Sue and I have recently read “The Man Who Created the Middle East”, by Christopher Sykes. It is a biography of Sir Mark Sykes (1879 – 1919), politician and diplomat. He was Conservative MP for Central Hull from 1911 and one of the authors of the Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France, proposing the arrangements for the British and French governance of most of the Middle East at the conclusion of World War 1. He was also a supporter of the Zionist cause. He died of flu in 1919. He was the only son of Sir Tatton Sykes. Sir Tatton, baronet, was the owner of the Sledmere estate, including Sledmere House. Sir Tatton organised and paid for the construction of several churches in the East Riding. Fimber was the railway halt on the now-disused Malton to Driffield line, used by residents of Sledmere House, about 3 miles north east of the Fimber Halt. The Fimber Halt is now a picnic area at the crossroads of the B1248 and the B1251, just north of Wetwang. There is also a small railway museum at the site. The village of Fimber, about a mile west of the Fimber Halt, has the smallest of the Sykes Churches, St Mary’s, and contains some lovely Victorian Artistry, including an impressive screen and a tiny organ. We followed on foot the track of the disused railway for a mile or two north of Fimber.