Well, what does link these two very talented artists?
Dry Stone Walls of course - what else!!
I was asked to make a guest appearance by my friends Barry and Chris Heeley of High Hoyland Dry Stone Walling to help them with a wall they had been commissioned to repair at Kate Rusby's house. I willingly accepted the invitation as Barry and Chris are great lads who will do anything for you (well almost!) and that combined with the chance of having a chat to the
wonderful Kate Rusby was too much temptation. When I got to site, Barry, Chris and Ben had erected about half the height of the repair using stone stripped from the wall and some stone provided by Kate's Dad, Steve, who makes a smashing cup of tea! Walling was a bit awkward as one side of the wall was mostly retained, and on the other side, there was a huge horse trough right in front of the wall which the lads had spanned with a couple of scaffolding planks. Did these prevent me from taking an early bath? No! Contrary to what I preach at my
courses, where I drum it into the students never to step backwards away from the wall in case they trip over on stone, I stepped backwards to look at a stone I had put into the wall and ended up to the knees in water! Of course this caused HUGE jocularity with Barry, Chris and Ben as they are p*** takers extraordinaire! So I thought that I'd announce my little faux pas here before they 
embellish the story to one and all. Goodness knows what ribbing I'm in for at the Cheery Tree Inn on my next visit! I can see the pub regulars now, sitting on their bar stools with huge grins on their faces eagerly awaiting my entrance to launch a volley of wit and repartee in my direction, which they'll have been no doubt rehearsing all weekend! I must admit I had to laugh myself at the time and no doubt the mickey taking when it inevitably happens will be as funny!
For those of you who have not heard Kate's music you are missing a treat. Not only is she a very bonny lass but she has the voice of an angel. I've seen Kate several times and she and her band were fantastic each time. I'd recommend you to go and see her on her latest tour. You can get her CD's and current tour dates at http://www.katerusby.com/
On Sunday I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park just off junction 38 of the M1. Again it's another place that is a must to visit.
It was originally an 18th century country mansion house and has 500 acres of parkland which is home to many stunning sculptures and works of art. Andy Goldsworthy has an exhibition of his art to mark the 30th anniversary of the YSP and some of this involves dry stone walling. Andy's walling is first class and combined with his artistry, the results are fantastic. I forgot to take my camera but I'll be back to YSP soon and I'll place more photo's of Andys work here. In the meantime details of Andy's exhibition and the YSP can be found here - http://www.ysp.co.uk/
Monday found me and my family on the tourist trail in the Derbyshire Dales and after negotiating the horendous traffic at Bakewell we reached our destination of Haddon Hall, the beautiful home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners. It's the first time that I've visited Haddon Hall and I was very impressed with the staff who were very pleasant and only too keen to help and inform - a big thank you to them for making our visit so pleasant. 
It was amazing to see the worn flags and thresholds where thousands of feet had trodden over the centuries leaving them bowed and indented. Who had graced these portals in days gone bye? What were their lives like? What were they doing? All these thoughts and more were spinning around in my head as I toured the Hall, amazed with it's splendour.
If you're in the Bakewell area then it's well worth a visit. You can find out more information at http://www.haddonhall.co.uk/
