Leeds – Louisa Parry

Chicken chatter, carnival-less, lookalike

My fake definition for the word “waddy” was the winning entry on Word Imperfect the other day. Yay!

1. The chickens always chatter when I go down to see them. I imagine them like excited children, desperate for attention and to tell me about their day.

2. We stand on the undulating green lawn in the sun. It’s the first time we’ve been to that park when it’s just a park and not a carnival ground, and it’s strange to see it so quiet and empty. I mentally draw in the stages and the food tents, and think about walking up the hill to buy some sugar cane.

3. There is a painting for sale on eBay which looks exactly like Lily – not in appearance but in expression. I point it out to John and we look at Lily to compare – she’s sat in the exact same position, pulling the exact same expression. We laugh.

Louisa & Lily’s walk in West Wood

3/8/2010 / louisa / 0 Comments

While John was away at a wedding, Louisa and Lily went for a walk in West Wood.

They found a strange metal pond.

A field.

Remains of buildings.

Interesting mushrooms.

Some cows.

And some mud.

A lot of mud.

3BT – laughter, beauty/ugly, alone-together time

19/12/2009 / louisa / 1 Comment

1. I go downstairs and Tom is there. He arrived with John, via Paul’s housewarming party, in the early hours of the morning, after I’d long gone to bed. Over breakfast, we discuss art history and laugh raucously.

2. Later, we get the bus into Leeds together. Under the snow, the first part of the journey feels even more like being in the middle of the country. Everywhere we look is a scene from a Christmas card – except for the racist propaganda stickers stuck on the adverts above the windows. They unpeel easily and we screw them up into little balls.

3. We say hasty goodbyes to Tom as he runs off the bus to meet a friend. Alone for the first time since in what feels like weeks (our illnesses were like unwelcome house guests before actual, more welcome, guests arrived), John and I have the afternoon together, indulging ourselves – lunch at Art’s, our beloved doughnuts & coffee for dessert, then drinks at North Bar. Good food but even better company. ;)

3BT – yellow, Leeds, ill

10/12/2009 / louisa / 0 Comments

1. The vivid turmeric in the curry turns their lips yellow and we laugh.

2. A combination of a large lunch and a warm office make me feel incredibly sleepy by mid-afternoon so I decide to go for a walk around the playing field at the front of the office to wake myself up. After I complete the first side of the rectangle, I turn to find a view of Leeds I’ve never seen before, glorious in the dying light. The buildings on the hill to the north of the city centre – the university’s Parkinson building, the churches and the rust tower – are most prominent but the sea of new tower blocks to the east are visible too. As I become more distanced from Leeds, I can see how much it’s grown and transformed during my time there.

3. It turns out my mid-afternoon sleepiness is also because I’m getting ill – I started to feel rough in the office but during the journey home, it fully blooms. It’s John’s cold from last weekend so now it’s his turn to look after me. In the evening, we eat soup and watch cartoons. The momentary relief after a sneeze or sinus shift is heavenly.

Carbon’s Street

22/4/2009 / louisa / 0 Comments

(It really is his street, check out the reverse view of this picture on Google Maps – he’s sat in front of the car.)

Hawksworth Wood

28/8/2006 / louisa / 1 Comment

Gianni and John in Hawkworth Wood Another post written considerably after the fact but backdated…

On Bank Holiday Monday, the chaps and I left our normal existence in front of computers in favour of a walk in Hawksworth Wood.

Hawksworth Wood is just off Kirkstall Road/New Road Side (A65) and runs the length of Hawksworth Road, and well, it’s pretty cool considering it’s still in the middle of the city.

While in the wood, we larked, as we tend to do, and I met some doggies. Gianni and John increased the entropy of the wood and Kev hated the prettiness. I, meanwhile, exposed my arse when John tried to take my photo thus lessening the prettiness that Kev had to hate.

Afterwards, we went to have some lunch at La Cafeteria in Hyde Park then to the Fenton where the guys played pool and Gianni repeatedly missed his train.

A good day.

>> Photos on my Flickr account

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