'm sure she did.

You've been up my way, haven't you, this week?

Yes, first we went to Ilkley.

Ilkley.

Flippin' heck, Ilkley's lovely.

Do you know the song?

No, what is the song?

On Ilkley Moorbar Tat.

On Ilkley Moorbar Tat.

...

I'm doing the Ilkley, uh, book festival that, later that day.

Yeah, yeah.

We, we say hard drinkers, there has been some people who have been quite, drinking quite hard on that.