While I understand some of the views against car boot sales I must say the pro`s outweigh the cons and am therefore on the side of car boots being held.Must we have to ask planning permission for everything we do or do I need permission to ask this question.As one man once said you can please all of the people sometime and some of the people all of the time but you will never please all the people all the time.I cannot personally see what wrong a farmer may be doing by holding a car boot sale,but if you know different feel free to voice your oppinion.

I fully agree. I work in construction where the forecast is crucial. We can waste a lot of time and money by listening to the BBC.. I also use places such as the dales for my fun... walking, climbing, cycling, pot-holing. What I try to do is gain a feel for the affecting weather front and then make my own predictions....but WEB-CAMS help here. They cost little to set up and if villages/ hotels have them on their web-sites (links can be shared) prospective visitors can have a quick look to see if Mr Fish is presently correct! Looking out of my window and looking out of a dales window simultaneously, tells me a lot. With the right marketing, they have to be good for business too...

See what "Dales web-cams" in "google" gives you... There aren't many to choose from!

A few months ago I was surprised to see what I thought at first was a seagull flying with a group of crows. I was in my car at the time, driving on Scosthrop Lane between Airton and Settle, so it was a passing glance. We saw the bird again a few times over the following months, but never close enough to be sure. According to my reference sources, albino birds are extremely rare in the wild, and they also tend to be attacked by the normally pigmented members of their flock. But this crow has certainly survived well into adulthood, while sightings over several months with other crows suggest it has not been driven out or attacked. NBC news highlighted the crowds who gathered to see a rare white crow in India, and a very rare albino crow made the headlines of the Chatham Daly News in February 2000. In Siamese legend, King Kakapo transforms himself into an albino crow and there are American folk tales of coyote and the albino crow.

Yesterday I finally got a closer look.

Driving between Otterburn and Airton, I rounded a corner to see two birds sitting on a wall. One a normal, black crow. The other pure white. I was able to stop the car and walk quite closely up to them - sadly with no camera. It was built like a crow, waddled like a crow, squawked like a crow - and when they both decided I was too close for comfort - flew like a crow. So with the curlews and lapwings bringing springtime to life in the dale, we have an even more exotic resident. It is indeed an albino, pure white feathers, beak of brownish yellow - and in every other regard a crow.

I read your article on Farmers , Food and Blackmail with interest . More people like yourself to speak out upon the issue would be a start to a seemingly invincible problem , and an official watchdog , provided they do not become corrupt with backhanders from the large supermarkets , or overwhelmed with their own or governmental officialdom , would be another avenue of resistance .

It does occur to me however that because of the nature of agriculture/horticulture , and the people employed within the various associated industries , that any effort of resistance targetted against the supermarkets falls flat on it's face through lack of a concerted countrywide effort . At the moment ,individuals and small group suppliers can be picked off or economically strangled into submission one by one with ease by the supermarkets .

What I think may be a far better , far more effective solution if it could be evolved into being , is to face the slick operators en masse as an ongoing nationwide retail marketing concern .

I'm not just thinking local farm shop in isolation . I'm thinking along the lines of "producers supermarkets" in every city , town and all local suburban shopping area's , and have local farm shops included in the scheme too . Farmers Markets do well and are expanding . Ordinary fruit and veg markets do well on the whole . Farm shops appear to do fairly well in their limited locality and produce marqees at county shows always do well . However , they are all fragmented despite their popularity . That popularity though is the key . It shows that the need is there , and if only that need could be provided for 6/7 days a week 8.30am - 7.30pm daily in comfortable , hygienic surroundings , perhaps with home delivery offered as well , then I am sure that there is a basis for an up and coming successful nationwide/national business .

All( or very nearly all )food producers should refuse en masse to supply the big supermarkets and instead put all their efforts , resources and their invested capital into supplying and reaping the benefits from their very own "producers supermarkets" conglomerate .

Clearly it cannot happen overnight but from small acorns ect . Where would the major supermarkets be then , without their local fresh supplies of grain , fruit , vegetables , dairy products and meat bought or "stolen" at dirt cheap prices from UK producers ! They would be forced to import from abroad , and there are problems with that , that I'm sure the likes of Tesco ect could well do without .

A "producers supermarket" admittedly would have to be fairly aggressive in it's approach to survival and have a talented team up front to start , run and maintain the organisational infrastructure , but if Tesco's or Sainsbury's ect can do it , then why cannot a "producers supermarket" achieve the same . A national effort , a national co-ordinated business can have economies of such things as own farms ( just like Waitrose/Sainsburys/Tesco ), own transport , own brand , own promotion and advertising , own bottling and canning factories , own mills and bakeries ect , own specialist suppliers , own financial structure and guarantee of payment , own recognition for suppliers , and it's own reaping of benefits , rewards and most importantly healthier profits at the end of the day without fear or blackmail .

Just a thought.....................................

Firstly with any form of sport or activity you will get a rogue element. I admire and praise the RSPCA for the policing they do on behalf of our society and the use or misuse of our pets and animals. They are needed as are the police, and in there field they do a fabulous job.

But that is there domain one we have allowed them to expand and with public support and the support from rulal fishing ,shooting, and hunting people they have flurished . The RSPCA in my opinion is about welfare of animals and not political reteric and lobbying they should stick at what they are good at and allow the british public the freedom of choice that fighting two world wars passed us down.We have enough swedish sterio typing from the Blair spin without others joining the band wagon.

I have in the Past been very anti hunt, this is because I knew nothing of the sport, and I was very concerned about the welfare and how a fluffy little fox was treated. In my eyes the fox was doing nothing wrong. Then I looked at it from another point of view, If we hadn't of domesticated our animals, then wouldn't they be hunting themselves.

Let's take the Domestic Cat for instance, I have one, and many other people do as well. Who many people are inundated with 'Presents' from there cat, That Bird, that mouse? Now out of all animals I believe the cat to be one of the worst predators ever, it doesn't hunt to kill and eat, it hunts for enjoyment, now seem as though the cat is domesticated should we not do our best endeavors to keep them under control and not allow them to hunt? Surely no one would want the 'hula hooping' mouse to be caught off of the Aero advert, or the mice off of the film Babe to be caught? Would they?

Dogs, These are a pack animal and do hunt in packs, If we had not of domesticated the dog, surely these dogs would still be hunting in our rural areas without our assistance, like the pack dogs in Africa? How many urban people have taken there Dog for a walk, and there dog has retrieved a bird, rabbit or any other animal. Now if hunting with Dogs is banned, surely these cases would count as well. However much we domesticate our animals, there natural instincts are surely going to prevail, to take your dog walking isn't that hunting with a dog in this case?

We also keep domesticated livestock, Cows, Sheep, Pigs and goats, all of which go to the slaughter house, It is a pretty efficient way of hunting I say. Most people will say 'well we need them for food so we kill them humanely', wouldn't that mean we kill them our way, and a dog/hound kills them in humanely as does the lion, the cheater, or any other animal that is a predator, so who is going to go out and teach these animals how to kill in a humane fashion? .If people are as against hunting as they say they are then surely they would all be vegetarians? Just because they don't see or hear, what happens in a slaughter house, does it not exist?

Now to the Hunt, I have recently been on my first hunt, I have however ridden for nearly 11 years, I must say given the opportunity to go hunting was nice, and I chose to do so, but with many feelings, I didn't want to go because I never wanted to be labeled a 'blood thirsty killer', I never told anyone other than a good friend, I went hunting and I had one of the best rides that I have ever experienced, now on this hunt, 2 riders fell, 1 horse fell, 1 hound got electrocuted on an electric fence, but then no fox was caught. None of the riders, horses or hounds got injured either (other than the one that got a bit of a shock but he went on!), out of all the people I spoke to everyone had had a good time, and also the impression of a 'blood thirsty killer' never came across from any of the 40 people mounted or any of the 50ish followers, and none of the huntsmen either!

I truly enjoyed myself, the sounding of the horn, and your horse getting on his toes, the butterflies in your stomach, the hounds beginning to talk to one another, and the total randomness of where the hunt went, Its something I feel every rider should experience, and I am definitely going to attend another hunt, Its not a ride that can be planned which is why I think the hunt is a fun and enjoyable sport. I feel that to ban hunting would severely harm the rural community, and the people that represent hunting to the urban community don't do the sport any favors, the view of all people on hunts are upper-class is far from the truth.

Let the hunts continue they have never hurt anyone, and the rural urban divide is getting further, and further apart, how can urbanized people with there country house on the outskirts of London be able to dictate how the rural life works, when little understanding is known. I am sorry to have waffled on, but that is my view.

Repeating that it was the farmers who created the British landscape, that the villages and hamlets are the jewels in the crown does not make it so.

Nonetheless your question "who will look after the place" (When the population has moved to the town) is valid. This, in fact, is the process by which the British landscape has been created. It is a product of the drive for improved rural productivity. The alternative is for rural productivity and efficiency to remain low, as it did and is in USSR, with similar results. No other option exists. The problem is that the rate of job creation in the cities has not kept pace.

I question also the claim that the U.S.A. and the Canadians are your natural allies and whether their trading group (which includes Mexico, by the way) is highly successful. Canada has huge natural resources but is nonetheless also suffering the problem of unemployment, and for the same reason as Britain. Also, in Toronto and area, the greatest source of wealth in the country, (not a rural area you will notice) the English language is now spoken by a minority. Your assumption of natural alliance is risky at best.

As for the U.S.A. I doubt any alliance could survive long unless there was broad belief in that nation that they were benefitting without appreciable cost. As for the success of the NAFTA, without yardstick it is not easier to make a case for it than against it.

It is, after all, merely a trade agreement. And each government continues to make mistakes in policy founded on lack of insight and long held beliefs in unfounded myths. Such as your own that it was the farmers who created the British landscape.

In closing, the Franco-Prussian meeting and resulting edict are unacceptable because each infringes the spirit and principles of the EU. Not because of the nationality of the participants but because of the methodology. I also believe their decision is more of the same misguided nonsense dispensed by well-meaning but misguided leaders we've struggled with for centuries. Ways should be sought to improve the Union by revealing and eradicating the flaws.

In reply to Mark Hannon of castleford. Whereas we by no means tar everyone with the same brush, when out walking we don't want to suddenly have the peace and quiet ruined by the roar of motor cycles or 4X4's. If we wanted that then we would walk down the main roads. We get enough of the continual traffic noise every day,and it's nice to get out on the hills and away from it all.

We all make an impact on the environment whether with boots horses hooves, bicycles etc. So we should all be aware of the damage that larger wheels can do. Especially if the vehicles are driven recklessly. Maybe you yourself and your members are considerate but not everyone slows down or stops.

Came to Yorkshire for the first time a year and a half ago. Been back five times since. It is the most beautiful place in the world... the lighting, the rolling landscape (dales), and all the wonderful things that "winter" brings forth in the character of it's marvelous people. Found out that I'd been living a British Country life-style all my life. Would send some warmth your way but alas, it's freezing here. Instead, please accept my love, long distance, until I return and bring it to you in April 2004.

Having moved south after nearly 18 years in the Dales I could not believe schools were closed last week because of a VERY light fall of snow. I agree the roads were icy and school buses found it difficult to pick up children in outlying areas, but considering the snow falls we were used to, it didn't seem as if people were trying very hard to cope with the weather. Give me good old Yorkshire grit anyday! Really enjoy the pictures and Dales postcards. More snowy ones please!

I believe it is right that an owner should have their say on whether or not their horse should be subjected to human consumption, but i think a passport should not necessarily be compulsary. Would it not be much easier and save a lot of time and effort for just the animals which are wanted for human consumption to be made compulsary that they have passports as to keep record of any medication or illness they may have had?

These are just my views and i know they will not make a difference but i believe it important to get my point across.

I am a member of GLASS (the green lane association) and I must object strongly to the notion that all vehicular users of green lanes are "off roaders" that just want to "play".

GLASS has a strict code of conduct which instructs its members to travel at a maximum of 12MPH, not to use lanes when they risk being affected beyond a point of natural recovery and to stop and switch off the engine when encountering other uses.

We also have regular outings to assist in the repair of lanes that have become unpassable usually due to being destroyed by farm traffic. Next time you come upon a badly damaged lane just look at the width & depth of the ruts and you will soon realise that the majority of these could not possibly be created with a 4x4 car. Please do not tar us all with the same brush.

As to the argument from walkers that they are dissturbed by vehicle users may I remind them that out of all the paths and lanes in the UK vehicles are allowed on only 3%. If you don't want to meet a vehicle coming the other way on your walk then use the other 97% and be glad that you have such a huge majority in use of these.

As a resident in Hellifield I would like to add to the debate regrading the A65 bypass around the villages.

The land taken up by a by pass would in my opinion be of poor quality and much of it under water for the winter months anyway. The calming effect on villages such as helifield would improve the quality of life and remove the risk we take as we walk along the path astride the A65.

The busineses would flourish as tourists would once again be able to sample the true taste of English country life without fear of stopping causing a mile long tail back. The local residents would also be able to access a smoother route to and from the city as they commute to Skipton, Leeds, Harrogate and lancashire towns and cities. The by pass would be a boost to local employment as the quarries in the area would provide much of the surface material. Thus everyone in the area would benefit.

The A65 needs upgraded to put the country back into the life of these villages. It needs to be done now so that it can be enjoyed by all.

The recommendations of the BBC's review of rural services are to be welcomed, if a little overdue. As the BBC points out, a quarter of its licence payers live in rural areas. I would remind them that many more work in or visit the countryside and demand more coverage of more serious rural issues.

There is a wealth of material in rural areas and there are many serious social and economic issues needing wider coverage. Hand-held cameras and communications technology now means there is no excuse not to cover a story because of remoteness, but I fear it is the urban mindset within the Corporation itself that needs addressing.

The general lack of understanding of rural life and an inability, or unwillingness, to look behind the chocolate-box image has now been officially recognised and must change. Rural Britain is going through the biggest reform since the industrial revolution and it would be nice if the BBC was there to document some of it.

Interesting observations. I was educated at a public school in Yorkshire and of course we played rugby union. I remember being told by, probably, the sports master, that rugby was a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen and that soccer was a gentleman’s game played by ruffians. It was also made very clear, that despite the ruff and tumble of the game, we were expected to behave like gentlemen at all times.

It’s also interesting to note that at full contact sports, such as rugby, or Australian rules football, there is essentially no crowd violence or hooliganism, whereas at the non-contact sports, there is much crowd violence and subsequent hooliganism.

I am led to believe, that with contact sports, the aggression of the spectators is played out on the field, whereas the non contact sports, the aggression only builds in the spectators, who then feel that they have to take out their aggression on all and sundry after the game outside the venue. All a bit disturbing.

Having lived “down under” for quite some time, I am now used to the Australian attitude to sport, which is in itself quite aggressive in another way and was highlighted by Michael Parkinson a few years ago when he attended the Australian Cup tennis in Melbourne. It seems that the umpire made a decision that the spectators disagreed with and the spectators became extremely hostile to the umpire, to the point he Michael Parkinson was quite intimidated and fearful for his safety, but then again, tennis is a non contact sport, isn’t it?

We hosted the England v’s Ireland game here in Perth a week or so ago and I am happy to report that both the English and the Irish were very well behaved and there was no trouble either inside the venue or outside the venue, although both teams took over different pubs during the day of the match, but CERTAINLY no drunken louts on the streets AT ALL.

Enjoy the rest of your stay in Australia!!

Just tell it how it is Mr Ian Black, I myself am a big Rugby Union fan (England & Wales), never could stand football, too over rated, give me Rugby anyday, what with that big bearly fine figure of a man in a tight fitting outfit (Jonny Wilkinson comes to mind), tight buttocks and big thighs! sorry, yes, and the game is good to, to watch.

Here we go - He's off again on that old chestnut… town vs country! Haven’t three weeks in Oz inspired our country columnist to bang on about something different?

Remember the 'glorious' days when Union was an amateur game? Yes? not befouled by the stench of money and the greed of the modern game. How many ‘country’ men turned up on a regular basis for the England squad? Err – None? One? Two at best – simple reason – can’t afford the time off.

Yes people from towns do play rugby (and may I say some are rather good at it, cough-Jason-cough-Leonard-cough). Happen to remember Wales in the 70’s ? (I know for most blue blooded Englishmen, this was one era to forget) – where did the bulk majority of the Welsh team hail from? And let’s not forget our Rugby League comrades who have been ricocheting between both codes, – cough-Jason-Robinson-cough, half-cough-the welsh team-cough, -COUGH-AUSTRALIA-Choke...

Probably Mr Sheard is down under with those lucky enough to afford the time-off. Why, of course – retired people who have moved to the country and decided to follow such pastimes (Because they couldn’t afford the time to have a sporting interest before?)... ...Or maybe I’m the one making sweeping generalisations now!

As Secretary of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line (www.settle-carlisle.co.uk) I feel obliged to respond.

Whilst the line has been closed for weekdays this week and next week, that is for Network Rail to invest millions of pounds in several miles of new track and repairs to Smardale Viaduct north of Kirkby Stephen. The line is enjoying an excellent period. Our stations at Appleby and Settle have won awards in 2003 and 2001 respectively in the Best Kept station competition. The Visitor Centre at Ribblehead station has won awards for the quality of the restoration, as have the original stone walls from Blea Moor down to Ribblehead. A huge amount of work has been done since the line was reprieved from closure in 1989. There are still things we would like to be done.

The Friends work in partnership with a number of other organisations and our membership gives us the necessary lobbying power. By increasing the number of members we can increase our power and continue to promote and develop the line. Please visit our website at www.settle-carlisle.co.uk and join the Friends - you can help in the work that we do.

An application form for membership can be found at: http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/foscl_membinfo.cfm

We look forward to welcoming you to the Settle-Carlisle railway soon.

Its somehow ironic that John Sheard chooses this moment to write about the threat of railway cuts to the Settle-Carlisle. On Monday 29th September the line will be closed for 2 weeks to allow Network Rail to complete major engineering works between Settle and Appleby. Once again millions are about to be invested in the line's infrastructure. Following the two week closure on Monday 13th October Arriva Trains Northern are introducing a loco-hauled service to the line and providing an extra service train in the afternoon, filling the previous 3 hour gap from Leeds. At this time the S&C is looking really healthy, with increased passenger numbers and reliable service. Come on Dalenet, give credit where it is due. A lot of people work hard to make this line work and its certainly not under threat of closure! John Sheard may want to turn his attention to other rail routes - there could well be cuts in the countryside, but thanks to much hard work by all kinds of dedicated people its not going to be the S&C

Its small minded, pompous views like these that helps to make this country a complete mess. John Shead should actually attend a festival and see a cross-section of our population having a good time - getting away from the morons who subject us with constant rules and control.

The Leeds festival was spoiled by a select few, but to tarnish everyone with the same brush is wrong. Its like us 'city folk' calling all people in the countryside alliance old, inflated, self-important bigots....(actually could this be right)

The majority of people in this country do not care about fundamental countryside views as they are dated, selfish and most of the time morally questionable.

...join the masses: start living life and stop complaining about absolutely eveything: you'll find yourself much happier in the long run!

I would like to state one fact and one opinion:

Fact: In the final event, the only control which can exist over people who will break the rules is fear of pain. No such control exists in this society now. (Sorry, that's 2 facts)

Opinion: Actually, more a point of view with which I agree and which was related to me in the form of an established principle in the teaching of a Christian church - that an individual earns rights through the acceptance of responsibilities.

I think it follows that anyone who abnegates their responsibilities (as must be seen to occur when an individual breaks the rules of the society in which he has elected to live) automatically waives their rights. In other words all this political insistence on 'human rights' is WRONG WRONG WRONG. A criminal should therefore be seen to have NO rights.

However, this does not give other people an excuse to behave irresponsibly. In dealing with a criminal a person should modify his actions in accordance with all prevailing circumstances. (That's a pretty vague generalisation). Nevertheless, if that person's actions result in the criminal being inadvertantly maimed or killed I believe that this should be seen as a direct result of the criminal's own wilful action, a risk that he has voluntarily taken, and the person who causes the injury is merely an agent of the other's will.