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Sometimes wildly conceived plans are the best, particularly ones with an air of farce about them. It was in this light that on Sunday, we headed over to the village of Bishop Burton in the East Riding of Yorkshire to take a look around and meet some of its people.
The idea was hatched at the Leeds Northernfurs meet some two weeks ago, when Stray and I got talking and ended up, as is so often the case with us, performing various impressions of the viral YouTube shows that we watch together when drunk. Our particular favourite is the Chin Review, where two talking chins review a range of books and videos with typically anarchic results. Cheese and wine features heavily and one of the books that they review is Bishop Burton And Its People - A Village History. A quick search on eBay alerted me to the fact that I could buy this weighty tome and indeed this is what I did, with it arriving ahead of our planned road trip.
There were four of us in the car - with Taneli recovered from Saturday's drinking to accompany us on our adventure. The journey was one of feverish anticipation where I ate far too many Pringles that are good for me and we all shared chippy chips that we got from McDonald's. Spirits were high but the journey was long, meaning we didn't pull into the famed Bishop Burton until around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Wasting little time, we set off exploring, guided by the 'beautiful' national anthem that the Chins sung. We saw the bus stop and indeed you can get a bus to Hull but alas Sunday service meant that there was only one every hour. Still, we got a shot of the hallowed bus when it did arrive, although I had to do it sneakily as the driver was hanging around thinking I just wanted to take a picture of my friend with the shimmering duck pond in the background.
We felt it was important to chronicle our time in the village so we decided to try and recreate as many of the images from the book as possible, including the book in the shot of course for reference. So we took a shot of the front cover and also of the old school house before clambering up the hill towards the pretty parish church which sits on a hill overlooking the settlement. Guided by a sketchy map contained within the book, we soon found the graveyard and we spent quite a while looking for the graves of some of the people mentioned within its pages. Sadly we couldn't find the 'miserable couple' mentioned in the video but we could find a few former vicars. It was a little weird really, it felt almost as if we were searching for the final resting places of the rich and famous, but of course they were just prominent local people who had found their way into an obscure book which we had only ever heard of through a silly YouTube video.
If I was being honest, the whole purpose of the trip was to take the piss somewhat but as we explored this delightful little village, we became enamoured with it and started to become interested in its past and present. Granted stifling laughter in the graveyard when we saw Donald Duck's final resting place (the Duck family were particularly prominent in Bishop Burton) was tough but we had a look around the minimalist yet charming little church while walking through some of the pretty residential streets which made up the village. The Village Hall - built in 1992, the same year the book was published - was a more modern affair and it was a shame that both the Wesleyan Chapel and the windmill were no longer there but it was clearly a place which has changed little throughout the years, as was evidenced by the old school whose form largely remained (although it is now private residences). There had been a few new developments, particularly tied to the Millennium, as there was a commemorative stone and some stone steps which were replicas of those which would allow a lady to climb on the back of a horse without flashing her undergarments. Some of the houses here had also clearly stood the test of time and the white painted railings definitely had that Yorkshire village feel about them, as did the little Post Office, which was sadly closed but was advertising Mister Moo ice cream, a disturbing concept if you dwell on it for too long.
Taking a picture of the bus and Johnson's Pond were pretty much the last things we did on the tour, which had only taken us about an hour such was the size of the place. With a little time to kill, we decided to go to the local hostilery, The Altidisora, and grab a bite to eat and a drink. After all, we had seen Bishop Burton but had yet to really meet some of its people, having scared off the locals we had seen (particularly the dog walkers in the graveyard) due to our giddy laughter. Once we had ordered some drinks, in pure Chin Review spirit, we thought it would be a good idea to get some cheese and wine but sadly a cheeseboard was not on the menu. Having little dignity and being quite self-effacing, I decided to take matters into my own hands by asking the bar lady whether I could have a few slices of cheese. Naturally, she queried as to why, so I explained the whole Chin Review thing to her and, although perplexed, she let me have some slices of cheese. Of course, if we wanted to do it in proper Chin Review style, it needed to be miniature cheese and wine, and this presented a problem. Not to worry though as we could easily cut the cheese and I requested four shot glasses and one glass of Liebfraumilch so we could create our very own Chin Review. The landlady was very obliging and ten minutes later, we had the perfect photo, with the book in the background and miniature cheese and wine in front of it. Our actual food was pretty nice too, as was the beer, and as we sat in the beer garden we did notice the beautiful springtime colours of the trees and indeed concluded that Bishop Burton does have an ecosystem like anywhere else.
Considering we were just four mad people taking the piss out of the village, I was surprised by the positive welcome we received and I did fall in love with the place. This was enhanced when the landlady was happy to sign our copy of 'Bishop Burton And Its People - A Village History' on behalf of all of the people of Bishop Burton. It was a wonderful touch and even though one of the barmen said we could stay to 'meet some of the local tractor boys' later on, it was with a heavy heart that we had to leave the village as I had arranged to meet up with one of my Russian furry friends in the evening as he was passing through Leeds as part of a nationwide UK tour with his mother. Sadly, it wasn't until after we had left Bishop Burton that I had realised that I had forgotten to ask whether anyone had seen a fox last week. Our Bishop Burton verdict in one word: Mostly medium.
As Bishop Burton is so near Beverley and as I had never been there either, we decided to swing by for an hour to take a look at the impressive Beverley Minster as of course we could leave Bishop Burton whenever we liked (unless you were getting the hourly bus of course, in which case you were stuck, particularly as there was no 14:08 service for some reason but one at eight minutes past every other hour). Fortunately, we were just in time at Beverley Minster as we had 20 minutes before it closed, while we also timed it extraordinarily well as the choir were practicing for the evening Sunday service, filling the echoing chamber with dulcet tones. It was quite atmospheric walking around this stunning Gothic building with choral voices blasting out, while the building itself reminded me very much of the similar minster in York. This has been a site of Christian worship since the seventh century but the current minster was founded in 1220, taking two centuries to build. It's bigger than one third of English cathedrals and harks back to a time when Beverley was one of the 12 biggest towns in the country.
Local dignatries were filling the church as we looked around while there was some wine and juice being broken out in one of the sections, near to the area dedicated to the memories of those of the East Yorkshire Regiment who died serving their country in the two world wars. The windows were particularly stunning, mainly dating from medieval times (particularly the East Window from 1400), although the ones depicting events from Christ's life were all Victorian (and some seemed to be paid for by local wealthy people as their names were immortalised at the bottom of each pane). Meanwhile the centrepiece of the minster is the Tomb of St John, believed to date from 721 when he was buried in the Saxon church. The current minster was built around his tomb. The organ is another impressive aspect of the minster, dominating over the pulpit and nave.
There were a few other interesting sights in the church too, even if the 900-year-old marble font had been covered for restoration. As you walk through the main entrance, you can see two statues on the other side. On the right is Saint John of Beverley shown as a bishop and on the left is King Athelstan. Carvings of minstrels and musicians feature on both the interior and exterior of the church (outside these figures are stacked up like a Mayan totem pole overlooking the town centre) as during the Middle Ages, Beverley was the headquarters of the musicians fraternity in Northern England. The Frith Stool, the oldest object in the minster dating from Saxon times, was another delight while the distinctive and intricate Percy tomb (one of the wealthiest families in northern England in the 14th century), described as “probably the finest 14th century canopied tomb in northern Europe” details the journey of the soul after death in typical Medieval style. Overall though it was just great being in this atmospheric building, a real living breathing church, with eight centuries of history contained within.
Aside from this, we had a quick wander around the tranquil streets of Beverley, marvelling at the range of restaurants and shops in such a sleepy town while also being shocked by its poor rail connections, with just the Scarborough to Hull line serving it. The open spaces of the Wednesday Market and Saturday Market were quite bohemian and as Taneli grew up here, he showed us around with aplomb. It was great seeing this genteel place and I'll have to come back, largely because we didn't get chance to see all of the town but also partly because there were some nice pubs we simply have to try. Alas, due to meeting the Russians we had to get back on the road though and this we did, cutting it fine but getting home on time. And I'll pick up with this later in the week.
The idea was hatched at the Leeds Northernfurs meet some two weeks ago, when Stray and I got talking and ended up, as is so often the case with us, performing various impressions of the viral YouTube shows that we watch together when drunk. Our particular favourite is the Chin Review, where two talking chins review a range of books and videos with typically anarchic results. Cheese and wine features heavily and one of the books that they review is Bishop Burton And Its People - A Village History. A quick search on eBay alerted me to the fact that I could buy this weighty tome and indeed this is what I did, with it arriving ahead of our planned road trip.
There were four of us in the car - with Taneli recovered from Saturday's drinking to accompany us on our adventure. The journey was one of feverish anticipation where I ate far too many Pringles that are good for me and we all shared chippy chips that we got from McDonald's. Spirits were high but the journey was long, meaning we didn't pull into the famed Bishop Burton until around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Wasting little time, we set off exploring, guided by the 'beautiful' national anthem that the Chins sung. We saw the bus stop and indeed you can get a bus to Hull but alas Sunday service meant that there was only one every hour. Still, we got a shot of the hallowed bus when it did arrive, although I had to do it sneakily as the driver was hanging around thinking I just wanted to take a picture of my friend with the shimmering duck pond in the background.
We felt it was important to chronicle our time in the village so we decided to try and recreate as many of the images from the book as possible, including the book in the shot of course for reference. So we took a shot of the front cover and also of the old school house before clambering up the hill towards the pretty parish church which sits on a hill overlooking the settlement. Guided by a sketchy map contained within the book, we soon found the graveyard and we spent quite a while looking for the graves of some of the people mentioned within its pages. Sadly we couldn't find the 'miserable couple' mentioned in the video but we could find a few former vicars. It was a little weird really, it felt almost as if we were searching for the final resting places of the rich and famous, but of course they were just prominent local people who had found their way into an obscure book which we had only ever heard of through a silly YouTube video.
If I was being honest, the whole purpose of the trip was to take the piss somewhat but as we explored this delightful little village, we became enamoured with it and started to become interested in its past and present. Granted stifling laughter in the graveyard when we saw Donald Duck's final resting place (the Duck family were particularly prominent in Bishop Burton) was tough but we had a look around the minimalist yet charming little church while walking through some of the pretty residential streets which made up the village. The Village Hall - built in 1992, the same year the book was published - was a more modern affair and it was a shame that both the Wesleyan Chapel and the windmill were no longer there but it was clearly a place which has changed little throughout the years, as was evidenced by the old school whose form largely remained (although it is now private residences). There had been a few new developments, particularly tied to the Millennium, as there was a commemorative stone and some stone steps which were replicas of those which would allow a lady to climb on the back of a horse without flashing her undergarments. Some of the houses here had also clearly stood the test of time and the white painted railings definitely had that Yorkshire village feel about them, as did the little Post Office, which was sadly closed but was advertising Mister Moo ice cream, a disturbing concept if you dwell on it for too long.
Taking a picture of the bus and Johnson's Pond were pretty much the last things we did on the tour, which had only taken us about an hour such was the size of the place. With a little time to kill, we decided to go to the local hostilery, The Altidisora, and grab a bite to eat and a drink. After all, we had seen Bishop Burton but had yet to really meet some of its people, having scared off the locals we had seen (particularly the dog walkers in the graveyard) due to our giddy laughter. Once we had ordered some drinks, in pure Chin Review spirit, we thought it would be a good idea to get some cheese and wine but sadly a cheeseboard was not on the menu. Having little dignity and being quite self-effacing, I decided to take matters into my own hands by asking the bar lady whether I could have a few slices of cheese. Naturally, she queried as to why, so I explained the whole Chin Review thing to her and, although perplexed, she let me have some slices of cheese. Of course, if we wanted to do it in proper Chin Review style, it needed to be miniature cheese and wine, and this presented a problem. Not to worry though as we could easily cut the cheese and I requested four shot glasses and one glass of Liebfraumilch so we could create our very own Chin Review. The landlady was very obliging and ten minutes later, we had the perfect photo, with the book in the background and miniature cheese and wine in front of it. Our actual food was pretty nice too, as was the beer, and as we sat in the beer garden we did notice the beautiful springtime colours of the trees and indeed concluded that Bishop Burton does have an ecosystem like anywhere else.
Considering we were just four mad people taking the piss out of the village, I was surprised by the positive welcome we received and I did fall in love with the place. This was enhanced when the landlady was happy to sign our copy of 'Bishop Burton And Its People - A Village History' on behalf of all of the people of Bishop Burton. It was a wonderful touch and even though one of the barmen said we could stay to 'meet some of the local tractor boys' later on, it was with a heavy heart that we had to leave the village as I had arranged to meet up with one of my Russian furry friends in the evening as he was passing through Leeds as part of a nationwide UK tour with his mother. Sadly, it wasn't until after we had left Bishop Burton that I had realised that I had forgotten to ask whether anyone had seen a fox last week. Our Bishop Burton verdict in one word: Mostly medium.
As Bishop Burton is so near Beverley and as I had never been there either, we decided to swing by for an hour to take a look at the impressive Beverley Minster as of course we could leave Bishop Burton whenever we liked (unless you were getting the hourly bus of course, in which case you were stuck, particularly as there was no 14:08 service for some reason but one at eight minutes past every other hour). Fortunately, we were just in time at Beverley Minster as we had 20 minutes before it closed, while we also timed it extraordinarily well as the choir were practicing for the evening Sunday service, filling the echoing chamber with dulcet tones. It was quite atmospheric walking around this stunning Gothic building with choral voices blasting out, while the building itself reminded me very much of the similar minster in York. This has been a site of Christian worship since the seventh century but the current minster was founded in 1220, taking two centuries to build. It's bigger than one third of English cathedrals and harks back to a time when Beverley was one of the 12 biggest towns in the country.
Local dignatries were filling the church as we looked around while there was some wine and juice being broken out in one of the sections, near to the area dedicated to the memories of those of the East Yorkshire Regiment who died serving their country in the two world wars. The windows were particularly stunning, mainly dating from medieval times (particularly the East Window from 1400), although the ones depicting events from Christ's life were all Victorian (and some seemed to be paid for by local wealthy people as their names were immortalised at the bottom of each pane). Meanwhile the centrepiece of the minster is the Tomb of St John, believed to date from 721 when he was buried in the Saxon church. The current minster was built around his tomb. The organ is another impressive aspect of the minster, dominating over the pulpit and nave.
There were a few other interesting sights in the church too, even if the 900-year-old marble font had been covered for restoration. As you walk through the main entrance, you can see two statues on the other side. On the right is Saint John of Beverley shown as a bishop and on the left is King Athelstan. Carvings of minstrels and musicians feature on both the interior and exterior of the church (outside these figures are stacked up like a Mayan totem pole overlooking the town centre) as during the Middle Ages, Beverley was the headquarters of the musicians fraternity in Northern England. The Frith Stool, the oldest object in the minster dating from Saxon times, was another delight while the distinctive and intricate Percy tomb (one of the wealthiest families in northern England in the 14th century), described as “probably the finest 14th century canopied tomb in northern Europe” details the journey of the soul after death in typical Medieval style. Overall though it was just great being in this atmospheric building, a real living breathing church, with eight centuries of history contained within.
Aside from this, we had a quick wander around the tranquil streets of Beverley, marvelling at the range of restaurants and shops in such a sleepy town while also being shocked by its poor rail connections, with just the Scarborough to Hull line serving it. The open spaces of the Wednesday Market and Saturday Market were quite bohemian and as Taneli grew up here, he showed us around with aplomb. It was great seeing this genteel place and I'll have to come back, largely because we didn't get chance to see all of the town but also partly because there were some nice pubs we simply have to try. Alas, due to meeting the Russians we had to get back on the road though and this we did, cutting it fine but getting home on time. And I'll pick up with this later in the week.
