Where's The Puppy?

I didn't have any staff responsibilities at yesterday's Leedsfurs meet, although that didn't really stop me getting involved. Wolfie was most insistent I take a step back due to my current mental health, but you know when you are close to something, you see issues and to lend a hand. Added to this was that the bar staff didn't know I was not staffing this one, so they ended up talking to me about things, particularly the new cocktail menu they had created for us. This was quite a nice on-the-day surprise - with a pink one called The Blazer and a blue one called The Sonic available. These went down rather well, and going forward we are hoping to promote these a little more.

I do worry about the meets and this one wasn't the most highly attended, although registering over 70 attendees for a poorly attended affair highlights just how far we have come. There was a high number of fursuiters on the walk too and although I did join the walk, I wasn't involved in an official capacity there either. I was going to bring my suit but didn't on account of the weather forecast, with the rain that was predicted not materialising in the end. This wasn't the first time that the prognostics had let me down.

While not being on staff was relaxing, I did feel like something of a spare part, wandering off every now and again as I didn't feel like I had anything to do. Wolfie's insistence did get a little annoying after a few beers and we ended up having a mild argument in Brewdog later on, where we had gone with Patter to sample some of the beers available as part of their Father's Day Siren Tap Takeover. I had taken a growler back from Shuffledog on Friday night - the only beer of the five showcased that we hadn't had - but the little bar had a few more, which we sampled with the snowfox. This was after we had gone to Pizza Fella with Stray and Patter, which was a nice way to end the day.

The intention had been to catch the final World Cup game on Saturday - Nigeria v Croatia - but spending time with Patter proved to be too tempting. Despite wanting to keep costs down, we did at least only spend an extra £20 or so which wasn't too bad in the scheme of things. We had watched the Portugal v Spain game on Friday night, inviting some friends around to have a BBQ and watch the action. This was the first of hopefully many evenings watching the football and it was great to host everyone. Funky, Avon, Stray and Taneli all turned up and shared some food with us, with Stray even staying overnight. As is often the case, it was largely just banter with the football on in the background but a 3-3 draw proved to be highly entertaining and really kick-started the World Cup for me. Alas, due to today being Father's Day, no one came around to watch the Sunday matches with me, but at least this meant I could get to the gym and phone my own dad between fixtures.

My mental state is quite perilous now for a number of reasons. I nearly resigned from my job on Thursday due to the overload in work, while the theming for Confuzzled and the persistant video game talk during E3 week has probably gotten to me more than I let on. There has been little dismissiveness concerning the World Cup but with the England game tomorrow, I fear this may change. I guess we shall see. In the meantime, I am analysing my own place in the Fandom and have no idea what the future brings. The fact we have signed up for Furcation on account of a fair number of people wanting us to attend is heartening and I suspect this period of self-doubt will clear, but I self harmed for the first time in three months last night and I am not sure where I am going. I guess only time will tell.

Ripon And Fountains Abbey

Last Sunday, 10 June, was a particularly sunny day so after a significant lie-in, Wolfie and I headed north to Ripon and nearby Fountains Abbey for the afternoon. I hadn't been to Ripon in years, at least not to the city centre itself, so it was great to have a wander around its charming streets. Of course Ripon Cathedral is the main draw, with its gothic west front being particularly striking. Indeed it reminded me a lot of Notre Dame in Paris, such was its style. There has been a religious building on this site since 672AD but the current structure is the most enduring and impressive. Alas, we weren't able to look inside due to a council function going on, but we did enjoy walking around its grounds.

The other highlight in the centre of Ripon itself is the Market Place, with the Hornblower obelisk standing triumphantly in its middle. This is quite a unique structure and I did enjoy a fair bit of time just marvelling at it. We then had a wander around the town, checking out the beer shop on the main square and noting the high number of museums in the place. We didn't head into any, largely due to time constraints, but we noticed their existence for another visit. We did, however, get to see the spa, which was one of the last ones built in the Victorian/Edwardian era. Started in 1902, it's definitely a building of its time and marked the end of the interest in spas in popular culture. The adjacent park was also a pleasant stroll in the June sunshine but unfortunately we did not get chance to listen to the brass band who were setting up while we were there.

Needing food, we looked for a local sandwich place and only discovered Gregg's. Outside, we noticed three people discussing where they wanted to eat, and saw they discounted the pasty chain pretty quickly. We decided to follow them down an alleyway, which opened up onto a carpark with Booth's on the other side. They went to their cafe while we grabbed a disappointing sandwich from their takeout section. We also bought a keg for this week's football that was very reasonably priced.

Our next stop was Fountains Abbey, one of the best preserved Cistercian monestries in England. Now run by the National Trust, they did try and sell us an annual pass, which we declined on account of the lack of NT properties in this part of the country. We were charged a princely sum of £16.50 each, which for the final two hours of the day seemed a little steep, but once we had walked down to the Abbey itself (via a bird hide and a field full of friendly sheep) it ultimately became worth it. Founded in 1132, it became one of the wealthiest monestaries in England before it was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII. Now one of only two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Yorkshire, much of the structure is largely intact making it almost as imposing today as it must have been in its heyday. You really got a sense of monastic life here largely as so much has survived, and we spent a full hour exploring all of the rooms of this fantastic building.

The Monestary is located in Studley Royal Park, which is essentially an 18th-century landscaped garden. It's typical of the period and reminded me of a place I visited in the outskirts of Munich around four years ago. The Water Garden is the main feature, created by John Aislabie in 1718, it is seen as one of the finest examples of Georgian folly. Indeed, there are numerous follies around the area including some temples, architectured lakes and a weir which has created a rather large fishing lake. Due to timing constraints, we could only see the follies at ground level and did not have time to walk up the hills which flanked the narrow waterway. Had we done so, we would have seen a number of follies including a neo-Gothic castle and a palladian style banqueting house. We did manage to see a camera obscura though, which was perched high atop a hill and looked like a giraffe out of a children's play area, while a number of more modern follies including a representation of a cloud designed by some 11-year-old. There was so much to see here that we lamented we had arrived so late, but we did get to see the main sights at least, which was something.

The car park was locked at 6:30pm so we targeted getting back to the car for 6pm, which we did, despite the numerous distractions in the Park. However, we did get out and managed to call off at Pateley Bridge on the way, a small market town bedecked in Union Flag bunting and claims to have the longest running continuous sweet shop in the country. It was a pleasant Yorkshire high street next to a rather non-discript bridge from which the town takes its name, indeed I was expecting something better from the bridge in all honesty. Still, we had a quick wander around before heading back home, seeing the golf ball radar installation and calling off for a bar meal at one of the pubs near the airport en route. This was pleasant enough, a gut-filling carvery, but it did cap a rather pleasant day.