These are the last. So they don't necessarily fit together.

Cars:
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Sorry, I can't tell you any more about them than that! I expect someone with moar knowledge will step forward. They were lovely and shiny.

And the OB set of a BBC teatime show called The One Show, who broadcast live that day.
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I stayed to watch about half, then wandered off, got on the wrong shuttle bus, had to walk back to Harrogate centre, got lost, missed the last bus back to Otley, ended up in tears and was eventually picked up by a friend's daughter (who was NOT impressed). Bloody Matt Baker.

Aside from the embarrassing finale to the day, it was absolutely gorgeous.

Just a few pics from Dr DanaC's ceremony in Leeds.

Going into the Great Hall.
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Staircase in all its Victorian glory.
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Worthies on the stage.
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The Gallery, for the poorly organised people who arrived later than we did :lol:
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The Dr as part of the procession out.
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Only I could spot myself in a mirror from this distance...
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I am in Slytherin now. I am teh serious.
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Oh! I know! Let's go back to my place and watch Lost!
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Have cock, will pose.

Yes, on behalf of the Cellar I awarded Danielle the Noble Order of the Cock.
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Cock on own, not being overshadowed by real educational achievements.
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She took it in very good fun. And if it was smashed on return home then I needn't know.

It may have lost the teeniest tip of a tail feather...


I laughed so hard. I am still laughing.

Thanks for your awesome reportage. I will get the photos from the two Js to you v. soon.

You always deliver good cock, Sundae! That hare is teh awesome, too! Thanks for the pic (better than the real thing as requires no dusting ;) ).

Thanks for posting these! I feel like I was there. Way to go, Dr. Dana.

.

On behalf of Sundae.
 

Sundae is in Leeds this afternoon and decided she was going to enjoy a fun fair ride. I'm not sure what it is called but it looks terrifying!

Received on my phone a short while ago, the image was rotated by 90deg in a clockwise direction from that which you see here. I think it should be shown this way.

http://s7.postimg.org/m3xw6ugpn/IMG_0164.jpg

:lol2:

Everyone laughed and whooped on the ride, honest.
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Me all ready for the off - note handy elasticated band on my hat. For keeping it on during fairground rides I assume. I wore it with the band tucked inside the rest of the day. From Poundland. Bargain.
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Maybe I whooped more than most.
I'd had a bad day, I needed to let it all out (it actually got worse later, so I'm glad I did!)
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So. I went to Harewood House the other week.
It's a stately home, close to Leeds. Not that close as it turns out, but I won't mention that again for a while.
In the grand old English tradition, it is not pronounced as it is written, instead it is Harr-wood.

The Harewood (see above for pronunciation) family still live on the premises, but not in the main part of the house. Since visiting I found out my Grandad used to serve one of them when he worked at the Covent Garden Opera House. I don't remember which one it was, which is probably just as well, as it means I can't be sued; in Grandad's opinion not only was he not a real gentleman, but he was (quoting Mum, quoting Grandad) "a stupid arse."

Anyway, that's all by the by.
This was a late birthday treat, and I am sharing it with you.

From the outside.
I came by bus.
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Walk through the arch with the cars zooming past you - not one sod stops and asks if you'd like a lift, even though you're all obviously going to the same place!
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Turns out there is a stop for a "shuttke service" just to the left of the arch. You'd have to know it was there, though. I didn't.
Not that I mind walking, it's just the fact I had to walk on the grass like a poor relation, as there's no pavement. And I'm telling you them motor cars is quick.
Attachment 53418

I'm not detailing my encounter with the lady at the ticket booth.
But here I am at the House.
And after all, it is beautiful.
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Inside, you can't take photos with a flash.
So as it was a typically overcast West Yorkshire day, the light inside wasn't great. I have many blurry photos.
I've culled the better ones for you.

Always showing off my bust.
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There was a whole cabinet of these, showing various stages of drunk and disorderly.
I liked.
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Next stop - the crapper.
Literally, as it was designed by Thomas Crapper.
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Then the gorgeous Chinese Bedroom.
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As above. Bedroom. Chinese. Lovely.

I'll get back to Harewood House in a bit.
But these were Leeds, yesterday. Never found out why, but cheered me right up, I'll tell thee.

Seriously, you're walking down the street and just happen to bump into Obi Wan.
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Then he just insists on having his picture taken with you.
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As does Boba Fett.
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But Darth is more into a staring out pugs mood.
Hey, that's cool. Not every single man in the Galactic Empire has to fancy you, right?
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I'm not actually that deluded. They didn't really fancy me.
Except Obi Wan Kenobi, who cheekily grabbed my butt.

What fun! (Lovely cardigan!)

I think I know that Obi Wan guy - he looks really familiar. Maybe he's from Leeds uni.

Isn't there a new Star Wars film about to release?

In Britain's Star Wars the Stormtroopers are outfitted with whistles instead of blasters.

fanboi punchline: they get the same hit ratio.

I know! And the odd thing is, I don't even remember buying it. It's like it appeared magically one day, like The Shopkeeper.
You may have seen old Ben Kenobi somewhere.
Like in a film.
Or any old man in a dressing gown :lol:

Thing is, they weren't doing any kind of active promotion.
They were just walking about together, posing for photos (and occasionally copping a feel.)

Not complaining about having SW come to life on the streets of Leeds.
And even the hand on the butt was possibly an accident, not a '70s era squeeze.
The lads had big weapons. I didn't ask them about their accuracy. See above re '70s era naughtiness.
(I did LOL, UT)

I protest! I only made the remark about the cardigan!


Sent by thought transference

Back in October last year I took a trip to Ilkley and never got round to writing it up.
It's only just up the road, but more expensive and chi-chi - it's a Victorian spa town and it's really rather beautiful.
It's butted right up against the moors, and flood water pours into it every time it rains (according to what I've been told - I've never seen it in full flood.) Apparently the best fun of all is when there is overnight rainfall then a freeze, turning all the main streets into skating rinks and demolition derbies.

Anyway. This was a sunny late-October day and I did enjoy myself.
I don't really do the town justice, but I'm an individual, not a tourist blogger, so what you see is what you get.

The Winter Gardens (theatre).
I'd love to see something there, but it would probably have to be a matinee as I'm not sure how late the buses run. I shall make that my 2016 resolution.
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Just round the corner is what I assume is the Theatre Bar.
I just liked the old advert on the side really.
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Various shop windows:

Funny looking men in this town.
(Note, still in flip-flops)
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Foxes in boxes!
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Ilkley isn't cheap.
This is considered their special deal. £5 is $7.28 according to my converter. That is coffee and cake, not a meal.
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A bacon sarnie & a cup of tea would be half this price on Leeds market.
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I didn't eat out. I went to Greggs (cheap bakery chain) and then sat in my flipflops on a bench, in watery sunshine, having a lovely time.

The good thing about this part of the world, is that although travelling is always more fun if you're not on a tight budget, there is still an awful lot of pleasure to be had from just walking and looking. That applies to most places I've been, it's just that I've done more walking and looking here than elsewhere.

Very Victorian...
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Quite literally in this case.
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Pretty details everywhere.
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My other 2016 resolution is to sting my lovely brother with a trip to Bettys :lol: (as I did with Mum in Harrogate - but that was her choice)
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Don't worry - I will tell him exactly that. I love him dearly, and I think he will enjoy the experience. And I don't see him often enough, so it will add to the sense of occasion. Also he won't mind spending the money on tea and cakes - my family are just happy that I'm not in the pub (or drunk in a gutter, or in hospital etc etc)

I'd like to think I could take him to this shop for me to choose a gift for myself too. But despite painting myself in a greedy grasping light, I'd rather look at pretty things than own them. And in fact some of these are vulgar, dahling.
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There's an unofficial Yorkshire anthem - On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at - which effectively details going for a little stroll on the moors above Ilkley in inclement weather, without your hat on, and then dying from the cold.

So this had to happen.
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But it doesn't happen in a cheap way.
"T'worms'll come an' eyt thee up", but you'll pay through your hat for it. As it were. Actually, for Ilkley it looked very reasonably priced - there are Micheline starred restaurants here you know.
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Back to Ilkley yesterday.
I've left this thread abandoned like a red-headed stepchild.
I've remembered it now (see why I'm not allowed to have children?)

Ilkley Film Festival. Many films on, some quite arthouse, but I went to see Dad's Army. Well, it was a heck of a lot cheaper than going to a real cinema, and as it turned out, it was the perfect place to see a film set in the '40s because it felt so very British.

King's Hall (theatre)
There was a teeny tiny bar as you walked in, but it wasn't staffed. What was staffed was a much bigger table selling tea and coffee and cakes.

Foyer:

The film was sold out. People who turned up on the off-chance were being turned away disappointed.

The photo I took of the assembled film-goers was about 30 minutes before it started.

Also: invasion!
My local store now has an end of aisle section devoted to Merkin food.

Please send Sainsbury's vouchers so I can sample all of it :lol:

Butterfingers are the best thing in that picture. Followed by Tootsie Rolls.

Edit: Actually, I missed the Reeses, which appear to be empty. Those are good too, if they are the regular or mini sized cup.

Peanut butter is the devil's favourite food.
I don't care how the agents of Satan dress it up.

Peanut butter Snickers...:yum:

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Sundae sent me this photo and I thought that it deserved a wider audience.

It was taken in one of the arcades in the Victoria Quarter of Leeds yesterday.

I don't know Leeds, but it seems that it didn't suffer the wholesale destruction of its older buildings in the sixties and seventies unlike some other cities.

The Victorians didn't distinguish themselves in every field of human endeavour, but their grand architecture as an expression of civic pride is unsurpassed.