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I've Got The Eye Of The Puppy
Apr. 9th, 2015 10:31 amWith the weather having improved this week, on Tuesday we got to crack out the BBQ for the first time this year. I've always liked BBQs even though as a kid we rarely had any, so it's great living with a huge BBQ fan as Wolfie is. We only had a couple of burgers but there is nothing like the flame cooked tastiness of BBQ food coupled with outdoor eating in the sun. We couldn't have any beer on account of needing to go to the gym later but it was a nice end to the workday and good compensation for being stuck indoors at work on such a glorious day (the one major drawback of summer largely).
I also got to take advantage of the sun on Sunday, when I was back in the house where I grew up for Easter. My Dad, my sister and I headed to the Victorian seaside town of Saltburn, which looked particularly glorious in the sunshine. Many others had the same idea as we did but it wasn't overly busy, while it seems the town has reinvented itself as something of a surfing destination as there were quite a few fit young men wandering around in clingy wetsuits. Yum. We walked along the beach for a bit and down the pier, which has been truncated as the end was destroyed in a storm. We also saw the Victorian vertical car railway which gets you down to sea level while the Victorian sea front houses shimmered in the sun. It must be a terribly isolated and windswept place to live in the winter but on Sunday it was picturesque. I was also struck by the number of independent shops in the town, all mostly closed for Easter, while the cliff was resplendent underneath the well-renowned Ship Inn, which probably hasn't changed since my Dad regularly visited back in 1974. We also picked up an ice cream on the way home while I had to wait for the longest piss ever as the man in front of me took forever at the only urinal.
Looking north from Saltburn, in the distance you can see the steel plants and industry at Redcar while there is now an offshore wind farm in the Tees Bay. This is an array of 30 or so turbines arranged in there rows but they are so close to the beach there that they are the only thing you can see, obscuring the view of the boats in the sea in the distance. Only one turbine was actually moving and while I'm a huge fan of renewable energy, they were a bloody eye-sore and surprising that they were allowed so close to the sand. After the trip to Saltburn, we drove around the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside near where I grew up, calling at some of the picturesque villages and spying the iconic Roseberry Topping, all of which looked splendid in the sunshine. Teesside gets a very bad rep largely due to the heavy industry but such beauty exists only 10 miles away from Central Middlesbrough, which makes me think that all of the criticism is somewhat unfair.
I arrived back at my father's at around 8pm on Friday night after the aforementioned wait and drinking session in BrewDog. I wasn't the most sober I had been but still not too bad, and a good curry at the Bengal Lancer would undoubtedly sort me out. This was the place that burnt down in late 2012, forcing it to relocate elsewhere in the town as a result. Since then, the shop units that had been destroyed in what was believed to be an arson attack have been rebuilt (and to modern fire safety standards), meaning the Bengal Lancer has returned to its original location. This was great to see, a triumph of ingenuity for a local business as well as the local people who supported them. My Dad became a huge fan, even though as a kid we never had Indian takeaway as he didn't like Indian food, and now goes regularly, particularly when my sister is visiting, like she was too this weekend. I grabbed a doupiaza and a garlic naan, forgetting that the pathia is their speciality, but with onion bajis thrown in, it was all rather nice.
My time at my Dad's could largely be summed up by drinking copious amounts of tea around the round kitchen table while chatting about a range of subjects, with politics and the General Election being one major topic. I seem to have cultivated a reputation as something of a political expert, I imagine because I'm addicted to psephology websites these days and check them numerous times on a daily basis. The uncertainty of this election makes it far more intriguing while living in a marginal seat, as does my father and my brother, adds an even greater degree of relevance. I'm saving all of the constituency literature for Aremay the politics bunny for all three seats, hopefully he can find some use for it. Comparing and contrasting the differing approaches has certainly been fascinating so far. My dad is not much of a drinker - although I am getting him into BrewDog and brought two ABs with him, as well as finding Nanny State for him in a local supermarket - so it was largely tea all the way, although he did open some red wine on the Sunday. He is also a very good cook and so he fed us well, with a cheeseboard both on the Saturday and the Sunday along with a delicious tomato and carrot soup which I think is of his own creation.
Saturday was a day largely dedicated to visiting relatives, my mother in Barnard Castle and my grandparents, with my grandfather's 86th birthday on the Sunday adding deeper poignancy to the visit. The day was largely spent drinking wine and eating more food, oh and discussing more politics, with the wine drinking being particularly prevalent. This was so much so that I downloaded the Vivino app to record all the wines I had been drinking. I doubt I'll use this app as religiously as the Untappd beer one - partly because I prefer beer to wine and partly because I think the badge system and general interface is better on Untappd - but I thought I might as well keep a record of my infrequent wine drinking if only for an account if nothing else. The meal at my mother's was another winner, lamb with mint and rosemary, while two small desserts capped off the dinner perfectly.
We spent about four hours here before meeting my Dad at my grandparents, where we cracked open more wine and had some scones too. Conversation here was more difficult but for 86, both my grandmother and grandfather are remarkably healthy even though the former kept asking me exactly the same question time and again while the former is a little hard of hearing these days. It was still great to see them again and although they struggled a little with both my sister and I being present, they were delighted we were there, particularly as I only really get to visit home every three months or so.
In the end, it was a tremendously good weekend, only sullied slightly by the rail replacement bus service I had to take home from York to Leeds. For some reason this took 50 minutes but felt a lot longer, with four loud drunk 20-something causing bother and an indignant lady sat next to me who asked me questions about the bus as if it was my fault. It was torture but thankfully short lived, although I doubt I'll opt for a rail replacement bus service again - I knew it was on but thought for such a small journey it would be fine. How wrong I was.
I also got to take advantage of the sun on Sunday, when I was back in the house where I grew up for Easter. My Dad, my sister and I headed to the Victorian seaside town of Saltburn, which looked particularly glorious in the sunshine. Many others had the same idea as we did but it wasn't overly busy, while it seems the town has reinvented itself as something of a surfing destination as there were quite a few fit young men wandering around in clingy wetsuits. Yum. We walked along the beach for a bit and down the pier, which has been truncated as the end was destroyed in a storm. We also saw the Victorian vertical car railway which gets you down to sea level while the Victorian sea front houses shimmered in the sun. It must be a terribly isolated and windswept place to live in the winter but on Sunday it was picturesque. I was also struck by the number of independent shops in the town, all mostly closed for Easter, while the cliff was resplendent underneath the well-renowned Ship Inn, which probably hasn't changed since my Dad regularly visited back in 1974. We also picked up an ice cream on the way home while I had to wait for the longest piss ever as the man in front of me took forever at the only urinal.
Looking north from Saltburn, in the distance you can see the steel plants and industry at Redcar while there is now an offshore wind farm in the Tees Bay. This is an array of 30 or so turbines arranged in there rows but they are so close to the beach there that they are the only thing you can see, obscuring the view of the boats in the sea in the distance. Only one turbine was actually moving and while I'm a huge fan of renewable energy, they were a bloody eye-sore and surprising that they were allowed so close to the sand. After the trip to Saltburn, we drove around the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside near where I grew up, calling at some of the picturesque villages and spying the iconic Roseberry Topping, all of which looked splendid in the sunshine. Teesside gets a very bad rep largely due to the heavy industry but such beauty exists only 10 miles away from Central Middlesbrough, which makes me think that all of the criticism is somewhat unfair.
I arrived back at my father's at around 8pm on Friday night after the aforementioned wait and drinking session in BrewDog. I wasn't the most sober I had been but still not too bad, and a good curry at the Bengal Lancer would undoubtedly sort me out. This was the place that burnt down in late 2012, forcing it to relocate elsewhere in the town as a result. Since then, the shop units that had been destroyed in what was believed to be an arson attack have been rebuilt (and to modern fire safety standards), meaning the Bengal Lancer has returned to its original location. This was great to see, a triumph of ingenuity for a local business as well as the local people who supported them. My Dad became a huge fan, even though as a kid we never had Indian takeaway as he didn't like Indian food, and now goes regularly, particularly when my sister is visiting, like she was too this weekend. I grabbed a doupiaza and a garlic naan, forgetting that the pathia is their speciality, but with onion bajis thrown in, it was all rather nice.
My time at my Dad's could largely be summed up by drinking copious amounts of tea around the round kitchen table while chatting about a range of subjects, with politics and the General Election being one major topic. I seem to have cultivated a reputation as something of a political expert, I imagine because I'm addicted to psephology websites these days and check them numerous times on a daily basis. The uncertainty of this election makes it far more intriguing while living in a marginal seat, as does my father and my brother, adds an even greater degree of relevance. I'm saving all of the constituency literature for Aremay the politics bunny for all three seats, hopefully he can find some use for it. Comparing and contrasting the differing approaches has certainly been fascinating so far. My dad is not much of a drinker - although I am getting him into BrewDog and brought two ABs with him, as well as finding Nanny State for him in a local supermarket - so it was largely tea all the way, although he did open some red wine on the Sunday. He is also a very good cook and so he fed us well, with a cheeseboard both on the Saturday and the Sunday along with a delicious tomato and carrot soup which I think is of his own creation.
Saturday was a day largely dedicated to visiting relatives, my mother in Barnard Castle and my grandparents, with my grandfather's 86th birthday on the Sunday adding deeper poignancy to the visit. The day was largely spent drinking wine and eating more food, oh and discussing more politics, with the wine drinking being particularly prevalent. This was so much so that I downloaded the Vivino app to record all the wines I had been drinking. I doubt I'll use this app as religiously as the Untappd beer one - partly because I prefer beer to wine and partly because I think the badge system and general interface is better on Untappd - but I thought I might as well keep a record of my infrequent wine drinking if only for an account if nothing else. The meal at my mother's was another winner, lamb with mint and rosemary, while two small desserts capped off the dinner perfectly.
We spent about four hours here before meeting my Dad at my grandparents, where we cracked open more wine and had some scones too. Conversation here was more difficult but for 86, both my grandmother and grandfather are remarkably healthy even though the former kept asking me exactly the same question time and again while the former is a little hard of hearing these days. It was still great to see them again and although they struggled a little with both my sister and I being present, they were delighted we were there, particularly as I only really get to visit home every three months or so.
In the end, it was a tremendously good weekend, only sullied slightly by the rail replacement bus service I had to take home from York to Leeds. For some reason this took 50 minutes but felt a lot longer, with four loud drunk 20-something causing bother and an indignant lady sat next to me who asked me questions about the bus as if it was my fault. It was torture but thankfully short lived, although I doubt I'll opt for a rail replacement bus service again - I knew it was on but thought for such a small journey it would be fine. How wrong I was.
