Farthing Wood Friends

[lupestripe]

On Sunday, we woke up around lunchtime due to the previous evening's charity work and Trapa needing to adjust to his new timezone. Wolfie needed to collect a bench from a salesman who had been unreliable once before and unsurprisingly he wasn't in again so he gave up.

It was a wondrously sunny day and Draken wanted to go to Howarth as there was a German beer served in a bar there that he particularly enjoyed. As we could ride the Worth Valley railway, we thought it would be a good day out for Trapa too as I knew he enjoys steam locomotion. So we all headed to Keighley and soon boarded the train into Bronte Country. It was then we realized it was 1940s weekend and many were dressed up to celebrate the decade during which you could find your house had been blown up. It was a nostalgia trip for many and made quite a scene although seeing the range of full dead fur animals draped around people's necks was quite saddening.

There was a festival going on in the park where we saw some locals doing the jive including a sailor with a big arse. We also bought some local (puppy) fudge as well as gorged ourselves on hot dogs and ice cream. The Main Street was replete with old vehicles and at the top was a full Spitfire but in all honesty it was a little too crowded for me. We grabbed our beer from the Howarth Steam Brewery, another local brewing place which is thriving at the moment. Sadly they didn't do flights off tasters due to the festival while a sign at the back said strictly no Nazi regalia, clearly it was a very British event.

We grabbed some olde fashioned sweets and opted to forgo the Bronte stuff, not being a fan of literature conveying such sensibilities. The steam train was the best bit as we all stuck our heads out of the window pretending to be dogs. We had a Human Centipede selfie where I looked like I was vomiting my hair and we also met Taneli's Dad who rides up and down the railway as he has an annual pass. The smell of steam was very evocative and it was a rather quaint scene as it passed through sunlit country. The seats were also super comfy too, far better than the shite you get now.

At the other end, we decided to show Trapa around Saltaire, where we saw a cyclist swerve past two other riders before losing control and falling into the canal. The smell was quite strong. We also looked at the mill and organized Victorian town surrounding it before going to Shipley where we got Trapa to try an authentic Bradford curry at Aagrar. It was buffet night, allowing Trapa to sample a range of starters and mains, something which we all indulged in. I think he quite enjoyed the range of curries available but like me I think he was bowled over by the starters.

We went to local bar The Fox after this just to say we were in the Fox on twitter (guffaw guffaw). It also sells a range of craft beer and had been recommended to us - it didn't disappoint.

Upon arriving at home, Taneli (who had driven Wolfie's car back) left and we introduced our Canadian friend to The Animals of Farthing Wood. We saw four episodes on Sunday and a further three on Monday, those by request as he got into the show and wanted to see more. Unlike me, who has a penchant for Fox, Badger is his favourite character although he did like Adder while finding Weasel annoying. Hopefully we can watch the remainder of Series 1, the best series in my view, at Confuzzled. Some of his acerbic comments were quite funny and he developed a love for the show as the story progressed. As for me, twenty years on it still doesn't get old. Fox was my first furry crush and the show awakened my furry side. I still enjoy watching it to this day.

Comments

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Actually I'll be in that area at the weekend (we've got a caravan parked at Oxenhope), and I've been on that train last time I was there. Where is the steam brewery BTW? I might take a visit (also a brewery called copper dragon that has a few pubs in the area as well).

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

not being a fan of literature conveying such sensibilities. [...] We had a Human Centipede selfie where I looked like I was vomiting my hair

Not really much I can add to that. ^_^;

I wouldn't mind seeing some of Farthing Wood again sometime - it's been years, to the point I barely remember anything about the series. =:P (I'd also love to track down "Gophers!", which never saw a DVD release, and only a half-hearted VHS debut, as I recall. Quite a pity, as it was an entertaining show, with some pretty nifty fursuit animatronics)