July 24 to 26, Leeds, where it all began

From Dartford to Leeds, it is kind of awkward when we had to decide which route to take. We decided to take the A1 as far as possible because it was more direct but the smaller roads through villages took much time.

Years ago, we were more used to traveling from Leeds to a town close enough for a day trip, or from Leeds to London and back on the M1 which was straight forward and fast.

Just like Cheng in Colchester and Nee in Canterbury and Alex in Dartford, it is easier for them to meet in Dartford or London than either Colchester or Canterbury.

After a lapse of 22 years, because of the new motorways near Leeds, we almost could not recognize nor remember our usual M1, M62 and M621 to get to city centre. With directions from Sarah, SP’s ex-colleague in St. James’s Hospital, we got distracted by A61 (to Harrogate) to get to her place in Alwoodley in Leeds 17. Actually, if we had gone via the roads through city centre, I might have recognized the way through Woodhouse Lane, which passes Leeds Metropolitan University (formerly Leeds Polytechnic) and Leeds University, and Headingley before Wigton Lane to get to her place.

Anyway, we managed to get there, after some confusing directions from us. My son, the driver, was getting visibly annoyed. Sarah was waiting for us, and Stuart, who is a Principal Lecturer at LMU, was still at work. Sarah is now a lecturer in Dietetics at LMU. She had invited Nikki, their former District Dietitian, and her husband, Malcolm who is now a partner in a Surveying firm. We were supposed to have BBQ at their back garden.

Stuart and Sarah had been to Malaysia a few times and we had met twice, once in 1986 when we went to Pangkor Laut (which is beyond our reach now) and another time as recent as 2004 when they stayed at Hotel Nova in Jalan Alor. In fact, we had to go to Leeds earlier, before they set off for Sipadan, Malaysia for their deep-sea diving. Our trip to Thorganby, near York was scheduled for Aug 3 to 5, because before then, Helene and Paul would still be in Ireland.

I still could not get over the fact that Stuart and Sarah insisted that we sleep in their room while our 3 children sleep in the other 2 rooms and they on the floor in the dining room! To Malaysians, such hospitality is unheard of among “kweilos”. Their daughter, Claire, popped over for a short chat, before she went back to her own house nearby. Son, Richard was then working in London.

Malcolm was so glad to meet my son. They looked after him occasionally before they started their own family. We enjoyed listening to Malcolm describing for example, how he was looking forward to some nice pies when unexpectedly, his son turned up hungry and he ended up having to choose one, either apple or rhubarb.

The next day, to visit the shops, Sarah suggested that we go in her car and Nikki’s because she was going to suggest that we park at the university’s parking space for part-timers and that our green-coloured Kangoo seemed too strange looking which might attract the attention of the attendants!

We walked all over city centre and I took some pictures to show my friends who had been there before, to show how Leeds had changed. But because we were in a group, I wished I had the chance to do it slowly and choosing those that show a bit of old and a bit of new. Otherwise, it would not be recognizable. The previously run-down sections near The Corn Exchange had been redeveloped into nice apartments and other buildings. There were even some apartments beside the canal, which look similar to those in Greenwich on reclaimed land. Many more streets were turned into pedestrian malls.

After lunch and some window-shopping, we decided to head for Roundhay Park. On the way, we were looking out for our first house, a back-to-back near St. James’s Hospital. Stuart told us that those houses were demolished. We were so pleasantly surprised that they were still there and we suggested that my son posed for a photo in front of the house just like before. At least, now our daughters had a good look at where their big bro was brought up. I missed the chance of taking down the telephone numbers of a For Sale sign at a house across the road. Stuart and Malcolm could only guess that it would probably be 100,000 pounds, and we sold it for just over 3,000!

At Roundhay Park, we walked towards the Roundhay Mansion, which is undergoing repairs and has hoardings round it. While SP and her 2 ex-colleagues sat on a bench to chat, my 3 children and I lay on the grass to joke. The bonding was great and to be honest, it was one of the most memorable moments of the trip.

For dinner, we were treated by Stuart and Malcolm, to an Italian restaurant, Casa Mia, in Chapel Allerton. Malcolm was again complaining about how deprived he was by Nikki,
who, he nicknamed, “Gestapo in drag”! He was even afraid to talk about a nice fish and chips shop near the pub where we had lunch because he had been eating it for lunch without her knowledge!

The next morning, after breakfast at Sarah’s and said our goodbyes, we headed towards city centre via Roundhay so that we could look for our second house. We managed to find it and this time, Cheng took a photo of it.

In the city center, we parked near a church on New Brigate Road. During the previous day’s window-shopping, my son had spotted some bargains at a sports shop. He went there to buy some Leeds United jerseys. Later, we had lunch at a Greek café in a shopping complex next to old Merrion Centre. I had to rush to the car to check on the parking just to avoid getting a ticket.

I missed the chance of going down Woodhouse Lane to show my children where I used to walk from Methodist International House to Leeds Polytechnic; Cardigan Road, my first bedsit after MIH, which is next to Headingley cricket ground; Chapeltown Road where I first met SP (did not know it was a redlight district then); Church Lane where SP used to live; and Kirkstall Abbey where we used to go for walks. I would have liked to have lunch at Jumbo, if it was still there, to see if Tony Kwan is still around, but dared not even suggest because of my Gestapo in drag and her fellow commanders!

After the trip to Leeds, we had to send Nee back to Canterbury. Because my son was tired having driven from Leeds, I was supposed to do it. Again, our good host, Alex offered to drive which was a relief because it was late at night and I was not familiar with the route. The rented car was on “empty to empty” basis and we had to judge for ourselves how much petrol to put in. It was already down to the last eighth as shown on the gauge (though this is known to be inaccurate) I was prepared to put in another 5 pounds of petrol. But Alex was confident we could make it. So on the return trip, while he was driving, I was uneasily looking at the fuel gauge! It was perfect as we got back without having to refuel. If we had miscalculated, it would have been a big problem and we would look stupid with the benefit of hindsight. The next morning when I started the car, the warning light came on, just like when I first took over the car!