the seventh spring in Wetherby

Yep,,, the winter months have closed out and we are set to enjoy Spring.  I have again bought a pushbike and while Gail is not interested in that form of cardio exercise we are both doing the annual 'must get fit' chant.

The past couple of months have not seen us do much more than look at investment properties and eat at nice places as usual.  We have asked the Queen to grant us UK passports and as a penalty for our presumption of citizenship she has held on to our passports.  Seems she has a few requests from bloody foreigners who want to become British and has told us we are in a 6 month queue.   So no passports, no travel.

Given that, I will load up the usual swathe of pictures to give an idea of what different things we have been doing.
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Because  there are people who understand the wanker stand fascination.  Here we have afternoon tea at the Tontine hotel on the way home from Middlesborough.   This particular country home dates back in part to the 1700's and we have used it for a few sips and meals.  The staff are great and it suits our posh tastes.

 A less formal night out was spent at the Royal Order of the Buffaloes.  Our second visit, this time with Carolyn and with Rob.  A fine old gentleman's club in which we have enjoyed sumptuous meals on both visits, we may bring a bit of antipodean frivolity but they don't seem to mind and are most welcoming.

 As I mentioned at the outset, Spring has arrived and while I will not duplicate previous year's pictures I did think it was worth showing a couple of pics from a walk we took from home to East Keswick for a lunch.       

  I try not to fill these bolg shots with too much food but it is worth it this time.  One of the cultural adjustments we have had here is names for foodstuffs.  Corned beef here is some chopped tinned meat mush like spam but much worse.  Our walk to the Wellington at East Keswick found us talking to the chef who told us he corned his own beef and we were amazed that real corned beef can be found here.  Tasted nowhere as good as Gail's.

As we do travel further than a walk from Wetherby, here you see a shot of our nearest rail station and on a day when we went to York ( 4 stops) for a river cruise and restaurant meal....


 York station is bigger,

We spent a little time finding the restaurant we intended to use,  it had changed its name and gone American Montana cuisine..... not as good as we had planned but they did do a great Margarita! 

 We enjoyed the Margaritas so much we had another after lunch on the balcony overlooking the River
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 It took a short walk to the riverside where we boarded the cruise with just a few folk, the joy of not having to rely on weekends for our days out together....

 

 Still on the water theme, but a different day, this bit is Eccup reservoir, I am told it is England's largest inland body of water.   Gail and I did not walk all the way around it but it is a pleasant thing to do, on a warmer, dryer day perhaps.   We ended up there when trying to find a pub for lunch.  Never did find the pub but discovered a donkey sanctuary!  Both these places are about ten minutes drive from Wetherby.... gees we are pleased to live here and still be discovering places.

Talking about driving, I smashed up the mazda, no injuries, and bought this old hack to get to and from work.   It is just posted here as a memory record as at the time of writing it has been sold.

 In March we took off on another day to find a pub by a canal and did the usual walk along the tow path, nodding to boaters and peering into moored up barges....  The pub had a pub cat showing no regard to hygiene or personal space.  I am not keen on cats, they give me running eyes and nose so it is a physical thing as well as a hatred of urban killers. The thing I don't understand is the publican had a couple of beautiful friendly Rotties which were not allowed in the public bar area.....  would much prefer a dog lying at my feet than a filthy cat's arse squatting on the tables.

And , oohh looky, here are the donkeys at the Sanctuary I mentioned above. The charity runs school events and riding for disabled and handicapped children and adults.  A great therapy and a real positive use for abandoned and retired beach walk donkeys.  I did wonder how such warm climate animals survive the Yorkshire winters and these folk explained the housing and care requirements they lavish on the beasts... It is a lovely thing they do and of great benefit to the community in general.  Nice.

Just loving the way our life is with the internet.  Champagne should always have been available like this.    Lovely to get deliveries this way and we have even had a couple of days in the backyard sun with friends to advantage ourselves of these little darlings.

On a colder windier April day we went up the A1 a few miles to Boroughbridge, a neighbouring town for lunch and a walk.  Nice white pub , nice town , interesting features, great afternoon.

Just outside Boroughbridge are some things called the Devil's arrows as they seem to shoot up from Hell..  God knows what they are or were for, another fascinating bit of stuff just within minutes of Wetherby, gees we are pleased to live here and discover new stuff ...... oh, hang on, I may have said that already....

We often go to Leeds for a shop or a lunch, this day we went for a Chateaubriand at Bistro 44 where we have enjoyed a superb 'Groupon' experience before, and did again, but on the way to or from, I can't recall which, I spotted a fantastic re-purposing of the old telephone booth.... sadly many of these are being pulled out so it is nice to see an ATM, Phone and info panel in this one as I think they are a bit of a timeless icon that should be retained for us touristy types..











AND,  I'd just like to say...........

It is rather important when booking a room through a discount offer to enquire about room size.
Oh,
and bed           length.

We got a better room upon asking and our Blackpool weekend took off with a smattering of sunlight, a rarity there,  and some fun and interesting things to do..

 

This burlesque of trannies was okay, not great, in fact only slightly good in places, but we managed to enjoy it even if we were rather alone in the huge venue.... Us and about ten other audience members....  typically tragic mid week winter English seaside resort town I guess.

A Walk home after the show was a photographer's opportunity,  if only we knew one.

 Next day saw us on the trams and up the Blackpool tower....

 Followed by a stunning walk along the massive low tide beach.

 Then a tram ride to the Imperial Hotel for a quick sandwich and a sip.

 Before heading off to the fun pier for a ride on the ferris wheel!

 Which was a hoot and a lot of windy chilly fun.  A further ride on the trams and we decided a return to the Imperial for a high aft'tea was in order....

 Found a quiet private room to suit our poshness

 And sat undisturbed to our tiffin.  We did lots more in Blackpool but you wouldn't be interested.  I can highly recommend Blackpool to anyone who doesn't get out much.

Returning to paradise, sorry,  Wetherby, we took ourselves back to Eccup dragging Rob along with us for company, to find the pub we intended to visit the day we found the Donkeys.... See?  Spring!!!.  Great little pub, busy outside tables though, we pinched a table with a behatted ex- RAF parachutist who regaled us with stories and old photos and recommendations of the best local walking trails.....  The people you meet...  I tell you we are so pleased we liv................... oh, never mind.