Flying Trip to Brighton

In the first week of August I went to Brighton overnight. I am on someone's PhD steering group and we have two in person meetings per academic year. In February we met up in Birmingham and this time went to Brighton, where the PhD person and three other people in the group also live, so that was useful. I have never been to Brighton so I was excited to go! 

I knew I couldn't drive that far by myself so I had booked train tickets. Lee took me to Penistone station at about 10am, and I got to Sheffield a bit late but managed to get on the London train with only about thirty seconds to spare. It wasn't very busy at all so I had two seats to myself and did some reading and some cross stitching. I got into St Pancras and got changed to the Brighton train. It was quite a slow one but it wasn't too busy and I got to see lots of London suburbs etc. I got into Brighton about 2.30, went to the loo, bought some more water because it was right in the middle of the heatwave, and then got a taxi to the Premier Inn.

My mum and stepdad and aunt and uncle had been to Brighton earlier in the year and had stayed in the same hotel! It was very central. I had a little lie down and then I wandered into the Lanes to meet my colleague Jade. They live in Brighton too and know Laurel, from the PhD, a bit. They had suggested we meet at Knoops for iced chocolate so I headed there. I chose a 60% dark orange iced chocolate and I sat outside and waited for Jade. They turned up not too long after and we chatted for about an hour. It was lovely to be able to see them too!

I went back to the hotel to meet some of the others and four of us headed to Shelter Hall which is right on the seafront and which is one of those places with several different food vendors under one roof, which was ideal for us with different dietary requirements. I went for mushroom tacos and tortilla chips with a dip, which were both really yummy. A few more people turned up and it was really fun to just chat again with people. The more often we meet the more friendly we become!

I headed back with some of the others at about 8.30 I think. I was tired and in pain so wanted to rest. I was reading Everyone Is Lying to You which I really liked, so I definitely read some of that before sleep. 

On Friday morning I got up early and realised I had forgotten to bring any deodorant, so I went downstairs to the Co op next to the hotel to buy some. I went back up for breakfast and met some of the others who had stayed over too. We were all downstairs by 9.30 to get in taxis to take us to the university. Laurel was already there and had the meeting all set up. 

We met until 1pm with fruit and snacks. I think it went well. Laurel's PhD is actually so interesting and I'm enjoying being a part of it and getting to be professionally fat again. I got a taxi back to the station with someone else, but my return trains weren't until after 5pm as that had been much cheaper, so I had some time to kill. The Brighton natives had advised me on where to go so I set off into the North Lanes where there are tons of kooky little shops. 

I had made sure to only take my backpack with me so I had that, and it wasn't too heavy, but it was a bit cumbersome. I was probably a bit slow, but I took my time. I found somewhere called the Vegetarian Cafe to have my lunch in. It reminded me so much of The Blue Moon cafe in Sheffield which I loved but which has sadly closed now. You chose a main and then a side and then salad. I got enchiladas with potato wedges and then aioli and hummus too. It was so good!

I bought a record for Lee in a secondhand shop, and a couple of other bits. I stopped for an iced coffee and a vegan caramel shortbread and a sit down. It was cool being in Brighton, I enjoyed people watching a lot. I sat for a while near a park where Trans Pride had been the previous week, so it was cool to see some of the flyers for that etc. I got a taxi back to the station because it was quite a walk back, and uphill, and I knew I wouldn't manage it. 

I finally got back on the train to St Pancras and then nearly missed the train to Sheffield because I had to go to the loo and then there wasn't a platform for ages. But I managed to get it - and it was SO full. There were no seats and I can't stand in the vestibules and find it hard to stand on moving trains anyway. I did in fact fully fall into a person when we set off. Finally someone offered me his seat which was good. It was busy nearly all the way back to Sheffield. Fortunately Lee picked me up there because I was very tired by this point and needed to be home! 

The roof at St Pancras

On the Brighton train on London Bridge

Iced chocolate from Knoops. I'm so glad a lot of places have started doing this because I really like it! But I get that Knoops is like the OG, I will have to go to another one some day!

Here's Jade and me outside Knoops

A cute little map of the area near to the hotel

The book I was reading, which was far better than Yesteryear

Tacos! I feel like I rarely get good Mexican food and this was fabulous

And chips and dip too

I had to go take the touristy photo of the burnt out pier which looked gorgeous with the sunset behind it, too

This very cool sculpture was just outside our meeting room at Sussex University

It was made by the traveller community and I really liked it

Starting my wander around the Lanes

The vegetarian lunch I had, I could eat it again right now

And the vegan caramel shortbread I had later!

Scunthorpe Zine Fest 2026

At the very beginning of August Lee and I headed over to Scunthorpe for the zine fest. I've applied for it a couple of years but never got a table before, so I was thrilled to finally get one! I don't think I've ever been to Scunthorpe before. We set off really early because I thought the fest started earlier than it did, but oh well. We got set up and were next to some lovely people. Phoebe was the artist and seller, but her mum was there as well and she and I got talking and eventually followed each other on Instagram, so it was nice to make a new friend!

There were quite a few zinesters I hadn't met before, so that was good too. I bought a bunch of zines and traded a couple too. Lee went out and got us some lunch and we had coffee and cake from the cafe itself. Lee's friend George lives in Scunthorpe so he and another friend came along and talked to Lee for a while. It was a cool venue too. 

We packed up and set off home. We had considered getting tea in Scunthorpe but had decided to come back to Penistone and go for curry there. We have two curry houses in Penistone and we hadn't tried this one before. While we were in there we bumped into the people we bought our house from last year so we talked to them a bit especially about how much we love the house! 

We relaxed for the rest of the day. Zine fests always really take it out of me because I have to be switched on. I did some sewing. I have a new cross stitch of the William Morris Strawberry Thief pattern that I want to start soon and I wanted a project bag to keep it in. So I bought a piece of matching fabric on eBay and sewed a very simple bag with a zip. As I've said before, I'm not a great seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy it. And the end result is good enough! 

My half table all set up

There was great graffiti in the loos

Here was everything I bought or traded. There was someone with a zine vending machine there which was very cool!

The project bag when it was finished

And a close up of the zip because my mother, who really can sew, wanted to see it. She thought I had done well!

Meadowhall with Chloe and Laura

At the very end of July I went to Meadowhall to meet up with Chloe and Laura. We hadn't been in ages! It wasn't too busy even though the kids had broken up. We had coffee first and then we did a bit of shopping. I had heard there was a Real Housewives range in Primark so I wanted to go and look at it. Chloe came with me, which I appreciated. The range isn't huge but I had to have one of the Salt Like City pyjama sets. The t shirt fits me fine but the shorts have got no chance, so I passed them on to Sarah who I knew would wear them. 

We didn't go into many shops although we did have a look in Yours which actually had quite a lot of colourful things in it. Then we headed to Pizza Express for lunch! I have been loving pizza recently which is unusual for me, and the others agreed. I had a fiorentina pizza with an egg in the middle which Chloe was very suspicious of!

We sat chatting for ages and didn't feel like the staff were keen to get rid of us. We got some money off with the Pizza Express app too, which was good. Then we of course headed off to Hotel Chocolat for drinks and cake. I think I had a mint iced chocolate but not sure if I had a cake as I was full of pizza! 

We sat there again for ages until it was time to say goodbye as Chloe had to get back to Ian. There was quite a bit of traffic to get home and I was knackered when I got home so laid down for a bit, but not before trying on my new t shirt! I haven't actually worn it yet but I really need to! It's ridiculous, I know. I love a lot of Real Housewives franchises though, I love trashy telly!

I had also received a bundle of books that I got on Vinted. I have read some of them before, but am happy to give away the duplicates that I have. They cost less than £10 all in and I need to get to some soon! 

A bundle of books I got on Vinted. I'm going to pass some on to my cousin

Fiorentina pizza, complete with egg

Here we are in Hotel Chocolat. You can see the dress I was wearing - it was SO hot and this is one of the thinnest things I own

And here's the Real Housewives t shirt. It's something Heather said when she found out fellt housewife Monica was really a blogger called Realite Von Teese. I KNOW! THE DRAMA! 

Meeting Katie in Leeds

At the very end of July I went to Leeds to meet up with my friend Katie. I decided to drive to Leeds because getting the train there really takes it out of me and I didn't want to have to walk a lot. I parked in Trinity car park and crossed over the road to meet Katie. 

We went into Trinity and went in a couple of shops - I got some birthday presents for Lee's upcoming birthday. We had a coffee in Costa. Then we went up to The Alchemist where Katie had booked a table. It wasn't very busy at all and we got nice comfy seats. 

We each ordered a mocktail as we weren't drinking. Katie had this ice cream bubble thing which was rhubarb flavoured, and I had a virgin pornstar which was delicious. For food I had smoked burnt ends tacos which were vegan and tasted so good! I miss beef burnt ends and these were a really good approximation. I think I had some kind of potato side with them, too. 

We decided to not get dessert but had a glass of prosecco each which we sipped slowly while chatting a mile a minute. I met Katie on my first day at uni because we lived in the same house. It turned out we were both from Wakefield and we were both doing Theology. Weird! We lived together all three years and she was one of my bridesmaids when I got married. She's one of my favourite people and I really like just chatting to her. 

We finally left The Alchemist and I mentioned I was going to go to Hotel Chocolat for a hot chocolate so Katie said she would come with me. I had a hot chocolate and a piece of brownie or something, I can't remember now. We kept ON chatting - we honestly could talk for days. We finally said goodbye and I think it was after 4pm by the time I got home. I went into the kitchen to find Kiki looking cute on the duvet that lives on the sofa in the kitchen, so I took a photo of her. She is a pretty little cat! 

I forgot to get a picture of us, and I didn't get a picture of my outfit either so I can't tell you about that. Oh well! I had a good day with my friend. 

I bought an eyeliner with a winged stamp thing on it, and this was my first time using it. It works pretty well, it looks cute! 

Virgin pornstar cocktail 

And Katie's bubble drink

Plant based burnt ends tacos which I would definitely eat again

And here's Kiki

Afternoon Tea with Roslyn

At the end of July Lee had a busy weekend - I think he played a gig one day and went to a festival the other - so I was left alone all weekend. Which was fine! But I decided to make plans and asked my friend Roslyn if she wanted to meet up for lunch. I went to school with Roslyn although she's older than me, but we've known each other for nearly thirty years now! As I didn't have the big car I didn't have the satnav so I suggested going to Wentworth Garden Centre for afternoon tea as I can drive there by myself. Roslyn had never been so that was nice too.

We met about 1pm I think. It was HOT. We walked through the centre into The Bothy. It's pretty new but I went there for lunch on my birthday and I've also had afternoon tea there before, with Philippa. We got seated and ordered our drinks, including tap water. The coffee and tea arrived and the afternoon tea arrived. The water did not. We ended up having to ask FOUR TIMES for water and that was only because the fourth time I actually walked over to the bar until they gave me a glass. I needed to take my meds! The crazy thing was that the receipt we were given had THREE jugs of water itemised on it (free, of course) and not ONE of them had arrived at our table. It was annoying but also just hilarious becaust WHAT HAPPENED to the water???

Ros and I are both vegetarian so we had asked for the vegetarian afternoon tea of course. It was delicious! The sandwiches were egg mayo, cheese, tomato and pesto, and vegetable and hummus I think. Then there was also a vegetable roll type thing - we reckoned it was butternut squash inside it. And a mini piece of quiche! It was good.

The scones were still warm and there was plenty of cream but not much jam - but still good. The cakes were brownie, salted caramel tart, a meringue type thing and a lemon and elderflower drizzle cake thing. Neither of us could eat all the cakes so we ended up bringing boxes home.

We paid and went for a wander round the shops. I got a present for someone and a couple of other bits. There was a fruit and veg van in the car park as there usually is, so I got some strawberries. We snapped this photo of us just before we said goodbye. It was HOT and I was melting by this point. I had been wearing the dress that my mother made for me out of a duvet cover.

I came home and definitely laid down in front of the air conditioner for a while and let myself rest! Fibromyalgia has absolutely kicked my ass this summer as it's been so hot. Usually I like the heat as it makes my joints feel better, but it was just SO hot which affected me more. I'm glad it's cooled down a bit now 

Our lovely afternoon tea trays. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, I just really don't know what happened with the water!

Ros and I. Yes she is a lot taller than me!

Day Out in Holmfirth

On the 18th of July Lee and I had a weekend free so we decided to go to Holmfirth. I love the place but parking is a pain, but since I got my blue badge I knew it would be easier as there are disabled spaces right in the middle. So I said we should go. We parked by the bus station to begin with and wandered into a few shops and charity shops. Holmfirth Pride was the weekend after so there were already lots of rainbow flags and so on up, so that was nice to see. We went in to the Fair Trade shop where I don't think I've ever been before, and I bought some bath salts as I find them really useful for my joints. I need to have more baths actually, I haven't had one in a while! 

We also went into the crystal shop where I have also never been. It is HUGE and has SO many HUGE crystals. You could literally spend thousands of pounds in there. I bought a piece of amethyst made into an incense holder as I lost my incense holder in the move and I haven't found it since. I could have bought more though! They also have jewellery making you can do there so next time I go I would really like to do that because it looked so cute. 

We weren't sure where to eat but settled on Bloc, which was near the crystal shop and which does brunch. We sat outside; it wasn't quite as hot as it had been in the weeks previous, but it was still pretty warm. I had smashed avocado and poached eggs on toast which were really good! I think Lee had beans on toast with a poached egg too. 

Then we walked to Dixon's Ice Cream. It's where Lick used to be so I am a bit sad that Lick had gone because that was all vegan which was amazing! But I guess it just didn't make that much money so Dixon's has come in instead. They have other branches in Huddersfield and Lockwood. They make milk ice which is not exactly ice cream but it is really sweet and delicious. They had different flavours but I went for the original with raspberry sauce which is exactly how it should be eaten. Lee had chocolate I think. 

We then went into a few more shops including the Oxfam bookshop where I bought a book, and the cheese shop where we bought butter and cheese, and the bakery, and the charity shop next to the bakery where I picked up some fabric for cross stitching. Then we went into a bar opposite the bakery, I can't remember what it was called. It obviously used to be a bank. I had an elderflower spritz. It was so nice to just sit for a bit together. 

Lee had had to move the car so we were parked just outside the bar, which was just as well as it was busy! So we came home. I had been wearing this Joe Browns dress which is heavy because it's lined, and it's lovely! I love the colour of it.

 

Pride bunting outside the library, I think

And on display in the Fair Trade shop. I could have spent a fortune in there, they had a lot of lovely gifts and a yarn shop upstairs!

My brunch. I bloody love brunch

And my ice cream! So yummy!

Elderflower spritz

And here's Lee and I

And my dress when we got home

What I bought, excluding the amthyst incense holder!

Family Holiday Day 5

On the Sunday of our trip to Kent we got up and went swimming again first thing. But the big pool was closed so we all just had to go in the baby pool - which was actually deep enough to sit in and float about so we had fun doing that and playing with T and stuff. I got showered when we got back to the caravan and then we all had some lunch before going our separate ways for the afternoon. 

Caroline, Neil and Rob went off somewhere where Caroline could collect sea glass on the beach, and Neil and Rob went to a World War Two museum I think. Me, Kensi, my mum, Beth, and T went off to the rare breeds farm. Lee, Peter and Norman stayed at the caravans and went to the bar to play pool and drink slushes. I offered to drive the five of us so we had T's car seat in the car! 

We got there and paid our admission and went in. It's a pretty big place and you could probably spend all day there and take a picnic and so on, but we went first of all to the petting area. There were rabbits and guinea pigs which we got to stroke and T was very gentle with them! We looked at the goats and the pigs and the horses. We got on a tractor trailer and went on a little ride on it. It was so hot though! 

We played on some tractors with T and then we went in the butterfly house but we did not see one single butterfly! I don't know if it was because of the heat or what. But we didn't! The farm was close to closing by this time so we went and got a drink and an ice cream each and ate them in the shade. We played in the sandpit with T for a bit too, but then we had to get back because Beth had hired a little go kart type thing. As we got back Peter had gone to pick it up so Beth and T went on it with Peter and then when they came back I had a go. It was really tiring on the thighs so I didn't go far but it was fun! 

We took the team photo because it's tradition and you have to. Beth took the kart back and Lee and I got busy cooking tea. We made tacos with an onion, tomato and coriander salad, and a sour cream based dip which were all delicious. We took it over to the main caravan for tea and then had pudding and stuff.

Peter had decided to leave about 9pm as he wanted to stay the night at his parents' to collect a bike, so a few people went for a walk before he left. I just sat and chilled though. We said goodbye to Peter just as the sun was setting. 

In the morning we just packed all the stuff and got going, but Lee and I did stop at the churchyard in Romney Marsh because that's where Derek Jarman is buried. It took us a while to find it but I was glad we had bothered because it was nice to see. We made good time driving home and were obviously happy to get home to see the cats!

It is such a nice tradition we've got going on here, and long may it continue. I'm really glad we took Kensi along with us too! 

Guinea pigs! My mum and I love guinea pigs! I had a few when I was little and then my mum had a couple after I left home

This shire horse was so big and so beautiful, I really liked stroking her

Baby T being so gentle with the rabbits

This rabbit was absolutely huge!

Oh T got to feed the goats too - you could put goat feed down the little pipes and then they all came to eat it! It was so cute!

These pigs were huge too. Some kind of rare breed, I dunno what exactly

Team photo! Taken by Neil

Derek Jarman's grave, where some people have left shells and stones for him

And the church where he is buried, which is very cute too