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 ! 

 

 

 

 

Progesterone blues

 

Medical updates 

I had a few packs of Progesterone left, and figured I should give it another go. Partly because I was having sleep issues, and it did seem to knock me out a bit the last time i used, but also some boob envy of one of my friends !!

 Unfortunately they were of no help with my sleep, i have been told that the blocker i am on acts as a stimulant and could possibly be affecting me.  But I don't want to stop those.

 Anyway, i went back on the P for a while, a few weeks - boob sensation did increase, which was nice, but I had digestive issues.  They seemed to resolve themself when I stopped taking it, so I am pretty confident that it was the cause.  So I have stopped taking again.  Convinced my nipples are a bit bigger in recent months. My boobs certainly seem to be.

I haven't made any more progress with pride in health, they wanted a full blood test, but I haven't made an appointment to see my doctor to ask for those yet. I am in no rush I have supplies to last me till the end of the year currently.

I have also started to split my E dose, doing 2 pumps in the morning, 2 at night - i might revert this see if it helps with sleep.

 

Exercise  

I'm trying to get back into running, i've only been out twice in the last month, but so far seems to be going well. I had stopped as I had a recurring injury with my right foot.  I am trying to keep my distance low, and perhaps try and go out more often. Rather than stress my foot out too much with a long run.

The previously mentioned boob growth has led to issues with running, my sports bra is just not up to the task, and it now hurts.  So I have ordered a 2nd hand posh one off Vinted. If it works much better I will perhaps get a new one.   

Still doing the swimming, I managed 46 lengths last week - they are not letting us in early anymore, so it's a struggle to get to 50 and have enough time to change.

I have been horse riding again, I was on Bob this time - I seem to get a different one each time I go.   I had a proper work out on him, trying to trot, I did seem to make progress towards the end, but I was considering ending it and getting off at one point, it was soooo warm and it was getting tired and worried I might faint !

 

Adventures

21st of June - Blackpool :

Stayed with my fiend Bella, just for Saturday and the evening.  We went to Lytham St Ann's during the day for some charity shopping. It was incredibly hot and humid, and I really didn't feel that great at all.  We only had an hour and half on the parking so I didn't suffer too long.

She has a fab garden room with a projector and sound system and a nice sofa, so in the evening we just chilled and watched a film. Had a lovely pizza from Lidl. It was a relaxing night, neither of us fancied going out to the pub.  

 

26th of June - Hull  

I visited Charlotte in Hull, we watched some Murderbot on Thursday night - I loved the books, and got Apple TV just to watch this.   

Friday morning we did some Charity shops, had a drink in a coffee shop ( I had a very seedy berry thing !! ) then we headed in to the city center for lunch.   It was a bit smokey due to a ship fire in the harbor, but we thought nothing of it.  We went to a museum in the art gallery for lunch, but were evacuated before it arrived.  

I have the receipt, but there was only a number to call, and I just couldn't be bothered to try and get my money back - too stressful.   

In the afternoon we went riding - as per exercise section.  

Saturday we had a pleasant walk around a nature reserve, and popped into a farm shop. She cooked us a lovely fish pie which had with her middlemost, then I drove home in the evening. 

 

 

4th of July - Leeds First Friday

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous, I made sure I ate a decent sized lunch at home before heading into Leeds.

I met up with the lovely Ann, and we attempted to buy Pride VANS , but apparently they don't come out till this month - which seems a bit odd.  I ordered some off Vinted instead.  

She hadn't eaten so I took her to a nice place and she had a steak - but she didn't seem to like it that much.  Chips were overdone.

We headed to Friends of Ham which was the first bar on the Pints and Straws Itinerary, and met up with the usual suspects, Benni had brought a CIS male friend along for the experience ! 

The afternoon progressed as normal, beer and chatting, it was a good one.  I was having such a nice time i even managed to leave my mobile at one of the bars !

Got it back ok though :)

I checked into the Hyatt during the last hour at the North Taproom - it's very close.  Very impressed with the hotel, first time i had stayed. 

After the last PNS pub, I headed to Tapped to get a Pizza - I had been invited to go for a Thai but I was being careful with my digestive system.

I had a gluten free ham and mushroom which was lovely - coincidental two other friends had the same idea so I ended up sat with them, and another two people i knew turned up later on too.

Went back to my room to change after this, then headed to the Bridge End Social for the main event.  It was a fairly busy crowd which was nice. Played a game of pool with Ann and caught up with some others - Sally turned up there too which was nice.

After this we went to Northern Guitars for a bit, sat out the back which we took over. Then on-wards to Behind Closed Doors.

I feeling a bit gassy towards the end of the night, and Ann had given my hiccups with some jokes about farting in lifts, so I decided to call it a night after this one.  It was just after midnight before I got back to bed,

Saturday morning 

Didn't sleep too well unfortunately - but this did mean i was up early for breakfast - which was good, really liked the sausage and black pudding, they were not cheap ones.

There was a gothic market on at the markets, but nobody was up as early as me, so I had to wait for them to get a move on.

Met up with Benni and her friend Mike at the Corn Exchange -  we had a bit of a look around there, then headed to the market.  

I managed to get two pairs of my favorite cat/bat earrings that I have previously lost twice ! 

We spend a good hour looking around there I think, then went to Bridge End Social for a drink, as I needed to get back home. 

All in all, a very nice weekend !  

 

 

 

 

 

A foresaken beauty

 

13th of June ,  East Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Club

I was off to Hull that weekend, and it turned out there was a free to attend classic car meet at northern car park of the Humber bridge.

Did need to register prior to turning up, which was a bit of a pain as it didn't like my primary email, so had to do it twice. I invited my friend Alice to come along too, as she is not that far away, and does invite me to some herself.

It was quite a hot day, so driving from mine to Hull wasn't that pleasant, but i made good time.  I went to Charlotte's to pick her up, and also wait for her friend Danni who is also a classic car enthusiast - she has a pride flag on her car roof !! 

We got to the car park fine, and Alice soon joined us, along with another lady who I have totally forgotten their name.

I was a really nice show, there were loads of cars, some nice food vans, and of course an ice-cream van.  We had some food there, and looked at plent
y of cars.  It seemed like every Vauxhall Nova still in existence was there, several of us commented that we hadn't see so many since the 90's.   

There were some friendly members of the GCCG  (Gay Classic Car Group)  that came and talked to us a bit - it's open to LGBTQ+ members, i had seen their stand at the NEC last year. 

It didn't go on too long, and it was starting to look a bit sparse by 8pm, and we said our goodbyes.  

 

14th of June, Spurn Point 

Myself and Charlotte had been talking about doing Spurn for a while, it is somewhere we both like exploring. I had tried to take my wife and kids a few years ago, but they were put off by the sand blowing across the exposed section of spit, and had turned around before anywhere near the main part of the point. I continued and had a lovely afternoon while they were bored at the visitor center ....

We drove there fairly early, and was parked up by about 10:45am.  I had applied loads of sun cream - but it seems not everywhere ! 

 I had only gone in a light dress, as it was expected to be hot that day, but some cloud cover and wind made it a bit cool for the first half an
hour or so. It did eventually become quite warm later on.   We walked down the seaward side of the beach, to start with. The aim was to get to the lighthouse - which serves cold drinks and ice cream and has benches - where we would eat our packed lunches.

The sand on the beach was a bit hard going so it took a bit longer than i had anticipated, but we still managed to get to the lighthouse just after midday. 

We got some drinks from the friendly lighthouse attendant, and sat on the bench outside. We were very careful not to touch any furry caterpillars, as they can cause skin irritation and breathing difficulties !

After sandwiches, and crisps and such we headed back into the lighthouse to pay to ascend it.  It's 128 ft high with 3 floors and the light area at the top.  There were some displays and things of interest to look at on the way to the top, but being able to get into the top of it is the primary attraction.  You get a fab view, almost 360, there is a small bit that is blanked off.

The steps to the top are very steep and they recommend you treat it like a ladder on the way down. 

We stayed up there quite a while - there were not that many people on the point it seems that day.  We did meet one chap who was ascending but there was room to pass on one of the walkways. 

After this, we headed towards the end of the point, using the path down the middle as it was easier going.  We did some investigation of things along the way, eventually getting to the abandoned RNLI accommodation and cafe area. We discovered that the loo's still existed and were operational - although one was a bit wet under foot.  Met a nice lady in there who was very friendly to both of us.

We decided to try and get right to the end, so after a dead end due to a dangerous path that had been closed, we did make our way further on. We passed by the ruined gun emplacements, but didn't try and get in any. It seemed more closed off that my previous visit, lots of boards up.

I was using my 360 video camera for this bit so didn't get any photo's but we did get there. 

We walked onto the beach, and then took a right to head down the inland side, but only for a bit as that side of the point is not so good for walking down.  We eventually ended back at the RLNI station and used the main path to go back.  

We did meet a lady who from a distance inquired something along the lines 'how far to the end ladies'  , but then who seemed to be confused by us as she got closer. It was a bit odd, but not upsetting. 

Popped back into the lighthouse for more water, as we had drunk
our supplies and we were both quite hot by then !

I was quite tired, and the trek back for me seemed a lot more arduous than my leggy companion. But we still had enough energy to try and walk on all the bits of the road that had been washed away on the exposed part of the spit. 

Was very glad to get into an air conditioned car for the drive back to Hull !!

 

14th of June, Beat the Clock Disco - Hull

Yes after a day of walking, we were off dancing !! 

We had a pizza, some wine, a shower and got changed, then got a taxi to Princes Avenue, arriving at HOi for about 20:45 

The disco was upstairs, but it doesn't really get going till later, so we had some drinks in the bar downstairs first.  I had a baby Guinness, some actual Guinness and then discovered they did my favorite flat cider brand 'Seacider' - i think it was Bakewell Tart flavor - it's gorgeous.

We headed upstairs about 10pm, and I got some seats.  Gemma, Emily and possibly Danni were expected to come along later, but they were attending a comedy show 1st so we were not sure when they were due.  

We did a fair bit of dancing, even with tired legs - it was pretty good music. They do 60's 70's and 80's but try and steer clear of all the 'best of' type hits that get overplayed. It's all on original vinyl too.

The others did eventually turn up, but were not there that long.  We we thinking about heading off just after midnight, so i booked an uber for us, and we waited downstairs in the bar for it to arrive.

It was a fab night, i really like that event and venue, and excellent company too of course  🤣

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burning for you

 

'Burning for you' - A favorite blue Oyster cult song, appropriate for a number of reasons concerning this weekends adventures 😊

But first i need to do a blog post about everything I have failed to blog about so far !! 

8th of May: Chameleons !  - I can't remember much about this, but i was there !

10th of May :  Church Fete, my friend Alice does a bit of a vintage vehicle display outside her local church every year. I had been once before and displayed Josephine, and did the same again this year.  However this time I got to drive one of her tractors !!! 

It was so much fun !!!   We went to a pub for tea afterwards, I had a very nice pork dish with crackling.  Was on the Guinness Zero so I could drive home afterwards.  It was a really fun day.  

11th of May: Trans Swimming !  

16th of May : Went to Hull on the Friday to visit my friend Charlotte, we had a lemon pasta linguine that she cooked which was lovely.  I think we watched one of the Star War films.

17th of May: Headed into Leeds, I was meeting old school friends in the afternoon for a mini pub crawl (loosely based on my Pints and Straws one) . I was a bit nervous about meeting them all, only one has seen me dressed before - but all had known for a while. It went well, and spent a lovely few hours catching up with them.  

 

 

In the evening, Charlotte re-joined, and we had a Not-Birthday meal for her at Cut and Craft.  The food was excellent, and the service was incredibly quick !  I had the cheapest steak on the menu - just labeled 'Flat Iron' , it was probably the 2nd best i've ever had - only marginally pipped by an expensive fillet at Goucho's.  But if you factor in the price it was the best by a mile. We did some cocktails, and I had a few more beers in the evening, it was a really nice day.

 

 

On the Sunday we sought a place for breakfast and ended up a fab cafe / cheese monger
combo in the Corn Exchange. We both enjoyed our sandwiches, then spent a load of money on cheese and their fine selection of canned fish !

 

 

22nd of May :  Chameleons , the lovely Wig ladies were in, as was Sally and Ann. Was a fab night, I did go a bit early as I didn't want to be tired for the morning as has blood tests.

 

 

 

 

23rd of May :  Had my NHS blood tests in Barsley, grabbed a pork pie from the market for lunch.

26th of May :  Went to Lotherton with Charlotte, we did a tour of the deer park on a
tractor ! You got to see them really up close as they threw food next to the trailer. 

The weather wasn't the best, we had showers and was a bit under dressed, but still had a nice time. I had gone in Josephine too, I don't like getting her damp, but the it was sunny when I set off.

 

 

30th of May :  My 2nd riding lesson, it went well !  I had Nero this time, he was lovely very similar in size look, and temperament to Gordon.   

It was very warm, and I got a bit more of a workout, as we were attempting to trot ! My timing is still atrocious, but I think I am getting better. I am not standing when the saddle is coming up, which isn't ideal for my undercarriage ! 

I am booked in again to ride later this month, hoping next time will be better.   

 

6th of June : Leeds First Friday - It was good to be back, I had missed the previous one due to being in Wales.   Grabbed a bagel at Flamingos with Benni for lunch, then did the Pints and Straws bar crawl. There we not that many there, but it was still good.  My friend Jess from Bristol was waiting for us outside the Travelodge as we made our way to pub 3 , I was sober enough to be looking out for her :) 

We ended in the Tetley, where a really weird (and likley on drugs) guy decided to gatecrash our group and start asking for relationship advice. It slowly got worse over the minutes, and he was soon on to telling us which ones of us he knew were blokes.  We were getting to the end of the event anyway, but we made a hasty retreat when he went to the loo. 

A number of us ate at the Adephi - I wasn't that enamored with my food, it was a belly pork dish, it was way too salty for my liking, and not what i needed after a load of beer. 

The others seemed to like theirs though. Not sure i will go there again for food.

We headed over to the Bridge End social after this - after being chased by a barmaid who thought we had one dish still to pay for - a straggler was finishing there's in a leisurely fashion and hadn't been to pay yet :)

I ended up on the pool table there, my friend Jess likes a game or too.  Ended up doing winner stays on, and I think I played 4 games, but only one 2.  One of the crown had challenged me, she was very unlucky. 

After this we did Northern Guitar, The Viaduct, and the End Bar.  I don't think I had eaten enough so I wasn't feeling that great. I wanted to try and stay out till midnight for the sake of  Jess who had come all the way from Bristol - but I gave up at about 11:20pm. My digestive system was making bad noises.

Walked back to Vicar lane travelodge, and proceeded to have no sleep whatsoever overnight and spend a lot of time going to the loo.

I gave up at 6am ish, and decided just to drive home. Not the best ending to an LFF i've had, but I had enjoyed most of the day. 

8th of June : Trans swimming, 50 lengths again !  and this was in about 50 minutes, so I
am possibly getting faster.  I will need to do more lengths per minute if I have any hope of getting to the 1 mile figure of 74 lengths ! 

It doesn't seem that achievable at the moment !  

 

 

12th of June : Chameleons again !  - It was one of the ladies birthdays and they had
brought cake - I didn't actually eat and I had stuffed myself on chocolate fingers before they arrived 😂 

Sally was there, but no Ann this time as she was away with work.  Not many youngsters attended, but was a decent turnout.  

 

 

 

Anyway here endeth the catch up, I intend to do a detailed write up of this weekends adventures later in the week - totally not going to forget to do it , honest