Ginger Mongs!

One of the local delicacies of Scarborough is the 'Ginger Person ~ 4 for £1' as sold by Thomas The Baker in the town centre. These oddly shaped biscuits are a highlight of every visit and it is with much sadness that we find Smarties are now being used for eyes. Much more fun was had when 3 irregularly spaced currants, often in a straight line, represented eyes and nose. A highly recommended confectionary.

Helpful Signs #2

13th June 2009. Hest Bank. Don't throw yourself under the train without calling The Samaritans first.

Bad Tempered Pigeon.

13th June 2009. One of the interesting pieces of furniture on the Stone Jetty at Morecombe. 'Tweet F*****g Tweet'.

Turkish Delight!

24th May 2009. Ewood Park. The banner says it all. Cheers Toogs!

The Wall-a-bees?!

22nd April 2009. MEN Arena, Manchester. The Australian Pink Floyd Show with red eyed inflatible pig. In the absence of The English Pink Floyd Show (due to excessive stroppiness and death) this is about as close as it gets without travelling to Gdansk. Very good show which isn't replicated in the picture due to the smoke in the arena. Lots of giant props and a laser light show (not bad for a covers band!). Evening only slightly marred by them runninng out of XL t-shirts (had to squeeze into a L instead), and having to pay £9 to park the car. Otherwise a top night out!

The Cleveland Way

Along the cliff tops on the Yorkshire Coast. Claudius is wondering how to get to the sea (approx. 100 feet in a straight downwardly direction). (Grisethorpe Bay in the background).

Helpful sign offering sound advice. Unfortunately, due to erosion in this part of the world, it is difficult to determine sometimes just where the footpath is......

....as it can change location at fairly short notice.

...........................Happilly, we managed to keep to what was left of the path.

.............Windswept tree at Lebberston. A landmark before the drop down towards Cayton Bay.

Claudius

13th April 2009.

's gone Vespa!

12th April 2009. Spa Bridge, Scarborough. The end of the annual scooter rally weekend setting off along the Foreshore. Once the trademark of Mods in parkas, the Lambretta lads now appear mostly to be aging skinheads. The town was full of them and, for once, I didn't feel out of place! I just needed a pair of oxblood DM's....

On a mission from God....

11th April 2009. Here's something you don't see every day. Jake & Elwood Blues with the Black Rhino Band are in town to play The Futurist Theatre. Penetentiary tour bus and patrol car are parked up outside on Scarborough sea front.

The warm up match.

25th September 1066. Stamford Bridge, North Yorkshire. In a title eliminator for the contested claim to the English Crown, King Harold marched his army from his southern base to the outskirts of York. At Stamford Bridge he defeated the invading army of Harald Haardrada. Whilst still celebrating the win he was told that Duke William of Normandy had landed at Bexhill on the southern coast and was waiting for his turn. Much to the delight of his troops, Harold marched them all back down the country again. Claims of too many battles in a week were put down to sour grapes as Harold lost in injury time.

Highway to Home.

4th April 2009. Nuttall Street, Blackburn. The thronging masses throng merrily to their buses or chip 'oles happy with the knowledge that they can all watch Match of the Day tonight. The Rovers spanked Spurtz and the world is a fine place to be for another week. Match Result: The Rovers 2 (McCarthy, Ooijer) Spurtz 1 (SoF-VERY dodgy penalty).

"Raise The Banner...."

....not "for Rock 'n Roll", but for The Blues!

21st March 2009. Blackburn End, Ewood Park. View from under the giant club flag as it travels towards The Riverside, pre kick off against West Ham. It appears to be a bit of the leaf. Match result: Rovers 1 (Andrews) Spammers 1 (SoF). As usual against the Spammers, their goal shouldn't have been allowed whilst the Good Guys had two ruled out. Their only other attempt at goal was 3 wards wide. We were expecting the referee to say 'near enough, we'll call it a goal'....

Just dropping in.

20th March 2009. Narrowboat 'The Whole Hogg' arriving at the marina. Usually they sail in, but that isn't as much fun as doing it this way.

To Hull and Back.....

1st March 2009. On the way from the Brickmakers Arms pub (OK beer and rather good sausage, bacon and egg butties apparently) to the KC Stadium in Hull we walked through a little park with a small 'Children's Zoo' type enclosure. I think these are llamas. Two of them. An omen for the afternoon's game, perhaps??!

Inside the ground and our seats were 'unrestricted view'. Front row seats usually include a poor viewing angle, free of charge and these were no exception. The KC Sadium is a modern but small ground and is very stark inside; all bare concrete and £3 pints. At least it isn't going to detract from the football........

Pre kick-off in Hull with the good guys being the white looking blobs nearest to the camera. The stand at the right breaks into a two tier affair for the middle two thirds of the pitch. This is the stand they show on the TV (I am a Sky Armchair follower of Hull FC Rugby League Team, who also play at the stadium), and this gives the impression it is a double stand all the way round the ground.

But it isn't.


Post final whistle and the loyal Hull fans are off for their tea, whilst one steward is left looking a bit worried as he has been left in charge of the guests. Fortunately we were all in jovial spirits after a fine 1-2 victory and only pointed out his bald patch on a couple of occaisions.

The llamas proved to be very foresightful as two other llamas scored for The Rovers - Stephen Warnock, and Keith Andrews.

Actually, that's a bit unfair, a llama wouldn't be better than Stephen Warnock.

SoF scored for Hull with a flukey effort that shouldn't have been allowed anyway.

They're right dogs in Hull......

1st March 2009. KC Stadium, Hull From a distance I thought this was a Belgie, but closer examination proved it was an Alsation. Probably one of the more friendley (and attractive!) of the locals!