My Yorkshire: Judy Bell

What's your first Yorkshire memory?

I was born and brought up in Hunton, which is a pretty little Wensleydale village, and I can vividly remember shopping trips on the local bus, with my mother. The bus to Bedale was on a Tuesday, and to Leyburn on a Friday, and my mother would get all her greengroceries and other essentials at the markets. The bus company – there were two of those old-fashioned Bedfords of the vintage that you see on Heartbeat – was run out of a wooden garage in the village, and owned by Tommy Scafe. There were very few cars around back then.

What's your favourite part of the county – and why?

I love where I live today, just between Thirsk and Northallerton. How many people can say that they are able to look out of their office window, and see an idyllic landscape all around them? It's peaceful, and quiet, and I can look at the Pennines from one window – and yet we're only, what, 40 or so miles from the coast?

What's your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?

Getting a spare day is such a rarity. I think that my husband Nigel and I would head for an art exhibition, and see if there was anything that we liked. We've made some happy discoveries in galleries in Ilkley and Otley recently. Or maybe a mooch around an antiques fair. And then, on the way home, a nice meal in any one of the dozens of really good pubs around here. We love our farm – 170 acres of arable – and I love the cheese business as well, but it is nice to step back and take a break sometimes.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

We both love walking, especially on the North York Moors, and a great pleasure of ours is to meet some good friends from Pickering, and to just take off together. I think that when you get to the top of Sutton Bank, on a clear day, and just drink it all in... that takes some beating. There's York, way over in the distance. Stunning.

Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Goughy. That man could dance me around the floor, and then we could

have a lovely meal together. I'm told that he's very fond of his cheese as well. Only his favourite happens to be Wensleydale, I'm told, so maybe I could try a bit of persuasion.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

For me, he's one of the biggest-ever TV stars, Michael Parkinson. He's met and interviewed everyone, so I'd turn the tables, and interview him over dinner. I bet he's got some behind-the-scenes stories that are fascinating.

If you had to name your Yorkshire hidden gem, what would it be?

If you haven't been to Aysgarth Falls, and the surrounding waterways, then put it on your "must visit" list as a priority. I'm always taking visitors across there.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

Everyone says "the people", because everyone is absolutely right. Up here they are as straight as a die, they call a spade a spade, and when they shake hands, a deal is a deal and that's that done. But they are also unforgiving, and by that I mean that they don't suffer fools gladly. Try and make an idiot out of a Yorkshireman, and you'll come off the worse for it.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

You won't believe it, but… Rugby Union. Both my daughters (Caroline, 30, and Kate, 32) took it up at their universities, got stuck in and went on to play for the Ripon women's team, which they got into the Premiership.

All right, I'll admit it – at first I was horrified, and I couldn't bear the thought of either of them being knocked about, but when I saw them play, it was simply so exciting. It wasn't so good when Kate was once knocked out and stretchered off, but there we are. And I still check the local scores to this day.

What about Yorkshire's cultural life?

I love the little galleries that we've got, and there's a lot of very good theatre going on, but sadly we don't get the opportunity to see much of it. I hear good reports of a play, and by the time I've organised an evening when we can go out, it's moved on. I hope that Nigel and I will be seeing more shows in the years to come... We both love the village shows as well, and the agricultural ones are a must, both socially and for business purposes.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

There are so many to choose from, but I'm going to go for the Carpenter's Arms at Felixkirk as being a very special place. It's run by a mother and daughter, the food is brilliant, and the atmosphere second to none. The word ambience was created for the Carpenter's.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

We have the northern equivalent of Fortnum and Mason's right here in Northallerton, Lewis and Cooper's. Shame on you if you don't know about it. It is the Aladdin's cave of everything foodie – cheeses, jams, pickles, cooked meats, olives, you name it. And it

has a lovely little caf as well and I

have to make a very big effort to get up and leave.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you've known it?

I know that life has become a lot kinder for a lot of folk, but I am truly saddened by what has happened to a lot of the smaller villages, which have stopped being the places of my childhood, and are now just dormitory towns for commuters. The village shop has gone, the post office and the pub have closed, and the church either shares a vicar once a month, or has ceased to function. If you are elderly and you live in a village like that, what do you do when dusk falls in the winter?

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

I am not really a political person, but I do like William Hague, who is a very good speaker, has some interesting views, and who is a charming man. I must say that I thought that he became leader of his party far too early and well before his time. But maybe he might get a second crack at it.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Absolutely and completely. I'm doing a job I love, with people I trust and respect, and we've built up a business that we are all proud of, and sell products that the public enjoy. I'm a very happy lady – and it's all because of Yorkshire.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

Alf Wight, who you will probably know better as James Herriot. We had the privilege of knowing him, because he was our vet. He took the Yorkshire brand to the far corners of the world. Nigel and I were flying back from Boston once, and an American lady was buying one of his books at the newsstand. We mentioned that we knew him, and she was speechless. His partner, the Siegfried of the books, once came to the farm, and I heard him from about a mile away. He pulled the car up and said, "Pardon, dear lady, but I seem to have developed a little noise in the vehicle". He was such a charmer. I looked at one of the back wheels and I said, "Maybe that's because the tyre is shredded and you've been driving on the rim for the last 10 miles and more". He hadn't got a clue!

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

We're back to Sutton Bank again. I'd take them up there, and just let them drink in the view. Or maybe I'd take them to the Forbidden Corner, in Wensleydale, which is full of wonderful little architectural quirks and follies. We're lucky enough to be spoiled for choice in Yorkshire.