Yazz - The Only Way Is Up

Gawd it been a busy day

The four staff on duty today were on their feet all shift.

And when we finally finished work

My fellow staff nurse looked at me with tired eyes and said with succinct economy  “ I’m Fucked!”

I bought two cheap scotch eggs from the local spar shop as huge waves lashed the West Shore in Llandudno. 

The whole of the North Wales coast is under flood warnings this weekend as gales push the high tide South.

The scotch eggs weren’t too calorific or tasty 

So I didn’t finish them as I listened to radio 2 on the way home

The Only Way Is Up by Yazz kept me awake

It transported me back to The Roxy nightclub on Bootham in York circa 1988

A club frequented by nurses on Thursday nights 

Accessed by a door and a staircase, a stones throw from Bootham Park Hospital just outside the city walls.

Thursday nights were alternative nights

Where nurses partied hard, and where we shared the dance floor with gay men and women , a few moody goths and a couple of badly dressed transvestites/ drag queens who spent long hours sat at the bar like Barbara Stanwick and Rosalind Russell after a dozen vodka martinis

I always wore a red bow tie back then , which complemented a set of red braces over my white grandad shirt.

And I alway danced like loon with anyone who would dance with me

Happy days

I’m top left…..Martin Kirby is the guy in the light shirt (/we are still in touch) the lady in green is Tracy Birkin , a wonderful nurse who could chase and catch any escaping patient whilst wearing high heels and a pencil skirt x

from Going Gently https://ift.tt/31miBAf

Parklife

"Hello! My name is Lottie and I live  at The Animal Farm in Graves Park which is a 240 acre public park in Sheffield's southern suburbs. I live with some sheep, llamas, alpacas, chickens, guinea pigs, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits and goats but I am by far the biggest. I am a shire horse and I'm five years old. My ancestors used to plough the fields of England before tractors came along.

The Animal Farm is aimed at children and families but on Thursday I noticed a tall dark stranger walk into the yard in a Hull City manager's coat. He was brandishing a camera and asked me to stay still while he snapped an arty farty picture of my right eye which you can check out below."

Before arriving at The Animal Farm on my circuit of Graves Park, I had called in to The Rose Cafe for lunch - a sausage and chopped tomato  sandwich with a mug of tea. This was my table as I waited for the sandwich to arrive:-

Here's another picture from the park. A lone sycamore tree with its leaves now stripped ready for winter. Beyond it, in the distance, the hills of  The Peak District roll over into Derbyshire . The tree stands in a very exposed position. It must be very strong, refusing to be blown down through the years it has been growing there.

Finally back to The Animal Farm where one of Santa's elves was sitting in the kiosk with his COVID mask on looking a little sorry for himself. With it being a Thursday afternoon, business was slow.  Don't worry - I asked for his permission to take the photograph. He was happy to oblige

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/3dl8GNB