UCI World Championships - Around town

It was interesting to see how the town prepared for such a huge worldwide event happening in Yorkshire.

Shops were specially decorated...

And there was a special fan zone set up near the finish line.

We walked through the fan zone, but didn't linger. There were food stalls, merchandise, and entertainment.

Elsewhere in town, things were eerily quiet due to the road closures.

At the end of the week, there was a special light installation celebrating the town's spa heritage. This was my favorite part of the whole celebration.

While spirits seemed high during the racing, many locals were left with a bad taste in their mouth afterward. Large parts of our beautiful 200 acre Stray were left destroyed from the combination of the busy fan zone and heavy rains. Months later, there are still huge grassless patches. Also, many businesses in the town centre waited around for foot traffic that never came. I believe that some restaurants did well, but retail shops had heavy losses. The town council maintains that the exposure our town received will bring benefits well into the future, but only time will tell. I don't want to end on a negative note, but it seems that it largely matches the opinions of the residents. I predict much resistance if anyone suggests an event of this caliber again soon.

UCI World Championships - The races

This fall, the UCI World Championship cycling races were held in Yorkshire. We don't follow cycling at all, but since everything was on our doorstep we thought we would watch some of it.

Having such a huge event in town did have its drawbacks.

Many of our town's roads were closed on and off throughout the entire week (!) of races. We were lucky to be able to walk to and from school each day, but some parents kept their kids home because it was inconvenient or impossible to get there at times. Had we been told earlier that this was an option, I would have happily booked an off peak holiday for the family. Since we were around, though, we decided to try to make the best of it.

We saw cycling all around town...

Walking home from school

Races also went right past the house, which made for easy watching.

Pointing at a helicopter

Naturally the UK weather made for difficult riding conditions some days. I saw a few compilations online of cyclists wiping out in puddles.

But the fans were out, rain or shine.

It was cool to experience (once) but I would definitely book a vacation if it came to the area again. I did like the opportunity to practice more with the good camera, and am pleased with some of the photos I took. I think mainly I was just glad when it was over.

Royal Wedding

I couldn't go without mentioning the wedding of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle.

Most of the shops I've seen have had some sort of "wedding sale," and there are loads of commemorative items for sale. You've got the standard fare, like china, mugs, buttons, and flags. Then you've got some... stranger items. Like a china KFC bucket.

From trendsetter.com

And check out this list from Cosmo. Seriously, who is buying the bathing suits?

Anyway, sales and merchandise aside, I haven't heard much about the wedding. Some people I know have mentioned it in passing, but they've never lingered on the topic. I don't know if it's just not an interest to the people I know, or if the English in general aren't bothered about it.

That's not to say that nothing wedding related is going on in our area. On the Wednesday before the event, there was a high tea celebration in town. I bought a ticket and a fascinator, and arranged for a babysitter for Clara. I was excited to dress up and go to tea.

And Miles got sick on Wednesday morning. Poor kid missed a class trip, so he was disappointed also.

I was already dressed...

The kids' school had a special tea party the day before the wedding.  There were decorations, biscuits, and a general air of excitement.

The Royal family made an appearance at drop off.

And the children had researched the states of the US as well as the counties of England.

They hadn't yet put up the US decorations when I was there

Near the end of the school day, the kids gathered in the hall for tea. The school had invited some seniors from a nearby care home, and the kids sang for them. Lily was chosen as part of a small group that sang the British national anthem . Unfortunately, there wasn't room for parents to attend, so I didn't get to see, but the teachers said she did a beautiful job. For me, the best part of the day was that the excitement really wore them all out, and they slept very well.

I did look online to see if there were any events nearby. There was one pub and one church that had something going on, but that's all I saw. We were just planning on watching it on TV anyway, so I didn't mind.

I did order these sausages, and set them out with blueberries and pea chips for the kids.

Sweet ginger and American mustard flavor

We waited until nearly 10am to turn it on, and immediately Lily was fully absorbed. She loved seeing people dressed up, and pointing out the unusual hats. She was excited when Harry appeared, then the Queen, then Meghan, and she was undistractable until the service was finished.

She piled the cushions up so no one could block her view

I found myself sucked in too. I found the American bishop particularly interesting. I haven't been to many church services here, but the English are way more reserved than that guy. Some attendees looked like they were trying not to giggle, and I wonder what the Queen thought of the sermon.

We went to a birthday party in the afternoon, and a few of the other parents did ask if we'd watched. And their impression of the American bishop was, "Well he definitely wasn't English!" (But the tone seemed lighthearted, not overly judgemental.) I also participated in a group chat with a few friends, and we happily chatted about the fashion and celebrities. So despite the lack of pre-wedding talk, there was much to be said afterward.

In all it was a lovely ceremony to watch, and I'm glad we did it in our own casual way. The couple looked very much in love, and I wish them a long and happy life together (you know, because they care what I think).