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All dressed up . . . and nowhere to go 🙁

I’m getting a little cabin fever now. Basically I’ve been stuck in my apartment for 4 days now. It’s not that I haven’t got anything to do. I actually feel as if I’ve got more than enough fun things to occupy myself with indoors but I need exercise. With this in mind I decided to brave the weather and take a tour of Todmorden Town Hall, including afternoon tea. At least it would give me a reason for wearing something different than what I’ve been hanging around in for the past few days. Since it’s only about 50 paces to the bus stop from my place I thought I’d risk it. About an hour before I was due to set off snow was coming down heavily but I could see from my window that bus were still running, so off I went.

Todmorden town hall is a magnificent edifice that quite dwarfs the rest of Todmorden town centre. A large banner on the railing was advertising a Wedding Fair from 10-4 today. I knew about this already so I wasn’t too concerned, but on entering the building there was no sign of a tour, or even a sign cancelling a tour. So I had no alternative but to gatecrash the wedding fair. It was a small collection of stalls running around the perimeter of a truly magnificent hall, but it was all so sad. There couldn’t have been more than 10 attendees, totally outnumbering the number of vendours. I chatted to one vendour who said there had been a sign outside earlier in the day cancelling the tour but it had been obscured by the Wedding Fair sign. I suggested a small sign on the door would have been useful, but it wasn’t her concern. I was niffed that the organiser, who I’d called and left a message with asking about any cancellation, had not had the courtesy to reply. However, I was here now, so I needed to make the best of it. I chatted to several vendours including the Todmorden lady who makes this adorable bears:

IMG_9848and the ladies that make these:

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I sampled the fig bread – delicious

There was even a string trio advertising their availability for playing at weddings:

IMG_9857Next, I went in search of icicles and frozen canals and found both

before heading back to Hebden. I did consider walking back along the canal (5 1/2 miles) but it looked just too slippery. Back in town there were a few people in the square heading for hot coffee in the cafes and just a few brave souls were noseying at the 6 stalls that were open (crazy) on the outdoor market.

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The best Indian food in town

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Home of the Stoodley swirl

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I often buy a bacon butty, cooked to order, from this stall

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There’s a new stall on the market today. I sampled the elderflower gin: just the thing for generating some warmth today.

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Local butcher’s signs

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And then I headed for the co-op where the  shelves were pretty empty!!!!

Enjoying what had turned into a fun photo opportunity I went in search of some of the buildings my ancestors lived in, some of which I discovered yesterday in the archives.

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One of these buildings is #1 Crown Street, directly across the street from my abode. From 1871 to 1891 Thomas Wrigley, (the husband of my 4th great aunt)  ran a photographic studio from here. In 1841 he had been a resident of Lily Hall, living with his new wife, the former Sally Wrigley (my 4th great aunt). Which means that my gt gt gt gt grandfather was Sally Wrigley’s father!

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Some time last week I’d found that an ancestor had lived in Oxford House. I found it today. It currently houses a vegetarian restaurant that I wrote about in my journal a couple of weeks ago, saying that I’d like to take Anna there.

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