Sorry to hear about the wet weekend Bill, I can remember playing football and rugby in the driving rain, at school!

It's always nice to see your Hartshead Barlow
I've just returned from town, where I had some errands to perform. There was a minute's silence to mark the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, and I thought that the Corn Exchange, photos of which I posted the other day, would be a peaceful place to take part. I had a coffee, and a muffin, before the hour approached, but was then astonished when the awful lift music they were playing, continued, and the moment's silence was ignored
Just written to the local newspaper:
On Friday 24th February, at 11.00am, throughout the country, people stopped what they were doing, and fell silent, to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. But not in Leeds Corn Exchange.
I had travelled into the city centre, specifically to take part in this event, a moment’s silence in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and mistakenly thought that the Corn Exchange would be a peaceful place in which to observe it. How wrong I was.
I entered the building around 10.30am, and sat down for a coffee. At five minutes to the hour, I put my coat back on, and walked to the side of the building, in an area, which I thought suitable for a moment of quiet reflection. When the appropriate time came though, I was astonished when the soulless lift muzak, being played in the building, was not even reduced in volume. Shoppers loudly conversed, doors banged, the security guard stared at his phone, a waiter served drinks, a woman cackled loudly on the balcony above. I felt sickened.
The shoppers in the Corn Exchange may be forgiven for their ignorance of the event, but what about the management of the building? While thousands of Ukrainians are dead or displaced, with the country now having faced a year (and arguably more) of sustained barbaric assault, in Leeds Corn Exchange, it’s ‘Business as usual’!