three views of leeds, and an international tale of hipster food

There's rich Leeds, and there's poor Leeds - and that's been true since the Victorian period.  So here are two contrasting receding perspectives.  On the top, a street in Harehills.  It's wide enough - as you can just see, to drive a car down, but it's also narrow across to hang one's washing to dry over it.  It's too wide, though, to be called a ginnel, one of the narrow lanes that the house that my father was born in backed onto - but otherwise this is very much the red brick that he knew as a small boy.  I'd have done better going to Cross Gates and looking for the house itself - I was in Harehills hoping to get to see the Frank Brangwyn mosaics in St Aidan's Church, but next time I'll go when there's a service, and the doors are open ... no phone number for the vicar; no hint of what to do if you're an art historian on a pilgrimage (yes, I should have known better).

So I walked back into town, and looked at Victorian and Edwardian opulence, instead: here's the County Arcade, which opened in 1900.

And here is the view from my hotel window this evening - quite shockingly, the grey drizzling clouds have disappeared.

At lunchtime, I thought I'd make a different sort of pilgrimage to the home of the Best Ever Avocado Toast, at Laynes Coffee house.  Alice and I ate there a couple of years ago, and it was memorable.  But what is this?  It is toast with ... crushed peas and cannellini beans!  and the same accoutrements as the avo used to have.  It was pretty good, though I couldn't help thinking of the story (I hope it's true) of Peter Mandelson, Tony Blair's former sidekick, who when campaigning for the Labour Party in Whitby (also in Yorkshire) allegedly went into a fish and chip shop (Whitby is famous for them), and, pointing to a soft green substance, asked for some guacamole on the side.  "Eeeeee, love, that's mushy peas ..."

My own dialogue, as I was paying, went something like this.  If you know LA, you'll appreciate it ...

Me: what happened to your avocado toast?  

Man behind cash register (maybe the owner?): well, we've just changed the menu around a bit

Me: but it's the best avocado toast I've ever had!  And I'm from Los Angeles, so that's saying something!

Man: Oh!  So where do you live?

Me: Los Feliz - so, do you know LA?

Man: No - I've never been to the States.  Is that anywhere near Sqirl?

Me (taken aback): Yes!  Well, that's about ten minutes away.  Do you have the cookbook?

Man: YES!!!

Hipster food travels.  Or, in the case of avocado toast, some days it doesn't.