These next few articles will detail my recent visit to Leeds, which will detail my experiences travelling to and from Leeds and what I experienced whilst there. I enjoy experiencing new places and my main reason for visiting Leeds was to go to a wrestling gym I had heard good things about. Even after seven or so years in this sport, I do look to train as much as possible and I believe that learning from as many different people as possible is a vital component to improving one’s craft. Anyway, I do hope you people reading this enjoy the next few articles and any feedback, positive or negative can be sent to maynardsmithlucian@gmail.com.
I forgot what the Megabus was like, especially one where you are travelling for a long amount of time. I nearly missed my bus at Dundee, where I was casually waiting for a bus leaving at 0945 hours, but was then told I was required to get the M92 to Edinburgh before transferring onto another bus to Leeds.
Sitting at the seats beside the toilet was not a good idea, but thankfully I did not make that mistake on the Edinburgh to Leeds bus. I could have commuted to and from Leeds via car, but I decided to save money on fuel and mileage on my car, even if it does take longer to travel via bus. I have portrayed ‘The Notorious Nobleman’ for over three years now, but even I like a good bargain and I could not argue with a £6 return trip to Leeds.
The bus was going to Leeds and also stopping at Newcastle, Sheffield and London. I remember getting this same bus to Newcastle last year and the journey there is always fine, but the return trip is often delayed with the bus coming from London and being required to deal with traffic there, with my bus home from Newcastle being delayed by two hours. As a driver, the phrase ‘I could be home by now’ often echoes through my head when in a situation like this and it is very common for public transport that I am on to be either delayed, arrive at the destination late or cancelled outright. Not being a driver though did mean I could take some scenery pictures though.
It was a considerably long journey, where the bus went past an interestingly named place near Berwick that I have never noticed on my previous travels up and down the A1 and the amount of leg space that I had having more of an effect on my knees than any wrestling tour or match that I have been involved in.
The bus eventually arrived in Leeds at 1700 hours. I then proceeded to check into my hotel that I would be staying at for the next four nights, before getting the number 52 bus to Morley and fulfilling my main reason for visiting Leeds, which was to train at the Grapple Wrestling gym, which I had heard about from making contacts there whilst I was at my first training camp with Johnny Moss and have kept an interest in their product ever since.
I had made it to Leeds in time and I also arrived in good time for training. The fact that the worst things to have happened were the realisation that I had forgotten my tin opener and 3DS charger helped make the journey a relatively straightforward and stress-free journey by long distance Megabus standards. The journey to Leeds was all said and done though and it was time to learn from World Of Sport star and British wrestling legend Marty Jones…
– Lucian Maynard-Smith
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