Unless you've been hiding in a nuclear bunker you may have heard me mention I spent last weekend in Leeds.
Before I left I took a photo of the clothes using my foot as an idea of scale. Huuuuage bag of clothes to swap!
In the car on Thursday.
We got the M25 out of the way on Thursday and stayed the night in Rugby. James wasn't impressed because we had twin beds. I said they don't expect people to be shagging when you book a disabled room. (Not that we did anyway, but you catch my drift!)
Other than not having to navigate stairs and vast corridors to find our room (not all hotels have lifts and unless you specify a disabled room, there can be a long trek to find your room) a walk in shower is why we book disabled rooms. They're a frigging lifesaver for me. Because for me Fibromyalgia includes juddering dizzy spells when reaching up and down to wash I HATE using a shower over a bath with a passion as I don't feel safe. This shower was brilliant, the spray was so strong it felt like I was getting a top to toe massage. Divine!
Hubby using the low bed and using the high bed as an arm rest. (The low bed is for a wheelchair user.)
As soon as we got there I got into my nightie and slippers.
James making me a cup of tea.
Me laying in bed. We take our own pillows - hotel pillow cases aren't generally that funky!
Friday morning found us on the road again and headed towards Leeds.
We stopped off in Mansfield for lunch in Yates's.
Here I am glowing somewhat as it was another roasting hot day.
New day, new hotel room in Leeds! The person who checked us in queried why we booked a disabled room. I so wish people didn't believe a disability starts and ends with a wheelchair! I refuse to explain myself to insensitive fools and it was embarrassing. Hubby just glanced at me and muttered 'It's for her.' He didn't know where to put himself! We were both so embarrassed. I shouldn't have to justify myself to anyone and I may submit some feedback so (hopefully) in future that person will keep their mouth zipped.
Ah, a bigger telly in this room!
On Friday night we went to meet a lady on Twitter I've been talking to for about 2 years. We got lost en route and were late, and me oohing and aahing over the lush architecture didn't help.
Architecture is one of my passions. I don't talk about it much, but old buildings are my porn.
The beautiful tower you see below belongs to Leeds Town Hall, which is stunning.
We met my friend Chrissie and her cousin (whose name I've totally forgotten - but he was a lovely chap!) in a Wetherspoons pub called the Cuthbert Brodrick, which was absolutely heaving with people. Chrissie had found us a table upstairs and we ate there. After we'd eaten we ventured off to another pub as a group of around 20 college kids had swamped the tables around us and were shouting and running up and down the aisle like they were high on E numbers. :) We went for a walk to find a quieter place and as we were about to pop into a pub we saw the people who play Zac and Chastity Dingle on Emmerdale walking down the street together. We went off to a lovely little pub called Mr Foleys, which is a lovely old building with character on 2 and a bit floors. We stayed here for a couple of hours and enjoyed the ambience and the service. The barman remembered our order when going up for a second round and the three chaps behind the bar at various points had bags of personality, which made a change from the robotic sods you often see tending bar darn sarf! We were sitting on a settee on the top floor overlooking the bar, a great spot for people watching.
We came home and James decided to look all sweet, so naturally I had to capture it.
Here's me on Saturday morning ready to rock n' roll at the clothes swap.
I didn't take any photos at the clothes swap. There were a lot of people I didn't know there and I didn't want to ask everyone of they were OK with being in the background of a shot as it would've been a right old drag, and honestly, I was too busy having fun! The photo below is me collapsed in a heap after trying on all the clothes I got at the swap. I was completely spent!
This was the first time I'd been to Leeds and I loved it. Each city has its own vibe and I really liked the friendly people and the gorgeous architecture. It's not my first venture into Yorkshire - in 2010 I went to my friend Lisa's wedding not far from Bradford - but this was the first big city in Yorkshire I'd stayed in. It's been a dream of mine to see more of Yorkshire, as when I was a child I adored James Herriott's books and re-read them many times. I'd really like to go back again, perhaps for a long weekend, to discover more of Leeds.
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I thought I'd also talk about how a road trip affects me as a person with Fibromyalgia and CFS. In a nutshell, there's a cost to gallivanting on a 450 mile round trip. My bladder hates being jiggled around in the car so I need to pee a lot to ease the horrible cramping I get. Then when I've peed too much I get a horrible 'pterodactyls in my bladder' sensation and have to drink something to settle it, which means I need to pee a lot. Hahaha!
Visiting places involves doing more than usual, and that means extra pain and fatigue. On Friday evening we walked for about 35 minutes to find the pub we were meeting my friend in, and the same walk back again later. By the time we got in I couldn't bend at all because my back was breaking and James had to pull my leggings off me so I could get into bed. I'd left my pain pills at home (d'oh!) and was still stiff the next day, but it was worth it to meet someone I'd been talking to on Twitter for so long. Of course the weekend was brilliant, and I was fully prepared to be in pain because the upside was meeting some fab ladies and getting some new treasures.
I can do 'normal people' things within reason, but they take it out of me. This in a nutshell is the difference between a well person and a not-so-well person. Ill people know each thing we do has a cost - a withdrawal from the energy bank of you will - and then we weigh that cost up carefully against the possible rewards. We don't get to be spontaneous - we don't know how we'll feel until we get up each day. In this case I knew any amount of pain would be worth experiencing because there were far more benefits to be had than drawbacks. I had a bloody awesome weekend, and I will have a few less active days to help me undo the kinks!
Do you like city breaks? I love them.
Thanks for reading!
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