Trekking across Darkest Lancashire & Yorkshire

Or, rather, driving. We went to Rawtenstall, Huddersfield, Halifax and Hebden Bridge.

There is no other reason to go to Rawtenstall other than to visit Fitzpatricks Temperance Bar. It's not really a bar as such actually, it's more of a shop with a couple of chairs in it, but it's very historic and fascinating. We came back with some herbal teas called "Fat Buster" and "Excessive Appetite". I'm worrying that it'll actually give me an excessive appetite rather than cure me, but never mind. They're really only souvenirs. Like I said, absolutely no other reason to go to Rawtenstall, because everything's boarded up! There was a large theatre-type building for sale, and we did toy with the idea of buying it and opening a kind of "temperance club", but that could have been due to the fact we were giddy from the Blood Tonic. Very very sweet stuff, probably did irreparable damage to our diets.

From Rawtenstall (and by the way it took an age to get there, as moany still lacks the ability to interpret Google Maps, because it's basically shite) we went to Huddersfield to seek out a Waterstones in which we could spend FREE MONEY. And we did. I bought Fat by Rob Grant, some Ray Bradbury book which isn't Fahrenheit 451 but looks just as good, and Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson. moany decided she finally needs to read The Secret so she can figure out this cosmic ordering mullarkey. I think obtaining free money is proper evidence of it in effect, but hey. She also got a stoooopid Yvette Fielding book that I might accidentally burn whilst trying to conjure a demon. It appears we're not on the hellmouth after all. That's comforting.

From Huddersfield to Halifax. I really wanted to spend more time in Halifax. I must pay more attention to family this year. We didn't do much there, we went to the Old Cock, a ghastly place that had run out of Strongbow.

Finally, from Halifax to Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is lovely. We stopped briefly in the Stubbing Wharf and realised you had to book a table to eat, so we didn't. Instead we went to the Hebden Bridge Picture House and watched Changeling. Bloody good film. Bloody upsetting film actually. It's the bit where they have her sectioned because she's disagreeing with and embarrassing the LAPD, it's horrible. It's a lovely cinema though, for a few reasons. You can have a cup of tea, they sell Chunky Monkey, it's only £4.50 to get in, and it's all historic and marvellous.

That was the day that was.