Tag / Friends

by Gareth

Childcare fun!

This last week, I’ve been down in Bristol for a few days… to do a bit of child-minding! I’d offered to Ali to help out if she needed someone to look after her kids anytime during the school summer holidays, and it turned out that there were a couple of days towards the end of August where she had to work but couldn’t get them into a holiday club, so I took up the challenge of keeping them entertained!

I took a coach from Manchester on Monday morning – often I’ve taken the train down to Bristol, but it’s not that cheap, and it saved me a fair bit taking the coach option, and even with some bad traffic on the M6, I only arrived 10 minutes late.

We all just chilled out on the evening, but the next day, I headed off with the kids to the seaside! It was a bit drizzly as we walked to the station, but we were all in t-shirts without coats with the expectation that the weather would be better later on! Luckily it was, and we arrived in Weston-Super-Mare with blue skies and bright sunshine!

The kids at Weston-Super-Mare’s Grand Pier.

The walk from the station to the seafront (with the help of Google Maps on my phone!) was pretty straightforward, and we went onto the beach right away, so I could buy myself a coffee, and the kids could do a bit of digging in the sand! Then it was over to the Grand Pier, where I bought us a big bag of fresh donuts for us all to attack during the day, and got the kids wristbands so they could go on all the rides at the end of the pier.

They got through a lot of 2ps!

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by Gareth

Gig stuff

Been to a couple of pretty big gigs over the last two weeks. First off was last week when I finally got to see Foo Fighters live!

I’d originally bought a ticket to see them play in 2022, but obviously with the sad death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, the whole of that tour was cancelled. Anyway, I bought some tickets when this new tour was announced last summer, so had been looking forward to it for quite a while!

I bought 4 tickets in total, so a few weeks beforehand, Abhi took a couple of tickets off me for him and his friend Caz, and then Ali travelled up from Bristol to come along as well!

Ali, me, Abhi and Caz.

We all took the tram in together from East Didsbury, and arrived at Old Trafford Cricket Ground whilst the first of the two support acts was playing. I’d not heard of the first group, but the second support was from Wet Leg, and I do know a few of their songs. During this, the heavens opened, and we all got a bit wet – the weather forecast for the evening had said there’d be rain, but was supposed to clear by the time the Foo Fighters were to appear, and luckily it did!

Foo Fighters at Old Trafford.

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by Gareth

Half Term & Reunion Plan C

Over half term week starting at the end of October, Mum and Chloe came up to visit, and they arrived by train on the Sunday evening – a bit later planned because Chloe had originally forgotten her coat, and had to go back home to get it before returning to Tamworth to get the train with mum! On Monday, it was quite rainy, so I drove us all over to The Trafford Centre where we had lunch, and had a bit of a look around the shops. The next day was a bit drier, so we went into Stockport – mum had mentioned that she’d never been into the town on her previous visits here, so I gave them a bit of a walking tour, through some of the new developments to the Underbanks, the Market Hall and Produce Hall.

Chloe and me outside the Produce Hall in Stockport.

When Brandon came up to visit back in February, we all went to Junkyard Golf (where mum won!), so with Chloe here we decided to try another crazy golf venue in Manchester city centre – Treetop Golf. I’d found it by accident whilst doing a Google search – it’s basically above the Printworks, but the entrance is hidden away on Dantzic Street, away from the main bit. But I was really impressed with how they’ve done it. The theming is really good, and feels so much bigger than Junkyard Golf. Also, because we arrived early, we were able to go round both courses for the price of one, so we ended up spending a good couple of hours there.

Me, Chloe and mum at Treetop Golf.

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by Gareth

Video games and Bristol visitors

Lee at Arcade Club.

Last month, I spent a fun evening at Arcade Club in Bury with Michael and Lee. We went there back in January, and they have 4 floors of arcade machines and some other classic games from the 70s up to now! Just like my first time, my gaming skills weren’t the greatest, but it was really nice to catch up with both Michael and Lee – I’d seen Lee briefly whilst in Edinburgh in August, but I don’t think I’d seen Michael since our last time doing this.

Michael and Lee.

Michael at Arcade Club.

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by Gareth

Music Of The Spheres

I saw Coldplay live this week and they were awesome!

I bought tickets when they went on sale last year, and it was really difficult getting any! The last 3 times I’ve seen them, I’ve been able to get a spot down on the main floor, but by the time I did manage to get through to buy some, there were only a few seats left up in the highest tiers, so I ended up buying 3 seated tickets pretty close to the stage, but way high up in the top section.

So about five or six weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook that I had a couple of spare tickets for Thursday’s gig, and the first to respond was Ali, closely followed by Jon (who actually came with me to see them back in 2012!)

Me, Ali and Jon waiting for Coldplay!

Both Ali and Jon arrived in Stockport in the afternoon – Ali drove up from Bristol, and Jon came from Bedford via a combination of buses and trains after his National Express bus left without him (just to add some jeopardy into the day!)

We then took the tram to the Etihad Stadium, and got there just before seven o’clock, so decided to buy some food before going in, so we bought pie and chips for tea! We made it to our seats just in time for a support set from the band Chvrches. I don’t know loads of their stuff, but what I have heard I do like, so had been keen to see them play before Coldplay.


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by Gareth

A week away in Spain

Me in Suances.

Just been on a really great holiday in northern Spain during the Easter break. I’d mentioned to Ali after after Scotland that if she ever needed a hand with the kids on a trip in the future (and also to cut costs!) to give me a shout… well a few weeks ago, she called me to say she’d been offered the use of a holiday apartment by a Spanish friend of hers, in the small coastal town of Suances, just over half an hour west of the city of Santander, and wondered if I wanted to tag along with them.

We flew out from Birmingham airport on the Bank Holiday Monday, so I went to stay at my mum’s over the weekend, and then took the train to the airport from there. I’d not flown by Ryan Air before, so was expecting the worst, but to be honest it was fine! Whilst on the plane, Ali realised that she’d left her money and cards at home – they were in her coat that she decided not to bring at the last minute! She had Apple Pay on her phone, so she was able to pay for some things, but our first issue was that the car had been hired in her name, and was booked using her credit card, and the car hire company couldn’t give us a car without having the physical card! We were able to add me onto the hire (which we’d avoided beforehand to save money) and then make me the main driver so I could use my card instead.

Anyway, we eventually left Santander airport and got to Suances late afternoon, and after meeting a lady in a car park to collect some keys(!) arrived at the apartment. It was really nice, and a decent size – and since the weather was pretty sunny, we walked down to the beach early evening. Ali and the kids  went in the sea for a bit, whilst I decided to stay dry and enjoy the sunny evening sitting on the sand!

Ali and the kids in Suances.

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by Gareth

Half term adventures

I had some fun adventures last month, coinciding with February’s half term holidays, in Scotland, Bristol and at home!

It started on the 9th February when I took a train up to Glasgow… well, as usual, that didn’t go entirely to plan! As I was on the train to get my connection from Manchester to Glasgow, I discovered that the Glasgow train had been kind of cancelled, in that all the stops prior to Lancaster had been scrapped because of a lack of drivers. I managed to get on another train that was heading north, and by some miracle got myself to Lancaster ahead of the time that my original train was leaving there, so I did eventually get on my actual train!

So I checked into my hotel in Glasgow city centre late afternoon, and then met up with Steve to grab some food ahead of our trip to the Highlands the next day!

Steve & Tanya picked me up on the Friday morning and we made the long trek up to Inverness where we were meeting up with Ali and her kids who were flying up from Bristol. We’d arranged it so me and Ali would hire a car between us, and split the cost of that and accommodation/trips so that it wouldn’t be too expensive! We’d booked a family room in a Travelodge in Inverness, so I had a camp-bed set up in the corner, whilst the others had use of a double and single bed. It wasn’t the biggest room, so was a bit ‘cosy’, and it was a bit of a new experience for me to be holidaying with kids and all the extra clutter they bring! Also we discovered that the bathroom door didn’t close properly, so I had to wedge it shut with my trainers when using it!

Tea in Inverness with Ali, Tanya, Steve, me, and the kids.

To take a break from the room, we nipped down to the marina to take a look around before returning for an early tea at the pub across from our hotel. That’s another thing when holidaying with kids – meal times are different!

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by Gareth

The Lion King and Arcade Club

Last night I was in Manchester to see The Lion King at the Palace Theatre – it’s in the middle of a run that finishes at the start of March, and I’ve got stuff coming up next month so thought it’d be good to get a ticket to see it now. I’m a big fan of the soundtrack to original film – I’ve listened to it many, many times, so it’s definitely a musical I’ve always wanted see.

The Lion King at the Palace Theatre.

Anyway, I only bought the ticket last week – there were hardly any seats still available apart from a few really expensive ones, but there was a single seat available on the second row of the circle for a pretty decent price. It had a note on the booking site saying it had limited legroom, but the difference in price meant I thought I’d go for cost over comfort! And they really weren’t lying about the legroom – there wasn’t much room at all between the rows!

The show itself is absolutely amazing! I actually felt emotional at the start as it opened with Circle of Life, from the iconic music to all the performers swarming onto the stage from the sides and the stalls.

The Lion King cast.

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by Gareth

Weekend away, and more live music

At the start of the month, it was time for what has become our annual UCECU reunion, coinciding with Bonfire night. I got a lift down with Steve and Tanya – they drove down from Glasgow, stopping in Manchester on Friday night when I went out for food with them – and we arrived down at Phil & Mary’s in Worcestershire early afternoon. There weren’t as many of us this year because Helen and her two kids had car issues, so had to bail at the last minute, but it was still nice to get a few of us together.

In the evening we went to see a fireworks display at the Astwood Bank Cricket Club, which as usual had a really good turnout. It was pretty cold – it caused me to get get quite breathless on the walk there, but I pretty much recovered once we were just standing around in the field.

Fireworks at the Astwood Bank Cricket Club.

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by Gareth

Cairngorms without snow!

To wrap up a very busy August, I spent the bank holiday weekend up in the Cairngorms, taking in the annual ‘Thunder in The Glens’ event. It was being held near to where I stayed with Steve, Tanya and Alison back in February, and this time we all stayed just north of Aviemore at the Macdonald Lochanhully Resort in Carrbridge.

I took the train up to Glasgow on the Thursday afternoon, and of course that wasn’t a smooth journey. As I was on the the train from Stockport to Manchester, I discovered that my next train – the one to Glasgow –  had been cancelled, so I had to get on a train to Preston where I could then get the next one to Glasgow, arriving in just after 8pm – only two and a half hours later than planned!

First thing Friday morning, me and Steve set off ahead of the others (who had to work), taking a scenic route past Loch Lomond and up to Fort William where we planned to grab a quick lunch, but both ended up having a roast dinner in hotel restaurant!

Neptune’s Staircase in Fort William.

After lunch we visited Neptune’s Staircase, which is a staircase lock made up of 8 locks on the Caledonian Canal, and looks pretty impressive. You can also see Ben Nevis from here, but I could only see half of it as the top was covered in clouds!

We got to our lodge at about six o’clock, and waited for Tanya and Alison to arrive, and then just chilled out for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, we went for a walk in Speybridge, near to where all those taking part in Thunder In The Glens would be arriving later. We went down to the River Spey where Liza did a bit of paddling whilst retrieving tennis balls Steve was throwing for her, and then we took a stroll through the Anagach Woods. It was a really sunny day, and the woodland looked beautiful, and I even got to see a red deer, although a blurry photo of it was my only proof to the others!

Tanya, Steve and Alison.

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by Gareth

House guests and another gig

I moved into my house in 2002, and it’s been in a state of renovation and decoration ever since then! In 2014, the carpet in my bedroom was removed after having the whole room replastered, so I’ve just had bare floorboards since then, and there’s been none downstairs or on the stairs & landing for 18 years!

But now, I finally have new carpets throughout the house! It’s amazing how much it changes the feel of the place – it really does mean my house is finally starting to feel more like a home!

New carpet in dining room.

And on top of that, I also have a decent bed! For years I’ve been making do with basic single bed whilst I’ve been sorting stuff out (at one point I spent months just sleeping on a mattress on the floor!), but now I have a really nice ottoman bed with a reasonably expensive(!) memory-foam topped mattress, so it really feels like I’m now living in luxury!

New carpet and bed.

To be honest, it did take something to kickstart all this after living so long without carpets and a decent bed! Basically, Ali rang me a few weeks ago saying that she and the kids were going to be on a family holiday in north Wales, and was wondering if I’d be able to put them up for a few days if they came back via Manchester (so they also could visit some friends in Buxton). I said yes, knowing the house wasn’t ideal – especially for kids(!) – so it forced me into going out and choosing what carpet to have, and then arranging to get it fitted just a few days before they arrived! Also, I’d put off getting a new bed until I had carpet down, so it meant I could then buy a new bed from Dreams and arrange to get it delivered on the Monday, with my guests arriving on the Tuesday.

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by Gareth

Weekend in the Cairngorms

Last weekend I spent a few days up in Scotland, way up north in the Cairngorms. Steve Black had mentioned a while back that he and Tanya were heading up there this month and invited me along… so I thought ‘what the heck!’

It was a bit of a trek up there – I was making the journey up to Glasgow by train on the Thursday morning to meet up with Steve at lunchtime, and then he was to drive the rest of the way up to where we’d be staying just south of Aviemore. However, as the date got closer, there was news of three major storms hitting the UK – Dudley, Eunice and Franklin – which meant travel was a bit of a nightmare! All the train companies were basically telling people not to travel north on the Wednesday evening until after about 9am on the Thursday, and not at all on the Friday! I managed to get the train from Stockport just after nine to meet up with my connecting train at Preston (which was running), and for a time, all went to plan.

However, when we got to Carlisle, we didn’t move for a while, and then were eventually told that a train had recently fallen onto the overhead cables – the train before us had just managed to get past it, but our train was basically cancelled from that point onwards!

No trains past Carlisle.

So I then had to stand in a queue to wait 3 hours for coaches to turn up to take the ever-growing group of people to Glasgow! I was the last to get on my particular coach, which meant I had no choice of where to sit, and of course that meant I had to sit next to a guy who was so large that he basically took up half of my seat as well as his own, so I was having to perch on the edge of it! Not ideal for a two hour journey, and not helped by the fact the guy was chain-drinking bottles of lager!

I was supposed to meet Steve at 1pm, but I eventually got into Glasgow at five o’clock. I found Steve parked nearby and we started the 125 mile journey up to Kincraig in the Highlands. When we got there, we unloaded our bags before going into Aviemore for a much needed meal at the Cairngorms Hotel. Weather-wise, it was pretty cold and icy, but there was no sign yet of the snow that had been forecast.

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by Gareth

More nights out and a weekend away

Last month saw some more rescheduled shows take place, so I’ve been able to enjoy a few more nights out which is cool.

During the first week of October, I spent 2 consecutive evenings at the Lowry Studio Theatre, and first up was comedy magician John Archer. I’ve seen him as support a couple of times for Tim Vine, as well as on BGT, and also got to see him do a set at NSN back in July 2019 – but this was my first time seeing him do a full-length show, so I got to see some more of his act that I hadn’t seen before.

John Archer.

I think he’s really good, and very funny too, although having seen him before, I did know some of the things that were coming ! Also, I ended up sitting just in front of Ian Rowbottom and his family, and I hadn’t seen him in ages, so it was nice to catch up beforehand and during the interval.

Then the night night I was back there to see ‘Jonny Awsum Is Comes To Town’. Again, I’ve seen him do some support stuff before, as well as seeing him perform a show at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years ago, so was looking forward to eventually seeing his new show!

Jonny Awsum.

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by Gareth

Live music returns

With various restrictions being relaxed, various gigs that were postponed due to Covid have been taking place, so last month I got see three great bands – Blossoms, Snow Patrol and Elbow.

Blossoms gig at Manchester Arena, with ticket showing the original date.

A couple of weekends ago saw my first music gig since March 2020 (when I saw Stereophonics at the Manchester Arena a few days before everything started shutting down). This gig was also at the Arena, where Blossoms were finally getting to play their Manchester gig, postponed from that first weekend of lockdown!

I arrived wearing my mask, and I was a bit wary of the whole thing because it was the first time I’d been around so many people for about 18 months, and most people there weren’t actually wearing any face coverings! But it didn’t feel totally packed in which I’m glad of, and I was able to move around a bit, keeping pretty close to the front, but more to the side of the stage.

Blossoms.

Blossoms.

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by Gareth

Meeting up with Steve

This week I caught up with an old uni mate here in Manchester! Steve Black was making a brief trip down from Glasgow for a change of scenery, before meeting up with his parents for a meal in the Lake District. So on Tuesday he make a visit to the Trafford Centre to do some shopping, and I headed over there to meet him, and we grabbed a burger at ‘Five Guys’ (expensive but nice!) where we chatted for a bit, and then I left him so he could look round the shops properly!

Steve (and my dinner).

He was staying at a Premier Inn in Sale, so in the evening we went out to a pub just a couple of miles away – The March Hare – and it was actually really nice! I’d not been there before, but it’s definitely on my list of good places to eat at! It was good to catch up with Steve – we hadn’t spoken so in depth for a pretty long time, and I don’t think I’ve actually seen him since 2017. The next morning we went for a short walk around Sale Water Park (which I don’t think I’ve ever done before), and it’s quite nice around there. We walked around the main lake, and also along a bit of the Mersey, before heading back towards our starting point, stopping off at the cafe for a coffee and a bacon sandwich!

Steve and Me at Sale Water Park.

Also, a couple of weekends ago, I went down to Leek with Lee to shoot some footage of one of Gag Reflex’s outdoor comedy events they’ve been doing since Covid. There was quite a decent crowd in the end – it wasn’t the warmest of evenings, but it did stay dry which was good!

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