What are your jeans doing today?

[bod]

Just got back from a couple of weeks in Bali, there was just one day when the clouds burned off around Mt. Agung to reveal all of its 9000 ft glory

[Maynard Friedman]

46 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

@Maynard Friedman it's a gecko.

Yes I know. A gecko is a small lizard.

[Dr_Heech]

3 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Yes I know. A gecko is a small lizard.

I wasn't being facetious at all Martin, l genuinely thought a gecko wasn't a lizard (like a salamander) so my bad.

Enjoy your break

[Double 0 Soul]

35 minutes ago, Dr_Heech said:

I wasn't being facetious at all Martin, l genuinely thought a gecko wasn't a lizard (like a salamander) so my bad.

A Chilean friend of mine (who's lived in the UK since his teenage years) said that when he was a kid back in Chile, he would grab a couple of geckos and let them bite his earlobes.. once they gently bite you let go and they won't release their grip if they can't feel their feet on the floor so he'd be walking around the house with a couple of geckos dangling from his ears

[MJF9]

^ what the hecko!

[MJF9]

Not today but last week...

Ladies and gentlemen, the UK’s 2025 City of Culture… Bradford

I like the place, it’s full of diversity and character… screw the haters

Loved this collection of photos from the 1980s in the Lumb Lane area of the city… on show at the Science and Media Museum

Tower of Now is in the city centre… commissioned recently to celebrate the city's diversity

And then a Caribbean lunch at a nice little food hall (erm Darley Street market, rather than Greggs this time)

 

Edited Tuesday at 07:53 PM by MJF9

[Double 0 Soul]

I've never been to Bradford city center.. it looks quite nice (much nicer than Sheffield city center) ive driven through the outskirts quite a lot on my way to Malham / North Yorkshire moors.. there's some proper squalor, rows of houses with rotten windows, guttering hanging off, water pissing down the wall, yellowing net curtains held up with cobwebs, burned out sofas and fridges in the street.. as poverty stricken as a neighbourhood could get yet they have brand new Range Rovers and BMW M3's with gold rims parked outside?.. i understand the 1980s philosophy of rappers who've never had shit spending their first pay cheque on a fat gold rope but in poverty stricken Bradford, it's taken to the extreme where they're choosing to buy a £100k car over a £100k house.. even though car-onomics tells us that car will be worth naff in 3yrs time. 

[CSL]

Unless it's a Toyota, according to a video I just watched...

[MJF9]

The city centre is most definitely not glam but has a certain edgy character.  There are big issues with homelessness, poverty and all that comes with it... like loads of larger UK cities.  Not that the government give a shit about people and places like this, so it could only get worse.

Yeah I’ve made a similar comment… geezers driving around in a brand spanking new Ferrari, living in a simple abode.  Many of the folk with the fancy cars choose to live in multi-generational houses that were bought years ago removing housing costs for them.  Some communities choose to stick, and live, together.  Also due to the shortage of employment opportunities, there’s entrepreneurial business spirit in the place.  Hence there’s disposable income for fancy wheels, for some folk at least. 

I’ve seen a mix of housing across the spectrum in Bradford e.g. proper poverty on big estates where repairs aren’t top of the council’s list (could be what you saw), old terraced housing much of which is multi-generational living mostly looked after, and go a few miles from the centre but still within Bradford and you’ve got ‘posh’ places like Ilkley, Burley in Wharfedale, Addingham etc etc where there are loads of £multi-million houses and wealth.

Definitely an interesting place.

Edited Wednesday at 07:01 AM by MJF9

[Maynard Friedman]

I’m yet to be convinced to visit…😆

[Double 0 Soul]

I once went to Leicester on the train to buy a VW Golf from the Auto Trader.. it was a very similar neighbourhood to how I describe above with very fancy cars on a very down at heel street, the guy who I bought the car from said a lot of the houses were multi occupancy, run as businesses for the garment industry like mini-sweatshops, with folks living and working from an rundown old terrace, the cars belonging to the folks who own the house/business.. the boy and I were speculating something similar in Bradford.

[MJF9]

^ there may be some of that Neal, I don't know.  There is definitely a lot of multi-generational living and legitimate business building resulting in surplus income that many of the folk there like to spend on fancy cars.  When there are weddings or other celebrations, the fancy cars, including hire cars, come out in force.  Each to their own.  Absolutely coincidentally, many years ago I bought a VW Golf from a lad in Bradford.  I arrived as his younger brothers were polishing it up to a high shine.  The car was immaculate, parked up on a street of back-to-backs... clearly their pride and joy, their bit of street cred.

^^ I could just see you Martin going to Betty's Tea Rooms for breakfast, followed by a refreshing swim down at Ilkley Lido, followed by a razz around in your hired yellow Lamborghini before going for a curry in central Bradford

[Double 0 Soul]

It's the UK's 'City of Culture' for goodness sake ..Maynard ain't gunna know shit about culture living in London. 

[MJF9]

In other news... a week away from it all, sort of, with la familia in Bakewell, Derbyshire… yep the Peak District again… only 90 minutes from home which met the brief…

Nice crib for some lolling about after going out and about doing some swimming, some walking, some biking (more later, promise 😉)

Stuff nearby...

Walked up Stanage Edge with Mrs and daughter this time

And spotted this Porsche and Ferrari cavalcade… the drivers were all a bit vanilla… I wonder if they have any businesses in Leicester?

Canes 37s attempting to hide the shame of a gasso BBQ… I’ve got charcoal at home… c’mon let me off folks!!

Edited Wednesday at 10:02 AM by MJF9

[MJF9]

3 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

I’m yet to be convinced to visit…😆

Why is that? Genuinely curious.

(Hasten to add I'm not on the tourism committee - there are plenty of cons and pros, like any place )

[MJF9]

Here's one take on Bradford's car culture

[Double 0 Soul]

Same old for me.. We went up to my mums on Sunday to do some scrumping.. came home with a big bag of eating apples and a big bag of cooking apples.

I took Monday off work because they were predicting a 4 day heatwave... pfft!

Got up Monday and atempted to make freddo espresso pourover

Cleaned the shed out..

Alas.. Monday was just mizzle and drizzle

If you look closely you can just about see the MJ family on Stanage ridge

I don't want to worry y'all but it's starting to look a little autumnal out there... trees of yellow and orange in mid August

Merino baselayer unravelling

Heather

Puncture

Crashed into a sheep

.. got home just in time for the apple pie coming out of the oven.

Yum!  😋

Edited Wednesday at 06:14 PM by Double 0 Soul

[Maynard Friedman]

9 hours ago, MJF9 said:

Why is that? Genuinely curious.

(Hasten to add I'm not on the tourism committee - there are plenty of cons and pros, like any place )

In bullet point format!

• I don’t need to travel to Bradford to experience diversity, I live in a diverse area and always have done
• I don’t want to visit for poverty porn tourism. If I did there are many places a lot closer to me that would fit the bill. The same logic applies to the nicer parts too
• Despite the culture badge, I feel the centre of Bradford has little to tempt me, beyond some interesting and ornate Victorian architecture, definitely nothing worth the 350 mile round trip for. If I lived nearby like you, I’d be happy to pop over there for a day though
• Given how little free time and limited opportunities to travel I have, I’d rather spend that time in more aesthetically pleasing environments. I’ve already visited plenty of cities in the UK
• If I were to venture into that neck of the woods, I’d want to watch a Rugby League match and visit the Piece Hall in Halifax and Saltaire!

[julian-wolf]

15 hours ago, MJF9 said:

Canes 37s attempting to hide the shame of a gasso BBQ… I’ve got charcoal at home… c’mon let me off folks!!

What’s wrong with a gas grill? I get plenty of use out of mine—just warming it up now

[CSL]

I think charcoal devoutees look down their noses at gas barbecuing.

I only know this because the King Of The Hill cartoon show.

[Double 0 Soul]

I didn't know it until this very second but i'm a absolute charcoal snob.. not only that but i will only buy Weber charcoal, that shit from the supermarket doesn't get hot enough and i only buy lumpwood, i never buy briquettes.. further more, i mix the lumpwood with 30% oak blocks from work to impart more flavour. 

[MJF9]

@Maynard Friedman Ta la... some good bullets there... noting that Saltaire is actually in Bradford!  Piece Hall is a lovely structure and is all the rage for gigs these days.  

[MJF9]

5 hours ago, julian-wolf said:

What’s wrong with a gas grill? I get plenty of use out of mine—just warming it up now

I've been using this Char-Broil gasso grill all week... it's good and really convenient.  Quicker time to get BBQing and less set-up faffing, less cleaning up afterwards and this one was cooking between 250C and 350C.  Convenient al fresco dining.  I'm hearing that the smokey taste of charcoal can be engineered too by burning one piece and drizzling it with oil then closing the BBQ lid but I never tried this.

Preference for charcoal is predominantly on chargrilled taste and quality of end product, subject to using quality restaurant grade stuff, and not forgetting the feeling of being like a caveman making a fire

@CSL I found this that made me laugh!

 

[Hopethisoneisnttaken]

3 hours ago, CSL said:

I think charcoal devoutees look down their noses at gas barbecuing.

I only know this because the King Of The Hill cartoon show.

We look down on gas grills, not the people that use them 😃

[Double 0 Soul]

I even look down upon charcoal BBQ's which are not made from cast iron.. 

Cast iron is amazing for searing steak.. it gets mad hot so even when the heat from your charcoal is ebbing away, the heat retained by the iron grill is enough to cook with.. i fill my BBQ with an oak / charcoal combo.. chuck some 99.9% isopropyl on.. stand well back to retain eyebrows, light it and leave it to burn down.. by this time the entire cast iron BBQ is almost glowing  .. sear the steaks with tongues, especially the fat, wrap them in foil to rest for 5mins while the cast iron cools down a little.. then slap them back on for cooking.

Edited yesterday at 10:11 AM by Double 0 Soul

[Dr_Heech]

On 8/19/2025 at 3:07 PM, bod said:

Just got back from a couple of weeks in Bali, there was just one day when the clouds burned off around Mt. Agung to reveal all of its 9000 ft glory

Cool. I climbed Mt Agung back in 1996. Also climbed Rinjani (on Lombok). Never used porters, carried all the kit myself. 

[julian-wolf]

9 hours ago, CSL said:

I think charcoal devoutees look down their noses at gas barbecuing.

I only know this because the King Of The Hill cartoon show.

I prefer to taste the meat, not the heat

[julian-wolf]

Last night’s fare, to stay on topic

[ATWM]

Heresy perhaps but what my jeans are doing is honestly cooking with magnets for the last few years. We replaced our gas range with an induction and I’ve not missed it for a second. No room here for waxing nostalgic about much! 

Our outside grill is gas, but gets little use! 

Edited 20 hours ago by ATWM

[julian-wolf]

I know it’s probably doing irreparable damage to my system breathing in all the unburned natural gas, but I wouldn’t trade our ‘50s Wedgewood for anything