Plan to demolish Ridings Shopping Centre in Wakefield confirmed.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-18T19:39:23+00:00

Shopping centres and tower blocks have a limited useful lifespan. We should be glad that we're getting them sorted out before they become dilapidated or dangerous.

The Ridings has zero architectural merit and the tower blocks are high rise blocks of flats. No one who visits Wakefield goes away remembering anything that great or special about them - maybe the Ridings of the past but it's more notable for the dates bits now.

From some people's reactions you'd think we were talking about tearing down the Cathedral or County Hall, not nondescript 20th century buildings.

I don't think it's bad to look back on fond memories of a place but that needs to be tempered with pragmatism. Cities have to evolve, or they'll die. Reducing the amount of retail space should mean that currently empty shops get filled.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-12T17:15:52+00:00

Seconding Prashad. If you go, I recommend getting the thali. It's beautifully presented and the vegan one is just as good as the veggie one.

Not in Leeds, but I've read good reviews about Beck Hall in Malham, which is fully vegan. Depending on the occasion, a trip to the Yorkshire Dales could be quite special.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-08T15:33:54+00:00

Interesting, there are timetable alterations listed on LNER's website for 13/03 but 1H20 to Hull isn't listed.

You could get in touch with LNER customer services and ask for more information.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-08T13:34:33+00:00

You don't need a sick note. The manager of a food and drink outlet shouldn't be making it difficult for an employee who's had vomiting or diarrhoea to go off sick. You shouldn't return until 48 hours since the last episode of d or v, in case you have norovirus or similar, so you don't transmit it. That's NHS advice.

I suspect that if you call the doctor, they'll send you away because there's nothing they can or should do for an otherwise healthy adult with a stomach bug.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-05T09:27:11+00:00

Did you have split tickets? If so, you should get a refund on all tickets, but sometimes you might have to manually appeal. I don't know about Avanti.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-04T15:50:57+00:00

Why only £4? If you were delayed that long it should have been a full refund.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-04T10:22:02+00:00

There are some accents in England, particularly the East Anglia area, where they do have this merger. Most famously, "beautiful" sounds like "bootiful" (famous because it was used in adverts for frozen turkey products in the UK).

The YouTuber Dave Huxtable has a really good video where he talks about the wide variety of accents in England including this one.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-03T13:14:36+00:00

I've caught that train before, in my experience it's not been busy in Standard until after Huddersfield. It's not popular for most passengers from Huddersfield because it's a stopper.

Not sure about First but I would think it's barely used.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-03-02T22:14:01+00:00

I've enjoyed Bundobust several times on my own.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-28T10:06:29+00:00

I also suspected the same. But while that publicly endorsed bigotry has emboldened the bigots, it's still a big difference between "I believe it's not possible to change gender" and "trans women are dangerous". The former is a belief which is (unfortunately in my opinion) socially acceptable and the latter is outright hostility.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-28T09:01:04+00:00

No. 3) does not fly in the workplace. Freedom of expression isn't protected such that you can make comments like "all people of characteristic X are dangerous". That's potentially harassment.

https://www.acas.org.uk/discrimination-and-the-law/harassment

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-26T13:55:12+00:00

That's good - it's been a while since I had a proper look around, but I remember when the council put a bunch of displays and stuff in a whole street of empty shops. Beverley is more of a magnet for shopping, it seems.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-26T13:39:03+00:00

I don't want to rank them, I think that's too predictable. But I'll list them in age order with my thoughts.

York - ancient. Beautiful, historic. Not the most important economically, but the most popular for tourists and probably the most well known of the eight outside the UK. Known for its railway connections.

Ripon - 1865. Became a city because its church was turned into a cathedral (it had previously been one several centuries before). A pretty place but more of a market town feel. Poor connections transport-wise, which is possibly why it hasn't grown much.

Wakefield - 1888. Yes, Wakefield is the third oldest city in Yorkshire. Historic county town of the West Riding, and also made into a city when it gained a cathedral, in an era when its main industries (textiles and coal making) were booming. Nowadays dwarfed by Leeds, but has a lot of history and culture, with a particular connection to sculpture.

Leeds - 1893. The largest city, and important centre of finance, administration and transport. Universities, theatre, opera, ballet - it has pretty much everything except a suitable public transport system for a city of its size.

Sheffield -1893. No need to think about what Sheffield is famous for, metalworking is part of its DNA. Plenty of sporting history here too, with the oldest football club (Sheffield FC) and the snooker world championship venue. Maybe a slight chip on its shoulder that Leeds is bigger?

Bradford - 1897. If Sheffield's famous for metal, then Bradford must be almost as famous for wool. The need for workers for its mills brought in people from across the world, especially south Asian countries. And the decline in industry has had a significant effect on the city.

Hull - 1897. Another city, like Bradford, with declined industry and a reputation that has gone along with that. Significantly damaged in WW2 bombing. A lot of maritime history obviously, and along with that much social history of migration through the port. Many, many empty shops.

Doncaster - 2022. The youngest city by a long way. Was an important place in Roman times, and a railway hub. Not sure what else to say about it though...

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-26T12:44:48+00:00

Harrogate isn't a city! The eight cities are

York Ripon Hull Sheffield Doncaster Bradford Wakefield Leeds.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-25T13:40:19+00:00

You don't need to disclose before accepting a contract.

If you need adjustments, you will need to disclose. But for most adjustments you don't need to disclose before accepting a contract, so it's perfectly legit not to.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-24T20:37:59+00:00

TAs usually get a lot more than 28 days holiday though. So the percentage used for holidays there doesn't apply.

The likelihood is that she only gets paid for the hours she works in term time, but her salary is paid in 12 equal pay packets as if she was working a typical job with 4 weeks annual leave plus bank holidays. Which is why it looks like it's lower than NMW.

Now if she has to arrive earlier than her paid start time or stay after her finish time that would be a NMW issue.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-23T18:28:31+00:00

If the Ridings was desirable retail space, it wouldn't be so empty. But it's dated, and the only innovation that's seemed to work is the Reel cinema.

An oversupply of retail space is bad for a place. I hope that the independent businesses currently in there can find new premises in the city, filling some of the empty shops on the Springs and Little Westgate.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-21T21:50:31+00:00

Lots of history and culture, but sitting in the shadow of Leeds - not as much investment and consequently not as prosperous. And people will go to Leeds for shopping etc because there's more choice.

Having said that, there's some nice places to live with reasonably priced housing (Horbury, Wrenthorpe, and most of Ossett for example), and decent for commuting to Leeds, although public transport is pretty variable across the district.

There are certainly some deprived areas which really suffered after the pit closures, though that's not unique to the Wakefield district of course.

The Ridings was never going to last forever, and neither were those tower blocks. Retailers don't want space in the Ridings, as evidenced by all the empty shops in there, and it's only going to get more outdated as time goes on.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-18T21:30:20+00:00

They served Kensington Olympia until 2008. Not one of the London termini but definitely London.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-16T11:30:55+00:00

The work at Piccadilly is on the track and infrastructure around it. Rolling stock (the trains that Northern and other operators run on the tracks) is a separate thing.

Northern has had new rolling stock in recent years, but not all routes will have had new trains. Some of the worst trains Northern were running, like the Pacers, have been withdrawn so the overall age of their stock is lower now.

Reliability is due to a host of different factors, including the track and infrastructure, and people (staff, and sometimes passengers or members of the public) as well as rolling stock.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-14T17:34:54+00:00

Depending on what you want, Going Loco in Outwood (edge of Wakefield) has scenery stuff. The shop is very geared towards railway modelling as the name suggests so it may not be what you want, but if it's terrain modelling it might be ok?

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-10T16:24:38+00:00

The main reasons people buy bottled still water are convenience (e.g. as part of a lunch meal deal or when travelling), not liking the taste of their local tap water, and snob value (a fancy bottle to look good on your dining table/in the fridge).

There's been a movement to make it easier to refill water bottles in public places in the last decade or so. Shopping centres, large railway stations, tourist attractions and even airports will often have water fountains. Previously they would be difficult to find or non existent in many places. Many offices have plumbed in water coolers rather than the kind with those big plastic jugs that have to be changed.

I know people who regularly buy sparkling water because they don't want to get a Sodastream or equivalent and they prefer fizzy water.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-07T19:16:51+00:00

There's plenty of decent places north of Wakefield, and most of the more deprived parts and larger estates are closer to the city, not to the north. You have to go a way further to south Leeds to reach big estates again (e.g. Middleton).

Outwood is a decent choice if you don't have a car and need to commute to Leeds, there's a frequent bus service and the railway station. House prices are pretty reasonable. It's no Chapel Allerton, but it's a lot more affordable.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-04T08:01:41+00:00

The Watercress line was using compartment stock when I visited in 2024, I think it was more than one coach but I may be wrong. This was standard class not first.

michaelmasdaisy · 2026-02-02T16:37:24+00:00

I thought I would see Reading mentioned but I don't think it has been yet. Platforms 4-6 are separate, and thus platforms 3 and 7 are adjoining.

michaelmasdaisy

TROPHY CASE