We took a drive out to Thirsk yesterday and encountered the most bizarre weather. When we left Harrogate it was cold and very windy but the sun was shining and skies were blue. Thirsk is about a 45-minute drive northeast of Harrogate and was once home to James Herriott of All Creatures Great and Small fame. We arrived around 10:30 a.m., before most stores are open on a Sunday. We found a wonderful bookstore/cafe to while away the time as the rest of Thirsk woke up.

We left the bookstore in search of the James Herriott museum. The museum is housed in Skelgate, the house where Herriott and his family lived and practiced veterinary medicine. Though I've never read any of Herriott's books and have only seen a few episodes of the TV series All Creatures Great and Small, I enjoyed the museum immensely. We took the self-guided tour through the rooms, all done up in authentic 1940s decor. Another part of the museum is a recreation of the set of the TV series and you can see yourself on various monitors while on the set. Upstairs was an extensive exhibit on the history of veterinary medicine, complete with scary looking medical implements.
During the course of our visit I learned quite a few things about James Herriott:

• His real name was Alf Wight. He was obliged to use a pseudonym for legal reasons.
  
• He did not begin writing his books until he was in his 50s
  
• His first two books, "If Only They Could Talk" and "It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet", were published in the UK and did not generate much interest at all. It was not till the two books were published in the U.S. as one volume with the title "All Creatures Great and Small" that his writings became a runaway success. The book was a big hit with U.S. readers. The success eventually transferred back to the UK. Movies, TV shows, more books and international fame followed.

While we were touring the Herriott museum we glanced out the window to see a furious icy snow storm brewing outside. Ten minutes later the snow had stopped and skies were blue again. Another ten minutes and the snow was blowing furiously again. The weather continued to seesaw like that for several hours. Luckily we left during one of the calm periods. We drove into blue skies on our way back to Harrogate, while over our shoulders the sky was a threatening steel gray.