Long Detour

After driving over 1600 miles without encountering much traffic, my luck ran out.  I was going to take A1 back to Leeds, but the closed A1, I was put on a long slow detour onto A616.  I really should check traffic before going anywhere.

Dragon Boat at Leeds Dock

There were dragon boats race as a part of the Leeds Waterfront Festival.  And the festival was again another ploy to bring people to Clarance Dock.



My Hong Kong friends first reaction was, "the dragon boat festival was last week."  And I got to explain the story of the custom.

It was a nice day out by the dock.

Strewberry!

Sarah identified one of the bushes as a dog rose, and it is weed-like.  So I cleared away some branches recently.  Then their flower died off and the fruit turned red, they looked more and more like strawberry!  They smelt very nice, but the birds got to them.  I did not many to safe the strawberry for human consumption.  Perhaps I will acquire some nets for the future harvests.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 14

We had to drop off the car early, so we set off from Leeds early.  M62 had been kind to us, and we dropped off the car as scheduled.  We waited for a long time for a shuttle to get back to the airport.  It was 11am when we got to Manchester.

We utilised their free shuttles today between station, Great Northern and Northern Quarter.  I took Carol to the finest of Northern Quarter: Pie Minister and Teacup.  She was not too impressed with the venues.  To be fair, Pie Minister was okay, but I think it is a little overrated.

We were stuffed full of cake when we head towards the station.  En-route to the station, I stopped at a Leodis-cum-post-office and Carol finally found a suitable of Manchester United tee for her friend.  We parted at the station, and she made to the plane all okay.

The long and rather exhausting trip has concluded.  I really need to return to a quiet idyllic life.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 13

We were going to stop via Yorkshire Sculpture Park, but since we were not too energetic, I suggested to go to the University of Leicester Botanic Gardens instead.  We had a quick walk around, and Carol thought we were going to see topiary, sculpted plants instead of actual sculptures.  I was glad we did not go to YSP!

We got back to Leeds early.  I had time to go some quick shopping in the market and took Carol to a few funky places.  She was quite impressed with Roast and Conch and the Arch.

We went home early.  Carol got on with packing, and I got on with weeding.  We had some dinner then I remember we had time and we could hit around.  Carol was equally excited about the idea.  Instead of walking down to the tennis court, we drove.  Whinmoor tennis court was occupied!  And since we drove, we drove to Roundhay instead.  Carol called it, "tennis court hopping".

We messed around for an hour before calling it a day.  The newly strung rackets were very good.

When we got home, I got home and carry on with my errands, and so was Carol.  What a productive day!

Isle Grand Tour: Day 12

Before the games, we went to town centre for the market and a quick wander.  I got a giant focaccia for lunch, and Carol stroked an owl.

Due to the cost and the availability of good seats, we opted for Court 1 ticket instead of centre court ticket.  There were plenty of good matches to keep us in and out of Court 1.  Again we were too busy watching games, so we just eat my remaining snacks and the bread.

Again, we left 'early' as we had no interest in the remaining games.  We went to Harry Ramsden's for some fish.  Carol really liked Harry Ramsden.  I also told Carol about their original shop at Guiseley.

When we came back on another long drive, we were thankful that M25 had been kind to us.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 11

As the second day of the tournament, there were lots of matches all over all the courts.  We caught up with Riske at the practice court, and busy all day watching game.  We were so busy watching game and not got an opportunity to queue for food!

We left about 7pm., we could have stayed for longer.  Then we went to Beachy Head.  According to the news, the light house got a new coat of paint in 2013.  I feared it was destroyed by the storm two years ago.

We were going to go to Solo Pasta, rated highly in trip adviser, but we ended up in Wetherspoons for Steak Night instead.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 10

This was meant to be a short and simple day.  I took Carol and Stef into Leicester for a quick walk around, then we shipped off Stef to Manchester.

I arranged for Sofy to catch Stef, and they had a lot of fun!

Carol and I embarked on the long car journey to the south coast.  Thankfully all went okay.  We do so much for the tennis ladies!

Isle Grand Tour: Day 9

I always wanted to see the Burghley House, so I suggested this stop.  Coincidentally, the Rolls Royces show was on and a food market was on, so we were sufficiently entertained without going into the house.  I would still like to go into the house in the future.

Then I suggested to go to Cambridge, which was kind of in the same direction.  This time, we went on a punt.  It was a busy Sunday, and the river was full of punt.  It was not long since we left the carpark and walked towards town, we were stopped by Punting tour operators soliciting boat ride.  We ended up getting a decent deal.

We got on a small boat, right at the front, but since we were too far from the guide, we did not hear much what he had to say.  It was quite a relaxing boat trip.

I took Carol and Stef to Feast of India, I don't think they enjoyed Indian food much, but at least it was an experience.

Isle Grand tour: Day 8

We started the day with more Chinese brunch.  When I ordered beef noodle the cashier giggled.  I suspect it is because Cantonese always ask for beef noodle.

The second day at the Aegon Classic, the first half of the afternoon was filled with rain delay, and it only started to clear up after 4pm.  As a result, we did not finish the day till nearly 8pm.

We arrived in Leicester and went straight to dinner.  We went for Nando's, both Carol and Stef enjoyed the chicken.

Stef and Carol checked into Croft, what a weird place.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 7

We had some Chinese breakfast, send Sarah to the station, and started watching tennis.

The first day of our Aegon Classic.  A full day of sun and a full day of tennis.  Tennis was quite good.

We finished the day with more Chinese food and a quick stroll in the nearby pubs.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 6

The day turned out to be local tour, shopping day before another long drive to the Midlands.

We went to the Selby Abbey, Junction 32, and I went to Haribo.  We had lunch at Primos, which turned out very nice.  Then I actually spent money in Junction 32, and Haribo is a big bargain!

Birmingham traffic was quite bad, the there was two close calls and many honking in Birmingham.

Sarah came down to Birmingham to meet us.  We went to Minmin on Sarah's suggestion, and it was quite good.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 5

Rosslyn Chapel turned out better than expected.  Another long drive back to Leeds, we made a few stops along the way including Angle of the North and Durham.  I passed up all the sights in Durham, and let Stef and Carol to crack on.

It was also a day of hanging out.  When we got home, we chatted till late.  Life is much different between now and then.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 4

I have already forewarned Carol about the Edinburgh traffic.  We did hit the Edinburgh traffic.  With a bit of luck, we found one parking spot in a very busy car park.

Edinburgh Castle was a little disappointing.  The One O'clock gun was 105mm calibre and was very loud!  If I have planned Edinburgh better, I would have seen more museums.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 3

Loch Lomond Hostel was okay, the lake is nice as always.  I suggested a scenic drive in Stirlingshire to get to Falkirk.  Falkirk was okay, the boat trip was okay, it was quite impressive but rather short.  We had to run to the terminal to catch the boat!

The castle turned out better than expected.  I spent some time in the gym and I was exhausted.  The dinner was quite good, I tried a real Cullen Skink, and monk fish.  Not a bad spent.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 2

The day of the driving, we picked up Carol from Manchester and after much flaffage, we picked up the car and drove north.

We stopped by Morecambe and Lancaster before rushing to the Loch Lomond hostel from Glasgow.  There were a lot of driving, and the road leading to the hostel was quite bad.

Lancaster Castle was okay, there were a lot of Lancashire references.  But I think east coast is much better than Morecambe.

Isle Grand Tour: Day 1

Stef arrived today.  We went to Belgrave Food Feast, Knaresborough for the Bed Race and Harrogate Betty's.  There literally were no other things in the tourist information besides those.  Just a quick tour around the area.

Bed race was interesting, it was for a good cause.  And when we got back, we just made the free water taxi.  Sadly Twee was sick and off duty.

Holiday Itch

The long awaited trip is over, it is going to be a new experience to travel with another friend.  Wish me luck.

Baking Soda Toothpaste

I got a tube of baking soda toothpaste, but it really tastes disgusting.  I think I am going to throw it away!

Baking soda belongs in the kitchen!

Tesco Delivered

I have used many online outlets, shops, but I have never used supermarket delivery.  While on the subject of getting delivery, I click around on Tesco.  The supermarkets are all competing to get online customers and the delivery charges are dropping significantly.  It also occurs to me that, since I am no longer within walking distance to a supermarket, it is a good idea to get the bulky and heavy items delivered.  So this order, I have ordered two big bags of composts, two big bags of rices, and some soda drinks, and that is delivery charge well spent!

Market Delivered

Sarah suggested I should look at Market Delivered to get cheap market produces from Leeds market.  Market Delivered presented themselves well in the radio program, and Sarah thought it would be good to give it a shot.  But without looking at the website, I already knew they would not have included the outside stalls, where the real bargains are.

I had a look at the website anyway.  I was right about the participating market stalls, but it occurs to me that it would be a great way for me to get the BBQ items in summer.  I will certainly look again in August.

Sunk Cost

When I say sunk cost, I mean a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.  So any recovery of the cost is good, any additional spending on the cause would be bad.

When Sarah say sunk cost, Sarah means sunk cost fallacy.  Sarah means human tendency to loss aversion, hence spending on time what's been spent.

Yorkshire Invasion

After Leicester retained Richard III's bone, changes are happening.  The Leicester Cathedral Café is called White Rose Café, and more statues are erected in Richard III's memories.  So the House of York won over Leicester afterall.

Bra Sizes

Every so often, articles in the news or lifestyle sections announce women are not wearing correct bras, and the articles often ignored.  Only recently I realised how prevalent the problem is, so let me do a public announce here and encourage women to measure up.

Buried that Movie

BBC was playing the movie Buried.  It was probably one of the cheapest ever made.  Three minutes into the movie, I already asked how could this movie last 90 minutes.  I fast forwarded all the black screen, and resulted in a 30 minutes quick viewing.

What a horrible movie! 

Cheap is Not an Absolute Term

My colleagues sometimes say, "we can do it for cheaper."  Knowing we have not got time to do it in-house.  It is not cheap on the commodity that we don't have, time.  So we can do it for free, because we are not doing it in the foreseeable future.

Joy, Risks and Adventure

I have advised my friends about risks, and suggested alternative choices.  But freewill and joy always trump common senses.  Some needs a sense of adventure, but adventure is synonymous with underestimated risks.  Only hope I don't have to say, "I informed you thusly."

Civic Duties

I do community services, I consider them my civic duties.  I enjoy fulfilling my civic duties, that does not mean I enjoy all the community services I do.

Tiger Chocolate Tasting II

The second bar of Tiger 85% dark is better in flavour, but it has a funny after taste.

Autisticish

We are learning more and more about brains.  The recent programmes about drinking, criminals and naughty kids all focus on the brains.

The more I look at them, the more boxes I tick.  I still don't understand why eye-contact is required when acknowledging something from other sensory, eg I can listen perfectly well without eye-contact, I can feel touches perfectly well without eye-contact.  Some think it is rude, I said it is unnecessary, maybe it is just Autistic.  I remember sitting in the library and do my mathematics exercises being much more enjoyable than socializing with people, which is again, quite unnecessary.  Also, I keep reminding myself that I need to be less demanding, and chill out, especially at work.