Moon Doggle!
I had spent most of Friday night worrying about the state of the meet and what we could do to boost it. Many other meets seem to be mini cons these days and I was concerned that our little Leeds gathering was losing freshness as the meet largely adopts the same structure time and again. With numbers slightly down in May (admittedly due to CFz) and June - and with the Londonfurs Summer Weekender on at the same time - I spent a largely sleepless night worrying about the state of affairs. I needn't have bothered as last Saturday we had eighty people in attendance, one of our biggest attendances yet, and I believe everyone had a good time.
It was certainly a good meet for me, not just assuaging my fears but also because I got to meet a great number of people I hadn't seen in ages. Alexander The Fox brought a group down from Cumbria meaning this was the first time I saw him since 2007 while some of the Manchester and Sheffield furs also paid us a visit, telling me how much they enjoyed the event. It was good seeing so many smiling faves and even though the Fursuit walk divided opinion, I think the meet was a success. I had fears about the UB40 concert in Millennium Square causing the bar to be flooded but UB40 fans are not the obnoxious types usually attracted here on an evening and they had a good time mingling with the rest of us. Due to Millennium Square being closed, we decided to walk down pedestrianised Briggate (this was Suburban's idea), which was largely successful due to the crowd interaction but it was quite a long walk down there and some people struggled in the heat. The wardens and police were pretty happy with our presence although did suggest we may be better off elsewhere so this isn't going to be a regular walk route but, like with last month, it's good to mix things up and do something a little different. Marshalling around twenty suiters turned out to be tricky but Tonks, Wolfie and Oracle all did remarkably well.
Before the meet, Wolfie and I went to the Pita Pit on Arc's recommendation, which is like Bar Burrito but with pitas. It's about the same price as Bar Burrito but it was very tasty and as it's more local, it may be a place to try more regularly. We usually opt for the cheapness of Gregg's though. After the meet, we headed over to Trinity Kitchen where the usual state of affairs reigned - I got something from a different stand (a rather expensive hotdog and chips combo which admittedly was nice but not really worth a tenner) and then wished I went to the fish and chip place, which is always the highlight here. Still, we were amongst good company and had a very pleasurable few hours before heading over to Mr Foley's for a few final jars. I was quite sober at this point, having not started drinking alcohol until 5:30pm on account of Baa Bar not having Dead Pony Club (the other beers are too high strength for a session) but I managed to catch up in Foley's, where Stray had the wizard idea of playing Dominos, which we played with Saber, Stray and Wolfie, with Katsura operating a tag team system later on as I went to get beers. This was the best idea of the day as a hilarious two hours ensued, with me making light of my innate competitiveness and generally having fun. It was one of those nights I didn't want to end and we prolonged it as long as we could but alas we had to get our last bus home.
Kats was staying at ours overnight and Stray opted to stay too, so there were four of us heading home. We showed Kats The Chin Review, I showed Stray my naked body and we all generally chilled before I needed to head to bed, feeling knackered after a long day and a lack of sleep the night before. The others soon followed and everyone was asleep by 2am.
The next morning saw us rustle up some bacon and egg sandwiches, with egg being the dominant wish of Kats who can't get them at home for some reason. We watched the Red Bull Soapbox Race from London, laughing at the crashes and marveling at the designs and engineering on display, resolving to enter ourselves one year for the fun. Then it was time for Stray to leave, ironically to play more Dominos with old farts, so we drove him back to Eccles Hill, where we put the secretly put the windscreen wipers erect on Draken's car for a laugh. Shhhhh! After this, the three of us then went to Toys "R" Us to see whether we could pick up some Dominos but alas they had every toy but, including chess and draughts, so you would have thought they were stocked highly with games for fuddy-duddies. Alas not so we left the warehouse disappointed, although I did buy a kids game called Go Piggy Go where you are a pig dodging hay bails being fired out of a tractor driven by a wolf. Wolfie thought it was all part of the anti wolf agenda and gave the wolf the benefit of the doubt but we all know wolves are mean. Especially Wolfie. We also struggled to park the car on account of it not having a functioning handbrake so we had to wait for a suitable space to appear in a rather undulating car park. Not easy on the first day of the summer holidays when the whole retail park was rammed.
After this, we headed home, where we broke cheese and bread with Kats. The cheese was the final truckle from the Snowdonia Cheese Company and it was delicious, particularly with the French bread. It was great also speaking to Kats, someone whom wolfie knows quite well but someone to whom I rarely spoke. We hit it off quite well and it was definitely a laughy, hilarious weekend, aided of course by Stray who is always fun to be around. I tried to find the book on the Sladec Ossuary for Kats, who was interested in discovering more about the Czech bone church but alas I couldn't find it.
With Kats wanting to get the 7:15 train back to Liverpool, we soon needed to pack up and head into town, particularly as she requested trying the Leeds BrewDog bar before she left. She had been to a few others across the North but was quite surprised with just how small the Leeds one is. We had a friendly chat with some of the bar staff before ordering some drinks and heading upstairs, before heading over to Friends of Ham for a final drink before her departure. Despite being a vegetarian, she wasn't too bothered about the charcuterie nature of the place, although the slow service did mean we had to quaff our drinks quickly and necessitated me staying behind to pay. Still, Kats did manage to catch her train on time, and I managed to be reunited with Wolfie at the train station a matter of minutes later.
Despite not wanting an evening on the drink, once we've started, we do find it difficult to go home so we decided to check out Ipsum Vinoteca, which had been closed the previous week due to a kitchen refurbishment. Unfortunately it was closed again (this time with no explanation) so we went to The Wardrobe, where a gig in the accompanying venue made the bar quiet until we were about to leave, when it suddenly became flooded with people. This bar is quite a desolate soulless hipster place in all honesty but the beer was reasonable enough, even though there were only two we hadn't yet tried.
Speaking of trying new things, we went to two new bars on Sunday evening, with the Wardrobe and Ipsum Vinoteca trip sandwiched in between. The first was the latest Leeds Brewery title, the Lamb and Flag, which was right next to Leeds Minister, affording the balcony with stunning views. The beer garden is adjacent to the Minster so it's a rarity in Leeds - a nice beer garden to be in of a summer evening - while the interior had that fresh clean look. Apparently this beautiful old building had stood empty for twenty years before it became a pub while it was due to open last Christmas but the restoration took longer than expected. They did a great job though and even though the ubiquity of Leeds Brewery is starting to wear a little thin, we will be back.
The second new bar and final of the night was The Fox and Newt on Burleigh Road. Opened in 2009, this was a place recommended to me by the guys at the beer tasting session I stumbled into last Wednesday with my university friend. This is a traditional Victorian pub with a microbrewery underneath, which brews some average but at least local beer. We quite liked it here as the tiled exterior betrays a fresh modern bistro-like interior while the jukebox had a good array of music and particularly rock and metal. We also got to watch the back end of Jurassic Park III (it took us ages to identify which one it was) and the start of Love Actually, a movie I've never completed but one I may now watch. The Burleigh Street Brewhouse are growing though so I'll follow their development with interest. Even though this bar is over the ring road and out of the centre, it's only a 10 minute walk away and a convenient downhill stroll to the bus stop past the ibis so we'll definitely be returning. Indeed, while waiting at the bus stop, we happened to bump into Ki Saro, to whom we said hi before heading on our merry way.
On the way back I did feel a little deflated that our weekend drinking exploits had dented my weight loss goals, despite the two days being absolutely fantastic. This resulted in Wolfie and I having an argument which wasn't particularly pleasant but was patched up next day. Hopefully I can get back on track but with a fair few nights out planned over the next fortnight, it will be tricky. Still, I guess I'll do what I can and at least I'm getting more exercise and the restaurant meals have largely been cut out. It's a start at least.
It was certainly a good meet for me, not just assuaging my fears but also because I got to meet a great number of people I hadn't seen in ages. Alexander The Fox brought a group down from Cumbria meaning this was the first time I saw him since 2007 while some of the Manchester and Sheffield furs also paid us a visit, telling me how much they enjoyed the event. It was good seeing so many smiling faves and even though the Fursuit walk divided opinion, I think the meet was a success. I had fears about the UB40 concert in Millennium Square causing the bar to be flooded but UB40 fans are not the obnoxious types usually attracted here on an evening and they had a good time mingling with the rest of us. Due to Millennium Square being closed, we decided to walk down pedestrianised Briggate (this was Suburban's idea), which was largely successful due to the crowd interaction but it was quite a long walk down there and some people struggled in the heat. The wardens and police were pretty happy with our presence although did suggest we may be better off elsewhere so this isn't going to be a regular walk route but, like with last month, it's good to mix things up and do something a little different. Marshalling around twenty suiters turned out to be tricky but Tonks, Wolfie and Oracle all did remarkably well.
Before the meet, Wolfie and I went to the Pita Pit on Arc's recommendation, which is like Bar Burrito but with pitas. It's about the same price as Bar Burrito but it was very tasty and as it's more local, it may be a place to try more regularly. We usually opt for the cheapness of Gregg's though. After the meet, we headed over to Trinity Kitchen where the usual state of affairs reigned - I got something from a different stand (a rather expensive hotdog and chips combo which admittedly was nice but not really worth a tenner) and then wished I went to the fish and chip place, which is always the highlight here. Still, we were amongst good company and had a very pleasurable few hours before heading over to Mr Foley's for a few final jars. I was quite sober at this point, having not started drinking alcohol until 5:30pm on account of Baa Bar not having Dead Pony Club (the other beers are too high strength for a session) but I managed to catch up in Foley's, where Stray had the wizard idea of playing Dominos, which we played with Saber, Stray and Wolfie, with Katsura operating a tag team system later on as I went to get beers. This was the best idea of the day as a hilarious two hours ensued, with me making light of my innate competitiveness and generally having fun. It was one of those nights I didn't want to end and we prolonged it as long as we could but alas we had to get our last bus home.
Kats was staying at ours overnight and Stray opted to stay too, so there were four of us heading home. We showed Kats The Chin Review, I showed Stray my naked body and we all generally chilled before I needed to head to bed, feeling knackered after a long day and a lack of sleep the night before. The others soon followed and everyone was asleep by 2am.
The next morning saw us rustle up some bacon and egg sandwiches, with egg being the dominant wish of Kats who can't get them at home for some reason. We watched the Red Bull Soapbox Race from London, laughing at the crashes and marveling at the designs and engineering on display, resolving to enter ourselves one year for the fun. Then it was time for Stray to leave, ironically to play more Dominos with old farts, so we drove him back to Eccles Hill, where we put the secretly put the windscreen wipers erect on Draken's car for a laugh. Shhhhh! After this, the three of us then went to Toys "R" Us to see whether we could pick up some Dominos but alas they had every toy but, including chess and draughts, so you would have thought they were stocked highly with games for fuddy-duddies. Alas not so we left the warehouse disappointed, although I did buy a kids game called Go Piggy Go where you are a pig dodging hay bails being fired out of a tractor driven by a wolf. Wolfie thought it was all part of the anti wolf agenda and gave the wolf the benefit of the doubt but we all know wolves are mean. Especially Wolfie. We also struggled to park the car on account of it not having a functioning handbrake so we had to wait for a suitable space to appear in a rather undulating car park. Not easy on the first day of the summer holidays when the whole retail park was rammed.
After this, we headed home, where we broke cheese and bread with Kats. The cheese was the final truckle from the Snowdonia Cheese Company and it was delicious, particularly with the French bread. It was great also speaking to Kats, someone whom wolfie knows quite well but someone to whom I rarely spoke. We hit it off quite well and it was definitely a laughy, hilarious weekend, aided of course by Stray who is always fun to be around. I tried to find the book on the Sladec Ossuary for Kats, who was interested in discovering more about the Czech bone church but alas I couldn't find it.
With Kats wanting to get the 7:15 train back to Liverpool, we soon needed to pack up and head into town, particularly as she requested trying the Leeds BrewDog bar before she left. She had been to a few others across the North but was quite surprised with just how small the Leeds one is. We had a friendly chat with some of the bar staff before ordering some drinks and heading upstairs, before heading over to Friends of Ham for a final drink before her departure. Despite being a vegetarian, she wasn't too bothered about the charcuterie nature of the place, although the slow service did mean we had to quaff our drinks quickly and necessitated me staying behind to pay. Still, Kats did manage to catch her train on time, and I managed to be reunited with Wolfie at the train station a matter of minutes later.
Despite not wanting an evening on the drink, once we've started, we do find it difficult to go home so we decided to check out Ipsum Vinoteca, which had been closed the previous week due to a kitchen refurbishment. Unfortunately it was closed again (this time with no explanation) so we went to The Wardrobe, where a gig in the accompanying venue made the bar quiet until we were about to leave, when it suddenly became flooded with people. This bar is quite a desolate soulless hipster place in all honesty but the beer was reasonable enough, even though there were only two we hadn't yet tried.
Speaking of trying new things, we went to two new bars on Sunday evening, with the Wardrobe and Ipsum Vinoteca trip sandwiched in between. The first was the latest Leeds Brewery title, the Lamb and Flag, which was right next to Leeds Minister, affording the balcony with stunning views. The beer garden is adjacent to the Minster so it's a rarity in Leeds - a nice beer garden to be in of a summer evening - while the interior had that fresh clean look. Apparently this beautiful old building had stood empty for twenty years before it became a pub while it was due to open last Christmas but the restoration took longer than expected. They did a great job though and even though the ubiquity of Leeds Brewery is starting to wear a little thin, we will be back.
The second new bar and final of the night was The Fox and Newt on Burleigh Road. Opened in 2009, this was a place recommended to me by the guys at the beer tasting session I stumbled into last Wednesday with my university friend. This is a traditional Victorian pub with a microbrewery underneath, which brews some average but at least local beer. We quite liked it here as the tiled exterior betrays a fresh modern bistro-like interior while the jukebox had a good array of music and particularly rock and metal. We also got to watch the back end of Jurassic Park III (it took us ages to identify which one it was) and the start of Love Actually, a movie I've never completed but one I may now watch. The Burleigh Street Brewhouse are growing though so I'll follow their development with interest. Even though this bar is over the ring road and out of the centre, it's only a 10 minute walk away and a convenient downhill stroll to the bus stop past the ibis so we'll definitely be returning. Indeed, while waiting at the bus stop, we happened to bump into Ki Saro, to whom we said hi before heading on our merry way.
On the way back I did feel a little deflated that our weekend drinking exploits had dented my weight loss goals, despite the two days being absolutely fantastic. This resulted in Wolfie and I having an argument which wasn't particularly pleasant but was patched up next day. Hopefully I can get back on track but with a fair few nights out planned over the next fortnight, it will be tricky. Still, I guess I'll do what I can and at least I'm getting more exercise and the restaurant meals have largely been cut out. It's a start at least.