West Yorkshire

[Sundae]

Blossoms.

And scary ankle. Note, the grooves are from my support bandage, removed for the purposes of the photo. And in case a few minutes of sunlight had healing properties.

[fargon]

EEEK!!! What did you do? Did it have anything to with Dragons?

[Clodfobble]

Holy crap, Sundae. Quit walking on that thing!

[Gravdigr]

God damn.

[DanaC]

Damn, homegrrl, that looks nasty.

[Griff]

Yooouuuuch!

[Sundae]

I met with Dani in Leeds in Tuesday, to exchange my camera for laughs and conversation and general - albeit brief GTG stuff.

I was about three minutes late, which was mean of me given Dani has no mobile at present, and after all I did detour for a sample at a pub. Not drinkies - Yates Wine Bar were launching a new menu and giving out free samples of food outside. In the true spirit of Englishness, people were walking past the two staff members dressed in comedy chicken outfits proferring food, just in case there was some attendant embarrassment.

Not me. I not only had a chicken skewer on the way past (albeit in miniature, on a cocktail stick, but went back again when I'd scooped Dani up. She's of the same opinion as me; if it's offered free, take it. You never know when you might eat again. Growing up in the 70s is a bit like SAS training.

She looked gorgeous of course. Effortlessly slim - something I have been working on and was knocked into a little cap by the sight of her long legs in skinny jeans.

We walked up to Leeds University (University of Leeds? Correct me Dana, because I'm bound to get the details wrong) to the part of the campus where Dr Dana will be presented to the world in a short space of time. In this place, The Great Hall.

Outside it was bright and sunny, but it was chilly. Much as I wanted to impress in a summer dress and heels, I'm glad I went for jeans, jacket, scarf and boots. I still don't feel the cold as much as the Doctor, but it wasn't warm. Which wouldn't even have been worth a mention if it hadn't been all bare legs and strappy tops for a week previously.

[Sundae]

Inside was all dangling chandalier globes, glorious tiling and stained glass. In fact the light sources stymied my phone's camera (couldn't get my camera-camera to work immediately, although it does now) so I recorded it poorly for you.

Doctor in the Hall.

And not the world's poshest toilets, the glass in the photo was an inside window into what looked like an old fashioned Porter's Lodge with a desk and cubbyholes and all.

[Sundae]

Dana showed me the actual Hall of the Great Hall, but it was obviously set up for another event, so we didn't lurk about taking photos. I just hope, hope, hope she gets pics on the day (hint, HINT!)

As we crossed over to the Student Union there was a remembrance service of sorts happening. Obviously very worthy, so we stopped to listen. It was for workers killed while doing their jobs in the local area. It was very worthy of course, but they were about to embark on their Moment of Silence, so it fely highly disrespectful having stopped to walk on by again. The promised minute lasted about four. It cold, windy and we stood, trapped, in honour of Health and Safety for the best part of five minutes. Could we be any more British?!

And into the food court, which was doing a thriving business. The prices were actually higher than I expected, for something on campus and eaten on the hoof, but I can't deny the value. I'd just prefer smaller portions at lower prices, but I'm not a student.

D had a curry and rice, which was indeed massive and served in a deceptively capacious box. I couldn't manage anything that rich for once, so had a chicken salad wrap. It was yummy. We both finished all we bought and weren't sick afterwards. Result.

Then chatted over a coffee and a de-caff tea in one of the coffee bars upstairs.
I'd begun to despair of finding anywhere within my price range which sold de-caff tea, so I was especially grateful, given we'd sat in what felt like an Arctic wind tunnel while I ate my lunch (my choice).

No pics?
No! The wrap, although delish, looked like it had been made by me, as opposed to the tidy parcels the experts make. Maybe it was a new member of staff. So it took two hands to negotiate.

Then Dani went to her seminar, and I went back into Leeds just to poke around for a bit.

[Sundae]

I made a mistake and got on the City Bus, which was free on my bus ticket and does the rounds. Unfortunately the route it usually takes had changed due to roadworks, so I'd have been better off on a different one. Still, the walk wasn't onerous, as my swollen ankle has started subsiding nicely. And it was the same walk I did every other day when I was in rehab, so the buildings were old friends.

Old and new styles of architecture.
And an old church which is now a nightclub.

[Sundae]

The steps of the building I met Dani on when she was fancy free again.
And view from said steps. You can see how a church can be handed over to hedonism so lightly; to the naked eye there are four spires from this one vantage point alone.

[Sundae]

We walked back into Leeds via Millenium Square, but it was empty.
So we went to the market for another cuppa, and wouldn't you know it the greasy spoon we went to actually did de-caff tea! Although the lady put the milk in first

Still, she was good enough to let us sit and talk while everything else closed down around us.
Off to the Railway Station for Dana to get home (I kept a sneaky eye on Yates even though I was stuffed as a tick, but the chicken had gone home to roost).

And I went back to the bus station to kill some time reading in the warm until it was time to go to the cinema for another freebie - a preview showing of A Royal Night Out, which was good fluffy fun. Albeit highly fanciful according to the Torygraph - thanks for the link to the article Carruthers.

The X84 stops a few hundred yards up from the cinema, so I was home, safe and sober before 21.00 having had a lovely day out. Thanks Dana.

[glatt]

Outstanding! I love pictures from Cellar GTGs, especially in such nice settings.

[Sundae]

They're getting my marquees ready for the Otley Show this Saturday.
Sadly I haven't had a sniff of interest in selling my additional tickets, which I'd hoped would have paid for at least an ice cream.

Ah well, now you know you can bid on them!

[Sundae]

It looks like the weather will be overcast this year, but at least I know how close I am to the flat, so I can go home and change if necessary. Also I have my Membership ticket, so if it does rain, or get chilly, I'll be able to sit in the marquee.

You can always get undercover at an agricultural show, it's finding a dry place with seating which is the clever trick - especially if everyone else is looking for the same.