sarah_orange: (Default)
Sarah McCormick ([personal profile] sarah_orange) wrote2007-09-06 09:49 am

Like the sun through the trees you came to love me. Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away.

Hey this thing's useful!! What are the chances of that eh?

I just had to use my lj to look up the dates of the referee's courses and competition reffing that are pre-requisites of my black belt grading. Managed it pretty painlessly too. Phew.

Was originally supposed to be going to the palace quiz last night for [livejournal.com profile] fraoch's birthday but she cancelled (very understandable given this is the first week of term...) As [livejournal.com profile] selectnone and I had planned to eat there first we thought we'd carry on with that plan. This was unfortunately scuppered by the fact they stop serving food at 6:50 and Neal couldn't get there that early. So we went for a hunter gatherer meander south of the river - which ended up as an epic circumnavigation of the tetley's brewery without finding any comestables. By the time we were heading back to civilisation (if bridge end can be called that) it became clear that something in Leeds was on fire!
ooo!
excitement!
Futher investigation showed it was the Golden Lion Hotel on Swinegate/briggate (just by the gay village.) We stood about for a bit like good gawpers - there were no flames - just a lot of smoke which was billowing pleasingly. Eventually we tired of bystanding and went to the italian restaurant (Viva?) near the bridge. I had a window seat anyway so I could check on the progress of the fire (and die a shardy pointy death should firey explosion occur) It was pretty nice, reasonably priced and comforting in there - old school rather than all modernly cold and posh. the food was tasty, the wine serving was large and the staff were friendly. Neal had filletto di stroganoffi and I had chicken breast on a bed of grilled cherry tomatoes topped with dolce latte and asparagus wrapped in parma ham. omnomnom. We spent a fair amount of time eavesdropping on the conversations of diners with much more solubrious lives than us.
The fire had been put out. Yay!
We tootled back to Neal's all pleasantly full and watched a mish-mosh of telly (veronica mars, dexter, armando ianucci, the conchords, etc) whilst drinking pleasantly smokey red wine. I even managed to stave off backache for an evening and had a restful night's sleep. Ah Wednesdays - how full of win you are.

[identity profile] the-great-bj.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 10:59 am (UTC)(link)
didn't you at all think to call 999? and when you said it was very nice I thought you meant the fire lol

[identity profile] sarah-orange.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
there were already fire crews and an ambulance there you pillock!

[identity profile] redfetishfreak.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 11:15 am (UTC)(link)
The golden lion, our staff quarterly is supposed to be there tomorrow!

[identity profile] sarah-orange.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 11:45 am (UTC)(link)
not anymore I'd imagine - 2 of the guests were eating in the restaurant we were in and a chap came in and told them they wouldn't even be allowed to go back to their rooms to pick up medication.

there was still a fire engine outside it when I walked past this morning.

[identity profile] redfetishfreak.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
bums!

[identity profile] bitbat.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 12:12 pm (UTC)(link)
oh ! hope everyone's alright! perhaps now is not the best time for me to email and ask though. they were going to refurbish downstairs anyway. Hope they get it back all spick and span in time for my birthday party which is booked there.

[identity profile] sarah-orange.livejournal.com 2007-09-06 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
indeed - I was thinking of you as I know you put a lot of the beyond the veil people up there.