I’ve been on holiday this past week.
Or was it a break? Probably the latter.
We spent two nights in Harrogate, followed by two nights in Glasgow, then another night in Harrogate. (See what we did there?)
I’ve decided that when I retire I may move to North Yorkshire - not for the weather, obviously, but I do like the countryside, and the tea rooms.
In Harrogate my favourite tea room is not the famous Bettys, a rather kitsch reminder of a bygone age, but Weetons which describes itself - rather ambitiously, in my view - as a ‘cafe, restaurant and food hall’.
Cafe, certainly, but ‘restaurant’ and ‘food hall’? Delicatessen might be a more apt description. Nevertheless, it’s very nice and we return to it time after time.
Likewise the Everyman cinema.
I’d never heard of the Everyman until a previous visit to Harrogate last year. I’ve now seen four films there - The Party, The Death of Stalin, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, and Incredibles 2.
Situated in a modern building in the centre of town, there are five supremely comfortable auditoriums that offer sofa-style seating with enormous leg room, enough for someone like me to stretch out until I am almost horizontal.
Hot food is brought to you in the auditorium by amiable staff who also show you to your seat, so none of that fumbling and stumbling in the dark.
Another nice touch comes at the start of each film when the head usherette steps forward and provides a brief introduction.
Aside from the five small to medium sized auditoriums there is a large cafe/bar with comfortable seating - including armchairs and sofas, floor to ceiling windows and an outside terrace/balcony with tables and chairs.
There are Everyman cinemas in several towns and cities with more opening soon. Highly recommended.
Also recommended is a Turkish restaurant in Harrogate called, appropriately, Istanbul.
Inspired by this (not really) we are spending a week in Turkey in October. Not my idea but I’ll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, enjoy the bank holiday.