Women Drivers Social Club

 

Saturday the 17th was my first meet up with the club. I had learned of it's existence when I had posted a picture of my car on the Morris Minor Owners Club Facebook page.

The trans flag grille had got mostly positive comments, but a few negative ones that people challenged on my behalf.

Anyway the largely positive reception had given me confidence to join the Facebook page for the WDSC, and I received a nice welcome on there to my introductory post.

There was a southern meeting of the group, which involved camping and a bit of a drive around to some motoring attractions earlier in the year, but I had already made plans for that weekend.

So when a northern event was planned I made sure to book tickets for that one.  The itinerary was
officially a Saturday/Sunday event, but it seems that quite a few people turned up the day earlier - so I did miss out on one evening.  

The meeting point for the Saturday was the NY500 café near Pickering ( https://ny500.co.uk )

I had been packing the day before, so was mostly ready to get going, just needing to gather up my makeup and mirror and wash bag.

I didn't have any breakfast, as the plan was to eat brunch there.  The drive over was pretty uneventful,  I did video snippets of it, in case I wanted to do a video later.

NY500

I arrive bang on the 10:30am meeting time, to find I was the 1st there - there were plenty of bikers
around, I got a nice comment on the car.  I decided to have a sausage sandwich and a tea while I waited.

I think it was around 10:45 before everyone else turned up, they were in convoy as had come from the camp site.  They had clearly seen the car, I had parked right out the front, and when they parked up they had left a gap for me to move mine into, so we had them all arranged in a line, which was nice.

They were quite a friendly bunch, and I did manage to talk to most of them.  I sat with a number of them while they ate their breakfasts indoors.  Another group sat outside, it was quite a nice morning so was still pleasant out there. 

One of the girls was trans, which I had known about before I came, and was nice that there was
someone else there - although I didn't really want to get talking to her about that aspect, as I didn't want to throw up a divide between ourselves and the rest of the group as such,

The café itself doubles as a showroom for a small number of classics, and also a bit of a museum. There are chopper bicycles arranged around the upper walls of one part.  It was quite a nice place, and friendly staff too.

We were intending on leaving the café for a drive around the moors, towards Goathland, where we were supposed to go for a wander and more refreshment.  However one of the attendees had not yet arrived, and there was news they were limping in to the café shortly.

The straggler was in a Hillman Imp, which had a potentially disastrous petrol leak.  After it arrived and promptly died in the middle of the car park, it was pushed into a space, and the ladies got to work on disassembling and re-assembling the carburettor.  Other than spotting and picking up a gasket that had made an escape attempt, I didn't do much to help.

A lot of them were very much more experienced than me, some doing it for a living. They eventually stopped it pouring petrol in the ground, and converted it back from an external combustion engine to an internal one :)  , and it was able to start.

Saturday Drive Out

We headed out in convey shortly afterwards.  The drive was fun, lovely scenery, the roads were a bit
more vertical than I remembered, we did some 30% hills, both up and down.  There were a few fords, but unfortunately dry so no fun with the water.

Unfortunately there was a village fair at Goathland, which meant the place was packed and nowhere to park. So the refreshments and village tour was skipped, and we drove on continuing the senic route. We stopped for some photo's briefly.  

The route took us back to the NY500 café, where we re-grouped, as had got a bit fragmented in traffic on the way back.  We got a few more photo's then headed for the camp site.

Camping

We were staying here:  https://www.valeofpickering.co.uk  which was a really nice place.  It had it's own café and shop, and really good toilet blocks.  Would definitely go back again.

After checking in, and setting up my tent , I joined the others who had gone to the fish and chip van which visited the site on certain evenings.  Ended up holding a place for a lady who needed to get her toddler back to her caravan, we had a short but nice conversation - everyone seemed very friendly.

We gathered our camping chairs around and ate the food together, and then we sat around with what alcohol we had all brought along and talked.  

The organiser Becca had brought a friendship bracelet kit, and was sat making one, didn't realise everyone had one, and she was making one for me :)  - I was most touched
by this !

It was getting a bit cold , so I was eventually sat with leggings, a dress, a hoodie and a jacket on by the end of the night :) - was also quite tired.

I think it was about 11pm when I said goodnight, I wasn't the first one to head off, and I don't think they stayed up much longer.

Sunday 

I didn't sleep too well, I was quite cold, had a thick nightie on, and my hoodie in the sleeping bag.

I ended up needing the loo at 1am, which didn't help.  Did manage to sleep a bit at least.

The on-site café opened for breakfast at 9am, so I had got up around 8am to get ready - made a cup of tea on my camping stove and did a cold shave in the tent, and put on my makeup.

The breakfast was really quite good, high quality ingredients - I had a full English of course.  I had made sure to be there as soon as it opened, as it didn't have many tables, so was served pretty quickly.  Most of the other ladies seemed to join us over the next hour or so.

Had a nice chat with a few of them over breakfast as well.

Those that were heading home that day , myself included packed up our tents as best we could and got them in the cars.

Group Photo

Before we set out on the days drive to the coast, we were going to do a group photo with all the cars arranged in a bit of a semi-circle, and us all stood around. I lent the nominated photographer one of my 3 meter selfie sticks to help with this. They turned out pretty good !

Coastal Drive

We were going to Filey , then back inland to stop at Thorton-le-Dale to explore and visit the famous Mathewsons Auctions - ( from Bangers and Cash TV show) , and get some food.

The drive to the coast was nothing special , the one the day before was a lot more fun - but it was still good to be in convoy and enjoying the cars.  We pulled up on double yellows along the seafront for a cheeky photo, and then drove back out of there - which was a shame, I thought we would get an ice-cream at the least :)

At Thorton-le-Dale we did the same illegal park to get a picture of us outside the auction house, and then found a car park.  

We had a look around some trinket shops, and a chocolate shop, and then onwards to the gift shop at the auction house. I got a mug for my dad who is a fan of the show :)

There was a nice picture of us with our friendship bracelets outside there too.

I had only put an hour on my ticket which had expired by the time we had left there, and was quite
tired. So instead of heading with them to a tea room, I decided to call it a day and start the drive home. It was only 1hr 30 mins away, but I also needed to find E5 petrol, as I had heard rumours the local garages only had E10, and I don't want that muck in her !

I had popped back into the chocolate shop to get gifts for my wife and kids first, was worried they might melt on the way home, but was assured if I kept them out of sunlight they would be fine.

I got back just after 4pm, feeling very tired indeed.

In Summary

 A really fab experience, and so lovely to be accepted as one of the group, it felt so nice. So glad I joined, and made the effort to go !  

There is another meetup in September although don't think there will be camping at this one. I am looking forward to going to this too.

Yet another catch-up post

Post Dales:

The week after my walking weekend I had the house to myself and a few days off.   Benni was still in the area sorting her mums house out for sale, so I took advantage of this and a meal out with her on one day,
and lunch on another.

Her mums house is only 20 minutes away from me, I don't really have many friends close so it was a nice change to do more casual meetup rather than it being a weekend away.

I also did some work on the car to try and sort some niggles that had come up on the trip.

Dyed my hair

It didn't work as well as I expected, I think i should have left it on longer, but it's still a nice colour on top. 

It did work a lot better than the 'foan' type one I used before, I may give this brand another go, but leave it on much longer next time.

Brunch with Ex-Colleagues

On the Wednesday (the 7th)  , I went into Leeds to meet up with two work colleagues who had sadly been made redundant recently.  One was a long time colleague 10 years+ who had come with me from my old company when we were bought.  We didn't speak that much at work, but did try and have a natter once a week, and it was nice having her there to chat to if I did need to.   

She was one of the first people I came out to, a few years ago (after my wife) , and had been very supportive with my intention to come out at work, so it was a shame she left around the same time that I did.  It was the first time she had seen me in person dressed - we had been on calls, and I had shown her pictures over the years.

It went really well, and we had brunch in Flamingo's in the Central Arcade in Leeds - a LGBTQ+ café, that doesn't do bad food.

There was also a male colleague who was also very nice, and I had been working with closely for a number of years - that all went good, he did screw up pronouns once, but clearly not intentional.

I banged the rear passenger side wheel arch getting the MG out of the multistorey car park, which was a shame. So she is no longer pristine :(

Chameleons

Made sure to get to this one, as I knew I would have to miss the next one due to a clash with Peterborough beer festival.  Ann had brought a ball gown for me to try on, as unfortunately it was too narrow on her shoulders. 

It seemed to fit OK, but I think I would struggle to eat much with it, was a bit tight on the tummy. Would love to lose some weight, but my feet have not been happy since the walking, and I haven't done as much exercise as I should these last weeks.

I also got rid of a weird head that Benni was chucking out, I managed to palm it off on Sally - there was talk of it perhaps being cursed, but I haven't heard anything from her to back that up yet :)

Was fab to catch up with Ann and Sally, and I did manage to speak with a newbie for a bit too - emailed her some information on LFF too :)

Saturday - The Yorkshire Wartime Experience

This is an annual event where there are lots of vintage military vehicles, some on static display, others take part in parades around a central field and also partake in mock battles with infantry reenactors.

The weather wasn't the best, but it was still a nice afternoon.  I got some bits at one of the tool stores, and had a good browse on some of the stalls which sold vintage clothes and accessories too.  From rocket launchers , uniforms, to handbags and hats :)

Popped into the beer tent for one, just to be sociable too.  Queued for ages to get a pizza for myself and the eldest, wasn't too bad. Made sure to get an ice-cream too 

We went to my parents on the way back, as it was fairly close to them - this would have been the 1st time they would have seen me in a dress. My brother and his girlfriend were there.  It didn't go too bad, but my brother did deadname me which took me by surprise.  Not sure if it was due to my dad seeming to not want to call me by my correct name, or just a simple mistake. 

Will have to see what happens in the future - I didn't correct him.

Sunday - Wakefield Pride

Pride was good, I got to meet up with some of the Trans-Wakefield lot. They didn't seem very organised in terms of joining the march, so I ended up sneaking into the Leeds council group, as there were a few people I knew in that one. Someone from LFF , and a partner of somebody who had previously been in Trans-Wakefield but had been kicked out, or left depending on who you asked.

The march itself isn't very long, and you end up in a car park with a stage and stalls.  There was some decent beer on, but I could only have a few halves.

I did meet a few other LFF's there which was nice, had a brief chat with them.  I stayed for a few hours, the Cheeky girls were meant to be on, but there was no schedule and I couldn't wait all afternoon so decided to head down the LGBTQ+ café  'Our House'  to see who was there.  

I popped into a charity shop and got some sun glasses and a dress on the way :)  

Had a hot chocolate in the café and found a couple of friends to talk to for a bit, then headed home.  It was a nice afternoon, and glad I went.

I'll be back

 

Cyberdyne Systems prototype model 69  'Isobel' proved unreliable in service, preferring to eat kebabs and drink beer rather than kill humans

What have I been up to  ( aside from not writing a blog )  :

• Leeds Pride -  21/07
• Chameleons - 25/07
• Family Meal  - 26/07
• Emley Moor -  28/07
• LFF - 01/08 - 02/08
• Walking In the Dales -  03/08 - 04/08

Leeds Pride 

It was really good, just did the Sunday this year as it wasn't tagged on the end of an LFF weekend.  I had my 360 camera on a 3 meter selfie stick and got the march.   The turnout was big, and it was such a nice atmosphere.  We had fun times in a few pubs afterwards, then onwards to the 'Boom Battle Bar' where there were games to play - they did Axe Throwing !!!! 

...but they were blunt axes , not sure if by design, or just lack of maintenance.

It was fun, but Rebecca won, I came 2nd at least.

Chameleons 

It was a good night as always :)  

Family Meal 

Myself, my wife and kids went to an Estabulo Bar and Grill in Barnsley - it's only worthy of note because it's not something I have done a lot of really at all.  Most of my outings over the last few years have been with my friends.  We haven't done a vast amount of outings as a family with me dressed.  This is clearly now going to change now.

It went well, and we had a nice time in the restaurant.  Afterwards we went to superdrug for some hair dye, then to the indoor market.  I bought a couple of dresses from one of the stalls on the upper level. 

Was a very pleasant afternoon.

Emley Moor

I was taking Josephine to the Dales in the few weeks time, and had been working on her, replacing the fuel tank and fuel line.  Decided to go for a pootle out to Emley Moor mast to make sure all was well before such a long journey - also I had never been before.

LFF

Benni and Ann were up the day before so we ended up meeting  up on Thursday night, eating out at Las Iguanas.  I had a few cocktails, and some spicy food - this was likely not the best idea I've ever had.  

I wasn't feeling great the next day, but got through till midnight, mostly drinking water - but I actually still had a really good time.  I wore a 'romantic' style dress , which was quite short for me, and my rainbow heels.  But I had to go change after a few hours, as the heels were killing me.

Pints and Straws was good, numbers were back up again.   I had gone in Josephine as I was taking her to the dales for a walking weekend with Alice, Rebecca and Olivia the day after.   Was a bit worried about leaving her in the car park, but nothing bad happened.

Dales Walking

I had breakfast in Leeds at Riveresque , met Olivia in the car park at Level 8 - she was very hungover. The journey over was OK aside from breaking down going up a steep hill on a windy road.  I had to change the ignition coil at the roadside. 5 or 6 people stopped to assist, but I didn't need them.

She managed to get us to the pub fine, but I was taking it a bit slower than normal, as had lost a bit of confidence in her.

Alice and Rebecca were already there when we got there , and had ordered lunch. So I did the same, and gave Oliva (who was still suffering) some of my chips.

After lunch we went up a hill which was very very steep and rocky , I was immediately feeling quite out of breath and not up to the task, and Alice was powering upwards at great speed - she has much longer legs than me.  But thankfully, the terrain became less vertical, and the walk much more enjoyable.   

It was a warm day, but we all had plenty of water with us. I got lent a walking pole which really did
help too.   We stopped at a pub after 10 km or so, and had a beer as well.   I was holding everyone up a bit on the way back to the pub we were staying at, but not bad enough to cause friction.

We had some lovely food - fox pie (didn't contain any fox, was chicken and shroom), and more beer in the evening, I was feeling very tired though, and ended up going to bed fairly early.

The next day we met for a fab fried breakfast, then headed out on another walk.  This one started off fairly leisurely, but we were going over a really big hill to another village with a pub, then the plan was to go back over the hill a different way back to our base pub.   This was not a fun hill, but we did make it up,

We had packed lunches from the pub which we ate at the highest point we got to - I happened to have a trans flag with me, so we also got some photo's of us all waving that :)

While descending into the next valley, Rebecca twisted her knee, and was in a bit of pain. We got down fine, and had a refreshing beer at the pub there. However she wasn't confident she should get back up the big hill, so we ended up going around the hill on the road, which was a lot longer in terms of
distance.  My feet were not good at all, and I was way behind at some points, But we did make it to civilisation eventually.   There was a pub in a village about 4km from where we were staying, so we had a couple in there to recover.   

The last 4km I had to go in front to set the pace otherwise they would have been stopping every 5 mins for me to catch up.  But the beer did help numb the pain a bit.

I was very glad to be back, and also to be on time for the evening meal we had booked.  I had a beef roast, which was fantastic.  I couldn't drink much more beer though, ended up on soft drinks,

My digestive system was most unhappy with what I had been putting it though, and I had a really bad nights sleep. 

Did manage to have breakfast the next day, and get home dropping Olivia off on the way. It was a really good weekend and so glad I did it !

 

Sparkle 2024

 

This was my 3rd Sparkle, and quite possibly my last if some rumours are to be believed !

The 1st one was magical, lovely weather, and well attended as it was the 1st after lockdown - it was a fabulous weekend. The second one was a bit of a let down due to torrential rain that spoilt both the day and evening.

This one we had OK weather, we were able to mingle in the gardens for the day events without fear of sunburn or requiring diving equipment.

Friday

I got there just after lunch on the Friday, meeting up with Ann, Benni and Stephanie who had arrived slightly before me.   

We grabbed some food,  had a beer in a nice little tap room and did a bit of shopping at Aflecks. We all seemed to end up with a pair of earrings :) - I can't actually remember what I did with mine, I might have to go hunting later !

We got changed met at the hotel bar where Charlotte also joined us, then we headed out for food at a pub we had seen on our travels - we had tried to get a table at a tapas place first but they were fully booked. 

Other friends were arriving later, and some were bringing companions, so it ended up with about 10 of us at the meal.  Was very nice food - I had a pint of Boddingtons, as I was told that this was one of the few places in Manchester you could still buy it.

It's not brewed there anymore, but still tasted better than I remember.

In the evening we attempted to be fairly good and not drink too much, but think we failed a little. We did a few places on Canal street. It was a good night.

Saturday

We had a breakfast at the hotel bar, which was pretty nice - usual fry up buffet. 

In the morning we headed to the gardens to look at the stalls and see what was on. Myself and Ann had a brief visit to a pub a short walk away to meet up with Gemma - it was somewhere I had fancied going last time, but turned out to look a lot better on the outside than the inside :)

We headed back to the gardens for a bit and went around more of the stalls.  A few of us went for food at a little bistro off canal street mid afternoon.  I actually went back to my room for a bit of a nap for an hour after this, the lack of sleep had caught  up with me.

After this re-charge we headed out for more food, which was a bit early really, but we wanted to hit the bars fairly quickly so thought was a good idea.  Ended up at a bar in the norther quarter - I got a spicy beef dish but it was very salty and didn't manage much of it.

There was some entertainment watching a peddle bar getting towed away on a trailers outside though.

In the evening it was more of the same, we did go to the gardens again initially, and had a beer in the refreshment tent and watched some of the acts on stage. Managed to talk to Grai the main LFF organiser which was nice - I hardly get chance to talk to her normally. 

Also met up with Romile who I seem destined to only meet for a few hours a year at a random event, but was nice all the same.

We had tickets for a club night that had been organised by Sparkle at 9pm, but did a few bars on Canal street first before walking the 10 minutes to the venue.  It was a bit of a shambles, apparently there was a communication issue where the club thought the DJ's were brining the equipment, but they thought the club was providing !

They left us queuing outside for 15 mins, moving where the queue was. Someone was trying to be helpful and get us in a different door, only for the door staff to send us back to where we were initially queuing. Then they started talking about getting ID, and bag checking us all - by this point a few of us were getting itchy feet and wanted to abandon ship, and I led the charge back to canal street, with a few trying to keep up in their heels ( I was in flats 🤣 )

We did a few more bars, and had a pleasant rest of the night. Did a bit of dancing, I can't remember what time we got back to the hotel, but wasn't too sozzled.

Sunday 

Another fry up at the hotel in the morning, and then it was soon time to head home. Most people had trains booked so were going back first thing. I said my goodbyes and headed home, was not a bad drive.

Aside from the wasted time and money for the night club , it was really nice to be back in Manchester - it's still a fab place to go back to every now and then, nice to have some variety.  I don't find it as good as Leeds overall, but still worth the trip.

Minor Matters

 

Medical Updates

Progesterone seems to be really helping me with my sleep, but perhaps too much. I swear I feel slightly sedated and unmotivated the next day after taking it. I've not been taking it after drinking as it is supposed to amplify it's effects, so not being having it every night. 

They are not solid pills, so you can't cut them in half - I invested in a pill cutter to try lower dosages of finasteride. Given up on taking those all together though for the moment.

Still doing 3 pumps a day on the oestrogen gel.

Family 

My mum seemed shocked that it went OK with my parents in law, and I wonder if she was holding out hope that it would go really bad, and that I would be forced to rethink my life choices. She seems to have made more of an effort since, she actually used my correct name twice in WhatsApp messages !!

So far has not used the wrong one either - but on the phone I haven't had a correct use yet. 

Work

No issues, all is still good, been managing to get up a earlier and get my makeup on - still a fairly minimal look.  Went for a walk down the river at lunchtime on Monday, found some nice potential spots for photo's under the motorway bridge :)

Morris Minor National Meeting

So overall this wasn't as good as I had hoped.  I was a bit nervous about attending, but we still excited to be doing so.

I had gone down to Chameleons on the Thursday night, and had stayed over at the Belfry nearby. After a very nice fried breakfast I had visited Wollaton Hall to kill some time.  I was told I couldn't get into the camping area at the motor museum until 4pm, which was not accurate as it turns out.

So I decided to visit Wollaton, as it looked like a good way to spend the morning.  There is an industrial museum there that I wanted to visit, as well as a natural history museum and the grounds to explore. 

Josephine needed a drink so we filled up at the petrol station nearby and drove the short distance to the hall. 

It was a pretty good visit - the industrial museum unfortunately didn't open on a Friday, but the Natural

History museum in the hall was fab - and you got to see a lot of the hall too. I had a tea in one of the cafe's too.  It was a bit windy so I didn't spend too much time exploring the grounds, and decided to set off to Gaydon, but call in somewhere on the way to grab some lunch and kill another hour.  This would allow me to arrive at 4pm.

Draycote Water looked to be a good choice, as it looked quite scenic and had a visitor centre with a restaurant too. 

On the way down, I ended up on the M69 and ended up with a camper van following us for ages - at a respectful distance, I happened to look in the mirror just as it was pulling off onto the hard shoulder - later turns out it was a fellow Minor owner, they said hello at the show :)

On arriving at Draycote, I walked to the restaurant and was shown to a table by a nice woman.  I went up to order at the tills, and some bloke in front accidentally knocked the crisps all over the floor, but was then time for me to order.  There was a lady coming out of the kitchen a short distance from the server at the tills, and when I ordered she seemed to burst out laughing.  The girl on the till was trying to be professional but she had been set off by this other lady.

I was quite taken aback, I've had nasty things said about me, and bad looks, but never been laughed at in that manner. This did quite upset me, but the girl on the till seemed to recompose herself, and after a short silence took my order.  I don't have any hard evidence she was laughing at me, but I can only assume it was to do with my voice when I ordered. I am quite self conscious about this - it was in fact a major worry for me when first attending Chameleons.

Anyway this did not put me in the best frame of mind, and I was a bit down for the rest of the visit. The
food wasn't bad, and I interacted with 3 members of staff there who treated me really nice, it was just that one that seemed to have an issue.

I hung around until 3ish, so that my remaining journey time would get me to Gaydon at 4pm.  The rest of the drive was uneventful, and I arrived at the museum, and the camping marshal gave me instructions on where to pitch.  There were loads of people already setup, and not much room left, but I did park up and get a nice spot on the hill overlooking the museum.  

There was a chap next to me, and I shouted across to make sure he was happy I had left him enough room. The camping marshal had said 3 meters, but there wasn't enough room for that, and I even ended up with someone camping in the 3m gap between
my tent and the person who pitched up next to me on the other side. 

Had a bit of a chat with the guy next to me, but we failed to introduce ourselves properly. He had driven from Clacton, and was having a bit of a lay down before putting his tent up.

I managed to get my tent up, and went for a bit of a walk to explore the facilities. Finding the tap to replenish my water supplies.  Met a young chap who was also doing the same.  He later shouted to me that he liked my grille as we drove past each other on the next morning.

That evening I didn't really do much else, I tried out my gas stove and cooked some meatballs in tomato sauce - made me feel a bit sick to be honest. But was better than nothing.  I was quite tired, and decided to go to bed early so I would be fresh in the morning.

Saturday 

I experienced the joys of shaving using a cup in a tent - didn't go too badly !  I got dressed and walked
down to the parking area where the cars were to be shown.  I chatted to a couple of marshals to find out where I could join in - I had never done this before so had no idea what normally happens.  Then after a loo stop went back to fetch the car and park in the area they had told me.

I did some wandering around, looking at other cars, did the auto jumble stores, grabbed a bacon roll and a tea too.  Didn't really get much interaction, I saw a Youtuber who had been nice to me, and went to talk to her.  She was nice enough, but seemed to be on a mission to get around stuff, so I let her get on her way. She told me one of the organisers of the women's drivers club was around, I did see her but she was quite busy too , and didn't get chance to speak.

I grabbed a burger from a van for lunch, it was quite nice, then looked around the motor museum for abit.  Ann was going to pop down on her motorbike in the afternoon, but it was quite sunny so didn't want to just sit around waiting. 

I did go sit by the car for a bit, putting my 360 camera on a long pole on her roof, so I could do a timelapse.  It worked OK , going to do it as s video next time, it's easier than combining all the images into one.

 Ann arrived in the afternoon, and we grabbed a drink in the museum café, and explored the exhibits.  It
was nice to have a friendly face there, didn't know anyone else, and had not found it easy to make new friends.

We grabbed an ice-cream as the van pulled up just as we were nearby, it was a hot afternoon and they had missed out on a lot of trade turning up so late. 

Ann departed, and I went back to the car for a bit - the show part finished at 4pm, and I had to move her back to the camping area. 

I had originally hoped to spend the evening having a few drinks, and attempting to socialise with other attendees, but the bar had gone bust, and I only had a few cans of warm cider I had brought with me.  The entertainment also seemed quite lacklustre, as it was just a stage set up on the back of a truck. There was no seating, and the food stalls had closed.  So I was quite disappointed, and made the decision to head home early.

I did have a nice chat with Bruce before I left - we did eventually exchange names :)    He had an earlier Minor with a split screen, and also a more retro themed bell tent. Which I perhaps might look at if I do more of these.  

I drove home and got in after 9pm, it was mostly light all the way home, but did rain a bit.  Was a nice enough journey.  Stopped off for fuel at a services and the guy in the garage complemented my car which was nice.

Overall, it was good to have done it - I did have a nice time, but it would have been better if I had not gone on my own, but I don't really know anyone who would have wanted to join. Bruce did mention that previous years had much better food / drink / entertainment, so hopefully it was just a bad year for it. 

I have another camping adventure with the northern meetup of the Women's drivers social club in August - a Facebook group I was invited to.  It will likely be less than 10 of us, and so I should hopefully get more chance to interact, there is no hiding in a crowd with so few.

Leeds First Friday

In brief - it was very quiet , likely due to Sparkle / Leeds pride happening in the same month. We had a low turnout for Pints and Straws, but it was still nice. Sally from Chameleons made it up again, was really lovely to see her.

I had picked Bennie up, and we did brunch at the pub on the canal near hers, then proceeded to Leeds where we did some photo's on the multistorey roof. We had a drink, and did some shopping before heading to Pints and Straws.

Pints and Straws was good despite the low turnout, and was nice to chill out and enjoy some interesting beers. I ended up eating a Bau at the Northern Tap Room, and a gammon and duck egg at the Tetley.

We retired to the room to get changed, then headed to the Bridge End Social for the main event.   We did the usual , Shed, 'The End' , Smokestack.  Both myself and Benni had one too many cocktails - not helped by one of the server in the Shed getting distracted whilst making some for us, and seemingly doubling the alcohol content of it.

We had some chips from big bites, made sure Sally got to her hotel, and were back in our room for after 2am. 

Saturday we were meant to be heading to a beer festival in the afternoon, but the weather wasn't the best, and a few of us were not feeling great. Neither myself or Benni managed to eat all out breakfast, and we ended up doing the Leeds gothic market in the morning.

We had a few beers in the afternoon, then went back for a snooze !  then met up again later.  We were
thinking of going for a pizza for tea, but Olivia started complaining of chest pains, which seemed more like indigestion, so we took her back to the hotel to have a lay down for a bit. Ended up getting pizza delivered there and eating on the bed :)

Oliva got the train home, and then we headed back out for a few hours, ended up playing pool in the bridge end social - I lost three nil :( 

Sunday we had breakfast at Riveresque again, it was warm enough to sit outside, an American who had bought an apartment on the opposite bank stopped to ask if we could see through his windows !  

We had exhausted all of Leeds delights, so we checked out and I drove Benni home on the way back to mine.  It was a pretty good weekend all in all :)