From 'La Mole' to Penge

We travelled up to Leeds yesterday. Adrian hired quite a large estate car but even so it was a bit of a struggle to fit my long, injured leg in the front seat.
We managed but after a 4 hr 30 min journey (1 hr of which just to get out of London) my leg was very stiff/sore when we got here.

The hotel room (with a disabled toilet) would be OK if it wasn't for the fact that there's no air-conditioning, the small desk fan provided cannot be plugged in anywhere near the beds (because there are no sockets) and we are in the middle of a mini heat-wave.
This combined with the fact that the window can only be opened ajar got me a bit panicky last night but luckily I/we managed to sleep. Needless to say we didn't need the duvets and the blankets provided!

We ate at the Italian restaurant of the hotel which just reopened last week. They ran out of jugs for the water, of ricotta for Adrian's pizza, the cocktails arrived after the starter and my Disaronno Sour was a Mojito instead. We waited ages for the pizzas and at the end sinceI was in quite a bit of pain sitting on the wheelchair, we had them boxed and ate (some of) them in the room.

Today the plan was of having a rest before the funeral tomorrow.
Adrian ran a few errands this morning while I sat on one of the sofas in the air-conditioned hall and this afternoon he took me for a bit of fresh air to Otley, a market town 10 miles out of Leeds,
We had a stroll in a park by the river.










(the double ice-cream is mine of course, as I'm poorly! lol)





While we were in the park, I had to talk to my boss's boss re work.
He's wondering whether I'm well enough to do some work from home (despite having a sick note until the end of the month!). I think I'll be able to do some work next week or the week after (depending on what they say at the hospital on Thu) but I don't quite understand how it is going to work legally: one is either sick or isn't, right? I cannot sit at the table and workin with the laptop resting on my thighs is rather tiring, plus I need rest and I'll have hospital appointments.

In the last couple of weeks or so my injury, surgery, etc. has been a bit of a distraction for Adrian, and his mother's passing has felt - in some ways -almost unreal to him. Now on the evening of the funeral it has started to feel much more real and, of course - for lack of better words - very final.
I'm sure he'll get through tomorrow: he's made of stern stuff. And of course, I'll be there for him, and vice-versa.

This evening we're going to have a small family gathering here at the hotel...

The slideshow includes pictures of the Queen's Hotel, Leeds Town Hall, Civic Hall, Leeds Art Gallery and the Victorian copies of Italian belfries in Holbeck.

I still haven't posted the bulk of the pictures taken in in Leeds the week-end before last. 
I'm planning to do so this week.

I'm starting with Leeds Corn Exchange:
 


an amazing building now mainly empty apart from the restaurant in the basement:

Even on the grey day of our visit, it was surprisingly light inside.

This week-end we were in Leeds for a family celebration: Oscar, Adrian's oldest nephew turned 18 on Saturday.
We went up on the train in the morning, checked-in at the Queen's hotel in City Square, had a look around the city centre and then met him and the rest of the family at an Italian restaurant, where they often go.

The restaurant was really busy (there was a queue outside at 5:30 pm), hot and noisy. It turned out that there were 5 birthday celebrations that night: we know that because for 5 times a group of waiters rushed to tables shaking tamburins and singing Happy Birthday. 

So, for me, the best part of the evening was later, when we went back to Fiona's for cake, drinks and some relaxed conversation.



I cannot quite believe that Oscar (here on the right-hand side) is 18! It only seems like yesterday when I met him for the first time: he was 7. Tempus fugit.