Last Friday Mr C took the day off work and we headed off to Manchester so that he could go clothes shopping. We arrived at the station in plenty of time to catch the train to Wolverhampton. The connecting train from Wolverhampton to Manchester was slightly delayed. Whilst we were waiting the display boards and announcement system developed a fault and failed.  That meant that the staff had to resort to manual announcements some of which were quite amusing.

When we got on the train my reserved seat was next to a lady with a young daughter sitting on her knee. The young girl was such a sweetie and was well behaved even when she got bored towards the end of the journey. At one point she was eating sweets from a bag, one of which was a long jelly snake. When the snake was fully emerged from the bag she pointed its head at me and said, ‘hiss’. I said, ‘is it coming to get me?’, causing her to giggle and her eyes to light up. A bit later in the journey she put her finger to her lips and said, ‘Shhh’ on more than one occasion. Shortly after this Mr C snapped his glasses case shut with a loud bang. He then put his finger to his lips and said, ‘Shhh’ causing her to giggle again.

On our arrival in Manchester we hopped onto a free bus into town, where it dropped us near to the Italian Restaurant, Don Marco, where we had booked an early lunch. As we walked that last bit of the way towards the restaurant Mr C pointed out the hotel that he had stayed in a couple of weeks ago when he was in Manchester on business. The skyscraper hotel emerged from behind some classic architecture towering above its surroundings. Rather him than me! I would have felt really uncomfortable sleeping in a place like that.  The view from the higher rooms, however, is spectacular as can be seen in the photograph below that was taken by Mr C.

Lunch was wonderful. We sat next to the window with a glass of wine and the sun shining in, watching the world go by. The sun however was short lived; as we left the restaurant it started to rain. It always rains in Manchester! As we made our way to the shops Mr C showed me some of the sights that he had found when he briefly worked in Manchester a few years ago. This included The John Ryland Library, the building where he worked, and an ornate passageway which led to St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, the ‘Hidden Gem’.

We then made our way to Waterstones for a quick browse around, where I was tempted to buy a book by Antonia Frazer. When we left the shop we found that the heavens had opened and it was now pouring down with rain. I managed to take a few photographs but it was rather difficult juggling a camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other. We carried on to the other shops that Mr C had on his list and when he had successfully completed his shopping spree we returned to the station, becoming rather soggy along the way.

There were two trains showing on the board and that we could choose from. We elected for the slightly later one with a change at Shrewsbury. This allowed us time to enjoy a drink (of the non-alcoholic variety) before it was time to catch the train. Unfortunately our choice of route turned out to be a mistake. The journey was pleasant looking out at the sights as the train sped along but when we got to Shrewsbury the connection train was not waiting on the platform as it should have been. We were informed that it had been cancelled and that we would have to catch the next one! We decided to have a cup of tea rather than wait outside on the platform. As we were drinking our tea we learned that the next train had also been cancelled and that the problem was a train had broken down on the line just outside Shrewsbury. There was no information available on how long the delay would be. There was also a separate problem with trains heading for Aberystwyth where a fault had developed on the track.

The trains in and out of Shrewsbury had ground almost to a halt. A little while later we were informed that replacement buses for the inaccessible destinations had been booked. However there was no information on how long they would take to arrive. We were eventually informed that the first bus had arrived and that we should make our way to the front of the station. We knew by the size of the crowd that it was unlikely that we would be able to get on it. When it came down to it, the two people in front of us got the last two seats on the bus. The bus was expected to go Wellington station where people could catch connecting trains to their destination and then return to pick up more passengers. However the bus didn’t return! As we waited for what turned out to be over an hour, other coaches arrived for people going to other destinations and the track problem on the other line was fixed. Some people called for taxis and shared them with others to reduce the cost. Others called for friends to come and pick them up.

As we waited we were kept entertained by the antics on the carpark. There was some rather alarming driving in the car park as taxis and cars came and went. An accident was bound to happen sooner or later. It turned out the culprit would be a small red mini car which came in slowly and parked at a very jaunty angle whilst waiting for a passenger. When the mini reversed up to leave it reversed into a taxi! Luckily there was no damage. A food delivery lorry arrived and reversed close to another taxi before opening the rear door to offload the delivery. This didn’t look very safe and caused the taxi driver to move his car to a safe distance. After the alarming unloading proceeding, the two lorry drivers dragged wheeled crates through the middle of the waiting passengers causing them to scatter. When they went to collect the second part of the delivery they decided on a different route and nearly crashed the crates into a taxi that was parked up.

In contrast to the young girl we had encountered on the morning train there was a young boy behaving like a naughty little monkey. He was vigorously shaking one of the poles that held hanging baskets. I am not sure where his parents were whilst this was going on. Eventually a station employee walked over to him and wagged his finger in a no no motion. The boy soon disappeared.

Eventually a much smaller bus arrived and the last of the commuters (including us) going in our direction were able to get on it. The bus and driving were rather worrying and I wondered if it was going to break down. It made some alarming noises as it sped up on the motorway. As we neared our destination instead of going to the station car park (which caters for buses) the driver opted to drive to the other side of the station up narrow roads and into the town centre. At one stage he mounted the curb as he was trying to turn avoiding a taxi that had parked on a corner on double yellow lines. The bus tilted alarmingly and I had visions of it tipping over onto the taxi. The driver reversed up a bit and managed the turn on his second attempt. After he had dropped us off at the station I was wondering how he was going to get the bus out of the narrow location where he dropped us off. We eventually arrived home at 21.15, more than two hours later than expected!

I would have liked a long soak in the bath when I got home, but that was not to be. The water pump on our heating system had broken down the day before leaving us with no hot water. But that is a story for another day…

Later this year, in August my brother is getting married and my mum has been struggling to get just the right outfit. Mr C had offered a trip to Birmingham several times but she had resisted taking him up on the offer.  After struggling in the local towns and with internet shopping mum eventually accepted his offer. So today we headed off to Birmingham, timed to arrive for lunch before an afternoon of shopping.

When we arrived at our usual car park we made our way to the top level, which leads straight to the shopping area. We could see a couple of young men returning to their car, so we waited and drove into their space after they left. As Mr C got out of the car he noticed a wallet on the floor which contained a credit card and a recently purchased car park exit ticket. We waited a little while, and as expected the two young men eventually drove back to where they had parked their car and the driver was very much relieved to be reunited with his wallet.

We then headed into town for lunch, it was then that Mr C informed us that the Gay Pride March was taking place. As we walked into High Street we passed the Muslim stall, situated in its usual place, with the Gay Pride Parade lined up behind the stall and along High Street ready to process through the streets. Some of the antics that were going on made my 83 year old mother’s eyes roll…

Due to the crowds and a momentary doubt that the sandwich shop that Mr C had in mind might be closed, he suggested we eat in the Pavilions food court instead. I was not keen on the idea and reminded him of the alternative options that were near to the sandwich shop of choice. We made our way past the crowds (including a Christian Evangelist shouting at passers by) into a quiet area of Birmingham where we enjoyed a sandwich made to order in Tuckers, which despite Mr C’s momentary doubt, was very much open.

This set us up for an afternoon of shopping. After some deliberation… mum got a wedding outfit then found a hat and a bag to accompany it. Now all she needs is a jacket.

A couple of months ago without even looking I came across the perfect (for me) dress for a wedding. I ordered it off the internet to be delivered to my local store to try on for size and I liked. Then whilst out shopping with Mr C for clothes for him, the perfect handbag (for me) was just there on display as I walked past. I searched on the internet and found the perfect hat to match the dress and bag. I was able to try it on today and found it met my expectations After so many gifts without trying, the shoes were a bit more difficult to locate. I found a suitable pair eventually!

By this time we were all shopped out so we returned home. Mr C chose the scenic route to avoid the congested (holiday) motorway traffic.

We concluded our day by dining on the patio in the warm evening air as the sun went down

Here We Are Again , a photo by KirscheTortschen on Flickr.

It was a great day all round. In the morning I had a hair appointment, it was time for a trim. The hairdressers were on fine form celebrating the 21st anniversary of the opening of the salon. There were cupcakes, balloons and freebies, I did however decline on the offer of a cupcake. The town was buzzing because the town carnival was taking place. I was struggling to get parked when suddenly I noticed that a car was just about to leave from one of my two favourite parking places. Perfect timing

This was followed by a trip to Birmingham in time for lunch, which was enjoyed sitting in the sunshine looking out over St Martins Church. Unfortunatly shopping was necessary, things were needed for the summer hols. The afternoon was productive and we got home just in time to enjoy dinner on the patio catching the evening sun.

When I got home I have to confess to falling asleep in the chair before my evening meal, which is quite unusual for me.

After the evening meal I decided to design and do a preview print of this year’s Christmas cards. I had no trouble with the designing but the printer and software programme decided to play up (as usual) making a simple job much longer than it needed to be!  The job is now finished and I am chilling out a little before getting some well earned sleep