Ryedale | Archive | 2003 | August | 06

A hummingbird hawkmoth

From the Gazette & Herald, first published Wednesday 6th Aug 2003.

AFTER what seemed for ever, the old 78rpm (breakable) records were phased out, and creeping in came 33 and 45rpm discs, a remarkable improvement. At the same time, the audio tape was born, to be followed by the eight-track, which didn't really catch on. The CD disc appeared on the scene, and then the mini-disc, which, like the eight-track, seems to have a limited catchment.

I still collect an odd 78 if I spot one which appeals, to add to a whole cabinet-full which really ought to be listened to, and for which I don't ever seem to have time. Add to this a large stock of vinyls, the best of which, in my opinion, are as good as CDs, but we still get conned into buying the latest invention. Audio tapes currently number about 400, mostly my own recordings from radio which, like the vinyls, are a joy to listen to. I decided that I wouldn't get involved with CDs. It was just another medium, and surely couldn't be better than what we had. Inexorably, they too crept into my collection, and before long the number started growing, and now I'm stuck with a large number.

So, this afternoon I was in my workshop making a custom-designed CD rack which would blend in with the rest of the audio corner. This involved umpteen journeys up and down stairs, carrying the part-made rack, to make sure it was progressing in accordance with the design, which was still in my head.

In the middle of this, in between dowelling some panels together, gluing and sawing, the telephone rang, to bring me the voice of dear Geoff Wood, of Robin Hood's Bay, to talk about moths! He'd read my last `edition' and was able to identify what I had seen from my rather brief description. And so, armed with his advice, I checked, and he's right! Geoff lived at Kirlby, used to do a lot of photography, weddings and the like, which appeared with regularity in the Gazette & Herald, so if his name rang a bell that's where you've seen it before. "What you've seen," says Geoff, "is the hummingbird hawkmoth - or Macroglossum stellatarum". You get the full dinkum from Geoff you know! I was quite delighted, for I'd explained what I'd seen to a friend, some time ago, and she said it sounded like a hummingbird, little realising how close she was to being right. A summer visitor, and my book has reams of stuff about the species, using lots of words I don't understand. However, identified it is. Thanks Geoff.

A lovely magazine to hand last week, kindly sent to me by Roddy Bushell, of Fitzwilliam Estates. Malton & Norton Journal by name, and a credit to its producers. Some of the most excellent photography one is likely to see anywhere. Picture reproduction has bypassed my `Ken', and I just don't know how they do it now. All I know is, that if you take a high-power magnifier and look at the faces in the crowds, they jump out at you, like reflections in a mirror. Long gone is the hit and miss reproduction of dot-matrix, and the mushyness of gravure, which was so good in its day. Now we have photography without a trace of grain. If you have a copy, or perhaps purchase one, take a glass to the half-page picture on page 22. Here we have a panorama of the day Malton rocked, and the hundreds who made it so. You're bound to see someone there you know - maybe even yourself.

The selective pictures show Malton and Norton as we would really like to see them. However, to be objective, it must be admitted that Wheelgate is a mess! From the old Co-op buildings, which don't seem to show any improvement, Thomas's, Woodhead, and Massers stand out as shops keeping their heads high. Then the charity shop with its flaking paint, and looking absolutely run-down, is flanked by an abandoned shoe repairers with piles of uncollected mail, and what was Malton's purpose-built GPO which looks dull and lifeless, apart from the weeds growing along its footpath edges. Then we reach the little sandwich shop, like a jewel shining bright to gain the attention it deserves, by being flanked by the fire-gutted buildings which just stand there looking as though no one cares. We deserve better than this, and I wonder what the visitors think. The plastic barriers, protecting the bit of footpath left, keep getting knocked over, or blown down, and all add to the dereliction. Does Malton Town Council ask any questions, or have we just got used to it now, and don't really see it anymore? I hope that by the time this gets into print that some improvement is starting to show.

The BBC is messing me about. I once used to be able to get Look North, now it's disappeared. My TV hasn't been on for a few weeks, but now and again I get a message to `Watch Look North tonight', and that's about the limit of my viewing - now that's gone. Never mind - if something important happens, someone will no doubt tell me!

On a church notice board: "This evening, at 7pm, there will be hymn singing in the park across from the church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin."

Updated: 11:43 Wednesday, August 06, 2003

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