Haslingden town centre.

Haslingden

Rossendale is made up of many small towns, villages and hamlets all linked together by hills and countryside.

Some more views across the Valley.

Elgin Street in Bacup, in the guiness book of records for the shortest street, until recently! Apparently, someone put a gate on a drive somewhere in Scotland I think, and called it a street, taking the title.

Compton's cross high on the hills above the valley. Against one of the multitude of beautiful views you can see when you walk the moors here.

The beautiful Crawshaw Hall in the heart of Crawshawbooth. Sadly, as with many of the 'great' houses in the valley this has been turned into a nursing home. What the valley needs is for the council and residents of the valley to acquire these old buildings, restore them and turn them into places for tourists to visit.

Most of the valley's buildings are built in the local sandstone quarried from the hills of Rossendale.

Here is how Waterfoot's beautiful arcade used to look.

This beautiful late victorian shopping arcade has been owned by some company in London for years and has been neglected terribly. There used to be an entrance underneath the clock which was blocked up long ago. My Aunt - Mary Starkie - had an ironmongers shop on the Burnley Road East side of the arcade and my mum used to be her shop assistant. I used to go to the shop after school and was fascinated with the arcade. Inside are more shops and the whole thing is covered with glass. Again, if I had the money - I would buy, restore and re-open this as it would have been originally.

A flower filled meadow above Crawshawbooth

View from above Cowpe reservoir looking down over Cowpe and Waterfoot.

More pictures

Four Ends Lane which leads down from Booth Road to Newchurch Road and Waterbarn/Brandwood village.

View from Waterbarn hill over-looking Brandwood which most people call Waterbarn. Water barn Green is in the centre of the picture. You can make out the white sight screen in the centre, which Stacksteads cricket team use for matches. Stacksteads Cricket Team have played here in their various guises since 1903. The developer wants to throw them off. But not of we villagers have our way. It is such a pleasure on a balmy summer afternoon to have the cricketers playing a match. I often sit in my garden and watch them (and I hate sport!! lol). But there's something very 'British' about it and I for one would hate to lose it.

The Beautiful Fearns Hall, up for sale again! But still separated into two houses. If only I had the money I would by both halves and turn it back into one house and restore it to it's original state. There are several ghosts said to reside here including 'the grey lady' who has been seen peering sadly through the windows above the door as if looking for someone. A coach and four is also supposed to be seen racing past the house in the dead of night. Oliver Cromwell is supposed to have stayed here.

This is Waterbarn Green which is what we are trying to save from development. The row of terraces is where my house is. View from Brandwood Moor overlooking The Glen and Waterfoot

Healey Dell

Before I go any further with this blog - I thought it time I shared some pictures of this beautiful valley with you. It really is a stunning place. It has it's grubby areas too - just like anywhere else, but these ar few and far between thankfully. The valley stretches east to west in the penine hills. At one end is Healey village and Healey Dell (which is half in Rochdale and half in Rossendale) - to Baxenden(home of Hollands Pies) at the other. Inbetween these two points is my wonderful valley and it's towns, villages and hamlets. It is the best palce on earth as far as I am concerned. The people are friendly with a great sense of humour. It is one of those places where you can still walk down the street and perfect strangers say hello to you or smile. The years I lived away from it while working in the theatre - I missed the place dreadfully. There's no place like home.

preposterous

Well it happened - on last nights' news - Sudanese calling for the death penalty for the teacher who innocently allowed her pupils to call a teddy bear Mohammed. Are these people insane? Muslim peers from Great Britain are heading out there to try and secure her release. Let's just hope they succeed. I was raised to accept everybody as an individual regardless of sex, colour, creed, race. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am extremely tolerant, but even I am getting a little weary of the way Muslims behave throughout the world. Eighty percent of the problems in the world seems to be caused by Muslims. If they are not fighting each other, they are terrorising someone else. This is not Islam! Certainly not judging by the Koran that I read.
And it is not the majority doing this, it is a minority. The vast majority of Muslims are ordinary, decent, hard working people, no different to anyone else in the world. It is a minority of extremists and they are spoiling things for all Muslims. Is it any wonder extremist parties are getting a foot hold in western countries, when faced with what we see around us? Ordinary westerners see the extremists from the Muslim world doing things like crashing planes into the twin towers in America, bombing the underground in London and now the calls for the teacher in the Sudan to be executed for an innocent mistake and they just see Islam as a threat! Something dangerous, something to fear. When really Islam is a beautiful, peaceful religion.

The affect this is having in the country worries me. We've already seen in recent years problems caused for British Muslims by the acts of extremists in other countries. This isn't fair. But how can the Muslim world expect the western world to respect Islam if all the western world sees are the horrors done in the name of Islam. We don't see the good. We only see the bad. And the bad is pretty horrific to westerners. Westerners don't see a peaceful, loving, tolerant religion. They see thousands of innocent people being killed in the twin towers, they see suicide bombers, they see different groups of Muslims in places like Iraq killing each other. They see Muslims in the UK not joining in with the rest of society. It's time we saw the true Islam.
I don't want the children in my family growing up in a world like this! I want them to grow up in a world where everyone is accepted for who they are as an individual. Where our differences are rejoiced in - not rejected. Where all peoples are tolerant of each others' beliefs and respect them. Where no-one goes around killing other human beings in the name of God. You cannot kill in the name of God - now that IS blasphemous! Thou shalt not kill is still a commandment to the best of my knowledge. It does not say - thou shalt not kill unless you are killing in the name of God! Thou shalt not kill - MEANS - thou shalt not kill! And anyone who kills, for whatever reason is breaking that commandment. There is no glory in it. Only shame. God created every single person on the planet. He loves us all unconditionally. To kill another human being for ANY reason is an offense to God, you are killing a part of God himself.

God gave us a wonderful planet to live on, which we are rapidly destroying. It is full of spectacular sights, wonderful creatures and billions of humans who are all unique! We should be rejoicing in that and not making a mockery of God by destrying it. Isn't it about time we all took a deep breath and made a choice to make this world a better place for our children and our children's children? We are only caretakers of this planet. For most of us - three score and ten is our average time here. Can we not decide here and now, that from this day forward we will all work towards a better world? Small changes are all it needs from each of us. A smile to a stanger. Extending the hand of friendship to a neighbour. Making an effort to be kinder to one another. To bite one's lip when we want to say so much. To count to ten when we get angry. Call round and see the old man or woman living on your street and check they are ok. Make a point of befriending someone of a different religion, so you can learn to understand them better and be more tolerant of their beliefs and more respectful of them so you don't inadvertantly offend them. It doesn't take much to do. In fact you were created to be this way naturally. Go on, do it today - you know you want to. And who knows - you may be surprised at what riches it may bring into your life!