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Over the five day visit, nine Knights and one young and erudite guest donned pontifical vestments and enjoyed all the Loonie City of Minster had to offer.

- Monday (Suss It Ouse)
Gordon and Owen were already in town and recovering from the delights of a Sunday trip to Scarborough when Martin, Colin, Phil, Anne, Helena and Steve boarded the train in Edinburgh, heading south to York. On arrival, a short wander in to the city centre from York train station brought Ladies and Knights within sight of the large beer garden at the front of The Judge's Loding. The dry and relatively warm weather (and lunchtime bell) persuaded everyone to settle in the first hostelry of the 2024 Modern Mega Manor (MMM). Everyone enjoyed a drink in the sunshine and those unfortunate to have undutiful wives, inconsiderate enough not to have made and packed them sandwiches for the train journey, had a bite to eat. Gordon and Owen soon made a welcome addition to the party, giving everyone an opportunity to catch up. Unfortunately, it was soon time for Gogs and Owen to head for their train home so everyone bode farewell and headed to check-in to their respective accommodation. Half the party was in the Bootham area and half near Stonebow. A couple of restaurants had been booked for Wednesday and Thursday (partly in the knowledge York races Ebor Festival was under starters orders on Wednesday) but there were no firm plans for Monday and Tuesday's tea so a pub recce landed the MMM crew in The Old White Swan which was suitably quiet and with a good enough menu to persuade everyone this was the place for Monday night tea. Following a good nosh, a short walk around the city centre brought to light Ye Olde Starre Inne where the evening was seen off in typically convivial fashion.

- Tuesday (York Minster)
The rough itinerary for the MMM dictated a trip to York Minster today, which, in surprisingly non-Cape-ish fashion, is exactly what happened. Anne, Helena and Steve sneaked along the famous Shambles on the way to the Minster, only to be bemused by the number of Harry Potter related shops as well as broken, long, yet orderly queue along all of the street in to Newgate for the York Ghost Merchants shop. The Minster itself was, needless to say, an exceptionally impressive piece of work and a good two or three hours were spent exploring its many nooks and crannies as well as the undercroft museum. There was a loose Cape Connection to be had in the Minster's statue of Hygieia, Greek godess of health, which is also the subject of the Nasmyth-designed St Bernard's Well in Stockbridge. (Nasmyth's Cape Club pseudonym was Sir Thumb.) Time for libation. A short walk from the main door of the Minster lay the door of The Three Legged Mare, also affectionately known as the Wonky Donkey. Unfortunately, there was no food being served so, after one drink, it was a short decant to The Eagle & Child for a lunchtime nosh. Inquisitive Knights gleaned the unusual name of the pub was given to it by the owner's who were Tolkien fans who knew JRR used to drink in Oxford equivalent. Coincidentally, Martin had also been there. There was no plan for the Tuesday afternoon but Knights and Ladies improvised in admirable fashion with a walk around part of the city walls. This took them from Bootham Bar to St Anthonys Garden where an annexe of the Ghost Merchant Shambles shop was stumbled upon! A seat in the sunshine for a libation was mooted by Helena whereby Knights and Ladies embarked on the epic and exhausting voyage trying to find a pub which suited Helena's high standards of sun, view and decor. Not all were satisfied in Lendal Cellars but it was as far as the tether would reach. Now it was siesta time for some but Anne, Steve and Helena took a walk upriver to St Peters School before turning back and heading downstream as far as Skeldergate Bridge and across for a look at Clifford's Tower. That was a fair walk so the drink and pork scratchings in the Black Swan were well deserved. Colin, Martin and Phil were still a bit full from lunch so Anne, Helena and Steve enjoyed a decent quality curry at 29 States before Steve, Colin and Martin regrouped and ended the night back at the Old White Swan with too much 16 year old Lagavulin.

- Wednesday (National Railway Museum & River Cruise)
The morning was spent in the excellent (and free) National Railway Museum where everyone also had a bite of lunch before Cape coffers were raided to fund a cruise on the Ouse. The young female captain of the River King was very entertaining with excellent vocal delivery. With wobbly sea-legs, it was time to settle nerves back on dry land and enjoy the high ceilings of Harkers. It was a little cool in there and at least one of the party was afraid of being knifed in the back so the much cosier Royal Oak was next to be ticked off. This was also the spot where Carol and Dave joined the party. After some welcoming drinks in the Oak, Fancy Hank's served up some semi-decent American diner-style grub, although more coleslaw was definitely required (and supplied) and the burgers were nothing extraordinary. In addition, the deep-fried rump steak one Knight had his heart set on was sold out. Maybe just as well for the heart. Obviously feeling a bit full, everyone could only stumble as far as across the other side of the road to The Cross Keys for a few polishing-off-the-night drinks.

- Thursday (Yorkie Walkie Talkie)
Knights and Ladies all met up at Bootham Park Hospital (former York lunatic asylum) which was the start of Steve's wee talk. Here he imparted a Cape Connection with Robert Fergusson, via Willian Tuke and Andrew Duncan and the Philippe Pinel Memorial in the grounds of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Next stop was Precentors Court which, as well as the obvious connection, used to be the home of Nathan Drake who illustrated some of the work of James Thomson; a man celebrated by the Cape Club. After a sojourn at Guy Fawkes Inn, York Museum provided an opportunity to give some insight in to York and the Romans and mention the stone Mithras frieze, found in York, and now housed in the museum. The Grand Cape connection is obvious. The final place of Cape Connectivity was intimated near the site of the former Sunton's Coffee House where Steve went in to some detail on the Good Humour Club and, again, its obvious parallels with its Edinburgh contemporary, the Cape Club. It was now lunchtime again and the gang split: Phil, Colin Martin went to wait 20 minutes for a ham and cheese toastie at the Shambles food market and Dave, Carol, Anne, Helena and Steve returned to Judge's Lodging. Siesta time again for some but Anne, Helena and Steve explored the snickleways, Barley Hall and Dean's Park before heading for the evening rendezvous; the King's Arms. A Samuel Smith's pub, the locals had ample character and Helena's seat-envy paid off with a spot in some natural light by the window. The pub's wooden wall measure indicating the height past flood waters had risen to was an interesting feature. Time to head across the bridge to Enoteca for some generally nice Italian food, although the spinach ravioli was too tepid. As the night darkened and race-goers danced like nags in the Slug & Lettuce (as well as queued outside!), the final port of call for the MMM crew was the Burns Hotel which, being another Samuel Smith's pub with some of the same characters seen in the King's Arms, provided ample entertainment, including overheard brawls on walkie-talkie's and someone being told off for checking their blood sugar level under the mistaken belief they had dared to expose their mobile phone. Colin, Martin and Steve did manage one more in the Roman Baths pub before York said, "Nighty night all" ('early' closing).

- Friday (Slán libh)
Having checked-out of respective accommodation, the two halves of the remaining group (minus Dave & Carol who were, as later arrivals, staying in York until Saturday) accidentally bumped in to each other outside York Minster, whence the majority headed for a cheap 'n' cheerful breakfast at the Punch Bowl near the railway station. Unfortunately, a combination of cheapness, Bank Holiday and York races meant it was chocca. Everyone was lucky to find a group of five seats in the Windmill Inn. over the road shortly before it too was inundated with yet more Fancy-Dans. A fried breakfast later and it was time to head for the train station and home (having ejected interlopers from reserved seating).

To sum-up, the pubs were excellent in their character and, as has been the case in all MMMs up until now, the number and nature of Cape Connections was remarkable. The York MMM was another resounding success and a convivial tip-of-the-hat goes to all who came along (and the dapper gents and dolled-up ladies who coloured the city on their way to and from the horse racing).

Mobile-friendly picture gallery.

Some video...

Weatherhill Winding Engine
Model Railway
Permission To Come Aboard Captain
The Clock Strikes
Davy's Burns Poem
Sparkle