Christmas Lunch at the Railway Inn

 Wednesday 3rd December 2025.       Christmas Lunch at the Railway Inn

It’s that time of the year again, so a rather extended group of the Lads have decided to make a return visit to the Railway Inn at Drighlington in order to have a so called Christmas Lunch. They had chosen this venue a few years back and were delighted with that outcome and hopefully the same will be said of today’s visit. 

It would be 14 of the Lads that travelled to Drighlington by whatever means necessary to participate.Those being Pete Hoyle, Colin Rouse, Keith Bland, John Hey, Derek Lee, Dave Dean, Brian Pickles, Colin Ward, John Howarth, Glenn Pearson, Don Alexander, Glenn Walton, Mark Simpson and finally Russ Parkinson.

A meeting up time of midday had been arranged and by 12:15 we were all sat around a very long table engrossed in conversations. With some new but familiar faces you can only imagine the noise that ensued until our meal order was taken. 

It was an extensive menu that was on offer along with the traditional Christmas lunch, so the choice was ours . Eventually our various orders were taken and sent off to the kitchen etc. more conversations taking place until those meals arrived,

 Brian had brought along a few photos from past events at Thackrays, they were proving a success in jogging the lads memories, eventually names were put to those obscure faces. All good fun.

With our various meals consumed it was time to circulate around the table and engage with each and everyone .

Eventually and at a convenient moment Dave took to his feet and delivered a poignant speech which included all aspects of this particular group of Lads, it was well received and appreciated.

With the clock at a little after 2:15 it was time to settle the bill and say farewell to the Railway, a little confusion now ensued regarding our payments but this was soon rectified to everyone’s satisfaction .So it was goodbye to one and all as we took our respective journeys home.

Upon reflection we were not let down by this choice of venue , each of us enjoying every aspect of our Christmas Lunch get-together.

Cheers Everyone.

The Greenway Walk

 Wednesday 26th November 2025.          The Greenway Walk

Today’s adventure for the Lads would take them to the market town of Ossett, a location on the outskirts of Wakefield. Once there they will stretch their legs with a leisurely stroll through the market square picking up a bite to eat on their way before joining the Greenway pathway that would eventually lead them to the outer reaches of Dewsbury.

It was a cold start to the morning, but with clear skies and a pleasant amount of sunshine it was great to be out there enjoying the fantastic views.It was  John, Derek, Brian, Colin , Dave, Glenn and Mark that ambled along engrossed in various conversations as they made their way.

They had all met up at the bus terminal in Ossett at about 11:15 making their way there by either bus or train or a combination of both. It was well after 1pm when they reached the towpath of the canal basin in Dewsbury, their intention was to have a lunchtime meal at the Leggers Pub situated close to the canal, unfortunately a notice board telling them that no food was available at that present time came as a disappointment, so after a few minutes consultation plan B was put into action, so it was off to a Cloggs cafe in the town centre just over half a mile away. 

This proved to be a good decision as the lads all agreed, the food was great and so of cause was the banter that took place at our table. Now with 2:15pm approaching it was time to consider which bus or train they would be catching in order to head homeward bound, John, Brian and Mark heading for the train station, the rest of us off to the reconfigured bus station and try to locate our appropriate bus.

Upon reflection today’s adventure was full of enjoyment with an invigorating lift to our wellbeing.

Cheers Everyone.

Visit to the NRM at York

 Wednesday 19th November 2025.             NRM visit York

Today would see 9 of the Lads journeying to the city of York and experience a visit to the National Railway Museum. Those participating would be Colin, John, Brian, Mark and John Howarth travelling by train from Leeds , whilst Derek , Glenn, Dave and Russ had decided to make their train journey from Wakefield.

They eventually all Gathered inside the foyer of the museum at around 11:20 after what seemed to be a much longer distance covered than previously experienced when walking from the city railway station to the museum.

It was a cold and chilly morning with overnight frost and sleet beginning to melt away underfoot conditions proving an obstacle at times etc. However we were soon inside the vast hallways and beginning our visit, somehow there seemed to be more exhibits on display that encouraged a more closer investigation as to their individual histories and background stories, great insight etc.

After a brief glimpse of some of the fantastic steam engines gathered here it was time for a coffee break for some of the gang, plus a bite to eat before continuing our leisurely pursuit of this fantastic array of railway memorabilia. The rest of us decided to have lunch a little later across in the newly opened Station Hall just a short distance away from the Main Hall, this was about at 1 o’clock.

Yet again this new venue gave us much more to see about the different types of passenger carriages that had been constructed in different eras of the railways existence, magnificent displays.

Now with our lunches consumed and our various conversations still ringing in our ears it was off to the station here in York to take our respective onward train journeys homeward bound, we all eventually said farewell to the city around 3 pm.

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What a great days experience, throughly enjoyed by everyone.

Cheers Lads.

Glenn’s Birthday Bash

 Wednesday 12th November 2025.             Glenn’s Birthday Bash

Today would see 9 of the Lads take a trip to the Whitelocks Pub, this is located in Turks Yard in the City of Leeds, a home from home for most of them. A meeting time of midday as been suggested, a few of us arriving early, namely Brian, John, Derek, Dave and birthday boy Glenn, the rest drifting in as and when , those being Colin, Keith, Mark and finally Russ.

A suitable place had been reserved for us by Mark, as this venue can become rather busy at lunchtime etc due to its popularity and quaint atmosphere. 

Once assembled and formal greetings over we began to study the lunchtime menu and eventually order our chosen meals and drinks, as per usual the various conversations were struck up around our table, main topic being the performance of the local football team, United, other things did get discussed as the afternoon wore on and our meals were consumed. 

Time always seems to fly when you are wrapped up with jovial banter etc and soon it became time to wish Glenn a happy birthday as we sang the celebration song along with others in the Whitelocks enjoying similar circumstance. Great Stuff as a big cheer went up for all concerned.

By now it was approaching 2pm, so we steadily paid our individual tallies and said farewell to this atmospheric venue and began to make our ways homeward bound etc.

Yet Another Great Day out with the Lads.

Cheers Everyone.

Roundhay Park plus visiting Tim Kearney

 Wednesday 5th November 2025.   Roundhay Park plus visiting Tim Kearney 

As the title suggests the Lads coordinated a visit to see their dear friend Tim Kearney at the Mansion along with a leisurely walk through Roundhay Park and Gardens etc. It was a pleasant morning as 6 of the gang alighted from the No 12 bus at the terminus close to the far entrance to the park, those being Colin, Glenn, Derek, Brian, Dave and John, the time was just a few minutes after 11:00am.

Derek and Colin making their way to the Mansion while the rest of us took a walk around the Canal Gardens and admire the tree stump carvings along with the many species trees showing their autumn colours etc, splendid.

A time of 11:30 had been arranged to meet up with Tim, so by this time Derek and Colin were inside the Mansion along with Russ and we soon joined them as we assembled ourselves around three pushed together tables, some few minutes later Don Alexander came and added another person to our group.

Our visit to see Tim lasting well over an hour and a half, with plenty of conversations taking place around the table as we sat and consumed our sausage sandwiches and various drinks etc.

Don kindly offered to give Tim a lift home in his car, Russ also leaving by car, the rest of us now venturing a little further down through the park and on towards the other entrance gate close to the far end of the lake, plenty of autumn leaves were scattered along the footpath as we walked along, eventually we arrived at the bus stop with only a few minutes to wait for the arrival of a suitable bus to take us back to the city centre in order to take our respective journeys home. It was a few minutes after 2 o’clock by now.

What a good time we all had today, plenty of laughs with long discussions about this, that and the other, great stuff.

Cheers Everyone.

Wednesday 29 October 2025

Visit to see John Doble (Dobby)

 

There would be six of us today rendezvousing at Sunnyview House and today’s visitors were John Howarth, Glenn, John, Derek, Russell and Colin. 

However, before entering the Care Home we bumped in to our old friend Roger Backhouse and it was lovely to see him. 

Sunnyview House is a care home in Beeston where our dear colleague John Doble is a resident and has been for approximately four months. 

He did tell us that he was in a state of flux as to whether to return home at some point or throw his lot in at the care home. He commented on the fact that everything was done for him and it would be hard to go back to looking after himself after all the kindness shown at Sunnyview House!

We were made to feel very welcome by the staff with a cup of tea and the all staff were very friendly, chatty and pleasant. 

Dobby looked well and certainly more relaxed than he did whilst working at Chas. F. Thackray. He was a very talented man and had a wide range of skills that made his job extremely varied over his time at work starting at the company around 1962. 

There was a lot of reminiscing as you can imagine but Dobby  had an excellent memory and remembered nearly all of the names that were mentioned so after a good hour and a half it was time to leave as dinner was now being served.

We said our goodbyes to Dobby and John Howarth who had come by car leaving the care home at about 12:30 and we made our way to Park Fisheries for a lovely lunch sat outside in a little seating area integral with the Chip Shop. Saying our goodbyes to Russell who had also come by car. After this we made our way through Cross Flatts Park and discussed all the things that had disappeared over the years like the Park-keepers hut and Cross Flatts Park Annex that was for the pre-school years before they eventually went to the big school at Cross Flatts! The school is now called Park View and is a new build. The old school building was demolished and a new single story building now stands there. 

There was a big greenhouse and a Band Stand that had also gone. 

We wandered right through the park and met a lady who knew some of John Hey’s colleagues and knew where John lived on Town Street and the gardens overlooking the railway lines  

We passed the park shop where we all used to buy our sweets from when in and around the park. 

We then caught our respective buses back home with John going towards Leeds and Derek, Glenn and Colin crossing Dewsbury Road and catching the bus to The White Rose Centre, Colin alighting at Barkly Road. 

A lovely day out and meeting our old colleague John Doble (Dobby) was a lovely bonus. 

Best regards Colin

Colin Hendrick Ward

Lofthouse Lope

On Wednesday 22nd October, the intrepid gang set off for their latest trip out. John, Brian, Colin and Mark met up at Leeds rail station for the short journey to Outwood. On alighting the train they were met by their friend Glenn on the platform. The group immediately set out behind the platform for the walk. We would be doing a circular walk of at least 22 steps (!), which would take us through the former Lofthouse colliery. This colliery was the scene of a fairly recent tragedy, which took place just over 50 years ago in 1973 when the mine flooded and trapped seven miners.

Sadly, despite several desperate rescue attempts lasting several days, the miners could not be saved. This was of course a major news item at the time, and one we could recall well. We continued our walk in bright sunshine, which showed the stunning autumnal colours of the trees to full effect. Just over an hours walking brought us to one of our favourite eating places, Cafe 509 on Ledger Lane, where we were met outside by our friend Derek. An excellent lunch was enjoyed, which was also superb value. Much of the chat while we were eating was dedicated to planning our forthcoming Christmas lunch. At around 1.30 it was time to head back to Outwood station so we bid farewell to Derek and headed off for our transport home, Glenn heading back towards Wakefield Westgate and the rest of the group taking the opposite platform to head back to Leeds, with both our trains arriving almost simultaneously at 2.00pm.