Dear Diary...
This is my diary. How things are. Or something. Please note that the diary is archived month by month, so feel free to click the links for the archives (which now will go back five years maximum):
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Sunday 12th July - Wimbledon Chill Out
As the weather was warm but we were both quite tired due to work commitments and indeed a later than planned match finish last night, being close to 1am for the end (bear in mind I had got up at 6am to be up and out to get the 8.13am train yesterday) we both thought that it would be good to relax and chill out for the day today, as going anywhere in a hot car, even with aircon, might not be the best option all round. I did get up earlier than The Love to see the highlights of the Argentina v Switzerland quarter final, where the Swiss had a red card due to a blatant dive (overturned from the original decision the other way based on the new mistaken identity rule) and Argentina winning 3-1 after extra time and setting up the game versus England in the semis.
It was good to have a later breakfast and then some easy telly, including the Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House, where Coronation Street actor Simon Gregson sold off all sorts including a Rolex watch that went for £6k, and apparently that was still a good price for it all told. I guess that someone's junk is someone else's treasure, and some watches are collectable and all, but still, mad really. The Love walked over to Asda and got some bits for a late lunch later on, and I settled in to watch the Wimbledon wheelchair singles final, with the impressive Tokito Oda thrashing Alfie Hewett by 6-1 6-1. Some payback after he had lost the doubles final yesterday to Hewett and Gordon Reid, I guess.
The Love had the table and chairs and the sun brolly out again, and it was nice to sit out there with a cold drink and indeed with Brian the cat all purring happily. He decided when it was warm to hiss at me for no reason (and he also hissed at his Mummy) so maybe he was too hot and bothered, and The Love put him in the hallway where it was cooler so he could sit on the mat there and cool off, which helped him a fair bit. With that all sorted, I settled in to watch the women's doubles final with The Love sunbathing outside, and us both chattering in between games and generally chilled out.
The women's doubles was a good match in the end and it was lovely to see all four players being respectful, humble and generally nice. The two winners, Hanyu Guo of China and Kristina Mladenovic of France, had only got together as a doubles team this year with Kristina coming back after injury, and showed their on court prowess well to win 6-3 7-5, but it was a lot closer throughout. It was just nice to see the respect and indeed how much it meant to them to win a Wimbledon title. With the ATP threatening to dumb down doubles even further, the British win yesterday and this today showed why it still very much matters, and it's great to watch as well.
Later we had a late lunch on the patio, and whilst The Love had made a chicken salad with some new potatoes, she had got me some salmon in a lemon and garlic topping, along with the new potatoes and broccoli. It was lovely and also pretty healthy too, so that definitely was a nice to have for me, and indeed she had got the lemon Estrella Damm radler beer to go with it, which was just the job, light and refreshing. It also was nice to have as the men's singles final got underway at Wimbledon and I maanged to see the first set and a half before heading off on the tram to Manchester Piccadilly and the train home. Tune of the day is the proper Wimbledon theme, Light and Tuneful by Keith Mansfield. Apt really..
Saturday 11th July - Hey Jude
It was an early rise for me as I was on the train up to Manchester to see The Love In My Heart, along with Brian the cat. Brian had been sleeping on the pillow next to his Mummy all week so having me there will definitely mean he will be hogging the bed as he normally does, more so to make sure he gets prime position. It's funny how he becomes even more fiercely loyal when anyone else is around, even me who loves Brian to bits and enjoys playing ball with him (when he is in the mood to of course, it is always on his terms as you may well have expected.)
The train was delayed being stuck behind a freight train on the way to Milton Keynes and then on a go slow north of Stoke on Trent, so the train ended up 18 minutes late and in Delay Repay territory. The Love very kindly came to collect me and then we had a bacon sandwich for breakfast, and that did the job well for us both. The Love got herself sorted and Brian was happy having plenty of fussing and cuddles, for now, and it was also nice later when The Love's sister came over for a chatter, and they were both sat outside on the patio with the sun brolly, and I kept my eye on the Wimbledon men's doubles final, which a British player was involved in - and won. So that was nice.
With the weather still being very warm we headed out in The Love's car, and having aircon inside it dropped the temperature a fair bit - it was 36 degrees inside when we set off, even with the car parked in a little shade in her car park, but this had dropped considerably by the time we got to West Didsbury and headed to Wallop (formerly Wine and Wallop) for a drink. I had a very nice session ale from Vocation Brewery and The Love had the Mahou, and we sat outside with a good natter before then heading to East Didsbury and The Gateway for an early tea, with me having the korean rice bowl and a Guinness Zero to go with it, so that hit the spot very nicely indeed.
We headed back to The Love's place and watched some telly and sat outside, as the shade comes over her side of the block of flats during the evening and being on the patio with a drink is really nice. Brian the cat also loves his little playtime out there and sits in the shade all purring contentedly. Of course we were building up to the 10pm kick off and the Norway versus England quarter final in the World Cup, about the only time I would not be cheering on Erling Haaland, as it is England first in that situation. With Spain and France already through, could we make it three of the world's top four sides?
The game was played at a slower pace due to the heat and humidity in Miami, and that was understandable to be fair. Norway did take the lead though when a cross or a shot (you decide) from Andreas Schjelderup went into the top corner and over Jortdan Pickford, and should have had a second, only Erling Haaland was not passed to by Alexander Sørloth, and that for me was the turning point of the game - more so as the ball came into Jude Bellingham and he waltzed his way past the Norway defence and slotted it into the bottom corner for 1-1 right on half time.
The second half was tense but Norway were on top and could have won the game had their build up play been better. They had a goal disallowed for an Erling Haaland push on Elliot Anderson before the corner was taken (but not so sure about that) and with the game going to extra time, who would be brave enough? We did not have long to find out. Morgan Rogers tried a shot from range, the Norwegian keeper Ørjan Nyland spilled it and Jude Bellingham scored, which proved to be the winning goal. Naturally at the end the England fans were singing Hey Jude by The Beatles (make that tune of the day) and he deserved the plaudits - now level with Harry Kane on 6 goals in this world up, with only Haaland (7) and both Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi (8) above him. Great effort.
Monday 6th July – I Like Going To Mexico And Scoring Lots of World Cup Goals
I had decided over the weekend that staying up until 1am to watch the England versus Mexico game, more so after a long train journey home on Sunday night and indeed watching the rest of the Norway versus Brazil game when I got home, which included two goals from Erling Haaland (yaay) did mean that I felt pretty tired. I also knew that there was to be a full re-run on BBC Two at 0710 in the morning, so I could get up for that, watch the game and then work from home – as I had some documentation to write, which meant I could concentrate happily without any issues, and that for me at least made much more sense.
Throughout my head yesterday and indeed today, I had a song by the late Chris Sievey, aka Frank Sidebottom, in my head, entitled Mexico 90 by him (and yes, I know Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1986 before you ask!). So Chris came up with the little ditty of this: “I like going to Mexico, and scoring lots of World Cup goals. It is very brilliant, on the Mexican football pitch” before cutting in with snippets of an interview with the former England captain Bryan Robson, and getting into a verse where you’re all dressed up on the pitch ready to play for your country. Of course, it is typical Chris in the Frank mode of humour (you know it is, it really is etc) and has to be tune of the day – not least as my good friend who is no longer with us would have loved that too.
So it was time for the game, and well, what an exciting game it proved to be. England did seem to play deeper and just go for either the longer ball or to hit on the break, which sort of made sense really, as the atmosphere in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City was somewhat mental, as you would expect. I thought if England got to half time at 0-0 that would have been good, but we did better than that. A nice move down the right following a good save from Jordan Pickford meant the ball went to Bukayo Saka and his cross was met by the head of Jude Bellingham. 1-0 England. Get in. And ninety seconds later, England broke free, and Harry Kane did the right thing and passed to the middle for Bellingham to score a second and make it 2-0. Bear in mind that due to the rain, the kick off had been effectively 2am, I can only imagine how mental the pubs must have been even at that time of night.
Mexico did battle back though and after a free kick was floated in, the impressive Julián Quiñones scored from close range to make it 2-1, and despite a couple of scares and some good saves from Jordan Pickford in the England goal, it was 2-1 at half time. The second half started with the same intensity from both sides, and after Jarrell Quansah had gone in for a tackle, the Mexican players were furious on the bench and were adamant it was foul play. The referee went to VAR, and yes, in the follow through, it was a boot down the right ankle, and the right eventual decision to award a red card. Unlike America though we won’t have our president intervene to FIFA and basically try to rig the competition..
England though pressed forward and with good play between Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon, the Barcelona man was cropped by the keeper in the box – easy stonewall penalty. Despite attempts to scuff up the penalty spot, a trick Mexico learnt from Paraguay the other night, Harry Kane was having none of that nonsense and slotted home the penalty to make it 3-1. England went more defensive with the ten men and eventually Mexico did get a penalty of their own when Kane was judged to have kicked into the foot of one of the Mexican players when he was attempting to clear the ball. To be fair, it was a penalty (albeit softer) and this was then despatched by former Fulham striker Raul Jiménez for 3-2. It was definitely going to be tense, but England managed to hold on and keep their defensive shape for a famous win.
Bear in mind that Mexico have only lost two competitive games at home in the Azteca before today, and that shows you the impressive feat that it was for England to go and win there, with the altitude and the hopes of an entire nation and the volume of the passionate fans in the stadium. For those who were lucky enough to get a ticket and not be ripped off for thousands of dollars to be able to go, that was a special match to be at, and certainly one of the games of the tournament. It does mean England play Norway on Saturday night at 10pm UK time, so it’s us versus Erling Haaland and co. Not ideal, but at least we know what we’re in for…
Sunday 5th July – Making Happy Memories on a Sad Day
It is a day that I always find difficult today for a number of reasons, but I knew that The Love In My Heart with me meant that any memories I have would hopefully be nice ones of us having a nice time and not the pain that I did feel inside. It was at the back of my mind and The Love knows that, and is always kind, supportive and caring for me and that’s massively appreciated. Somehow some nice bacon on toast just did the job and that was just nice to be up and about, with The Love and Brian the cat being all adorable as ever. We did have a few things to do today and that would mean we’d be able to head out and have a nice time, so that was positive.
The first port of call was Manchester Fort shopping in Cheetham Hill. It is not The Love’s favourite place, but she recently ordered a nice pair of Clarks trainers for the holiday, and with an online discount of £10 off the first order and a reduction in price of what she was after, it meant that she could use click and collect (for free) or pay £5 for delivery. It was therefore easier to go and collect it, and once done, and all sorted, it was nice to have a good look over in TK Maxx and see what I could get – nothing necessarily was there I wanted but did see a couple of nice t-shirts that if they were in my size I probably would have got – but I did like the style so will keep my eyes open anyway.
It was then over via the city centre and off to see my Mum for a bit, and had a coffee and a good chat there. It was nice to catch up to be honest and she did mention about the fact that she had booked some time away with a friend next year, so that was something for her to look forward to and to head down to one of her favourite places. She did also show her new chair which she uses with her small table when using her laptop, and that seemed to be quite nice and supportive, and as ever, had an eye on a good price to be able to do so. We did tell her about our little mini-breaks in Grassington and then Harrogate, and could recommend the first one massively, not least of course as we stayed in what is The Drovers Arms for the Channel 5 version of All Creatures Great and Small.
It was then onwards to get some late lunch so I could be nice and fed and watered prior to the train home later on. The Love and I got a nice outside table at the pub, and apart from the odd hornet buzzing around in the warm weather, it was just nice to sit and chatter and be together. The Love did try on her new trainers and that definitely for me looked the part, she will be happy having them with her when we are away, so a good purchase all round really. I had some fish and chips and The Love went for the Korean chicken and rice, which to be fair was a good choice and wished I’d had that too, but did have that on Friday evening before my train, so variety and all that. It was just nice to relax and spend that time being us.
The Love dropped me off at Manchester Piccadilly station and the time had gone by way too quickly to be honest. I got on my train homewards and although there were some slowness happening after Watford Junction, at least it was relatively speedy. I did have some tunes on the iPod to keep me company, and one of them especially for me is tune of the day – Another Day by Roy Harper. This song had plenty of meaning for me when I first heard it as a little kid, but now I have it on an album that was one of the favourites of mine and someone no longer with us, it has some extra resonance and feeling. I know that today was made a lot easier with The Love’s heart, and she is just such a wonderful person to be around.
Saturday 4th July – Meat Paste Down Your Face
After a delayed train journey to Manchester last night, it was nice to be up and about with The Love In My Heart, and Brian the cat in his usual mode of “Yes Mummy, I am here with the pillow because I love it” and basically sleeping and purring right next to The Love’s head on the pillow. He is adorable but sometimes he can just be a little bit needy can’t he? Anyway, we did have a lovely breakfast together with some nice sourdough bread which The Love had got as a little treat for us both. It felt nice and the fresh orange juice too was a lovely little pick me up also. It’s little things like that which make me feel lucky – her kindness and heart is just wonderful.
We headed into the city centre but as the weather was nice and not too warm, we decided that a walk along the canal would be a good idea. It was good to do that walk and get some fresh breezy air as we headed towards New Islington. It was not too busy and I suspect those who may be working towards the 1am Sunday night kick off for the England game in 36 hours time were probably getting their body clocks sorted. This did mean for a change we were able to go to Pollen, and I had a coffee and The Love a cold drink. Their bakery stuff did look fab and the temptation was strong to have a Basque cheesecake, but I refused, I was being good (well sort of.)
After that, we walked through Ancoats and noticed that the Spinners Rest pub had finally opened after a massive makeover from Joseph Holt’s. And what a good effort they’ve done – all their good beers on, a small but nice food menu and a good outside space to sit at as well, which we took advantage of. And.. where else can you get two pints in Manchester for just over £9 apart from a Wetherspoons? I had the Two Hoots and The Love had the Spinners Lager, which looks like they brewed it for here, which was a nice move. Overall I suspect this will become a local favourite and we were both very impressed indeed with it.
We then walked into the city centre and I had a good mooch in Vinyl Exchange and Fopp whilst The Love went in to Primark and ended up getting herself a couple of nice tops for holiday as well as a few other little bits. She had also managed to use the remaining balance on her One4All gift card despite the staff saying “you can’t use it unless you know what balance you have left” which she did. When we checked the till receipt, yes, the £9 left had been taken off the total. Note to Primark: train your staff better. We decided that a late lunch and early tea would be a good move, so it was off to The Bank and we had some fine drinks and food there – I had the chicken and chorizo which was ace, and The Love a burger, in a good deal where that and a Camden Hells was a fixed price meaning a good saving. Nicely done.
I was off to a gig later and The Love was heading back home on the tram before the crowds would heads to Co-Op Live for Kings of Leon, so made sure she got on fine, and then walked down Cross Street and towards Greengate via Exchange Square. It was nice to walk under the railway arches and see some new developments, and in fact close to where tonight’s gig was, an Italian restaurant Conni’s that did nice pizza especially as the family were originally from Naples. I didn’t need that but did get an oat latte to sit outside with, and the staff were super nice too. It’s the little things but I will need to head back here and try their pizza or pasta for definite – as their service was just spot on. Already am eyeing up the ham and mushroom farfalle next time around.
The Eagle Inn, the venue for tonight, was literally next door, and noted their outside benches on the front that led towards Trinity Way. I got the bitter (it’s a Holts pub too so the beer will be decent!) and then sat there for a bit and went inside later and to the little rear beer garden which has some cover and also heaters for the winter too, along with a table tennis table, if that is your thing. I found the little entrance at the rear to follow the corridor to the gig venue, which has downstairs standing, and up some stairs, a little balcony too. It’s not a massive place but certainly felt the sort of venue you would appreciate seeing music in – but granted it was pretty warm and humid in there, so definitely heading to the bar between sets was recommended.
First up then was an introduction from Ben Baker, followed by singer and puppeteer Phil Fletcher, whose main creation happens to be Hacker T Dog for the BBC. And yes, for UK folks, Hacker is a bit of a legend – in fact Ben had introduced him as a normal man and an innocent man (if you know, you know.) Hacker was effectively the compere for tonight, which was quite handy as Phil played in most of the bands in action. There was a little bit of a stage electrics glitch, but Phil soon returned to play one of his other characters Keith Teeth and had a little singalong there. Then it was on with The Pound Shop Boys, a double act with Phil and Ricardo Autobahn, and this was immense fun. Lots of TV theme tunes in one medley including Pigeon Street, The Banana Splits, Coronation Street, Fireman Sam and so on. And later some other themes too. It was a short and fun and sweet set, and that set the tone for the fun for the evening.
It was time to cool off a little outside before heading back in for The Cuban Boys, which is effectively Ricardo and Phil, together with Jenny McLaren too, with her excellent “strong female lead” t-shirt being worn. This was a nice mix of the old and new, using plenty of synths and samples, including a recent composition Praxis Makes Perfect, which is an homage to Anthony H Wilson and his influence on Manchester, with his speech being littered throughout. I did like that when I first heard it a few months back, and naturally over time the other songs were building up to the finale of, yes, you guessed it, their top four hit in the UK, Cognoscenti vs. Intelligentsia (yes, the one that sounds like the Hamster dance.) In fact it’s actually some singing from Roger Mlller played fast, but the band actually re-recorded the vocal (and then sped it up) for the single. At the end of that, we had Phil get out Hacker and sing the Hacker song “Meat Paste (Get it Down Your Face)” which of course lots of us sang along to and had a good time with, as you do.
It was off to the bar for a pint of the Spin Doctor indie lager (well why not) and then back to get a nice view on the left side of the venue to see Spray do their thing. Normally this is Ricardo and Jenny, but Phil did bits on keyboards too which was good to see. All three were having immense fun and smiles, and Jenny had donned a really nice sparkly top too, with plenty of smiles on her face as the set list unfolded. It was nice to hear Somewhere Out There (Someone’s Burying a Body), so that’s tune of the day – and the likes of Everything’s Better With Muppets, Anthologised by Cherry Red (a nod to that record label making anthologies of more obscure artists’ work), and the excellent Child of the 80s, which definitely had plenty of us singing along. Felicette (Space Cat) was another massively catchy one too which had plenty of joy.
It was such a nice ending to a great evening to be honest, with plenty of happy faces and lots of smiles all the way around. It was just one of those you had to be there moments, and was so glad that I was able to see it. I had a nice walk back to St Peter’s Square to get the tram back to The Love’s place, where I ended up watching the second half of the France v Paraguay game and how there was not a red card in that, I absolutely have no idea. Still, Brian the cat was back on the pillow and hogging all the space for all he was worth in a mirror image of the morning, and so eventually after the game he decided that I was allowed to be able to snuggle in, and get some well earned sleep.