Yesterday afternoon with the family I had a good 7 mile walk around York in weather that went from light drizzle to good solid rain. It was very overcast but with my family companions who needs sunshine . Going onto the York walls I used my magnifying glass to look at the stone because some of the surfaces are unweathered due to the many visitors rubbing the the weathering off . I have found the magnifying glass more useful than a loupe in the field because the loupe can be adversely affected by the lighting conditions. I'm pretty sure the walls are made of Oolitic limestone and Fo and I couldn't work out what the spherical nodules were . There were also some blocks with calcareous grit in them sort of very small pebbles and we have seen the same thing at the top end of the North Yorkshire moors. Some investigating about this is required I think . We went to All Saints Church in North Street and had a good look at the building and it was very peaceful and solemn in the grey afternoon light . I sang a prayer with my countertenor voice and Miles thought I sounded like a choirboy ! Very nice . Over at York Uni Lake we were amazed to see lots of Mallards but no , Tufted ducks or Pochards and many other species which are usually there . Could be the bad winter who knows. We trotted off pretty sodden to a Kebab shop in Walmgate and had a great tea just right after tramping around and then home to an Episode of Star Trek. What would we do without Star Trek. A great afternoon out.