A Winter Wedding in Sheffield



One of Sheffield's newer city centre Buildings

  Sometimes you just know that the warmth of catching up with old friends is well worth the effort,time and expense of a winter's journey.
Yesterday in a surprisingly easy trans Pennine rail trip, I descended into a somewhat snowbound Sheffield, to catch up with old bud Mike and to attend "Bel-Ami's" daughter's wedding "do".


The Christmas Tree in front of the Town Hall

  Despite my country wellies and woolly hat, it was  delightful to be back in my "home" city...and even nicer to have the briefest of vacations from animal husbandry and village claustrophobia!
I got to Sheffield at 3pm, checked into my hotel ( a treat from Chris), then had a mooch around the city centre as thousands of Sheffielders now free from the week's blizzard conditions, literally did the same.

The Christmas lights at Tudor Square

 I absolutely loved being "one in the crowd" and ambled around the Winter Gardens and the  Peace Gardens before stopping for a coffee in the  Millennium Galleries. I perused the books at Waterstones in Orchard Square, did a circuit of John Lewis and then, fully re urbanised went to meet up with Mike in All Bar One for wine, gossip and much chuckling

 At 8.30pm we caught a taxi to the Kenwood Hotel in Netheredge and arrived fashionably late for the wedding reception!
Weddings by definition are highly good natured affairs, and last night's "do" didn't disappoint . I caught up with more old friends , drank too much gin and woke up this morning bright eyed and bushy tailed and very happy after a rejuvenating "touching of bases"
It was lovely to see Mike, John (aka Bel), Bev and of course the bride...the gamine Elizabeth

Mike, Bel Ami,Filo, and fat bastard me

Part of the city centre this morning

The weather West of the Pennines was glorious this morning and the early rail journey home  was enhanced by a group of nine university students who embarked on a lively, intelligent and interesting debate on the merits of drone warfare in the seats behind me.
Polite, informed, opinionated and bright these young things  gave me an abject lesson in the positivism and optimism of youth......it was a welcomed change to listen to them talk----especially as the conversation was free of the usual vulgarities, celebrities and sex....subjects usually discussed by your average teen!
Who says a university education doesn't pay eh?

Anyhow now its back to normality.....to farting bulldogs, messy footprints in the kitchen and a field full of chattering beaks to feed............sigh!