We had breakfast in a cafe in Leeds market called The Lemon Tree. Neither of us wanted a full breakfast, so I had a bacon and egg cob and Emily had sausage. It wasn't until I took a bite that I realised that they had buttered the cobs. Don't people who work in cafes have to have a qualification of some description from a catering college? If that is the case, then how did they ever think that buttering cobs intended for fried food sandwiches was the correct thing to do? Butter is there to moisten the bread, which isn't necessary when you're eating fried food as the cooking oil does the job for you. All butter does in this situation is make your sandwich taste a bit oily. I had to eat it as I daren't send food back, I've worked in kitchens and know how they react to that sort of thing.
There was plenty of time to kill when we arrived in Middlesbrough, so we had a walk to the bigger of the two McDonald's for lunch. Regular readers will know that I'm not a fan of corporate chains, but I do occasionally enjoy 'plastic food'. I prefer Burger King, but I wanted Emily to choose. Walking down towards McDonald's, I realised that I hadn't ventured into this bit of Middlesbrough for a very long time. The last time was when I took Emily to the cinema to see War Horse, whenever that was. There was once a small cinema along that road which had turned into a nightclub before falling down (true), but the whole area seemed alien to me. When the sun is shining in Middlesbrough (which doesn't happen a great deal from my experience), it looks a lot nicer than I remember it. After our lunch, (which Emily rather touchingly thanked me for as we left McDonald's), we went and sat on the grass outside the Mima gallery and the library. It was nice to just sit and relax in a well used and peaceful area. I had bought two copies of The Evening Gazette (as I still call it, because it is still called that - you need to have read my blog for a while to understand this reference) because there was a feature in it about my brother's debut novel. We had also bought a couple of bottles of water, and we just sat there taking photos, and generally making the most of our last moments together. It was soon time for her train to Redcar, so we walked to the station and I bought her a ticket.
We waited on the platform that we've waited on what seems like a million times before, happy that we had reconnected, and promising that we wouldn't leave it so long next time. By some miracle, the train was on time, on the one day that I would have been happy for it to be late. We hugged as the train rolled in, and kissed each other goodbye until who knows when. I told her I loved her, and she told me the same, and then she was on the train. Resisting the temptation to run along the platform, I waved the train away and turned round to leave the station. My eyes filled with tears as soon as she was out of sight.
There was plenty of time to kill when we arrived in Middlesbrough, so we had a walk to the bigger of the two McDonald's for lunch. Regular readers will know that I'm not a fan of corporate chains, but I do occasionally enjoy 'plastic food'. I prefer Burger King, but I wanted Emily to choose. Walking down towards McDonald's, I realised that I hadn't ventured into this bit of Middlesbrough for a very long time. The last time was when I took Emily to the cinema to see War Horse, whenever that was. There was once a small cinema along that road which had turned into a nightclub before falling down (true), but the whole area seemed alien to me. When the sun is shining in Middlesbrough (which doesn't happen a great deal from my experience), it looks a lot nicer than I remember it. After our lunch, (which Emily rather touchingly thanked me for as we left McDonald's), we went and sat on the grass outside the Mima gallery and the library. It was nice to just sit and relax in a well used and peaceful area. I had bought two copies of The Evening Gazette (as I still call it, because it is still called that - you need to have read my blog for a while to understand this reference) because there was a feature in it about my brother's debut novel. We had also bought a couple of bottles of water, and we just sat there taking photos, and generally making the most of our last moments together. It was soon time for her train to Redcar, so we walked to the station and I bought her a ticket.
We waited on the platform that we've waited on what seems like a million times before, happy that we had reconnected, and promising that we wouldn't leave it so long next time. By some miracle, the train was on time, on the one day that I would have been happy for it to be late. We hugged as the train rolled in, and kissed each other goodbye until who knows when. I told her I loved her, and she told me the same, and then she was on the train. Resisting the temptation to run along the platform, I waved the train away and turned round to leave the station. My eyes filled with tears as soon as she was out of sight.
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