NAOMI GLASS visits a village which defies the stereotype of of a sleepy backwater.

"I WOULDN'T live anywhere else. Brawby is my heritage. We love it here," said 81-year-old Crispin Chip' Stonehouse as he smiled over at his wife Mary.

Born, bred and educated in Brawby, Mr Stonehouse met his wife at a dance in nearby Salton and brought her to his family home in 1952, which is one of two farms, both dairy, in the village. Now, 54 years on, the Stonehouses have three daughters, two sons, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, who all still live the vicinity. People who come from Brawby, remain Brawby folk for life, it seems!

Fiercely proud of where he comes from, Mr Stonehouse claims the only real changes he has seen in the four score years and one that he has been there are the increase of new houses being built and the closing of Brawby's village hall school in the 1970s.

"Although the school is no more and the Women's Institute has had to close because of a shortage of members, there is still a great traditional community spirit here. The children are well-behaved and we're never bothered by burglars. Brawby is a very friendly place to live," said Mr Stonehouse.

With a population of 164, Brawby is a relatively small rural village located on a bendy road laced at this time of year with bundles of colourful blooms.

Although it acts as a doorway for attractions such as Flamingo Land, Castle Howard and the nearby National Park, Brawby remains quite staunchly a quiet rural village, with annual fundraising fetes, seasonal village barbeques, pensioners' days out and a small Ebenezer chapel, built in 1838.

Brawby has a van coming by on Fridays selling bread and the fish and chip van, offering piping hot grub right on your doorstep, arrives precisely between 6.50pm and 7.10pm every Tuesday at the top of the village. Here's hoping the locals can time their fish and chip cravings to fall in this weekly 20 minute slot!

Another Brawby asset is Bob's fishing pond, where local children can keep out of mischief and where fishing-fans come from all over the Ryedale area and beyond, to catch some quality fish.

Thackray and Sons, a family run business since the 1800s, is one of the main focal points in the village. A business which categorises itself under the umbrella term of steel structures', Thackray and Sons Ltd specialises in everything agricultural from gates, feed troughs and roof sheets to land drainage and sewage. They also serve as the village Post Office with deliveries coming in twice a week.

And what's more, most of the workers at Thackray and Sons have been there for tens of years. While leaning against a freestanding petrol pump outside the Thackray workshop, worker Bernard Mackley said: "I started working here in September 1955. It was much more old-fashioned then, like a museum piece and it dabbled in anything from steam engines to threshing machine repairs. Without a doubt, I like it here. People are very nice."

Mentioned in the Domesday Book, Brawby's name is thought to derive from the Danish god of poetry, Braggi. And it seems that Brawby's ancient poetic beginnings have continued to flourish into the present day.

By means of music, one of the many sons of the Thackray legacy, Simon, has almost single-handedly brought Brawby into the global limelight. Whilst combining his work in the family business with his work as a painter and sculptor, Simon found himself introducing something rather different to sleepy Brawby.

After putting on a number of successful charity music concerts in Kirby Misperton church in 1992, Simon enjoyed his event-organising experience so much that he decided to put on more musical events.

A couple of months later, he managed to convince artist Labi Siffre (famed for 1970s hits It Must Be Love' and Something Inside So Strong') to play in Brawby. The tiny village hall saw 50 locals watching a gay, black, chart-topping musician play his songs and read his poetry on that November night in 1992 - a hugely unusual happening for a remote rural village.

Simon's gigs, known as The Shed in whichever venue they happen to occur, have brought many more artists since then, playing live in Brawby's village hall, attended, reviewed and recorded by much of the global media as well.

"For the past 12 years, The Shed, near the market town of Malton, has been responsible for some of the smallest and most inspired art events in the country," said Alfred Hickling in the Guardian.

Also well-known for his interesting art shows, Thackray has put on such events as Mrs Boyes' Bingo, described as a simultaneous prize bingo and percussion / disruption show', the Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race, which saw man-sized Yorkshire puddings racing down rivers, and veteran jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill playing in a skip in a North Yorkshire tour starting in Brawby and ending in Helmsley. Like many of Ryedale's farming villages, Brawby can be quite deceptive; quietly peaceful and simultaneously brimming with a diversity of life. Never underestimate the powerful pull of the village life!