We landed at Heathrow yesterday morning. What a shambles that airport is! A hotch potch of buildings designed by primary schoolchildren, with traffic chaos and seething crowds of visitors from all over the world. Welcome to London - the Olympic City.
I was glad to get away and headed back Up North to where the real English people dwell - the workers, the inventors, the artists, shipbuilders, the downtrodden Shooting Parrots and the Daphnes, the desperate Arctic Foxes and The Kaiser Chiefs. And of course, my family - lovely Shirley and our super children. I knew how much they must have missed me. What is a kingdom without a king? What is a ship without a skipper?
It was to be a surprise. I would just appear at the front door but perhaps through this blog, they were aware that I was about to return. So I was the one who got the surprise - a massive "welcome home" street party with the entire community gathered by trestle tables laden with traditional Yorkshire grub - pigs' trotters, tripe, oxtail pies, rhubarb, piles of Yorkshire puddings and jugs of foaming Tetley's bitter. I tell you, a shiver rippled up and down my spine when, swaying like a cornfield, they sang in unison, "Welcome Home" by Peters and Lee:-
I was interviewed by "The Sheffield Star" and the city's mayor presented me with a hand-crafted ornament representing my old ewe - Beau and my Yorkshire heritage. Suddenly, Blogland and what transpired there seemed so very far away. I was back in the bosom of my family. Shirley made me a cup of tea in my favourite Hull City mug and I settled down to watch "EastEnders" almost as if had never been away.
You watch Eastenders?! Shame on you! Surely it should be an Emmerdale only household, or Corrie at the very least.
ReplyDeleteOh, and welcome home.
Really? You say "hotch potch"? We say "hodgepodge". I did have an interesting time finding out more about the term using my finely-honed investigative skills, however.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home. It's a wonder Shirley didn't hit you over the head with an iron skillet. You have a real winner there.
Welcome Home!!
ReplyDeleteSHOOTING PARROTS Real men watch "EastEnders" old chum!
ReplyDeleteRHYMES WITH PLAGUE You say TOMAYTO, we say TOMARTO!
BRIAN Gràcies per visitar una vegada més, Brian! Jo es que t'agradaria ser a Yorkshire també!
Eastenders??? For Heaven's sake, man!
ReplyDeleteAlso, please don't insult primary schoolchildren. They would have made a much better job of Heathrow.
Finally, welcome back. I thought my Kathy might have got wind of the celebration but she didn't mention anything.
welcome home old bean
ReplyDeletecan you do me a favour now you are back?
write a book!!!!
EARL GRAY As it happens I am in the middle of my second novel - 40,000 words done - about another 40,000 to go. By the way, I think blogging can be many things - including flights of fancy !!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Sense paraules (speechless!)!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started on Tetley's ..... oh wait, you just did.....
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't touch Tetley Bitter if it were the last drop on earth now....
Tetley cask comes from Wolverhampton; kegged "smooth" (which is the antichrist of all beer types) is from Tadcaster; and the milds come from hartlepool.....
Bloody travesty for a Leeds institution.
Also, for info purposes only, it's one of the cheapest beers a pub can buy!
I missed this party post while it was fresh. Sorry. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo of all the children at your party.
I thought at first you meant a 'skip' without a shipper.
Are you sure that Shirley WAS pleased to see you after you had deserted her and the children for some mad-cap 'new and better' life?
I suspect it was a Freudian skip (ha ha) and it is actually where you now are domiciled, banished until she forgives you.
http://2013arcticcatwildcat1000.blogspot.com/
ReplyDelete