Getting warm

Suddenly it’s halfway through March, the temperature is hovering around -11°C and the snow, slush and ice is piled up outside. Not content with building ordinary snowmen or even snowhuskies, some creative folks have been very ambitious.

I am of course referring to Anchorage, Alaska, where Liesel and her Mom are actually not responsible for this snow sculpture. This one and many others were part of the annual Fur Rendezvous (Fur Rondy) festival in Anchorage. They enjoyed a variety of traditional events such as dog sledding, fur auctions, and outhouse races. And I can’t wait to see what manner of fur coat they bought for me to help cope with the much milder Manchester Winter.

The Statue of Liberty was created by Steve Lukshin and won first place in the solo division of the Alaska State Snow Sculpture Championship. Who knew there was such a thing?

In other overseas news, lovely Keiran in Brookvale, NSW, seems surprised to have reached the grand old age of 4 months.

Nearer home, it is warming up. Whereas we used to see a family of three magpies outside our apartment block, there is only one at the moment.

And yes, It does bring sorrow to see him on his own. On the other hand, there’s a very cheerful blackbird living in a bush near us. I don’t know yet whether there’s a young family of chicks, but his song is delightful.

Sunshine and blue skies always lift the mood, so visiting Quarry Bank for a walk was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I met Jenny and the family there, and we wandered along the river Bollin towards The Carrs, just before Wilmslow. However many steps we adults took, William and Martha must have taken double. I wonder at what age you stop running about like that and just walk in a straight line, using the least amount of energy.

We played Pooh sticks on one bridge and failed to spot any fish in the stream. And of course, trees are there to be climbed.

Sadly, in 2020, Chris Hall, 48, was struck by a 22m mature lime tree whilst walking his dog Benson on the the main public path in The Carrs Park at lunchtime on August 28th 2020, along the same route they had used for the last 11 years. This was a tree that council bosses had failed to make safe after a previwous incident. Cheshire East Council failed to investigate when a large branch had fallen from the tree a year before and was subsequently fined £500,000. I mention this, because we passed the attractive memorial, and only later did I learn the story.

Oh, and where’s Martha?!

We all played with a frisbee for a while and I embarrassed myself by no longer being able to throw the thing with any skill. Maybe it’s just intrinsically easier to throw a frisbee up on Epsom Downs than it is here near The Carrs skatepark.

The playground equipment include a zip wire which was most enjoyable. As was the climbing frame. Martha and William had an ice cream while we grown-ups had a coffee.

On the walk back to the car park, we passed horses and gorses. By the river, when William climbed down into a deep hole, not one of us followed him.

For the first time in ages, I thought I’d order a pizza from Pizzeria, here in Northenden. Sadly, I discovered that it had closed down in November. So I tried one from the place over the road. How disappointing. The Deliveroo driver stopped somewhere else to pick up another order, so by the time my meal arrived, it was cold. I complained and got a refund of the delivery fee, but even after re-heating, it wasn’t a very nice pizza anyway.

Loyalty cards, pah. I just want to do a bit of shopping, or buy something. I don’t need a loyalty card for everything, I don’t want to become a member, register, join up: just lower the prices for everyone. I don’t need to collect points, rewards, tokens, coins, airmiles or anything. No I don’t want to make a charity donation or give a tip. And I really don’t want to give feedback for every service I receive. Just stop it. Whinge of the week.

One of my current favourite writers is Joanne Harris: she wrote, Chocolat and its sequels. A year ago, a prequel came out too, Vianne. To mark publication of the paperback edition, she is touring the bookshops of Britain. So of course, I had to go and meet her at Simply Books in Bramhall. She makes writing a novel look so easy. She was interviewed by Kay Crewdson who I’ve only known before from the BBC’s North West Tonight programme, when she tells us how bad the weather’s going to be.

That’s not a bookshop, I hear you cry. No, the venue was St Michael and All Angels Parish Church, a 12-minute walk from the shop.

It’s officially now warm enough to wear shorts, and show off these gorgeous old pins of mine. Although a trip into Manchester was ultimately pointless on this occasion, I revelled in the warmth: surely the warmest day of the year so far, 19° apparently.

Of the three weekly organised walks, I made it to all three. Everyone is happy with the new, improved weather.

Martha starred in a production of Shrek at school. And as usual, all the participants did very well.

I’m now torn between spending time outside in the (probably limited) sunshine and staying in, in front of the PC, preparing a radio show. As I discussed with someone the other day, I have no idea how I ever managed to fit in a full-time job.

The latest show is right here.