Tuesday 22 July 2014

BRAPA - West Yorkshire Midweek - Bradford 1

It's late, it's Tuesday night, it is time to review this evening's BRAPA event as we got back on track with our West Yorkshire challenge with the much anticipated first mini-crawl of Bradford, that much improving multi-cultural City, still with plenty of edge in that summer evening heat, I felt, on an interesting evening.

479 - City Vaults, Bradford - following a sticky, heaving and delayed train (due apparently with some woman having a heart attack on the Skipton bound service) I made it here just after 5pm and it was probably the pub of the night.  Beer range wasn't too much to write home about but a quality Pendle Witches Brew (Moorhouses) was enjoyed in a surreptitious corner overlooking the beautiful illuminated stained glass design in old wood paneling.  This made for a superbly atmospheric pub despite a fairly bog standard summer evening clientele (which sounds horribly snobbish I know!)

480 - Ginger Goose, Bradford - Open planned, fairly unatmospheric town centre fodder followed with another Moorhouses which was less good, as were the locals as I felt about the least tattooed person in there.  I found a nice seat in a sunny window but my relative peace was short lived as a man called Paddy, not Irish, decided to join me having been turned off the outside area by a Palestine / religious demo taking place in the square opposite.  I sympathised before his unconvincing racist rant.  He had Leeds Utd and anarchist tattoos, told me his ex boyfriend had topped himself, we had a chat about ghosts and Derek Acorah but really, it was time for me to move on!

481 - Castle Hotel, Bradford - The sign said "try a real ale" as I walked into a totally empty pub with two nice guests.  The barman was a nice Indian chap which is notable because, although yes I was in Bradford, this must be a rarity.  Amusingly, he seemed very Indian until a local walked in and after a mock-greeting and bow, he turned into your archetypal West Yorkshire man - I'd like to have known what Paddy would've made of it all.  My 'One Eyed Jack' was a nice local pint, really felt sad the last pub was heaving and here was empty. Do the people of Bradford have no taste?

On that note, I decided that with dentist tomorrow, I'd walk back to Bradford Interchange so I could be sat here writing this later!  Part two next week perhaps?  With Thursday and Friday off, I have ideas floating around my brain for BRAPA.  Wed eve (30th) I could do Bradford part 2 or even be more adventurous and venture out to the likes of Harecroft and Cullingworth.  If I'm feeling fit after the gig on Fri 1st August (also Yorkshire day), I am contemplating a "Worth Valley Railway" day which would actually mean Stanbury, Silsden, Goose Eye and Keighley.

Options are everywhere, but now we'll concentrate on Barnsley Saturday, back in South Yorks.

Si

3 comments:

  1. How heavily delayed was your train to Drabford. If you can't remember exactly, what time did you leave TWS?

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    1. Hi Phil, hope this works and keep up the good ice bath work at Bradford. Think the 16:10 got cancelled, all got on 16:35 which set off about 5 mins late if I am not mistaken.

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    2. Sadly, you were 15 seconds short of 30 minutes late into Drabford, so no chance of any refund. I think Northern are an hour anyway, so you probably wouldn't have got anywhere.

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