WE went to Reeth this week for a ride out and an ice cream. Ice cream tends to be at the centre of many of our trips.

We struggled to get parked as there was cars parked everywhere - it was as if the village green was hosting a rally for medium-sized family hatchbacks of any make and model.

If it was a rally those attending must have been holed up in a church hall somewhere as there was nobody about looking under bonnets at factory-fitted airfilters on entry level Nissan Qashqais or admiring standards cupholder arrangements on Vauxhall Astras. There didn't look to be that many people in the pubs and cafes either. I think what happens in Reeth is people park up and then go walking or hiking up the dales and over the hills. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, although I hope people make a contribution to parking in the voluntary contributions box, I thought as I drove away without making a contribution as I figured I didn't have to as I was local. And tight.

Another theory is that Ian Botham is right. England is becoming cluttered by immigrants and the first sign of this problem has manifested itself on Reeth village green. Options include banning cars from Swaledale or opening a car park.

In other news, the world is one big mystery to the girl at the moment but she's having so much fun finding things out. Like a lot of people she's a bit obsessed with breasts or 'boo boos' as she sweetly calls them.

"I've got little boo boos, mummy's got big boo boos and daddy's got big boo boos," she said the other day in a statement which caused a mixture of hilarity, embarrassment and outrage in the house.

It also meant she became the youngest member of the family ever to have wifi privileges removed. Any more comments like that and we will be taking a day trip to the zoo to play with the gorillas.