RAM 2007 and Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park, Kirkcudbright

This year, one of the major social events in ours lives was brought to our doorstep, with the Rock Art Meeting 2007 being held in Galloway.

There were had 17 people, gathering at the Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park in Kirkcudbright. A small group of us met up the previous night in Brighouse Bay Park... it really is surprising how much there is to say about rock art! The meeting brought together artists, scientists, writers, historians, photographers and more, from places as far apart as Devon & Dundee, the Netherlands and Northumberland.

Rock Art hunting is becoming a popular pursuit; for those of us infected with the passion, we can't help looking at every boulder on a path, whether in a field or garden, instinctively searching for the next New Find.

Everyone at the meeting brought different perspectives. For some it was their first opportunity to see something they had only heard or read about. For others it was a chance to spend time with old friends, both human and megalithic!

After coffee at the Wildlife Park, we pooled cars and head off first to Highbanks. The weather was glorious and we quickly realised that perhaps wellies wouldn't be needed after all! The young bullocks who had recently been running amock in this field were watching us from a nearby wall as we paid minute attention to every cupmark and fissure in the wonderful carved panel.

Next was Grange house, where we had kind permission from the owners to show off their sheltered rockart panel hidden in the garden. This place has a very special atmosphere but of course would have originally been on high ground overlooking the Dee estuary and the sea beyond.

Afterwards we set off for Blackhill and Townhead. Most people chose this place to have lunch which enjoying the views from Blackhill or the long grass meadow at Townhead.

The meeting was one of the longest ever, with lots to see and say, and the glorious weather to enjoy. But as we parted company back at the Wildlife Park, with closing time been and gone, some of us accepted the owners' kind invitation to have a quick scoot about the park. We even got to meet some of the inhabitants!

Until the next time!

(or the time inbetween, for folk who couldn't be here today)

Photos below - sorry none of the rock art itself but there is plenty of that elsewhere if you follow the links in the text above.

With thanks to Mr & Mrs Henry and the lovely Denerley family,

and big hello to Gus ! We missed you !


Highbanks:

Blackhill:

Townhead:

These are from the Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park:

The Umbrella Postcard, Stocksfield to Low Fell 1917

Following on from this post, here's the second card I bought.

Addressed to:

Miss Elliot
“Escombe House”
Low Fell
Gateshead-on-Tyne

Postmarked Stocksfield, October 17th 1903 at 3.45pm

Subject: St Peter’s, Bywell

Text on front:

Please don’t be so personal next time you write

Main text:

Description of umbrella
Straight Handle.
Brown polished wood.
About 3 inches of silver
not solid by any means
at the top. No initials.
Sorry to give Harry all this trouble.
Love to all. Beattie.

Shame they didn't actually say what colour the brolly was. I hope they got it back. And I wonder what did Miss Elliot say last time which was so personal?

There's a photo of the church in 1894 here, today it has lost the ivy and looks like this.There are some interesting old postcards from Gateshead here.

I can’t find any reference to “Escombe House” in Low Fell but there is a an Escomb House referred to here.

The postcard:

Alston Bookshop and a Potted Postcard History

Last weekend, the weather was a bit dodgy so we decided to visit Alston and have a poke around the shops.

As well as the wonderful purple hippy palace owned by these folk (complete with “extremely open” doorsign!), there’s a great bookshop there, which I can’t find any trace of one the web. It’s one of those places which has the feel of being someone’s home, with every room stacked high with books of all descriptions; there are lots of them in Wigtown. So, I bought this fascinating book for 50p, published in 1945 but still in excellent condition, “Cooking and Nutritive Value” by A. Barbara Callow.

Anyway, this bookshop also has in one of its back rooms a table with piles of photograph albums – in fact they are used to display old postcards. The higher-valued cards seem to be those which have been unused and perhaps were collections kept by wonderful gentlemen hoarders like my grandad; but the ones I love looking at are the ones with personal messages on them, each a tiny history lesson in themselves.

I spent ages looking through them and in the end bought three postcards and the book, spending a grand total of four English quids. Bargain!

So here’s the first one I have chosen to investigate here:
Sent to Mr J. Marshall, Clifton Street, Hartlepool.
The halfpenny green stamp is franked Hammersmith, September 13th, 1909 at 12:15.
The photo is captioned “The Flip-Flap, Imperial International Exhibition, London 1909”. The image shows what looks like an early thrill-ride, which according to this site “carried riders 200 feet (60 metres) up into the air”.

The message reads:

19 Worlidge St, Hammersmith Sept 12/09
Dear Jim
Just a line to say that I have got a start at Hightons Islington 20 minutes walk from Kings Cross, 53 hours a week, wage 39/9d a week. I go to work by train every morning. Mrs G sends her love to you all. Hoping you are all well as this leaves us all at present. I remain your Old Pal Jack Garton

I can’t find Mr Marshall at Clifton Street Hartlepool yet, however according to this site, one of his neighbours at number 16, 56-year-old John Leighton, was killed in shelling during the “sea raid” on December 16th, 1914 (Reference 1, reference 2
This site names him as James Shepherd Leighton.
From all this I suppose we can presume that Clifton Street was damaged in the raids; It doesn’t appear on any online maps today.

There’s a school on Worlidge Street in Hammersmith, but I can’t find any reference to any Hightons in Islington.

So... If anyone has found this page by searching for these people let me know if you can tell me anything more about them!!

Here's the postcard: