On into Ripley, we disturbed the hive of activity at Ripley Printers- sorry Son, did we embarrass you? They all came up trumps with historical stories, pictures and artefacts. Thanks to them all.
Feeling the need for some refreshment, we headed for Crossley Park where we met two lovely people who had great stories to share and were keen to know what we were doing and get involved with our mission. There were lots of dogs and their owners looking at us seemed happy to approach us and were not reluctant at all.
We headed to Upper Hartshay to see John the Joiner but he was not there, however, Mephistopheles, the black cat with golden eyes, came to tell us her story- well we made it up actually!
Then we headed down the bumpy lane to Lower Hartshay, which was more of a track with occasional bits of tarmac spattered with loose stone and grit. At the bottom we met a smiley man in a blue boiler suit carrying egg boxes. He was friendly and told us the egg boxes were empty and he was collecting money. We would have asked for a story but he got on his phone.
On to Heather and she wasn't in at the old school. Then we went to see the Gate Inn, which is now unoccupied. It would make a great artists' studio space.
In Swanwick we met three men gossiping outside a gate and even encountered someone that Sally L used to work with 20 years ago. She and her colleagues had lots of stories to tell. The two young people they were with, quickly set to and wrote their stories while the adults took some time to find a tale. They were both excited by the idea of getting their stories in the paper and put down their full names. Eventually the 3 ladies came up with stories as well.
Down the hill, up the hill and now sister Kate and nephew Joseph weren't in either.
It's funny that even though we decided to call on a few people we knew, we were thwarted as all of them were out. Chance encounters are much more fruitful.
