Tag: Sheffield

At last. A true “journey”.

~ Kris ~ Leave a comment

After many months of riding from a place, to a point, and then back again (and not dropping a ring in a volcano in-between either), yesterday I finally did a proper journey.

I rode along the 5 weirs from Sheffield to Rotherham (via Hotel Chocolat of course!).

The start of my journey was Sheffield Cathedral. It’s an interesting building with a really beautiful church in there somewhere and then an odd modern extension on one end.

Via Hotel Chocolat I rode down to the start of the five quotes weirs. Again I found what I have found in other towns. The cycle network is very fragmented and often gets you lost (I know my way around Sheffield very well, but had I tried to follow the signs it would have been a very different matter).

The start of the five weirs (part of national cycle route 6) is a really cool bridge running through one of the wicker arches. The coolest thing being the really funky percussive sound your wheels make on the flooring they’ve used.

This bit is very Dutch in how it is laid out. I could imagine something like this in the Netherlands.

I carried on down the Don Valley, only to be disappointed that a section is closed and the diversion takes us along a section of the main road and has no cycle lanes. See what I mean about fragmented? Even though there are signs indicating cycles. Grr!

I carried on, losing the temporary signs at one point and so just carried on the way I know best; eventually making it back into the route near Meadowhall.

The rest of the route to Rotherham is both well maintained and clearly marked. It’s also fairly flat so for the most part I just stuck with seventh gear, occasionally dropping into sixth for the gentle hills. I have to say though that the first bit of the journey was very enjoyable. The middle bit was terrible (due to the closed sections) but once I reached Meadowhall it was a great ride and very picturesque.

Anyway here’s my map on Strava. I honestly can’t believe I’m actually doing these sorts of distances now. As kids we used to ride loads but never this sort of distance – but then we were on BMX bikes.

Happy 50th Wayne!

~ Kris ~ Leave a comment

It was my mate’s 50th yesterday. He wanted to go and see Rocky Horrors and so we took him to the Lyceum to see the touring production.

He was ferried in style…

Apparently he’d never been in a Jag before, so when he asked to sit in the drivers seat I obliged if course!

His chosen meal was tapas (is that pronounced tapas or tapas? I’m never quite sure…). I’ve never had it before, and I must say I rather enjoyed it. Hannah wasn’t quite as big a fan though – just because tapas isn’t really her thing.

The comments on our outfits were great! Wayne in pvc jeans, latex top and mesh shirt; me in the ASOS PVC suit… Truly magnificent as we walked across Sheffield.
Upon arriving at the Lyceum, of course, you feel totally normal as you’re surrounded by loads of men in drag, white y-fronts, gold hot pants, and other such outfits from the musical.

We had a great view of the stage from our seats (G7 to G9)

The performance was very good, although I have to say I wasn’t over impressed with Eddie/Dr Scott as a performer. He was good, but just not great.
Philip Franks was the narrator this time. Very very good, and very responsive to the heckles. Some great comebacks!
The funniest comment about the PVC suit did come during the interval from another theatregoer – “I just want to polish you, but then you’ve got ice cream and I’m lactose intolerant so it’s all wrong”.
Hannah said she’d spread ice cream all over the sirs just to keep her off me!
The performance finished about quarter to ten which meant we were actually home fairly early. Which was good. The PVC suit needed peeling off!

Burns Night at the RS Bar

~ Kris ~ Leave a comment

Last night was my first gig of 2019. Ethryll had been asked to play Burns Night just before Christmas.

It started as a bit of a disaster. Jake’s car was playing up so we had to pick him up from Warmsworth whilst his dad dealt with the AA. We finally made it to the RS Bar just after seven and met up with our support, the amazing Chris Butler.

We met Chris previously at One Mole For The Road last year and hit it off straight away.

Once we had set up and sound checked (all within about 20 minutes) we had a chill out and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Chris took to the stage at about 8 and played about 45 minutes. His stuff is politically motivated with a strong socialist agenda. I rather like his commentary on life; particularly the people he would love to put on his bus to oblivion including Katie Hopkins.

We then took to the stage ourselves. This was the longest we’ve ever played as Ethryll! Over an hour in total. The audience loved us. They danced loads, and our final track – 500 miles – got virtually the entire pub singing. It was a superb night!

One Mole for the Road

~ Kris ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday was a day of celebration of the life of Adrian Price (Mole); drummer with Kingfisher Blue ; who sadly left us suddenly in January.

Ethryll had been invited to play as we are a fellow band in the same scene as Kingfisher Blue and have performed many gigs with the guys.

The gig was held in a small marquee at The Brothers Arms in Heeley, Sheffield. A pub with a beer garden featuring magnificent views over the valley. Such a poignant location as it was also Mole’s local.

It was a stunning gig and was also the first full 5 piece Ethryll gig with all the band together including new guitarist Jake.

It was also a perfect day to play our song Burning Blue which is about a perfect Summer day. As the festival continued we were treated to a magnificent sunset.

Quite a few pictures were taken – the gallery is below.

I suspect more photos will come in over the next few days so keep checking back!

Magnificent work

~ Kris ~ Leave a comment

I found this in a building I went into today. The work involved in making something so perfect is unbelievable, I know, I’ve had to do similar projects. Just getting the alignment right is a work of art.

I am truly in awe of the skills here.