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lupestripeThis weekend was EF, but due to the expense, we decided to skip it again. Instead, we headed over to Hull to attend The Yorkshire Furs Summer Party. We had attended the 2024 event in Sheffield and really enjoyed it, but then it did fall on two rather big birthdays. This time around, it fell on a random weekend, but at least there were no clashes. However, it had moved over to Hull, making it somewhat less accessible than Sheffield. Despite this, it was going to be cheaper, so we booked into the Double Tree near Paragon Station, with this being the official con hotel. We were given a delicious warm cookie upon check in, which somewhat eased my stress as the train was somewhat late. I had hoped to avoid the Hull City fans streaming back from their early kick-off season opener against Manchester United. Fortunately, we did, but they surprisingly won the game 2-0 so were pretty docile.
After a quick shower and shave, we packed our bags and headed over to The Federation of Sport, which was some 20-minute walk away. Unlike in Sheffield, I didn't fancy wearing my fem gear out and about Hull, and walking around this proved to be well-founded. We stopped off at Greggs for some food, as well as the statue of Amy Johnson, who was the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia. This is tucked away on Prospect Street, a non-descript part of the city. On our way home at 2am, we saw two police officers sat on a bench here, which made me think about the tragic seven-person fatality car crash that happened on the A66 in Middlesbrough earlier that day.
We got to the venue at around 4pm, three hours after it had started. We thought we would check in first, while skipping the first three hours of inevitable drinking we thought would be wise. I got changed into my fem gear and started handing out business cards like confetti, while we soon settled into the swing of things. The venue was a giant warehouse but its black painted walls didn't really scream summer. Indeed, the contrast between that shade and the bright white walls of the toilets was eviscerating on the eyes. For the first three hours, we hung around table D6 by the bogs, speaking to the likes of Stray, Tungro, Furble and Taneli. It was this group we were to be predominantly with throughout, although a group did disappear to go to a smoky BBQ joint. We decided to stay at the venue as I didn't want to miss the socialising, but the food was bang average beige canteen food which in the end made me feel a little queasy.
Wolfie headed off and did the racing sims at one point, but all of the attractions cost additional money. The darts and golf seemed to be popular, but in the end, I just chatted and drank. The waitresses were walking around upselling shots, while the venue itself at least got into the swing of things with animal-themed attire. There was a modest Dealers' Den that I walked around, a charity auction where the microphones were turned way too loud at ear deafening levels (and where Doveux bought a hampers-worth of tea), and a quiet area where they showed wall to wall Bluey. The fursuit changing area was good, and I spent a good chunk of my time here changing and the like. While leaving, I bumped into someone from Middlesbrough who knew all the TS postcodes by heart. He was sad that the night was ending, particularly as Nightwish was playing, while I must commend the variety of the DJ sets. Sadly, as there was only one large room, getting away from the music proved to be tough.
We ended up staying until the end and while there were a few people I didn't get chance to meet, I did speak to most of the people I wanted to. I also picked up my new fursuit sandals from Uno Raccoon, which will prevent my feet paws from getting dirty. I would have liked to have spoken to Ratchet though, as she was there but didn't have the confidence to come and speak. We left with a load of small hedgehogs in hand for supporting the charity and headed to the Scale and Feather bar over the road. When doing research, we noticed that nearly all of the craft beer bars in Hull shut at 11pm, and with the Atom Brewery taproom having gone, there were few options. The Scale and Feather was decent enough, and wasn't too rowdy. It had some decent beer and the place shut at 1am, while there was room for our group of eight. Stray had to bail early due to being sick, while Ottercon went with him. In the end, it was just five of us - Wolfie, me, Doveux, Procyon and Whiskian - the last of whom was quite worse for wear and spent £35 on shots of tequila for us all. I could have done without that. I was also feeling a bit bloated at this point and very self-conscious about my weight. As usual when I visit the UK, it’s been quite heavy on booze and junk food. Seeing quite a few people much thinner than before, through weight loss drugs or otherwise, only made me lament my own difficulties at shifting my gut.
We left the bar shortly after 1:30am and there was talk of getting a taxi. This may have been wise as we had to pick our way through a 20-man brawl outside of Dirty Dicks, with only two police officers trying to keep the peace. Everyone out at this point was feral and, despite having had seven pints (and one tequila) myself, it was clear I was more sober than most. This was Procyon’s first ever time in Hull and I’m sure it was eye opening for him. We ended up in the German Doner Kebab (GBK) place as it was the only food place open. The map of Berlin on the wall was hilariously inaccurate - and caused much mirth in the Fureigners chat when I posted it - but the doner itself wasn't too bad when mixed with the three plastic pots of sauces they gave us to accompany it. £10.95 was a piss-take though. We ate it in the hotel room one we got back, but with their so-called 24 hour bar closed, we ended up turning in for the night shortly thereafter. Wolfie and I did get to see the wonderful hour-long cruise infomercial for Love It Book It with the two men and their strange reactions again though, so that was good.
Breakfast was included for us, so we ended up getting up at 10am and having it. We weren't feeling too bad and checked out at 11am. It was a slow start for everyone else, but Taneli and Whiskian - who must have found his way in as he had no key the night before and left the hotel for a smoke without checking in - joined us in the lobby and we ended up going to Subway in the nearby St. Stephen's Shopping Centre so they could get food. As we walked past, we noticed a kiosk selling Meow Slush with a cute cat mascot. This is obviously an inferior product to Slush Puppies. After this, feeling a little peaky and with little else planned, we decided to get our train back to Pudsey. It was a sunny day and I wanted to sit and relax in the garden. Meanwhile, the others seemed to drift off shortly thereafter. We could have gone to the Brewdog in Hull to pick up the stamps, but the desire wasn't too strong, and I wanted to get home. This is therefore what we did, after having a rather good weekend with close friends. On the train back, we ruminated about the future, particularly on our potential return to the UK. With money getting tighter, this may be rather soon, but I have started to make peace with it. Certainly I can’t keep haemorrhaging this much money every month so something needs to change rather quickly. And with most of our friends here, Britain is certainly calling us back, despite its problems. Hopefully, we’ll have a resolution soon.
After a quick shower and shave, we packed our bags and headed over to The Federation of Sport, which was some 20-minute walk away. Unlike in Sheffield, I didn't fancy wearing my fem gear out and about Hull, and walking around this proved to be well-founded. We stopped off at Greggs for some food, as well as the statue of Amy Johnson, who was the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia. This is tucked away on Prospect Street, a non-descript part of the city. On our way home at 2am, we saw two police officers sat on a bench here, which made me think about the tragic seven-person fatality car crash that happened on the A66 in Middlesbrough earlier that day.
We got to the venue at around 4pm, three hours after it had started. We thought we would check in first, while skipping the first three hours of inevitable drinking we thought would be wise. I got changed into my fem gear and started handing out business cards like confetti, while we soon settled into the swing of things. The venue was a giant warehouse but its black painted walls didn't really scream summer. Indeed, the contrast between that shade and the bright white walls of the toilets was eviscerating on the eyes. For the first three hours, we hung around table D6 by the bogs, speaking to the likes of Stray, Tungro, Furble and Taneli. It was this group we were to be predominantly with throughout, although a group did disappear to go to a smoky BBQ joint. We decided to stay at the venue as I didn't want to miss the socialising, but the food was bang average beige canteen food which in the end made me feel a little queasy.
Wolfie headed off and did the racing sims at one point, but all of the attractions cost additional money. The darts and golf seemed to be popular, but in the end, I just chatted and drank. The waitresses were walking around upselling shots, while the venue itself at least got into the swing of things with animal-themed attire. There was a modest Dealers' Den that I walked around, a charity auction where the microphones were turned way too loud at ear deafening levels (and where Doveux bought a hampers-worth of tea), and a quiet area where they showed wall to wall Bluey. The fursuit changing area was good, and I spent a good chunk of my time here changing and the like. While leaving, I bumped into someone from Middlesbrough who knew all the TS postcodes by heart. He was sad that the night was ending, particularly as Nightwish was playing, while I must commend the variety of the DJ sets. Sadly, as there was only one large room, getting away from the music proved to be tough.
We ended up staying until the end and while there were a few people I didn't get chance to meet, I did speak to most of the people I wanted to. I also picked up my new fursuit sandals from Uno Raccoon, which will prevent my feet paws from getting dirty. I would have liked to have spoken to Ratchet though, as she was there but didn't have the confidence to come and speak. We left with a load of small hedgehogs in hand for supporting the charity and headed to the Scale and Feather bar over the road. When doing research, we noticed that nearly all of the craft beer bars in Hull shut at 11pm, and with the Atom Brewery taproom having gone, there were few options. The Scale and Feather was decent enough, and wasn't too rowdy. It had some decent beer and the place shut at 1am, while there was room for our group of eight. Stray had to bail early due to being sick, while Ottercon went with him. In the end, it was just five of us - Wolfie, me, Doveux, Procyon and Whiskian - the last of whom was quite worse for wear and spent £35 on shots of tequila for us all. I could have done without that. I was also feeling a bit bloated at this point and very self-conscious about my weight. As usual when I visit the UK, it’s been quite heavy on booze and junk food. Seeing quite a few people much thinner than before, through weight loss drugs or otherwise, only made me lament my own difficulties at shifting my gut.
We left the bar shortly after 1:30am and there was talk of getting a taxi. This may have been wise as we had to pick our way through a 20-man brawl outside of Dirty Dicks, with only two police officers trying to keep the peace. Everyone out at this point was feral and, despite having had seven pints (and one tequila) myself, it was clear I was more sober than most. This was Procyon’s first ever time in Hull and I’m sure it was eye opening for him. We ended up in the German Doner Kebab (GBK) place as it was the only food place open. The map of Berlin on the wall was hilariously inaccurate - and caused much mirth in the Fureigners chat when I posted it - but the doner itself wasn't too bad when mixed with the three plastic pots of sauces they gave us to accompany it. £10.95 was a piss-take though. We ate it in the hotel room one we got back, but with their so-called 24 hour bar closed, we ended up turning in for the night shortly thereafter. Wolfie and I did get to see the wonderful hour-long cruise infomercial for Love It Book It with the two men and their strange reactions again though, so that was good.
Breakfast was included for us, so we ended up getting up at 10am and having it. We weren't feeling too bad and checked out at 11am. It was a slow start for everyone else, but Taneli and Whiskian - who must have found his way in as he had no key the night before and left the hotel for a smoke without checking in - joined us in the lobby and we ended up going to Subway in the nearby St. Stephen's Shopping Centre so they could get food. As we walked past, we noticed a kiosk selling Meow Slush with a cute cat mascot. This is obviously an inferior product to Slush Puppies. After this, feeling a little peaky and with little else planned, we decided to get our train back to Pudsey. It was a sunny day and I wanted to sit and relax in the garden. Meanwhile, the others seemed to drift off shortly thereafter. We could have gone to the Brewdog in Hull to pick up the stamps, but the desire wasn't too strong, and I wanted to get home. This is therefore what we did, after having a rather good weekend with close friends. On the train back, we ruminated about the future, particularly on our potential return to the UK. With money getting tighter, this may be rather soon, but I have started to make peace with it. Certainly I can’t keep haemorrhaging this much money every month so something needs to change rather quickly. And with most of our friends here, Britain is certainly calling us back, despite its problems. Hopefully, we’ll have a resolution soon.
