A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 31st January 1868

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby.

 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

A Farm Journal continues :~

4 day 1st Dull misty frosty day W.E. no plough lead[in]g stone into Derby lane etc - cows lie in have swedes & straw - M[onthly] M[eeting] at B[akewe]ll

5 - 2 Fine hard frost W.E. repairing Derby lane tied 8 heifers up at Cales - rough wintry weather lead[in]g stone onto Derby lane 

 
Derby Lane with Summer Hill on the left

There is then no entry until the 15th January 1868

4 - 15 began plough[in]g again Fine day - Funeral at Monyash of Mary Ann Blore of Brushfield Hough

6 - 17 Stormy day grinding at Cales

7 - 18 Ditto weather got stack in at Cales & thrash[e]d - open weather now wind S.W. - all young things lie in but go out in day - plough[in]g Crags ley - Thrash[e]d at Cales - winnow[e]d Bl[ac]k tartare for seed & put in mill chamber 

- open weather to 3 - 28 Showery & mild to Middleton to dine & tea fetch[e]d W[illia]m & Alf[re]d Cox fr[om] Rowsley

4 - 29 Fine day Stack in S.H. winnow[e]d plough[in]g etc.

5 - 30 Fine day very windy

6 - 31 Ditto - W[illia]m & Alf[re]d Cox to dine & tea

Ticking away ... Day 809 ~ A is for Abiraterone ...

You may have already seen my comment elsewhere as regards yesterday's trip to the hospital with Jamie.

We got there early because sometimes you can get in early to see the doctor. This was not one of those occasions and we were still in the waiting room an hour later.  Then we were called into a side room where we met a new doctor, the fourth so far in this adventure of mine. And she was very nice, asking me how I was doing ... so I told her about my discomfort in the left side of my groin and that also in the last couple of days I was feeling discomfort in my left armpit.

Then she told me the results of my CT Scan by and large confirmed what my discomfort was all about ... but she said there was no sign of cancer cells in the pelvic bone. She had also mentioned that my PSA reading was up to 55 !

So good on one point not so good on two. Still I expected bad on all three fronts.

The doctor suggested that I start taking Abiraterone, a newer type of hormone therapy. Before I can start this though I had to have my blood pressure taken and undergo a bloodtest. Once these had been undertaken I was told the Abiraterone would be delivered direct to me at home. I then have to have a bloodtest in a fortnight so the hospital can see it's all going well and then go back in a month for another checkup.

On average Abiraterone prolongs a man's life by four months more than a man who isn't on Abiraterone.

Whilst I was there three or four of the nurses who looked after me [and Jamie] when I was having chemotherapy came and had a chat with us to see how we were doing. That was good of them.

At 9am this morning my Abiraterone arrived and I will start taking it early tomorrow morning. Four tablets have to be taken at least an hour before eating [or two hours after eating].

There's a warning with the tablets that Abiraterone should not be handled by pregnant women or women who could become pregnant. They should use gloves. 

It will be interesting to see what it does to me.

Incidentally there is no photograph of me because although we took five or six, they have all been swallowed up in my camera ... somehow.

The Cuckoo Way ~ the seventh day ... Shireoaks ~ Thorpe Salvin ~ Chesterfield Canal

Just over four weeks after my last walk on Chesterfield Canal I was back there again ... and there had been no other walks in between.

I parked at Shireoaks Marina and followed Thorpe Lane to the south-west to come to Netherthorpe ...

It wasn't a very bright day.

My route involved following a number of lanes. My idea was to get onto the Chesterfield Canal as soon as I could whilst at the same time getting some exercise. This is why I was on Back Lane between Netherthorpe and Thorpe Salvin, with no verge, as cars [from time to time] hurtled past. I stood in every time ...

 

I got into Thorpe Salvin in one piece ...

 

I enjoyed looking around the church in Thorpe Salvin and there will be a separate blog about what I saw there ...

 

 Ladyfield Road runs down the side of the churchyard ...

 

... and as I looked at the map I realised that Lady Field, is an enormous field compared to the usual sized fields in this part of the world. But what is its significance ? 

Before I walked beside Lady Field though I was surprised to see the ruins of mid to late 16th century Thorpe Salvin Hall ...


  

I continued along Lady Field Road [that's Lady Field itself over the hedge on the left] ...



I reached Packman Lane which I had last walked a few weeks earlier. Packman Lane which I now learn may have been a Roman road. I turned right to reach the Chesterfield Canal at Kiveton Park railway station ...

 

At Albert's Dock a narrowboat was moored against the far bank ...



According to a nearby information panel after the "old Houses of Parliament" were burnt down in October 1834 stone from a quarry at nearby North Anston was earmarked to rebuild the Houses of Parliament. The stone had been chosen "after a nationwide survey. Each block of stone was carried from the quarry on a low wooden platform which had a number of small but strong wheels. Each platform was pulled by several horses. On arrival the blocks were shaped so stowage would be compact in the narrowboats and sloops which would take them to Westminster." 

Albert's Dock is much quieter now ...




I passed a post marking 15 miles from Chesterfield. I'd obviously missed one or two.

 

The canal was so quiet ...

 

 

I strolled along, not a care in the world.

A stone post stands beside the canal with 'CCC' on one side ...

 

... and 'DL' on the other ...

 

The names of respective landowners ?

More of the red brick bridges ...



   

and an overspill ...



The water in the canal provided some perfect reflections ...

 

... and on reflection this place needs tidying up !



Interesting looking house though.

Milepost 17 [but how had I missed number 16 ?] ...



I reached Brickyard Double Lock.




Turnerwood is an attractive small group of houses ...

  

You can get a nice cup of tea or an ice cream at the house on the left in the photo above assuming their little cabin is open. It's a lovely ice cream too, made locally.

The towpath runs right in front of the terrace of properties ...



I was getting nearer Shireoaks now ...

 

 

On the edge of Shireoaks amongst the mallards was a Mandarin Duck ...

 

Finally I was back at Shireoaks Marina ...

This walk was followed on the 4th March 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 7.48 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 46.97 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 4th March 2011 ~ 575.02 miles
 
12 of 2011
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

Ticking away ... Day 807 ~ you've heard the phrase 'going downhill fast' ?

Well, that's what seems to have happened with me. I haven't been out walking this year though I have to say I'm not missing it as much as I thought I might do ... which is weird.

I went for a CT scan last Thursday and I thought I was going to get away really quickly as the nurse took me through straight away. "Don't I need to drink some water first ?" I asked.

"There's no mention of that on my note ..." she replied. "I'd better check ...".

Before I knew it I was back in the waiting room drinking a litre of water.

Three quarters of an hour later I was being scanned and that went fine. I was out of the hospital by 4.30 despite being prepared to stay until 5pm which is how long I was told I might have to stay in the letter I was sent.

So, Wednesday, tomorrow, is the Big Day. The Results.

My 'groin strain' has developed into a very uncomfortable feeling on the left side of my groin which is fine as long as I do nothing but which feels very uncomfortable if I lift my leg or turn my body. When I walk upstairs it feels as though there's a lump the size of an apple in there. I rather suspect it's the pelvic bone which is no longer quite what it should have been.

I'm hoping tomorrow the doctor will say with some more treatment he can improve matters ... for a while at least.

Still, I'm enjoying my time reading, blogging, eating honey on toast, talking to my children, holding my Beloved, the sort of things we should all be doing all the livelong days of our lives.

Drifting - LostHollow Band

Over on Instagram one of my followers is tempotommy who describes himself thus :

"Tommy Harden I'm a Nashville studio drummer, Reba's drummer, songwriter, producer, father of 6, lover of anything British, medieval, and Harry potter. Total nerd http://www.tommyharden.com"

His wife is Lorrie Harden and she describes herself as follows :

 

"Lorrie Harden Wife, Mum to 6 creative, energetic kids, fantabulous husband, singer/songwriter, friend, all around insane person loving God, life and smiley faces. http://www.lorrieharden.com"

 

Together they're LostHollow and this is their song ... oh, I follow them on  Instagram too.

 

A Farm Journal ~ from the 16th to the 31st December 1867

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby.

 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

A Farm Journal continues :~

2 - 16 Fine & mild self to Middleton & onto B[akewell ?] with W[illia]m to Nott[ingha]m even[in]g

3 - 17 Ditto weather to Lincoln Q[uarterly] M[eeting]  small - the Freedmens aid agents address @ us after the business meeting W.F.Mitchell of America Arthur Albright of Birmingham also the freedmen are all employed at Good wages the relief is solicited to aid the widows & orphan children - 3 hogs dead of redwater - want dry food I think

4 - 18 home bo[ugh]t doG [sic] at Bakewell snow[e]d most of day gr[oun]d cov[ere]d over wind N.W

5 - 19 tied bullocks up Frost & snow

6 - 20 Ditto

7 - 21 Drizzly wet day snow mostly gone got stack in & thrash[e]d at Cales

1 - 22 Fine & mild

2 - 23 Fine frost B[akewe]ll market came by Ashford home  bo[ugh]t bull calf of Milnes 15/-

3 - 24 Dull & misty

4 - 25 Christmas Day Fine bright frosty day - very quiet day no company Alice Bonsall left us - began to give ewes & thieves corn pitting turnips in Stonepit close S.H. ploughing Ridge piece ley -

5 - 26 Ditto Ditto

6 - 27 Misty no frost

7 - 28 Fine day rather frosty morn[in]g

1 - 29 Fine

2 - 30 Fine

3 - 31 Fine frosty plough[in]g etc

The End of 1867 not so profitable as its forerunners by a good deal beef kept up pretty well till Autumn sheep very low indeed wool 30/- p[e]r [next word indecipherable] cheese 40/- to 60/- crops of corn & hay pretty good & well got good crops of turnips not made so much cheese as usual quite trade dull & things uncertain

For information on the Freedmens Aid Society click here

For information relating to Arthur Albright click here

Red Water disease is referred to here

The Cuckoo Way ~ the sixth day ... Harthill to Kiveton and the Chesterfield Canal [and back]

One of my maternal ancestors has something to do with Harthill but I can't remember who or even what. I was, though, interested to see what the village was like when I parked outside the church in the 2011 sunshine.

Judging by the village sign it's got some history ... 

I passed All Hallows Church. The village website ~ Harthill-village.com ~ states that the "church was valued at £1.25 million for insurance purposes in 1999, compared to £689 in 1831. Presumably given rocketing property prices the 2003 valuation must be much higher. Culturally though, it is irreplaceable, a link back through 1,000 years of history." I've never thought of a church being valued in that fashion before ...



At the northern edge of Harthill I left Hard Lane to walk on a hard path, twas frozen !



On reaching Walseker Lane I looked back along the muddy path I'd just used ...



The ground had started to thaw !

Wind turbines are a bit like Marmite, people either love them or hate them. I think they're really interesting from a photographic point of view ... or is that just me ?



I walked along the lane into the small village of Woodall and followed the path towards the top of Baugy Hill [what a great name for a hill] ...

 

From the top of the hill I renewed my acquaintance with the M1 ...



A quarter of a mile later with the M1 much nearer, on my left, I had a choice of routes ...

  

I followed the Cuckoo Way, obviously, intially alongside a disused railway line though somewhere beneath my feet was Norwood Tunnel. 


  

Norwood Tunnel, 2800 yards long, collapsed in 1908 and resulted in the Chesterfield section of the Chesterfield Canal being closed.



I could see that it wasn't just me who was trying to stay fit when I reached Kiveton Park ...



Many paths and trails near to built up areas receive unwelcome attention hence the need for this sort of contraption [what's it called ?] and which presumably attempts to stop bikers misusing local amenities ...

 

There's been some land reclamation in this area but no matter how they try it never quite looks natural does it ... perhaps in time it will [and it looks better than an old slag heap] ...



As you can see the bikers seem to have found a way in.

Finally after negotiating some 'plain' scenery I reached the eastern portal of Norwood Tunnel !



You can see the bricked up portal below.


 

It was good to walk beside the canal again. From here to the River Trent the whole of the watercourse is intact.






Ahead was the bridge carrying Packman Lane over the canal ...



 

I walked due south on Packman Lane for a good mile. Not a scenic lane by any means ... nothing much of interest on a dull January day ... except for those wind turbines ...



    

With Loscar Wood on my right I left Packman Lane and walked towards and then through a narrow wood along a well used path which was good to see ...

 




As I edged towards Harthill I took one last look behind me at the wind turbine which appeared to be rising out of the trees ...

 

The Long Distance Walkers Association [which doesn't appear to bother with an apostrophe] state that the Cuckoo Way is a "walk along the 220-years-old Chesterfield Canal, known locally as the Cuckoo Dyke. It ceased to be used commercially in the 1950s. Efforts are being made to restore the canal, but in some places the path is overgrown and occasionally difficult to find on the ground. The path passes through, or close to, Staveley, Worksop and Retford."

This walk was followed on the 31st January 2011

Length of walk ~ 5.86 miles *

Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 38.49 miles

Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 31st January 2011 ~ 567.54 miles

11 of 2011

* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap