I Ran (So Far Away)

 

Events / Adventures  

 

1st of August -  LFF

I had stayed over in Hull the previous night, Charlotte had cooked lovely Bolognese with GF twirls.  She wasn't feeling that great in the morning unfortunately, so I suggested driving her over to Leeds and back rather than taking two cars.

To continue our culinary indulgence from the previous month, i suggested we try an Italian restaurant for lunch - LIVIN'Italy.  

We arrived a bit later than I expected - I had parked at the docks to charge the car, which meant we were a bit of a walk away from the restaurant. There was also the faff around downloading the app for the charger too 😑

This meant we had to walk quite quickly -  I was wearing my knee high Doc Martens, which I thought i had broken in as they were fine at Scarborough, but it seems not - managed to blister both heels 😞

We did at least manage to check in to the Leonardo very early on the way past, which was nice ! 

Got to the restaurant by the booking time, and we were shown to our table - a bit of an odd layout you seem to walk through the food prep area, then go upstairs to the seating. 

Food was lovely, I had Swordfish steak with charred cabbage, Charlotte had crab meat with fat Spaghetti with a side of cabbage.  They were both lovely, but I would order a side too if I went again.  I decided to have a desert to fill me up a bit more, and I am soooo glad i did, best brownie ever !!!!   Also had some really good 'Franklin & Sons Soda' too. 

We departed the restaurant and headed to the first bar 'Tapped' for  the Pints and Straws afternoon bar crawl, popping into a convenience shop for paracetamol for Charlotte and blister
plasters for me 😬 

Ann was already there, along with some of the Crossdresser Heaven girls who had come en masse this month. I had not heard of the site until recently but it seems like a number of the Chams ladies were members of this too, and would coming along.

There was also a lady from Bradford who had decided to finally give LFF a go, she had got the train in and put a wig on in the loo's, which was very brave i thought ! She had never met another 'dresser' (as she called us) in person before. 

Some of the Chams girls turned up shortly after we arrived which was nice to see.  

Benni arrived after a bit, she had been for a makeover so was running a bit behind - she looked incredibly glamorous for the surroundings !  but you gotta get booked in early with the makeup artists to get a later slot. 

We moved onwards to 'The Head of Steam' where we sat with one of the american ladies who had come along. Then to the 'North Taproom', and finally 'The Tetley'.

Got to chat to the Chams girls for a bit in the Tetley, but we were not staying too long in there as I wanted to get off for food. 

It was a very successful afternoon, and I believe it was our most successful yet in terms of numbers. Thankfully we had chosen venues more suited to larger numbers ! 

Myself and Charlotte headed back to Tapped to get a Pizza for tea. Unfortunately I ordered a vegan one, instead of just a gluten free one - the 'cheese' was awful 😭

Charlotte liked hers though - after we finished we went back to the room to chill a bit before the evening do, and also to change outfits.

We were ready by about 8pm, due to the blisters I had to swap to my Vans for the evening which was a shame - although still looked good. We got a number of photos in the room that I demanded, then headed to the Bridge End Social.   

Met up with Ann and Jessica in there, Sally sat with us for a bit too - I failed to get a picture with her though ! 

After a drink in there  we decided to head off and explore some less traveled venues.  Jess had not done Behind Closed Doors before and we though she might like that, and I had not been to a bar next to Wappentake - 'The Doghouse' either - which was on the way.

The Doghouse had a nice cider on so I was happy, the seating downstairs was not the best so we went upstairs after a short while.

We moved to Behind Closed Doors after a while - some friends were meant to meet us in there but it didn't seem to pan out.  I had drunk too much fluid throughout the day, so was on the gin in there.  It was getting on for  11pm when we were thinking of moving on from there. Charlotte wasn't feeling too great though, she had been on pills for a fever all day, and it was starting to catch up with her.

So I suggested we get a kebab and have an early night - we had been out since 12:30 after all.  So we went to 'Istanbul Kebab' which is a few doors down and ordered some food.  I had cheesy chips and Charlotte had a donner wrap. 

Both were very good, and not just because we had been drinking all day 😂 

We hadn't booked breakfast so ended up setting off fairly early.  There was a bit of stress in the car park, I paid for parking but on return to the car I was unable to release the charging cable.  It is the same make of charger that did the same to me at the church at Chams.  Luckily a phone call to the number on it got me through to a human within 4 minutes or so, and he was able to command it to let go for me. 

I drove Charlotte back to Hull, and she kindly made me lunch before I headed back home.

All in all a very nice day, was a shame didn't get to see as many friends, but some just work out that way. It's hard to get everyone to agree on where to go and meet.

  

3rd of August - Welding 

I was giving the old girl a visual inspection before her adventures later this month and found a hole in the chassis rail near the rear spring hanger on the drivers side. 

So instead of an afternoon walk, i did some windy welding on the drive. Wasn't my best effort in the end, but should do for a while. 
 

 

 

6th of August - Work in Josephine

A higher-up was meant to be going into the office that day, and I fancied a trip out in her as needed a test drive, so I went to the office in her.  

There were no issues, other than an absolutely mental driver on the way that was doing 60+ in a 30 into oncoming traffic. 

Higher-up failed to attend, so I bailed at lunch as I had a cider delivery coming I had forgotten about 😂

  

9th of August - Hull Parkrun 

I can't remember which one of us suggested it, but the idea of me doing a parkrun with Charlotte had been raised. She kindly registered me on their site and I printed off the barcode membership number that they use to identify you when you finish.

We were going to run in the 'Peter Pan' parkrun which is only a short walk (or run) from Charlotte's.  Had to be up a bit earlier than normal for a Saturday, I wasn't going to run without makeup so still had all that to do - although I am pretty quick with it these days !!

Had a bit of gf jackflap for breakfast, got changed into running gear and we headed out fairly early to the park.  There were already quite a few people there, it seemed very friendly.  We did one slow lap of the course so I could warm up a bit, and then we listened to the newcomer induction chat.  

Charlotte is way faster than me, so she started near the head of the pack in the start huddle, whereas I was nearly at the back just so i didn't get trampled to death.  

I started off pretty slow, and found someone who seemed to be doing a pace I was comfortable to follow - I do the same on motorways when driving 😂 

My main aim was to keep my heart rate below 180 (my watch gets upset if I exceed) -  so I wouldn't have to stop and walk. 

There was one small lap, then three longer laps to do.  I managed to keep a very even pace and despite being really thirsty managed to keep running fine.  Charlotte finished way before me, and joined me on my last lap for moral support - which was lovely of her. 

I didn't bother with a sprint for the finish, as just finishing was the goal and my heart rate was nearing max safe.  I got my finishing token, and we got scanned together. 

Thankfully we had brought fizzy drinks in a cool bag that we had left near the start, so I could get a much needed drink.

My time was 43:50 which I was very pleased with, Charlotte's was 25:35 !! 

On our return I had a nice long shower, and then we got ready to go back out for lunch - i was quite hungry  !

Charlotte had suggested 'Blondes' a vegan place in Cottingham.  We had a wait a short while for a table, but the food was excellent. I had a fake chicken and bacon sandwich, Charlotte had cheesy chips and some kind of blue cheese thing i think ! 

I had a 'big' tea , which was actually huge - a rarity these days, it's normally the other way around.  

We had a bit of a potter about the village, looked in a very old church, and a few shops then headed back to hers for an afternoon nap 😊 

 

9th of August - 'Beat the Clock' disco 

After our nap, and a lovely meal cooked by Charlotte it was soon ready to get into the third outfit of the day 😂 

I think it was handmade burgers she did, but I failed to take a photo !

We were going to a retro disco in Hull, which i think was my third visit - it's really fun they do everything off original vinyl but with modern visuals on a projector.  It's above a nice bar too which is good for pre-event drinkies. 

I chose my wizard dress, which had very big sleeves and an esoteric print. Was very hot during the taxi ride to the general location of the bar and thought I had made a mistake, but I think it was just that car was very hot inside.

We did a few bars before the one below the disco, a new one to us was the 'Atom Bar' which had a few nice beers on, we had a couple in there. Then we moved to 'Crafted' which looked like it would have a lot of nice beers, but they didn't so ended up on G&T.

The G&T theme continued when we headed to  HOi which is the bar below the disco - they normally have a proper cider on, but it had run out so I did G&T again ! 

My feet didn't feel too bad after the days events which was nice, so when we moved upstairs to do some dancing I was able to join in as normal.  They do play more obscure retro music, so we do end up going up for one or two songs, then sitting back down again. But there were enough ones I knew to make it fun.

One of the staff in the upstairs bar really didn't seem to know how to do G&T's and we ended up with some really watery ones, so after a while we decided to call it quits and get a taxi back.

We had some cheesy chips and I had another G&T when we got back, and we did do some more dancing in the living room  too 😁 

It was a lovely night.

The next morning my right foot and ankle were not in a good way, but they did seem to get better as i pottered about.  

There was a fund raising event at the local lifeboat station so we decided to go to that for a bit.  Ended up walking a few KM while there was it was next to a big nature reserve.

I had lunch then headed home, all in all a very good weekend, with fabulous company.  

 

 

Heavy metal seafood adventures

 

Before we start with the adventures :

Gluten free diet really seems to have improved matters, I am now full time TGF , or GFT ! 😊

I have switched to 3 pumps in the morning, instead of 2 in the morning, 2 at night. I had thought to try this to see if I slept better, but no change !

Adventures ! 

Day 1 - Wednesday - Scarborough + Judas Priest  

I have never seen Judas Priest live, despite being a fan since being a teenager. I never had anyone to go with, and would have been too anxious to do so pre-transistion.

The lovely Charlotte was up for going, but it was on a Wednesday night in Scarborough, so was a bit inconvenient to just go for the evening. So we decided to make a trip of it, and do a few days in Whitby on the Thursday and Friday. 

I had booked the hotel for Scarborough, picking a 2 start within walking distance to the open air theater where the gig was to be held.  I set off for hers in the morning, we had some lunch then headed to Scarborough early afternoon.  On arrival we had to find a pay and display nearby as the hotel parking was scarce and all taken.

We could hear the sound check from the carpark when we arrived, which was nice, got a bit excited by this.  On check-in , we were offered an early evening meal which had been put on especially for the gig, as normal times would have been too late. There wasn't much nearby so we did go for this.

The room was lovely - we spent a lot of our stay wondering why it was only 2 stars, it was excellent service, food and surroundings. 

It rained heavily during the afternoon, so we didn't get up to much just chilled out for a bit until was time for food.  We didn't get fully made up for the gig, in case we got food down our outfits tho.   

I had roast turkey and veg, Charlotte had  Cod in hollandaise with salad - it was lovely. 

We got ready pretty quickly, and headed down to the one stop shop near the venue for some water - we were allowed to take in one sealed bottle only. 

The security was not anywhere as strict as it seemed it would be, and we got through fine, and ascended a path that would take us to the top of the bank that the seats are located.  I had to ask a nice man for directions as had missed our area.  

The rows of seats were very steep, which did lead to problems later for some drunken people.  I had chosen some very near the end of the row, as i don't like to feel trapped.

We watched the support band  "Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons" who were OK, but a bit too generic rock for our liking, then there was a 20 minute break or so while they moved all their gear out of the way to reveal the JP setup. 

We took the opportunity to risk the portaloo's - which were as you would expect.

They were on time starting off, and set list was excellent, mainly the classic hits - I had thought they would play a lot of their new album but I'm not even sure there was a single song from it. 

The visuals got more impressive as it got darker, the crowd were really loving it, quite a lot standing in front of stage, and plenty of people bouncing off each other as is the fashion for testosterone fueled beings. 

There was a group of men, mostly older than us who were a few rows down, one of them had fallen into the row below when he first attempted to get to his seat. They had clearly all being drinking heavily.  Another one ended up going over 2 rows, and seemed to headbutt a lady in the back of the head during one song.  No idea how they didn't get
chucked out ! 

We had to stand up to let people get out to go to the bar and the loo a fair bit too. But i couldn't have stood for the whole gig, so even the fairly uncomfortable seats were better than that.

Towards the end Rob was wheeled out onto stage on a motorbike - I had seen video's of them doing this at much bigger gigs, but really wasn't expecting it at this one, it wasn't a huge stage. That did make my evening 😊

They did do a bit of a tribute to Ozzy too of course, which was nice - but they didn't overdo it. 

We left after the last song, I wasn't sure if they would do an encore, and it seems I guessed correctly.  It was a short but more painful walk to the hotel as it was uphill.

Decided to go to the bar for a drink before bed, as we hadn't wanted to consume at the gig for fear of needing the loo ! 

Charlotte managed to tip her drink over by accident, and the bar man replaced it for free - we were amazed !!! 

Think we were in bed before midnight so not a late one.

 

Day 2 - Thursday - Whitby  

We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel in Scarborough, Charlotte was on fish again - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.  I had a fry up, and managed to spill apple juice all over myself ! 

The drive to Whitby was fairly slow, but uneventful - we were parked up at the sports centre car park by about 10:15. 

I showed her the whale bones, and the haunted tunnel to the death stairs, then we did some window shopping and wandered over to the other side of the river to look at the east pier.  I don't recall ever going on this, so thought might as well.

For lunch, I had suggested the Magpie which is supposed to be the best place in town, but people were queuing already, and was a bit anxious so we decided on Harry's next door, which looked nice but was also significantly cheaper than the Magpie.

I had GF scampi, and Charlotte had half a lobster - she reported it was absolutely delicious 4 stars !!  - mine was also very nice.

Next we went back over the river, then up the 199 steps to the Church for a look around, then on-wards to the Abbey which was explored along with the museum.  The brewery next door was next, we had a swift half. 

The swing bridge was up when we walked back towards the car, so we had to stop in at a micro pub called 'The Green Dragon' for a refreshing beverage. It was female run, and was giving off a bit of a lesbian vibe, and had lots of nice proper beer and a good can fridge too. A lot of it was GF too !  -  we returned several more times
:)

We trekked back to the car, then to the hotel to check in.  They were very pleasant with us, and our room was very spacious and in good order.  The shower had no hot water, but we had been told this pre-arrival and offered a discount of refund. We took the discount 😊

After unpacking, and a bit of a lay down, we headed back out for our tea.  Got a bit of mild transphobia on the walk to the bar I had picked, but didn't put us off our stride.

My GF pizza had all the cheese in the known universe on it, and could only manage half - it was OK aside from the excessive cheese though.  Charlotte had Hake and mussels, but they were not shelled and not so good, so she only gave that 2 stars.

Three pubs were done next, the 'Arch and Abbey' one of my favorites from previous visits - it has flat cider on, and have always found friendly.  'Beer O'clock' was next - it has gender neutral loos, and I did enjoy it last year, but seemed a bit unwelcoming this time.

So we ended up back at the Green Dragon which was very nice. 

Day 3 - Friday 

The hotel breakfast was lovely, they had GF option for the sausages and hash browns, so i did that. Charlotte had smoked haddock and poached eggs. 

They had cleaned our room while we were eating which was unexpected !  

After breakfast we walked along the beach into town, I got some sunglasses from a tat shop, and we waited a little bit for the lobster hatchery to open.  As you may have gathered a lot of these adventures relate to fish 😂

It was a small but very interesting aquarium with a lobster hatchery at one end that you
could peer into through big windows.  We looked at the exhibits which didn't take too long, but then spent ages talking to a guide who was loitering by the hatchery.  Fishermen bring in pregnant females they catch, and the eggs are harvested using tanks and cunning systems. Once the tiny lobsters are ready they are released by divers, or on the shoreline by volunteers.  

Once we had learned enough about lobsters, we headed back over the river to the beach past the east pier to do a bit of rock pooling, and Jet searching. But on the way we stumbled into a Jet shop, and accidentally purchased fabulous things.

I got a penguin necklace, and Charlotte got an octopus necklace and matching earrings. They are amazing though ! 

We stashed them in our adventure bag and headed to the rock pools via the  smokery, we didn't buy anything just had a look what they had.

We spent a good while on the beach, looking for tiny fish and crabs and such, it was a lot of fun.  Also picked up a selection of black-ish rocks that seemed like they might be jet, but after some research is likely just coal.

We did find a few fossils - although surprised there are any left, there were plenty of people out with hammers chipping away at them.  

With our appetites worked up, we again crossed the bridge to the other side, and went to a restaurant we had spied the previous day 'The Fishermans Wife'.  It had a great view of the pier very airy and ceiling fans so lovely and cool. 

I had sampled a bit of Charlotte's lobster previously and had enjoyed so ordered one, but they had run out ! - So we both ended up with a dressed crab salad, which was still amazing - Charlotte gave 5 stars.  She also had oysters with gin and cumber dip.

I am not trying oysters 😬

After lunch we did the west pier, the lifeboat museum and pottered about.  Charlotte bought a turquoise ring from a cool crazy lady in a hippie shop - narrowly avoiding having to purchase the ring sizer which got stuck on her finger 😂

There was talk of us doing a boat ride, but it was a bit close and there wasn't one for ages, so we had a coffee and contemplated tea time options. It seemed silly to walk all the way back to the hotel just to chill for an hour, so we just plodded about and tried not to buy much.  I think I got some more earings, and some rock for my boys.

Dinner was had at Cosa Nostra, which was as you would have guessed italian.  We were all the way up at the top of the place up many stairs.  Our legs were not good from being out all day, but we managed it ! 

A family was seated near us shortly after we arrived, but the the father decided they didn't want to sit there and demanded to be downstairs.   I am not too sure if it was the dizzying heights or the two trans girls he wasn't keen on, it felt a bit odd.

Food was great, I made the mistake of ordering some Rose wine, which wasn't going down very well.  I had a GF pizza, Charlotte - can you guess - had fish ! Seabass and muscles in shells 4.5 Charlotte stars.

We were very close to the Green Dragon, so we popped in there to be sociable. I left the loo with my dress tucked in my knickers, but a older goth trans woman kindly told me !

After this we went back to the hotel via the Arch and Abbey where I had a number of lovely ciders, and we talked rubbish for ages 😊 

It was a fabulous day, but was knackered by the time we got back.

Day 4 - Saturday

We had another fabulous breakfast, then packed up and took our bags to the car.  The
plan was to go to the Steampunk fair at the Pavilion, then head to the Fortunes smokery to purchase Kippers to have back at Charlottes when we went back to Hull later that day.

Charlotte managed to have yet another fish dish, maintaining her unbroken streak since Wednesday evening !! - it was smoked salmon and scrambled eggs this time.  She helped me finish off some of my GF breakfast too.

We bought some fancy jewellery and some jewelry making supplies at the steampunk market - everyone was very friendly - that whole scene is a bit androgynous - not unusual to see a smartly dressed gentleman in what could only be women's boots.

After this, we headed (once again) over the other side of town to Fortunes smokery to purchase kippers for tea.  There was a miscalculation and we ended up with twice as much as Charlotte assumed we would need, thinking that we had one each, when we had bought four. But no bad thing ! 

It was nearing lunch time by the time we got back to the side the car was on, so we decided to have lunch before heading off - Charlotte had a really expensive crab
sandwich and I got some scampi.

A lady on the cliff top warned us that sometimes the seagulls attack from behind ! she had been done the previous day, so we were very careful while eating. 

Since we had been at seaside towns for 4 day and not had one yet, we decided an ice-cream was called for. Then we headed back to Hull.

We went the scenic route past what is left of the golf balls, but it was a disappointing drive do to slow people. Got back OK though.

In the evening we had the kippers with new potatoes, they were lovely (5* from C)  ! then we watched a sci-fi film, which i think was pretty bad from what i remember.

Charlotte wasn't drinking as had a 10K race the next day ! 

 

Day 5 - Sunday  

We headed off early to South Cave for her 10K race.  Luckily was nice running weather, not too hot or cold.   

We got her number and such and walked to the start area. After they had gone, I  made my way to the finish area. 

Got myself a bacon sarnie and found an elevated perch to sit and wait for them to start to come in. I think the 1st place was under half an hour !

I did get finish line photo's, but she was knackered by the time she finished so won't be publishing her grimace ! 

She did really well , coming 1st in the non-binary class !

I drove us home in her car, as it was a massive queue to get out, and using the clutch after a 10K would not have been fun.

We had some lunch, then relaxed in the afternoon and then I headed off back home in time for tea. It was a nice way to spend the day.

 

Final Thoughts

We turned a lot more heads in Whitby than I had done on previous visits - perhaps because it wasn't goth weekend. I guess when the whole place is full of weird looking people two trans girls don't stand out so much.

It wasn't really bad, we still had an amazing time, it's just something we have not really experienced much in other places.  Doesn't put me off going back again, was just not expecting it really.

Of course there were 10's of times as many positive interactions than negative, but I thought worth mentioning. 

The food was glorious, I had not really tried any of the lovely places we ate at on previous visits. Aside from the one mountain of cheese pizza I had , it was all fantastic. Charlotte enjoyed it very much too. 

We didn't even end up trying the two more highly rated places either. 

Judas Priest is ticked off the list, it was great to see them perform, I never thought i would to be honest. To still be doing big shows at their age is brilliant.  Most of the audience was older than us, there were youngsters in the mosh pit, and standing areas tho. 

Going to be a hard break to beat !!  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolling to a halt

 

Things that have occurred since the 4th of July 

9th of July, my eldest got the bus to college for an induction day, I parked up nearby to make sure it turned up and he didn't require a lift - all was well thankfully 😌

11th of July - East Yorkshire Thoroughbred  Car Club show at the Humber Bridge. I was staying at Charlotte's for the weekend and took Josephine to show.  My brother and my friend Alice were attending too - 1st time had shown at an event with my brother present, and first time he would meet any of my friends.

Aside from some horrific detour due to the M62 being closed by an accident, it was a pleasant if slightly shorter evening.  My brother seemed at ease with my friends - it was nice for him to see I was not the only T in the village 😀

The next day I took Charlotte out to a country house in Josephine,  but we ran into problems half way, the clutch actuating rod snapped in half, leaving me unable to select any gear while moving - which is sub optimal.  

We were on a fast A-road coming off a roundabout, and going slightly downhill when it happened, so luckily I managed to roll her into a large concreted field entrance. 

I have breakdown thankfully, and after 40 mins to so a man with a recovery truck arrived to take us back to Charlotte's. He was OK didn't really speak to us after picking us up.

After arriving back, we had lunch - as had intended to eat at the cafe at the country house. Then we spent the afternoon bodging - we headed to B&Q to purchase some bolts and a bit of metal I could use to join the remainder of the rod and a new bolt.  The fix worked well and did get me home fine the next day.

In the evening  we went around some bars on Newland Avenue in Hull - by coincidence a friend that is usually otherwise engaged was free, and another was going to visit her. Plus some of Charlotte's trans-hull friends were around, so there ended up being quite a big group of us.  The last bar shut at midnight, but I was a bit merry and gave Charlotte little choice in going to the gay quarter in town for a few more G+T's. 

I was not so well in the morning 😢  - but did get home OK.

 

18th of July  - Due to inset days, and my eldest being finished with school now his exams are over, i found myself with a day off and both kids at my disposal.

So decided to be good, and make the most of it.  I took them both to see my parents in the morning - they don't get to seem them that often.  Then afterwards to McDonalds for lunch to treat them a bit.  Then popped into Sainsburies on the way home for something for me - I am giving gluten free a go, as it does seem to help with my digestive issues.

In the afternoon we took their drones to the playing field and had a go with them - they had not used them in ages. It was a fun half an hour or so, we tried shooting some video from them which worked quite well.

19th of July - Day before Leeds Pride, I had suggested to my friend Benni that we get a room the night before pride, as well as for the evening, as we were meant to be going to see one of the LFF admins speak on stage at the pre-form up event. 

I got into Leeds by 3pm , she wasn't arriving till 5ish and there was no point going earlier as the check-in was 3.   We met up at 5ish, and went for Pizza at Tapped, I had a nice GF ham and mushroom. 

We did a few bars afterwards, then headed to an LFF organised cocktail event hosted by Lucy.  We had a really nice time , and some nice cocktails. There were 6 of us, as at least 4 didn't turn up - which was a shame.  

After this we decided to try the roof top bar of the hotel we were staying at  - The Hyatt. It was nothing special, so we got some photo's of the view (mainly ourselves in front of the view)  then had a fairly early night.

 

20th of July - Leeds Pride 

We had breakfast at the hotel, which wasn't as nice as the last time I stayed there. Got ready and walked the fairly long way to the pre-parade event near the city museum. We stopped on the way to buy poncho's as it was already raining, and looking like it was going to get worse.  

We got our water confiscated on entry which was annoying, and then found out that Kandice who we were going to watch speak had been moved earlier in the set list, and we had thus missed her.  But we did manage to meet up with everyone else who was parading and get our lanyards.

After a while we walked as a group to where we were meant to be in the parade - quite a few groups had already formed up, so it was a bit of a squeeze to get us all  in.  I had been promoted to a banner carrier due to a no-show. 

It took a while for us to move off, I had put my poncho on, as I wouldn't be able to to with one hand on the banner once we set off.   Unfortunately we barely made any progress before a group (unseen to me) had blocked the parade as part of a protest about some of the corporate sponsors.  It took a while for the police to move them - I didn't see more than 15 or so when we did have to walk past them kettled up against some shops by as many officers.

The rest of the parade was as normal, just a bit damper on occasion - spectator turnout was still very impressive, and lots of love and support on the way.  I was looking out for Charlotte and her kids to wave at them on the route, as they had come to spectate too. But due to the poor accuracy of the map pointer on our shared locations on WhatsApp, i was looking at the wrong side of the street. Apparently they were screaming at me, but with the rest of the noise from the crowds I had no chance.

After the march had ended, I sneaked off before the rest of the LFF crew went to do a group photo - instead heading back to where Charlotte and kids were - the tail of the parade was still passing them by the time i arrived back.

I spend an hour or so with them, we went and found a nearby cafe to grab a drink. After walking back to the pride area, and car park that Charlotte was in, I said my goodbyes and re-joined Benni to check into our next hotel.

We freshened up then went to a food place where LFF had booked a section for us all. Unfortunately not much GF food, so I could only order gnocci which was a little salty, but better than nothing,

After an hour or so mingling with other LFF'ers we headed off with Alice and Rebekka for a drink, with Bella joining us too for a bit.

Then myself and Benni went back to the main pride area to watch Liberty X, then a Chappell Roan cover band.  The cover band was excellent, really enjoyed it - although only knew a few songs.

I hadn't had much to eat all day, so got some chicken and chips from a food stall, then we went to the Bridge End Social for a few frames of pool - which I lost 😔

Then on-wards to Tapped to meet up with Alice for one last drink ! 

I had booked the morning off work, so was not in a massive rush the next day. We had breakfast at the hotel,  then I headed off after rush hour had ended.  Didn't get much done at work, but was at least signed on and available !!

It was a very nice weekend !