A Friday at the End of August

On the last Friday of August I had a busy day. I had arranged to see my friend Philippa for lunch. She lives in Sheffield so we generally meet up there, and take it in turns to choose where we'll eat. I had a hankering for sushi so I suggested Mr Miyagi's on Division Street. However, it's in the pedestrianised area of Division Street which makes it difficult to get to and hard to park near. Philippa and I both struggle with access, and I hate parking round there. So we decided I would park at hers and we would get a taxi together to very close to Mr Miyagi's. So that's what we did. The restaurant doesn't have tons of tables, but there was one free so we managed to get in.

I've only been there once before but I had the Korean barbecue mock chicken so I wanted that again, but they didn't have any. So I went for muck duck bao buns instead. I also got a vegetarian sushi platter because it was sushi I wanted! It was really good food and the atmosphere was pretty good inside. I need to go back more often! 

We then walked next door to the Frog and Parrot and sat on the pavement and had a drink and I had a chocolate brownie and ice cream for pudding. We were under a parasol and it was lovely and sunny so we sat chatting for ages before getting a taxi back to Philippa's. 

I got home and relaxed for a bit before just after 6pm when Lee and I set off to Chesterfield to go to his friend Brian's house. Brian has built a bar in a summer house in his garden and he had invited us over for a drink. He's the bass player in Lee's band and their ex bandmate Leah was there too. Brian's girlfriend Lisa was there too, and another friend called Holly who I haven't met before but it was really nice to meet her! We sat in the pub and had a few drinks and some snacks and chatted and stuff. It was really good fun and the bar is lush, really cosy. 

We got back about 11pm after taking Leah back to Sheffield. Lee doesn't drink alcohol which is very useful so he can drive! It was a fun, friend filled day 

Mock duck bao buns with hoisin sauce. The vegetarian selection in Mr Miyagi's is extensive and everything I've had has been so good!

Vegetarian sushi platter - it was also lovely

I also had a beer outside the pub; I love drinking beer in the sunshine!

My brownie in the pub

The bar at Brian's. The pumps don't actually connect to anything but they do look the part!

And here we all are - Brian took this photo. I was wearing my galaxy print dress but didn't get a close up photo of it

Sunday with Paul and Lianne

Paul and Lianne weren't going home until lunchtime on the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend, so we said we would see them on the Sunday morning too. I'm not sure what our original plan was, but as they really enjoyed the antiques centre in Wakefield the day before, we said we should take them to Elsecar Heritage Centre because it has a big antiques centre in it. They got the train to Barnsley where we picked them up, and then we drove through. We got to Elsecar just as it was opening and went into the antiques centre. I spotted a lovely sapphire pendant and ended up getting it. Lee went halves on it with me. 

We walked round to the pantry cafe and had toasted something - like a fruit loaf - and butter for us and jam for the vegans. We went into the sweet shop and got sweeties. Lee went into the record shop - of course - and Lianne and I went into the craft shop. We left about midday because we didn't want to be late for the train. 

Lee and I popped into the supermarket on the way home and got ingredients for Mexican eggy bread for tea which turned out to be easy and delicious and I would definitely eat it again. 

I was wearing this rose print dress which I discovered in my dresses recently with the tags still on so I clearly haven't worn it before. It's really nice, it's from Simply Be, and I think I will wear it a lot over the winter!

I absolutely love old sewing machines and if I had room to just display one in my house I would completely do that!

Here's the pendant I bought. I need a slightly longer chain for it though

Hot chocolate. I didn't take a picture of my fruit loaf stuff

I got these records for ONE POUND each!

Rose print dress from Simply Be

Here's Kiki in the after just looking cute 

And here's my Mexican eggy bread!

Day Out with Paul and Lianne

On the 24th of August our friends Paul and Lianne came to visit. They booked a hotel in Wakefield and got the train to there. Lee and I went a little bit early because we wanted to have a look round the Ridings. We went for a coffee and a toasted teacake each to begin with, which was lovely. Then Paul and Lianne joined us at the antiques centre in there which is a real treasure trove of things. We didn't know that they liked looking at antiques so that was nice to learn! 

Once we had looked round Wakefield enough we drove to Holmfirth. Paul and Lianne are both vegan and I know that Lick, a vegan ice cream shop, is there, and I knew they'd like it. We parked in the Co op and walked across the bridge and went into a bunch of shops. We looked in the vintage shop and all the charity shops and stuff. At about 3pm we went into Lick. I got chocolate and strawberry ice cream in a cone which was lovely. Lianne was really overcome by having so much choice! I knew they would like Holmfirth and I was glad to be right! 

Lianne was wearing sparkly Converse that are a bit like mine so I took photos and then Paul made me take a photo of his and Lee's Converse because they were both wearing all black ones. About 4pm we set off to Glossop to go to The Globe which is an all vegan pub. We drove over the moors which were absolutely stunning in the sunshine, so we stopped at a vantage point to look out and take some photos. 

The Globe gets really busy and you can't book which is why I wanted to get there early, but when we got there it was really empty! We got some drinks and sat and chatted though. Again Lianne just had too many choices as everything is vegan. She ordered some hot dogs and some chilli fries for us all to share to start with, and then I had a nacho burger and Lee had sauisages, chips and gravy. We were all so full afterwards!

We took Paul and Lianne back to Wakefield to their hotel and we were home by about 8.45. We were knackered so we went and got into bed and watched TV there. I had bought a jammy rock bun type of thing in Holmfirth so I ate that. I got five books in Holmfirth too which I was happy with. 

I was wearing one of my flamingo skirts and a new flamingo top that I got on Vinted. It's really cute all together! 

My latte and toasted teacake in Wakefield first thing

Crossing the bridge over the river in Holmfirth

Wasn't it so pretty?

Ice creams outside Licke

Here are Lianne and me in sparkly Converse, because we're sparkly girls

And here's the punks in black Converse because they are punks

To be fair Lee also has some mint green hi tops but he wasn't wearing them that day

Looking out at the moors 

Paul standing on a rock

And here's all four of us!

Starters. We couldn't tell much difference in the hot dogs, two of them were supposed to be spicy but we couldn't tell

Nacho burger

Lee's sausages and chips

The Globe is still pretty cheap, and delicious - I recommend it!

Double flamingo when we got home

Here's all the books I got. As you can see, I'm having a bit of a Val McDermid thing

And finally my jammy biscuit last thing

Lee's Birthday 2024

On the 21st of August it was Lee's 42nd birthday and he and I spent the day at a spa! For his birthday in 2023, my mum and I both bought him vouchers to Woodland Spa in Burnley, and we hadn't had chance to use them yet. We talked about using them in April or May of this year, but when I rung them, the spa wasn't fully open because they were doing a huge refurbishment. So we decided to go on Lee's birthday and make a day of it. We could get in from 10.30 so we set off nice and early at 8.30 in case there was traffic. 

The traffic was fine though and we had a bit of time so we stopped to get some coffee and breakfast at one of the services. We got to Burnley about 10.15 and were allowed into the spa straight away which was good. We got changed - the women's changing rooms were absolutely huge and definitely needed some signs for the numbers - and into the spa. 

I am not joking when I tell you that this is probably the best spa I have ever been to. It is huge, it just keeps on going, and it is SO fancy and special. We had an absolutely brilliant day and we're already making plans to go back sometime because it's definitely worth it. We could have stayed until 9.30pm when it closed, making it excellent value for money, and we also got a two course meal and a drink included so it's worth it. I want to take everyone I know!

We started off in the Vitality pool, which was so warm. It has a big waterfall at one end, and two areas with different jets and seats. It has two hot tubs attached which were nice and warm too. Around this pool are experience showers, an ice lounge, and lots of loungers. 

We then moved on to the middle pool. This is called the Hydrotherapy pool. It is circular and it again has lots of jets and things in it. Around it are steam rooms and two saunas, and treatment rooms. There are loungers here, too, although the heated ones weren't yet working with heat (but obviously you could still sit on them). There were foot spas here too. 

We went into the Serenity pool too, which is all dark and kept quiet. The water seemed to be salty which keeps you buoyant and which was lovely. Then we headed outside - the swimming pool starts inside and goes outside. It's heated but it wasn't hot. Also outside are two hot tubs and an infinity hot tub. We went in that one. 

By this time it was about 12 o'clock so we headed up to the roof terrace. On the way we past the mezzanine floors, which has a bunch of comfy beds to lie on. The lift wasn't working on the day we visited - which to be fair I did get an email about - so we went up the stairs. We had a dressing gown and flip flops each, and we also used about three towels each. Outside on the roof is an infinity sided hot tub with a beautiful view of the countryside, and plenty of loungers. The weather wasn't brilliant on that day, but the hot tub was so warm that it was fine! 

Our lunch was booked for 12.45 in the restaurant on the terrace. Part of the ongoing refurbishment is in the other restaurant, but the roof one is really nice too. There were plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. We shared some bread and dips to start with and then Lee had fish and chips and I had a vegan 'duck' hoisin wrap which was really nice. It came with chips, too. For dessert Lee had sticky toffee pudding and I had a vegan brownie with ice cream. I also had both glasses of wine - one pink and one fizzy!

They knew it was Lee's birthday because he had had to fill in his details before we arrived, and there was a birthday card in his locker which was nice. Then at lunch they brought him a small piece of brownie with a sparkler in it! It was really fun and cool, I was glad he got a bit spoilt. 

In the afternoon we went round all the areas again! Because why not! We stayed outside upstairs for a bit, then went back downstairs. We went into the terrace hot tub and then into the bar there. It has tapas which would be perfect if you were staying all day, but we were really full so didn't bother. I had a Kir Royale which was gorgeous. There are two areas with fire pits so we sat around one of those for a bit too. 

We honestly just had such a good time. Around 5.30 more people arrived because they do a 'twilight' experience from 5.30 til 9.30, but it still wasn't too busy. It felt fine. We left not long after that though because we wanted to get back for the cats. I had a shower and used all the free toiletries, and we set off about 6pm I guess. Lee then talked to some friends for the rest of his birthday!

I really cannot gush about this place enough, though. We will definitely go back, it's pure luxury!

The Vitality pool just as we arrived. The Ice Lounge is on the left there

View of the Vitality pool from the lounger I was lying on

The Hydrotherapy pool which had many buttons to press

The Serenity pool which was dark and warm and just gorgeous

This is the swimming pool which starts inside and leads outside. You can see the hot tubs beyond it

This is the outdoor hot tub on the terrace, it had a bunch of seats

These comfy things were on the mezzanine on our way up, but we didn't stay there

Looking down on the Vitality pool from the mezzanine

The hot tub on the roof

Always love two glasses of wine, me

The bread and dips we shared to start with

My hoisin wrap, which was really nice

Lee's sticky toffee pudding

And my brownie

Lee's brownie and sparkler. I realise the flame doesn't look real in this photo, but I promise it was!

The fire pit on the roof terrace

And the fire pit inside the terrace bar

Here we are sitting by that enjoying a drink

I had a gorgeous Kir Royale

Lastly, the Hydrotherapy pool not long before we left

The rest of the photos are Lee's, but I'll include them anyway

Sign on the terrace. The spa is attached to a hotel which is part of a chain that we've been to before, so I know it would be good if you wanted to stay over too

The outside part of the swimming pool

Lee and I in the pool

The fire pit inside the terrace bar, where we sat for a drink

Me in the roof terrace hot tub

And here I am in the swimming pool, you can see where it goes inside

The view from the roof hot tub

And here I am in the pool again