Tag / Reach

by Gareth

Delirious gig, and Reach weekend away

Right, well it’s been a few weeks so I thought I’d better do a quick update!

At the end of January went to see Delirious play a gig at Liverpool Cathedral, and it was awesome! There was quite a group of us – me, Oliver, Rosie, Sarah, Emma, Colin and Caroline – and we also saw Fiona, Jules, Neil and Sarah who had made their own way there.

The cathedral itself was amazing – it’s 100 years old, and looks really cool. And it was fantastic seeing a band like Delirious playing there. I saw them play Coventry cathedral when I was at uni, and that was one of the best gigs I’d been to. The atmosphere at this one was brilliant, and they played a good mix of their new and old stuff.

The place was totally packed, and the view wasn’t the greatest because the stage wasn’t that high, but even with the weird acoustics of such a large building, the sound was really good.

Then last weekend I went down to Kidderminster for the Reach weekend away. I had to take the Friday off work because the coach was leaving Manchester at 5.30, and it would’ve been pretty difficult to get there for that time. Anyway, there were two coaches taking us all down there, and I think I chose well, because the other coach got lost and went north instead of south, and arrived a couple of hours after we got there!

It was quite weird, because the place we were staying at used to be called Fort Rocky, and I went there on a summer camp back in 1987! I had hazy memories of a lot of the things there, but the place was a lot smaller than I remember it – maybe that’s because I was just a kid then!

Jamie managed to dislocate his shoulder again playing basketball on the Saturday afternoon, and since he’d travelled there in his car, I ended up driving him back home, along with Sarah, and a new guy called Simon, who I discovered is good mates with Andy Chadwick who I knew as a kid, and was on the same summer camp at Fort Rocky back in ’87!

Check out the photos here.

by Gareth

Skiing holiday

Got back home on Saturday afternoon after spending just over a week in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland.

We left Manchester on New Year’s Day and drove down to Folkestone where we got on a coach which took us through the channel tunnel, then across France, and into Switzerland to our final destination of Lauterbrunnen which is a village just above Interlaken… it was a horrific journey – we were on the coach for over 18 hours, and I hardly got any sleep because there wasn’t really that much room to do anything!

Anyway, our first day skiing saw me get left behind by my lesson group on the side of a mountain, which wasn’t really the best of starts to be honest! I had to clamber back up through some pretty deep snow, and by the time I got back up to the top, I wasn’t really in the mood to do much more skiing that day!

Day two wasn’t too bad… until the end of it. After my lesson in the morning, I went and did a blue run with Fiona (who’s a pretty good skier, so was able to advise me a lot of the time!), and even though it was really hard work, and quite stressful at times, I had a real sense of achievement when I’d done it. However, whilst I was doing this, I fell awkwardly at one point and I felt my knee go as my ski (which hadn’t come off when I went over) twisted round the opposite way to my body. Anyway, it didn’t feel too bad at the time, apart from a little bit of pain across the back of my right leg), but by the next morning, I couldn’t even walk properly without my knee giving way whenever I put pressure on the leg.

So basically I wasn’t able to ski for the rest of the week, and had to buy a sports bandage for my knee – which would normally cost less than a tenner in the UK, but when you’re up in the mountains in one of Europe’s most expensive countries, that price rises to about £25!! Athough compared to Jamie, my injury wasn’t too bad – on the Thursday, he was off doing some snowboarding and fell back after doing a jump – dislocating his shoulder!! So rather than come back on the coach, he had to fly back to the UK, so it wasn’t all bad!!

You can see photos from the holiday here.

by Gareth

Edale walk

I can hardly move this morning because I went on a walk in Edale in the Peak District yesterday with Jamie, Ben, Cathy, Sarah, Celia and Ali… and I reckon it was the longest walk that I’ve ever done!!! We worked out that we did between 10 and 11 miles, and there was quite a bit of up and down with that as well! My legs are really aching, but it was a very good day.

We started off from the village at 10.30am, and we got back to the cars at about 4 o’clock, so we basically walked for nearly five hours not including breaks!

Anyway, the highlight of the day was a very funny moment that was pretty unfortunate for one person, but had everyone in hysterics! We were walking over a really large section of pretty boggy land, and we were having to be quite careful where we stepped because it was very muddy. So walking along, we’re all getting quite a bit of mud over our boots as we sink a few inches, when suddenly Sarah makes a step which ends up in her dropping through the mud… and she ended up stuck in the stinking bog with the mud now up above her knees!! And as she was there trying to get out, but being pulled back by the suction of the mud, the first thing that people shouted was “Get a camera out!!”. Hence the photo of Sarah being pulled out by Ben and Jamie! To see what those white trousers looked like after she was pulled out, check out the rest of the photos here!

When we got back to Manchester, we went out to Nawaab in Levenshulme, which is a kind of fixed-price-all-you-can-eat-curry-house… which is ideal for me considering I don’t actually like curry! But I made an exception ‘cos we were there for three people’s birthdays – Dean’s, Kat’s and Susannah’s, and there were about 45 of us in total! I ate poppadoms, chicken and naan, and had 2 puddings to make up for the lack of main course!! Then a group went into the city centre to go clubbing, but all of us who had been for the walk were so done in, we just went home straight after the meal! Such party animals!

by Gareth

Bits & pieces…

Thought it was about time I did another update! Not much has really happened in the last few weeks, apart from doing a few odd jobs on the house! Did my first bit of tiling in my kitchen on Saturday which was a learning experience! I’ll be discovering the joys of grouting later this week! I’ve also replaced some of the end panels in there, and painted all the cupboard doors white, which makes it look cleaner and bigger! Now in the process of ripping the wallpaper down so I can give the whole room a lick of paint! I suppose I should also do something about getting my other downstairs rooms finished, considering I started them about a year ago, and they’re in a very unfinished state!!

Sarah and Emma came round for some food on Thursday night, which tested my culinary skills ever so slightly!! I thought I’d try and cook something that I hadn’t done before, so I found a couple of recipes that required me making my own herby breadcrumbs and marinating vegetables in olive oil, garlic and herbs!! I actually surprised myself because it tasted pretty good!! Makes a change from the usual meals I end up having!

Also, some of the guys from Reach are talking about going skiing in the New Year, and I’m kind of tempted to go too. I’ve never skied in my life before, so that could be quite difficult, but I reckon it could be quite a laugh. The only things I need to look at is getting the time off work, and also whether I can afford it ‘cos it’s slightly more expensive than the holidays I usually go on! I think I’ll try and make a decision sometime this week.

I’m off down to Tamworth for the day tomorrow – mainly for a dental appointment (arrggghhh!!) – but it’s quite good timing ‘cos it’s Vikky’s birthday on Wednesday, so I’ll be able to see her when I’m down there. The only downside is that my appointment is at ten past nine, so I’m going to have to leave Manchester at about 6am! I think I need to try and get an early night tonight!

by Gareth

Weekend at Pres’

Spent the weekend down in Kent, meeting up with some of the guys from the CU when I was in Birmingham – Bin, Russ, Jon, Eve, Rho, Pres and Ginge. It took absolutely ages to get down there – I left at 8pm from Manchester and got to Pres’ house in Paddock Wood at half one! I thought the motorways would be better at this time of night, but no chance! On the M25, I was at a total standstill at 11.30 – you just can’t win!

Anyway, following a good night’s sleep (after watching a tape of that night’s Big Brother!), we went over to Tonbridge for lunch, and then went rowing around the castle’s moat! It has to be said that we weren’t really the best of rowers… we all took turns, and ended up in the bank many times, and also came perilously close to some big boats on a few occasions! I had a go at rowing on my own nearer the end, and that was a bit easier to control than pulling on just one oar… but I have definitely decided that sitting on a rowing machine in the gym is a lot easier to control – even if loads more tiring!!

The weather was gorgeous – in fact I got a bit burnt – so that’s my summer tanning completed then! In the evening we had a barbecue which somehow I pretty much got out of doing! Actually it was my second barbecue of the week having been to Jamie’s lifegroup one on Tuesday night, so I was getting quite used to burnt sausages and burgers by now!

Sunday again was really sunny – so we just sat out in the garden taking in the rays! I left just before 3 o’clock, and this time it only took me 4 and a half hours to get home, getting back to Manchester at half seven… arriving late for a quiz night thing Reach were doing at Jabez Clegg! I joined Dean’s team and they actually won(!), even though I came in half way through, and could answer hardly any of the questions! Oh well.

Have a look at my photos of the weekend here.

by Gareth

Walking up Snowdon, plus a new nationality!

I am aching all over! But that’s probably got something to do with the fact that I walked all the way up to the top of Mount Snowdon yesterday!

A load of us went over to Wales yesterday morning to go for a walk in Snowdonia for Dave Cieszynski’s birthday, and I don’t really think it had registered with me that Snowdon is in fact the tallest mountain in Wales! So we ended up walking about 10 miles in all, and 1085 metres up! It was quite a killer, ‘cos there are parts of it which are really quite steep, and it’s very rocky, so your feet can end up sliding all over the place!

For the first hour going up, I didn’t find it too hard really, but as time went on, it got more difficult. It took us about 3 hours to get to the summit, and the view from up there was stunning, but it was also pretty cold on the top! It was a bit quicker coming down – that only took about an hour and a half – but my feet were beginning to feel the strain by that time. And when I finally got up this morning, it took a little bit longer than usual to walk down the stairs – very painful!… and I’m at work at the moment, and it’s quite a struggle walking from one end of the office to the other! Check out the photos here.

On the way back, we stopped off in Llandudno and had some tea at Emma’s mum’s house. When I was lodging at Emma’s last summer, her mum and her dogs and cats were staying at the house whilst she was waiting to buy this one, so I got to meet all the animals again! Everyone was pretty worn out, and just crashed out in the living room, and I was so glad that I hadn’t driven there – it’s much better being a passenger after a day like that!

Other news… I officially became Irish last week! I received a letter from the Irish embassy in London saying that I’d been entered into the Irish register of foreign births, and that I can now apply for an Irish passport! This doesn’t mean I’m not a Brit anymore though… because my mum’s parent’s moved over here from Ireland, she’s automatically dual nationality, and because I’m next generation I can apply for dual nationality as well and I have! Steve and Vikky are going to apply as well, but we have to do it separately because we need to supply so much documentation! Now all I’ve got to work on is my Irish accent… to be sure(!)

by Gareth

New house… and a temporary housemate!

I am now a home-owner!! Finally moved into my new house on the 5th September, so I’ve been in there for almost 2 weeks now. I’ve still got piles of boxes all over the place, but I am starting to get there with my unpacking. There are quite a few jobs on the house that I want to get sorted – some of it involving a bit of building work – and I’d like to get them done sooner rather than later. But, when you look at everything that needs to be done, it’s really easy to panic and think it’ll never happen!!

I’ve got Jamie (from Reach/lifegroup) staying in my spare room at the moment ‘cos he’s waiting to move into James Torry’s new house which he’s going to be gutting and refurbishing. It’s a bit weird actually ‘cos I’ve lived on my own for the last two years, and now I’ve got to be considerate to someone else!!

I’m videoing a wedding this weekend in Chester which is a bit scary – I vowed never to do another one after doing the video of Reuben and Esther’s wedding back in 1997! This one I’m doing is for Steve Clamp and Claire Cartwright, who both used to work here at MUTV, and Steve is now working for BBC Midlands Today in Birmingham. Should be pretty cool though ‘cos some people that I used to work with but haven’t seen for quite a while will be there as well.

by Gareth

House update, plus trip to the seaside!

And another month’s gone by… I must try and update this news page more often!!

Well, still waiting to hear when I can move into my new house – it’s looking like it won’t be until mid to late August – the only problem is I have to have moved out of my current house by the 29th July, which is a bit of a problem! I’ve got to find somewhere to store a house-full of furniture, let alone find somewhere to live for a few weeks myself! If I can’t move in until the end of August, I may just go off to Soul Survivor for 3 weeks ‘cos it’d be cheaper than staying in a B&B in Manchester! I’ve got the whole time off work, so it may be the best thing to do! It appears that the damp problem isn’t as bad as it sounded, but I’m still waiting to get official confirmation on that. Jeb & Nicky (whose house I’m buying) were getting the house they’re planning to buy surveyed yesterday, so hopefully if there were no problems, things may start moving pretty quickly.

Was down in Birmingham on Saturday night to meet up with a few guys who were on my masters course at uni – Surjit, Don and Mike. Was really weird seeing them all again – we left UCE Christmas 1997 – but was cool catching up with them. We went for a drink in the afternoon at one of the bars on the side of the canal at Broad Street, and in the evening went for a Balti… well, they went for a Balti – I had my usual meal of chicken and chips, not being a major fan of curry myself!!! :o)

Had a really smart day on Sunday – a load of us from Reach went off to the beach for the afternoon again, and the weather was really nice! I took some shorts this time so I was able to go out into the sea – when we finally got to it! You can see some photos of the day here.

Work’s been manic as usual – last Monday I managed to do 23 and a half hour shift! (started at 8am, left the office at 7.30am) I’ve been working on a TV commercial for Manchester United’s pre-season tour, and had to get Sir Alex Ferguson to film some stuff for it, which stressed me out pretty much in the run up to it!! The ad is supposed to start running this weekend on Sky and ITV, just need to get all the tapes out to all the various tv companies now!

by Gareth

Busy few weeks

Woah, it’s been a month since I updated this…. how time flies by!!

Been a pretty cool few weeks really – I went to Alton Towers for the first time ever a couple of Wednesdays ago, and it was really good. We had some tickets that got us in half price so it was a real bargain. And I think we were really lucky too, ‘cos it wasn’t too busy, and we hardly had to queue for any major lengths of time at all… I think the longest was for about 20 minutes or so to go on ‘Air’, the new rollercoaster there where you basically just hang off it. It was a real adrenaline rush – excellent!

And the Jubilee Bank Holiday last week kept me busy – on Monday I went to a barbecue with some of the guys at Roz’s, and it was a really good night… I even had a bit of a kick-around with a football in the back garden – and it’s not very often that that happens! Then on Tuesday, a load of us went to the sea-side!! We went up to Southport (just north of Liverpool) and it was a pretty good day – we had one heavy burst of rain, but the rest of the time it was really nice. I even caught the sun quite a bit, which I wasn’t expecting – cheaper than going abroad!

On to the latest in my house-buying saga… the building society have done a survey on the house, and they’ve found a couple of thing that need doing before they’ll give me the full mortgage… basically, the main problem is they reckon there’s a problem with rising damp, and they say I must get it sorted… I have a feeling that could be pricey…

by Gareth

Lifegroup walk

I’m feeling quite tired at work today! Went for a pretty major walk in the peak district on Saturday – I think it was only about five miles, but there were a lot of steep uphill bits, and it was pretty muddy! And unfortunately I don’t have any walking boots, so my old trainers with not much grip weren’t much use at all! It was pretty good though, although I was close to quitting in the first half hour, and was ready to go back to the car and wait for all the others!! Anyway, once I’d done the first major bit, I did actually enjoy it! There are some photos of it here.

Struggling a bit at work this afternoon – I’ve got to write a script by tomorrow morning for Angus Deayton to read… yep, that’s him off ‘Have I Got News For You’. It’s got to be a three minute monologue promoting subscribing to MUTV, but it’s got to be written in his style which is a lot harder to do than you might expect – especially since I’m not really a comedy script-writer! Oh well, I guess I’ll come up with something, but I reckon he’ll end up having to add his own ad-libs!