The Daily Otter

[lupestripe]

Tungro and Washu came to visit at the weekend, a trip that was slightly curtailed by my needing to work on Sunday. The trip had been rearranged from a visit which had been planned for early January and I couldn't get the Sunday off at such short notice. I did move the shift from a morning to an afternoon one though, making the trip viable at least. And it was very good to see them.

They arrived on Saturday lunchtime, opting against driving all the way on Friday after work due to tiredness, plus Tungro had been at a party the night before. After they has settled in and we waited for Wolfie to get back home after having a hair cut, we all went to the Thackery Medical Museum next to St James' Hospital. This necessitated a bus change as the 4 no longer goes past St Jimmy's but we got there with two hours of opening time left. Sadly it wasn't to be enough as the museum, in an ornate Victorian building with stunning interior and exterior, was surprisingly extensive, with a range of medical equipment charting the history of medicine. It was a shame that it started in 1842 and focused predominantly on Victorian health (on the bottom floor) and more modern medical advancement (on the first floor) but you have to display what most of your exhibits are I guess. There was a good mix of displays for children and adults although we could have done without the vast number of kids running around. Wolfie and Tungro enjoyed charting the progress of a pea through the digestive system with toilet-seat fart sounds at the end, while the range of interesting smells in the Victorian area dealing with public health were rather offputting - to be honest I'm not sure they were all entirely meant to be there (there was a blocked toilet in the WCs which may have been contributing). The museum was quite fascinating and I learnt a great deal, which was a good sign considering I have a degree in this stuff. Sadly some of the microscopes were not working but that didn't detract too much from the experience. The Victorian recreation of all the medical choices was probably my favourite bit as it incorporated social history but the stuff on vaccinations was good, along with the top floor modern day developments which sadly we had to rush through. Still our £7 ticket (we got £1 discount for having a Leeds Card) entitles us to visit any time within the next year and I think all four of us want to go back at some point.

After our trip, we headed into the heart of the city to grab a drink and some food, first stopping at Mr Foley's after trying to show Washu the ornate interior of our library only to discover it was closed. We had hoped to try The Twisted Burger Company at Aire Bar but the Chelsea v Manchester City game was on and it was rammed. In the end, we went to Brooklyn, a very nice cocktail bar that does burgers on its top floor. We had been here with Ent some two years previously and had never gone back - it wasn't as good as we remembered it but the burgers were pretty fine, and thankfully you could hold them in your hands rather than these humungous burgers you get these days which you have to attack with a knife and fork. Oddly though, we had to go downstairs to order, braving the busy cocktail bar and the typical prick who ordered a cocktail for every member of this party. This is a huge issue with cocktail bars as they take so long to make, so the wait was approaching 15 minutes which was ridiculous. Added to this was that the menus were all "out of date" so you couldnh get wedges or sweet potato fries and it contributed to a poorer experience. The food we did get was great, but the experience wasn't the best.

We had hoped to go to BrewDog after this but there was a desire to go home, so way picked up some beer and snacks from our local Sainsbury's and headed back, where we just chatted before having an early night due to general tiredness. In the supermarket, the staff inquired as to where my "pink fox" was and said they would like me to wear it around the store sometime. It was quite sweet they remember I have the Fursuit - I think I drunkenly showed them the head once after a furmeet, I guess that's not the sort of thing you forget - and I hope to suit for them in the near future. Apparently Monday or Saturday evenings are best.

Little happened on Sunday morning - I made everyone breakfast before starting work, with Tungro checking some Dutch content for me before I started. Wolfie then had a chat with our guests for an hour before they headed south, while I completed my shift around seven hours later. It was great seeing them and we have started to make plans for a trip to Aberdeen which I hope will come off - it would be good to spend more time with them, it's always fun.

Comments

[washu-chan-uk.livejournal.com]

It was lovely to see you both again and something I hope we can repeat again post house move.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I hope so too, I hope the move goes well (:

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely convinced regarding the design choices of their representation of digestion, but I suppose they need to pander to the punters. =:/

Burgers.. eh, I admit, I rarely buy. I can make really good burgers that are tastier than can be bought, and way less calorific. With my half-pounder meal at around 500 cals, I just don't feel enthused to go for someone else's at twice that, and probably with way less fun a salad. (Yes, yes, I'm a hare - but c'mon, sweet pickled beetroot's delicious! And goes brilliantly with a burger =:9)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

There are a handful of really good burger places here but their proliferation is getting a little obscene. I agree you can make healthier ones yourself but I tend not to eat burgers at home.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's the old matter of people seeing "hey, this sector's doing really well!" and piling in on it. =:/ Trouble is, of course, it's rare to find lean meat used commercially, especially in burgers. (Still, if I can tempt you into trying something like that at home.. ^_^ It's just a matter of as lean ground beef as you can find, usually 5% or so, a good swig of oyster sauce, plenty of freshly ground black pepper (the Tellicherry stuff from Jamie Oliver's very good - almost Szechuan in its tang), and then optionally any other tweaks you'd like. As I said, really simple! A half-pounder of that on a zesty salad's a pretty damned good meal!)

So, I have to wonder - what do you tend to cook? ^_^

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

We tend to cook curries, stir fries and Mexican food predominently, largely with lean chicken and turkey. I think it's fair to say, if you are watching the calories, eating out is best avoided. Done well, I actually find home-cooked food a lot better anyway.