Lads outings

 Wednesday 28th January 2026.        Birthday Bash Today would see a gathering of 10 Lads,  eventually meeting up at a pleasant little cafe in Bingley. The Loft is it’s name, a scheduled time of 12:30 was suggested to meet there, the Lads were given the option of engaging in a canal side walk first taking them from Saltaire to Bingley, or just going to Bingley direct. It would be John, Malcolm, Colin, Dave , Brian and Glenn that participate in the walk, it had been a cold and foggy start to the morning, with the hint of some sunshine, maybe. Glenn and Dave met up with Colin, Malcolm and Brian at Leeds railway station in order to catch the 10:26 train that would take them to Saltaire, John was there to greet them, by this time the sun was out and burning away the last of the foggy mist that had been hanging around , leaving clear blue skies now, we felt blessed. From the station here in Saltaire it was down the cobblestone streets and on to the Canal side pa...

 Tuesday 27th January 2026.            Blog Test Just a short post to check out the results.

Wednesday 21 January 2026 Visit to see Tim Kearney (Snr)   There would be eleven of us today rendezvousing at Roundhay Mansion to see Tim. Today’s group would consist of Brian, Donald, Ashton, Mark, Keith, John Howarth, Glenn, John Hey, Derek, Russell Tim and Colin. Dave was unable to attend today and was badly missed as he always is when he can’t make it.  The weather was slight drizzle in the air as we set off from the bus stop opposite Corn Exchange catching the No. 12 and extremely cold. However, Tim was already there when we arrived and was happy to see us all. Many of us ordered a snack and drink to make it a pleasurable meetup.  Various discussions were taking place and Tim was proud to be showing us his grandchild who had graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Physics and Nuclear Technology , well done.  The group discussed our next adventure at Bingley and it was decided that dependent on the weather we would walk from Saltaire to B...

  Wednesday June 25th 2025     The latest destination in our Infinite Road (and Rail!) trip was the historic city of Durham, in the land of the Prince Bishops. Brian and Mark met up at Leeds rail station, and boarded the  8.16am train to York. An early start!. On arrival in York, Brian and Mark were greeted by Glenn and Derek, and we boarded the 9.05 train to Durham. A good journey on an almost empty train. On arrival in Durham we headed for Treat's cafe ( directly across the street from where it used to be). A superb brunch was enjoyed by the four of us, and very good value it was, served by excellent and friendly young staff. From there it was on to Durham Cathedral, a jewel in the city's crown. An astonishing building which impressed us all, an inspiring and excellent visit, a couple of hours spent here. The treasures and jewels of St Cuthbert were on display in the museum section, fantastic. From here we decided to retire to the Victoria inn, a Grade II listed b...

 Wednesday 20th March 2024.                  Ambling at Anglers On a day that was predicted to be rather wet, we were rather fortunate not to contend with any serious downpours of rain as we walked around the lake here at Anglers Country Park. This is a location on the outskirts of Wakefield near the village of Crofton. It was a group of six that would venture out on a wet morning to converge on this location, their means of getting there would involve various modes of transport, John and Colin by train and bus , Derek, Dave and Glenn by bus, Keith arriving by car. Their journeys not running smoothly though. The 196 bus at 10:51 from Wakefield to Anglers was cancelled so a ride on the 195 was substituted only to find out that this particular bus didn’t go the full route to Anglers, it dropped off John, Colin, Derek and Dave at a bus terminus in Crofton and await the arrival of a 196 bus to continue their journey.  In the meantime Gl...

 Wednesday 13th March 2024.                Plan B. Revisited  With a forecast of possible heavy rain today’s planned walk was abandoned in favour of a return visit to the Ten Pin Bowling establishment in the Merrion Centre Leeds. A suggested meeting time of 11am was put in place and this is indeed what occurred. It would a group of 7 that would take up residence upon lane 12 , those being Brian, Colin, Derek , Dave, Glenn, John and Mark , they would contest 2 games , which proved to be both entertaining and enthralling to say the least. As the first frames began , it was evident that Glenn had participated in this sport before and he proved to be a formidable competitor, Derek, Brian and Dave giving him a good run his money, the other lads struggling to find any sort of rhythm during this first game. It was a totally different outcome during the second game, with John finding his mojo and putting together almost 3 strikes in a row he wen...

 Just a test to check system is running ok

  Wednesday 6th March 2024.               Birthday Bash at Horbury Today’s outing for the Lads will consist of a trip to the small town of Horbury and visit a local Inn named the Shepherds Arms all in the aid of celebrating 2 of our colleagues birthdays, those individuals being Malcolm and Mark, accompanied by John, Colin, Derek, Glenn, Keith and Dave. A meeting time of midday was arranged along with a pre booked table reservation courtesy of Derek. Some Lads travelled there by train and bus whilst others came by car. Our group of eight assembled in the car park awaiting for the entrance doors to be opened, it was a much colder day than the previous two days , so waiting around wasn’t what we expected, however the doors eventually opened and we were soon seated at an appropriate table close to the bar. Drinks were ordered and the menu browsed over with various conversations now taking place, some few minutes later the waitress began to take our in...

 Wednesday 6th March 2024.               Birthday Bash at Horbury Today’s outing for the Lads will consist of a trip to the small town of Horbury and visit a local Inn named the Shepherds Arms all in the aid of celebrating 2 of our colleagues birthdays, those individuals being Malcolm and Mark, accompanied by John, Colin, Derek, Glenn, Keith and Dave. A meeting time of midday was arranged along with a pre booked table reservation courtesy of Derek. Some Lads travelled there by train and bus whilst others came by car. Our group of eight assembled in the car park awaiting for the entrance doors to be opened, it was a much colder day than the previous two days , so waiting around wasn’t what we expected, however the doors eventually opened and we were soon seated at an appropriate table close to the bar. Drinks were ordered and the menu browsed over with various conversations now taking place, some few minutes later the waitress began to take our ind...

 Monday 10 th July           Test Page Just checking the blog page.

  Wednesday 5th July 2023.                 Meaningful  Morley It would be for more reasons than one that the Lads would visit the West Yorkshire town of Morley today Firstly a prearranged meeting at the Lime Tree Restaurant as a means of a belated birthday celebration ,for one of our dear friends Keith Bland had been organised . A meeting time of midday was scheduled and it would be a group of seven that would partake in a lunchtime meal. The group consisted of John, Colin, Glenn, Derek, Dave, Russ and of course Keith. We soon found ourselves sat at an appropriate table with drinks on order the various conversations began between each other. One of the main topics being discussed was that of the recent loss of an old work colleague and prominent figure in the rugby league fraternity. His name was Trevor Leathley, it soon became apparent that he had been a somewhat larger than life character who had made the most of what life had to offer...

 Wednesday 5th July 2023.                 Meaningful  Morley It would be for more reasons than one that the Lads would visit the West Yorkshire town of Morley today Firstly a prearranged meeting at the Lime Tree Restaurant as a means of a belated birthday celebration ,for one of our dear friends Keith Bland had been organised . A meeting time of midday was scheduled and it would be a group of seven that would partake in a lunchtime meal. The group consisted of John, Colin, Glenn, Derek, Dave, Russ and of course Keith. We soon found ourselves sat at an appropriate table with drinks on order the various conversations began between each other. One of the main topics being discussed was that of the recent loss of an old work colleague and prominent figure in the rugby league fraternity. His name was Trevor Leathley, it soon became apparent that he had been a somewhat larger than life character who had made the most of what life had to offer ...

  Wednesday 18 August 2021 Leeds - Hessle via Hull.   It was a mild morning as Brian, John and Colin assembled on Platform 15 for the Leeds to “Hull Paragon” six car combination with plenty of space and seats.  We would be alighting at Hull  at 10:34  to change for the  10:53  to Hessle which is the nearest station to the Humber Bridge a journey of about seven minutes.  We then tried to reach the Humber Bridge which was to prove troublesome and extremely difficult.  The signage to the Bridge was non existent and we had to ask a number of people the way.   However, perseverance eventually paid off and we were soon climbing the steps at the start of the bridge.  The weather was now much warmer as we navigated the bridge in the direction of Barton on Humber with only the offside pathway in use and the views across the Humber most  enchanting.  It would take just over an hour to cross the Bridge and the breeze kept us from ove...

 Wednesday 11th August 2021.                 Birthday Bash  What a brilliant day was in prospect for the Lads today, but little did they know how extra special it would turn out to be. It all started off with a train journey from Leeds to the Lancashire town of Rochdale, there would be just 4 lads participating in this adventure, John,Brian, Colin and Dave the latter 2 are celebrating their birthday’s in the next couple of days, so this was an extra special treat for them.  Upon arrival at Rochdale station at about 10:15 the next step was to take a bus ride on the 471 heading for the market town of Bury, this journey would take about 25-30 minutes. The Lads were soon aboard a bus as this service was 1 every 10 minutes , not bad. Their plan once reaching Bury was to locate the famous Lancashire Fusiliers Museum and spend about 90 minutes looking around all the artefacts regarding this famous battalion, what a really magnificent displ...

 4th August 2021.                    Stanley Ferry Walk  Today’s adventure would take the lads to the local beauty spot of Stanley Ferry, a canal side location on the outskirts of Wakefield. The intrepid group will include Colin and Brian who have made their way there with a train and bus journey, Derek, Keith and Dave have come by car, all meeting up in the car park at the Hungry Horse outlet pub near the banks of the canal, the time was a few minutes after 11:00 . Greetings over the lads now began their adventure with a canal side walk heading back in the direction of Wakefield passing many barges of different shapes and sizes that are moored here at this location.   Soon the Lads leave the waterside and head off into the woodlands close bye and journey on towards an interesting feature which uses the power of the water to generate electricity, the construction is named Kirkthorpe Hydro and has established a rather loud...