ENGINE LIGHTS TO VIKING FIGHTS

ightmares aren't always about monsters and darkness; sometimes, they're about an engine light flickering on for the fifth time. The last year we spent fighting with our old car felt like an endless cycle of breakdowns and stress, leaving me with a sense of dread that just won't go away. It’s seriously impacted my mental health, and it’s made me wonder: can you get PTSD from a faulty car? On the positive side, I've had more days off from work now, and I even had a great day out last weekend.

2409.16 THUNDERCLIFFE

This post has been in limbo for such a long time. Stress, family & work issues and illness have held me back. Now this post is a little redundant as it was supposed to be about somewhere I visited back in September. 

2306.11 KIND HEARTS AND CORONATIONS

This blog post is a bit of a mis-mish of different stuff since I haven't had the chance to write anything, or maybe I just couldn't be arsed? Anyway, I'll try and recap what's been going on and hopefully do better in the future.

1904.28 SNOOKER LOOPY

Every year since 1977 the grand specticle that is the World Snooker Championship rolls into my town. I love the snooker but not as much as Morticia does.

1903.31 MOTHERS

It's Mother's Day and the time to show appreciation for the women that have given us so much for so long. The sacrifices they make and the love they give, and despite the mistakes we make or the mistakes they make they're still there for you.

1705.12 LDN ON A SHOESTRING

...Or a cycling themed trip to the capital when I'm skint. 

My best mate of 30 years got free tickets to the Spin Cycling Festival at Europa in London. What a great excuse for a trip.

1702.12 SUNDAYS USED TO BE SPECIAL

When I was a child Sundays used to be a time you spent with your family, TV was rubbish and it was illegal for shops to open (although some did so illegally). So what did we do? Well I used to visit my grandparents, Sunday dinner was mandatory and I remember listening to the radio quite a bit. I'm not from a religious background but I felt Sundays were a special day.

1612.31 THE END

As year draws to a close many reflect on the events of the year. Some say that 2016 has been a really bad year and in many respects. Political upheaval, celebrity deaths as well as the usual war and terror. It's difficult not to say it's been a bad year. 

1609.05 A GOOD DAY

I can safely say that Sunday was a good day.

I've been disappointed by my cycling this year so I was kind of apprehensive about going on a hilly club ride. I almost went on the novice ride because of my lack of confidence in my ability. I might have done that if I didn't have a particularly hilly sportif coming up in a couple of weeks and I needed the training. I'm glad I went along, I was a bit slow on the climbs but there wasn't anything I couldn't manage. In fact I loved it, I've missed this type of ride.

Me with the lads up on Green Moor

I got back home just after lunch time and suggested that we go out for food. Morticia and Rags were up for the idea so we drove out (after I'd showered and changed) to Bakewell and enjoyed a pub meal in the Red Lion. Afterwards we were treated to an aerobatic display by the Red Arrows (who were actually performing for the nearby Chatsworth Country Fair).

Red Arrows in formation 

After feeding the ducks and the fish in the river we left Bakewell. On the way home we dropped into the Strines Inn, a 16th century establishment (the building actually dates back to the 13th century) where Morticia used to work many years ago. It's also haunted.

Image: http://thestrinesinn.webs.com

Morticia got chatting to the barman and mentioned the ghostly goings on when she used to work there. He was very interested in her take on the building and they shared stories as I just listened in. Rags was taking in all the curios and pictures on the walls. By this time (it wasn't particularly late but it had gone dark) the pub was empty except for us and the barman offered a tour of the upstairs rooms (it is after all an inn in every sense). I declined and let them go off. It was then I realised I was alone in the bar of a haunted building!

Inside the Strines Inn

We came away having had a great afternoon out, for me the whole day was great.

1608.26 ARE WE GOING TO SCARBOROUGH FAIR...?

We did, yesterday...

Scarborough is approximately 2 hours drive away so an early start was called for. Having a teenage daughter means that early starts aren't always achieved. Not a problem getting her out of bed (like her older sister), it was a getting the right outfit and makeup right. We were 45 minutes late setting off.

Before we set off we checked the weather with this guy... 

He said it was going to be overcast and warm in the afternoon (with some showers in the morning). This is Owain Wyn Evans, the camp Welshman who presents Yorkshire weather on the BBC.

The drive northeast was uneventful and we arrived at Scarborough Fair without incident. 

Scarborough Fair is a collection of vintage (mostly steam driven) fairground rides and Victorian attractions and well as a number of vintage vehicles. They are all housed in 2 large hanger style buildings located between Scarborough and Filey.

The price is a little expensive but we had a discount coupon (£3 off) and the proceeds go towards preserving the collection, the staff there are all volunteers. The great thing about the collection is that a number of the rides are available to ride on (for the price of a £1 token). We rode the Merry-go-round, Caterpillar, a Ghost Train and I had 2 goes on the Dodgems (they let you bump unlike the 'health and safety' obsessed Dodgems I've experienced recently).

We were there a few hours before heading into Scarborough. We walked along the front when the heavens opened. Hoping for a passing shower we ducked into an amusement arcade to wait it out.

It didn't stop. Well done Mr Evans, you were way off on this one. 

We decided to get some tea at one of the fish and chip restaurants that we (Morticia and me) visited last year.

The rain continued and as the visitors started to leave the shops began to close early. We waited for the traffic to subside before heading home ourselves.

1607.24 TRAMLINES

Sheffield has a music festival. It's different to most music festivals because it takes over the City Centre. Everyone gets involved. It's the Tramlines Festival.

For the last few years I've worked Tramlines. Don't get me wrong it's always been a fun way of earning a living, it's always a great atmosphere. This year however I'm off and I've not been asked to change my shift or swap. So Morticia and me decided it would be great to go and enjoy what promised to be an enjoyable event.

The streets were buzzing with crowds, music was everywhere. Street music, music in the pubs and bars.

Morticia and me (being photobombed - hi guys!) 

Whilst sat in the Brewdog enjoying a drink Steve Davis (the snooker player) came in and sat next to us. Before anyone asks, no I didn't get a picture, he was in for a drink like everyone else (it would have been rude).

We were out until the early evening taking in the music, atmosphere and partaking of some wonderful beers. We bumped into a number of friends whilst out (which is amazing considering the size of the city). 

1607.18 BETTER THAN POKÉMON GO

Everyone seems to be talking about Pokémon Go, the game where you can capture virtual monsters using augmented reality on your smartphone.

In Sheffield, my hometown, there's a slightly different game going on - and I think it's more fun than Pokémon Go. A herd of 58 elephant sculptures and 72 elephant calves have arrived and can be found in parks and open spaces for the biggest public art mass participation event the city has ever seen.

Each elephant sculpture has been decorated by artists and are proving popular with everyone, the object is to find them all. The 'little herd' are sited at indoor venues and have been decorated by local schools.

I found my first one at the weekend outside the iconic Park Hill flats...

I've only found the 1. #herdofsheffield #sheffield #elephant #art #parkhill #betterthanpokemongo

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Jul 16, 2016 at 5:20am PDT

Although I later found what I think will remain my favourite...

This was number 2, an At-At Elephant 🐘. #herdofsheffield #sheffield #elephant #art #Meadowhall #starwars #betterthanpokemongo

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Jul 16, 2016 at 12:22pm PDT

"This exciting initiative is brought to you by The Children’s Hospital Charity and Wild in Art, uniting businesses, communities, artists and schools, leaving a lasting legacy for the city."

If you're visiting Sheffield soon it's worth a look but be aware, it's very addictive and you might forget why you originally came.  There's an app for your phone where you can earn points for every elephant you track down. Check out the Herd of Sheffield website for more info or look for #herdofsheffield on social media. The herd are out all summer until 5th October 2016.

Definitely better than Pokémon. Join the stampede!

1605.01 SHEFFIELD STARFLYER

It's been the Tour de Yorkshire this weekend and once again I haven't been out to see it. I'm still carrying something on my chest which combined with recent events at work and my upcoming birthday have made me feel pretty low lately. It was decided that today we would do something special. Morticia's friend has her birthday today so combined with mine and Morticia's (next week) we thought it might be a good idea. Morticia is no good on fairground rides so I'm usually alone when it comes to that sort of thing. So is Morticia's friend. As a birthday treat we thought we'd take in Sheffield's newest attraction: The Sheffield Starflyer.

We went with Rags and our friends, Det and Moby. First thing I noticed when we arrived in the town centre was how busy it was. We only just managed to get a parking space (in the second car park we visited). I guess it was busy because it's the bank holiday combined with the World Snooker Finals. With that in mind I thought that there would be a queue and I was regretting not booking in advance. As it was there was no queue. 

Morticia wasn't going on (not in a million years), neither was Rags nor Moby. It was just Det and me. I seem to surround myself with wusses when it comes to fairground rides. We paid our money and chose a pair of seats. We were the first on and we're made to wait whilst the rest of the seats filled up. This took about half a bloody hour, the attendants didn't mention the wait when we arrived. Anyway, we were in good spirits and the moment arrived where we were airborne. 

Today's ride was up in the sky on #sheffieldstarflyer. #sheffield #fargate #views #aerial #birthdaytreat #ride #fun #mytown

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on May 1, 2016 at 12:07pm PDT

Ride afforded great views but was over very quickly so not much time to take in the urban vistas (you can see other pictures on my Instagram). 

Afterwards we had a walk to the Crucible Theatre and then through the Winter Gardens (which doubles for the TV studio for the snooker in the early rounds) and the Peace Gardens. 

We went for a meal at Yates on Division Street, it was busy and a little rowdy, a little like a Saturday night, but we got seated. The food was ok but nothing really to write home about, and the portion was a little small. Not a patch on Wetherspoons'.

1604.02 A DAY IN THE PEAKS

The plan was to get out today (since I have an extra couple of days off). Morticia hasn't been well all week so the Easter holidays have been a bit rubbish for Rags.

Last night was a late one because (a) I was on a late afternoon shift, and (b) there was a power cut at 12:50am this morning which caused our alarm to beep constantly (and a neighbours one to go off).

The weather forecast was good but upon opening the curtains this morning wasn't so good. It was raining. On the weather forecast this morning it appears that a band of rain was sitting further south than anticipated. So we decided to wait a little longer before venturing out.

Around 1pm we set off deciding to head to Castleton. We're lucky that we have the Peak Park on our doorstep.

Today's day out. Pereril Castle #Castleton #peakdistrict #peakdistrictnationalpark #countrywalks #onourdoorstep #dayout #family #trip

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Apr 2, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT

Today's day out. #Castleton #peakdistrict #peakdistrictnationalpark #countrywalks #onourdoorstep #dayout #family #trip

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Apr 2, 2016 at 3:42pm PDT

Today's day out. Devil's Arse #Castleton #peakdistrict #peakdistrictnationalpark #countrywalks #onourdoorstep #dayout #family #trip

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Apr 2, 2016 at 3:44pm PDT

Castleton is a beautiful place tucked away in the Hope Valley overlooked by Perrivel Castle. The hills are home to some interesting caverns like the Devil's Arse and Speedwell. We had a little wander before having some food in the 'Old Cheshire Cheese Inn'. 

Afterwards we drove over to Bakewell and had a couple of drinks in the Red Lion. When we left the pub it was dark so we decided to have a walk through the church yard before heading home. Rags befriended a local cat whilst admiring the church building (we are all fans of gothic architecture). 

We drove home through the darkness whilst Rags stared at the stars through the car's glass roof. 

1603.28 EASTER BUNNY AND THE GHOST

Our break in St Neots continued into Easter Sunday with a jet lagged wake up following the clocks going forward at 2am.

We met up with friends who are getting married later in the year to visit the church they will be using. Later we sat down to a family dinner and then relaxed for the rest of the day. I do love the fact that all the shops close on this day.

I have an After Eight egg that I will be enjoying over the coming days.

Now I'm going to digress a little to give a little background to something that happened this afternoon. Morticia sometimes comes and stays at her mother's without the rest of us, she does this once or twice a year. She has often spoken of a disturbing presence in the spare room (not anywhere else in the house). She says she feels uneasy and has on occasion woken up feeling as if she is been held down in the bed. This has never happened when I am there, and she says she feels at ease then. This story has been around for many years and on Sunday morning is the first time it has changed.

This morning whilst we were all sleeping Morticia woke screaming. She said later that she had felt that same presence holding her down briefly. I wasn't affected by any of this at all and apart from the noise of her scream. In the afternoon Rags was feeling tired and went up to bed for a nap. She yelled for me about an hour later, I dashed up and she was looking shocked and confused. She told me that she had woken up after feeling that she was being held down, then feeling her arm being lifted. She told me she saw a figure briefly before she called out.

Both are unaffected from the events and are not put off sleeping in the room.

Sunday night Storm Katie raged outside, we had a relaxing evening in front of the TV. The bank holiday is our last day and hopefully the weather will allow us to leave the house.

Storm Katie ravages the country

Monday started late for everyone (except me, I was reading from 9am). When we did go out we drove down to a local chilli farm. The cafe there was closed but Morticia bought a few chilli based condiments. We then visited a nearby garden centre. I'm not a fan of garden centres, they're full of stuff I can't afford and we usually end up buying expensive tat we don't need. We enjoyed a much needed cuppa before venturing on.

We had tea in town at the local Wetherspoons (The Weeping Ash), I'm a big fan of Wetherspoons.

Then after packing up our stuff and a number of cups of tea later it was time to head back home. A1 northbound.

1511.21 CORONATION STREET

It's been over 20 years since I've been to Manchester, and that also was for a trip to Coronation Street (or actually Granada Studios Tour as it was). I've been through Manchester many times, usually on my way to Wales or sometimes Chester Zoo.

We booked the trip for Rags' birthday but because it was booked up this was the first available date. It was an early entry slot so we'd need to be up and travelling at the crack of dawn. 

The night before we watched the weather reports saying that snow was likely overnight which would potentially end our day out before it even started. To get to Manchester by road from our neck of the woods you only really have 2 options. Snake pass or Woodhead pass (you can go by motorway but that's a massive diversion). At the time we went to bed Snake pass was closed due to snow! 

It was an early start and although there was a little wintry weather evident the drive across Woodhead pass there were no issues. We arrived without incident and managed to park directly outside.

The tour itself was different to my previous visit. It was all about behind the scenes production of a television show. You don't need to be a fan of Corrie (I'm a bit of a passive viewer) to appreciate the experience. The end of the tour, of course is the street itself. A 3/4 size purpose built fake street. It's a odd experience, very surreal.

Behind the bar at the #roversreturn. #coronationstreet #corrie #corrietour #dayout #Manchester #savecorrietour

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Nov 21, 2015 at 12:54pm PST

After the tour was over we left, it was the final time we'd lay eyes on this street since the area is set to be redeveloped soon. We headed into town, I'd never been into Manchester City Centre before.

Manchester is a great city. To the outsider (me) it seemed to be doing it all right. The shops were good, busy and in the right places. In comparison, my home city seems to get it wrong, the city centre shopping is dying because of bad choices. Manchester was also hosting a magnificent Christmas market. The only downer on the day was the meal we had at a local Harvester, but it was the only place we could get a seat (Manchester was heaving today).

1510.04 RAGS FOURTEEN

My baby. My youngest is 14. Bloody hell! As a treat we took her and a friend to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. We did want to take her to Coronation Street but it's booked up until the end of the year (we booked it anyway).

Young tiger at @yorkshire_wp this afternoon #dayout for @raygunragz #birthdaytreat

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Oct 4, 2015 at 1:49pm PDT

1503.15 MOTHERS' DAY

This year we wanted to do something special to mark Mothers Day. It's the first time in recent years that we've all been together and it needed to be special. The last time we were all together we took a trip to Whitby so we decided to do the same again.

It was an early start (I was up at 6am) so that we could beat any potential crowds. I know it's out of season but it can still get busy.

We had a great day, truly wonderful. Morticia struggled getting around a little but we didnt rush her around. It got quite busy in the middle of the day with queues forming outside all of the cafes, restaurants and take-aways. We waited a while before enjoying a meal in Robertson's fish and chip restaurant.

A good time, no a great time was had but now it's time to pay the price. Morticia, I'm betting will be bed ridden for the next few days. Was it worth it? She says so and who am I to argue?

1408.19 THAT LONDON

We aren't having a holiday again this year. As a bit of a diversion, and because the opportunity arose we (Morticia & me) decided to have a day in London. As before we made a b-line for Camden Town, an amazing place that I totally get.

I have a list of London pubs that I got from a web article some months ago that I want to visit so part of the trip we decided would take in a few of these.

Camden Eye - This one disappointed (although I'd like to see it at night) and was very pricey)

Brewdog Camden - This bar was a revelation. A totally different drinking experience. We ended up staying here for a while and grabbed a bite to eat. I recently found out there's one of these in Sheffield which I must visit soon.

I love London, the vibe, the Underground, the way it is it's like a different country. I'll be back soon.

1312.25 THE CAPTAIN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Merry Christmas to All

Christmas again. It's been 12 months now since I saw my eldest daughter and the pain of that almost broke me this year. Every aspect of my life was effected by this loss and the damage will, I believe take many years to rebuild. It was sometime in September or October (I think) when something clicked inside and I started to pick up. I feel so much more positive than this time last year. A place will always be available to her in our home and our hearts should she decide to come home. The same cannot be said for my parents who turned their backs on us and refused to support us when we need them the most, the hurt I feel runs deep and I can't see a way back.

Like many, we have felt the pain of austerity imposed on us by the Tory coalition government. No real pay rise coupled with rising costs put paid to our annual holiday this year. All we managed was a day trip to Llandudno, it's the first time in 10 years that we haven't got to our beloved New Quay (Cei Newydd). I'm hoping something can be sorted out for next year, I can't imagine not going back again. We also visited Warner Bros Studios, Harry Potter Tour in Watford earlier in the year.

A new phone back in January changed my mobile window into the online world. The Nexus 4 converted me to Android in a big way and within the time I've had it (and my Nexus 7 tablet) I've learned so much about the art of customisation and automation, I now have brilliant LCARS styled Star Trek devices. They have given me so much fun this year.

My little girl started secondary school this year, I am so surprised at the way she has adapted to life at 'big school' and is doing really well there. I am so proud of her as she grows and becomes more indepenant. She has an active after school life and is at some extra curricular club most afternoons after the school day. She has been involved in performances and concerts over the festive period bringing joy and cheer to local people, shoppers, the elderly and even local dignitaries.

Cycling has always been a large part of my life. I credit it with keeping me together during the dark times. Watching pro cycling also gives me loads of pleasure too and I was thrilled by the 100th Tour de France, the whole race was amazing and topped off brilliantly with the victory of Chris Froome for the 2nd British Yellow Jersey in a row. I restored a vintage bike for use as a commute / hack bike to take the pressure off my Boardman which I spent quite a bit of money getting roadworthy. I signed up for a coast to coast ride for next year which is one of the biggies on my bucket list.

I was involved in two cycling accidents this year, the first was a minor fall whilst at work giving me a bit of soft tissue damage to my knee, I was back up and riding within 2 weeks. The other was about 6 weeks ago where my commute bike was hit by a car and my wrist was broken, the road to recovery promises to be hard and painful.

So what lays ahead for the up and coming year? Lots of physio, that's all I can foresee for the moment. The future is pretty much unknown to me. The ashes of my life lay around me and I have no idea what I need to do to rebuild and I am not giving it too much thought at this moment. I'm getting through a day at a time for the moment.

Merry Christmas to everyone, hope your day is spectacular.