St Nicholas's Church in Newchurch, is celebrating 500 years of being on the site this year.

I have to say, not only is it a very friendly church attended by some very nice people, It is also a very interesting place to visit, if you are at all interested in the history of Rossendale.

In days of yore, if a big wig fell off his perch over here, they were carted off to Whalley Abbey by the monks for burial. Fred my next-door neighbour and a regular at St Nicholas, had the bright idea of commemorating this tradition by a walk to Whalley Abbey from the church.

So last Saturday myself, Mrs B and Archie the Jack Russell (now fully recovered) set off with 30 others on a beautiful spring morning.

The church bells peeling as we strode up Newchurch Road full of vim and vigour, all singing a lusty inspirational hymn, a perfect day. 17.5 miles and a long 5.5 hours later, I crawled into Whalley feeling everyone of my 56 years with a whacking great blister on my foot chuntering and moaning that it was just too hot.

I’m sure Archie agreed with me as he limped along in sympathy. Mrs B walked in fresh as a daisy calling me a “big Jessie”.

Then we were whisked home in an automobile using the, wonderful ‘Highway in the Sky’ and within an hour I was soaking in the bath. Thank God for progress say I, them there monks had some really bad habits.

Mind you, they didn't have to contend with all the roadworks in Rawtenstall. Have the utilities companies opened up a ‘Digging up the road Training Academy’ here in Rawtenstall and not bothered to tell anybody.

I reckon Colonel Gaddafi travels around more easily than we do in Rawtenstall at the moment. Can you believe it, they've closed Peel Street again, to dig it up again!

In Clive's world we would introduce something called co-ordination.