Memorable Mansion

 Wednesday 21st. October 2026.            Memorable Mansion 

Today’s outing for the Lads proved to be a most memorable event for all concerned, it would see a group of 9 of us gather at the Mansion here at Roundhay Park, a notable location situated on the outskirts of Leeds.

We have chosen this particular place because of its close proximity to one of our old work colleagues, Tim Kearney who only lives a relatively short distance away. Others making the journey to the Mansion would be Colin, John, Derek, Dave, Brian, Don, Mark and Russ. A gathering time of about 11:30 was suggested and this is indeed what occurred. Eventually our group of 9 managed to find some appropriate tables to sit at and begin to relish this particular occasion, with orders of drinks and a bite to eat established soon the many various conversations ensued around the pushed together tables.

Many, many recollections of past work colleagues came to the forefront as you can well imagine, much to the delight of all concerned etc, names that had slipped through the net so to speak, mainly those with loose connections to the “Clean Room “ it was smiles all round as this banter continued for well over an hour. 

Now with the time approaching 1:00 pm it was a slow departure from this joyous moment as we dispersed into various groups , some of us deciding to take a walk through the park whilst a couple left by car or took a shorter walk to the nearest bus stop, all intent in making our respective journeys home.

Upon Reflection, today’s gathering was somewhat special, for no particular reason, only that we were there, former work colleagues just engaged in memories of the past and present.

Cheers Everyone.

Notable Nostell

 Wednesday 14th October 2026.             Notable Nostell

For today’s outing it would be just over a handful of the Lads that would make the trip to Nostell Priory. This is a picturesque setting on the outskirts of the city of Wakefield, formerly the ancestral home of the Winn family. The house itself is set in over 4000 acres of exploratory grounds that includes woodland, open meadows and magnificent lakes, all waiting for our group to walk around.

Those explorers would be John, Brian, Dave and Kevin, Derek and John Howarth would join these guys at a later stage in the small cafe located near the main entrance, not the cafe in the main stable block 

courtyard.

The first group of lads have made arrangements to meet up at Wakefield Bus Station at around 10:30, their intention is to board a No. 496 bus heading towards the small village of Nostell , about a twenty minutes ride away. These guys eventually arrived at the main gate of this sprawling estate just after 11:am.and soon found themselves heading along the roadway leading to the Main House, there in all it’s splendour with magnificent views from it’s vantage point. 

Now with the late morning sunshine on their faces and pleasant walking conditions it was time to explore a little further into these grounds, following a designated trail off in the direction to the distant Obelisk a mile or so away.

This journey taking them down towards one of the lakes surrounded by woodland, plenty of water fowl to catch a glimpse of at this particular spot. A few hundred yards on and they noticed several other pathways leading in various directions ( maybe to be explored at a later date). The Lads continued in their specific direction taking them on over an open meadow and eventually to the Obelisk structure built on the far reaches of this estate. A few moments were taken admiring the vistas etc before it was about turn and head 

back towards the main house and then finally on to the cafe.

By this time contact had been established with the two groups and a rendezvous time set up of around 12:30 was confirmed. So with still a fair amount of sunshine on offer the now group of six found themselves sat at an appropriate table on the patio of the cafe and about to enjoy their chosen lunchtime meals etc. The lads spent a good amount of time here discussing this that and the other before it was off to a nearby bus stop and eventually get back towards Wakefield. Once in the vicinity of the nearby bus stops some hesitation now ensued, some good 15 minutes were spent standing at a very busy road junction wondering in which direction the next bus would approach, as per usual 2 turned up , we all boarded the first and began our rather hectic and speeding journey back to the city. It was a quick exit from the 496 for most , this was in order to catch our respective buses homeward bound. John Hey heading for the railway station and his train back to Leeds.

Upon Reflection today’s adventure for the group was both rewarding and a truly enjoyable experience.

Cheers Everyone.

The Outwood Experience

 Wednesday 7th October 2026.          The Outwood Experience 

Today’s outing for a small group of the Lads would see them meeting up at Outwood Railway Station, this would be John and Colin travelling by train from Leeds whilst Dave and Kevin would take the train from Wakefield. Meeting them there would be Brian, his daughter had brought him by car.

A suggested time of 10:30 was arranged and that is indeed what took place, from the vicinity of the railway station the lads now ventured into the Lofthouse Colliery Nature Park and began a walk taking in some of the aspects of this particular location , woodland and small fishing ponds etc. This particular part of the walk taking about 50 minutes or so to complete.

Arrangements had been made to meet up with Derek and John Howarth at the 509 cafe situated on the high street in Outwood at about 12:15, from the Nature Park it was about a steady 15 minutes walk for these lads to meet them. 

We have visited this particular cafe on numerous occasions and enjoyed their selection of various meals etc. This time it was a rather hurried affair, unbeknown to us lads last orders would be 12:15. Fortunately for 5 of us we had arrived at a few minutes before midday and were able to place orders for the missing lads. Eventually we all got seated around an appropriate table and were soon relishing our various options of meals.

It was a limited time spent in the 509,  nevertheless all in all we had enjoyed our time here in Outwood.It was just before 1:00 pm as we each said goodbye to each other and began our journeys homeward bound.

Cheers Everyone for taking part even though it was relatively short and sweet.

Eddie’s Memorial Walk

 Wednesday 30th September 2026.           Eddie’s Memorial Walk

It was a good turnout today, eleven of our group attending this memorial walk at Golden Acre Park, a location on the far reaches of the city of Leeds. It was seven years to the day since our dear friend Eddie sadly passed away. We do this walk in his memory, it was here that he took his last walk with us Lads.

So Alan, Keith, John, Derek, Dave, Brian, Colin, John Howarth, Don Alexander, Kevin and Mark took part in this annual event, all meeting up at golden acre at about 11:45. It was a pleasant late morning, surprisingly warm for this time of year, after the usual handshakes we then proceeded with our walk splitting off into various groups as we slowly made our way to one of Eddies favourite viewing spots.

Time for a moment of reflection here in one of the bird hides, but sadly on this occasion there were no wildlife birds to be seen, forces of nature taking it’s toll with no feeding permitted at this present time, also the absence of water was another factor, shame a disappointment to us all. Nevertheless we continued with our journey around the far side of the main lake heading back towards the on site cafe for some refreshments etc. With our various choice’s to hand we now gathered in a suitable seating area and began more group conversations, mainly about upcoming events, next outings and the Christmas Meal arrangements etc.

Almost 30 minutes passed before it was time to say farewell to Golden Acre Park and our memories of Eddie, we now slowly departed taking our various journeys homeward bound by either car, bus or on foot.

Cheers Everyone for talking part today.

Ten out of Ten

 Wednesday 23rd September 2026.         Ten out of Ten

Strange Title, but this is how it went. For today’s adventure ten of the Lads would converge on Leeds Railway Station in order to catch the 9:55 train heading for the East Yorkshire city of Hull. Those on board would be in Order of seniority, John Hey, Derek, Dave, Brian, Colin, John Howarth, Kevin, Glenn, Mark and finally Russ. The gang’s intentions are to visit the newly renovated Maritime Museum and then taking lunch at a nearby Pub.

Their train duly arrived at the Paragon station just a few minutes after 11am. With no sign of rain the lads took the short walk along the shopping precincts of Hull, it wasn’t too long before they reached the entrance to the Museum, Dave had pre-booked the entrance tickets so the lads were soon inside and exploring its newly arranged artefacts, this time displayed over 3 floors in this Splendid building. What a super undertaking from their previous visit several years ago.

The lads had split up into various groups and were meandering at will, just absorbing the sheer amount of information on display etc. A total of about 90 minutes viewing time were spent here in the museum before most of the lads set off to experience lunch at the Lion and Key just a short distance away, Dave and John taking advantage of what the museum cafe had to offer. They did eventually join the lads in the pub and partake in the various conversations about past exploits concerning events at Thackrays and other establishments etc, all good fun.

With the time approaching 2:15 John and Dave left this happy Crowd and retraced their steps back towards the railway station here in Hull , they were taking an earlier train back to Leeds than the rest of the lads 15:03 instead of 16:03 to be exact.

Upon Reflection today’s outcome was both informative and entertaining, interspersed with the odd hiccup.

Cheers Everyone 

Birthday Bash at Murgatroyds

 Wednesday 16th September 2026.         Birthday Bash at Murgatroyds

As the title suggests,  today’s adventure for the Lads would see them heading for the far reaches of Leeds, Yeadon to be precise. Where some of the gang will participate in a leisurely walk around a stretch of water known locally as the Yeadon Tarn, once completed they will then head for the nearby Fish and Chip restaurant named Murgatroyds. 

Those taking part in today’s adventure will be Glenn, Kevin, Dave, Brian, Derek, Mark and finally birthday boy himself, John Howarth, the rest of our group having prior arrangements etc. A meeting time of around 11:30 at a suitable bus stop in Yeadon was planned, unfortunately Derek was going to arrive some 50 minutes later due to a mishap of sorts. He did eventually join the rest of us after we had completed our walk.

Mark was responsible for making the booking at the restaurant, that of 12:45 and that is indeed what happened on this occasion. We soon found ourselves sat around a suitable table and shortly afterwards we were ordering our choice of lunchtime meals. It was the pensioners special that we chose, 3 courses were relished with much delight interspersed with much conversation, Glenn taking a leading role this time, great to hear about his youthful days etc.

A good hour and a half was spent in the restaurant before first to leave was the birthday boy John, the rest of us followed some 15 minutes later. Mark had made his journey there by car, it was back to the bus stop for the remainder. Those of which rather unfortunately jumped on board the No. 27 bus for a 50 minute magical mystery tour of the surrounding areas of the city, Pleasant views but a rather lengthy ride to say the least. It was close to 3:15 before we hopped off this bus and now made our ways finally heading home.

It has been a rewarding outing here at Yeadon, pleasant walking conditions with some sunshine to boot great stuff.

Cheers Everyone.

Grassington to Burnsall

 Wednesday 9th September 2026.                 Grassington to Burnsall

At the fourth attempt, today the Lads finally got to fulfill their intended riverside walk up in the Yorkshire Dales. This would involve 6 of the gang making an earlier start than usual, they will be heading for the village of Grassington by means of the route 74 Dales Bus. 

This is a limited service operating 3 times a day on selected days from the town of Ilkley, the bus is scheduled to leave Ilkley at about 10:30 and only as a limited amount of seats available, 16 to be exact, so it is imperative that the lads get to Ilkley on time.  This was achieved by boarding the 9:33 train from Leeds for Colin, Brian, Dave, Glenn and Kevin, John was on a slightly different route.

By 10:15 the now group of 6 were assembled at the appropriate bus stop in Ilkley and by some good fortune were at the head of the queue, unlike some other ramblers etc, one in particular shooting his mouth off about the rule of only 16 passengers. 

Eventually the 74 left Ilkley and was soon hurtling along the narrow country roads heading in the direction of Grassington, this seat of your pants journey taking about 50 minutes or so to complete, thankfully we 

arrived shaken and stirred.

Once off the bus first stop was the loo, then gather our thoughts and begin our riverside adventure etc. there is a large car parking area here to facilitate the amount of visitors to this particular spot along with some small parkland suitable for picnics etc. In one of these areas we stopped to take a look at a tree sapling take from the (Sycamore Gap Tree) from here we soon found ourselves heading down the footpath leading to the river , at this point the lads took a left turn through a narrow gap in the wall and were soon in open meadows following the river down stream heading for the picturesque village of Burnsall some 3 and a half miles away. 

A couple of rest stops were taken has we slowly made our way to the Hebden suspension bridge that helps you cross the river at this point, slightly better than using the stepping stones, although it is only one way traffic by methods of the bridge. The lads waiting their turn to experience this crossing knowing full well when they get to the other side a little more urgency will be required to eventually reach the Red Lion pub in Burnsall. This is where the returning bus to Ilkley stops if you get there on time ( 1:26 ) We all managed to reach this bus stop with only a few minutes to spare, no problem with the amount of passengers on this 

return journey a great relief to us at this point.

Once back in the town of Ilkley the driver kindly dropped us off in close proximity to the Bar T’at pub where the lads now met up with 3 more of the gang, John Howarth, Derek and Mark to partake in a late lunchtime meal etc. It was a leisurely lunch interspersed with various conversations about this that and the other, our meals were most enjoyable in this very relaxed atmosphere here at this particular pub.

Some future outings were discussed and planned before it was time to leave Ilkley and make our respective journeys home, it was almost 3:30 as the lads reached both the Bus and Railway stations.

What the Lads achieved today was both exhilarating at some points but challenging at others. 

Cheers Everyone for taking part.

Photos to follow