Whitewash at the White House...

In 1973, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, said "There can be no whitewash at the White House". Of course he may not have heard of that stormy day when the Duke of Cleveland, landlord of most of the Teesdale farms, was out on a hunting trip. Rather damp, he sought shelter at a farm of which he assumed he was the landlord. After all, he owned most of the area ! "A drop of rain won't hurt you, lad ! On your way !" Oh dear! Not his farm ! Furious and humiliated the Duke vowed that thereafter all of his farms would be whitewashed. Such a mistake must not happen again! Anyway that is more or less the story, although there are a few variations on the theme ! Whatever, the brilliant white farmhouses of Teesdale are a joy to behold !

Another busy bank holiday...

No need to worry about your carbon footprints here ! The bank holiday weather has been kind, and the walking season is well and truly underway !

There are ghosts on the moors and along the valley sides - the men who toiled in the lead mines experienced a daily life of danger. No need for virtual reality here. Life was real enough. Working in confined spaces using tallow candles for illumination, accidents were common, with collapsing roofs and with gunpowder causing problems. Of course they were not aware that they were getting lead poisoning ! The Romans were mining lead here, probably with slave labour. Mining continued down the centuries. In 1546, historian John Leland wrote "...the Men of Sualdale be much usid in digging Leade Owre. On eache side of Sualdale be greate Hilles where they digge..." Extracting ore continued into the early part of the twentieth century when cheap Spanish lead put an end to the industry. The accountants had the last word.