Dear Diary... December 2024
Tuesday 31st December – End of the Year
It was a relatively quiet day for myself and The Love In My Heart, but one which we both were quite pleased with as this did allow us to relax before the evening’s entertainment and to see in the New Year. We headed off to the Manchester Fort at Cheetham Hill in order to get some food for tea later – The Love quite liked the look of the M&S Gastropub dine in deal and managed to get some lovely chicken parmigana, chunky chips and a nice side to go with it, and then also got a dessert of a Tom Kerridge treacle tart that had been reduced to clear and so needed to be had in the evening anyway, which did work out to be a better deal.
I did have a look in TK Maxx but unfortunately nothing was doing there – even though I had some gift cards which would have been handy to use. I did try on one shirt which seemed to be quite nice but didn’t quite seem to fit the right way – almost as if it was too tight in one part and just right everywhere else. It’s always the thing when trying on another brand you find in there – some of the sizes are different and it’s often a case of getting a brand that generally suits you. For me, these days, Joules tends to be about right, not that TK Maxx gets stuff in there often. However, there is always other things I can get in TK Maxx too.
I did also venture into the Oxfam Superstore there and that was pretty good – if you wanted to get all your cards and wrapping for next Christmas, you could have very easily blitzed it there cheap to be honest. We then headed over to M&S Outlet on Great Ancoats Street as we wanted to check out if there were any bargains there, and actually The Love did get something which would be a nice little present, so definitely a positive there. We did end up in Track’s taproom for a last day of the year drink, and I had their Arosa AF, the 0.5% version of their Helles – which did stand up remarkably well!
Once back at The Love’s place it was a relaxed afternoon which included The Love giving me a sound beating at Scrabble – including some really nice use of triple words including QUAD for 42, and using some sensible double words to rack up the score. Definitely was a good thing and that did please her immensely I think. We had the food we got earlier from M&S and that was all good, and settled in to watch the final heat of World’s Strongest Man 2024, with Tom Stoltman doing his bit to get straight to the final without having to face the battle in the stone off.
We did spend some time with The Last Leg of the Year, which was pretty funny all round and did have Chris McCausland being particularly fab, and this did even include Sir Ed Davey making an appearance and chatting about his publicity stunts he had done for the 2024 General Election – well something did work as the Lib Dems in the UK got 72 seats, and some well deserved too as they took them off the Tories. It was nice to relax and chill out a bit and The Love put on a really nice new top which looked lovely.
It was a choice of Sophie Ellis-Bextor seeing in the New Year and Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, which is always good to watch. It was a mixed line up on the latter, with some early classics from Boomtown Rats including She’s So Modern which was pretty excellent and tune of the day but also had the likes of Jungle, CMAT and of course Ruby Turner belting it out in the way only she can. Sophie had the likes of Take Me Home playing before midnight (and would have the Groovejet hit after that) and we switched over to the fireworks ready for the New Year. Farewell 2024, it’s been a wind of change..
Monday 30th December – Paddington in the Printworks
It was an early rise for myself and The Love In My Heart, as we were both heading out later to spend some time with The Cute Little One, and that would mean her parents would then be able to have some quality time to themselves, as The Love’s sister was also going to have The Cute Tiny One for a good few hours too. We had some breakfast and then headed off down the East Lancashire Road and to see the parents. In fact we had some Christmas presents for them both from my Mum and auntie, which was appreciated when they were opened too.
It was nice to see everyone anyway, and of course The Cute Little One was excited. We were heading off to the Printworks Vue cinema to see Paddington in Peru, and had booked some tickets in advance so we were in the middle of one row for the best view we could get. This did mean and at the sensible suggestion of The Love that we get the train from her parents’ place into central Manchester, and that way we would be saving the hassle of parking too. And the train was a 4-carriage one with tables too, so that meant that we could sit round a table together and chatter on the way into Manchester city centre.
Once off the train, we decided to have a quick look around some of the shops and The Cute Little One loved the Lego shop. Since she got two Gabby’s Doll House Lego sets for Christmas and had built them with her father, she is into it now and really does want to be able to get more. She did try building her little mini figure and I think getting some Lego Friends sets might be one for the future (as she loves that series and the theme tune is tune of the day for her.) In fact I am sure she could have spent a lot longer in there had she been able to!
Once we stopped off for a coffee and a cold drink, it was over to the Vue cinema, and we of course had managed to already get the tickets in advance, so it was straight up, getting some snacks and a cold drink along the way, and then into Screen 8 for the 1pm showing of Paddington in Peru. A few too many adverts and trailers followed to be honest, it would have been better to have less and go straight into the film, but one trailer for a film with Steve Coogan and a penguin seemed pretty good and funny – might have to go and see that sometimes.
As for Paddington in Peru, on the whole I enjoyed it, and definitely The Cute Little One was a bit scared at first, but once it settled into the story line she was all good and cosied on the recliner seat to enjoy the view we all had. There were some funny moments and some heartfelt moments too, but I have to say that as much as Emily Mortimer was good as Mary Brown, it missed the quirkiness that Sally Hawkins orignally played as Mary. Julie Walters was of course superb as Mrs Bird, and Olivia Colman as The Reverend Mother was also intriguing. We did spot one of the sisters from Call the Midwife in there too!
After the film we headed off to Pizza Hut for a late lunch / early tea, which was a nice little treat for The Cute Little One. She had the kids meal which meant a ham pizza, some salad from the salad bar, a drink and of course, a trip to the ice cream factory which naturally she enjoyed a lot! The Love and I both had a farmhouse pizza, me having the deep pan and The Love having the thin and crispy one, with the sides of onion rings and fries as well as the salad too. All was lovely and it was just nice to spend some time together and have lots of fun chat.
We then headed back for the train to head back homewards. It was one of the trains with the 3+2 seating, so that meant the three of us could sit together and The Cute Little One was looking out of the window at the lights of the streets and houses whizzing past. We got back and it was all smiles and cuddles and I am sure that the day was one very well spent by all. It was also really nice that in fact the day had gone by really quickly and felt like we had made the most of it and was special too. I am so lucky that The Love has family who are all so welcoming and kind, and if that means The Cute Little one gets to say “thank you for a lovely day” to us both, then that is so worth it. I must admit I had a happy tear in my face when she said that.
Sunday 29th December – Caravan of Love
It was a nice relaxing lie in for myself and The Love In My Heart today as we weren’t heading out til later in the day, and meeting up with our friends for Sunday lunch and drinks in something we generally call Betwixmas, ie: the time between Christmas and New Year. It’s usually something we try and do to fit around working hours of everyone (as some of us do work between those times) so it is always nice to look forward to. The Love had booked somewhere different for a change too, so would be nice to see how that turns out later.
We left and headed for the tram stop to take the tram to St Peter’s Square,and from there we would walk down to Brewdog on Peter Street for a little pre-meal drink. In fact they still had two decent pinball machines in there including Dr No, so I did have to have a go of that and did really well, getting a nice multiball on the third ball and keeping that going for some time, racking up points into the bargain. It was also good that the machine was nice and level too. One of our friends turned up and explained that the other was full of the flu and so was unable to head out. A real shame of course, but I knew the three of us would still have a good time anyway.
We exchanged presents and our friends were very kind to get us a Red Letter Days lunch experience, which we will definitely use when The Love comes down to see me at some point, so that will be something to look forward to. We then walked down Quay Street and where the old Granada Studios was, there is now a new complex of buildings including the Aviva Studios but also some places to eat and drink, including Caravan, where The Love had booked a table for us. The staff in there I have to say were super lovely and really warm and friendly, and that really did set the scene well – as did the good beer selection too.
On the Sunday they do brunch til 5pm, but there were various different options that you could have if you weren’t fancying something more breakfast like. It was a decent menu all round and The Love went for the pork schnitzel with some lovely sauce and fries, and our friend had the poku ruce bowl which was the vegan option with tofu, and I have to say looked really good. For me I had the chorizo and potato hash, which had two poached eggs on top, along with some lovely mushrooms and really did hit the spot superbly well.
The best was yet to come for me though with the dessert. The lovely member of staff had recommended the tiramisu, which I was going to have anyway, and wow, it was amazing. Lots of layers of sponge and a really thick cream and the topping on top was just delightful. It has to be said that the little booth we had for three was also nice and cosy, and that meant we had lovely chatter amongst the food and drink, and to be honest, just being in there for a coffee would also be rather good too. Thankfully with the weather looking a little less good, we did not have far to walk.
It was on to The Trading Route, virtually next door, and they had a number of the Manchester Craft Union beers on tap. The Love and our friend went for the lager, and I went for the black, which was really lovely. Each of those pints were £5.50 each which is pretty good for central Manchester these days. We had a nice big booth table to sit round and chatter, and all was very well. Even better: Manchester City had won away at Leicester City which cheered us up, and the music being played in there was excellent, including Panic by The Smiths – so that was tune of the day for obvious reasons. We stayed in there for a couple of drinks before heading back to the tram stop and home, having had a lovely time all round.
Saturday 28th December – Flower Bowls and Festive Fun
Several months ago for my birthday, The Love In My Heart’s sister had very kindly got me a gift card for The Flower Bowl, which is an entertainment complex close to the A6 and North of Preston, heading towards Garstang and on the outskirts of Bilsborrow. We hadn’t for whatever reason been able to head up there and use it, but today we were. In our case, the card wasn’t enough to cover the full online booking, so rang up to reserve a space for the activity we were doing, and so we would then use that and pay the remainder when we got there, but at least had a time sorted so we would be able to play what we chose.
The mist and rain were still present as The Love and I headed out, topped up some petrol, and headed for the M61 and then the M6, coming off for the Blackpool turn off and then straight on to the A6 heading North, past Barton and to Bilsborrow, and once past there the roundabout to turn left, and right into The Flower Bowl complex. The left exit was for the Barton Grange garden centre, run by the same folks. Clearly they had the space to expand and made sense to utilise it, with the Lancaster Canal running close by behind the place too.
We parked up and checked in, and our time was all good for what we came for – and as you might expect from me, it was crazy golf! There were eighteen holes which were in a space at the back of the centre, and although outdoors as such it had a roof on the place, so still felt cold but at least you were not getting wet, and this meant you could head around well. There were some good holes early on including one which was in a mock potting shed, and the sixth hole was when you hit into a hole and then the ball went up a lift, and dropped out to take one of various routes. The Love’s ball went down the left side and down the ramps and into the hole for the only hole in one of the game. Well done!
Some of the other holes were pretty nifty, one involved a narrow gap with water on one side, and another meant you hit the ball into a hill and then it curved round and down towards a bridge, with the hole on the other side. The sixteenth was one of my favourites, as you hit it up a ramp over a gap, and the steep ramp the other side curved the ball right and towards the hall with barriers to bounce off to prevent it hitting rocks and water – well designed and we were both pleased to get close to a hole in one (we got two in the end each.) In fact on several holes you could get a hole in one with a good shot, which showed some thought had gone into it all.
We did have a good look around the garden centre as well afterwards, and that was pretty nice. In fact I did get some cards for next year, as did The Love, and we did see plenty of offers on too. I can imagine in the Summer that place gets busy, and we noted The Flower Bowl complex also has all grass on top, so it’s much more of an ecodome with all the facilities inside, including curling, which we did watch inside there to see just how tricky it is, and definitely not that easy all things considered. Definitely one that we would have to try out in future with a few people to make up some good teams.
We then headed along to Bilsborrow and off to the Roebuck pub, which was a Chef and Brewer pub so we knew it would be nice. I had the gammon with egg and pineapple which was spot on, and The Love had the smothered chicken, and the chicken came in a hot griddle which really did keep it all very hot, and that had chips and onion rings as well as some peas, so all good there too. There was also the fireside ale for me that felt quite festive and ruby coloured, and the staff were really good. Even better was that The Love had doubled up some of her Tesco Clubcard vouchers so we got £9 off the bill with those, and that was pretty good. May as well use those for something nice!
Thursday 26th December – Boxing Day Blues
It was up relatively early this morning as I was off to the Etihad Stadium in good time for today’s match as Manchester City took on Everton, and as it was a 12.30pm kick off, best to be up and ready to head out. I was hoping for three points for the first time since the win over Nottingham Forest twenty two days ago, and with Everton not necessarily scoring as many goals as they could have done, I was slightly optimistic but on current form, no idea what team would actually turn up.
Once in the ground, I had a coffee and it was all good with some tunes being belted out on the concourse including some Manchester classics and others, and The Only One I Know by The Charlatans got an airing, so tune of the day there. I did get a good seat at the back of Block 135 which meant I would stay dry despite the misty rain that was descending, and hoped that the gloom wasn’t ominous. It was good to remember those who had left us and a nice touch to include some former Everton players as well, which showed respect (and their fans appreciated that.)
The game kicked off and within two minutes we had a header from Josko Gvardiol hit the post, and we did get close from a cross from the right with Bernardo Silva sliding in to try to make contact. However, Bernardo did score as a move down the left saw his shot cannon off an Everton defender and loop into the bottom corner. It was at least a positive so it was 1-0 to Manchester City. However, another shot later on should have been hit more simply by Bernardo Silva instead of whacking it in, and that proved to be a downfall just a couple of minutes later on as Iliman Ndiaye volleyed home a cross after some poor City defending.
After half time City pressed forward but Everton held firm and looked dangerous on the counter attack. Savinho went down the right and was clattered to the ground inside the box, and it was an easy penalty decision. Before the penalty the Everton captain Seamus Coleman was winding up Erling Haaland and got a booking from the referee and got a yellow card. That card was worth the sacrifice as Haaland shot to his left and Jordan Pickford went to his right and saved well, and although the ball came backto Haaland to head in the rebound, it was deemed offside, so couldn’t even celebrate that unfortunately.
The second half carried on in the same manner and it was really a case of if either we would break through and score or if Everton would break and win it – and they had a 4 on 2 late on which they scuppered when other teams would have certainly finished the game off well. I was not happy at the end and made my feelings known as did several others. Granted, I’ve been there when City were in the third tier but some of the performances of late make me feel like some of the players have given up instead of battling for their place. Leicester City away on Sunday will be a big test now, that is for sure.
Wednesday 25th December – Happy Christmas
It was nice to wake up on Christmas Day morning all snuggled up with The Love In My Heart and Brian the cat. Brian was all purring happily, and he soon was wanting some Dreamies (as ever!) We got ourselves up and had a coffee and some croissants for breakfast, and then opened most of the presents we had received from our relations and friends. For me this included some gift cards for HMV, TK Maxx, One 4 All as well as the 1981 F1 Season Review DVD and the first Body Count album on CD, an excellent choice from one of my friends there. We did have some Christmas hits on Channel 5 and finally Noddy Holder said it was Christmas, so Merry Xmas Everybody is tune of the day.
I did allow The Love to open one present now (as we normally open ours in the evening once we had seen everyone) and I gave her a little customised heart shaped locket necklace, with the heart being engraved with the initials of her granddaughters, and inside, pictures of The Cute Little One and The Cute Tiny One. She loved that and I knew she would wear it later on when we went over to see the two of them and their parents, both of which were loving having presents to open and were more than happy to see me and their Nana. In fact it was just nice to have some time to see them both.
Back at The Love’s place, her sister, nephew and his wife arrived not long after we had got back, and we settled in for a drink and a chatter whilst The Love was putting the final touches together to the Christmas Dinner, which we had later and was absolutely lovely. It was the roast turkey, roast potatoes, mash, cauliflower cheese, carrots, parsnips, broccoli and gravy, and was spot on. In fact it was lovely and filling and I needed to make sure I saved some room for the dessert, which was a spot on raspberry trifle with proper raspberries around the top too, and that was lovely.
I did indulge The Love’s nephew and myself with the Blackcurrant Kir Royale Sour, which was very nice indeed and hit the spot. It was one to be savoured slowly whilst having the dinner and then chatting later on, with the likes of Home Alone 2 on in the background. I must admit I did want to watch the new Wallace and Gromit film,but am sure will catch up on that at some point. The time did speed by and we all had a lovely afternoon, and was nice to explain more about Frank Sidebottom to the nephew’s wife, as she had seen the film Frank (the Michael Fassbender one) and wanted to know more about who was behind the real Frank.
Later on once everyone had gone and we were able to settle in, we exchanged presents, and I was very happy with what The Love In My Heart had got for me. She had got me the Aeroccino 4 to go with the Nespresso machine, so I could make my own lovely milk and frothy milk for the coffees from the Vertuo machine. I did also receive the rather excellent Paul Weller album 66 on CD, some lovely Issey Miyake aftershave, and also the Ferrari film on Blu-ray that we had enjoyed at the cinema last Christmas. Overall it had been a really lovely day.
Tuesday 24th December – Cemetery Gates
I was up early today as was The Love In My Heart – she was off to work for her last working day of the year – for this year she didn’t have to work at all between Christmas and New Year which was an added bonus, and for me, it was off to the cemeteries to see my relatives who are no longer with us. I always like to take the time out to be respectful and had my cards at the ready. I had an all day bus ticket to get around, and so it was off on the bus to Manchester Piccadilly before then heading back out of the city centre and on to Southern Crematorium.
I paid my respects to one of my relations in there, and I did also see my uncle and auntie in there too, so was nice to have a little chat and at least they knew I had gone there which was a positive. From there, it was on to the bus to Didsbury and then on to Cheadle where the other cemetery is, and stopped to pay my other respects there. It was definitely for me quite emotional this year, whether it was because I had been feeling quite that way over the last few days and remembering them, or because I had felt somewhat different, I don’t know. What I do know is that it was good to let a few tears go and then head off to Costa in Cheadle for a coffee, with Cemetery Gates by The Smiths in my head (and make that tune of the day.)
I did also decide that I wanted a couple of nice beers for Christmas, and knew that Waitrose had a couple of beers in that I fancied, and having tried to get them at Morrisons and failed, the one in Cheadle Hulme was a good option. I got the bus there, went in and managed to get the one I was really after – the Vault City’s Blackcurrant Kir Royale Sour. Added to that I did manage to get three others – the Cocoa Wonderland from Thornbridge, the Espresso Martini Stout from Wiper and True, and the Wild Beer’s lovely Pogo – a passionfruit pale which I have enjoyed before. All was gpod and made my way back to The Love’s place via the city centre.
The Love In My Heart arrived home from work later on, and we were able to relax a bit with some telly before I looked at ordering some food in for tea as a nice takeaway option. One of our favourite burger places, La Canadian, was closed, but we did spot Burgerism was open which is inside the Freight Island complex. I did an order of a meal deal each which was one of their burgers (The Love had the cheesed, I had the baconed) along with fries and a soft drink of choice. This worked out really well and we were able to enjoy that together.
We then settled in for some evening telly including the latest qualifying heat of World’s Strongest Man, and The Love watched the Christmas carol service, which had some of the Royal Family in attendance and Michelle Dockery, aka Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, to do a reading as well. Brian the cat was all snuggled on the pouffle as ever, and as the night drew in, we were all settling down ready for Christmas Day tomorrow, and we were both sure that it would be a lovely day.
Sunday 22nd December – North and TNQ
It was a relatively early rise for me on a Sunday morning, as I was heading up on the train to Manchester to spend the festive period with The Love In My Heart. I did at least have one positive in my favour – in that due to the loyalty gained via Club Avanti for travelling up and down with Avanti West Coast, this did mean that I was able to get a free first class return ticket. Of course, using that to get the trains over Christmas made a lot more sense.
I made my way to London Euston and had the time to relax in the first class lounge there, with coffee, snacks and cold drinks. It was pretty quiet in the lounge overall, and it did make me wonder whether this was because people had decided to travel earlier, or perhaps had already taken an alternative option (bearing in mind there was a strike planned which had been cancelled.) It was pretty nice to be able to move from the lounge to get to my seat and be sure all was good, which it was. The train was busy in standard class so was definitely glad the upgrade came in handy.
I did at least have a relaxing journey, with some coffee, a beer and also some hot food for lunch too which worked out well. It was good to be off the train and soon meet with The Love In My Heart, who came to collect me. We got back to The Love’s place, and of course Brian the cat was more than happy to see Mummy and me, with him having a fuss from me also. I unpacked and that was all good, and we were then getting ourselves sorted and changed for later on.
One of The Love’s relations had organised a get together for some festive food and it was at TNQ in the Northern Quarter. In fact, The Love and I managed to get the tram pretty quickly into the city centre, and ended up meeting The Love’s sister and niece in Terrace for a drink beforehand, so was good to catch up and chat together. We walked over to TNQ, and a couple of relations were there already. By the next fifteen minutes or so, everyone had arrived, so it was nice to see everyone – both of The Love’s sisters, The Cute Little One and The Cute Tiny One plus their parents and other grandparents, two nieces and partners, her nephew and his wife, so definitely a good get together.
The food was really lovely, and after I had the mushroom soup for starters, it was then on to the main which was the roast beef, with Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, potatoes and plenty of gravy. It was spot on, and a few of us went for dessert and that meant sticky toffee pudding for me, which was really good. Conversation flowed well and it was a nice atmosphere in there with plenty of other families also having get togethers. It is not the biggest restaurant, but certainly it was cosy and lovely, with our table taking up a whole row. Time sped by too quickly and some of us were soon saying our goodbyes.
The Love and I did head back to Cane and Grain with her niece and nephew along with their partners, and it was on the whole a little loud music wise but it was good to catch up and have a couple of more drinks too. Again the time sped by and before we knew it, we were heading off to get the tram back to The Love’s place. I was hoping that the time would slow down and be more relaxed before I headed back home, but nonetheless good to see everyone, and tune of the day in the meantime is the excellent Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie, which I heard earlier on whilst out and realised what a Christmas classic it still is.
Saturday 21st December - Christmas Clearout
One thing I've pretty much done over the last few years, during the Winter months, is assessed my wardrobe and looked at what I realistically do and don't wear, and work out what to do with the don't wear pile. I had sold a number of shirts on Vinted that I didn't wear anymore, but at the same time some of them didn't sell, so are still in the wardrobe and taking up space. At the same time, I did wonder if I had maybe a few too many pairs of jeans and what to do there. Both decisions would come around primarily as I was packing my large case for heading up to Manchester to see The Love In My Heart, so that helped once I'd got the clothes I was taking into the case.
In essence, I knew some clothes were wearable again, and all had been washed and were clean, so I basically had two bags, one for the clothes that I would be donating to charity,and the other for ones that I was going to do some textiles recycling with. Either way, nothing would go to waste, help good causes and clear the wardrobe out. It didn't take long for me to work out the piles and with both bags in tow, I left and headed off for the Princess Alice Hospice shop, called Alice's Attic, where the staff were more than happy to accept the donation and have some more items in their shop too.
From there I then head off on the 412 bus, which takes you on the road out of Croydon uphill and past the Croham Hurst woodland as it climbs further, with overhanging trees meaning that the bus had to head towards the middle of the narrowest part of the road at Ridge Langley, before I got off close to the Sainsburys. In the car park there are three large recycling chutes which are all textile ones and all for Oxfam, so can't really complain about that to be honest and that was a quick and painless donation also done. I must admit the wardrobe feels a lot lighter now, and makes sense to keep on top of things where you can.
I did walk over to the pub close by as I knew that they did half decent food, so went and had some lunch in there. What I didn't expect was that they would have the rather nice Twickenham Brewery special Christmas ale, which was the Millionaires Shortbread Stout. And oh yes, it was exactly as it said on the tin, it tasted of said caramel chocolate biscuit, not too sweet, and a really nice fullsome flavour to the stout. That was gorgeous and really did make me feel more warm and cosy inside with the place too, so that was good.
Elsewhere it was nice just to relax a bit today in advance of travelling tomorrow, and with all the flat clean and tidy, bedding changed and so on, it was just a really positive vibe that I had. Even if I did hear a number of Christmas songs today and yet still no Slade, what is wrong with people. Still, Last Christmas by Wham is the Christmas Number 1 again which is a good thing so that has to be tune of the day for me no question, still a classic that.
Thursday 19th December - Noir Christmas
It was the final day in the office for me today, although not the final day in work (that would be tomorrow.) It was a relatively calm journey in on the SL6 bus this morning, although three sets of temporary lights might not necessarily be the answer on a busier day. I do think some schools may have finished earlier and that some parents, especially if their holiday year is January to December, may have decided enough was enough and finished earlier too.
I did decide to head to Coco di Mama near the office on the way in and treat myself to a posher breakfast, especially as their breakfast deal is back - a nice little baguette with bacon (or sausage, or both, or a vegan bacon variant) and a coffee for £4.95. The coffee is now their regular instead of large size though, but still it is a decent deal, and the bacon one I had was totally spot on and just the thing to start the day with, which was pretty good all round it has to be said.
The day was fairly productive, not everyone was around but I needed to amend the meeting room PC desktop backgrounds so that they had the revised logo of the company that has taken us over - and their design teams had sent me something over. That was easy to sort out, and I had already got the printer backdrops changed too this morning. In fact I also checked over where other such branding changes may be needed and recommended that I get a revised document template and be able to see what would happen from there - and could easily sort a few things out as needed.
I also spent some good time road testing one of the new laptops, using one of their security utilities, and working with one of the teams there to see if I was able to connect to the servers via remote desktop that we'd need to try and connect to in order to ensure functionality of service would not be reduced long after migrations. It all looked relatively positive to be honest, after some hiccups, so good to actually report back and be positive on that side at least. I did also recognise that there is still plenty to do (understatement) so that might be an early New Year revisit.
With the day done, I decided to head over to TK Maxx in Covent Garden, primarily to get some new socks and a couple of other things - because it'd be too late to order anything for delivery now. They had what I wanted so all good there, and following the back ways, I was able head to the Porterhouse on Maiden Lane. I was all set for the Oyster Stout when I got to the bar, but the I saw a Thornbridge beer - Jaipur Noir. Yes, it's a black IPA version of their superb beer, and I have to say, wow, just wow. It tasted absolutely awesome and definitely will be wanting to get this in can or cask form at some point - very soon!
I made my way over to Charing Cross station and got the train to London Bridge, changing for the fast Southern one to West Croydon and avoided all the carnage of Thameslink delays on Platform 4. Knowledge as they say is good power. I had a lovely chat with The Love In My Heart and settled in to watch the celebrity Christmas edition of The Great British Sewing Bee, which was ace. Sara Pascoe is back as presenter after maternity leave (yaay) and the four contestants were pretty good. In fact as the final made to measure round was based on Christmas songs, one of them, namely Wham's classic Last Christmas, has to be tune of the day.
Sunday 15th December - Derby Day Defeat
Today was all about the Manchester derby, as I was off to the Etihad Stadium in the afternoon to see Manchester City take on Manchester United. The Love In My Heart and I did though want to head out and do a little bit of shopping first, and knowing that the local Morrisons did sell the four packs of Babycham (always a staple for The Love on Christmas Day) it was a sensible idea to head there first. In fact online they claimed to have one of the beers I was after - the Kir Royale Sour from Vault City that I had seen in Waitrose the other day and supposedly in Morrisons.
Note how I said supposedly. In fact when I did get to Morrisons, we were able to find the Babycham no problem, so The Love was all good there, but the beer I was after was lacking, sadly. However on the plus side they did have some rather nice festive ales in bottles, including the excellent Rosey Nosey from Batemans, the Black Sheep Blitzen and a really different Winter spiced ale from the folks at Saltaire, who always make decent stuff. Oh, and because they were two for £3.50, the Peroni Doppio Malto beer as well which does come in a pretty swish bottle. I have had that before and it's very nice indeed.
Later on The Love was indulging herself with Downton Abbey on ITV3, and I saw the Manchester City women lose at Everton on BBC Two - the advantage of having a telly in the spare room is that I can always watch different things if we feel the need to. I did leave with an hour or so to go to kick off as I was in Level 2 of the Colin Bell Stand, and so had to walk around the other side of the ground. Once in, it was getting a pint from the fancy machine and a pie too, and having a sit down and enjoy those to at least try and calm the nerves before the game. Or so I thought anyway.
I was in the padded seats with an excellent view, and I think some of these are ones which are used for some of the hospitality passes as I did see some fans with lanyards on, so that probably meant they got food and drink too as well as the view. I was cheering on the lads as they came out and I just hoped that it would be a change of fortune following the recent bad results - in fact I did see the win against Nottingham Forest last time at the Etihad so that was at least something.
You could tell though that the game was edgy and both sides were clearly attempting to suss each other out. Mason Mount got injured for United and on come Kobbie Mainoo, which I thought actually improved them somewhat. City got a corner around half an hour in, and Kevin de Bruyne's cross ricocheted into the box and found the head of Josko Gvardiol who headed home for the opener. That was good and despite Kyle Walker's stupid antics following a clash with Rasmus Hojlund (he really should not be City captain behaving like that to be honest) it was 1-0 at the break.
The second half started okay but the further the game went on, for me, City sat back too much and the moment we changed the team and took off Kevin de Bruyne, we didn't look as good as we should. Matheus Nunes lost the ball in midfield and in his attempt to track back, despite Ederson having the goal well covered, Nunes fouled Amad Diallo and it was a stonewall penalty in the 87th minute. Bruno Fernandes scored the resulting penalty and it was 1-1, and that really on the balance of play (and it hurts to say it) was about right.
But then City lost the ball again on the same side, and no tracking back meant Amad Diallo was clean through again, he went round Ederson and slotted the ball in from a tight angle despite the attempts from Ruben Dias to clear it. It was 2-1 to United, two goals in two minutes, which left me feeling pretty sick to be honest. This one really hurts badly and it was the lack of effort for me which showed that the team wasn't good enough today, something which at least Bernardo Silva said when he fronted up to the media, as a true captain would do (take note Kyle Walker.)
In fact, Walker's antics in the first half, which were a disgrace, would be alone for me to strip him of the captaincy. That might sound harsh but the likes of Ruben Dias or Ilkay Gundogan would do a miles better job, and also be a proper leader who would be respected too. Would you have seen Vincent Kompany fall to the fall and play act to try and get another player into trouble? No. Would Fernandinho have done that? Definitely not - he'd have probably hit Rasmus Hojlund back with interest. And that's my point - true leadership has to be on the pitch as well as the sidelines. Tune of the day has to be Night Terror by Dream Theater - somehow it sums up the feeling of the evening!
Friday 13th December - Unlucky
The whole week has somehow felt unlucky but having an actual Friday 13th this time around just felt more so. I had actually posted several packages at the weekend and all but one had turned up - but my worry was that according to the tracking (bear in mind I use Royal Mail Tracked 48) it hadn't even been scanned for tracking properly whatsoever. With that in mind, and if it didn't turn up, I did arrange with my relation concerned that I would order a replacement of the same present for their daughter, and get it shipped directly to theirs so that they wouldn't miss out on a present.
So that was unlucky to start with but on the other side was the trains - or should we say, lack of them. Avanti Worst Coast had sadly fallen foul of the landslip between Tamworth and Atherstone, somewhere near the single platform station that is Polesworth, and as a result the Southbound tracks were reduced to one from two, meaning less trains could run. To make it easier, in effect Avanti cut down the number of trains per hour between London and Manchester from three to two, with the xx13 from Euston being cancelled. That meant my 1913 was a no go.
With the roadworks still on near Euston, I walked from the office to the station once more, and when I got there, the station was rammed, so that felt unlucky in itself to be honest. The only good thing was that you can now board an Avanti train two services before yours instead of one in order to lighten the load somewhat. I did have a think about what worked best and noted the 1833 would still be first out despite the train being delayed due to a lack of driver. Still, that worked and I managed to get a seat in Coach C fine, with a mass of people running for the 1853 instead which left a few minutes afterwards.
The nice bit of fortune I did have was that the train at least had a stocked onboard shop, and their meal deal meant I could get the nice ham hock and cheese sandwich (The Love has had it and does agree it is pretty good) and some crisps. Now normally a soft or hot drink makes the meal deal one price, but if you pay a little more you can have a cheeky beer instead. As I asked, the very kind person on the shop checked for me, and yes, the Tilting Ale (brewed by Redwillow in Macclesfield, whose brewery faces the tracks no less) was included. So absolute no brainer!
The train did at least keep to some sort of similar delay although it lost time somewhere by Rugby and again near Stoke on Trent, but was still the first one that would have got into Piccadilly anyway. The Love In My Heart was waiting for me and it was lovely to see her, and when we got back to her place, Brian the cat had a fuss and a cuddle too before we spent time watching Gogglebox, with the rather sinister Netflix drama series Black Doves getting a watch there and had a banging soundtrack including lots of Christmas songs and Mud's iconic Lonely This Christmas, which is tune of the day.
Saturday 7th December - Video Meanies
As it was predicted to be horrible and stormy weather today with Storm Darragh at home, and I wasn't taking the train this weekend, it was definitely sensible to be inside and cosy and warm in the flat. I did head out yesterday after work and picked up some wrapping paper and padded envelopes, so this allowed me to wrap up several presents, and get a number of presents and cards posted off - some in the standard letter box, and some that went into the parcel postbox using the Royal Mail Tracked 48 service. That tends to be reliable and always works, and you do get compensation if things go mssing. It also at least shows that a parcel has been delivered, handy when sending things off.
I had both the Commodore 64 and the Commodore Plus/4 out over yesterday and today, and for good reason. I was taking a took at the game Video Meanies on both formats, which will eventually show up as reviews on the Mastertronic Collectors' Archive (feel free to check that out if you have time.) I do have the original cassette for both, so it was easy enough to get the games out and load them on proper hardware. Granted, I could use a SD card solution, but it's often useful (and can verify this with a tape image with emulation if needed) to see if there are any loading screens, or any particular features to take note of.
So as the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 version was released first, it was loading that on the Plus/4. It soon all became more familiar once again as I played it, and managed to get pretty far into the game, working out a suitable route for the twenty four screens to see a good chunk of it. I do tend to make some notes as I go including if there are any features, and can refer to the instructions online if need be as well as the actual tape (when writing the reviews, there are good sites which have the original instructions scanned so can also refer to them on the same screen.) The good thing was that I remembered about the white walls - these have to be carefully avoided when going through some screens.
That was thoroughly enjoyable to play as it still was back when I had it originally, and this reflected in my writing I think. I was very easily able to note the original version here, and this has marked differences from the Commodore 64 version. That indeed doesn't have the white walls of death, but does introduce a gamble element when you turn on the video screens (it's off on the original version). You can then stop a timer and if successful, you can gain extra lives and points, but if not, you can lose a life too. If you fail to gamble, a message on screen does say "Chicken!" by refusing that gamble.
I must admit each version has its strengths and weaknesses, and because of the differences, felt like two slightly different games. As such, it will be a close call as to which one I like the best, but I can definitely say that both are well worth a look if you want a little fun game to play. The game reviews of the time when checking back were not far out with the views and scores I had given either, which shows it probably had stood the test of time very well indeed. Tune of the day is the title theme from the Commodore 64 version by Shaun Southern, which I've been singing in my head all day as it is rather catchy.
Wednesday 4th December - We Won a Game!
It was a half day at work today, and with good reason. It was off to Manchester later as I had a ticket for Manchester City's home game against Nottingham Forest. Obviously after recent results, and the defeat at Anfield on Sunday against Liverpool, we really needed a win to at least stop the rot of defeats that we had had recently. I did have a busy morning in the office which did at least make the time speed by, so that is something, and that did allow me to do some further testing as well as being able to write up some reports, so the time was sensibly used.
I had to walk from Euston from Holborn, primarily as there are some roadworks close to the junction of Euston Road where it crosses with Upper Woburn Place, and the buses had been queueing from close to Russell Square all the way up to Euston. In fact my walk actually beat several buses which shows that there was no point whatsoever of getting the bus. Thankfully unlike Sunday all appeared well with the trains and was able to get the 1413 up to Manchester and without any glitches, thankfully.
I took the tram over to see The Love In My Heart and because she was on her early shift at work (sensible to avoid the traffic carnage later) she had been able to arrive home in good time and be ready for the evening. Brian the cat was admiring the Christmas tree that The Love had put up last night, with all the lights and baubles on, and that included one we got a few years ago that looked like Brian on the outside of the bauble! (well why not.) In fact Brian was happily sat on the pouffle with the play tunnel we got him from Battersea underneath as he likes the crinkle effect it has.
After some lovely pizza for tea, I set off to the Etihad Stadium and more in hope than expectation. I didn't need a pie but did get myself a pint of the Meantime Anytime ale from the beer kiosk - it's 10% cheaper than buying it from the food and drink counters, and was a spot on way to enjoy a beer before the game. I was getting nervous as kick off approached and got my seat, but wanted at least to see a performance that would show that City were at least getting back to some sort of form.
Thankfully there was not long to wait before we got an answer. Some good work on the left found Ilkay Gundogan, and his cross was met with a header from Kevin de Bruyne, allowing Bernardo Silva to steal in on the line and see it home for the opener. Thankfully he wasn't offside. City though did have some let offs with a chance from Morgan Gibbs-White being well saved from Stefan Ortega, and Chris Wood missing when through one on one when he should have scored.
That miss proved costly, as when City went down the other end Jeremy Doku went down the left, cut inside and passed it to Kevin de Bruyne who smashed it home for 2-0. City chanted his name to the tune of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes (make that tune of the day) and that was all good. Once it was half time, it felt like we could push on from here, and so it proved. Erling Haaland threaded a ball through to Jeremy Doku, and he took on two players before cutting inside and smashing it into the corner. Griddy! And that was 3-0, which stayed thankfully the same this time. What a relief!
Sunday 1st December - Carnage At Euston
The Love In My Heart and I had a very welcome and relaxing lie in this morning after a busy day yesterday, and I set about making us some lovely breakfast to set us up for the day. I have no doubt that it was all going to be a really nice lunch later at one of our favourite places, and didn't want anything such as trains to get in the way of that. I have to admit that it was good just to be able to take things relatively easy, watch a bit of telly and then get ourselves ready later.
As we had some time before setting off, I did settle in for a bit to watch the early kick off for the FA Cup Second Round, as Kettering Town hosted Doncaster Rovers. Naturally as my friend supports Donny, I was obviously cheering them on, and after going a goal behind, it was relief more than anything to see Billy Sharp stab home an equaliser to make it 1-1 and force the game into extra time. We had no time to see that and I could watch that later as we headed off with the weekend case in tow for East Croydon and via the train and tube off to Warren Street station.
It was then our usual short walk over to the Crown and Anchor, where we had a table reserved. For some reason, we always get table seven, and it was no exception today. The Love had the chicken schnitzel, and I had the rather lovely fish and chips. They did also have the Titanic Plum Porter ale on cask, and so naturally I was going to have that one, and later on did notice an easy going session ale from the Fierce Beer folks, so again, an easy choice. It was good to see people having a Christmas festive meal together too and get in the mood for it all.
Once we had our drinks, we walked over to Euston and all seemed good initially. Then I noted no platform for the train back to Manchester for The Love, and in fact the two trains after hers were also cancelled. Not good. This of course meant I needed to have the wits about me and as soon as I knew that the incoming train was to Platform 3, we headed over to there and spotted a queue already, which was joined. I made sure The Love got on the train and got her seat okay, and then headed off, and with another train just arriving, it was a perfect storm of carnage.
In fact, as passengers from that train were heading along to the main concourse, the platform 3 had been announced for everyone else to get that Manchester train, and so it was total carnage. I stayed well out of the way and got the train home via St Pancras, but it wasn't pretty at all. People were stood up all the way to Stoke on Trent near The Love, and I was just glad she had got a seat and was at least on her way home safe. I do love her coming to see me, but no joy when trains are bobbins. Somehow Train in Vain by The Clash seems appropriate to be tune of the day there.