A bit more February!

Oh dear!  I'm really not doing well on blogging regularly am I?  What I really want to do is to blog thing just as they've happened. You know, so the memories and feelings are fresh in my mind and heart.  With that thought, I've remembers a bit of February that I missed from my last post.

Knitting - I completed a cowl for Mason.  A chance to practice my colourwork technique which I've been really enjoying.  Just a simple zig-zag pattern but with aran weight yarn, the double thickness fabric makes a lovely cosy cowl for him for walking to work in the cold.

Before the cowl, I had knitted a hat for Joshy, the 6 year old son of a work colleague.  Lucy was telling us how Josh had been to The Deep and loved the penguins, one of which was called Ralphy.  Their surname being Ralph, Josh thought it was super that a penguin had the same name as his.  This little tale gave me the idea of knitting a hat with penguins on.  Josh loved it and apparently wore it all night, including whilst eating his tea!

It was a great project for me because I was able to practice colourwork techniques of knitting with both hands, catching floats and latvian braid.  I felt I had made real progress and enjoyed it enormously.

So, onto March...

February Round-Up

Here we are in March so I thought I'd better catch up with February before I forget it all.  It was quite a busy month events-wise with a couple of volunteer shifts and a fair few social shindigs.

I decided in January that having had a bit of time off, it was time to get back into some City of Culture volunteering.  So, on Saturday 3rd, I did an afternoon shift at the Brynmor Jones Library on the University of Hull campus at an exhibition called Painting Power - The Art of Terence Cuneo.  I intend posting more about that on my Hull2017 blog but here is some information about the artist.  I thoroughly enjoyed my shift with another lovely volunteer whose name I can't recall and we spent most of the time searching for the little mice that the artist used to hide in his paintings.  He is most famous though for his painting of trains.

Whereas I am most famous for taking wonky photos!  So, to remedy that and the fact that I feel I am outgrowing my phone camera, I decided to go into Jessops the next day to look into buying a reasonable compact camera.  I wanted one that would do the Auto thing but also that had enough manual controls so that I could learn to take better photos.  After some advice, I ended up buying a Panasonic Lumix TZ60 and have enrolled on a course for beginners digital photography at Hull College which starts in April.  I actually enrolled on one starting 20th February but it was cancelled due to low numbers.  Hopefully the April one won't suffer the same fate as I am really looking forward to learning how to use the camera before we go on our Scottish Highlands holiday in May.

The next weekend we were at the wedding of Patrick's nephew Andrew and his fiancee Julie.  I took a few family snaps but was a bit too self conscious to go around snapping everyone. 

Before that, on the Wednesday night, I went to Hull City Hall to see Erasure with my work colleague and good friend of 28 years, Debbie.  Debbie has been a fan of the band since the 1980s and has seen them too many times to count over the years.  It was my first time and although I enjoyed it, I'm not enough of a fan to be too fussed about seeing them again.  I'm pleased I've seen them though and they were excellent.

The next Wednesday, Patrick and I were at Hull Truck to see The Culture - A Farce in Two Acts.  I'm afraid this was a bit of a let-down for me.  I am aware of what a farce is but this was just too much door slamming, talking too fast and unbelievable mistaken identities to be funny, it was just silly and irritating.  The second half improved thankfully and we ended up rather enjoying it.

My next volunteer shift was The Feren's on Sunday 18th, again more about it over the page but it was basically invigilating the Open Exhibition, which is an annual event showing the work of amateur and professional artists of all kinds.

Next up at Hull Truck (told you it was a busy month), was Turn and Face The Strange, a show about our very own Mick Ronson.  Former Spider from Mars (along with fellow Hullensian Trevor Bolder and Driffield lad Woody Woodmansey), Mick went on to work with many other musicians over his career.  The show originally ran at the Freedom Centre last year as part of Hull2017.  I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to see it again, truly one of the most enjoyable shows I have seen.  Part live band, part film archive all wrapped up with anecdotes from friends and family it is a feast of entertainment and I think all those present learned a lot about the vastly under-rated Mick Ronson.  This review from Yorkshire Post about covers it.

Finally to close off a very active February, my sister and two sister-in-laws and I went out for our monthly meal date.  My sister Ann and I started it off last year, meeting up sporadically as a means of keeping in touch with one another's lives as since mum died, we don't really see each other or even speak to each other very often.  Lynne and Chris joined us in November last year but then our arrangements were in danger of falling by the wayside again until Ann text me to suggest meeting on 26th February.  We went to Dukes on Princes Avenue, so named after the streets opposite which are all named after Dukeries, Welbeck, Thoresby, Clumber, Belvoir and Blenheim.  We had a good old natter, catching up with one another's family news and some lovely food.  Between us we had the fish and chips, the baked haddock and a veggie burger.  All were really lovely and the chips were real, proper chips.  Highly recommended all round.

Phew!  Bit of a mammoth post there and I promise I'll try to keep up with March with more regular posts.

Keep on keeping on..

Now I've started to blog again, I don't want to let the habit lapse. It really is nice to be able to look back on what we've done.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Coral offered me a ticket to the ballet.  Her friend had bought her two tickets as a birthday gift but then couldn't make it herself so it wasn't going to cost me anything.  Can't refuse a bit of free ballet!  It was a Saturday matinee performance of Cinderella by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia and it was lovely.  I'm pleased I know the story because there were parts that we struggled to understand what they were portraying.  The wicked stepmother was hilariously played by a male dancer and he was brilliant.  A lovely day out and a G&T in the bar at the theatre.

On the Sunday, I persuaded Patrick to go to the cinema to watch The Greatest Showman.  I knew it was a musical but he didn't and I was a bit concerned that he may not be enjoying it.  He's not a massive fan of films where the characters suddenly burst into song and dance routines!  However we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  The songs were fantastic, the dancing wonderful and a great story to boot.  At the end, I was buzzing, it felt almost like we had been to a theatre performance and that we should be on our feet applauding the actors.  I would highly recommend anyone to see it.  If I had to sum it up in one word I think I would choose Joyous.  We enjoyed a lovely meal at Sleepers for tea and then home for a cuppa.

During the week, work had started on paving our front garden for a driveway.  It was well underway on the Saturday of the ballet and was all finished on Monday 29th January.  It will be lovely to be able to park on there and not have to park under trees and have my car covered in bird droppings every day.

More Knitting

I really do have my knitting mojo back at the moment and I'm really enjoying it.  The stranded colourwork was a challenge for me but I finished the first mitten and am reasonably pleased with the result.  Yeah, some of the floats are a bit long and loopy but for a first project, it's not bad at all.

 I'll get around to knitting the second mitt at some point but have found myself distracted by other projects.

I've knitted a hat for Patrick in the lovely Paton's Australia Jet.  I bought lots of this yarn in various colourways from Kemp's a few years ago and have knitted myself cardigans and jumpers in it.  It's been one of my favourite yarns to knit with and for the cosy warmth of the finished items.  It is perfect for hats.  This is Helping Hats by canKNITian and I knitted the Cranberry version.  I have knitted this one before in beige Sirdar Hug and it's been his favourite hat but is well past it's best now.  Hence the new one.

I found some Jet on Ebay last week and as it's long since been discontinued, I was rather chuffed about it.  I bought a couple of balls each of black, navy and white and have just cast on a black version of the above.

I've cast on some socks for me as part of the Literary Socks KAL in the UK Sock Knitters group on Ravelry.  January's theme is Beatrix Potter so I've chosen a pattern that's been in my favourites for a while now.  Called 'Little Roses' with the link being that Beatrix Potter has a rose named after her and was a keen gardener herself.  I'm using Cygnet Truly Wool Rich 4ply in a lovely bright yellow.

It feels good to be enjoying my knitting again after such a long time.  I'm also hoping to get some baby clothes underway soon as another work colleague is having a baby in the summer.  Unusually, the couple don't want to know what flavour it is until he/she arrives which I think is lovely when it's your first.  So, I'll possibly knit a couple of options as I have some lovely girly patterns that I'm dying to knit.

Huddersfield for Christmas

Ok, not actually in Huddersfield for Christmas but this trip was a Christmas present to Patrick from me so technically it was Huddersfield for Christmas.  Two nights in a Travelodge I know how to treat a man eh!

So, the plan was to visit Magic Rock Tap on Friday night, spend the Saturday mooching and shopping in Huddersfield town centre and then a Saturday night pub crawl around some of the fine ale lovers hostelries followed by a kebab at the legendary (to us anyhow) Kebabish.  Sounds good right?

The drive down the motorway was horrible, filthy weather and there had been an accident so bit of a delay too.  In that situation though you just have to thank your lucky stars that you are sitting in the traffic queue and not the alternative scenario.  We had stopped off at the Glasshoughton Outlet and unusually both managed to find something we liked.  I bought a lovely knee length padded coat in purple from Tog24 as well as a couple of pairs of ankle boots and Patrick some very nice brogues from Clarks.  We usually a bit rubbish at shopping so it was nice to go back to the car with shopping bags.  A scone and a hot choccie in the Thornton's cafe finished off that little excursion nicely.

After settling into the hotel room, off we set for Magic Rock Tap armed with the trusty (!!) Google maps navigation.  Just as we left, it started to bucket down so I was really pleased I had decided to wear my new waterproof coat.  We bumped into a former customer of our beer shop, Jez and his girlfriend, also on their way to Magic Rock.  We do seem to bump into Jez often at beery type events and places.  He mentioned that there was a tap takeover by Danish brewers Dry and Bitter which we hadn't known about.  Jez and Helena rushed off as the weather was truly awful by now and we lost sight of them.  The aforementioned Google maps being what it is, got us lost and we had to ask directions but we finally made it.  At first I didn't think I was going to enjoy the experience, it was hot, noisy and crowded and there appeared to be nowhere to sit.  However, we got our first drink, found a seat fairly quickly and were set for the night.  Me drinking thirds and Patrick on halves, we managed to sample a fair few beers between us.  The fish and chips from the visiting Hip Hop Chip Shop weren't the best ever but they served a purpose.

On Saturday morning, again using trusty Google maps to get us lost, we managed to make our way to a Wetherspoons for some breakfast.  The pavements were very icy and I'm sure our resemblance to Torvill and Dean must have been noticed!  Huddersfield is surprisingly well served by shopping centres although there's not a lot in the way of 'big name' shops.  The outdoor market is a bit disappointing in that it's more a car boot sale than a market but the indoor market at Queensgate was vast and I'm sure you could have got almost anything you wanted in there.  It was in House of Fraser though that Patrick managed to get everything he wanted.  He's been looking for a nice overcoat since the beginning of the year, we've found plenty but getting one that fits properly has been challenging to say the least.  Finally, on Saturday the mission was accomplished.  Skopes overcoat, waistcoat and trousers, all in the sale...bargains!

Bored of the shops, we popped into the Art Gallery and enjoyed an exhibition of paintings by Maxwell Doig.  The detail in them was amazing, at first we thought they were photographs.  I really did like his style and methods and would certainly go to another exhibition of his works should I stumble across one.

Bit of a random and surreal moment at a zebra crossing, three guys dressed as penguins doing a Beatles Abbey Road impression.  The leaflet someone shoved in my hand showed it to be a Greenpeace campaign Protect the Antarctic  If you want to support their campaign to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary you can click the link and sign their petition or text PROTECT and your name to 60777 which will also sign the petition.

There is some lovely architecture in Huddersfield but I only managed to snap a couple of examples and I don't even think these were the best I spotted.  Patrick and Harold Wilson are looking pretty good in St George's Square at the station though.

On to Saturday night which was a bit of a car crash of a night out in a logistical sense!  The original plan was that I had selected 5 or 6 pubs based on CAMRA's WhatPub website.  We were to get a taxi to the furthest one from the town centre and pub crawl our way back finishing with a kebab at the aforementioned legendary Kebabish.  However, in the Art Gallery, we spotted a leaflet for the Huddersfield Real Ale Trail and as the pubs were all central and the weather was foul, we decided to follow that instead.  First up was The Sportsman, fantastic pub which we have visited before.  Great range of real ales and craft keg beers, we really should have stayed here all night!

The Sportsman bar

Next was The Kings Head which is at one end of the beautiful Victorian Rail station and in one of the former ticket offices which still has the original tiled floor.  Plenty of beers on the bar to choose from but I chose badly and left most of mine.  Get a look at that stunning floor though!

King's Head floor

The next three pubs, whose names now escape me were unfortunately closed down, the next one, Rhubarb had hardly anyone in it but those that were looked like they were extras from the set of TV show Shameless.  We didn't stay for a drink! 

So on to The Grove, or so we planned but in true Patrick and Jill style, we took a wrong turning and ended up at The Rat and Rachet instead.  This is an Ossett brewery pub and not being huge fans of their beers, we hadn't planned a stop here.  We were so cold and fed up though that we were tempted in.  The beer was enjoyable enough and I liked the place itself so it wasn't a bad move. 

Finally, after asking directions and still taking a wrong turn, we found ourselves in The Grove.  The place itself is a bit grotty to be honest but it really is a beer lover's mecca. Something like 19 beers on handpull and 15 Craft kegs, it wasn't easy to choose.  The deco of the place was a bit disturbing, featuring an array of stuffed animals, a beer-loving taxidermist's delight I'm sure.  I'd certainly visit again for the choice of beers though.

The Grove beer board

Patrick and Moose!

The walk back to the town centre was straightforward...unless you are called Patrick or Jill that is!  After a bit of confusion at one of the rather large and confusing road junctions which seem to be a characteristic of Huddersfield, we found ourselves on the long road back and on our way to Kebabish.  After all the hype and looking forward to this, I have to say that the kebab was a little disappointing in the end.  It hit the spot though!

Of course, the story doesn't end there.  We managed to get lost on the way back to the hotel again! 

All in all,  we had a really enjoyable weekend but next time, we wouldn't go in January, it's a much more pleasant experience getting lost in June or July!

New Knitting Challenge

2018 is going to be the year when I finally crack two-handed, stranded colourwork knitting and to that end I've started on some lovely mittens, complete with corrugated two-colour rib and a Latvian braid trim...Woooo, get me eh!

After struggling with the technique of knitting with both hands, I got a little carried away when it finally clicked into place and forgot to read the pattern instruction properly.  Therefore, my first mitten will have a thumb that is 5 rows lower than that of the second mitten because I simply ain't going to frog 5 rows of stranded colourwork.  Now, if these were to be a gift then I'd put this mistake right but as they are pretty much a learning project for me, I'm not going to obsess, just continue and learn from it.

I'm really enjoying the process now I've got my fingers to do as they are told!

What did I say about not obsessing and learning and moving on etc.?  I ended up tinking back, I just couldn't start the thumb knowing it was in the wrong place!  LOL.  Back on track now though and enjoying my knitting for the first time in ages.

New Year, New Start

2018. First work day of the year and what a beautiful sunrise to kick me into gear.