Blogs from South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

Hundreds, Tens and Units - It is now 8 weeks until we go on what has affectionately been called our “ next big” holiday. This time though we will only be away for 3 weeks rather than 4 so perhaps it should be our second not quite so long holiday. The fact that it is only 3 weeks rather than the 4 is causing some headaches in the planning stage. Having realised that three weeks is not long enough to get to where we want to be we need to be we are considering two four week holidays next year at least. And this is where the lottery win is required. Perhaps it may sound to some people that talking about planning a holiday 8 weeks before leaving sounds a bit premature. But this is part ... read more

I never thought I would end up blogging about Barnsley! Every year fans of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club gather for the final game of the football season. This has become known as the Seagulls Flying Squad and this year's host club was Barnsley. Oh well, we shrugged off the disappointment and booked our flights back from Vietnam anyway. Now, most people would probably not think of Barnsley as a place for a weekend away, let alone an excuse to fly back from Canada, Malaysia or Vietnam. We were pleasantly surprised with what we saw, but horrified as the temperatures struggled to reach five degrees! Don't knock it. The Premier Inn is very well located and pretty cheap - unlike the bar next door. Still, when you buy a round for 10 or so people ... read more

What an eventful past few days it has been here in brisk and windy Sheffield! Sunday afternoon, I lazily rolled over to see that the time read 12:30...around 7:30 in the United States. I forced myself out of bed and started the day at an early 3 p.m. It was on this day that we discovered the fabulous T.K. Maxx (The American T.J. Maxx), Poundland, where everything is 1 pound, and Sainsbury grocery. Unfortunately Sainsbury closed their doors at 5, so our shopping spree came to an abrupt halt there. Poundland became our favorite store as soon as we walked through its doors. We must have looked like crazy American hooligans sprinting through the aisles with less than 5 minutes left 'til closing. We ended the night with a group dinner at this Mexican restaurant by ... read more

Ash is falling. A winter bonfire is crackling to my right being fed by seven behatted fire-feeders with a possible combined age of 490 years They feed the furious flames with branches from these old self-seeded trees that litter the cemetery. Ash falls like snow. This place is a quiet haven, holding some of the great families of Sheffield’s dead. The orchestra assemble to practice in the church, in the warm – away from this sharp frost – I saw only one young among them arrive on his bike with his violin on his back. I can hear the saxophonist practicing in the nave. Ash in my hair. Two trees have grown from the body of Albert Edward Waterfall, dead and buried 147 years ago. Albert senior joined his son 59 years later – father, wife, ... read more

6.19am, I wake knowing my tall daughter is sleeping next to me. it takes me a while to figure out the day and the reason. 6.20am, I realise I’m 48 years old. She’s always been able to sleep through anything but I still get out of bed without stirring the covers of making a sound. She sleeps on with long arms sticking out of my short clothes. the stairs are different. they creak. walking through the front room, light flooding across the floor, my son sleeps stretched out on the day bed with his back to the window. I pad past him because he is a light sleeper but my saving grace here is that he is almost deaf in one ear. I hope the ear that I can see, cannot hear me. But I only ... read more