HEMPSYKE FONT

Hempsyke is described in the Eskdaleside-with-Ugglebarnby Geographical and Historical Information from the year 1890 as 'an estate near Littlebeck, the property and occasional residence of Henry Harrison Allen, Esq. The house is a neat structure, with verandah in front, erected in 1883-4. Three hundred different kinds of wood, it is said, appear in the floors, walls and ceilings.'





















This picture of the fountain featuring the carved head of a lion, from whose mouth the water from a natural spring flows, was taken on Sunday, May 24th 2009. Although not clear in the picture, carved in the stone above the lion's head is the word 'HEMPSYKE'.

Below this are three plaques.

Man made the trough
The water God bestows
Then praise his name
From whom the blessing flows

John Allan
Hempsyke 1856

Weary stranger here you see
An emblem of true charity
Richly my bounty I bestow
Made by a kindly hand to flow
And I have fresh supplies from heaven
For every cup of water given

John Allan
Hempsyke 1858

According to legend, one day in 1864 a passing tramp refreshed himself at the font, possibly using a metal cup attached to a chain to prevent theft, that was often a feature of these roadside oases. He called at the house and arranged for the following plaque to be erected by way of thanks:

The stream is pure as if from heaven it ran
And while I praise the Lord I'll thank the man

Tramp 1864

To find the fountain from Whitby, go through Ruswarp over the bridge. Carry on past Sneaton and take the next turning on the right signposted Littlebeck 2, Sleights 2. Don't turn off towards Ugglebarnby though, follow the lane on in the Littlebeck direction. The font is set in the wall directly by the roadside on the left hand side.

OS map reference NZ8805

Click on the photo of the fountain for a fully detailed instant enlargement

UNDER THE RAINBOW

This picture of a rainbow was taken here in Whitby in mid May over Rose Avenue. The weather had been intermittently showery with quite bright sunny periods punctuating the rain.





The sky within the arc of the rainbow is quite clearly lighter than the sky above the rainbow. This is due to a phenomenon of light refraction through water droplets. The dark sky, especially if it occurs between two rainbows is known as Alexander's Dark Band after Alexander of Afrodisias who first recognised the effect.

It was well known to painters and countryfolk. This painting of 1794 by Joseph Wright of Derby clearly shows the phenomenon. A tribute to the artist's keen observation.

BEACH DEATH HOLOCAUST

If you walk along the beach anywhere from Whitby to Sandsend, you may notice a whitish residue at the high tide line. It looks like some sort of scum that's been washed up by the sea. In actual fact it's made up of millions of tiny crustaceans' bodies. The same thing is being reported from Redcar and Saltburn too.

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They look like the sandhoppers you normally find on seaweed left high and dry up the beach that jump away as soon as you disturb them, and they are related, but in fact they're hyperiid amphipods, probably of the genus Themisto. Nobody as far as I know has categorically identified them yet though.

These creatures are not normally found on beaches. They live in huge swarms in the open sea, generally in mid water feeding on tiny crutaceans called copepods. As part of the zooplankton amphipods are an important food source for many fish, equivalent to krill.

Interestingly there was another mass stranding of amphipods in 1966, which was also a year when Ray's Bream occurred on the North East coast. Maybe the two things are linked. Possibly the bream are following the swarms of amphipods into northern waters. Of course the real reason for these odd occurences is not known, but the sheer amount of these tiny washed up bodies is quite spectacular.

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Stay tuned for more news on this riveting topic as it occurs. I mean you wouldn't want to miss any further dead shrimp related developments would you?

DO THE STRAND

This beautiful silver fish is a Ray's Bream (Brama brama). The picture was taken on the beach at Whitby near the old North Beach Cafe on January 28th this year.

Having seen a perfect specimen the evening before, but not having a camera on me, I decided to make sure I had one the next afternoon.

I could see two crows eagerly pecking away at something on the tideline. They hadn't done too much damage to the body, but they obviously like eyeballs for tea.

This winter Ray's Bream were washed up all along the North East coast right up as far as Scotland. They're normally found off the Atlantic coast of Portugal, Spain and North West Africa, although occasionally they appear in Southern British waters.

It's unlikely to be due to climate change, as every so often this species has an eruption year. 1967 to 1968 was an example. They sweep up around the west of Ireland and into the North Sea. No one seems to know why these fish, normally found in mid water, become stranded as often as they do.


Just to show you how big they are, here's a picture of a man with a moustache holding one. By the expression on his face, its obviously just said something disparaging about his wife.

YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU WISH TO ACCEPT IT...

I'm looking forward with great anticipation to this gig, not least because its for The Mission To Seamen. We need that place. Bands have practiced there since time immemorial and sometimes you can find a CD you've been looking for for ages at one of their numerous table top sales.

It helps homeless people and supports the fishing industry, as well as being a meeting place used by many diverse groups. In short The Mission to Seamen is a resource worth keeping.

As well as The Forefathers (check out the new tunes they've put up) and The DTs, two well established bands, The John Does are going to be on. I've so far managed to miss them several times due to arriving late at gigs. This time I'm determined to catch them relentlessly pulsating in a trancelike way.

Here's a taster...



Throbthrobthrobthrobthrob...

Nice poster too.

STOP PRESS: The Forefathers have a new drummer called Phil Cochran (possibly with a different spelling. I've used the Eddie Cochran spelling there to keep things a bit Rock and a bit Roll) who'll be making his debut at The Rezz. Phil plays guitar as well, and the band have been rehearsing acoustic stuff together too. It'd be good to see a bit of that sometime.

Of course their original drummer Alan Boyes will be in action with The John Does, so its a perfect chance to contrast and compare.

ANOTHER EXTRA STOP PRESS: I have been reliably informed that Steve Scott of The Forefathers is in fact the John Does' drummer. If this is indeed the case, It means this blog has already fallen victim to inaccuracy after only two posts.

Sorry, three posts.

C'mon Everybody!

A BLOG IS BORN

Last week I was on holiday sitting in this little wooden chalet on The Isle of Wight watching a tiny television suspended from a bracket high up on the wall, when that Victor Meldrew bloke suddenly appeared driving a Morris Traveller across the North Yorkshire moors.

The programme was Britain's Best Drives, and Richard Wilson, the slightly befuddled yet charming actor, drove from Scarborough to Whitby via Dalby Forest, Goathland and (very briefly) Grosmont before arriving at The Historic Seaport we call home.

When the old crock (that's the car, not the actor) finally gave up the ghost trying to ferry a carload of goths up Green Lane, a fellow with a huge mohican and enormous boots took over in the driver's seat and managed to get the engine fired up again. Up they went to visit an atmospherically misty Abbey. I thought to myself, what other town in England could this happen in?

I'd been thinking for some time about how to make Whitby Popwatch a bit more interesting. Being limited to the local music scene kind of tied it down a bit. Interesting as it is from a musical standpoint, Whitby is still a very small town, and inevitably repetition and familiarity became a problem.

So OUT ON YE! has a much more personal and open approach to Whitby's hidden depths. Loads of music of course, especially the original and quirky stuff, but plenty of miscellaneous flotsam and jetsam too. A sort of cabinet of curiosities covering a cavalcade of interesting topics.

The old POPWATCH posts won't be deleted, they're still archived here, so feel free to dip in. As always any contributions will be gladly received.

And its all down to seeing Tania and her mates getting into a car with Victor Meldrew on a tiny television on the Isle of Wight. Who'd have thunk it?

Click here to see the entire programme.

SLUDGE GHAUT: TOTEM PHASE EP

The first release of Whitby's Rangam Records was the Totem Phase EP by Sludge Ghaut. All the tracks were recorded in July 1992 at Studio 64 in Middlesbrough . It stands as a far more coherent whole than the LP that came out in 1993, which was made up of various recordings from different studios collected together and entitled Spunkmonkey.

Cooky - Voice
Kev - Guitar
Chris Corner - Guitar
Eef - Bass
Alan Boyes - Drums

These tracks were made by ripping direct from the vinyl, so if there are a few pops and crackles along the way, think of it as adding authenticity. Imagine you're playing this on a battered record player in a bedsit on The Railway drinking Merrydown cider and eating fig rolls.

WARNING! Put Blu Tac under any vases you have on shelves that are likely to become dislodged by violent vibrations. Popwatch accepts no responsibility for damage incurred by playing these tracks. Thank you.

What You Are

Out To Grasp

I Will

Can't Breathe

SPEAKEASY, PLAY HARD

On Thursday 29th of January The Banter played The Speakeasy in York. Jack Wilson of The Scarlett Alliance was there, and this is his report.

Back from what they told me was a Christmas break are our delightful four piece The Banter. Although it was declared a break, they brought new tunes to the dance floor of the Speakeasy in York. They'd clearly been hard at work writing new stuff.

The Banter were supporting Oasis founding member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (now in fact ex-Oasis), who was performing a DJ set. They were more than a little excited, and maybe a trifle nervous. Well you would be wouldn't you?

Come the time they hit the stage, nerves were nowhere to be seen. With a soaking of lager for the front of the crowd and a swagger to their instruments, it was a clear indication that this band is rapidly becoming extremely comfortable with the bigger gigs.

Showcasing new songs “Devil's Eyes” and “Taboo”, The Banter again showed us how to jump up and down without a care in the world, as others merely looked on. They may well have been wanting to join in though.

The early chatter from Jericho brought loud cheers from familiar faces in the audience when he proclaimed “We’re from Whitby, anyone else from Whitby?” The fifty traveling fans then turned the gig into a football stadium with the usual “ YORKSHIRE! YORKSHIRE!” chants that follow the lads wherever they play. Being in York tonight though, it seemed rather appropriate.

At one point Jericho told us that if we listen to the popular charts, we should know the next song, and that The Banter wrote it. It was “Children Of The Night” which I understand is a popular dance song. I’m guessing they didn’t write it. In fact I know they didn’t.

Forgetting this lie, they pulled off a fantastic cover, getting the room moving a lot more than before, which seemed impossible until it happened. The old favourite “Saturday night, Sunday morning” rushed by at an alarming pace leaving me and many others exhausted.

“Turn The Music Down” is a song which twist and turns like no other. The tempo changes all the time. You think you have a chance to rest, then it kicks back in and you have to shift your feet for more jumping around. The last part of the song brings manic shouts of “Ratatataarr” from Jericho, followed by “Dadadadaar” from Sean. A massive cue for the audiencet to join in, indeed I found myself enthusiastically participating.

The new songs are on The Banter's MySpace page, so you can listen for yourselves by clicking their link. On the night the new tunes slotted in as if they'd been playing them since they started. As the set came to a close Nicky thudded his bass, Kane crashed his symbols, Sean took a swig of his beer and Jericho kicked his mic stand over. Stunning live music again from The Banter.

They were due to play York again on 27th February supporting Bez and his new band Domino Bones. Unfortunately that gig has been cancelled, but you can bet your life that it'll take more than a lost gig with a Celebrity Big Brother winner to keep this band down.

Yorkshire! Yorkshire!

THE YABBAS REVEAL WHAT'S LURKING UNDER THE COVERS

Since Yabbadabbadoo took a sharp pair of scissors to their name and snipped several letters off, to become simply The Yabbas, there's been a personnel change too in Whitby's hardest working covers band. Dave the drummer is now toiling away on the rigs, so he's only home for two weeks out of every four. This means he gigs for a fortnight, then the world famous Si Jay does the next couple of weeks. "It's great for us cos it feels like we have two bands up and running" says James.
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The thing about Si is that he is keen to do original music, which fits in with James, Beef and Mart's ethos perfectly. Dave was never really keen on doing the band's own stuff. Consequently James and Beef have been getting together a lot and writing some new songs. James already had a fair bit of material written, so he took it round to Beef for a bit of... er... beefing up? Now the pair of them are busy penning tunes which they freely admit are starting to sound "shit hot!"
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" Hopefully come the middle of the year we are gonna have a little batch of original numbers to take out and gig! This is something I've wanted to do for ages, but I've never really found my voice within the band until recently" James told Popwatch.
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Obviously the next stage is to get together, learn all the parts and rehearse. Within the local scene The Yabbas still see themselves as a covers band, but for people such as myself who always like to be given something brand spanking new to listen to, I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with. They've got a massive list of gigs for the year, so you shouldn't have any trouble catching some Yabba action.
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2009 is shaping up to be an interesting year musically. As always, stay tuned to everyone's MySpace sites for thrills, spills and adverts that ask you if you've ever thought of dating Asian ladies.

DEADGIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

Deadgirls are easy came about from an idea that Pug and Eef had been keeping on a backburner for a few years. They'd talked about it on and off without any real hope of it ever coming to fruition. Then, with the demise of The Merkins last year, opportunity knocked.
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With Harry on board from the last Merkins line up, a fully fledged unit was beginning to take shape. "Harry turned out to be a songwriting genius" Pug told us. "He had four songs ready as demo recordings before we'd even had a chance to get the full band together."
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The line up is Pug on vocals, Harry manipulating samples, Eef on bass, Adam and Kyle on guitars, and Anny on pink drums, beer and fags.
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Pug had worked with Adam before, and the two of them were in the band Redeemer, until Pug left and formed The Merkins, the Whitby band that still holds the all time record for most lineup changes. Anyway, Pug phoned Adam and said "Remember me? I used to work with you. Do you fancy being a dead girl?" Obviously he said yes. Well you would, wouldn't you?
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When Harry decided to concentrate on samples rather than drums Adam's mate Anny came down for a jam and proved so impressive that she was immediately invited to join. "Luckily for us she accepted, and she fits right in like she's always been there with us" beamed Pug. At last the call to arms has been answered and we have a woman doing something other than fronting a band. Praise the Lord!
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I was intrigued by the use of sampling. It seems unusually adventurous for Whitby. According to the band Harry and the samples fit in with the music just like another instrument. They add a deeper, more complex texture to the material. The extra dimension prevents the songs from sounding like anyone else's and gives them a unique edge.
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So far Deadgirls have six more or less complete songs, and as many again partially written. The main songwriter is Harry, with Pug adding lyrics as and when they come to him. The other members have ideas and songs in the pipeline which have yet to see the light of day. Guess we'll just have to wait and

see what issues forth from their collective fevered imaginations.

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They're still in the process of getting the songs together and rehearsing like mad. Songs will be recorded and posted on MySpace as soon as possible. Deadgirls Are Easy plan to be out and about gigging by April(ish).
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"To those offended by our name, all I can say is wait until you hear the music. The name fits perfectly with what we're doing. Our sound and songs are influenced by 50's B movies and 70's horror films. The name isn't offensive, it's perfect for us. What I'd like to know is why they think Deadgirls are Easy is offensive? And no, we don't think it will cost us gigs."
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I'm not going to tell you what they were very nearly going to be called, but I can tell you it rhymes with 'Funky Hunt', or 'Hunky Punt' if you prefer. Do you see where this is going? I think that possibly might have cost them the odd gig.
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We're instructed to keep our eyes and ears peeled (although peeling your ears is probably not a good idea actually), for the first emissions from the Deadgirls' HQ. Keep tuning into their MySpace page, and we'll be hot on the case here at Popwatch too, informing you as soon as anything stirs.
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There you have it. Deadgirls Are Easy. Easy like Sunday morning.