Darnall

Verse 257 in The Saga of My Brother's Death and What Happened Afterwards, involved me travelling five miles to a suburb of this city that I do not know well.  It is called Darnall and I was there for an appointment at a branch of The Trustee Savings Bank. It was Simon's chosen bank.

I was there to shut down his current account and I was dealt with very pleasantly and professionally by a lovely young woman called Emily. Previously, I had repeatedly tried to use the bank's "simple" online process to close the account but to no avail. I had fixed today's appointment three weeks ago.

Though not entirely tied up because the bank requires a signature from my brother Robin in France, today's business went smoothly thanks to Emily.

Afterwards I thought I would have a little walk around Darnall. Once it was an entirely white working class district. Many steelworkers lived in the terraced streets but in the last fifty years it has become a magnet for Pakistani and Bangladeshi  immigrants and Muslims from a number of African countries. I don't know what the population balance is these days but I would guess the white host community is now less than 50% of the total.

Reedesque street scene in Darnall

Because I  had only had a slice of toast for breakfast, I was getting hunger pangs so I decided to treat myself in  "The Teasmaid Cafe" that was once home to "Dot's Chip Pan" takeaway. Looking up at the big menu on the wall, I  noted that for £5 you could buy either a traditional English breakfast or an intriguing  Indian breakfast. Perhaps bravely, I decided to go for the latter. Onion omelette, a melange of chick peas (channa) with keema (mince) and tomato with spices and two freshly made parathas (a kind of Indian bread). It was simply delicious and here it is:-

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/Gu6mQCt