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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Tuesday 24th June - Wedded Bliss
It was a day off for both myself and The Love In My Heart today, as we were both off to a wedding - no less than two of our good friends tying the knot. We knew about this for some time and The Love along with one of their other friends would also be the witnesses for the wedding too - to make it all above board. I must admit it felt a great honour for The Love to have and shows the strength of the friendship over the years too, and she really did both feel special but also wanted to look special on the big day, all perfectly understandable.
We got ourselves some breakfast with Brian the cat wanting lots of fussing and attention, he must have known something was going on. It was then shower and change time, and I had my really nice Joules paisley shirt and my Next trousers which really do fit nice and with the shoes I got from Clarks recently, definitely looked the part and I felt positive as the trousers didn't feel as tight as last time I wore them - an indication that the plan to lose some weight is working well. The Love in the meantime looked stunning in her dress - a really nice length to it, scalloped at the bottom and in a jade green colour, and that with silver shoes and a bag was just gorgeous.
As the rain had been hammering it down all morning we decided early on that booking a taxi would be sensible, and the booked taxi arrived pretty much on time, and he managed to negotiate the city centre traffic, especially due to the aftermath of the fire at the old Hotspur Press near Oxford Road station which was causing traffic issues. As it turned out we were close to Albert Square and so alighted from the taxi and made our way to Lloyd Street for the registration office where the wedding would take place later on. We arrived well in good time and the other witness arrived not long after us, and so we were on time which was nice to see. Another wedding was about to go in, so we were able to see how they went in and it all transpired.
Our friends arrived as did the other guests, and we soon made our way in to the Pankhurst Suite, which was the main place they do the service in. It was a nice and lovely little service, with the two registrars being absolutely lovely and kind, and with smiles on their faces too. No music or tackiness was needed here, just a really nice classy ceremony and it was a pleasure to be there to see our friends married, and they deserve each other so much. It made me think of the years they had been together and the great times we've all had, and I am sure they will be dropping hints to myself and The Love at some point!
The weather thankfully had dried a little so after taking some pictures outside (I ended up being the official photographer albeit with the camera on the phone) it was over to Alberts Schloss for a celebratory lunch and drinks. The staff were super nice in there as they usually are, especially Jon who is a total hoot and always warm and friendly, and so not only did we have a glass of prosecco each to celebrate, but later on we had little schnapps shots of cherry and lemoncello prior to dessert too, and even a little cake with ice cream for the married couple. It's the little things but ones which make it so special.
For lunch, The Love had the Cordon Bleu schnitzel, which had ham and cheese layered in with the chicken, with a nice peppercorn type sauce and some truffle coated fries. It looked really good and I ended up having what I had last time - the pan fried salmon with potatoes, tomato salsa and some green beans. It was light enough to enjoy and I simply had to have some ice cream afterwards (as did one of our friends too) with The Chain by Fleetwood Mac playing in the background (which we all recognised so tune of the day) - and I had wild strawberry, vanilla and a cherry sorbet - which all looked quite pink and I am sure Little Miss E would have wanted that herself if she was with us!
With meal done, we were going to head to Brewdog but a power failure put a stop to that, so instead we headed to the Founders on Albert Square which meant we could sit outside (as it was dry now) but also have a good selection of beer too. I went for their summery IPA with guava which was really lovely, and we all had plenty of chatter outside and it felt all lovely too. The time was going by far too quickly and it was soon time for us to head homewards, where one of our friends was with The Love and I getting the free shuttle bus back to Piccadilly station so they could get the train and us the tram back home. It had been a wonderful day full of happy memories and it felt special to be there.
Sunday 22nd June - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
We got up reasonably early (for a Sunday morning at least) as we knew that Little Miss E and Little Miss O were coming over to see us so their parents could have an afternoon date at the cinema seeing the final Mission Impossible film. It meant some quality time for The Love with the girls, which I know she always appreciates, and I know too that they would have some nice stories to tell from their holiday, staying at their grandparents place and having plenty of sun and sea and poolside fun. And yes, we do want to head there ourselves at some point so we might have to wangle that in the Autumn if we can.
Anyhow, with the parents having popped over and with both of the girls all happy, it was time for the parents to head off and for us to have some creative playtime. In fact, Little Miss O had the little pram walker out and was using that to walk around with, and was particularly loving the Greek doll which sings a little song in its native language if you pressed its belly. Of course that got played a few times too, and meanwhile Little Miss E saw the Lego stickers one of our friends had handed over, and was making pretty patterns with the colours and arranging the heads all in a curve, which was super nice, and she was proud of her art efforts too.
We mentioned lunch and straight away Little Miss E said "Pizza!" so we thought, why not, and headed off to Pizza Hut for lunch. The buffet interestingly is now extended to weekends for lunchtimes, so it was relatively straightforward to get a table, scan the code on the table and do the order. We worked out that the buffet plus deal was better as this got you a refill soft drink and ice cream factory for less, and that if we did two adults and one child, Little Miss E could have a bigger ice cream and Little Miss O a small one to enjoy (as well as the pizza and pasta we'd all have and share). In fact it all worked out well in the end - the various pizzas were nice, the cheese and broccoli pasta is always a winner, and when the ham and pineapple one came out I got two pieces giving the one with masses of ham to Little Miss E so she could enjoy herself with that.
That was all enjoyable and we headed back to The Love's place, where more nice playtime ensued as the rain decided to come down (boo) but as it dried later we thought that a trip to the local park might be nice. Little Miss O was a little warm inside so outside and fresher air may be good anyway. In fact she loved the little bees you sit on and ride as well as the swings, where a little push for her to swing resulted in happy chuckles all the way, whilst Little Miss E was on the big slides and having a whale of a time. We got back just as more rain was coming in and before their parents arrived back from the cinema, so that was all nice.
It was lovely to have spent time with them both and in the evening it was nice to be able to relax together with a good bit of telly, and have some time for Brian the cat to sit on the sofa and snuggle up to his Mummy. In the end I did keep an eye on the Club World Cup game in the spare room and it was good to see some football on that, along with the Euro Under 21 Championship and an epic game between France and the Netherlands, where the French scored two late on to win. In the meantime and because we had played in the car for Little Miss E, the I Am A Gummibear song is tune of the day - she loves it!
Tuesday 17th June – Peel It Back
It was a half day at work for me today and was in the office managing to get plenty done, but also be able to be there for a member of staff to check over their laptop, which was dead as dead can be. It was easier to do a quick replacement and was able to get them up and running without too much hassle, and they were really appreciative of the time I had spent. In fact I was also doing a remote support call too where for some reason the colleague concerned was not able to do some connections to some of the drives in use, and so realistically getting to the bottom of that indirectly meant a few other things had needed setting up correctly.
My train to Manchester was booked for the early afternoon and with the traffic near the office not at its best, it was a walk to Euston from the office. And I actually beat the bus that I saw just in front of me on the main road, which says to me that I made the right decision but also meant I was keeping fit at the same time, which has to be good doesn’t it? Once with my lunch and on board, it was a relatively calm and quiet journey as the train sped to Manchester Piccadilly with only a few minutes’ delay and so was all good as I got the tram to The Love In My Heart’s place and of course fussed over Brian the cat when I got there.
The Love arrived not too long after and we were both in good spirits with the weather being pretty good but not too hot. My friend from Ulverston was heading down straight from work as we were both heading to Co-Op Live for tonight’s gig: Nine Inch Nails. We had seen them last at the AO Arena in Manchester a good few years back but as we both thought this might be the final NIN tour, we wanted to be there. I had managed to get us standing and with the layout of the gig at Dublin, we had some ideas about where to stand might work out decent. The Love made me some pizza for tea and my friend arrived around half an hour after, and was good for the three of us to have a coffee and chatter. It was the first time my friend had met The Love, and he told me later that she seemed really nice – and he was amazed to know it was seventeen years we’d been together, how time really does fly.
We headed off past the development works for the Etihad Stadium and were soon in the relatively smallish queue for Entrance C at Co-Op Live. What was good was that it was quick in, a check via security and then a scan of the tickets to gain access. I had both on my Co-Op live app, so I scanned the first one, my friend headed in, and I scanned the second one to enter. Relatively straightforward to be honest, and before long we were at the Founders bar getting a pint – although not cheap at £9 a pint. Ouch. I did spot later that the little Co-Op inside did have other cold drinks which you had to pour into cups after the tills – they did have the Seven Bro7ers Throw Away IPA but even that was not cheap at £8 for a 500ml can. Apparently you can get discount with your membership on the hot dogs and burgers, but the owners really need to think about the pricing – it’s way too much.
We made our way into the standing area, and as we thought, there were two stages with them both covered by curtains. The smaller stage was towards the middle, and then the large one at the front. We got a space close to the smaller stage so we had a great view of that and a good view of the main too. Once we’d had some drinks then the support act Boys Noize (basically a DJ with his own tunes) was playing some decent electronica, and that got things ready prior to what was supposed to be a 8pm start, but was more like 8.15pm. The curtains on the middle stage came down and there was Trent Reznor on his own, solo playing A Minute to Breathe (he composed this with Atticus Ross) and that was beautiful, with the crowd being silent and engaging properly. We then got a massive surprise and the first time played live since 1991 – That’s What I Get, a more mellowed down version. The small stage then had one song more – the title track from mine and my friend’s favourite NIN album The Fragile. Oooh, very nice. And we were only just getting started.
The instrumental part of Eraser played as the band made their way to the main stage, with some absolute brilliant classics back to back – Wish, March of the Pigs (even complete with its All The Pigs, All Lined Uo outro too) and Reptile. Copy of A and finally Gave Up from the Broken album culminated that section. It was just mad up front with some people barging around like loons, so glad we were where we were. The band made their way back to the small stage and this time Trent Reznor was playing the electronics near to where we were stood, so had a superb view. Boys Noize joined them for Vessel, Bones/Branches and a really deep electronica version of Came Back Haunted as well, very nice indeed.
It was back to the main stage for the last few songs, with the opener from The Fragile, Somewhat Damaged, playing and really sounding sweet. Next though for me was tune of the day, Less Than, which reminded me of all the great visuals by the iconic Jeff Minter in the video and had us both grinning with happiness recalling that. Heresy came next with us both blasting out the chorus “God is Dead and no one cares!” very loudly, with then Survivalism giving some more oomph. What we both didn’t expect was The Perfect Drug next up though, although maybe I kind of pre-empted it as I’d been singing the end part on and off all week on my travels, so was super happy to hear that being played and really loved that to bits.
The all time classic Head Like a Hole was next with some absolute mayhem up at the front as you can well imagine, with the crowd bounding around big time. The set closed, as often NIN sets do, with the beautiful Hurt, which had the whole crowd singing along and as one feeling that emotion together. As the final notes sounded the curtain came down with the NIN logo showing, the lights came on with the This Mortal Coil version iof Song to the Siren playing, and that was that. A superb gig, different set list from Dublin with eight songs making their debut on this tour, some played live for the first time and others played for the first time in years, so something for everyone. My friend did buy a t-shirt (£45 as well, ouch!) and we both were grinning happily as he said farewell and headed off back to Ulverston later on. It was brilliant and so glad we were able to share a quality gig like that.
Sunday 15th June – Out and About
It was a nice relaxing day of sorts for us both today. The Love In My Heart had something nice planned for us both, and that meant that the pain for us both of not having fathers around on this, Father’s Day, would make it nicer, so no pub for us for lunch because that would be pretty full. Instead The Love and I headed over to near Walkden and to Brew and Bee café where they do a good breakfast, so we did breakfast out. It was I have to say very nice indeed with a really good selection on the plate – bacon, sausages, egg whichever way you liked it, hash brown, mushooms and grilled tomato. The Love had beans also (I declined) and we both had a coffee too, and everything was lovely – the staff were really nice and the breakfast was very enjoyable for us both. It goes to show that having a nice local community resource is a big positive – and I have to say it was very popular indeed.
Once breakfast was had, we then headed back towards Manchester City centre – which took time as the traffic was getting busier due to people being out and about. We did though manage to make a nice stop close to the city centre and after finding a parking space, we then ventured over to Cloudwater’s tap room. It was nice to have the outside seating and indeed their rather nice 0.5% Fresh AF was the beer of choice for me, with the Piccadilly Pilsner being a good selection for The Love. It was just nice to chatter outside and see all the people heading to the vintage clothing market place opposite which definitely for me was somewhere I will have to try out sometime, without hestitation.
We got back to The Love’s place and of course Brian the cat was wanting a good play out, as you would expect. He was more than happy to have some fresh air and playtime and was admiring the plants on the patio which look really nice now, whilst a little bird went past and Brian was on it with eyes on, as he usually is. It was nice just to relax during the afternoon and we also had a game of Scrabble too whilst the Downton Abbey episodes were on ITV3, perfect for The Love as it is always feel good television for her. I think she will be wanting to see the final film later this year (understatement right there) so that will be one I think is an Everyman cinema job, potentially.
The Love made us some lovely food too – some steak which was well done and was really tender, and with that some triple cooked chips and a number of vegetables including carrots, broccoli and sugar snap peas. I have to say I really enjoyed that a lot as well as the tiramisu little desserts where the little glass espresso mugs they come in are perfect for other uses, so The Love tends to keep those and have them recycled in a good way. It was just nice to be able to chill out together and that was also showing how quick time was passing as before long it was time to head to Manchester Piccadilly station and to get the train back to London Euston.
It was relatively calm on the train overall and it was just good to kick back with some tunes on the trusty iPod too. As I was heading to a gig later this week it was nice to be able to play some tunes by the band I am seeing (Nine Inch Nails) and with the iconic Pretty Hate Machine album on there, that had to get a play. To this day I still adore Sin to bits, and that has to be tune of the day – I even did an electronic Commodore 64 version of it for a friend, which he absolutely enjoyed a lot, even me adding parts from the Lies Control Mix as well as the standard version, because, well I can.
Saturday 14th June – Currying Favour
It was off to Manchester Piccadilly on a relatively early start this morning, leaving my flat at around 0645 and because of the train diversions for Thameslink, I got the Southern train to London Victoria followed by the tube to Euston, and was there in plenty of time for the 0813 departure to Manchester Piccadilly. It was relatively calm and quiet on the train and as The Love In My Heart had a well earned lie in, I decided that the best course of action was to take the tram once I got into Piccadilly. At the moment only one tram platform is operational due to engineering works and knew I had missed a tram anyway, so got some essentials from Sainsburys in the station before heading on the tram.
The Love was all good and Brian the cat was of course snuggled up alongside his Mummy on the sofa. The Love’s sister was heading over later and they would be off to the cemetery for a little bit before then having a coffee and catch up. As The Love left for the cemetery, the rain started to come in and lash it down for a few minutes, but she timed her dash well and the passing shower had stopped later on so that was at least something for her anyway. That was a positive, and once all done it was a well earned coffee back at The Love’s place as well as a check on the weather for later on, as we were heading out and hopefully outside too.
My auntie had invited some of the family over to her place for an afternoon, hopefully in her nice back garden with some food and drinks too which would be nice. The weather was clouding over a little but hopefully that would ease, and we made our way there to be greeted by my auntie and she was pleased to see us both. She had said that Little Miss E and Little Miss O could have come too, but they already had plans with their parents. Nonetheless it was a nice and appreciated gesture. We got ourselves comfortable and my brother handed over a belated birthday present – a mug with the iconic Toastrack building in Manchester on it. He had ordered one before but Evri did a classic “Evri time we chuck your parcel over the fence” and had smashed the contents inside, so he had to order another for me, hence the delay. It looks fab too.
It was good to spend time with the two nephews and their children, who are all so adorable and lovely. In fact one of them (Little Miss M) was playing on the slide and wanted me to stand either side of the slide so she could go under my legs as she headed down – which was nice. It was then about throwing the ball to her as she slid down to see if she could catch it – which the other two girls (Little Miss A and Little Miss I) both were enjoying too and wanted to have a go, so that was all lovely. I think it was a good distraction for them anyway. My auntie’e friend (and relative to the girlfriend of one of my nephews) had made a mutton curry, and I have to say, it was really nice. The Love had some too and she was also of the same opinion.
We spent a good few hours there before saying our fond farewells and heading homewards for the evening. The Love had got me some Thornbridge Jaipur ale in nice bottles and also a St Austell Mena Dhu stout, so she excelled herself there in the beer selection department. We settled in for the evening and she did watch some royal related programmes which certainly was enjoyable for her. We did also see a thing on Channel 5 about the year 1974 and some of the controversies at the time, including Miss World, the three day week and also what was the music of the time too. Queen’s iconic Killer Queen was released that year and is a classic, so tune of the day it most definitely is.
Sunday 8th June - From Battersea to Putney
I decided today that getting back on the bike and doing some cycling would work out pretty well, not least because I wanted to keep up the fact I've been doing more walking and generally being fitter lately, as well as a better diet which does make me feel like I've lost a little weight and be less lethargic as a result. I thought about two options: Battersea Park to the West and Victoria Park to the East, both reachable easy enough by public transport. Then I had a brainwave - what if I wanted to cycle longer due to TfL's now 60 minute rides for anyone on a day pass instead of the 30 minutes for single use, could I do a longer stint?
So with the fact either way I could put this plan in action, and potentially do some laps of each park, in the end it was easier (due to the fact the Overground is every 30 minutes on a Sunday morning) to head to East Croydon and get the train to Battersea Park, changing at Clapham Junction. Once that was done, it was a walk to the park entrance and indeed the Prince of Wales Drive where I could get a bike from. Payment done, code provided, bike readied, and so I decided to do the outer loop of the park (similar to what was used for Formula E many years ago) and that was pretty nice - lots of joggers to be mindful of, but in the end did two full laps, 1.75 miles each, so three and a half miles done there.
I felt a need for a nice little breather so exited the park and walked under the railway bridge and to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where they have a really nice café on the ground floor by the main road, and the inside has nice pictures of some of their rescued dogs and cats, including Dave the cat who reminds me of Brian and is massively cute along the way. It was nice just to sit and relax in there, and had a thought. What if I cycled as far west as Putney, as there's docking stations a plenty there and I could go along the cycle superhighways and lanes, right? Not a bad idea.
So in fact the Rosary Gate entrance to Battersea Park not only has the docking station I used earlier, but also has the Cycle Superhighway 8 on that road, so was easy to pick up and follow. In fact the blue painted roads and segregated space meant it felt really safe, and I did the right thing and paused at all traffic lights as any traffic user should. I was soon at Wandsworth and after heading through the centre, CS8 ends there and picked up the road towards Earlsfield. I was going to effectively take a little detour and so once further down, I took a right turn, crossed over the River Wandle, and then headed to another main road, crossed that, and it was then along a slight incline up Brookwood Road and right on Elsenham Street, which took me to Southfields station.
From there it was time to head back towards Putney, so followed Wimbledon Park Road going North, and the turning left at West Hill Road after an uphill climb following that to the A3, crossing that and then a left right to end up by East Putney tube station, and along the main road then to Putney railway station, where there was a docking station around the corner (as well some others in the centre too). It took around forty minutes, but had done 6.1 miles, meaning 9.6 in all today, and a nice little couple of hills as well as stop as needed for traffic. I felt really pleased with myself that I had done that, and so definitely felt a little bit in the legs afterwards!
I walked through the centre of Putney and mooched in a good few shops and had some lunch too overlooking the River Thames - it was some nice chicken with a Korean spicy sauce, with some coconut rice to go with it. It felt really nice and admired the scenery quite a bit. I was tempted to head on the river boat along to Chelsea Harbour, but they're not daft are Uber Boat / Thames Clippers, putting Battersea Power Station in the central zone so if you want to get there from the west, it is two river zones crossed and a much higher fare. So instead I took the 93 bus over to Wimbledon and then the tram home (which of course is cheap because hopper fare kicks in!)
I felt rather satisfied having cycled a bit today and I do need to try and keep that up where possible - maybe with some lunchtime rides (more so if I do the £20 month pass for example) and also some other evening options, so for example if I am in Hoxton I can pick up a bike there and potentially do there to Wapping (done that before now) and then pick up the Overground homewards - which is also cheaper ironically. I have some ideas, but in the meantime I had to listen to Pete Shelley's Give It To Me, as that was used in the main for the theme tune for Channel 4's Tour de France coverage and that for me is tune of the day without question.
Saturday 7th June - Back on the Vanguard Way
It was a 50/50 decision on whether I headed out for another walk today. The weather had been forecast for rain and thunderstorms, which I would not want to be caught out in, and yet close to the walk start in Uckfield the forecast looked considerably better. After pondering, I thought that it would sensible to go but have my waterproof light jacket on in case it does rain, then I am covered either way. So it was off to East Croydon station to get the 0922 departure to Uckfield, and from there wait at the bus station for the 29A bus to Blackboys, so I could effectively continue my walk and do Section 7 of the Vanguard Way.
After getting off at Blackboys, it was down a street and past the Blackboys Inn, a very old but really nice looking pub - too early for a drink but I bet it was lovely in there. I crossed over the road and noted that as well as the Vanguard Way waymarkers, there were these laminated A4 sheets with arrows on. Reading one showed that they were for the Weald Challenge Half Marathon, which would be taking place tomorrow (so probably sensible I wasn't attempting this walk then!) - and that would mean that runners would know which way to go - as well as have to head over the stiles and other such things too. Made me think of the old song Marathon used for the Manchester Marathon in the 1980s performed by Susie Mathis (make that tune of the day)
I must admit the extra signage was pretty nice to be honest, and this section was a mix of country lanes and heading across open fields, with some lovely trees and small forest sections which did look lovely. One bit had me heading on the edges of farm fields with crops growing, and that was good to see that the path was clearly marked to stay off the crops (as you should). Once on another lane, I passed a farm which had free range eggs for sale with an honesty box before then arriving and crossing Scallow Bridge, and up another country lane towards Graywood House, where thankfully it was back on the trails and off the road.
After several miles, there was a second muddy section where it wasn't the nicest, but once out of that small hollow, the climb up to the set of paths towards the village of Chiddingly was lovely. I adored the little village with its nice pub and former post office that still had the old Brooke Bond Tea vintage signage at the top. There was a wedding due at the church and the two bridesmaids in blue looked really lovely as they waited for the bride to arrive, and thankfully the rain was still holding off. Once past the church it was on round the cricket club and pavilion and on to the next part of the walk.
The Weald Challenge had left us behind in Chiddingly, but sensibly the fields to cross from here were either clearly obvious as a path (because others had walked it) or were fields of corn but with gaps in where the tractor had been leaving two narrow paths six feet apart to walk through those fields, and that worked out well to get through those and on towards the A22, which needed to be crossed with care. After a quick walk through a field it was across to the Mohair Centre, a forest school with nursery that had sheep and goats present, and leaving there and heading across a field meant the end of the section.
I had to walk back down this road I'd arrived at and towards Golden Cross itself, so that I could get the bus back to Uckfield. Thankfully the petrol station here had a Londis attached so was able to get something for a quick lunch and then wait for the 54 bus back, which arrived on time and sped over to East Hoathly before then making a break for Uckfield itself, and I arrived close to the train station with around seven minutes to spare before the train left - good timing really as the trains are hourly so wanted to time this well. And that was all good, so headed swiftly back to East Croydon.
Friday 6th June - Hersh in Haggerston
It was off to the office in Hoxton today, so back under the railway arches there. I had wanted to get a few things sorted prior to Monday's collection for recycling (including checking any tech we may need to include) but also this did mean I'd be nearer tonight's gig literally up the road in Haggerston - thus killing two proverbial birds with one stone and all that. It was genuinely nice to be in there today because there were some good colleagues I get on really well with, who are definitely going to be ones I may end up missing over the next few months as some of our roles change. It did feel upwardly positive today at least which was something.
In the meantime, I sorted out some of the remnants of some of the old systems a bit more today - including removing un-used driver packages and the necessary drivers to go with it. In effect you do the reverse of how you would add the drivers and driver packages, so for me in ConfigMgr it's remove the driver package from the distribution points, then remove the driver package, then any categories for that driver package you put in. Once done, you can then check your driver store and see if there are drivers without any associations, and if so, remove them to keep it tidy. If that happens to be all drivers within a folder (the content source location is key here) you can remove that as well as the driver package folder and claim some space back on your source servers. Winning.
After work I decided my sensible course of action was to head somewhere for tea that was close to the gig venue, and noted that Tonkotsu was literally a few arches away from the venue. I booked to be on the safe side and had a nice table in their covered outside space, which looked really good. What was also good for me was the fact they had Thornbridge beer - no less than the Mikan Shimonda, which is made with Tonkotsu in mind as a co-op. It's lovely pale with satsuma flavours in, and just the thing to go with a ramen or katsu. In the end I went for the king prawn katsu curry and that was gorgeous - really did taste lovely and the king prawns and the outer coating were stunning. Definitely going to have to go back there again and try their pork ramen.
With that in mind, it was back over to the venue for tonight's gig - the Signature Brew taproom, which is under one of the arches close to the Regent's Canal. They do have outside tables under the railway bridge which face the canal, which is good, but obviously if an event is on, that doesn't get used once that event starts. It was a showcase for artists signed to Fire Records, of which tonight's headliner and one of my all time favourites, Kristin Hersh, was playing. I was worried during the week as some Throwing Muses gigs had been cancelled due to Kristin's voice issues (in fact the ones after London were all cancelled) so was just hoping it would all work out and with a pint of Signature's Lo-Fi pale ale (the 0.5% one) it was time to check the acts out.
First up was Graham Reynolds, who promptly got very artistic by deciding that cymbals did not need any drums, they would make their own noise clattering into the floor instead. There were also some real soundscapes set up with the synth piano and the big booming classical bass drum as backing, and felt very much film soundtrack like in the lengthy pieces he performed - no surprise really considering he did the soundtrack for A Scanner Darkly amongst others. May have to check out his album Mountain as some of the soundscapes certainly were different.
Then it was onwards with MEMORIALS (note that their band name is intentionally capitalised), a two piece in the main and with one of them playing drums and occasional other instruments and backing, and a singer who would play synths and saxophones as well as craft all sorts of sounds from the equipment. Again, this was quite experimental in parts and definitely would not be everyone's cup of tea whatsoever, but reminded me a little of the more adventurous side of Stereolab, and the avant-garde attitude of early Cabaret Voltaire, added with pop sensibilties sandwiched in between. Acceptable Experience was a highlight for me, the opener from their debut album Memorial Waterslides.
That all set the scene nicely for Kristin Hersh, and she apologised up front for her voice being a little raspier than usual.That did mean to say that some of the songs where there is some real passion in just felt that little bit more biting too - and that was no bad thing at all for me. It was great to hear so many of my favourite songs too, so that was a plus, starting off with the instrumental Sparky (and so no over-use of voice there) and including the excellent Flooding and Mississippi Kite (both from Crooked) and her version of the traditional song Cuckoo, which had a fair number of us singing along (as that was always good fun back from the Hips and Makers album.)
What was a nice end to proceedings was that the support acts came back on stage at Kristin's invitation and together put out a lengthier more experimental jam version of Your Ghost, which just sounded epic - and definitely tune of the day for me, with Kristin really belting out the chorus to give it one final flourish to end a really nice evening all told to be honest. I shared the Overground with all the Robbie Williams fans making their way back from Arsenal's ground, knowing I'd been in a more intimate gig which felt more me (and I am sure Robbie put on a good show for the fans there to be fair) and that felt just nice somehow.
Monday 2nd June – Back to the Etihad
In all the years of being a Manchester City fan, I’ve been a season ticket holder for a fair number of them – and most recently, having one with one of my good friends until he passed away a couple of years ago. He was a wheelchair user and a friend I’d known since 1995, so when he first touted the idea of getting a season ticket, it worked out that I could go as his helper, and therefore it was a win-win situation for us both, meaning we could get to the games, see the Blues in many historic moments to come (a certain Sergio Aguero one in 2012 for one) and it also meant that we would be able to enjoy it with less stress.
When my friend passed away, it was a very sad time and naturally that did mean that the season ticket was given up (the helper cannot then get one of their own as there would be no wheelchair user to go with), and so for me I’d have to use my Cityzens Matchday membership (I still had one because of discounts for things like trains back in the day) and then try and get to the games I could do when they went on sale for members. I figured that if I was able to attend enough games in the next season or two, there may be an outside chance of me being eligible for one in future, and so restart my season ticket holding as such. That of course will mean much less stress for getting tickets for say Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal at home, and starting to amass more loyalty points too.
I worked out that I had attended last season 19 home games over the competitions that counted (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League) so this put me in the over 18 purchases bracket for the sales window, which would be 1pm today for me. I was a little concerned that the earlier window for those over 20 home games may take some options out, but they did say beforehand in the email almost everything was going to be East or Colin Bell Stand, levels 1 or 3, so knew that anyway. I did a chunk of work in the morning sorting out a few things about decommissioning some of our existing infrastructure, so that worked nicely and timed it so I would be on lunch during the sales window to see what would happen.
In fact, it was a relatively straightforward process. The sales window opened, I could click the button, see a map of the ground and choose where I would like to sit, and spotted a good spot in one of the stands to be able to get a good view. So with that in mind, selected that, added the FA Cup scheme as well (as they are more likely to be weekend instead of League Cup and Champions League) as if you are on a cup scheme, it is cheaper still. I then made sure the card details were all correct for payments being taken, went into the payment scheme accordingly, and within a few minutes, all done, and confirmation email sent. I am now once again a season ticket holder at the Etihad! Happy times indeed, and possibly for 2026-27 I may relocate to the new North Stand second tier once it’s open…
But still, that all makes me very happy indeed. Not least because I know now I have some certainty about games, and the Flexi-Gold season ticket is the first rung on the step. Effectively, you pay a membership fee, which is over 10 instalments if you need, and for each home game, the ticket is discounted by £7.50, so 16 games means that the membership is repaid back in full. In addition, if you do all 19 home league ganes, you pay the same equivalent as a Gold season ticket holder. You get the same seat each time too, with an exclusive sales window via email a few weeks before, so effectively pay as you go, but with discounts and the same seat, and the next year, you can then remain as is if you like, or go Gold. I do miss the old Value Gold option from previous years which cost just £299 and you got a random seat chosen for you (and was the same seat each game) but still, it’s a definite win for me and one I’m pleased to have sorted out. Needless to say, Supra’s version of Blue Moon is tune of the day, and safe in the knowledge that I’ll be singing that a plenty next season!
Sunday 1st June – Carvery and Cross Country Calamity
The Sunday morning presented The Love In My Heart with a long lie in opportunity, and she was going to take that understandably. Brian the cat was of course snuggled up with his Mummy as ever, and he only got briefly when I woke up and went to the loo, as he then was waiting outside the bathroom for treats – which I gave in to and provided before getting changed. The weather was a bit more icky today with constant rain showers in between the sunshine, so was a contrast to say the least. As it was, we did decide to rest and relax with some episodes of Escape to the Country followed then by The Love switching over to ITV3 for some Downton Abbey. I do remember some of the series they were showing, especially the drama around one of the childbirths and what happened to the mother afterwards. I did ask The Love what her favourite character was, and she said Lady Edith (and one of our friends does like the Dowager Duchess, played by the late Dame Maggie Smith.)
We decided that for Sunday lunch we would do either a roast or a carvery, as we had not had one in a while, although I was going to keep off the Yorkshire pudding and try and have more vegetables instead, so make it a little less weighty. In the end it was easy enough to book a table for later for the Sheldon Arms, not far from the Snipe Retail Park near Ashton-under-Lyne, and then we headed off there. It was good to have booked because that meant we got a good table in the area close to the carvery but also meant we had lovely table service from some friendly staff when it came to drinks and orders. We both decided that the carvery was the choice for us both, and with a JW Lees Light lager for me, it was all good.
The one great thing about the carvery here is that you are not limited to one choice of meat, if you want two, all good. The Love went first, and I went after she got back, and so we both ended up having the turkey and gammon (they had beef and pork too) with some roast potatoes, mash, broccoli, sweetcorn and some really nice honey roasted carrots, which to be honest I should have had more of because they were lovely, and all with a meat gravy too. The Love isn’t a fan of sweetcorn and went for the red cabbage instead which she enjoyed, but all was well and it was just nice to be out and enjoying a good lunch together.
We then headed back to Manchester city centre to be close to the station for my train home later on, but the plan to go Track’s tap room was thwarted because of no parking spaces nearby. However, we did get to Ancoats and get a space there (free on Sundays too incidentally) and the Makers Market had been on and was coming to a close – which we had been to a few times. It was Seven Bro7ers Beerhouse for us and I had the Schofferhofer tropical fruit Radler, which was very refreshing and hit the spot well without being too strong, as much as they did have a guest stout that looked gorgeous to drink. The Love had the Seven Beo7ers pilsner as it always a good one to have, and we chattered away for ages and just felt relaxed and happy together.
The time went by far too quickly, and it was off to Manchester Piccadilly station to say my fond farewell and get the first of two trains – I was going via Birmingham to try and avoid some of the engineering works. Unfortunately, CrossCountry’s train was late into Piccadilly and kept being later as it left other stations, arriving in Birmingham just as the train to London was leaving, despite me leaving 27 minutes for a connection. I was able to chat with the staff at New Street and get my ticket validated for the next train to London instead, which was all fine and quiet, and I had some tunes on the iPod to mellow out with (tune of the day being Please Don’t by She Makes War which I always end up listening to when travelling), but still, a stress I could have done without. The worst thing of all is that CrossCountry only do Delay Repay after 30 minutes’ delay (most do 15) so wasn’t even getting anything back either for the inconvenience. Meh.