AS we approach the end of yet another holiday season, several memories will remain with us.

I think most of us will remember the blistering heat of early August, many will recall the sudden storm which hit parts of this region on Sunday, August 10, with hailstones as large as marbles, along with floods and powerful winds, some will be happy that the dry weather allowed an early harvest and yet more will recall the endless queues of traffic on our roads.

Sadly, in spite of some wonderful weather, not all our holiday memories will be happy ones.

Long queues of motor vehicles, at times stationary along our main roads for no reason other than the sheer volume of traffic, are an increasingly common feature, especially during bank holidays.

Indeed, some of us are now beginning to regard this as normal and even acceptable. There is no doubt that, if it continues, future generations will regard slow-moving traffic and stationary queues as a routine part of daily life.

What is abnormal during one generation can be accepted by later generations as normal, which in turn means no-one tries to rectify things.

I don't pretend to know the solution to our increasingly worrying traffic problems - I am sure that more roads will only generate more traffic, which in turn causes hold-ups when lots of vehicles converge on a single location - but I did wonder whether one modest solution would be to scrap formal bank holidays.

I don't suggest we should lose them entirely because those holidays could simply be added to one's annual holiday entitlement with the option of taking them when desired.

As things are, the country closes down on many of our spring and summer bank holidays when everyone takes the same extra days off work. It always results in queues of slow-moving vehicles and frustrated holidaymakers, particularly at Easter, the spring bank holiday and the August bank holiday, although Christmas and New Year can produce their own traffic problems.

Those of us who live in tourist areas do our best not to venture on to the roads at those peak times and I am sure many workers would prefer to take their bank holidays when they wish rather than being compelled to take them at the same time as everyone else.

I appreciate that many would continue to take their breaks at these times - old habits die hard - but, in time, some would opt for a less stressful break.

As their name suggests, bank holidays were originally intended for the staff of our banks. By 1830, banks had some 40 such holidays per year and these were based on our Catholic past, most of the holidays being saints' days or religious festivals.

In 1830, this entitlement was reduced to 18 and, by 1834, it was further reduced to only four - Good Friday, May 1 (May Day), November 1 (All Saints' Day) and Christmas Day.

However, the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 fixed certain holidays for bank staff in England, Wales and Ireland, with similar considerations for Scotland, and at the same time increased the number by adding Easter Monday, the first Monday in Whitsun week, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day, December 26 (if it fell on a weekday).

That Act also empowered the sovereign, if he or she saw fit, to nominate by proclamation any other day of celebration to be observed as a bank holiday. A royal wedding might be such an occasion.

It was not long before these days off became holidays for the general public rather than only bank workers, and that is how we operate today. Many businesses traditionally close down on all or some bank holidays.

There were further changes in 1967 and today we have three bank holidays over Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year, two at Easter on Good Friday and Easter Monday, two in May - the May Day holiday and spring bank holiday - and the summer bank holiday, which is now the last Monday in August and not the first.

Rather oddly, there are no bank holiday breaks during the four months between the end of August and Christmas Day.

If bank holidays could be used at one's discretion, it would not completely solve the traffic congestion problem, but it might encourage some people to stagger their breaks and take them at more congenial times.

The hot days and balmy nights of August prompted us to eat out of doors for most of the time and, a couple of nights before compiling these notes, I was rewarded by the sight of a tawny owl in our cherry tree.

It was about 10pm and completely dark except for the candles burning on our outdoor table.

The only other light came from the sky in the far distance - the glow of a distant town - and this revealed the cherry tree as a silhouette.

In complete silence, I noticed the owl approaching our tree. It was also silhouetted against that night sky and it flew into the tree and settled on a lower branch. Then it remained absolutely still.

My wife emerged from the house and I tried to point out our visitor, only some 20 yards away. But she could not see it, such was the protection afforded by the darkness and the foliage.

It remained there for about five minutes and then flew off, our garden not producing a meal that evening, but I am sure it will return.

There are tawny owls in the trees behind the house and we can hear them most nights - and indeed during some days - but it is not very often they reveal themselves. I am not sure how many live around our house, but I enjoy their presence.

Tawny owls are large birds, standing some 15 inches high (38cm), and, as their name suggests, their plumage is a rich, tawny brown with darker markings and one or two patches of white.

Its underparts are much lighter than its back and upper wings, but it has the distinctive round face of the owl family, along with very dark, bright eyes and a short, curved beak.

It boasts incredibly sensitive eyesight, which enables it to find its prey in the darkness. From a gardener's point of view, it is a useful bird to have around because it consumes a variety of pests, including mice and insects, but it will also tackle other birds and even fish.

It is the call of this bird which is so much a part of the country scene, often described as "toowhit toowhoo", although in reality it is more of an elongated hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, with two or perhaps three short notes followed by a longer one.

The tiny community of Sexhow lies to the east of Hutton Rudby, not far from the banks of the River Leven, but it has entered our folklore due to the tale of Awd Nan.

She was a local woman, a reputed witch, and she had died before this tale begins.

There was a farmer who lived at Sexhow and, one night, he saw the ghost of Awd Nan.

She told him not to be afraid and added there was a chest of gold and silver coins hidden beneath one of the apple trees in his orchard.

She offered to reveal its hiding place provided he agree to one condition.

He consented, whereupon Awd Nan said that if he found the treasure, he could keep all the silver coins but must give the gold ones to Awd Nan's niece. She lived nearby in poverty.

The farmer readily agreed, so the hiding place was revealed. Next day he took a shovel to the orchard and began to dig and, sure enough, he found a chest of money.

He dug it up and took it into his house. It was more money than he had ever seen and more than he would earn in his lifetime.

Then greed overtook him. He told himself that, because it had been on his land, it belonged to him and he decided not to give anything to Awd Nan's niece.

From that moment, everything began to go wrong. His farm began to fail, his health began to deteriorate, he began to drink heavily and then, one fateful night as he returned from a drinking session, the ghost of Awd Nan chased him.

He was seen galloping his horse and shouting: "I will, I will, I will", as he tried to leap a gate to get away. The horse stumbled and he crashed to the ground, later dying from his injuries.

Some said the ghost of Awd Nan could be seen clinging to his back as he galloped along