Another early start as had to be in Huddersfield by about 10am, so I got the 9am train, and had a fairly quiet journey. I did chat initially to the people sitting opposite me but they were what I used to call 'plastic people', as they were sad fashion victims going from Sunderland to Manchester to go shopping... ugh. They had nothing to say, empty lives.
Anyway, I got to Huddersfield and briskly walked to the market hall where I had first been sent a few weeks back and as I approached the office, a market official sped out clutching the Santa sacks, recognised me and said to go with him to the other market hall where I'd be working today. We got in his car and had a 5 minute drive to the market very close to the railway station, which is covered but not enclosed, so it was bitterly cold.
I had a walk round with the head of the market and then went to get changed and get walking round with my sack of tiny chocolate footballs and mini chocolate Santas. I enjoyed this a lot... banter and humour and fun, but I was glad to get back to the office at midday and have my sandwiches. I got going again at 12.30 and worked til 1.45 when i had a quick coffee before going to the reindeer enclosure, this time the two reindeer were from Reindeer For Christmas, and they had a sleigh (on casters) which I sat in, and the reindeer pulled it around to different areas of the market. This was quite memorable! When the sleigh came to a halt, various children were placed in the sleigh with me for photo opportunities, and I met a nice lass called Joanne who was really keen on the reindeer and very extrovert.
I did another half hour giving out chocolate balls after this and finished at 3.35, and was soon walking up to the station dressed as John, with no-one taking any notice of me.
There was a train soon after 4pm, and I dozed all the way to York. I took the Cycle Heaven bike down to the shop on Bishopthorpe Road where my mended bike was waiting. However, I was a little shocked at the bill... I'd had my chain de-kinked and lubed, a new mudguard put on, a new pannier rack and new rear tyre... the cost was £113. I had just £115 in notes on me, so I had just enough to pay them. But it was lovely to have my bike back, and on the way back I popped in to Freshways and picked up a sack of tropical veg which was too limp or otherwise unsaleable.
It was good to get home, as I was frozen. I cannot remember being so cold, ever! I'd had a text from Sue asking if she could come round and collect some dried fruit before travelling South for her Christmas break, so she appeared after tea and was really quite entertaining with her stories and recounting of incidents from her past. She stayed til nearly 10pm.
I got on with washing up and a few other bits but generally relaxed. The boys slept downstairs in the front room as it was the warmest place. I wondered whether I'd be able to get up early enough to see the eclipse of the moon in the morning...
Showing posts with label Santa Claus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Claus. Show all posts
Another early start for me, as due to be in Dewsbury for 10ish, so I got the 8.58 train and chatted with a nice couple, students, heading back to her home village of Giggleswick for a few days over Christmas.
Dewsbury was quite snowy and very cold... there is a big building near the market with a digital display and as well as the time and date, it shows the temperature, which was -7 Celsius, and during the day it got no warmer than -5 C. However, I was in a grotto which had a little electrical fan heater, which kept it slightly warmer, but the grotto was open to the elements and was I think at or below freezing all day. A local animal petting place called Ponderosa supplied two Reindeer, which attracted a bit of attention.
But I did 10.30 til 12.30, and was due to restart at 1pm but was called down as a queue had developed. And I worked on through the afternoon, coming to the doorway when the place was quiet, to wave at passers by and try to attract family groups over to hand their £2.50 per child to have an audience with Santa and be given a pre-wrapped present. Towards the end of the day we had two incidents. Firstly, a woman appeared who had brought an 18 month old girl and a 3 year old boy in, either last week or earlier today, and she had both their presents. The boy had got a board game based on bingo, and the girl a pottery VW campervan moneybox. She was complaining that these weren't appropriate. The woman in charge of me, Trish, dealt with the complaint and gave the complainer her money back. Then at about 3pm, half an hour before our finish time, the rickety fan heater got knocked by my flowing robes and fell on it's front, and burst into flames! The grotto filled with smoke, Trish unplugged it and put the fire out (not sure how) and went to get one of the bosses. This person said that we should finish early as the room was stinking of burnt plastic and kids shouldn't go in there. So I went to get changed and set off for the station at about 3.20.
I dozed on the train as I was very cold, and got into York at about 4.30. My bike chain had been jumping so I decided to pop in to Cycle Heaven to book my bike in for some work... but amazingly, they said I could leave it there and pick it up at 6pm if I wanted. So I borrowed a shop bike and sped round to Peter and Jenny's house, where they were having a party. I explained to them that I'd have to go in less than an hour... but was very grateful of the warm 'port in a storm' which I needed, as I was still cold from the day working in sub-zero temperatures. I had a couple of mugs of home-made mulled cider, the cider was home made from apple concentrate apparently, and two delicious mince pies. This, plus the conversation, all worked to elevate my mood.
At 5.50 I got the bike and cycled back to Cycle Heaven. They'd found that the jumping chain was due to a stiff link in the chain, but whilst finding this, they'd found my pannier rack was not fixed properly, it had broken, and needed replacing. However, this would take another half hour, and the shop was shutting, so could I pick it up tomorrow? I explained that I was going up to Masham tomorrow but should be able to pick it up on Monday, on the way to Huddersfield.
So I cycled home on the shop bike. There was a parcel waiting for me, from Rory in Canada.... he'd found a jester hat, a stripy cap, stripy socks, stripy jumper thing and stripy waistcoat. Oh Wow! A costume rejuvenation! Not sure how I'll use the cap, but all the other things either will or could come in useful, and I love the socks and waistcoat. I have no idea what I've done to deserve this from Rory, but it moves me that he has sent this, and several other gifts.
I had a quiet evening as the rest of the family were watching some dance thing in the other room, and I couldn't get Tracey Smith's radio show to play on Apple am. Never mind, I kept myself occupied and had a reasonable evening.
Dewsbury was quite snowy and very cold... there is a big building near the market with a digital display and as well as the time and date, it shows the temperature, which was -7 Celsius, and during the day it got no warmer than -5 C. However, I was in a grotto which had a little electrical fan heater, which kept it slightly warmer, but the grotto was open to the elements and was I think at or below freezing all day. A local animal petting place called Ponderosa supplied two Reindeer, which attracted a bit of attention.
But I did 10.30 til 12.30, and was due to restart at 1pm but was called down as a queue had developed. And I worked on through the afternoon, coming to the doorway when the place was quiet, to wave at passers by and try to attract family groups over to hand their £2.50 per child to have an audience with Santa and be given a pre-wrapped present. Towards the end of the day we had two incidents. Firstly, a woman appeared who had brought an 18 month old girl and a 3 year old boy in, either last week or earlier today, and she had both their presents. The boy had got a board game based on bingo, and the girl a pottery VW campervan moneybox. She was complaining that these weren't appropriate. The woman in charge of me, Trish, dealt with the complaint and gave the complainer her money back. Then at about 3pm, half an hour before our finish time, the rickety fan heater got knocked by my flowing robes and fell on it's front, and burst into flames! The grotto filled with smoke, Trish unplugged it and put the fire out (not sure how) and went to get one of the bosses. This person said that we should finish early as the room was stinking of burnt plastic and kids shouldn't go in there. So I went to get changed and set off for the station at about 3.20.
I dozed on the train as I was very cold, and got into York at about 4.30. My bike chain had been jumping so I decided to pop in to Cycle Heaven to book my bike in for some work... but amazingly, they said I could leave it there and pick it up at 6pm if I wanted. So I borrowed a shop bike and sped round to Peter and Jenny's house, where they were having a party. I explained to them that I'd have to go in less than an hour... but was very grateful of the warm 'port in a storm' which I needed, as I was still cold from the day working in sub-zero temperatures. I had a couple of mugs of home-made mulled cider, the cider was home made from apple concentrate apparently, and two delicious mince pies. This, plus the conversation, all worked to elevate my mood.
At 5.50 I got the bike and cycled back to Cycle Heaven. They'd found that the jumping chain was due to a stiff link in the chain, but whilst finding this, they'd found my pannier rack was not fixed properly, it had broken, and needed replacing. However, this would take another half hour, and the shop was shutting, so could I pick it up tomorrow? I explained that I was going up to Masham tomorrow but should be able to pick it up on Monday, on the way to Huddersfield.
So I cycled home on the shop bike. There was a parcel waiting for me, from Rory in Canada.... he'd found a jester hat, a stripy cap, stripy socks, stripy jumper thing and stripy waistcoat. Oh Wow! A costume rejuvenation! Not sure how I'll use the cap, but all the other things either will or could come in useful, and I love the socks and waistcoat. I have no idea what I've done to deserve this from Rory, but it moves me that he has sent this, and several other gifts.
I had a quiet evening as the rest of the family were watching some dance thing in the other room, and I couldn't get Tracey Smith's radio show to play on Apple am. Never mind, I kept myself occupied and had a reasonable evening.
Well, I justabout survived the day.
Up early as we had quite a bit to do before I went to work. The boys enjoyed opening their presents, our youngest pleased with lego and eldest pleased with money instead so he can go and buy a 'Wii'. Gill had found an unused table football game (quite a big one, about 3 feet long) in a charity shop for only £5, and they were pleased with that. They unwrapped the legs first and were just a bit bemused as to what they were for. Gill was pleased with her new frying pan (she'd dropped enough hints) and I was tempted to go and fill up my chainsaw's oil port immediately but just resisted! Probably the best gift was Simon's home-made pestle and mortar, created from sheets of reclaimed birch ply, glued together into a sturdy block and then turned and carved and sanded down. The pestle is made in the same way. We already have a pestle and mortar... it rarely gets used and it's small enough to fit in the back of the cutlery drawer. As for Simon's, it's massive and beautiful and I'm not sure where it will go or whether we'll use it... but it is lovely and home-made presents are definitely the best!
Gill made my sandwiches and I packed my bike trailer, and I set off for the Novotel to go and perform an hour of Fiddlesticks and then unknown amount of Father Christmas, a role I really dislike as it's not me..... Professor Fiddlesticks is more the real me than I can be when being just John, if that makes sense, whereas Daddy Xmus is acting and very hard work. David was just getting ready so I signed his 'release form' which allows him to use the images, and started unicycling round, devilsticking and making balloon animals. Several people recognised me from last year and were very friendly, kids excited and keen to do the various circussy activities. The hour went very quickly and I went for lunch in a bedroom, got changed and came down for 1.30, walking very slowly, making sure my beard and cushion didn't slip, and doing a variety of deep Ho Ho Ho's and assorted other merry greetings. I'm sure I pulled it off pretty well, but it was hard work! I only had about 10 presents to deliver, this taking only 15 minutes... and I was finished, Hooray!
I got changed back into John and packed all my gear into the trailer and panniers and came home via Freshways who were open, and I bought some Halva as a treat.
Found out no-one else likes it, apparently.
Gill had made a lovely Christmas tea... the boys wanted noodles, I had the rems of nutloaf, all with roast veggies and a tomato and leek sauce. Lovely and completely non traditional!
We watched the Wallace and Gromit 'Curse of the Were-Rabbit' film together but I drifted in and out of sleep until the news after which I escaped from the Dr. Who Christmas special and went upstairs with my laptop and did assorted things, including watching two extremely moving YouTube videos:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOwvNnTeD4&NR=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Z7rV7kKnI&NR=1
after which I joined the Aaron Fotheringham fan page on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38047288049&ref=ts
as he's someone I really admire. Totally inspirational!
Came back down for a family viewing of the new Wallace and Gromit, 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' which was ok. The boys eventually went to bed and I prepared a big pile of waste mangoes for drying. Each one has a one or two small bruises or bad patches, with the rest of the mango being very tasty and lovely. Did about 15 of them... Two cake-racks loaded with mango slices, balanced precariously on top of the 6 gallon pan on the stove...
Up early as we had quite a bit to do before I went to work. The boys enjoyed opening their presents, our youngest pleased with lego and eldest pleased with money instead so he can go and buy a 'Wii'. Gill had found an unused table football game (quite a big one, about 3 feet long) in a charity shop for only £5, and they were pleased with that. They unwrapped the legs first and were just a bit bemused as to what they were for. Gill was pleased with her new frying pan (she'd dropped enough hints) and I was tempted to go and fill up my chainsaw's oil port immediately but just resisted! Probably the best gift was Simon's home-made pestle and mortar, created from sheets of reclaimed birch ply, glued together into a sturdy block and then turned and carved and sanded down. The pestle is made in the same way. We already have a pestle and mortar... it rarely gets used and it's small enough to fit in the back of the cutlery drawer. As for Simon's, it's massive and beautiful and I'm not sure where it will go or whether we'll use it... but it is lovely and home-made presents are definitely the best!
Gill made my sandwiches and I packed my bike trailer, and I set off for the Novotel to go and perform an hour of Fiddlesticks and then unknown amount of Father Christmas, a role I really dislike as it's not me..... Professor Fiddlesticks is more the real me than I can be when being just John, if that makes sense, whereas Daddy Xmus is acting and very hard work. David was just getting ready so I signed his 'release form' which allows him to use the images, and started unicycling round, devilsticking and making balloon animals. Several people recognised me from last year and were very friendly, kids excited and keen to do the various circussy activities. The hour went very quickly and I went for lunch in a bedroom, got changed and came down for 1.30, walking very slowly, making sure my beard and cushion didn't slip, and doing a variety of deep Ho Ho Ho's and assorted other merry greetings. I'm sure I pulled it off pretty well, but it was hard work! I only had about 10 presents to deliver, this taking only 15 minutes... and I was finished, Hooray!
I got changed back into John and packed all my gear into the trailer and panniers and came home via Freshways who were open, and I bought some Halva as a treat.
Found out no-one else likes it, apparently.
Gill had made a lovely Christmas tea... the boys wanted noodles, I had the rems of nutloaf, all with roast veggies and a tomato and leek sauce. Lovely and completely non traditional!
We watched the Wallace and Gromit 'Curse of the Were-Rabbit' film together but I drifted in and out of sleep until the news after which I escaped from the Dr. Who Christmas special and went upstairs with my laptop and did assorted things, including watching two extremely moving YouTube videos:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOwvNnTeD4&NR=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Z7rV7kKnI&NR=1
after which I joined the Aaron Fotheringham fan page on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38047288049&ref=ts
as he's someone I really admire. Totally inspirational!
Came back down for a family viewing of the new Wallace and Gromit, 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' which was ok. The boys eventually went to bed and I prepared a big pile of waste mangoes for drying. Each one has a one or two small bruises or bad patches, with the rest of the mango being very tasty and lovely. Did about 15 of them... Two cake-racks loaded with mango slices, balanced precariously on top of the 6 gallon pan on the stove...
A very wet and cold day outside, so made it warm and dry inside.
A relaxing morning, slept til after 9 and then went back to bed after breakfast and started reading but felt sleepy and drifted off until nearly 11. Watched Countryfile.
A bit of time outside during the afternoon, but not much.
At 5pm, went to Morrisons new supermarket to perform a kids party entertainment for children of the staff. I did my usual circus and balloons routines... all went well as usual and everybody enjoyed themselves... and I met my old friend Santa Claus for the first time this year!
Home-made pizza for tea, yummy!
Wrote letters during the rest of the evening, thinking about what to write for paid blog tomorrow morning...
A relaxing morning, slept til after 9 and then went back to bed after breakfast and started reading but felt sleepy and drifted off until nearly 11. Watched Countryfile.
A bit of time outside during the afternoon, but not much.
At 5pm, went to Morrisons new supermarket to perform a kids party entertainment for children of the staff. I did my usual circus and balloons routines... all went well as usual and everybody enjoyed themselves... and I met my old friend Santa Claus for the first time this year!
Home-made pizza for tea, yummy!
Wrote letters during the rest of the evening, thinking about what to write for paid blog tomorrow morning...
As Gill's legs still hurt following the physio, I took the boys to school.
The morning was mainly concerned with creating a placard for Santa to carry whilst unicycling on the World Naked Cycle Ride. Gill and I finished the poem, which was started with help from our eldest son:
OH, OH, OH,
How will I cope
With not enough snow?
It won't be as nice
With much less ice.
Ho, HO, HO,
A solution I like
Abandon your car
And get on your bike
Take the train or bus
Or travel my way...
Unicycle or reindeer sleigh!
This was carefully written on a large piece of cardboard and the backs of posters found outside the Lloyds TSB, put for landfill!
Also did various bits of housework and garden jobs. Early on our Polish roofer Artur arrived to repair the tarry sheets on the studio roof, which had perished. Some of the wooden batons underneath have perished and will need replacing, but he reckons that it will be ok for another 10 years.
Next door are having scaffolding erected to replace soffit boards, finish their loft conversion and do some repointing. Good banter with Lee the scaffolder, who has a stove for sale. Contact TB scaffolding for this!
During the middle of the day Ken our neighbour popped round to tell us we had a swarm of bees in our garden... infact it is 8m up a conifer in the other next door's garden, overhanging our garden. Barry, friend of Ken, suggested putting a box with honey smeared inside, and a hole or two in, which might attract the bees so they could be taken away and rehoused, but by nightfall they had not found this and were a tight ball in the tree.
At 2, a lady who advertised in the back of the Press came and had brought round her son's 2 yr old bike, suitable for a 10 yr old. Our eldest who has wrecked his bike needs a new one so we bought this for £30.
I took it down to the school (pushing it whilst riding mine) and he was delighted and promised to look after it. Came home with D and J, friends of our boys, as their mum is unable to pick them up until 5pm, which she did.
I left shortly after this and took my unicycle on my trailer, plus costume and placard, and parked in the Out Of This World car park, and unicycled to the Memorial Gardens to get dressed up as Santa Claus. Lots of seminaked and bodypainted folks, and minutes from leaving lots of people went totally naked for this local expression of a global protest/celebration. The route was fairly gruelling for a unicyclist in a Santa outfit, quite a sauna.
Afterwards went for a pint at the King's Arms, which was lovely and refreshing.
Home and I created a quick tea of onions, vegetarian black pudding and goat's cheese, with rems of quiche from yesterday. Ate this at 10pm, collapsed after and watched a bit of TV, then did a quick email and blog, and watched Joolz Holland with Paul McCartney and Bjork.
The morning was mainly concerned with creating a placard for Santa to carry whilst unicycling on the World Naked Cycle Ride. Gill and I finished the poem, which was started with help from our eldest son:
OH, OH, OH,
How will I cope
With not enough snow?
It won't be as nice
With much less ice.
Ho, HO, HO,
A solution I like
Abandon your car
And get on your bike
Take the train or bus
Or travel my way...
Unicycle or reindeer sleigh!
This was carefully written on a large piece of cardboard and the backs of posters found outside the Lloyds TSB, put for landfill!
Also did various bits of housework and garden jobs. Early on our Polish roofer Artur arrived to repair the tarry sheets on the studio roof, which had perished. Some of the wooden batons underneath have perished and will need replacing, but he reckons that it will be ok for another 10 years.
Next door are having scaffolding erected to replace soffit boards, finish their loft conversion and do some repointing. Good banter with Lee the scaffolder, who has a stove for sale. Contact TB scaffolding for this!
During the middle of the day Ken our neighbour popped round to tell us we had a swarm of bees in our garden... infact it is 8m up a conifer in the other next door's garden, overhanging our garden. Barry, friend of Ken, suggested putting a box with honey smeared inside, and a hole or two in, which might attract the bees so they could be taken away and rehoused, but by nightfall they had not found this and were a tight ball in the tree.
At 2, a lady who advertised in the back of the Press came and had brought round her son's 2 yr old bike, suitable for a 10 yr old. Our eldest who has wrecked his bike needs a new one so we bought this for £30.
I took it down to the school (pushing it whilst riding mine) and he was delighted and promised to look after it. Came home with D and J, friends of our boys, as their mum is unable to pick them up until 5pm, which she did.
I left shortly after this and took my unicycle on my trailer, plus costume and placard, and parked in the Out Of This World car park, and unicycled to the Memorial Gardens to get dressed up as Santa Claus. Lots of seminaked and bodypainted folks, and minutes from leaving lots of people went totally naked for this local expression of a global protest/celebration. The route was fairly gruelling for a unicyclist in a Santa outfit, quite a sauna.
Afterwards went for a pint at the King's Arms, which was lovely and refreshing.
Home and I created a quick tea of onions, vegetarian black pudding and goat's cheese, with rems of quiche from yesterday. Ate this at 10pm, collapsed after and watched a bit of TV, then did a quick email and blog, and watched Joolz Holland with Paul McCartney and Bjork.
