mimini's Qype profile

I’m not really interested in designer clothes, whether this season or two seasons back and shoved on a bargain rail, so large parts of T.K. Maxx hold little interest for me. They would probably get three points from me if not for the fact that they occasionally stock turron durro, a hard Spanish nougat with honey and whole almonds which is so delectable and moreish that, once opened, it’s as good as finished in our house. (Although if you’re buying it in a tin, have a look inside first: I bought one from here, got it home and some thieving little ** had pinched half the contents. I was furious).

This is also a good place to look for presents for blokes on birthdays and at Christmas, especially if they’re sporty. I found lots of 'designer-y’ type sports gear for my loved one at bargain prices last year - you just have to brave the crowds and fight dirty to get at the good stuff!

Pret a Manger, where the overpaid go to get mugged for a tenner and force-fed a soggy sandwich as reward. I exaggerate a little!

I’m not impressed with the quality of Pret-a-Manger’s food. As I say, the bread always seems to be soggy (although maybe I’ve just been unlucky). Even the cheapest option is more expensive than the mid-range in Greggs, and the quality is not noticeably different. The smoked salmon was good in a sandwich I had from there (in terms of flavour), but the appearance as a whole wasn’t - it looked slung together as if by a lazy student turning up wrecked to a part-time job. Maybe it was!

I will say I have had damn good coffee from here, though, but coffee isn’t by itself enough to get me going back.

I used to love Boots as a kid, though now I’m not sure why. I think it was the sheer variety of their range of goods, the feeling that you might stumble upon almost anything while browsing away.

That feeling is mostly gone: Boots these days is really about a few closely focused product types. Cosmetics and personal care, food, vitamins/pharmaceuticals, their opticians chain, small electrical and gift lines… Have I missed anything?

Their sandwiches are good and not outrageously priced, about the only thing that isn’t, I think. I guess if you have a Vantage card it’s okay because you’re picking up points, but really, prices here are having a laugh. The vitamins especially can be outrageous, e.g. a tenner for something not especially obscure, maybe just a fancy pack of multivitamins with glitzy packaging. Most personal care (deodorants, ladytime items, cosmetics etc.) are cheaper at Superdrug or any supermarket.

One to miss.

Sandal Castle evokes lots of fond memories for me from childhood. It’s funny, because you usually remember things from when you were a kid as 'bigger than life’ and then they seem really small when you encounter them in adult life. Yet with Sandal Castle it’s the opposite: the hills and ruins seemed quite a manageable size (and climbable) when I was little. Now they seem ruddy huge (and steep!) The safety precautions do seem better than back then, though, and the place is well fenced.

Perhaps the place is just in a better state of repair now (as it used to be a bit wrecked) and they have rebuilt parts of it? Yes, by the way, this is the castle where 'when they were up they were up, and when they were down they were down, and when they were only half-way up…’ etc.

Cineworld ain’t what it used to be. For one thing it stopped doing the really excellent coffee it used to have, and that has pretty much wrecked visits for me. Seeing a film at the flicks isn’t the same without a cuppa hot java in hand - not once you’ve got used to it anyway. Plus they used to have much cheaper sweets and snacks, then I think it all got standardised and franchised/outsourced, the prices doubled, the quality fell and the portions halved. Boo!

I think the last film I saw here was Serenity, Joss Whedon’s excellent space-cowboy romp. It was utterly ruined by a ladyChav and her horde of miniChavs trooping in halfway though (talking loudly), proceeding to carry on talking (and even shouting) through the rest of the film, while swapping food (and discussing their swaps, at high volume). She took offence to this being mentioned afterwards and rained down verbal abuse upon us. Lovely, lovely people.

I saw The Evens play here a couple of years back and it was FANTASTIC! Okay, this had a little to do with the Evens themselves, but still, what a great venue! There’s something really atmospheric and a little spooky about a rock/folk band playing in a church. And Amy’s powerful, haunting voice only adds to that vibe (as well as plastering you up against the nearest wall with its power).

The Evens ascetic, preachy vibe was perfectly suited to this venue: the hard wood pews, the spooky light coming through the stained glass windows, the (I think) Gothic architecture… The packed hall, lots of people sitting cross-legged up front, it all gave a fantastic feeling of community very fitting to a church. It all just came together for one of the most intense gigs ever!

I saw Tony Law at Jongleurs and it was a terrific experience. This was largely due to Tony Law who is an awesome comedian and general all-round Canadian loon, and rather less so to Jongleurs.

We ate first: the food was just okay, basically fast food with cutlery and slightly pricey for what it was. The drinks were okay though. The card reader was apparently on the blink and the waitress wanted to take my companion’s card away to arrange payment at the bar. On being informed that he would be accompanying her if so, we got a very disapproving look and chilly manner.

The MC was awful, aggressive, unfunny and misogynist, and the other acts were unremarkable. Thank God for Tony Law, he saved the evening.

Out Of This World: a reliable source of fair-trade, whole and organic foods in Leeds. Their range is excellent and includes food supplements and fresh organic fruits and vegetables. They also do bread, organic wine and a range of sandwiches and snacks for lunches. An assortment of hemp products occupy one corner.

I favour this store as a stockist of hard-to-find products and a good place to buy fresh sprouts (mung, aduki, chickpea etc.) if you can’t be bothered to grow your own (and I often can’t). The fruits and vegetables are also often knocked down for a bargain. There is also a freezer with lots of vegan ice creams and veggie protein options.

Out Of This World is not a cheap place to shop but it has a lot of good products that are hard to find elsewhere and has good ethical standards.

I have had a good cooked breakfast or egg on toast from Central Cafe more than once. They are generally quite busy which is always a good sign in a cafe that does cooked breakfasts: if they’re 'dead’ then there’s usually a good reason for it! You need to get in early to get a seat.

The tea is also good, very hot, and promptly made while you wait for your freshly cooked breakfast. The prices are quite reasonable (but then this isn’t a city centre cafe). The place has a homey slightly amateur vibe, as if it might be run by a family or group of friends.

It is very clean, warm and generally a pleasant and welcoming environment with good service and good food.

The Redbeck Cafe is extremely famous locally for the best fry-ups in an umpteen-mile radius. It only closes on Christmas Day! (Probably as closed doors would lead to local riots). I have sampled the regular fry-up and can recommend it: a well cooked plateful, ample, with plenty of nuclear-hot tea.

I do feel the lack of a veggie fry-up option limits their target demographic unnecessarily, but I guess they’re plenty busy enough without encouraging more hungry customers to come streaming through their doors!

The staff are pleasant, friendly and seem to have encyclopaedic memories for the detailed orders flung at them by queuefuls of customers. Pretty good all round.