On Thursday I got the train up to Sheffield. I like the train. Sheffield gets more interesting new buildings and sculptures every time I visit. Right outside the station there's the "Cutting Edge", which Richard Hawley described as the world's most expensive urinal. He has a point... but I like it anyway.
The Cutting Edge. Urinal, or not?
Then I spotted this beauty hiding behind some more traditional Sheffield architecture. It turned out to be a multi-story car park. I think. It was great for photos though.
Sci-fi parking
I walked up past the legendarily defunct "National Center for Popular Music", or "Teapots" as most people know it.
Teapot
Finally as I made my way up to the university to meet Duncan, I went past the temporary "Sheffield Wheel".
Thursday night had a traditional Sheffield beer in the Cobden, followed by curry, and then some more beer and a cup of tea. Excellent stuff, and it was great to see all of you who made it out. I miss Sheffield and you lot!
After quite a lot of procrastination, Duncan and I made it out on a Peak District classic mountain bike ride. Thank you Splev for the loan of the Kona... it was ace. Things were all very familiar, apart from the nice addition of the coffee and cake van at Stanedge and the not so nice addition of thousands of tonnes of gravel to some of the trails that used to be fun and rocky. Oh well. The sun shone a bit and we ended up out there for a good 5 hours or so. It was great.
Stanedge Pole
Friday night had us back in the Cobden for more fine beer... then after very little sleep I started a 22 hour journey back to Vancouver. Here I am. The laundry is done, the bags are unpacked, and I'm back to work tomorrow. It was a fantastic trip, and I almost didn't want to come back. The sight of the North Shore mountains did made me feel like I had come home... but I'm already looking forward to my next trip back to Sheffield. Hopefully next summer.
