The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘shopping’

I have a bit of a weakness for KFC and as I took a stroll at lunch time today around Reading I came across the KFC on Broad Street.  After navigating the very slippy pavements and pedestrian shopping areas in Reading I was tempted by the three piece meal.  As I entered though, I could feel the anxiety rising.  Despite this I continued to the counter and ordered.  (What is it about KFC that keeps me going back despite my better judgement). Anyway my three piece meal was thrown together on the plastic tray and having collected my straw I took a seat.  I did of course have to ask for the table to be cleaned down and a middle aged lady reluctantly obliged.  The chips were tasteless, I left them and the chicken was so greasy I left it.  The only thing that was fine was the ice cold Diet Pepsi, which came out of a machine and didn’t need any human preparation.

I always regret going into these places and when I work out why I keep doing it, I’ll let you know.  However even I am determined never to return to this greasy joint on Broad Street, Reading.

Pryordurkin rating. 0 Stars.

After a late start to the day we headed into the City Centre for a spot of shopping and a light lunch.  On our way, we stopped off at Deans Garden Centre looking to buy a water butt so we could start to collect rain water for the garden come summer.  Unfortunately they didn’t have the 60mm connection kit so we could link it up with our guttering drain pipes, which (as is now usual with the Pryordurkin luck) are non standard.  Anyway, laughingly we thought B&Q might have it in and promised ourselves we would call on the way home (Aren’t we silly?).

Getting into the City we parked up and walked into the centre.  It was packed full of tourists and shoppers alike.  You would think it was the week before Christmas.  Restaurant, shops, cafes and the streets were buzzing with people who generally looked up beat, happy and pleased to be out.  I still can’t quite square this with the pessimistic downbeat doom and gloom messaging you get every time you switch on the BBC news.  I find myself shouting at the TV the more excited the news presenters get with every bit of bad news.  Perhaps a few of them should lose their jobs and feel the pain many others are suffering.  They then might think twice about making things even worse by creating even more worry and pessimism amongst Joe Public.  While I’m on one, I’m curious how much the BBC Downturn logo cost.  This is the second one I’ve seen so far.

Anyway where was I?   Oh yes, we bought a few items from around town, stopped for lunch at Harlequin (which was packed, even at 2.30pm) and then made our way home.  On our way, as mentioned earlier, we called into B&Q to see if they had the connection kit we needed for the water butt.    Guess what?…….

With nearly seven hundred driven miles under our belts we are back at home having made fleeting visits to relatives in the south of the country.  Starting out on Friday we headed off to Bury St Edmonds for a Durkin family lunch, before spending the night in Huntingdon with my sister.  Saturday then had us heading off to Milton Keynes for a Pryor family lunch before setting off the Quedgley in Gloucestershire for tea with the in-laws.  After tea we made our way from Quedgley back home to York arriving around 10pm.

Sunday was a fairly laid back affair with a bit of shopping at the local garden centre and all seemed to be going well until Monday morning when Paul woke in the early hours feeling like death warmed up.  Paul has come down with a stomach bug; the symptoms of which are too graphic to mention here, but even my sense of sarcasm can’t hide the fact that he really doesn’t look well.  Doctors advice so far, is to rest and if nothing improves in 24 hours to call him out.

So Monday has me, following a very nice haircut and close wet shave from Alex at Cube this morning, carefully tip toeing around the house, making as little noise as possible hoping Paul will sleep through most of the day.

I’m hoping it’s not a virus that’s spreadable!

With the last minute shopping done, we’re pretty well set for a few days eating, drinking, sleeping and watching TV.  Some might say “How is that different to any other day at home?” but we tend to ignore those questions.   The last few days had us trying to second guess what the other might want as a little pressie from Santa.  We had said earlier in the year, that we would invest in the house instead, but at the last minute we bought a couple of token gifts to open on Christmas morning.  (Well I’m hoping they are token. Mine certainly are!)  Finally I had thought of donating some money to save the rainforests but apparently it is not as important as it once was!

The nice man from Royal Mail brought us a package this morning.  Marked from Australia we’ve resisted the urge to poke and prod. Instead it is safely nestling under the tree.   We haven’t quite decided if we will travel anywhere over the holiday.   We might just close and lock the gates our home and spend a few days locked up with just each others company.  However we are planning to start the onslaught on our digestive systems with a few drinks in town tonight followed by dinner at a (with a) small Italian we know on the Shambles.

Anyway have a good one yourselves and don’t forget to eat all your greens!  P&M  xx

As I wandered into town for a little fresh air today, I came across a band who were playing open air on Piccadilly corner in York.  Like most weekends there is usually something going off in York and I thought this was just another example as I continued walking up towards the main shopping area.  However I was stopped in my tracks when I heard them play and start singing.  This was not the usual run of the mill busking band, but as it turned out a professional group who, I discovered on doing a little web research, have quite a following.  I found myself staying around Piccadilly for a good hour or so just listening to their music and the banter they had with the crowd who like me, had gathered around.  A guy was handing out leaflets to people listening and it explained that the band were playing at the Grand Opera House in York on the 24th and 31st January, tickets selling at £15.  Again from the web research I did when I got home, they do indeed have a loyal following and come with many a recommendation.  Berwick Kaler being someone who has earned our respect is one of the people to have recommended them and on that we’ve decided to book tickets and go see them play at the Grand Opera House in York.

Finally why were they playing open air on Piccadilly corner today, if they are so good, I hear you ask.  Well they were giving up their time for St Leonards Hospice  and inviting the gathering crowds to donate some money for that most worthy of local charities.

http://www.hugepartyband.co.uk/home

I was looking around York today, for those last minute Christmas presents and decided to visit Bohemia Galleries One on Gillygate in York.   The window was well laid out and a couple of items caught my eye so I decided to venture inside.  A tall well dressed lady popped up out of nowhere to check if there was anything I had in mind and offered to bring any items out of the window if I wanted to inspect further.   Before doing that, I meandered around the gallery itself where a number of artists had pieces of work on display.  There were also a number of sculptures which caught my eye because of how unusual they were but on this occasion I was being very strict with myself and stuck to my shopping list.

The lady brought out from the window the item in question, but I won’t say what it is yet, as it is likely to be a regular readers Christmas gift!  Being happy with what I saw, I bought it; the lady wrapping the item carefully and even giving me a gift bag to use instead of wrapping! which had a certain appeal for me as I hate wrapping presents.   Anyway, a nice little shop and although I didn’t get offered any myself, they do seem to have coffee available for those who want to ’spend’ time shopping.

Pryordurkin rating 3 Stars.  Tel 01904 466488

Livingston nestles just outside Edinburgh. It is a cold and soulless place. Cold both physically and in appearance; soulless as the corpses in the council graveyard. A concrete shopping centre nestles in this town – a cold and soulless centre that is not out of place in its surroundings. In fact, there is nothing here but the shopping centre. And in a corner of this place nestles an Indian restaurant. Not, I should say, the archetypal Indian restaurant, but of a style more akin to the MacDonald’s next door – the Drive-In MacDonald’s next door. Mind you, the furniture was different: not slatted wooden benches but moulded plastic chairs. Yes, those you used to have at school in the seventies. And laminate tables.

I ordered safely – an onion bhaji, chicken korma, pilau rice and popadoms. The bhaji came in ten minutes.  It was flat. Indeed, it came in two halves, both flat, skirting a piece of limp lettuce, yesterday’s tomato and a slice of cucumber.  The main attraction were the two dip-in bowls of fluid. One was pink – shocking pink – and lived up to its colour.  It tasted roughly of vinegar and strawberry sherbets. The other was white and made no pretence about only tasting of the vinegar.  The bhaji was warm. I give it 1/2 (half) out of 5 purely on the basis that it survived the microwave. The plate for my curry came shortly after.  If it had been warm, which I doubt, it wasn’t now.  Ten minutes later the korma, rice and popadoms appeared. The korma looked yellow as normal; the rice looked similar to the fine gravel at the bottom of a fish tank. Unfortunately the korma was the most bland and soulless korma I have ever come across. Perhaps it, too, was getting in on the soulless act that defined its surroundings. No hint of coconut. Indeed, no hint of anything at all. Ugh!  I didn’t finish it and made no excuse about getting the bill and leaving fast.  And the restaurant had been recommended to me by my Scottish taxi driver! I should have known better.  After all, wasn’t Scotland the home of that most English of Indian cuisine, the tikka masala?

I give it an overall score of 1 out of 5. Why 1? Well, I had laughed when I first saw the shocking shocking pink dip. And I felt a warm glow inside me on leaving – a heartening feeling that the next one just had to be better.

Pryordurkin rating 1 Star.  Tel 01506 416622

I had thought the crowds that have greeted us the last few weekends in York were just that; weekend crowds.  However venturing out into York a couple of times this week, I note the crowds are still there and all shopping frantically.  The traditional Christmas fayre is doing a roaring trade and it is hard to square the downturn (named by the BBC with an exciting brand new logo!) with what is happening on the streets.  It could of course be down to Yorkshire folk having more common sense and avoiding being led by the peddlers of doom with characteristic pragmatism by just simply getting on with life.

Watching the BBC news today, the local outlet centres and shopping centres have all increased their visitor numbers by between 3% and 5% over last year.  The White Rose shopping centre reported 300,000 visitors last week alone! so clearly some people are just getting out there and snapping up the fantastic bargains to hand.  My advice though having returned from York today is to sharpen those elbows if you’re out shopping in York City Centre. The old dears mulling around don’t take any prisoners when it comes to bargain hunting and they are very good at casually pushing their way in front of me when I am in a queue! Merry Christmas.

The weekend winds down as I write.  We were joined by Steve and Russell on Friday and have enjoyed showing them the sites and sounds of Yorkshire until they left after Sunday Lunch today.  Saturday consisted of a late start (following a little too much vino the night before) with us heading into York and Leeds for a spot of shopping.  Harvey Nichols was on particularly good form with lots of eye candy and new clothing alike. A good few quid later, we stopped for Lunch at their Espresso Cafe Bar in the Victoria Quarter.

Saturday evening had us join the Ghost Hunt of York.  We arrived by taxi to join a crowd of tourists all eagerly waiting for the tour to start in the Shambles at 7.30.  Dressed as I was (see left), quite a few of them thought I was the act!  A little girl asking if I was going to be scary?  Me!

The hunt itself was really good fun and the near 100 people who followed the story and humour around the back alleys of York all seemed to have a good time.  We rounded the evening off with a late dinner at a favourite local Italian restaurant before grabbing a taxi back home.  Sunday has been all together more sedentary affair with me cooking a traditional Sunday Lunch with Yorkshire Puddings.  All in all, a very nice relaxing and fun weekend.  Check out the pictures in the Photo Gallery!

We started out at the Spirit Bar on Saturday evening with some friends we were visiting in Manchester.  After shopping all day and spending more than I planned, I was ready for a drink.  We placed our order at this cavernous gay bar and were served by a couple of young inexperienced twinks, who didn’t understand the importance of consistency when serving customers the same drink.  Nonetheless we paid and then headed up to the outside roof terrace, where we sat overlooking Canal Street below.  When we left I noticed the leather beds were now occupied by a few (clothed I might add) people, chilling out to some good background music.  The place looks quite trendy and the door man was friendly enough so I guess this place is a safe place to spend some time hanging out.

Pryordurkin rating 2 Stars.