Mansion House Meeting

 Wednesday 30th  October 2024.                   Mansion House Meeting 

With Autumn in the air it was off to Roundhay Park  Leeds for the Lads today and eventually kick a few leaves about, but before this exercise they had arranged to meet up with their dear friend and work colleague Tim Kearney at the Mansion, a time of between 11:30 and midday was suggested and this is indeed what occurred.

Colin, Brian, Malcolm, John, Derek and Dave met at the bus stop near the Corn Exchange , this was in order to take a journey on the No 12 bus through the streets of the city heading for their destination of Roundhay Park, this bus ride stirred up memories of bygone youthful days misspent in various activities in establishments long gone, brought about a few smiles to all concerned etc.

Not before too long the bus came to a halt at the terminus just opposite to the main gates to the park, from here it is just a short stroll to the location of the Mansion which sits in a prominent position giving splendid views of the parkland laid out before it. 

Eventually we all made ourselves comfortable sat inside the Mansion, our group now included Keith who had journeyed there by car and of course Tim , he was in good spirits as per usual considering his mobility issues and all too ready to recall incidents that happened throughout his days at Thackrays.

Drinks and food were now consumed as the various conversations now continued for almost an hour and a half ,soon it was time to bid farewell to Tim until next time . It was also farewell to Keith at this point, the rest of us taking the opportunity to stretch our leg and take a twenty five minute walk through the park to the other entrance gate, once here we crossed over the main road and down to the nearby bus stop, from here we would catch the Wetherby to Leeds bus and return to the city centre in order to make our respective homeward journeys.

 Yet another great day out with the Lads 

Cheers Everyone.

Sights of Sandal

 Wednesday 23rd October 2024.                Sights of Sandal

Today’s adventure for the Lads would take them to a location on the outskirts of Wakefield, that location is known as Sandal Magna. Home to the ruined medieval Sandal Castle that overlooks the river Calder.

The group taking part in this adventure will be Brian, Colin, John, and Malcolm travelling by train from Leeds, Dave and Glenn would meet these four at Sandal/Agbrigg station then take the 15 minute walk up to the Castle and finally meet up with Derek, an approximate time of 11:00 am was suggested for this.

It was a pleasant morning full of blue sky and sunshine as the Lads began their walk. Once in the grounds of the Castle ruins this group of seven began to walk around the perimeter pathway taking in the wonderful views from this vantage point, a full 360 aspect of the city of Wakefield and the surrounding countryside etc.

From this  pathway they could see their next port of call so to speak, the nearby expanse of Pugneys Lakes about a mile away and some few hundred yards below their current location. 

It would be a steady downhill walk from the Castle following the various footpaths that would eventually lead them to the waters edge and time for a short rest and bite to eat. This was done on a few strategically placed wooden benches giving good views across the main lake. The Lads spent about 20 minutes at this particular location before moving on and then followed the wide pathway taking them in the direction of the Boat House Cafe and for some a spot of lunch etc.

A suitable place was found to consume our lunches and talk about upcoming events , what date should we arrange to see our dear friend Tim Kearney, next week or the week after, a final decision was next week.

Various other conversations took place as well as you can imagine ie, The promotion of Wakefield Trinity back into the Super League this bringing much joy and pleasure to a few of our members along with the good fortunes of Leeds United etc.

With their lunchtime break over the Lads now continued on their walk alongside the lake taking them almost full circle before eventually taking a pathway that would lead them towards a local bus stop near the Asda Shopping Centre here in Sandal. From this bus stop it was just a 5 minute ride towards the railway station and an hurried dash in order to take the 14:10 back to Leeds for some. Derek stayed on the bus and on into Wakefield, Dave collected his car and drove home,in the meantime Glenn waved the Lads goodbye at the railway station and continued his walk home.

All in all a most pleasurable and enjoyable adventure, with a few miles completed and fresh air in our lungs.

Cheers Everyone 

o

Bowling and Betting

 Wednesday 16th October 2024            Bowling and Betting 

It was another plan B for the Lads today, you’ve guessed it, rather inclement weather conditions forecast brought an alternative choice of venue, Ten Pin Bowling in Leeds instead of a visit to Wetherby Race Course.

It would be a group of 7 that took to the lanes of the bowling alley here in the city of Leeds, those being in order of merit, Glenn and Derek out in front , followed by a mediocre performance from Colin, John and Mark, then Brian and Dave somewhat under performing to say the least.

Several Strikes from Glenn provided him with two scores of more than a hundred plus, so he took away the trophy the rest of us following in his wake. I’am sure things will be put right next time we visit the Lanes.

Our visit to the Bowling Alley was scheduled for 11:00 am, but before hand 4 of us visited a nearby Ladbroke Betting Shop to check on the race card for runners at the Wetherby Meeting, after a brief moment studying form we found the aptly named horse Bowling Buddy running in the 2 o’clock race. Bearing this in mind we vacated Ladbroke and went to meet the rest of the Lads.

A couple of hours later and after much laughter and enthusiasm at our bowling feats we returned to Ladbroke, pooling our money and placing a bet on a couple of horses, a total of £12 was our stake money.

Now it was off in search of a lunchtime meal, we eventually ended up at Street Food, a series of Van like establishments serving different kinds of authentic food from around the world. After a few minutes pondering over the various menus we all made our individual choices and sat at an appropriate table awaiting there delivery.

With the time at almost 2:10 we checked upon the result of our race horse bet and to our surprise Bowling Buddy had won, yippee, had we won a fortune, No just enough to almost cover the cost of our bowling alley experience.

Feeling chuffed with our betting experience we now left Street Food and bid farewell to Colin and Mark the rest of us heading for the railway station and our respective journeys home.

Upon reflection today’s adventure was pleasurable for all concerned 

Cheers Everyone.

Ideally Ilkley

 Wednesday 9th October 2024.            Ideally Ilkley 

It would be a plan B outcome for the Lads today, has they headed to the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley instead of their intended destination of Fairburn Ings. The reason behind this decision was brought about because of the heavy rainfall over the last few days and the possibility of poor underfoot conditions in that particular location. Although heavy rain was also forecast for Ilkley today it didn’t appear during the few hours that the Lads spent exploring a short walk along the banks of the river Wharfe.

As per usual some of the group met up in Leeds and traveled by train to Ilkley whilst others took different paths to the town, with all assembled in the vicinity of the railway station it was best foot forward for Derek, Dave, Colin, Malcolm, Brian, Mark and John has they headed down towards the river bridge and join the pathway that would take them downstream for about a mile or so before reaching the suspension bridge enabling them to cross over the river at this point.

This particular bridge was constructed by an Engineering Company based in London and erected 90 years ago, a perfect setting for a photo shoot etc.

Once over the bridge the Lads now made the return journey back towards the town leaving the riverside pathway at the road bridge and then follow the road up into the town, this time in search of the Manor House Museum, only to find that it only opened at the weekends, disappointing outcome. From here the Lads now decided which venue to choose for lunch , after a short discussion it was decided to visit the nearby J D Wetherspoon establishment and partake in one of their lunchtime offers. 

A suitable place was found for us all and with our various meals order the conversation turned to our future plans etc. The upcoming visit to Wetherby Races and how we would get there taking centre stage along with timing of planned walks near Ossett and Dewsbury and the visit to see Tim Kearney. Other topics were also discussed ie Christmas Meal venues.

Overall today’s adventure was just about right, a pleasant riverside walk that wasn’t too lengthy, good conversation over our lunchtime meal and fortunately no serious rain to spoil our enjoyment.

Cheers Everyone.

Loveable Liverpool

 Wednesday 2nd  October 2024.               Loveable Liverpool 

It would be Seven Likely Lads that traveled to the Merseyside City today, they would be on board the 9:20 train leaving Leeds, the gang consisted of Brian, Colin, Dave, Derek, Glenn, Mark and last but not least John. Eventually they managed to get seated close to one another and discuss their plans for today’s outing etc. Mark had brought along a street plan of the city, which came in very handy and as per usual Derek and located a suitable place for us all to have breakfast. 

Our train arrived at Lime Street Station on the stroke of 11 o’clock, after a few moments collecting our thoughts it was find our way to the Metro System that operates in this city, we soon found ourselves descending the various escalators leading to the underground station here at Lime Street, moments later we were on board and travelling just 2 stops to James Street, it was now back up to street level and begin to locate the said breakfast cafe which was situated on Cook Street.

We entered the cafe about 10 minutes before midday, it was only a small establishment and at first there was some confusion about whether we would be able to get seated, at that moment a few previous customers had finished their meals and were about to leave making our situation much better. Eventually we got seated at various tables and were able to order our food etc. Well worth the initial confusion as our meals met all our requirements, well done Dirk.

A couple of plans were now considered as we split into two groups, 4 of the Lads heading for the famous Cavern Club the rest heading for the Albert Docks region and the various museums that are located there.

With pleasant sunshine in the offing it was Colin, Dave and Brian that headed for the waterfront and stroll along side the river whilst enjoying a delicious ice cream before they found a suitable spot to sit and soak up the atmosphere of this bustling city.

Before not too long a phone call was made to the other group of Lads to find out their whereabouts, they had said farewell to the Cavern Club and were outside the Liverpool Museum waiting for our arrival. Soon we were all inside the building and heading for the top floor and begin to experience its grand array of artefacts and memorabilia etc. taking in short videos of the Merseyside culture, The Beatles Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs. 

With over an hour spent in this marvellous building it was time to head back in the direction of James Street and take the return metro journey to Lime Street Station in order to catch our train back in the direction of Leeds, due to leave at 15:55. So with a little time on our hands some went in search of an ice cream others in direction of the station pub.

Eventually we all boarded our home bound train and tried to find seats close by each other, this proving a little difficult at times due to separate ticket allocation, we made do with what was on offer, hoping that no one would come along and ask us to move, so it was fingers crossed all the way home.

Upon reflection today’s adventure here in Liverpool was full of pleasant memories of previous visits and the locations we had visited back then, as we traversed the city today the odd renditions of infamous songs could be heard as we strolled along the many pathways and corridors, (Hey Jude) etc.

Cheers for a great day out Lads.

I