Well, that was a week.
I mean most weeks are, generally speaking. The standard seven day progression through the calendar, whether from Sunday to Sunday, Monday to Monday, or some arbitrary point to arbitrary point is pretty standard these days. A regular occurrence, one might say.
But it’s how you fill them that counts, and these last seven days have been filled to the brim with excitement, anticipation, and elation on multiple fronts.
So, shall we?
Shouting Match
We’ll begin with matters of a sporting nature. Nothing I’ve spilled too much in the way of sweat, you understand. I’m much more of a spectator than an athlete these days (and, let’s be honest all the rest of the days, too). I’m an armchair/wheelchair manager. A sideline shouter. A T.V. spectator, fully equipped with the knowledge and skill to shout REFEREEEE!!! And PENALTY!!! At all the opportune moments. Swearing at the opposition and their fans is a supplemental skill, but I think I have some natural talent in that area, too.
Which made Saturday, when my beloved Leeds United kicked off against Plymouth Argyle in the sure and certain knowledge that matching or bettering Burnley’s result against Millwall would make us (that’s the royal ‘us’, applicable to couples and overidentification with sports teams and oft commentated on by certain Scottish pedants) champions.
This was a state of play that changed several times over the course of the match as we (royal we) fell behind, then so did Burnley. They then equalised in double quick time only for Leeds to do the same in the second half.
State Of Play
For ten glorious minutes we had the title, then Burnley had the temerity to go ahead. All was doom. All was gloom — right until the 91st minute when Manor Solomon popped up with a goal and I had a small mental breakdown.
It’s a funny old game.
Not a bad start to the weekend, though. A trend which continued when Sunny came home.
For those that missed last week’s post (for shame!), Sunny is one of our three cats, and has been missing for just over four weeks. I say missing, we knew where she was (in the back gardens and outbuildings of our extended neighbours), but, even though we’d trawled the streets, hit local social media groups and The Cat Protection League lent us a trap to place in the garden she was most frequently spotted in, we could not get her home.
Until Sunday, that is.
Up For The Cup
That was the day when we got a phone call from a neighbour we’ve got quite pally with to tell us the trap had been triggered, and, this time, not by a hedgehog. Sunny was contained. A quick bob round in the car (the trap is a heavy thing, and so is Sunny) and the wanderer returned. Result number two.
Which just leaves Monday.
This was the day of the open top bus parade around Leeds. An event at which the players and staff of Leeds United were due to celebrate their promotion to The Premier League and flaunt the silverware earned on that epic last day.
It was a fantastic day. The kind of occasion I missed in ‘92 when Leeds won the old first division (now The Premier League) due to being in hospital. Last time we were promoted, back in 2020, Covid was ravaging the land and we were in lockdown, meaning no celebration then, either. So I wasn’t about to miss this one
You Wait For One…
To be fair, it was a lot of waiting around for a brief look at the players on the buses, but the atmosphere was phenomenal. I’m told the police and organisers expected 100’000 people, but over 150’000 turned up. The city centre was packed with a sea of white, blue, and yellow. Everyone was best friends for the day. The flare smoke flew, the fireworks soared, and the music and singing rang out. Tina, the wúnderwifey, and I were directed to a fenced off portion by the road, reserved especially for the disabled, meaning we were front and centre. Almost within touching distance of the buses.
Not a bad start to the weekend, though. A trend which continued when Sunny came home.
For those that missed last week’s post (for shame!), Sunny is one of our three cats, and has been missing for just over four weeks. I say missing, we knew where she was (in the back gardens and outbuildings of our extended neighbours), but, even though we’d trawled the streets, hit local social media groups and The Cat Protection League lent us a trap to place in the garden she was most frequently spotted in, we could not get her home.
Until Sunday, that is.
Up For The Cup
That was the day when we got a phone call from a neighbour we’ve got quite pally with to tell us the trap had been triggered, and, this time, not by a hedgehog. Sunny was contained. A quick bob round in the car (the trap is a heavy thing, and so is Sunny) and the wanderer returned. Result number two.
Which just leaves Monday.
This was the day of the open top bus parade around Leeds. An event at which the players and staff of Leeds United were due to celebrate their promotion to The Premier League and flaunt the silverware earned on that epic last day.
It was a fantastic day. The kind of occasion I missed in ‘92 when Leeds won the old first division (now The Premier League) due to being in hospital. Last time we were promoted, back in 2020, Covid was ravaging the land and we were in lockdown, meaning no celebration then, either. So I wasn’t about to miss this one
You Wait For One…
To be fair, it was a lot of waiting around for a brief look at the players on the buses, but the atmosphere was phenomenal. I’m told the police and organisers expected 100’000 people, but over 150’000 turned up. The city centre was packed with a sea of white, blue, and yellow. Everyone was best friends for the day. The flare smoke flew, the fireworks soared, and the music and singing rang out. Tina, the wúnderwifey, and I were directed to a fenced off portion by the road, reserved especially for the disabled, meaning we were front and centre. Almost within touching distance of the buses.
True, getting back to the car was a bit of an adventure. With that many people choking up the thoroughfares progress was slow. In fact, at one point (and this was a couple of hours after the buses) we dodged into The Kitty Cafe (sorry, mum) while the crowd thinned.
Stll, would I have changed anything? No, I don’t think I would. It was an amazing day all round, one I might never get to experience again (well, with a bit of luck promotion parties won’t feature. You never know, though. A cup would be nice)
ALAW?
Until next time.
Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
New Tales Of Old
Death Ship
Pestilence: Drabbles 1
Reaperman: Drabbles 3
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
Eldritch Investigations
Stll, would I have changed anything? No, I don’t think I would. It was an amazing day all round, one I might never get to experience again (well, with a bit of luck promotion parties won’t feature. You never know, though. A cup would be nice)
ALAW?
Until next time.
#
Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
New Tales Of Old
Death Ship
Pestilence: Drabbles 1
Reaperman: Drabbles 3
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
Eldritch Investigations
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