HI Mate
I trust that you arrived safely
And that Josephine is well
I have just returned from Yorkshire
And although I had visited the county before
This visit opened my eyes and gave me hope
Our country is badly polluted in parts as you are aware
But there are other parts that are pure white
I have visited a number of cities and towns in Yorkshire in the past
And found them much decayed and somewhat depressing
In Bradford for instance there is a lovely Victorian church
Which was now being used by those of a different faith
And to be honest it is a bloody disgrace
The graveyard where our Christian ancestors now sleep
Is now wildly overgrown with casual rubbish scattered everywhere
Quite why this can be tolerated by the town
Is beyond logical thought
Very few of the shops are English
And the ones that are not foreign are tedious chains
I had to avert my tender eyes on many occasions
It is like watching a corpse being devoured by rabid maggots
Leeds although bigger and more cultured was slightly threatening
With small groups dealing openly
Which the non existent cops do little to stop
Maybe I am incorrect as they might have been swapping football cards (who knows)
Leeds is a curates egg my friend
I thought that Scarborough was going to be just as depressing with lots of kiss me quick arcades and the like
How wrong I was
Scarborough is an absolute delight and has managed to retain much of its Victorian character
There were a number of bright lights but in a way they blended in
The town is much loved and one can see the intelligent money
Even the day trippers were quite acceptable
When you return from Bali I suggest that you and Josephine visit this lovely town
Another place I recommend is Beverley which is totally white
Jane and I spent a number of hours there without seeing one black
The strange thing is what was normal just a few years ago
Before we were all betrayed hit me between my eyes
We sat in a cafe for half an hour and decided to see how many dusky locals we could see and count
Zero a happy zero Joe zero happy zero
The villages were exactly the same Daz Daz Daz and so very English
Whitby was nice but overcrowded with tourists
There were plenty of chic jet shops
Chic and expensive
Chips with everything in the land of the lard arses (bless them)
York was more than acceptable but was badly let down by poor traffic management
It is non existent and reminded me of both Bath and Canterbury before those with some common sense realised that cars lorries and buses do not mix with people
Again apart from the tourists it was white
There were no homeless or beggars on the streets which was refreshing
Need I say more about the National Railway Museum (wow oh wow oh wow)
The railway station although a little tired is much loved which is really pleasing
I came back in a happy frame of mind as I thought that this country might have been less polluted than I had originally considered
I was happy
But then we got caught in the traffic jam from hell on our return journey south and my depressing thoughts returned once more
Enfield once lovely Enfield
It was now just an infected mess
A less than innocent multi coloured shop of horrors
The once proud inter war shopping parades were scarred by foreign barbers nail shops and tanning salons (knocking shops spring to mind)
I have yet to work out why in places such as Enfield that tanning salons are required (I am maybe missing an obvious point Joe)
Enfield up to a few years ago was just a normal part of London Town
Before the dams were fractured and the sewers overflowed
I knew it from my football days and it has changed so much
Poor Enfield
Poor decaying Enfield
Would I have said this about white Beverley or lovely lovely Scarborough
Closing now Joe
Enjoy the wedding and I bet that Josephine will look as beautiful as Alice Anne
Do reply when you have a mo (by letter mate as agreed)
See you soon
Do not get arrested
SMO
ps – I did visit Anne Bronte’s grave on the hill in Scarborough – it is only a short distance from the castle – I am glad to report that although she is a few miles from her sisters that her last resting place commands lovely views over the North Sea and the town below