LEEDS Law Society is to move from its historic home of almost a century on Albion Place.
And while the lawyers settle into their new base in a modern office building on Wellington Street in the city centre, their old home, a Grade II listed building, will be converted into a restaurant run by a chain called Bill’s which offers “contemporary European food”.
I’ve never heard of Bill’s, they might serve great meals, but surely “contemporary European food” is what most of us eat or cook every day.
The phrase means nothing. I hope their food is less wishy-washy than their description of it.
Whether it is or it isn’t, I’d suggest that the last thing that Leeds needs is another national chain restaurant.
I’m amazed by the number which continue to open and which are welcomed as if we’ve never experienced burgers, South American steak, pasta, pizza or oriental cuisine before.
The queues outside the restaurants in the Trinity shopping centre in the city on a Saturday lunchtime show that diners have about as much imagination as the chains they frequent.
In the meantime cities like Manchester and Birmingham are seeing fantastic individually-owned and run restaurants opening and thriving.
:::
THAT modern day philosopher John Terry has been giving his views on the subject of players trying to influence decisions by referees.
The Chelsea captain’s playing style and influential performances on the pitch epitomise the determination associated with the best English footballers.
But he is anything but an example of the great Corinthian spirit.
His reaction to Chelsea’s Champions League defeat to Paris St-Germain last week was telling.
PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was sent off, criticised the Chelsea team for surrounding referee Bjorn Kuipers in a bid to influence his decisions and described the opposing players as “babies”.
Was Terry magnanimous in defeat?
Hardly. He said: “Every side is as bad as each other. It’s part of the game.”
Terry insisted the actions of the Chelsea players were justified because PSG had done the same thing.
“Once they’re charging the ref, the only thing we can do is respond,” said the former England defender, 34.
What state would society, if not the human race, be in if we all observed the worst behaved and sunk to their level?
:::
AFTER a pub lunch in the centre of Harrogate the other day, my friend was paying for our fish and chips and two pints of bitter when I spotted a blackboard on the wall saying they sold Bollinger champagne at £85 a bottle.
“We should have had a bottle of that,” I commented to my companion, who looked relieved I hadn’t seen the sign earlier, then asked the landlord if he sold much Bolly.
“Not as many bottles as the Cristal,” he said matter-of-factly.
The Louis Roederer sells for £300 a bottle, by the way.
“The other day we had one table drinking Cristal all night and another table ordering Krug,” added the landlord.
How terribly shallow these people must be. How C-list, how flashy, how nouveau riche.
But good friends to have.
Have a great weekend.