Sheds for Christmas market, Parliament St, 16 Nov

York’s Christmas market is back again this year. It’s apparently judged to be ‘the third best in the UK’.

I’m rather baffled by this. I don’t mean the ‘third best’ thing, who cares, I mean the fact that once again there are a lot of sheds crammed into Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square.

Back in 2019 the Christmas market here was so popular that it ended up being a bit of a nightmare. The Press reported the ‘festive queuing and shuffling’.

I wrote about it, and the dangers of ‘overtourism’, back then. It feels like four years ago, but I’ve realised that my perception of time has been quite distorted by the recent stresses, so that two years feels like four. Not alone in that, I think?

Strangely, in 2021, we’re once again encouraging a lot of people to cram themselves into one part of the city centre, and because of this it’s apparently then necessary to surround it with a ‘ring of steel’ – the return of the ‘hostile vehicle mitigation and pedestrian barriers‘ we saw back in 2019.

Barriers by All Saints church, 16 Nov 2021

They’re meant to protect the city centre against terrorist attacks, and to make us feel safe. They just make me feel despondent. So does the Christmas market. Am I just an old misery? Perhaps.

This old misery took herself into town a few days ago, to have a look at the festive sheds and the barriers, before the market opened.

Parliament Street, from Piccadilly end, 16 Nov 2021

Weren’t we supposed to be building back better, or at least differently? This looks just like 2019 to me. Same old thing.

But a bit more confused, as there’s so much mixed messaging, so many contradictions. And perhaps quite a bit to feel angry about, in terms of what this all costs, and who it benefits.

The Christmas lights switch-on event in the city centre was cancelled because of fears about Covid spread, as a lot of people would then be gathered together at one time.

A spokesperson for Make It York said: “After much consideration the decision has been taken in partnership with York BID not to hold a physical light switch on event this year.

The event is always hugely popular, drawing in large crowds over a short period of time – and to ensure the safety of all visitors and residents we will instead focus on showcasing our winter light scheme via our online channels.”

But clearly the Christmas market – also drawing in large crowds over a short period of time – is thought to be a good idea. Presumably because it makes a lot of money, for some people involved with it. Though Make it York, who organise it, keep asking for more.

The Christmas market is clearly popular with visitors, but is seen by many York residents as something tedious and problematical imposed on us, rather than being something to get excited about. Many residents just quietly avoid it, and go elsewhere.

All things considered, I’m really surprised to see the Christmas market resurfacing this year. ‘Roll up, roll up, come and queue and shuffle round our festive sheds, at the third best Christmas market!’

‘My City Centre’

Its arrival seems to go against a developing trend of trying to encourage more residents back into the city centre. The city council recently asked for our views, in ‘My City Centre York’. It aims for ‘a new city centre vision':

A vibrant city centre, where a wide range of people want to spend time, live and work; a place where businesses thrive, sustainable communities grow, and a varied cultural and social life flourishes…

I didn’t respond to the ‘My City Centre York’ survey, but it looks like a lot of people did. On the council website there’s an interactive map, with comments added about particular streets and areas. I thought I’d have a quick look at Parliament Street, which has a lot of ‘thumbs down’ markers over it. The first one I selected reads:

This whole area is becoming a no-go area for residents and is now just a showground for MIY events that drive out residents and local traders

And another:

Always seems to be hired out to out of town travelling trades. Doesn’t support the local economy. Would be the best cafe / restaurant street.

And another:

St Nicholas Market disrupts city centre too much

I could find no comments saying that the Christmas market is a wonderful thing really valued by local residents.

So another contradiction – the council wants to encourage more residents back into the city centre, wants to make it more inviting, so it’s not ‘just for tourists’, then Make it York (agency owned by the council apparently dependent on council money/bailouts) plonks in the middle of it something that appears to be designed to attract more tourists. This then needs expensive barriers erecting around it, which make it harder not just for vehicles to access it, but funnels pedestrians and wheelchair users through narrow channels between big lumps of metal. How odd.

Shopping spree …

When not preoccupied with fears about Covid, and before the new festive anti-terror barriers arrived to remind us to also be fearful of terrorism, we may have found time to be fearful about climate change and the effects of our behaviour on the planet.

Many of us have recognised for some time that there are easy ways to lessen our impact, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to not buy loads of stuff we don’t need. Or to feel at certain times of year that we should buy stuff for other people that they don’t need or want. I got the impression that many more people were agreeing, between families and friends, to stop the Christmas gift-giving for us older people with enough stuff already. Particularly if you’re going to get in a car and drive miles to buy the stuff, rather than shopping locally, as I thought we were being encouraged to.

There are, of course, many shops in York, interesting independent ones, there all year round, where you could do your Christmas shopping, as you want to/have to.

But apparently there’s still enough demand for York to once again have its big Christmas market, and we should just ignore all of that. Maybe go back to hand-wringing and grand words and promises after the festive sheds are packed away.

How it could be …

We’ve had one year when we saw how it could be different. Last year, because of Covid, Parliament Street didn’t fill up with festive sheds and shuffling queues. It had the carousel, and some food stalls, and very nice it was too. When I walked through it one afternoon in December it had a very pleasant, gently festive atmosphere. I haven’t forgotten this. It was a glimpse of how York’s Parliament Street could be a gathering place for festivities that felt like they were part of York, naturally growing from it, rather than being plonked upon it.

Parliament St, 23 December 2020, with carousel

Even the problematic Parliament Street paving looked better, reflecting festive light, and giving us more room to move than is usually the case here at this time of the year.

Parliament St, 23 December 2020, without the festive sheds

Last year at this time things seemed quite quiet in town. This year, earlier this week, even before the market had opened, the city centre already seemed very busy. I was also in town briefly in half term, and the city centre was full of people of all ages out enjoying a mild autumn afternoon. I walked through King’s Square, where crowds were gathered to watch one of the street performers. Just like the old days, and good to see.

The city centre would presumably have continued to flourish without the tourist-pulling overcrowded Christmas market.

It’s possible to avoid the Christmas market, of course. But if you want to go into the city centre for some other reason, it’s quite difficult to ignore the barriers set up at many points around its periphery, and these are what prompted me to write this page. To me they’re depressing, essentially pointless, questionable at best. And they cost. And again, Make it York needs ‘support’ from the council to pay for them: “support with the cost of counter-terrorism measures during the Christmas market period, at a cost of £78,900.”

Hope all tax payers are happy with this.

– – – –

Apologies if I’m not able to post pages on here so often, and that when I do I sometimes seem to be repeating myself. Some problematical/questionable things need looking at and questioning more than once. I’ve lived in this city for a long time, and this resident’s record of York and its changes continues. Comments below and coffees via ko-fi are welcome, as always.

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Frozen river, 25 Dec 2010

In recent days and weeks I’ve been looking through a lot of photos for some calendars I’m making, and have been reminded of the remarkable and rare sight of a frozen River Ouse, on this day, Christmas Day, in 2010.

It doesn’t feel like it was a whole nine years ago, but apparently it was.

I wrote about it at the time, and included some photos, quite small.

As I’m writing two pages today (partly to make up for not adding anything yesterday in my so-called ‘December Daily‘), I’m not going to add any more words to this page — please revisit the 2010 page for the contemporary account of The Days the Ouse Froze Over — but a couple of photos follow as a reminder of that very harsh winter weather at this time in 2010.

Geese on frozen Ouse, 25 Dec 2010

Frozen Ouse, Clifton, 25 Dec 2010

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Sheriff’s Riding, 21 Dec 2016, at Bootham Bar

Just a quick reminder that this is happening tomorrow, 21 December:

To celebrate the 12 days of Yule, residents are invited to welcome ‘all manner of whores, dice players, thieves and other unthrifty folk’ to the city for the Sheriff’s Riding parade.

The Sheriff’s Riding is organised by the York Guard and the York City Waits and attended by Sheriff of York, Joanna Trythall, as well as other members of the Civic Party, including the Lord Mayor of York.

The event sets off from Micklegate Bar and will include a parade around the city gates, which the public are encouraged to join at 6pm on Saturday 21 December.

For more information see the full City of York Council press release.

I’ve been along a couple of times in previous years, and written about it (in 2016 and 2017). A really cheering, and interesting, annual event, worth trying to get to if you can.

Sheriff’s Riding, 21 Dec 2017, at Monk Bar

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Women with bicycles, and horse-drawn charabancs behind, outside St William’s College, early 20th century. (More information: thecardindex.com)

While looking online for images of St William’s College for the December Daily a couple of days ago, I found this postcard image, on thecardindex.com.

It’s very striking — a large group of ‘lady cyclists’, as I guess they’d be called then — all in a line right across the road in front of St William’s College.

Behind them are two vehicles, apparently horse-drawn charabancs, with more ladies in hats. It seems to be an all-women outing, apart from the two men about to drive the charabancs.

Photos like these generally mark a day’s outing somewhere. Perhaps the bundles wrapped in cloth on the handlebars of many of the bicycles are a picnic lunch? I wonder where they were going, and exactly when it was (the info on thecardindex.com suggests 1915).

I know women cycled back then, but was rather surprised to see so many women cyclists together.

Also worthy of comment is scaffolding on the Minster behind them, quite a construction. And to the right, St William’s College looks smarter than it did on one of the earlier images I included a couple of days ago, but it looks like the main doorway is still the same weathered structure, rather eroded and blackened.

I’d like to know more about this interesting image of the cycling women, and I know that many knowledgeable local historians and social historians read these pages, so if you have any observations or insights to add, comments are welcome below. (If you’d like to view a much larger version, use this link to the relevant image on thecardindex.com, and click on/select the postcard, which should then open a higher-resolution image.)

The post Cycling women, and charabancs, and more info appreciated appeared first on York Stories.

From one aspect of the city’s cultural heritage (its football team, and its base at Bootham Crescent since the 1930s) to another — its Mystery Plays (quite a bit older).

On a recent page I mentioned heading out from the city centre quite a lot recently. But the splendid once-every-four-years spectacle of the York Plays performed on waggons saw me heading enthusiastically towards town, to catch the start of this year’s production. And it brought, as it always does, a sense of deep connection to the place, but particularly this time, dashing down Bootham, that ancient road, through Bootham Bar, and then meeting the Minster, and finding the waggons and people gathered around it, by the south transept, on Deangate. I thought I’d share a few photos and thoughts.

If you missed it on Sunday there’s another chance to see it all next Sunday. More details on the York Mystery Plays website.

I know that some people may be put off by the fact that these are religious plays, and because the language can be difficult. I’m not always sure what’s going on either, but these plays every four years are a wonderful thing to behold, and, I think, something everyone who loves/admires/feels a connection to the city of York should witness.

Why? Many reasons.

Because you can watch them for free, just turn up if you feel like it, and watch for a while, at various city centre locations.

Because of the movement — the moving between playing stations — with all that human-powered waggon shifting.

Because of the music — the York Waits, the choirs. And the sound of the language, the alliteration in particular.

Because of the colour and the costume, and the way the people of the plays mingle with the people in the streets doing their shopping, or heading for the bus stop.

Because of the creativity these plays always demonstrate in their working with the constrained conditions of performing on and around a waggon.

And because they use tree branches as tools.

For more information see yorkmysteryplays.co.uk.

. . . . .

I’ve written about the Mystery Plays a few times over the years. Those pages are on this link.

This site — a resident’s record of York — is at present powered by virtual coffees. When time and energy permits I’m on a mission to continue to do my best to do the kind of thing I’ve done for many years, and perhaps do it better, and maybe more often.

Thank you for your support in sustaining this online resource.

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Flowery delights by St Helen’s church, 7 July 2018

It has been a while, hasn’t it. But I can’t let another month go by without an update to this long-running record of York and its changes, so thought I’d share some images and thoughts gathered over recent weeks, during a summer that has been surprisingly hot and sunny for weeks on end.

This summer saw the first Bloom! York festival, celebrating all things horticultural, with some fantastic displays of floral loveliness. After dashing across York on a very hot afternoon earlier this month I particularly appreciated the coolness of Holy Trinity church on Micklegate, enhanced by the relaxing greenery of trees.

‘A Congregation of Trees’ – Bloom York, Holy Trinity, Micklegate, 7 July 2018

A cool place for quiet contemplation, with trees in tubs and birdsong through the speakers. Beautiful.

I didn’t get to see much of Bloom York, but what I saw was cheering and uplifting. Like Etty looking pretty, in Exhibition Square, adorned with flowers.

Etty statue, Exhibition Square – Bloom York, 7 July 2018

A fountain of flowers around the plinth, even some on the palette he’s holding.

I’ve written about Etty and the fountain and Exhibition Square many times before. The square is often virtually deserted when I pass in the evenings, when the art gallery overlooking it is closed. Quite a contrast to see it on this sunny Saturday afternoon, and good to see so many people enjoying the square, and particularly its fountain.

Exhibition Square, Bloom York, 7 July 2018

A page I wrote some years back about this fountain included this quote from a York Civic Trust annual report, published many years ago:

‘It is a pleasing thing to see young children running round the square thrilling to the dancing water.’

As it was in 1971 so it is now, or at least on this particular sunny summer day in 2018.

The greenery and flowers really did bring a feeling of celebration to the fountain and the square. (On that particular day when I took the photo above there was a general feeling of celebration, as I emerged from the quiet of the library to streets where people were spilling out of pubs singing ‘football’s coming home’ …)

Not far away from Exhibition Square is Dean’s Park, where greenery and flowers can be enjoyed all year round. And, usually, it’s a nicely calm and quiet place. Not so quiet this summer though, as there’s a summer attraction occupying part of it.

Sol Ast, Dean’s Park, 14 July 2018

According to the York Minster website this new bar/restaurant is from the team behind Thor’s tipi bar, which I think is usually in Parliament Street at a different time of the year, (and, according to the York Minster website, it’s ‘legendary’).

I sat on the grass outside the Sol Ast enclosure and observed its ambience. Clearly lots of people having a good time. The music from it rather clashed with the joyful exuberance of an excellent group of buskers performing within earshot in front of St Michael le Belfrey nearby. All very lively. Though I didn’t seem to be in the city centre at the right time to see and be shocked by all the stags and hens and general debauchery that I keep reading about in the local media.

York is often these days described as ‘vibrant’, and seems particularly lively on summer weekends. I’ve not been feeling particularly vibrant, after a recent family bereavement and illness, and an earlier attempt to venture to the vibrancy of Piccadilly left me saying to my companion that it was all too vibrant for me and that I wanted to go home and sit in the garden.

Some time later I revisited a site I’ve been following with interest for some years now, where the Spark:York development is now open.

Spark:York, Piccadilly, 20 June 2018

It’s certainly striking, as you approach from the junction with Merchantgate.

What was perhaps the most interesting aspect was hearing the sound of voices, many voices, people chatting while sitting out in the sun on the first floor level above the street. So much activity, on a site where I can still remember the quiet dereliction and emptiness of the Reynard’s garage building.

The opening of Spark:York hasn’t been universally welcomed, it’s fair to say. Yes, I’m choosing my words carefully and going for understatement rather than stoking things up further, as here on these pages we like to weigh things up and try to see everyone’s point of view.

Of interest at present regarding the Spark:York site is a follow-up planning application, requesting the approval of the exterior, which isn’t quite as presented in the original planning application.

Spark:York, side view from Piccadilly, 20 June 2018

The shipping containers were supposed to be behind ‘soft timber cladding’, according to the earlier plans as approved. Instead there’s some graffiti art on the side. The Guildhall Planning Panel comments on the planning application note their disappointment that the result is ‘more edgy than originally proposed’.

It may seem like a minor point but it does raise wider questions, all too complicated to go into on this page. Personally I’d rather valuable resources went into other things, rather than essentially pointless cladding to cover up some paint. But anyway, it seems that the matter is to be discussed and decided by the planning committee in August.

To clad, or not to clad, that is the question …

Guess where we’re going next …

Rose Theatre, side view, 14 July 2018

Just a stone’s throw away, on the other side of the Foss, is the much-anticipated ‘Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre’, here for the summer on part of the Castle car park. The side of the theatre structure looked a bit more shiny and modern than I was expecting, as I approached it from the riverside walkway by the Coppergate centre.

Is this some cladding which I see before me?

Rose Theatre, side view detail, 14 July 2018

Perhaps it could be donated to Spark:York when the theatre is taken down.

Inside here there’s what sounds like an impressive structure: ‘state-of-the-art scaffolding technology, corrugated iron and timber with the historic 13-sided design of a 16th century Shakespearean theatre’, says the website.

In my usual way, I’m doing the ‘observing from the outside for free’ thing. Here’s a photo of the entrance, which has heads on spikes and pigeons. The pigeons aren’t real ones. (And neither are the heads, obviously.)

Rose Theatre, entrance, 14 July 2018

Again, as on Piccadilly, what I noticed most was the noise, laughter and voices, happy people on a sunny afternoon. At Spark:York and at the Rose Theatre new structures had brought new life to these particular sites, in creative and interesting ways. Does it matter what the outside looks like? These things are only here for a while.

Whereas some structures have been here for centuries, loved and cherished. I’ll end this page with a familiar building I’ve written about many times in the past. It has known many many summers, and this summer it’s overlooking the Rose Theatre’s temporary site in the car park below.

Clifford’s Tower, 14 July 2018

Clifford’s Tower, with its grassy mound all brown and dry from the summer’s heatwave.

In recent months the controversial plan for a new visitor centre here at the foot of the steps has been abandoned, as I’m sure most readers know.

It will be interesting to see what new plans come to light for this area. It would be good if they could better represent the complex histories of this castle site, and how its buildings are linked, and how it has been shaped over the centuries.

. . . . .

So much happening in ‘vibrant’ York, and so much change and development, since I started this (my salad days, when I was green in judgement). Despite my recent rather long silence I’m still reading about many happenings — petitions and planning applications, demolitions and developments. It’s all very interesting and I’m sorry I’ve not had the time or the mental space to write much recently. I will do my best in terms of more regular content creation.

As I’m increasingly tired of social media and so many other online platforms (full of sound and fury), it feels more important than ever to preserve and continue this independent and carefully compiled online space of mine, even though it now means wading through more rules and virtual roadblocks (a sea of troubles), like trying to make an old site like this comply with GDPR regulations …

If you appreciate the perspectives on these pages, and enjoy this record of York and its changes then you can support it, and me, with virtual coffees via ko-fi.com, to power more pages, and help me with (the slings and arrows of) my bills …

Thank you.

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