Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma

Here is number one and a half Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate, which, at 35 metres long is the smallest street in York. It is smaller than most of the nameless alleyways and seems to have gained a name somewhere along the line, maybe because it used to be where the stocks were, back when they were used as punishment.

The plaque by the street and wikipedia disagree on the origins of the name, and as wikipedia is the sole arbitrator of absolute truth I'll go with their definition: The street used to be called "Whitnourwhatnourgate", meaning "neither one thing nor the other".

The tradition in York place names is to call streets gates, and gates bars.



I took a photo of this lady while I was at the races because she was surrounded by photographers. She was on the front page of the local newspaper this morning. I didn't think to check why, even though I was selling the paper all day.

It is an extreme example of the kind of hats that are being sported all around the race course right now.