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Kitty Catty Cafe
Apr. 29th, 2018 03:54 pmIt's been quite a relaxed but productive weekend, largely on account of having to get up early to drive my father to the airport. I had suggested him parking his car at our house to avoid the parking charges, but with a 10am flight, this meant that we had to get up at 7:30am to take him to the airport on time. What this did was give us most of the day free as we were back home by 8:30am, and awake, which was a rarity on a Saturday. We had arranged to meet Adia and Soma pretty last minute as they had tickets for the Kitty Cafe in Leeds, but with this booked for 3:30pm, we had some time to kill.
We largely spent time around the house, doing odd jobs such as painting the ceiling or washing the bedsheets. We did a little work on the Leeds Furs website, which is coming along nicely, while Wolfie did his postal vote for next week's elections. We had intended to go the Manchester and Liverpool Brewdog bars, but the Kitty Cafe took precedence, so by 2:30pm we were driving into the city centre to meet our friends, driving because we were trying to avoid drink on health grounds as well as the need to save money.
The Kitty Cafe was awesome, although the sheer number of children did mean that we didn't get to see or pet many of the cats. I am not sure the cats enjoyed being around the kids as they seemed to run away or hide an awful lot, but we did see a few of the kitties anyway. It was a little disconcerting being sat at our table and people peering at us through the windows on the streets, but then they were trying to look at the cats rather than us. I did enjoy the waitresses wearing kitty ears and cat-themed dresses, while the food was incredible. I got a baked bean and cheddar cheese panini, a strawberry cheesecake and a Pink Lady white chocolate and strawberry hot chocolate. The meal deal was exceptional value and although paying and leaving through the special security doors did take a lot longer than needed, I was impressed with the vibe of the place. We'll try and come back if we can, it's just a shame for a weekend at least you have to book in advance.
After the food, we headed our separate ways, with Adia and Soma heading home and us looking for mirrors for the furmeet. Once satisfying ourselves we could buy something online from Argos, we decided to have a walk around the city, ruling out any new bars as there are no new bars of interest. It was a little cold but a pleasant stroll, and we ended up in loads of places, including all the way out at the Armouries. We noticed an interesting potential furmeet venue here before heading back along the canal and into Holbeck, noticing the new steel wind protectors they have erected next to Bridgewater Place. At this corner, there was a sign saying Discover Holbeck and about fourteen sights of interest (although one of them was the railway station). The likes of Tower Mill we had seen before but Temple Mill, just down from Northern Monk, was a new experience (at least when sober) and a breathtaking example of when this area was industrial rather than derelict. Indeed, there are a lot of rundown business units here but interspersed with them are some great Victorian buildings, including the red-bricked Holbeck Free Public Library, which was opened in 1903. Now used as offices, it's fantastic this has survived as it's quite an impressive piece of architecture.
After this we headed into Holbeck proper, which made me feel a little uneasy if I was being honest. Still, it was good seeing the United Methodist Free Chapel, which is now a carpet shop, along with St Matthew's Church, which is typical for this period in Leeds. The Matthew Murray monument, an obelisk in an adjacent park, was perhaps the most interesting as it's an iron structure commemorating the man who developed the world's first commercially successful steam locomotive in yards around here. Indeed, there is a shunting shed nearby where we saw a Pacer train parked up. We also saw a few more derelict viaducts - there are quite a number just west of Leeds city centre - and wondered whether there would be grounds for reopening them as restaurant complexes or even a tramway. Standing in the park overlooking Leeds city centre, it was a remarkable contrast between poverty and wealth as this area was definitely one of the poorer parts of the city. It must be odd to have that stunning view with so much degredation in the forefront.
Having walked over 27,000 steps, we didn't do much else with the evening. Wolfie washed his car ahead of a Motorfurs meet at Wetherby services today, before giving it a test drive where he discovered the engine was leaking acrid black smoke. This made him dizzy for about two hours and he needed to drive home. He managed to fix the problem this morning but he was still over an hour late for the Motorfurs meet. Meanwhile, I just stayed at home, enjoying an afternoon to myself and indulging in a few kinks. It has been a good day.
We largely spent time around the house, doing odd jobs such as painting the ceiling or washing the bedsheets. We did a little work on the Leeds Furs website, which is coming along nicely, while Wolfie did his postal vote for next week's elections. We had intended to go the Manchester and Liverpool Brewdog bars, but the Kitty Cafe took precedence, so by 2:30pm we were driving into the city centre to meet our friends, driving because we were trying to avoid drink on health grounds as well as the need to save money.
The Kitty Cafe was awesome, although the sheer number of children did mean that we didn't get to see or pet many of the cats. I am not sure the cats enjoyed being around the kids as they seemed to run away or hide an awful lot, but we did see a few of the kitties anyway. It was a little disconcerting being sat at our table and people peering at us through the windows on the streets, but then they were trying to look at the cats rather than us. I did enjoy the waitresses wearing kitty ears and cat-themed dresses, while the food was incredible. I got a baked bean and cheddar cheese panini, a strawberry cheesecake and a Pink Lady white chocolate and strawberry hot chocolate. The meal deal was exceptional value and although paying and leaving through the special security doors did take a lot longer than needed, I was impressed with the vibe of the place. We'll try and come back if we can, it's just a shame for a weekend at least you have to book in advance.
After the food, we headed our separate ways, with Adia and Soma heading home and us looking for mirrors for the furmeet. Once satisfying ourselves we could buy something online from Argos, we decided to have a walk around the city, ruling out any new bars as there are no new bars of interest. It was a little cold but a pleasant stroll, and we ended up in loads of places, including all the way out at the Armouries. We noticed an interesting potential furmeet venue here before heading back along the canal and into Holbeck, noticing the new steel wind protectors they have erected next to Bridgewater Place. At this corner, there was a sign saying Discover Holbeck and about fourteen sights of interest (although one of them was the railway station). The likes of Tower Mill we had seen before but Temple Mill, just down from Northern Monk, was a new experience (at least when sober) and a breathtaking example of when this area was industrial rather than derelict. Indeed, there are a lot of rundown business units here but interspersed with them are some great Victorian buildings, including the red-bricked Holbeck Free Public Library, which was opened in 1903. Now used as offices, it's fantastic this has survived as it's quite an impressive piece of architecture.
After this we headed into Holbeck proper, which made me feel a little uneasy if I was being honest. Still, it was good seeing the United Methodist Free Chapel, which is now a carpet shop, along with St Matthew's Church, which is typical for this period in Leeds. The Matthew Murray monument, an obelisk in an adjacent park, was perhaps the most interesting as it's an iron structure commemorating the man who developed the world's first commercially successful steam locomotive in yards around here. Indeed, there is a shunting shed nearby where we saw a Pacer train parked up. We also saw a few more derelict viaducts - there are quite a number just west of Leeds city centre - and wondered whether there would be grounds for reopening them as restaurant complexes or even a tramway. Standing in the park overlooking Leeds city centre, it was a remarkable contrast between poverty and wealth as this area was definitely one of the poorer parts of the city. It must be odd to have that stunning view with so much degredation in the forefront.
Having walked over 27,000 steps, we didn't do much else with the evening. Wolfie washed his car ahead of a Motorfurs meet at Wetherby services today, before giving it a test drive where he discovered the engine was leaking acrid black smoke. This made him dizzy for about two hours and he needed to drive home. He managed to fix the problem this morning but he was still over an hour late for the Motorfurs meet. Meanwhile, I just stayed at home, enjoying an afternoon to myself and indulging in a few kinks. It has been a good day.
