Project K

In June 2023 I was 60. SIXTY?? Good grief. There are times when thinking about it made me feel very old, but I am lucky to still be fit and healthy enough to do fun and exciting stuff; so I hatched a plan. I originally worked on this being a project that would last a full year but 52 is such a rubbish number so I brought the start date forward and extended the end date so that it lasted a full 60 weeks. The idea was to do stuff, see things and go to places all beginning with the letter K. It commenced in the only way that it possibly could, with a trip to the fair city of Kingston-upon-Hull to see the Tigers’ last home game of that season on 29^th April. By a lovely coincidence we wrapped up the campaign the following week at Kenilworth Road. Fast forward another 59 weeks from there and it takes us to the middle of the European Championships, taking place in Germany. One of the host cities is Köln and my hope is to get tickets to see a match there as the project’s grand finale. In between times there are a million and one other things to do and I have invited friends and family to join me, or to tell me that they want absolutely nothing at all to do with this complete load of utter tosh.

The list is literally endless.
There are some fantastic places we have already visited; Kruger National Park, Kyoto, Krakow and, for me, Kaliningrad. There are some that we probably want to avoid just now; Kyiv, The Kremlin, Kazakhstan. But there are more than enough others to keep me busy for 60 weeks so let’s get cracking…

As Ian Dury (very nearly) said:

Kyoto, Kosovo, Key Largo and Kuopio.
From Katmandu to the gardens of Kew,
I could do keepie-uppies at the top of K2.
If I’m lucky I could get to Kentucky
Or other nice places like Kempton Races.
To see the Kaisers or Killers, I’d rate very highly
Or just a quiet night in playing Ker-plunk with Kylie.
Go to Kensington for culture and arts
Or cheer like crazy for Kelty Hearts.
I could see a koala bear in County Kildare
Or a kangaroo in Kalamazoo.
Ride a Kawasaki all the way to Kuwait
Scoff six Krispy Kremes with William and Kate.

The beautiful main square in Krakow.

Go for beers and a kebab with Kevin Kilbane
Invite Kwasi Kwarteng, but not the Ku Klux Klan.
Read books by Kafka and Ken Kesey
Treat Kris Kristofferson to a KFC.
Eating Kit-kats in Keighley might seem unsightly
But I’ve had a request from that Keira Knightley.
I could go watch baseball in Kansas City
But let’s all avoid Kippax…cos it looks a bit shitty.

This is how the list looked on day 1...

And off we go...
K01 Kingston-upon-Hull.
K02 Kommune food hall, Sheffield.
K03 Kolkata, Asian takeaway, Newport Pagnell.
K04 Kenilworth Road, Luton.
K05 Kyoto Garden, Holland Park, London.
K06 King's Head, Kensington.
K07 Kew Gardens.
K08 Kabaddi, Birmingham.
K09 Kelham Kitchen, Sheffield.
K10 Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield.
K11 Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. End of the first month.
K12 Konak Meze, Harrogate.
K13, Kinver Reservoir, Derbyshire.
K14, Koko Restaurant, Sheffield.
K15, Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire.
K16. King's Cross. End of the second month.

Some friends came bearing 'K' gifts, whether it be a box of Special K or a bottle of Kaapzicht (South African Chenin Blanc), some Kinder choccies and a Kalanchoe.

K17. Kirkleatham Museum, Redcar.
K18. Kirkstall Brewery, Leeds.
K19. Kelly's Cellars, Belfast.
K20. King's Arms, Reeth.
K21. Kisdon Force, North Yorkshire.
K22. Keld, North Yorkshire. End of the third month.
K23. Kurdistan Grill, Hull.
K24. Kreye, Humber Street Sesh, Hull.
K25. The Kelpies, Falkirk.
K26. Kelso. End of month 4.
K27. Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire.
K28. Kollective, Nether Edge, Sheffield.
K29. King Power Stadium, Leicester.
K30. Koper, Slovenia.
K31. Koželj Wines, Ljubljana.
K32. The Kestrel, Harrogate. End of month 5.
K33. Kickboxing, Sheffield.
K34. Keighley and Worth Valley Railway beer festival.
K35. Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds.
K36. Kirmington Airport, Humberside.
K37. KLM Airlines.

My nephew and his girlfriend bought me a Kid's Kitchen Knife set and some Kabanos sausages. Many of the prezzies I opened on my actual birthday also began with K: 60 Kit-kats from Jase and Jaq, some very posh Japanese Global kitchen knives from Jan and J & J, tasty foodie items from Hilary (Kalamata olives, Indonesian Ketjap Manis marinade and a jar of Korma sauce), and a really generous bagful of stuff from Bee and Trev which included a bottle of Wychwood King Goblin beer, a bottle of Keltehue Argentinian Malbec, a bottle of Kakapo New Zealand white, some more Kinder chocs and a kaleidoscope)!

K38. Kinderdijk, Netherlands.
K39. Kaat Mossel, Rotterdam.
K40. King Kong Cafe, Rotterdam.
K41. Kelham Island Industrial Museum, Beer Festival.
K42. Kringle Cafe, Sheffield. End of month 6.
K43. Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire.
K44. Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset.
K45. King's Head, Aylesbury.
K46. Kia's Pastaria, Sheffield.

In the middle of November I found out that the bids I had submitted for tickets for the Euros finals in Germany in the summer of 2024 had been unsuccessful due to an incredibly high application rate. My friends who had also put in bids didn't have any luck either so I am left with trying again in the second round (although I suspect that will be even more competitive) or coming up with another idea for the project finale.

K47. Kin Kitchen, Ludlow.
K48. Kean's Head, Nottingham.

And that got us to exactly halfway through the project; 48 fun things done in 30 weeks. Doing 100 by the end looks a distinct possibility.

Sue and Carl very generously sent me a voucher for Majestic Wines so I bought four bottles, all with names beginning with K, from Australia, Slovenia, Germany and South Africa. My brother and sister-in-law brought a bumper birthday bundle which included a Kentucky bourbon, some Kenco coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

K49. Kollective, city centre, Sheffield.
K50. Kopi and Chai, Sheffield.
K51. Kilnfolk Cafe, Sheffield.
That brought us to the end of month 9 and the significant slowing down of the regularity of trips over the winter has meant that, if I am to reach 100 by the end, I really do need to get my skates on.
K52. Kibble Brewery, Thurlstone.
K53. Kensworth.
OK, having done only 4 things throughout the months of December, January and February, it really was time to get a move on. With a lot of trips arranged for March and April, I was hoping to start getting the counter back on track.
K54. Kirkgate Park, Kinross.
K55. Kelty Hearts.
K56. Kirkby Londsdale.
K57. The Kingswood. Hull.
K58. Kaapse Bar, Rotterdam,
K59. De Kuip, Rotterdam.
K60. Het Kasteel, Rotterdam.