99% Adorable, 1% Despicable
Aug. 22nd, 2026 01:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeI had planned to go to the Leeds Meet last Saturday, but concern about my eyes meant I was somewhat delayed, not to mention despondent. I was also concerned about my alcohol consumption, what with having spent time at my father's the week before and with my mother the following week. Finally, with the Yorkshire Furs Summer Party later today, along with ongoing financial pressures, I thought it would make sense to skip the meet and have a weekend at home. This is what we did - doing some much-needed work on our overgrown garden and working on a few personal projects too.
I had aimed to work on Monday and take the rest of the week off, but people hadn't got back to me, resulting in a full working day on Friday instead. This was somewhat annoying as I was out with my former colleagues on Thursday night. This took place in The Brewery Tap, where I drank five pints of admittedly weak strength session IPA. It was great catching up with colleagues from the best job I had ever had, and I can't believe it has been over six years since I was made redundant post a venture capitalist takeover. We swapped stories of those times, caught up on what we are doing now, and basically picked up where we had left things back in May when we did similar. At times I felt a little out of place, but ultimately was thrown back into the conversation with some other topic, and I did feel very much at home back amongst their company. It was a shame I had to end the night when I did, catching the penultimate train home, but ultimately I did have a busy work day the next day.
I called off at Leeds on my way down from visiting my mother. I went up on Tuesday, scouting out the impressive new Darlington station extension when I arrived. The train was 38 minutes late and the usual hell from Cross Country, but at least I am eligible for £3.95 Delay Repay. The new station looks very good, with two platforms on the exterior of the Victorian red-bricked arched station. A walkway has been cut through the roof with brand new toilets and shops on the other side, along with a car park. The walkway cladding is already peeling off but the rust look works well with the original building and hopefully it'll make trains more reliable. I don't know what they'll do with Platform 1 or the two bay platforms 2 and 3, but maybe they'll be useful overflow.
After my mother and step-father picked me up, we went back to theirs, where my mother cooked me a delicious brisket dinner. We then had many glasses of wine while chatting then watching YouTube. The evening ended watching risible nostalgia porn about the 1980s and 1990s, which had about 70% of truth in it, then other misleading statements. It was easy to see how it bridged credibility and misleading.
Wednesday I had my German class, the second part of A2.2 which I started on Monday. There had only been two people in the class, which made for a very intensive session, not least because our new teacher is very full-on and quickfire. Things had eased a little on Wednesday as there were four of us, but it was a far greater mental workout than the first part of the A2.2 class had been. Earlier in the day, we went to The Coach House in Middleton Tyas for lunch. It turned out to be quite a nice sunny day, but we opted to eat inside rather than outside. I had a delicious steak, something I hadn't had for quite some time, along with chips and salad. The Rat IPA was nice too. The place is in a converted barn and is quite wide and airy. It was also quite busy for a Wednesday lunchtime, with the rural setting quite charming. Later on Wednesday, after my lesson, we listened to many editions of Mark Steel's In Town including those from Barnard Castle, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Huddersfield and Cambridge. The amount of research that goes into these is incredible, with every show quite different due to the local stories unearthed. I had seen his show in Skipton about a decade ago and I remember it being similarly enjoyable, while of course I had seen him at the Edinburgh Fringe just last week. Much more wine was had here, which made my mother's comments about my alcohol consumption the following day all the more frustrating (although she is right, when I am back in the UK, my alcohol consumption does go through the roof, hence why I am not drinking tonight).
Thursday was one of those summer days that felt like late autumn, so we headed to Darlington's Hopetown railway museum to check out the Wallace and Gromit AR Trail. This involved downloading an app and visiting seven stations across the museum, where you had to do a range of tasks. One was finding a code, another was picking some tools and placing them in a toolbox, while another saw you cleaning shit up. There were also a few photographs including one where you look like Feathers McGraw and another where you are dressed like Gromit. Although largely for children, we were told that many adults had been getting involved too, and we thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my step-father's initial reservations. We did have to be told where the seventh station was though, as it was hidden in the museum, but once we had followed the narrative and helped Wallace build his rocket, we went back to the front desk to get our sticker. We declined taking a photo in the giant frame, although my mother did buy me a Gromit plush. It was then back to her house for gammon steaks before I had to catch my train back to Leeds.
It was a good trip to my mother's despite my step-father's occasional grumpiness, particularly on the Thursday. Henry, the nine-year-old cocker spaniel, was very bouncy and assertive, having just come out of surgery having dealt with a legion in his leg. Wilma was far more subdued, while she also had stinky breath. I enjoyed spending an hour alone with my mother as we toured around Barnard Castle together, while next time, it will be great to go to the nearby Bowes Museum too. She was also looking at houses in Scotland on my behalf when I told her we may consider moving there. It's just an outside thing right now, but it's certainly a possibility, depending how things go. The only negative, apart from my step-father's grump, is my mother caring way too much about Harry and Meghan, who she seems to viscerally hate for no real reason. I'm amazed how anyone cares so much about the Royals at the best of times, but this in particular completely eludes me.
Friday was predominantly a work day as I said, but Wolfie's parents did turn up at lunchtime, when Wolfie was still in bed. They helped us move some of the sofa out of the living room, freeing us a lot more space in there. They also removed our old books which have been lying in bags for the best part of 18 months. I feel bad chucking things out - something about my pantheism I guess - but it needed to be done and I am glad they were able to help. When we come back again, we'll keep working at decluttering the place as it's sorely needed.
I had aimed to work on Monday and take the rest of the week off, but people hadn't got back to me, resulting in a full working day on Friday instead. This was somewhat annoying as I was out with my former colleagues on Thursday night. This took place in The Brewery Tap, where I drank five pints of admittedly weak strength session IPA. It was great catching up with colleagues from the best job I had ever had, and I can't believe it has been over six years since I was made redundant post a venture capitalist takeover. We swapped stories of those times, caught up on what we are doing now, and basically picked up where we had left things back in May when we did similar. At times I felt a little out of place, but ultimately was thrown back into the conversation with some other topic, and I did feel very much at home back amongst their company. It was a shame I had to end the night when I did, catching the penultimate train home, but ultimately I did have a busy work day the next day.
I called off at Leeds on my way down from visiting my mother. I went up on Tuesday, scouting out the impressive new Darlington station extension when I arrived. The train was 38 minutes late and the usual hell from Cross Country, but at least I am eligible for £3.95 Delay Repay. The new station looks very good, with two platforms on the exterior of the Victorian red-bricked arched station. A walkway has been cut through the roof with brand new toilets and shops on the other side, along with a car park. The walkway cladding is already peeling off but the rust look works well with the original building and hopefully it'll make trains more reliable. I don't know what they'll do with Platform 1 or the two bay platforms 2 and 3, but maybe they'll be useful overflow.
After my mother and step-father picked me up, we went back to theirs, where my mother cooked me a delicious brisket dinner. We then had many glasses of wine while chatting then watching YouTube. The evening ended watching risible nostalgia porn about the 1980s and 1990s, which had about 70% of truth in it, then other misleading statements. It was easy to see how it bridged credibility and misleading.
Wednesday I had my German class, the second part of A2.2 which I started on Monday. There had only been two people in the class, which made for a very intensive session, not least because our new teacher is very full-on and quickfire. Things had eased a little on Wednesday as there were four of us, but it was a far greater mental workout than the first part of the A2.2 class had been. Earlier in the day, we went to The Coach House in Middleton Tyas for lunch. It turned out to be quite a nice sunny day, but we opted to eat inside rather than outside. I had a delicious steak, something I hadn't had for quite some time, along with chips and salad. The Rat IPA was nice too. The place is in a converted barn and is quite wide and airy. It was also quite busy for a Wednesday lunchtime, with the rural setting quite charming. Later on Wednesday, after my lesson, we listened to many editions of Mark Steel's In Town including those from Barnard Castle, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Huddersfield and Cambridge. The amount of research that goes into these is incredible, with every show quite different due to the local stories unearthed. I had seen his show in Skipton about a decade ago and I remember it being similarly enjoyable, while of course I had seen him at the Edinburgh Fringe just last week. Much more wine was had here, which made my mother's comments about my alcohol consumption the following day all the more frustrating (although she is right, when I am back in the UK, my alcohol consumption does go through the roof, hence why I am not drinking tonight).
Thursday was one of those summer days that felt like late autumn, so we headed to Darlington's Hopetown railway museum to check out the Wallace and Gromit AR Trail. This involved downloading an app and visiting seven stations across the museum, where you had to do a range of tasks. One was finding a code, another was picking some tools and placing them in a toolbox, while another saw you cleaning shit up. There were also a few photographs including one where you look like Feathers McGraw and another where you are dressed like Gromit. Although largely for children, we were told that many adults had been getting involved too, and we thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my step-father's initial reservations. We did have to be told where the seventh station was though, as it was hidden in the museum, but once we had followed the narrative and helped Wallace build his rocket, we went back to the front desk to get our sticker. We declined taking a photo in the giant frame, although my mother did buy me a Gromit plush. It was then back to her house for gammon steaks before I had to catch my train back to Leeds.
It was a good trip to my mother's despite my step-father's occasional grumpiness, particularly on the Thursday. Henry, the nine-year-old cocker spaniel, was very bouncy and assertive, having just come out of surgery having dealt with a legion in his leg. Wilma was far more subdued, while she also had stinky breath. I enjoyed spending an hour alone with my mother as we toured around Barnard Castle together, while next time, it will be great to go to the nearby Bowes Museum too. She was also looking at houses in Scotland on my behalf when I told her we may consider moving there. It's just an outside thing right now, but it's certainly a possibility, depending how things go. The only negative, apart from my step-father's grump, is my mother caring way too much about Harry and Meghan, who she seems to viscerally hate for no real reason. I'm amazed how anyone cares so much about the Royals at the best of times, but this in particular completely eludes me.
Friday was predominantly a work day as I said, but Wolfie's parents did turn up at lunchtime, when Wolfie was still in bed. They helped us move some of the sofa out of the living room, freeing us a lot more space in there. They also removed our old books which have been lying in bags for the best part of 18 months. I feel bad chucking things out - something about my pantheism I guess - but it needed to be done and I am glad they were able to help. When we come back again, we'll keep working at decluttering the place as it's sorely needed.
