The Sounds - Hull

Just a quick blog entry before the New Years Honours list.
I have booked 4 tickets for "The Sounds" who are playing at the Welley Club in Hull on THURSDAY the 25th of January.
The tickets were £3 each so if anyone does not want to go in the end you can easily buy your way out the trip!
Guess we need to decide if its going to be a drinking night (if it helps the time for them is down as 10PM until 12:30AM) and if so book a taxi back from Hull.
Anyway if you are interested its pretty hard to get the album in the UK at the moment - I am going to source a copy while in Sweden hopefully so will lend to those interested on my return.

Upcoming events and trips (as of December 2006)...

Here is the December and onwards list of potential nights out, weekend breaks and holidays. Please leave any other ideas via the comments option. Most nights out come with either a snogging or fighting incident. If Tarzan attends that includes fighting with lady boys. If Cherry attends that includes fighting with pop stars.

Trip: Yorkshire Wolds Way
Date: A Saturday/Sunday in December depending on other activities/weather. Hopefully the 9th of December.
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: The final section of the Wolds Way - Sherburn to Filey. Will involve a couple of pints.
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: The 2nd ever Poke & Toot (tm)
Date: Saturday December the 9th
Confirmed characters: Cherry, Jarv, Mint, Sir and Tarzan. Waiting on Bully & Simsy
Purpose of visit: Cherry is hosting this famous event. He will have to confirm the eating and drinking arrangements. I can confirm however that if someone is good enough to supply the Red Bull I shall be making the traditional jug of Jarv JagerBull before leaving for Hooters..
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Snowboarding, Castleford
Date: A Saturday or Sunday in December
Confirmed characters: None yet
Purpose of visit: Maybe try and fit one more trip in before Xmas. And maybe a bit of shopping..
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Boxing day!!
Date: Tuesday the 26th of December
Confirmed characters: Bully, Jarv, Tarzan, Sir. Wozzy and Ben maybe. Super Sub to confirm (further North??)
Purpose of visit: The most famous day of the year. Bullys favourite day bar none. Watch out the Pink Ladies. And who will get the famous wooden spoon?? This is a 3 by 3* event!!
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds ***

Trip: Copenhagen for New Years Eve (Confirmed and booked)
Date: Dec 29th arrive Copenhagen, stay Malmo and then to Copenhagen and leave 2nd of Jan.
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake and Blobby
Purpose of visit: First night is booked for Malmo (Swedish girls) and then onto Copenhagen (that’s right - Danish girls).
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: London weekend
Date: February I think
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Will not be going myself but Crystal Palace v Hull City
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere"
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv, Sir and other Driff characters
Purpose of visit: Very up in the air. Possible trip with Stabsy and family. Maybe France at last minute, maybe Bulgaria. Have also suggested cheap Oslo or Munich weekend with a bit of boardin' thrown in.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Cleveland Way
Date: April 13th-15th 2007
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: The Cleveland Way from Helmsley to Filey. Done in sections over various weekends. This would cover 2 days of the walk staying in the Helmsley Youth Hostel.
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: Super League Weekend, Cardiff
Date: May bank holiday weekend (4/5/6/7), 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All Super League games to be played in one weekend at the Millenium Stadium. Have made a Travelodge booking for one room that can be cancelled (2 nights in Cardiff) and also another for Bristol on the Friday night if needed. Could be combined with a full week down South? We now know Hull will play Hull KR on the Saturday.
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: July 21st 2007
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint and Fishcake
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. As we stand the 3 of us are flying into Toulouse the Monday before the game and flying back from Perpignan the following Monday.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Poker night (part deux)..

Call him what you like - M'boy, Pete Sampras, Mbou Mbou, Aretha Franklin, Arnold from "Different Strokes" - but Cherry has come forward to host the second ever Poker Night.
For those who did not attend the previous event it goes something like this - quite a lot of booze is consumed, the host cooks something, booze is consumed, poker, booze, poker, into town, fight, fight.
Anyway Cherry has offered to host this event at his Driffield town house on Saturday the 9th of December.
The usual arrangement is to meet at around 8PM and head into town at around 10:30PM but the second part is totally optional. If interested let myself know ASAP and I will try and confirm the numbers to Cherry.

Upcoming trips (France Special)...

This is a special Blog entry for the Hull away game when they play the Catalans Dragons in the South of France next year. The fixtures for next year don’t get released to the press until Monday night (27th) next week but I have inside information on the following -

Firstly Hull FC are due to play this game on Saturday the 21st of July. Secondly Hull KR are due to play the Catalans the week before. Based on this we should really be looking at who may want to go on this trip and for how long etc. I have the following thoughts at the moment –

Me and Mint are at least thinking of going for a week and having this as our main holiday but could meet up with others doing shorter trips.
Maybe think of doing this as our weekend away instead of Ireland this year (highly unlikely I could do both).
Maybe go to both the FC and KR games.
Based on the above meet up with any Rovers fans that may go the weekend before (Fancy it Mr Sims?)
Start taking a look at all the flight options – e.g. flying into one airport and out of another. For instance Perpignan, Carcassonne, Toulouse and Barcelona are all options.
If a number of people go we could get an apartment or house or something.
Partners and kids welcome (Mint said he might even take his Lucy).

Flights will start getting booked up as early as next week I believe so its worth deciding if you are interested ASAP..

The Wolds Way (Thixendale to Sherburn)

Based on the fact I cant walk today it would be fair to assume myself and Mint managed the next section of the Wolds Way yesterday (Sunday). This leg was from Thixendale to Sherburn and totalled just under 19 miles. Highlights should have included seeing loads of rabbits, alas Mint's cheese and pesto sandwiches won the day.
The next (and final) leg is hopefully the weekend of the 2nd of December. For reference the finish is in Filey and we intend to celebrate with Fish and Chips and a few pints if anyone would like to join us. Also just a reminder if you are even slightly interested in the Cleveland Way next year let me know pretty soon as we are going to be looking at potential weekends.

Poker night result and report

This years first poker night turned out to be quite an evening with a bit everything - booze, gambling, women and fighting.. What more could you ask for?
As far as poker went Jarv sort of won with time running out although Tarz had collected the most chips, Cherry was bankrupt and Sir watched horse racing (still stuck on Sky incidentally).
Leaving for the smoke after 10 on the train Cherry looked like some sort of tramp drinking wine while Tarzan watered the train station flowers.
The big smoke itself was very interesting. Sir did some snogging with a clairvoyant (did she not see it coming?). Cherry nearly had a fight with Robin Gibb. Tarzan nearly had a fight with Jack Osborne, only it turns out it was more likely Hayley Cropper! And Sir did more snogging.
Next poker night is scheduled for mid December, this time hosted by Tarz.

Upcoming trips (as of November 2006)...

Here is the November and onwards list of potential nights out, weekend breaks and holidays. Please leave any other ideas via the comments option. This is your definitive social calendar! All nights have a guaranteed snogging incident. Please confirm if you are coming to the Borat and/or Poke n Toot night if possible.

Trip: Rugby League - England v Samoa
Date: Sunday the 5th of November
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint !?, Martin & Kelly?
Purpose of visit: England v Samoa at the KC Stadium, Hull (and afternoon session)
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Movie - Borat
Date: November 7th or 8th
Confirmed characters: None so far
Purpose of visit: Visit to cinema to watch the new Borat movie with Sir promising he will dress up. Tuesday is "cheap" night while Wednesday is Orange 2 for 1.
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Poke & Toot (tm)
Date: Saturday November 11th
Confirmed characters: None so far
Purpose of visit: Poker evening at my house. Optionally followed by last train to Driff and Tooting...
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Snowboarding, Castleford
Date: A Saturday or Sunday in November
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Cherry, Thomas and Elaine. Maybe Docker. Hopefully Mr Sims & a lady boarder from Salty..
Purpose of visit: Lessons for Cherry and Thomas. Hopefully the chance to sit in the gallery, drinking Kronenburg Blanc, and watching Cherry fall on his ass' a few times. Better still watching Docker fall on his big ass'
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Yorkshire Wolds Way
Date: A Saturday/Sunday in November depending on other activities/weather
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: The next section of the Yorkshire Wolds Way – Will be from Thixendale to Sherburn.
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: York “shopping trip”
Date: Friday 17th of November
Confirmed characters: Most of Driffield Post Office.
Purpose of visit: Surely the York ‘shopping trip’ must be nearing its 10th year? This classic trip in the Calendar may also include a nights accommodation at the Travelodge. Hopefully more than one room will get booked this year!!
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Morf's leaving do
Date: Saturday the 25th of November
Confirmed characters: Nearly everyone??
Purpose of visit: A chance to watch Tarzan look very very nervous??
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Copenhagen for New Years Eve (Confirmed and booked)
Date: Dec 29th arrive Copenhagen, stay Malmo and then to Copenhagen and leave 2nd of Jan.
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake and Blobby
Purpose of visit: First night is booked for Malmo (Swedish girls) and then onto Copenhagen (that’s right - Danish girls).
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: Dublin weekend
Date: Maybe January 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: The blogmaster is having to work for a couple of days (Thursday/Friday) in Dublin one week in November or December. As the flight is paid for I am more than happy to stay an extra couple of nights if any characters interested?
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: London weekend
Date: February I think
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: May not be going myself but Crystal Palace v Hull City
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere" (Now looking a bit like Bulgaria!)
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv, Sir maybe SuperSub. Looking for an extra character.
Purpose of visit: Very up in the air. Possible trip with big Tom and family. Have also suggested cheap Oslo or Munich weekend with a bit of boardin' thrown in.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Super League Weekend, Cardiff
Date: May bank holiday weekend (4/5/6/7), 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All Super League games to be played in one weekend at the Millenium Stadium. Have made a Travelodge booking for one room that can be cancelled (2 nights in Cardiff) and also another for Bristol on the Friday night if needed. Would even recommend the Rovers fans to make a booking should they win through to Super League...
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Cleveland Way
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: The Cleveland Way from Helmsley to Filey. Done in sections over various weekends. If you are interested let me know as will have to sort out accommodation quite early. A Cranswick Walking Club event.
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: TBC but 2007
Confirmed characters: More than likely Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. Date of game yet to be confirmed. Type of trip could be anything from a single weekend away to Mint wanting to hire a feckin canal boat for the week. Should also point out a trip would also be made if Rovers get into Super League - 2 characters will be in the Catalan end however.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Cleveland Way

As with the "Wolds Way" a bit of small print again for this potential Cranswick Walking Club adventure -

Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

With the "Wolds Way" nearly complete two of the founder members of the CCW are now looking at next years walking. The most favourable route at the moment looks to be the "Cleveland Way" which starts at Helmsley and finishes at Filey. The initial ratings may put you off a little but these are worst case scenario - as was found out on the Pooley Bridge trip all the ratings doubled at least! The first leg of the trip would be attempted over a weekend or long weekend (taking perhaps the Friday off work also). This would get us from Helmsley to Osmotherley. The good news is there are at least a couple of good pubs in Helmsley I believe. We can either camp or there is a Youth Hostel in Helmsley - apparently curfews and stuff are a thing of the past. I am guessing that we would be looking to start doing this walk around March or April time.
Also note that the route does pass through Saltburn - perhaps we could combine the trip with the accommodation we might need for a wedding??

Poker night..

On the suggestion of Mint another poker night has been put forward. This high profile event can also then be combined with a late night foray into Driffield (a method slowly being perfected by Jarv & Sir). For reference this will not be a high money event – a} because the idea is to save money and b} Tarzan has been studying the rules and watching poker on TV for the last 6 months. Suggested dates for the event are any of the first 2 weekends in November (i.e. any before feeling ropey after York trip and Morf’s leaving do on the 25^th). The evening can kick off about 7PM and a suggestion would be every character brings some sort of easy to prepare food (even though in Mint we have the next Jamie Oliver in our midst). Copious amounts of alcohol will be available. Cigars optional.
As we stand the following characters are invited – Me, Mark "Fruity" Lewis, Nick "The Super Sub" Sims, Richard "The Chocolate Face” Burton, Glenn "The Partridge" Matthews and Chris "King of the jungle" Smith. Please confirm if you want to attend and also which date is good for you (if any).

Cayton Bay surf festival

This Saturday and Sunday sees the North East Open surfing competition at Cayton Bay. If the weather is crap for the next part of the Wolds Way walk it may be worth a trip up and a quick drink in Scarborough. At the moment the swell forecast looks like there could be some surf on Saturday but I will keep an eye on it. I will drive unless someone else would like to volunteer.

Madchester weekend...

Despite loosing to the Saints on Saturday night (no complaints about that one) a quality weekend was had in Manchester. Things didn’t start too well – a potential scuffle was avoided on the train with some characters (best described as ‘knobs’) who had stolen seats and also the news that one of Manchester’s finest residents, ‘Miss’ Owen, was in fact in Driffield of all places on her chuffing hen night.
On arrival in Manchester Mint (pictured) was happy to find that Ibis hotels in the UK only have double beds which as well as some other rather ‘fruity’ behavior on the trip must surely see his profile on Gaydar pretty soon.
It would be fair to say that Hull fans certainly outnumbered and outsang the Saints fans before and during the game.
After the game Jarv, Mint and Dave, Cherry now departed, ended up at Deansgate Quays although they didn’t know until the next day. Some buzzarding did occur.
With flawed confidence Jarv did arrive back at the hotel somewhat later than Mint only to find he had been locked out of the room. Having got reception to break down the door Mint was found fully clothed on top of the bed so it was the worlds most uncomfortable sleep on the floor for Jarv.
Nothing to report Sunday apart from missing the train and Mint falling for a young American lady (even though he is now officially ‘Fruity’). Oh and the small matter of Mint getting kissed on the train .. by a man!

Upcoming trips (France Special)...

As with Borat (the movie) this is an unprecedented addition outside of the upcoming trips section but is quite important in its own right.
The draw for next seasons Super League fixtures will more than likely be made at the end of November – i.e. in just over a month. Therefore if ‘we’ want to go to Perpignan in the South of France next year and take advantage of cheaper flights and accommodation we need to be ready to act as soon as possible after the draw is made.
At the moment any possibilities are open to suggestion and some may depend on the time of year we play the game – i.e. no point in camping in February even in the South of France! The length of time can be a week or a weekend and some people may want to take partners (Myself – unlikely!). As a weekend option we could maybe do the Catalans instead of Ireland. Another option (if enough of us) is to book some kind of flat or gite between all of us.
One more option, if for instance a key member of the party is going to be away for the F.C. game, would be to go to the K.R. away game and support the Catalans.
Whatever it would/will be an excellent weekend and remember if nothing else – Mint is always going to stone a local in his car!
All suggestions welcome!
Merci

Borat - The Movie

It is normally unprecedented to create an item outside of the “Upcoming Trips” section of the blog but then again cinema visits aren’t normally high on our list of priorities.

Borat’s movie (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) is released on the 3^rd of November so I would recommend a visit during “Orange Wednesday” on the 8^th or 15^th of November.

As part of this special trip Sir has agreed to grow a tash, don a pair of pilot’s sunglasses and purchase a suit from Oxfam. At least I think he agreed but let’s hope he finds good “Mouth Party” with a large lady in the cinema anyway.

One for the diary.

Wolds Way (Thixendale to Sherburn)

Having managed to complete the Millington to Thixendale section of the Wolds Way on Sunday the 9^th we are now looking at dates for the penultimate section to Sherburn. The completed section was one of the finest so far passing through numerous ‘dales’ with the further added bonus of some superb buzzarding material in the Farmers Arms, Fridaythorpe.

Possible dates for the next leg include – Saturday 21/10 (clashes with Cayton surf festival first day), Sunday 22/10 (again clashes and could be the day after Danny Wow’s leaving do), Saturday 28/10 (NZ v GB on TV in morning), Sunday 29/10 (Could be after Tarzan Scarborough night out), Saturday 4/11 (Oz v GB on TV in morning), Sunday 5/11 (England v Samoa at the K.C.), Saturday 11/11 (NZ v GB on TV), Sunday 12/11 (looking good), Saturday 18/11 (Oz v GB on TV), Sunday 19/11 (looking good), Saturday 25/11 (Tri nations final on TV), Sunday 26/11 (Morfs leaving do night before).

Upcoming trips (as of October 2006)...

Here is the (now Edited) October and onwards list of potential nights out, weekend breaks and holidays. As with previous months some are suggestions, some are booked and others will fall by the wayside. Please leave any other ideas via the comments option. I am also hoping we can soon add a weekend in Saltburn (accommodation included – hope you are reading Mr Sims!!).

Trip: Snowboarding, Castleford
Date: A Saturday or Sunday in October
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Cherry, Thomas and Elaine. Maybe Docker.
Purpose of visit: Lessons for Cherry and Thomas. Hopefully the chance to sit in the gallery, drinking Kronenburg Blanc, and watching Cherry fall on his ass' a few times (well he did last time). Any who knows – Elaine skiing??
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Yorkshire Wolds Way
Date: A Saturday/Sunday in October depending on other activities/weather
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: The next section of the Yorkshire Wolds Way – Will be from Thixendale to Sherburn.
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: Rugby - last chance play off game
Date: Friday the 6th of October. (GONE)
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Cherry and Martin
Purpose of visit: Hull v Bradford
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Rugby League Grand Final, Manchester
Date: w/e 14th of October
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Grand Final appearance. Hotel booked. Another trip down Canal Street for 2 of the characters perhaps??
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds *

Trip: Scarborough night out
Date: Saturday the 28^th of October
Confirmed characters: Tarz, Jarv and others?
Purpose of visit: Have no idea – Tarzan organizing!
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Rugby League - England v Samoa
Date: Sunday the 5th of November
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: England v Samoa at the KC Stadium, Hull (and afternoon session)
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: York “shopping trip”
Date: Friday 17^th of November
Confirmed characters: Most of Driffield Post Office.
Purpose of visit: Surely the York ‘shopping trip’ must be nearing its 10^th year? This classic trip in the Calendar may also include a nights accommodation at the Travelodge. Hopefully more than one room will get booked this year!!
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Dublin weekend
Date: November or December
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: The blogmaster is having to work for a couple of days (Thursday/Friday) in Dublin one week in November or December. As the flight is paid for I am more than happy to stay an extra couple of nights if any characters interested?
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Copenhagen for New Years Eve (Confirmed and booked)
Date: Dec 29th arrive Copenhagen, stay Malmo and then to Copenhagen and leave 2nd of Jan.
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake and Blobby
Purpose of visit: First night is booked for Malmo (Swedish girls) and then onto Copenhagen (that’s right - Danish girls).
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: London weekend
Date: February 4th, 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All night session at a Superbowl party and maybe a chance of a game of Rugby League.
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere" (Now looking a bit like Bulgaria!)
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv and SuperSub. Looking for an extra character.
Purpose of visit: Some snowboarding. Destroy hotel room, dance with Swedish chav's, spitroast Dutch (female) ski instructor, generally piss of skiers, dance to Eurocrap and have possible naked incident in health spa. Update - the current status of this trip is unknown. Trip could be postponed or moved later into the year.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Super League Weekend, Cardiff
Date: May bank holiday weekend (4/5/6/7), 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All Super League games to be played in one weekend at the Millenium Stadium. Have made a Travelodge booking for one room that can be cancelled (2 nights in Cardiff) and also another for Bristol on the Friday night if needed. Would even recommend the Rovers fans to make a booking should they win through to Super League...
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: TBC but 2007
Confirmed characters: More than likely Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. Date of game yet to be confirmed. Type of trip could be anything from a single weekend away to Mint wanting to hire a feckin canal boat for the week. Should also point out a trip would also be made if Rovers get into Super League - 2 characters will be in the Catalan end however.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Rugby League playoffs (as we stand) Part 3..

After a classic battle on Friday night Hull find themselves having to play another play off game this week. The 12-8 loss sees them now play Bradford, who disposed of Warrington in another hard fought game, in an all ticket game at the K.C. The October blog (about to be posted) now reflects the possibility of a trip to Manchester still.

On a side note the U21’s lost the final yesterday 1-0! A drop goal in the last few minutes of the game won it for Leeds.

Wolds Way (Market Weighton to Millington)

Hopefully this Saturday (it was going to be Sunday but could now be going to the rugby below) we may attempt the 3rd leg of the Wolds Way.
In theory this section should be a good 20 miles finishing at Thixendale. However due to the Blogmaster somehow injuring a leg ligament (or getting old) while surfing in Newquay a new plan of attack has been devised.
It has been decided that this section is to be split in half finishing at Millington (or to be more precise the pub in Millington). This leg therefore will be around 8 miles in length.
Anyone wishing to join myself and Mint on the walk or just in the pub are more than welcome.

Rugby League playoffs (as we stand) Part 2...

Just a quick update on dates for the play off games now things are looking a bit clearer. Going back to my original predictions I got it a little bit wrong with Hull finishing in second above Leeds.Anyway with one weekend gone we have, only slightly surprisingly, lost Leeds and Salford with Warrington and Bradford moving into the next eliminator.
This means that next Friday night we have Saints v Hull. As much as I would like to think we can get straight to the final (we have beaten St Helens away already this season) I rather suspect we will be playing again a week on Friday (the 6^th) at the K.C. Stadium.
I expect the game between Bradford and Warrington to go down to the wire – no pun intended. I actually think Warrington might win this game. In fact I would prefer to see Bradford at the K.C. – you know what to expect from them whereas with Warrington you know nether know which team may turn up.
So still hopefully a Saints, Hull final on October 14^th. We currently have 1 room booked at the Ibis, Portland Street, Manchester.
Also just a quick note to mention the U21 Grand Final will be played at the K.C. on Sunday the 1^st of October against Leeds. Only train from Cranny is 1:12PM and coming back at 7PM. Straight to the game and a couple after perhaps??

Back from Newquay..

OK so after the worlds longest drive I can confirm I am back from Newquay. Hightlights included managing to surf for 5 days and a tramp meddling with himself whilst also eating a Cornish pasty.

Upcoming trips (as of September 2006)

Here is the September list of potential nights out, weekend breaks and holidays. As with July and August some are suggestions, some are booked and others will fall by the wayside. Please leave any other ideas via the comments option. Most will be messy.

Trip: Snowboarding, Castleford
Date: A Sunday in September
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Cherry, Thomas (also a certain unnamed buzzard dating!)
Purpose of visit: Lessons for Cherry and Thomas. Hopefully the chance to sit in the gallery, drinking Kronenburg Blanc, and watching Cherry fall on his ass' a few times (well he did last time).
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Hull FC v Catalans Dragons
Date: Sunday 2nd of September
Confirmed characters: Mint, Jarv. More than likely Martin, Kelly and Noel
Purpose of visit: Sunday afternoon visit to Wetherspoons for a few pints of cheap "Black Sheep" and then a wander down to the KC Stadium..
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Newquay area, Cornwall (Looking pretty much cancelled)
Date: 2nd week in September
Confirmed characters: Possibly nobody!
Purpose of visit: Surfing, surfing and pissing off some Aussies hopefully.
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Various (due to possible cancel of above)
Date: 2nd week in September
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All sorts of stuff in the week. Fishing. Snowboarding at Cas'. Surfing in Scarborough. "Shopping" trip to Leeds. If possible trips to Warrington and/or Wigan overnight for rugby. More info available if interested.
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Yorkshire Wolds Way (section 3)
Date: A Saturday/Sunday in September depending on football
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Third section of the Yorkshire Wolds Way from Market Weighton to either Huggate or Fridaythorpe (plus apres hike!)
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: Rugby - potentially Leeds v Hull
Date: 6th/7th of October.
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Leeds v Hull play off game - to be confirmed, dependant on results etc. Hotel booked just in case but can be cancelled.
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Rugby League Grand Final, Manchester
Date: w/e 14th of October
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Possible Grand Final appearance. Hotel booked but can be cancelled. Another trip down Canal Street for 2 of the characters perhaps??
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Trip: Rugby League - England v Samoa
Date: Sunday the 5th of November
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: England v Samoa at the KC Stadium, Hull (and afternoon session)
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Newcastle night out / Kasabian
Date: Friday 8/12
Confirmed characters: None - just a suggestion.
Purpose of visit: Concert and/or night out. Please express interest quickly if you fancy it - tickets and hotels will book up very soon. Trip would be by train.
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Copenhagen for New Years Eve (Confirmed and booked)
Date: Dec 29th arrive Copenhagen, stay Malmo and then to Copenhagen and leave 2nd of Jan.
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake and Blobby
Purpose of visit: First night is booked for Malmo (Swedish girls) and then onto Copenhagen (that’s right - Danish girls).
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: London Superbowl party
Date: February 4th, 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All night session at a Superbowl party..
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere" (Now looking a bit like Bulgaria!)
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv and SuperSub. Looking for an extra character.
Purpose of visit: Some snowboarding. Destroy hotel room, dance with Swedish chav's, spitroast Dutch (female) ski instructor, generally piss of skiers, dance to Eurocrap and have possible naked incident in health spa. Update - the current status of this trip is unknown. Trip could be postponed or moved later into the year.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Super League Weekend, Cardiff
Date: May bank holiday weekend, 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Rumour of all Super League games to be played in one weekend at Millenium Stadium. Have made a Travelodge booking for one room that can be cancelled (2 nights in Cardiff) and also another for Bristol on the Friday night if needed. All of this weekend to be confirmed. Would even recomend the Rovers fans to make a booking...
Bonkers **, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: TBC but 2007
Confirmed characters: More than likely Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. Date of game yet to be confirmed. Type of trip could be anything from a single weekend away to Mint wanting to hire a feckin canal boat for the week. Should also point out a trip would also be made if Rovers get into Super League - 2 characters will be in the Catalan end however.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Wolds Way (South Cave to Market Weighton)

Any town that's only claim to fame is some rather large bloke is going to be crap and the intrepid hikers found this to be the case with Market Weighton on this second leg of The Wolds Way. Full reports of this enjoyable walk (and the mess now known as Apres Hike) however can be found on the Cranswick Walking Club Blog.
The third part of the walk (Market Weighton to roughly Fridaythorpe) may be attempted next Saturday the 2nd of September.
Finally just to confirm that as of 3AM this morning Jarv summertime is officially over.

Wolds Way (Hessle to South Cave)

Just to prove the "Cranswick Walking Club" was not a flash in the pan two developments have to be reported. Firstly 2 of the 3 founding members of the club, Jarv & Mint, completed the first section Saturday August the 19th. Secondly a sub blog has been created for fuller reporting on such jaunts - Cranswick Walking Club Blog.

Although the full report can be found on the CWC Blog the walk took around 4 hours to complete and turned out to be longer than the characters thought - mostly down to some bad maths on the part of the council by 2 miles! Apart from the scenery the highlight was possibly Welton for the Green Dragon Inn and a buzzarding incident with a young lady from the village hairdressing salon. Also Mint found a number of locations (and a tent) to take his Bev when he finally pops round for a coffee!

Upcoming trips (as of August 2006)...

Here is the August list of potential nights out, weekend breaks and holidays. As with July some are suggestions, some are booked and others will never see the light of day. Please leave any other ideas via the comments option.

Trip: Snowboarding, Castleford
Date: Sunday 27th of August
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Cherry, Thomas
Purpose of visit: Lessons for Cherry and Thomas. Hopefully the chance to sit in the gallery, drinking Kronenburg, and watching Cherry fall on his ass' a few times. At least he’s not a skier - good lad.
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Cranswick Walking Club camping trip (Yorkshire)
Date: Possibly the first weekend in September
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Due to the success of the first camping trip it was felt another trip was in order before the end of summer if possible. The trip would likely be cut short due to Hull playing at home on the Sunday so likely to be to a North Yorkshire venue to get back in time.
Bonkers *, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Newquay area, Cornwall
Date: 2nd week in September
Confirmed characters: Jarv etc.
Purpose of visit: Surfing, surfing and pissing off some Aussies hopefully.
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: Yorkshire Wolds Way (section 2)
Date: A Saturday/Sunday in October depending on football
Confirmed characters: Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Second section of the Yorkshire Wolds Way from South Cave to Nunburnholme
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Trip: Rugby - potentially Leeds v Hull
Date: 6th/7th of October.
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Leeds v Hull play off game - to be confirmed, dependant on results etc. Hotel booked but can be cancelled.
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Rugby League Grand Final, Manchester
Date: w/e 14th of October
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: Possible Grand Final appearance. Hotel booked but can be cancelled.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Trip: Rugby League - England v Samoa
Date: Sunday the 5th of November
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: England v Samoa at the KC Stadium, Hull (and afternoon session)
Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Newcastle night out / Kasabian
Date: Friday 8/12
Confirmed characters: None - just a suggestion.
Purpose of visit: Concert and/or night out. Please express interest quickly if you fancy it - tickets and hotels will book up very soon. Trip would be by train.
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Copenhagen for New Years Eve (Confirmed and booked)
Date: Dec 29th arrive Copenhagen, stay Malmo and then to Copenhagen and leave 2nd of Jan.
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake and Blobby
Purpose of visit: First night is booked for Malmo (Swedish girls) and then onto Copenhagen (that’s right - Danish girls).
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: London Superbowl party
Date: February 4th, 2007
Confirmed characters: None
Purpose of visit: All night session at a Superbowl party..
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere"
Date: 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv and SuperSub. Looking for an extra character.
Purpose of visit: Some snowboarding. Destroy hotel room, dance with Swedish chav's, spitroast Dutch (female) ski instructor, generally piss of skiers, dance to Eurocrap and have possible naked incident in health spa. Update - the current status of this trip is unknown. Trip could be postponed or moved later into the year.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: TBC but 2007
Confirmed characters: More than likely Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. Date of game yet to be confirmed. Type of trip could be anything from a single weekend away to Mint wanting to hire a feckin canal boat for the week.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *

Trip blog - Pooley Bridge 12/8/2006

Day two of the adventure started early for Mint. Not only had my purchase of some anti-snoring spray been a waste of £3.99 but also a crow had decided it was going to have an early start. Mint did however find a way to entertain himself for an hour or so although its questionable as to whether the "love shack" was designed for such behavior. Needless to say some of the noises coming from the said shack were hardly the wake up call Jarv and Mr. Simms expected at that time of the morning. One positive however was the lack of any great hangover for the members of the "Walking Club" and with Mint now known as "the Swedish Chef" a satisfactory cooked breakfast was quickly rustled up thanks to the trusty George Formby grill.

The founding members of the walking club then actually did some walking. Catching the 11:15AM ferry from Pooley Bridge to Howtown the walk started at around midday and with Mint the mountain goat playing a pathfinder role a quick pace soon developed. At around 2:30PM the party finally arrived at the White Lion pub in Patterdale. With little more than a mile to go the walk wasn’t actually complete so après hike had not officially started. Soon finding themselves in the beer garden of a Glenridding bar however at the end of the walk après soon kicked in. A couple of further drinks on the ferry back to Pooley Bridge ensured a rush to the nearest pub toilets on return. A quick pint was also downed here until Mint got in a huff because it was a chain pub and wanted to smach up the establishment. A quick visit to The Sun for a Cumberland sausage was the final order of the après day.

After deciding that après hike was the new après ski the boys decided to nip back to the tent to finish off some (Mints) carrot cake. On returning out in Brokeback Mountain style clothing the night was still young. The night had a bit of everything from why Wasps make honey to the merits of France selling missiles to Argentina. Now on the Stella Mint decided that the time had arrived to go from Owl to Condor status with the ladies. Early doors this looked to have paid of dividends with the bagging of a couple of ladies, one from Scotland and (unfortunately as it turned out) one from the north of Ireland.

The blog ends at this point but only to say that due to the foot Mint kicks with there isn’t going to be a wedding in Northern Ireland anytime soon. Part of this process also involved the blog master to end up in a tent which had seemingly been let down during an early morning raid.

Final scoring for this event was as follows -
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip blog - Pooley Bridge 11/8/2006

Friday the 11th of August. Pooley Bridge. Cumbria.

Having arrived at Pooley Bridge at around 8PM it was no surprise to find the other members of the "Cranswick Walking Club" already downing pints at the Pooley Bridge Inn. Having previously given the possible markings for this trip it became quite clear in the P.B.I. beer garden that the one star predicted scores for booze and birds were going to be far too low.

A quick return to the camp site was required at this point to check the quality of workmanship that had taken place on the erection of the Jarv tent and also to inflate the technically advanced blow up bed. This turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. The real surprise was the quality of workmanship that had taken place putting up the tents - however even a Generation Game 8/10 mark did not go down well with the 2 characters involved. The worlds most technically advanced blow up bed however was less of a success. Reliant on batteries it tends to work better when these aren’t flat. Half an hour later the bed resembled a recently emptied water bed and was quickly declared unsuitable for human sleeping. The only hope at this point for even half a nights decent sleep was resting on being the lucky buzzard who was awarded the "love shack" - the 1 man tent sold to Mint as a 3 man by perhaps the world’s best salesman.

On returning to the village after the visit to the camp site "The Sun" became the venue of choice with a few pints of "Cumbrian Ale" quaffed. On entering the said premises some buzzarding did occur and this was to come back and haunt the various members of the trip in the early hours of Sunday morning. A return to the Pooley Bridge provided the last pint of the night as last orders were well and truly called at 11PM. Although this may have seemed a negative it was in fact far from it as Mint had already mentioned having a Vodka & Red bull. On return to the camp site it was no surprise to find the Super Sub/Mint combination dancing like Bezz to some Manc music in the communal area of the tent. Thankfully tiredness got the better of them and despite the "love shack" having no love the night was deemed a success.

Rugby League playoffs (as we stand)

In the interests of drinking days and possible nights away I have decided to blog the Super League playoffs as they stand. I will change this as we go into the final games of the season and the standings change (4th edit - Saturday 99). With 1 game now to go I have included what the playoffs look like based on each team winning because of their current position (i.e. 1st would win against 2nd, 2nd would win against 3rd etc.) and also based on what I currently think the table and playoffs will finish like. My rankings are now proved to be wrong as we watch Saints stuffing Leeds, Hull now finish second. Hull now visit Warrington (Sunday) with "nothing to play for".

As we stand then then the current rankins are as follows - 1: St Helens, 2: Hull, 3: Leeds, 4: Bradford, 5: Salford, 6: Warrington. My final prediction at the moment is a little different - 1: St Helens, 2: Leeds, 3: Hull, 4: Bradford, 5: Warrington, 6: Salford.

So at the moment the playoffs fall as follows (I dont know which game is on the Friday or Saturday yet) -

w/e 22nd/23rd of September
Match A - 3rd place V 6th place
As we stand - Leeds V Warrington; My prediction - Hull V Salford (Hull win)
Match B - 4th place V 5th place
As we stand - Bradford V Salford; My prediction - Bradford V Warrington (Bradford win)

w/e 29th/30th of September
Match C - 1st v 2nd place
As we stand - St Helens V Hull; My prediction - St Helens V Leeds (St Helens win)
Match D - winner of A v winner of B
As we stand - Leeds V Bradford; My predicition - Hull V Bradford (Hull win)

w/e 7th/8th of October
Match E - looser of C v winner of D
As we stand - Hull V Leeds; My predicition - Leeds V Hull (Leeds win)

w/e 14th of October
Grand Final, Old Trafford - winner of C v winner of E
As we stand - St Helens V Hull; My prediction - St Helens V Leeds (St Helens win)

Therefore based on the various possibilities we have possible sessions in Hull and maybe in Leeds or Manchester. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks games and dates will become a little clearer.

Yorkshire Wolds Way (part one plan)

So it looks like we have a date for the attempt at the first part of the "Yorkshire Wolds Way". As it stands this is Saturday the 19th of August. Hopefully if we get a leg out of the way in August we can still complete the other four sections before winter proper arrives. For reference its also Mints 37th birthday (which puts him older than me) around that weekend which affects the route a little in the respect that a couple of drink stops may have to be made.

Starting at Hessle Haven we head to our destination of South Cave. As its Mint's birthday a couple of short detours can possibly be made into Welton (Green Dragon) and Brantingham (Triton Inn). With these potential slight detours the route should be just over 13 miles in length. Unfortunately as the official driver for the day I wont be able to partake in the said beer drinking but its worth noting a couple will also be downed at the Fox & Coney in South Cave where we shall be having an impromptu birthday meal.

For reference the night of the 19th is looking like a Scarborough night out. As Tarzan is supposedly organising the said event don’t expect information anytime soon.

Summer surfing (you can keep it)..

Summer surfing. Driving down to the beach, windows down, Jack Johnson on the player. A chance to wear those Billabong boardies you bought rather than that wetsuit the Michelin man would be proud of. Birds in bikinis. Water you could have a bath in. Maybe on the North shore of Hawaii but let me tell you to forget it if you visit the northern coast of England.
Lets get one thing straight - at any time of year their are plenty more reasons NOT to surf than to surf. Drowning, being eaten by a shark, catching some sort of disease and/or ear infection / hair dropping out (delete as applicable) from some sort of waterborne infection being small examples.
Its not like we get a lot of surf up here in summer. A look on the map will show why. The North Sea is small. Unlike resorts in say Devon and Cornwall which face the Atlantic we pretty much have to wait for some fairly localised bad weather to produce the stuff. Unlike us it doesn’t matter if its red hot in the South West as long as the weather is crap off the coast of North America as the swell is then coming your way.
Having endured sleepless nights as the UK sweltered in the hottest July ever trips to the coast showed a scene reminiscent of the Caribbean - blue seas without a wave in sight. A turn in the weather however (read sleepless nights because its now too cold, wind, torrential rain and yes hailstone) meant a quick check on the swell forecast web site MagicSeaWeed. The swell forecast for Scarborough had been showing up at around 1 foot pretty constantly for the last 6 weeks but Thursday the 3rd of August showed over 8 foot.
So board attached I headed to work (on the coast) and made a brief foray out at dinner to check conditions. Cayton Bay still looked like the Carribean - with a hurricane. 3-5 foot waves and "messy". A trip to Filey was more productive in more ways than one. Due to its protection from "the Brigg" it was 2 foot and clean. In fact a handful of surfers were already in action. Not only that but a small amount of buzzarding reaped rewards with a sly smile from a female lifeguard. To counter this however was a disturbing sign at the life guard station - "Danger: Weever Fish". The Aussies and South Africans may talk up the dangers of being attacked by a shark but us Brits have to face up to the much more likely confrontation with this little critter. Yes when the seas warm up on our coastline the Weever fish decide to come in shore. Buried in the sand it allows its venomous dorsal fin to poke out waiting for the unsuspecting. Research on the Internet gave little comfort. "Death is extremely rare" was the encouraging opening salvo. "although respiratory failure and gangrene have been reported" was hardly a comforting footnote. If symptoms was bad methods for recovery hardly made good reading – “although paracetamol may work the best option is to put your recently stung foot in boiling water.”

Arriving in the car on Scarborough sea front my first problem was getting changed. It’s hard in winter – its cold and wet for a start. But I will swap that for some lady from west Yorkshire staring at me and choking on her battered sausage as I try and get into my swimming shorts.
Based on the fact it was August I decided to give the hood, gloves and booties a miss. The latter proved to be the biggest mistake in and out of the water. Avoiding grit and glass I finally managed to make it to the beach. Stepping into the water I soon realised I had made a mistake. The water in fact seemed no warmer than January. Oh well at least the Weaver fish might be confused. In truth I should have known better. The water in August still isn’t that warm - because water takes longer to heat up than the land it can be it at warmest in October and its coldest in spring.
My first run was a disaster in a number of ways. Catching a fast wave I knew within a second I wasn’t physically capable of the job in hand. Not only had I injured my ankle ligaments a couple of weeks ago playing football (see SuperSubs scribblins for more info) I had for some reason gone into the North Sea and attempted a sport that was probably more physically demanding than football anyway . Added to this I soon realised my feet must be teflon coated and nowhere near as sticky as my booties when trying to connect to my board. Falling back onto the board I then somehow managed to weight down the front and pearl it. Pearling is easy. All you have to do is manage to put the nose of your surfboard under water causing it to slow down and therefore bring the back of your board (and you) in front of it. Surfacing some distance nearer to the shore things were surely looking up - I had surfaced only metres away from a pretty girl. Unfortunately tangled in leash and now sporting a seaweed wig the only smile I got was one of sympathy. Not concentrating I then fell for the old trick made famous by the Christmas theatre cry "its behind you". In this case a "pounder" - a hard breaking wave that knocked me another few yards nearer the beach.
It was then that the taste of the water struck me. It was foul. That’s the problem when it hasn’t rained for a while. As soon as the rain arrives it washes all the crap from surroundings cliff and roads into the water.

So basically a bit of a disaster. All the hard work done in spring and its back to the drawing board.

I repeat - Summer surfing - you can keep it.

Wolds Way adventure..

First of all the small print -

Bonkers -, Booze *, Birds -

Thats correct the first ever adventure with only 1* and thats only because there could be a pub on route.
Anyway I propose the walking of the "Wolds Way" over 5 Saturdays or Sundays. The first leg of the walk is from Hessle foreshore to South Cave. At the moment I will drive to South Cave and then get a bus (half an hour, every hour) to Hessle. Pubs are available at Brantingham (slighly off route) and South Cave.

The following dates are OK for me -
August 5, 6, 19, 27
September 2, 23, 24, 30
Anytime after

Characters involed: Jarv, maybe Mint, anyone else?

Upcoming trips (as of July 2006)...

OK so it looks like the following trips are going ahead at the moment. Should get some blog entries up from the Lake District when this happens in a couple of weeks if I can get some sort of wireless connection (if not we will be huddled in a McDonalds wifi zone to do it). Trips are based on Bonkers, Booze and Birds with a maximum of 3 stars.

Trip: Lake District (Pooley Bridge) camping trip
Date: 11/8/2006
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Super Sub
Purpose of visit: Believe it or not some outdoor activity - possible walking and scrambling through some trees. Possible nightime activities. Obviously to find Mint a wife also. This could be the most sensible trip ever - but then again these things change quickly.
Bonkers **, Booze *, Birds *

Trip: Newquay area, Cornwall
Date: 2nd week in September
Confirmed characters: Jarv etc.
Purpose of visit: Surfing, surfing and pissing off some Aussies hopefully.
Bonkers **, Booze **, Birds **

Trip: More than likely Stockholm but could be another as yet secret destination
Date: Dec/Jan
Confirmed characters: Jarv, Mint, Fishcake
Purpose of vist: nothing but Swedish girls
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds ***

Trip: London Superbowl party
Date: February 4th, 2007
Confirmed characters:
Purpose of visit: All night session at a Superbowl party..
Bonkers *, Booze **, Birds *

Trip: Snowboarding "somewhere" - maybe Andorra
Date: Feb/Mar 2007
Confirmed characters: Possible Jarv and SuperSub. Looking for an extra character.
Purpose of visit: Some snowboarding. Destroy hotel room, dance with Swedish chav's, spitroast Dutch (female) ski instructor, generally piss of skiers, dance to Eurocrap and have possible naked incident in health spa.
Bonkers ***, Booze ***, Birds **

Trip: Hull FC away game, South of France
Date: TBC but 2007
Confirmed characters: More than likely Jarv and Mint
Purpose of visit: Hull FC away game. Date of game yet to be confirmed. Type of trip could be anything from a single weekend away to Mint wanting to hire a feckin canal boat for the week.
Bonkers *, Booze ***, Birds *