Autobiographical – Mick and Liesel's Antics

Parking problems

When the Management Company refers to our communal car park, we assume that we, the occupants of the five flats in the block, are the community for which the car park exists. It’s not supposed to be a free facility for the local bulding industry. But we had a visitor for several days, taking advantage of the free parking opportunity.

This Niftylift HR12N bi-energy articulated boom lift also churned up what pretends to be lawn . I don’t care about its 12.2m working height and 6.1m horizontal reach nor its narrow 1.5m chassis. It just shouldn’t be there. It’s the most dangerous machine around, at least going by all the warning signs.

When the young man came to retrieve it later in the week, despite its narrow chassis, he struggled to steer it out of the car park. I do regret not having a go myself, though.

Apparently there aren’t enough pictures of Keiran here, so, by popular request, here’s another one.

Martha and William were happy to make their own snowglobes at our place. After which, Jenny and Liam joined us for an early Thanksgiving dinner which was delicious, thank you Liesel!

I’ve never been to Oldham before so, after my dentist appointment, I was happy to join Liesel on her mission. While she visited Abi the beautician, I wandered around the hilly town centre. This included consumption of a well-deserved and enjoyable egg sadwich which I washed down with a nice cup of coffee.

Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre provided some entertainment. The sign asked me whether I could ‘Seek out Susie’, Susie from Shopping Susie’s Kids Club.

While studying the picture, a young lady asked me if I needed any help. No, I’m just looking at the picture, thank you. “Well,” she said with arms akimbo, “you shouldn’t be here, there are no shops here, only offices.” I’d had the temerity to take the escalator to a higher floor. End of the world.

Northenden is slowly changing. Outside the Post Office, the postbox has been adapted to accept some small packets and parcels. It has solar panels on top, and you should be able to press a button, scan a QR code on your packet, and it opens the door so you can drop you item in. Well, it already doesn’t work, and I’m not sure you can entirely blame the layer of early morning frost on top.

As you can see, some guy tried to park inside the postbox, but couldn’t quite manage.

It’s a EⅡR box and, what are the chances? Just around the corner, I bumped into QE2, just not the real one. This little knitted Queen was relaxing on the sofa in the hairdressers while Paul cut Liesel’s hair. The motto on my coffee cup lid seems to fit, too.

Keiran’s getting about a bit. He took Helen and Brent for a walk up at North Head, Manly. It looks like a lovely day and the good news is, he does seem to enjoy a car ride too.

Another pet peeve: websites for shops that are closed but don’t tell you until you’ve spent ages placing your order. Usually we can order a pizza for later delivery, but on this occasion, computer says no. Not just closed until 5 o’clock or whatever, it was closed all day apparently. Possibly longer, it didn’t specify.

It’s been raining a lot and it’s safe to assume that every sentence from now on can be preceded with ‘It was raining…’.

So instead of spending in time wandering around the Christmas markets in Manchester, we took the children straight to the theatre and straight home afterwards.

We saw a stage musical version of the old Disney film, Freaky Friday. Thankfully, the songs and the laughter and the applause were all loud enough to drown out mine and Liesel’s coughs. Yes, somehow we’ve acquired a lurgy. So had Martha and William, to a lesser extent.

Liesel and I enjoyed a drive into Salford too, to see Count Arthur Strong’s version of A Christmas Carol. During the first half, he played Charles Dickens, and we learned absolute nothing about the great Victorian storyteller. The second half was indeed a version of A Christmas Carol, but not as we know it. With a cameo from Anita Harris amongst others. Again, audience laughter drowned out out hacking. But boy did we get through some cough sweets.

We had cause to visit Salford again the following day. We can now add Salford Royal to the list of hospitals we’ve visited this year. On this occasion, it was Liesel’s appointment and it went very well.

Spontaneously (or was it?) on the way home, Liesel suggested visiting the Trafford Centre. I made notes of which postcode area we parked in before dining at Wagamama. That hot, spicy soup cleared a few nasal passages, I can tell you, phew!

I think the only shop we visited was Marks and Spencers, but that was enough excitement for one day.

And that was it. Liesel’s short visit home was over. It still seems strange to have a short visit to your own home, but that’s the way the universe is right now. I dropped her off at the airport for the flight to Atlanta. Then onto Albuquerque for for night. Then she’ll take her Mom back to Anchorage. Next time I see Liesel will be in Australia.

Oh, alright then, here he is again.

Fun with the Grandies

There is no doubt about it: Keiran is the cutest baby, ever, in the history of the universe. He’s doing very well, eating, sleeping and getting to know his parents. He’s gaining weight, which is great, but I must admit, I am a bit jealous of his luxuriant, dark hair.

It rained torrentially all day, so I was considering taking a taxi to Bramhall. Fortunately, the rain eased off, so I drove, passing by, or through, several large puddles on the way, and I parked around the corner from Simply Books. I was here to see Janina Ramirez talking about her new book, Legenda. I was just in time, but what I didn’t realise was that the event had been put back half an hour, to allow everyone, including Janina, to reach the venue despite the flooding in the area.

While hanging about, I looked at some of the books on offer. I enjoyed Gavin & Stacey on TV but I probably won’t get around to reading these two books, described thus on the covers:

• Joanna Page: Lush! from Swansea to Stacey and everything in between.
• Ruth Jones and James Corden: When Gavin met Stacey and everything in between.

Janina Ramirez is very bubbly, enthusiastic about her subject and very friendly. Her talk was fascinating of course, and I look forward to reading the book.

She very kindly recorded a message for Liesel which will, I’m sure, be treasured!

Keiran and Helen returned home on Brent’s birthday and he’s already gadding about town.

Liesel arrived back home in Northenden after spending a night in Albuquerque where her Mom will stay with Buzz, Neil and Gabe for a couple of weeks. Manchester Airport Terminal 2 is very modern, but I find the road signs confusing and/or misleading. And sometimes, Google Maps doesn’t help much, either. I circumnavigated more than one roundabout.

Liesel wanted to be home now so as not to miss William’s birthday again. So we visited a couple of bakers to get the requested cakes for the birthday celebration. Due to heavy traffic everywhere, we arrived at Jenny’s later than planned, just before school pick-up time. We walked to school with Jenny and the children were very happy to see their Oma.

Sometimes, when you have a baby, you end up ‘feeding’ other members of the family too.

The first major excursion that Liesel and I took was a shopping expedition. We went to John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Tesco. Hours of fun, but we found everything we needed. We’re only a few short weeks away from Christmas so it was quite exciting to see these creatures in the shopping centre.

Liesel made two kinds of salsa that, next day,we took over to Jenny’s for William’s family birthday celebration. They were the perfect accompaniment to the bean chili that Jenny made for us. For his birthday, William received a few Minecraft themed Lego kits, and boy, is he quick at construction. He asks for help but doesn’t really need any, I think he just likes the company.

Liesel and I joined the other grandparents, Una and Alan along with Aunty Andrea, Uncle Paul and cousins Emily and Annabel. Annabel is a bit older than Martha but to her delight, she’s already taller than Liesel!

And because you haven’t seen him for a few seconds, here another photo of our cute little gransdson Keiran.

Before Liesel arrived, I was able to get a bit ahead with the radio shows, so I won’t have to lock myself away in the studio slash office slash spare room slash so-called third bedroom while she’s here.

Don’t forget you can explore/enjoy over two year’s of Mick’ Music Mix on Mixcloud.

The latest upload was comprised of ‘Songs with Monosyllabic Titles’. Catch it right here on Mixcloud.

Ooh, I haven’t had a moan about technology yet. This week I finally caved in to the nagging and upgraded my phone’s user interface. Always a nightmare because such updates change things and you often don’t find out what until much later. On this occasion, it took away the spelling suggestions/autocorrect facility from the keyboard. But the most obvious change (that I’ve seen, so far) is the bright yellow keyboard that you can see from space.

Grrr.

Walking boots

Each school holiday the parents of a local primary school, Broad Oak, run a Hearts Trail in Fletcher Moss Park. This lets children explore and get to know the park and is always on a different theme. There was a Halloween theme this time, and Martha and William enjoyed the walk around the park, looking for spooky hearts. Plenty of other families were out for a walk too.

But I think more exciting even than finding hearts was testing the waterproof properties of their Wellington boots.

After the walk, I fancied a coffee (of course) but the queue was longer than we’ve ever seen it.

Autumnal colours shone through, especially given the exotic nature of some of the trees and shrubs in this garden.

One thing I didn’t have on my bingo card for 2025 (don’t you get fed up seeing this formulation on social media? I do and yet here I am, using it myself) was seeing William on the shoulders of a lacrosse player.

This is just one a few decorative park benches in Fletcher Moss Gardens.

Later in the afternoon, the children went roller-skating with their cousins Emily and Annabel. I went home and thought about going out litter-picking but, well, let’s just say, it’s the thought that counts. I did some stuff indoors instead while listening to the radio.

The management company warned us it was coming, but I was surprised when a large vehicle parked up in our communal car park.

I think it’s a cherry picker but really it’s a JLG articulated boom lift, probably a JLG 340AJ model.

It’s a noisy beast and it followed me around the flat as the young painter decorated the exterior of the building. A bit disconcerting when you’re sitting there when the boom appears outside the window and the painter waves. You have to wave back, before ging to hide in a different room. In the end, I think it was only the woodwork that was painted. Plus a few splatters on our window. But I’m sure that’ll soon be sorted out if our window cleaner ever makes another appearance.

On my quick trip to purchase a new charging cable for my phone, I wandered through the book department. I won’t be buying this one:

Everyone knows a dice has the number 6 opposite the number 1. I don’t trust this cover so why should I trust the rest of the book? A lot of people do, though, it seems, following its publication in 1937.

Nothing much has changed in Northendedn and Wythenshawe. More leaves are falling from the trees. Posts are still being driven into. Despite all the rain recently, the river hasn’t risen noticeably. I did have some rotten luck though.

The pen I acquired from Saddlers Creek Wine last year has dried up. It’s a shame because it was one of the smoothest ballpoint pens I’ve ever used. I’ll just have to go back sometime and pick up a new one.

They’ve been going off for a couple of weeks now, but I was pleased to hear the excessive fireworks on November 5th. I can’t believe so many people, strangers, wanted to commemorate what would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday.

And as we remarked the following morning on the walk, in the olden days, the morning after bonfire night would always be foggy and cold, with the smell of gunpowder everywhere and discarded rockets all over the place.

There is nothing worse than making a cup of tea and then the milk comes out of the bottle in lumps. Yes, it was still in date, always kept in the fridge. Nightmare.

Earlier, I suggested nothing’s new in Northenden. Well, Spring must be just around the corner. These beauties have just come into bloom.

Evening? This picture was taken at about noon.

Much of my time at home has been taken up with producing radio shows. I want to get a few spare ones under my belt before Liesel comes home in a couple of weeks. Speaking of whom, a few days ago, Liesel told me that after falling for 17 hours continuously, they now have seven inches of snow in Anchorage. It takes over an hour to put on enough clothes to go outside and walk over the road to the shop. From my point of view, the longer we retain higher than average temperatures in November here in Manchester, the better I like it.

Anyway, I interrupted myself there. Last week’s show had the theme of Chocolate, but in the end, it was mostly a long chat with Tasmin Archer. You can listen here on Mixcloud. It’s an extended version of the radio broadcast, because I didn’t want to waste all the chocolatey tunes I’d found.

Four gigs and a cyclist

I’m sorry Liesel’s missed out, but it’s pure bad luck that some of our favourite singers have chosen to visit Manchester this month, within a few weeks of each other, and while Liesel’s anchored down you know where.

The last time we saw Eddi Reader, she was in a cave with bats flying round. This time, I saw her at the Royal Northern College of Music, RNCM.

I have a bone to pick with RNCM. The ticket said the show started at 8.00pm. So the fact that the bus made very slow progress through traffic didn’t really matter, I’d arrive in good time. There were lots of students on the bus and then, later on, we were joined by a horde of half-dressed, half-cut, young ladies on their way to a hen-do.

So I arrived at RNCM at 7.40. But the show had started at 7.30. The ticket, which I’ve now named Boris, lied. I missed ten minutes of the superb support act, one Eilidh Patterson. Her name is pronounced to rhyme with Kylie, rather than the usual Daily. So confusing. But she’s a wonderful singer,

She sold her own merch but I’m trying to download music these days rather than buy more CDs. There are exceptions of course.

Eddi Reader never performs the same set twice, and there’s always one or two songs I’d like to hear that she misses out.

Her band, which includes her husband and Boo Hewerdine, was ace.

Again, it was a nice mixed aged audience.

I should have moved into RNCM, actually, because a few days later, I returned to see O’Hooley and Tidow on their ‘So Long For Now’ tour. Yes, after 15 years of performing together, eight studio albums, four BBC Folk Award nominations, composing Gentleman Jack as the BBC drama theme tune and performing at hundreds of venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, the much-loved Yorkshire folk duo of Belinda O’Hooley & Heidi Tidow have made the momentous decision to say farewell for now in order to explore other adventures that are beckoning them. Heidi’s going back to University.

There was no support act, but in the second half of the show, Belinda and Heidi were joined by a string quartet, students from RNCM, who tonight, for one night only, played as The Polar Bear Quartet.

At the interval, the queue to buy some of their merch was ridiculously long, and I couldn’t even get close enough to see what they had on offer. Probably didn’t need anything anyway.

O’Hooley and Tidow with Polar Bear Quartet

There I was, minding my own business, watching Autumnwatch on TV, when someone rang the doorbell. That never happens. It was our neighbours from downstairs, newly moved in. Kruti and her cute little granddaughter gave me a present for Diwali, which was very kind of them. I felt bad about not reciprocating, of course.

This year, I set myself the goal of reading the Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes. Well, the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to be precise. I have succeeded in this endeavour. The 12-year old in me appreciated the use of the phrase ‘He ejaculated’ 26 times during the four novels and several collections of short stories. But there was not one single use of ‘No shit, Sherlock’, which I find baffling. In the early stories there are a few female characters named Mary, including one who became John Watson’s wife. Later on, the Marys seem to fade away. Very enjoyable, but when you read them all like that, one after the other, you realise how formulaic the stories are, and how ridiculous in some cases. For ‘deduction’, read, ‘a series of random thoughts, non sequiturs’.

Since I requested to delete my Microsoft account, I have been bombarded with even more marketing emails than before, and since I can’t unsubscribe without cancelling my request to delete the account, I’ve set up a filter so I never have to see them again.

And I’m sure I’m not the only one playing Whac-a-mole with Microsoft’s efforts to thrust its AI Copilot on me. I don’t want it. It’s even popped up in the noddy utility Notepad. Whinge of the week.

I don’t see the results of a car crash every single time I go for a walk in and around Northenden, but it happens quite a lot. I used to post all the photos to Instagram, but I can’t be bothered to do so every time any more. I think the novelty’s worn off.

More music in Manchester when RNCM took over Band on the Wall for the day. The city was very busy, but at least the rain held off as I walked to the venue. I bumped into Hayley, from Radio Northenden and Wythenshawe Radio. The musicians played alternately on different stages so that was a good way to get some steps in, walking backwards and forwards.

A very good folkie, I thought.

This band were rockin’ the joint.

Theo (if I have his name right) was a bit folky, he sang falsetto.

There were ten acts altogether but for reasons I won’t go into, I had to leave early.

Of course, I needed to complete my hattrick of visits to proper RNCM. So I went to see Julie Fowlis. She was great, but the lyrics were mostly unintelligible. Not because she’s a bad singer, but all of the songs bar one and a half were performed in Gaelic.

The songs, being Scottish, were of course gorgeous. We should get some more of her music in our collection, not just the soundtrack from the film Brave!

What I didn’t expect, when Julie walked off stage halfway through one of the final songs, was to see her come back playing the bagpipes.

After the show, again, the queue to have a chat with her was very long, so I made my way home.

This week saw the final Wednesday Walk led by Chantel for Thrive Manchester. It was very well attended, despite the dodgy looking weather. In future, we’ll risk getting lost in the woods on a Wednesday as we wander round without a leader.

Oh, by the way, I have been reading books other than Sherlock Holmes stories this year. I’ve just finished Peaches For Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris, a second sequel to her best-seller Chocolat. And, between you and me, I think it’s better than Chocolat.

Google Maps can be a bit annoying sometimes but I’m glad it took me to Bramhall a strange way this week, given the roadworks currently taking place in Gatley. The venue for this very popular event was moved from Simply Books to St Michael and All Angels parish church. When I arrived, people were queueing outside, and we made slow progress. And then, on crossing the threshold, we realised the queue then wound its way all round the church hall.

We were here to meet Sir Mark Cavendish, possibly our favourite cyclist of all time. He’s written a book called Believe, which I’m looking forward to reading. And there is already a short waiting list, someone’s waiting to borrow it.

I’ve been preparing a couple of radio shows this week, so I’ve probably not been out as much as I would like. The most exciting moment for me was speaking to Tasmin Archer, fulfilling a 32-year ambition! She was great and I hope the end result informs, educates and entertains on Wythenshawe Radio.

Last week’s show featured Unusual and Unexpected Duets. Listen here on Mixcloud. and feel free to sing along.

Saints and Singers

The leaf blowers are out in force, doing their worst, making a lot of noise and achieving nothing other than blowing leaves and fungal spores and all sorts of detritus into the air. This is the downside of Autumn. And then of course, the next gust of wind blows all the leaves back where they came from.

After a stroll around the streets of Northenden, I stopped for a quick coffee at Boxx2Boxx. The owner, Jill, was in today, meeting and greeting many young fans.

Chester draws me in like a magnet. It’s a straightforward enough drive to Chester, but I managed to go wrong when I tried, and failed, to follow directions to a service station on the way. Oh well.

I parked up and walked to my accommodation, my Aurbnb. After checking in, I went for a walk around the city centre. I don’t often go lurking around old, deconsecrated churches, but since this was the venue for the evening’s entertainment, I was glad to check it out. Time for a sit down…

Not the most comfortable bench, I must say.

I know Chester is an old place, but it still surprises me to see just how old some of the buildings are. Since 1622 there has been an inn on the current site of the Golden Eagle. As such it is steeped in the history of the city and community. Adjacent to the Chester Castle and Crown Court, the pub served as a hostelry to the Cheshire Regiments Garrison and the barristers and judges of the Court. This tradition has been upheld, and veterans of the regiment still frequent the pub to catch up with old comrades. I didn’t frequent this establishment today.

It was a very pleasant afternoon, so my plans to visit museums and galleries were postponed, it was forecast to rain the next day. Instead, I enjoyed the cathedral bells for a while, but not so much the busker murdering Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross and other classics.

Three Old Arches form the façade of a row building dating from about 1200, believed to be the earliest surviving shop frontage in England.

For a brief moment, I was transported back to New Mexico.

Laughing at the plastic cactus outside this Mexican establishment might have upset the locals, so I restrained myself. Instead, I had a lovely meal at Thai Baan.

Back to St Mary’s for the gig. Frankie Archer again. I know, I know. When I first booked tickets to see her, I think my mouse must have twitched or something. Instead of Manchester, I clicked on Chester. After berating myself, I decided to spend a couple of days in Chester anyway.

In support this evening was Clara Day, who I’ve heard on the radio a couple of times. I would have been singing along if I’d known the songs.

And of course, Frankie’s set was the same as two nights earlier, her skill on the violin and on all her tech totally captivating the audience.

The threatened rain never arrived, so I spent a day walking around Chester’s old Roman Wall, and making odd diversions whenever I saw something interesting. I never knew until today, for instance, that the racecourse here is also known as The Roodee. Which explains why the car was parked in the Old Roodee car park.

A Celebration of Chester, by Stephen Broadbent

This sculpture was unveiled in 1992 to mark the 900th anniversary of Chester Cathedral.

If it was surprising to see cactus here, even moreso to see a baby elephant. Not a real one, obviously, a bronze sculpture gifted to the city of Chester by Chester Zoo.

Chester Castle was never successfully overrun.

This sign on the back gate would undoubtedly deter any potential invading force.

But, just in case, a party of school children were being trained in the use of swords and shields.

I missed seeing a steam train by a couple of minutes. I heard the chuff-chuff sound, and I saw clouds of smoke behind the trees, but I missed the steam engine itself.

Outside the Cathedral, the Royal Photographic Society was displaying many prize-winning photographs.

On another occasion, I might ascend the 216 steps up the tower, climbing up through 900 years of history, as the sign says. You have to book tickets, so please remind me the next time we visit Chester.

What would you do with 275,000 Lego bricks? Build a model of Chester Cathedral, of course. This was a labour of love. The project started in April 2015.

A team of enthusiastic volunteers worked on one module at a time, on a separate table by the main model. They showed the public where to put the next brick. Once a module was completed it was fitted onto the main model.

The build took eight years and eight days and was completed in April 2023, after progress was slowed due to Covid and the lockdowns.

The good news is, after checking out, I didn’t make any mistakes on the drive home.

After an invasive procedure under sedation, Jenny collected me from the hospital and looked after me for 24 hours, thank you very much. I’m hoping that was the last one for at least a year. Best of all today, though, was spending time with the grandchildren.

After walking to school with them the next morning, Jenny took me home and I was in time to join the Thrive Walk in Wythenshawe. We commented on there seeming to be fewer geese in the park. Maybe they’ve started heading south for the Winter.

If you need some background sounds while you go about your business, don’t forget you can always listen to Mick’s Music Mix on Wythenshawe Radio. My regular time is now Sunday afternoon, 4pm. Or, catch up on Mixcloud. (Psst, no adverts on my shows.)

After the Wednesday walk this week, we walkers were still welcome to have coffee at Boxx2Boxx despite the fact that they were secretly filming inside. The cake was delicious. We sat outside in the ‘marquee’. Thick black drapes across the windows meant that we couldn’t see what was going on inside. Two bouncers outside seemed a bit over the top, though.

This week’s walk in Wythenshawe was attended by 7 people, and we all made good progress. I know I shouldn’t, but I did laugh to myself when one person slowed down whenever they were chatting. As if they can’t walk and talk at the same time. Planning and plotting an overtaking manoeuvre can be difficult when you’re on a narrow path in the woods.

In the evening, I ventured into Manchester for another gig.The bus ride and the walk to the venue were faster than anticipated, so I had time for a quick walk around the back streets.

The show was at Hallé St Michael’s and I was here to see my second favourite Martha, Martha Tilston. As Liesel said, she always puts on a good show. In support was Alwyn Jones.

Again, he sang his own songs, and I was unable to sing along. But, neither could anybody else. The audience was a nice mix of old farts like me and young people.

Martha, of course, didn’t disappoint. She manages to hold the audience in the palm of her hand, inviting us to accompany her without actually saying so. Again, her final song was taught her by her late step-mother, Maggie Boyle.. She stood right next to me, in the middle of the audience, so I’m sure my boat race has ruined some of the videos taken by some audience members!

She was accompanied by Matt Kelly, who’s been at her side for as long as I can remember, right from the early days, gulp, well over twenty years ago, in the Grey Horse, Kingston upon Thames.

Don’t forget, Mick’s Music Mix on Mixcloud. Here is the latest show, the theme is ‘Goin’ Home’. Plus, as a bonus, at the end of this show, you can find out how I was appointed Governor of the state of Alaska.

Humungous fungus

Liesel took Holly to Whittier and on this occasion, the weather was kind enough to make a boat trip worthwhile. And they all had a great time out on the ocean waves, watching orcas breach and glaciers calve. I can only imagine the smell of the sealions as they (mostly) outswam the predators.

Meanwhile, here in sunny England, I enjoyed a walk with Jenny, Liam, Martha and William over the border in Derbyshire. The car park in Crowden was nearly full, but we squoze in easily.

The path followed Torside and Rhodeswood Reservoirs. Yes, reservoirs that haven’t (yet) been sold off by the privatised water companies. William was pleased to make friends with the smallest frog in the world. They met when William enjoyed the first of several bush wees. (He’ll be pleased to read that when he’s a bit older.)

Martha was equally impressed by the very bright toadstools.

We didn’t run up any of the higher hills, not on this occasion. No, we just appreciated the leisurely walk on a well-worn, slightly undulating path. However many steps we grown-ups took (17,500 in my case), I’m pretty sure the children ran twice as far.

I have visions of Liesel rolling her eyes when she sees this photo:

The temptation to bend a tall structure in this manner is irresistable. On the other hand, the view was very English.

Rhodeswood Reservoir with Suffolk sheep and a pylon

Only as we were on the home straight, did I see a sign confirming that we were on the Pennine Way. That’s another item on the bucket list, to walk the whole length of the iconic route.

This week, I felt I was fighting technology a lot. My main fight was with Microsoft. I’ve had a Schrödinger’s account for a while. It won’t let me log in because there’s no such account. Yet when I try to create a new account, it tells me there already is one.

This week, my Microsoft Office stopped working. They were unable to verify my licence. Go online to verify, it said. I’m already online, I replied, I can’t get any more online than I am, no matter how much you nag. In the process, my Word and Excel were disabled. I could view existing documents but I couldn’t edit them nor create new ones.

I got to a place where I could enter the Product Key, and it told me that Key had already been used. Yeah. By me. Three years ago.

There is no way to speak to a human at Microsoft. There is a phone number, but when you call it, the automated voice just says to go to the website.

When you go to the website, you go round and round in circles. I had to enter fifteen one-time codes, and my password several times, getting nowhere fast. In the end, I decided to delete the account. It asks 101 questions before you get to actually get to that point: mostly about features that I didn’t even know existed, that I’ve never used, and I won’t miss at all. And then, the account’s not actually removed for 60 days, ‘in case you change your mind’.

Then, if you open (in my case) Word or Excel, that is taken as to mean I want to cancel my request to delete the account. To avoid opening one of those by mistake, I uninstalled all the software.

A couple of days later, I received a marketing email from Microsoft. I don’t need that either, so I’ll unsubscribe. Easy, I thought. To unsubscribe, yes, I have to sign in. If I do that, then my request to delete the account will be cancelled.

The whole set-up is just nasty. Amongst all the big tech companies, I used to think Microsoft was one of the, if not ‘good’ guys, then one of the least worst. Oh well.

I’m now using getting used to Libre Office. It does 90% of what Microsoft Office does, it’s free and open source. So, a big razzberry to Microsoft.

On a lighter note, literally, Una sent some gorgeous photos of the Northern Lights from Anchorage.

Just as glorious, of course, is Northenden’s tiny village green, embracing the season.

Another technology fail. Booking flights to a holiday destination used to be fun, something to look forward to. Now, it’s soul-destroying, it just feels like you’re fighting the system all the time.

I’m visiting Helen in Australia at the end of January. After several days faffing about, trying to find a cheaper flight, it was time to pick a flight and book it.

After successfully entering all the details of my booking, double- and triple-checking (recalling Liesel’s faux pas last time, when we got tickets for March instead of April, oops, but never mind), Etihad declined my credit card, despite me confirming it was genuine via the bank’s app. I called the bank, there was no reason for my card to be declined, they said, the problem must be at their end.

I looked up Etihad Customer Support and being a bit flustered, I clicked on the first link that came up. Connect to our partner for a refundable £1 to get help. Cheeky bastards, I thought. When I did, I saw they want £1 then £24 a month subscription. At this point, I realised this was a con. So, back to the bank who strongly recommended cancelling my card and reissuing. This was a bit disappointing and annoying, and yes, inconvenient, but it was the right thing to do. Some rogue company might have my credit card details.

I still had to pay for my flights, of course: I don’t know whether the booking disappears after a set amount of time. So, I used my other card. This is one that I’ve been running down for a long time. I’ve not used it now for several months, and I’d planned to cancel it in due course. Again, to verify the card, I had to go to this bank’s app to say it was genuine. The payment went through.

So, I’ve decided to keep this second credit card, for just such an eventuality, an emergency, even if I don’t use it on a regular basis.

On my ‘main’ card, the one that was incorrectly declined, there are a couple of subscriptions so I’ll have to go in and change those, once the replacement card turns up.

Also, a reminder to myself, even if the heading in a big typeface says ‘Etihad Customer Care’, check the actual link before clicking on it.

I didn’t spend all week fuming in front of my laptop. I did go out a couple of times for some fresh air, some shopping and, oh alright, a coffee. I had a flu jab and a covid jab, one in each arm, to spread the load of the 5G microchips being injected into my body. But best of all, I went out to a gig.

I saw Frankie Archer at Low Four Studio in Deansgate, Manchester.

Yes I’ve been busy preparing shows for Wythenshawe Radio, after a break of very nearly a year. It took a while to recall how to use some of the software and, inevitably, new ‘features’ have been introduced that I’m not interested in. That’s progress, apparently!

The venue was intimate, and the audience enjoyed the support act, Satnam Galsian. She sang songs in Punjabi and in English, and played her own shruti box, a bellows that provides a drone to accompany the vocals.

Frankie Archer herself bounced onto stage and performed several ‘dark’ songs, promising to sing some more upbeat ones in the second half. When playing her fiddle, dancing around the stage, you can tell she’s really enjoying herself. And I don’t know how she can keep on top of all her equipment, samplers, keyboards, pedals and other gadgets.

The Demon features in the video for her latest single, The Demon Lover.

If you would like to hear more from Frankie, listen to my latest radio show, now up on Mixcloud. As well as Frankie, there are some great songs which (sometimes inadvertently) namecheck other bands or singers.

One two tree

It feels like it rained continually for a week after I returned home to Northenden. But that doesn’t matter, because I was sleeping for most of that time anyway. I was vaguely aware of the passing of time and the rain splashing against the windows and the wind howling through the trees and eating every now and then, but I’ve no idea why it took much longer to get over the jetlag this time than it usually does.

Still, the rain did stop eventually so I went for a wander down to the river, to see how high it was, and to see whether there was a realistic chance of any flooding.

The water was no higher than usual. I’m not saying I was disappointed, but I was certainly surprised.

The trees in the woods were taking a while to dry out, though. And if the rain didn’t cause any damage, the wind certainly did.

The last half dozen blackberries didn’t look very appealing, either, so we left them for the foxes. And the last half dozen bees are slurping the last of the pollen from the sunflowers, sunflowers that look a bit sad now that Autumn is approaching.

In Manchester Central Library, I joined a group of writers. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but in the end, after a bit of a chat, we just wrote for an hour, uninterrupted, and with no expectation to read out whatever nonsense we came up with. I’d never been up to the 3rd floor before, so of course I had to take a picture of the dome.

It was fun meeting Kimberly and Sarah, both published authors. The good news is, I was able to get a seat on the tram home.

Walking through the woods, we don’t often see birds. And when we do, they usually fly off pdq. But one little chap was sitting on the fence, yes, he just couldn’t decide whetehr to stay or not.

He wasn’t bothered by us, and he wasn’t in distress, so we just said hello and walked on by.

And in Painswick Park, there seemed to be far fewer geese than usual. Maybe they know something we don’t, and they’re heading south before the weather deteriorates.

A few of us had a discussion about the colour of this car:

Grey with a slight hint of blue was the consensus. But Google told us is was Cape York Green Metallic. Green? Sure enough. When we looked up the registration number, it did say green. I’m sure if I reported an incident to the police, I’d describe this vehicle as grey rather than green. So I won’t bother. And in any case, as far as I know, it’s not been involved in any criminal activity.

Over in Anchorage, the Autumn colours are a bit ahead of ours.

Later in the week, Liesel had a visitor, a young American, Holly, all the way from Washington. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the Autumnal colours.

I’m getting back into making radio shows so keep an eye on the Wythenshawe Radio schedule. It was a joy this week to have a chat with ‘one to watch’ Frankie Archer, the feminist Northumbrian electro-folk musician, who is going on tour very soon. Yes, I have my tickets. Mostly though, I was refamiliarising myself with the various software. Inevitably, there were ‘updates’. And updates almost always means adding in more features that you’ll never need. I’ve always thought, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it. So that’s my little whinge of the week.

Feeds and Weeds

I’ve heard of Hatcher Pass, but today was my first trip there. We drove towards Willow, a city that once very nearly became the state capital. My ears popped as we drove up into the mountains. Our specific destination was Independence Mine State Historical Park. Gold mining here was once a big operation, and we enjoyed walking around the site, always keeping an eye out in case someone had dropped a gold nugget or something.

The landscape looked a bit Scottish, although the tundra vegatation here is totally different.

A big surprise was to see a wedding party: they’ll have some fabulous pictures of the bride and groom with a gorgeous backdrop.

Some of the old buildings are in need of some TLC. Visitors are warned to stay on the path.

We walked up a few of the tracks and it was quite exciting to be here in the moutians. A couple of years ago, I might have been tempted to run up the slopes like a gazelle, but those days are gone, I fear. In Winter, the area is a popular ski resort. The amount of gold found in the rocks and minerals seems to be very small, it takes a lot of hard work to extract it, but 30,000 people thought it was worth the effort.

And as if the buildings being in a state of disrepair wasn’t bad enough, it’s a good job we weren’t planning to catch this train back to Anchorage.

On the drive home, we stopped at a place purporting to offer The Best Ice Cream in the World. It wasn’t. It was OK, and the scoop was American huge, nothing special, really. It began to rain before we arrived home, but our spirits weren’t dampened.

In the morning, Liesel went out on a mission, which meant that Leslie and I walked into the big city. The streets being on a grid network meant that we couldn’t really lose our way, but neither could we completely avoid the traffic.

Even though Autumn is knocking at the door, some of the flower beds in the parks are still very colourful. As is much of the street art. The murals in particular are delightful.

We met Monica in Midnight Sun for lunch and Liesel joined us a few minutes later. We spent some time across the road in the Museum. Dogs are very popular in Alaska so it’s no surprise that there is a Dog Show in the museum, a collection of photos and other exhibits celebrating dogs. Obviously, this exhibition is located in Patricia B Wolf Family Galleries.

On the drive home, we passed a wall adorned with some up to date graffiti, with slogans such as: Human Rights Matter; ICE – Due Process Only; Make billionaires pay taxes again; War Criminals not welcome in Alaska [Putin met Trump here recently]; We did not vote for Project 2025; No human being is illegal; Слава Україні!; No Christian Nationalism; Make America free again; Alaska is not for sale. Yes, it’s a very big wall.

Leslie once again joined Aaron to watch a football game. So Liesel and I had a rare date night. Our first thought was to dine at the Ethiopian restaurant. The car park was empty, and I tried the door, but no, it was definitely closed. Not even a notice on the door. Oh well, off to a Nepalese/Indian place instead. It was called Everest. Of course. The food was very tasty, not too hot and spicy, and, we think, prepared with a lot less ghee than they use in British Indian restaurants. We took the leftovers home in a box. Several boxes in fact.

Rather than go straight home, we thought it would be nice to visit Potters Marsh for a crepuscular walk. There were plenty of other visitors this evening too, and we managed to walk the full length of the boardwalk.

There were fewer birds than we expected, but for me, the most exciting one was the bald eagle sitting in a tree about a mile away. We made good use of the binoculars supplied by the local authority.

Again, I looked at the people carrying 2-feet long zoom lenses with a touch of envy.

Liesel joined Una for a jewellery making class over the road from the Museum. Leslie spent more time with Aaron. Don’t worry, I had things to do. I walked back to the Museum as I wanted to visit the Cold War to the Cosmos exhibition which we hadn’t had time for yesterday.

There are three magpies outside the Museum: they reminded me of the three magpies that live in the oak tree at home.

The Cold War displays were fascinating. I didn’t know, for instance, that America’s nuclear bomb tests weren’t confined to New Mexico and some south Pacific islands. They also bombed a small Alaskan island.

There was a lot of information about the cold war, early warning systems, and the cosmos, but also about climate change.

Lots of information. To me, some of the graphics were too detailed and I’m sure a lot of people would have just walked on by, I know I nearly did.

Later on, we joined Monica and Gregg for dinner at Pho Gia Đình Vietnamese Restaurant. I think Gregg is still adjusting to being retired. Well, me too, after nearly ten years.

Liesel hasn’t visited Thunder Bird Falls since she was a teenager, and that was a long, long time ago. We had a lovely walk there, even if the initial long and steep incline from the car park was a bit daunting. The smell of Autumn was in the air, nothing bad, just the normal seasonal decay. Which, unfortunately for me, brings back memories of cross-country running at school.

We passed lots of dog walkers and interestingly, every single dog was on a lead, as the signs requested. But it was a very pleasant hike and at the end of the track, we admired the waterfall while chatting to a couple from South America.

Nearby is Eklutna Lake, the main source of fresh water for Anchorage. The lake was too big to walk around, so we just wandered down to look at it. We didn’t even skim any stones on this occasion. The sign said ‘No camping, no fires’ so I can only surmise that the smoke we detected came from the official campsite nearby.

One thing we didn’t need to see on the way home, as we overtook another vehicle, was the moose’s head with a huge rack. It was accompanied by a chainsaw on board a Yamaha Viking Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) being transported on a trailer.

I spent much of the morning packing, and of course I was bound to leave something behind, it would just be a surprise in a few days time to find out what it was.

I also took pictures of all of Liesel’s parents’ records, maybe a new feature of my radio show will be ‘A track from my wife’s Mom and Dad’s record collection’ but with a more succinct name. These records were mostly from Liesel’s childhood, though, lots of Disney and children’s stories.

Liesel, Leslie and I walked to a popular restaurant, Fletchers, where we joined Una and Phil for a most enjoyable lunch. Afterwards, I paid a quick visit to a gift shop and on the way home, I stopped off at Fire Island for a coffee. Yes, I deliberately took a long-cut home.

Uh? Why take a picture of a hotel that we’re not even staying at? Well, the combination of a clear sky and slightly tinted windows gives out a lovely electric blue reflection.

I’ve mentioned it before but I do like the Anchorage Light Speed Planet Walk. Today I saw the Sun, and I passed by Mercury, Venus and Earth, walking at the speed of light. And at that speed, it would take 5½ hours to reach Pluto, so I decided to leave the rest of the Solar System for another occasion.

Aaron and Jodi joined us for dinner, and I said a quick hello to Gideon, who’d been out playing football again.

Well, that time arrived at last. Rain set in as we set off for the airport. I was heading back to sunny England, while Liesel stayed in Anchorage with her Mom. As always, I was unduly anxious about the airport experience, but this time, straight through security and lots of time just to hang around. Even moreso with my slightly delayed flight.

In Frankfurt, I enjoyed the bus ride from plane to gate. And I enjoyed the train ride to my departure gate, having taken a wrong turn somewhere and leaving the secure area. Again, the extra security measures here were blamed on the US government although why they’d be interested in us when we’re flying the UK, I have no idea.

Welcome home, me. Miserable outside. But I was greeted with a box of vegetables outside the door, thanks to Groobarb and Liesel. A few days ensued, adjusting to the new timezone, sleeping, unpacking, short walks, nothing too taxing. As usual, I have a long to-do list and I’m sure it will be even longer next week.

AK, AI and AG

The Online Safety Act has been in the news a lot recently. Ostensibly, it’s to protect children and others from harmful content on the internet. Well, some sites are being a bit over-zealous. I tried to access something quite innocuous, and for the fiorst time ever, it wanted to check I was old enough. This site chose to do so by looking at me and estimating my age. I made sure my boatrace was in the designated ellipse, which it called a circle. It then had the nerve to tell me, “That doesn’t look like a real face.” Well, it’s the only one I have, so I guess I won’t be visiting this site again any time soon. Rude.

Helen flew home after a relatively short but welcome visit, looking good and ready for the next adventure.

Pauline and Andrew returned from their side trip to Thirsk and beyond. They had a splendid time visiting Newcastle and Alnwick and came back with Geordie accents.

Suddenly, there was an exclamation from their room. What’s wrong, Andrew? It sounded like a big deal. It wasn’t really. While staying with Yvonne and Ian, Andrew had hidden the loudly ticking alarm clock amongst his soundproofing clothes. He just realised that he still had it. Pauline consulted her old school chum who revealed that other visitors had merely removed the batteries from the clock!

While berating Andrew for inadvertently stealing a clock, Pauline came across Yvonne’s copy of the English Heritage brochure in her own bag. I told them that in view of their criminal record, I have taken a full inventory of items in my own luxury apartment.

After a leisurely start to the day, we walked over to Didsbury again. It’s a nice walk and I wanted to see the refurbished path on the side of the river that’s been closed to pedestrians for a couple of weeks.

The path used to be notoriously bumpy, with bricks and rubble peppered along its length. It would be nice to see it nice and smooth and flat, like the path at the Didsbury end.

The level of anticipation as we approached the new bit was almost unbearable. I was on my own at this point, as Pauline and Andrew walked along the upper level path, not fully appreciating how important and exciting this new path was. It’s white gravel, not solid concrete or anything and while it’s better than what we had before, I wonder if it will survive next time the river’s in flood?

Then round the next corner, the renewed path came to an end.

Disbelief followed by manic laughter was the only possible response. I guess we Northenden folk don’t deserve the same riverside walking experience as the posh people of Didsbury.

Andrew found a golf ball which he decided to keep, adding it to his collection of purloined items.

And then, just before Simon’s Bridge, there’s another stretch of white gravel to enjoy.

Even the upper level path has been treated, just a little bit.

How good is AI, part 1? I showed this picture to Google, to see whether it could identify the location. I knew it wouldn’t identify the people. But here’s what it said:

The image captures a moment of two individuals, possibly a couple, [true] walking outdoors on a sunny day. They are on a path surrounded by lush green foliage, suggesting a natural setting like a park, countryside trail, [true] or a garden. The man has his arm around the woman, indicating a close relationship. [true] In the background, other people can be seen, suggesting a public area. This image was shared on Facebook with the caption “Me walking into danger”. [Utter rubbish, the similar picture on Facebook is of a total stranger] Don’t rely on AI for anything important.

We stopped for coffee and a snack in Fletcher Moss Park before wandering around the rockery, admiring the plants and the baby moorhens in the murky water.

Some people are so talented, and this woodpecker certainly lifts the mood.

And finally, in this small collection of bird related pictures:

Obviously not a real chicken, but the name given to this fungus that likes growing on rotten wood. Apparently it’s edible and tastes a bit like chicken. None of us were willing to try it out.

In the parsonage garden, we were greeted by another wood carving.

The weeping ash tree was planted nearly 200 years ago, but succumbed to ash die back disease in 2022. The Green Man that has been carved into an old tree stump is believed to be an ancient symbol of life, death and rebirth. The work was carried out by Andy Burgess, wood sculptor, September, 2023.

We visited the Parsonage where we learnt some local history. Shouldn’t laugh, but Didsbury gets its name from Dyddi’s burgh, from a long time ago.

The place has been lovingly restored over the years, the highlight for me being a stained glass window which acts as a sundial, one of only 44 such in the whole country, apparently.

And in the garden, perhaps the mosts surprising thing was seeing late blooming magnolias.

As if the metal heron in Northenden’s Riverside Park isn’t impressive enough, here in Didsbury, there’s an eagle perched above the lychgate leading to the parsonage garden.

We walked home after a quick visit to the Art of Tea café and bookshop. By now, the temperature was a welcome 28°.

In the evening, after a sunny day with clear skies, I was hoping to see, and maybe photograph the thin cresnt Moon just after sunset. Sadly, a band of cloud appeared low in the sky, ruining my plans.

While Pauline and Andrew visited Manchester Art Gallery, taking the bus into the city, I stayed at home to prepare for my own next adventure. The to-do list was successfully tackled, even though for a while, for every item I ticked off, I thought of somegthing else to do.

I did something today that I very rarely do. I went clothes shopping for myself, specifically to acquire a pair of blue socks. Can I just say yet again that the men’s clothes department in M&S is so depressing. It could do with some colour. Even the socks I found are a dull shade of blue.

Later in the afternoon, we all watched some cricket on TV.

Early Wednesday morning saw P&A go out for a walk. I joined the regular, organised stroll and Pauline accompanied us too.

How good is AI, part 2? I saw something interesting, took a picture of it and asked Google, what could it possibly be?

It said:

The object in the image is a puffball mushroom, likely a species from the genus Calvatia, such as the Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea) or the Skull-shaped Puffball (Calvatia craniiformis).

Such certainty. But, just round the corner, there was a whole bunch of these things, some of which had burst, revealing them to be wan-coloured balloons.

We enjoyed a coffee back at Boxx2Boxx. Sitting outside, we felt about three spots of rain, but the rain didn’t start properly until after we’d returned home. The threatened thundersturm didn’t materialise, in the end, and I think we were all a little disappointed.

At Pauline’s request, we joined the children and their parents at Piccolo, an Italian restaurant in Didsbury.

Liam, Martha, William, Andrew, Pauline, Mick, Jenny

This was by way of another farewell meal. Next morning, I was up before 5am, and ready to catch my cab at 6am. P&A were staying at the flat for one more day, before catching trains all the way to Guildford, the birthplace of me and my sister.

Manchester Airport, Terminal 2, was where my next rip to Anchorage began. No major upsets, other than the Baggage Handling system being down, so even though loads of us had checked in online and just had to print our baggage labels and attach them to the bags, we couldn’t just quickly drop them off. In security, we didn’t have to take anything out of our bags before screening, no electronics nor liquids. So civilised. But I had to take my belt off or the personal scanner would have been confused.

The worst experience though was probably walking through the fume cupboard that is the duty free shop with its sickly combination of perfumes. My sneezing fit could probably be heard at my final destination.

The flight to Frankfurt Airport was uneventful but after landing, we had to while for someone to find the bus. The bus ride to the arrival gate was nearly as long in duration as the flight itself.

More stinky perfume in this airport, something that my old Chemistry teacer would have described as ‘Sewer de Paris’. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the inky stench from the complimentary copy of the New York Times provoked another sneezing fit.

The officers here made it very clear that the extra, unwelcome and unnecessary, passport check at the departure gate was at the instigation of the US Governement. It slowed down the boarding process, but in the end, the flight to Anchorage departed just a few minutes late.

I understand the science, but it still feels weird, taking off at 3.30pm and arriving at 3.10pm, same day, 7000 miles away. The flight was a little bumpy in places, but I noticed from the on-board screen, we were deviating a bit from the planned route, presumably to avoid the worst of the stormy weather.

It took a while, but I finally realised what Condor’s new livery reminds me of. Pippi Longstocking.

It was lovely to be collected at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport by Jyoti. In an unexpected and exciting turn of events, she drove me straightaway to Fred Meyer to buy some groceries. Liesel met us here, and while I ran towards her in slow motion, she didn’t reciprocate. Indeed, she was quite rude about my ‘silly walk’.

How good is AI, part 3? I was chatting with a chatbot about some David Bowie lyrics, ahead of me re-starting my radio show very soon (spoiler alert!)

Here is what it said. Yes, there are factual inaccuracies, so not to be relied on:

Here is a list of David Bowie songs that mention specific numerical times, including the ones you noted:

Songs with Specific Numerical Times

1. “Five Years” (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, 1972)

· Time Mentioned: The title itself, “Five Years.”
· Context: This is the most famous and impactful use of a specific time period. The news announces that the world will end in five years, creating the album’s central apocalyptic tension. It’s a countdown that hangs over every song.

2. “Time” (Aladdin Sane, 1973)

· Time Mentioned: “5:15”
· Lyric: “Time, he’s waiting in the wings / He speaks of senseless things / His script is you and me, boy / Time, he flexes like a whore / Falls wanking to the floor / His trick is you and me, boy / Breaking up is hard, but waiting for you is the hardest thing I’ve ever known / (5:15) and I’m still waiting for you, don’t you know?”
· Context: This is the prime example. “5:15” evokes the “angel hour” or a very specific, anxious moment of waiting, possibly after a night out. It’s a time suspended between night and morning, perfect for the song’s themes of anxiety, decadence, and wasted time.

3. “Young Americans” (Young Americans, 1975)

· Time Mentioned: “9:25”
· Lyric: *”**They pulled in just behind the factory / That’s where he, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know /

This is about one-tenth of the regurgitation, so I pressed the Stop button at which point it continued…

he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know / He took her, you know, he took her, you know

This response is Al-generated, for reference only.

I said:

sorry to interrupt but I think the record’s got stuck

It said:

You are absolutely right! My apologies, that response went completely off the rails and got stuck in a very long and bizarre loop. Thank you for catching that -it was a technical error on my end.

Let me correct that and provide a proper, concise answer to your excellent question about specific numerical times in Bowie’s lyrics.

Nah, I’m good, thanks.

So, to summarise, AI stands for Absolutely Useless.

Bugs

Another drive to Disley on a Saturday where I joined the family for another Escape Room experience. The view from outside the place, overlooking the Peaks is of course, real England.

The Escape Room itself had a Viking theme and there were plenty of runes to read. But our descriptions of the various characters must have amused the organisers. Still, we solved the puzzles and escaped with fifteen minutes to spare.

While deciding where to find lunch, I was happy to find this memorial bicycle.

The sculpture was dedicated on 12th October 2013 in honour of the careers of Disley’s Multiple Paralympic Gold Medal Winners Dame Sarah Storey DBE and Barney Storey MBE.

It’s just outside the Ram’s Head which by coincidence is where we settled for lunch.

Well, you’ll score no points at all for suggesting that this is a portrait, drawn by William, of his Grandad. Me. Apparently you can tell by the stinky feet. Well, that’s rude, I haven’t had stinky feet since 1976.

Helen joined Jenny, Liam, Martha and William at the cricket on a nice, bright, hot Sunday. Two games of The 100 were played at Old Trafford.

The children both had a go but I think they were severely hindered: just look at the size of that ball!

We don’t get many visitors at our luxury apartment, but here’s one that came in through the bathroom window.

This moth seems to be frayed at the edges, but it was gone the following morning, I’m glad to say.

Over the years, I’ve reported several adverts and posts on various social media sites. Usually, the response from Meta or whatever is that it’s OK, it follows the rules and no action will be taken. And I’ve thought, in that case, your rules need to be changed then. Well, this week, I succeeded in getting an ad removed.

They admitted that something went against their Community Standards, woohoo!

I went over to the swimming pool to watch Martha and William messing about in boats. There were two to a canoe. William didn’t mind falling out to collect the paddle that he frequently dropped, but he admitted later that he had fallen out on purpose a few times. I’d say ‘most times’, but that’s William!

I took care of the children in the afternoon while Jenny and Helen went off to a spa for some pampering. The canoe lesson was longer than I’d expected, so by the time they’d finished, it was getting late for lunch, and at their suggestion, we just went to the local Costa.

Over the next few hours, they fully inspected and played on the new equipment in the playground in Wythenshawe Park. I know we’re in the middle of the school holidays, but I was surprised how many other families were there today.

The old café has gone and has been replaced by a collection of vans. One sells coffee and cake, another pizza, and there are a couple of others. No decent ice cream here so reluctantly, they opted for a Mr Whippy type thing with bits. I didn’t like the look of that, so I had a strawberry split ice lolly instead, my first such for many years and it was so disappointing, it’ll probably be my last for many years too.

William, contemplating life, the universe and everything, but especially what passes for ice cream in this neck of the wood

In the evening, we met up with Liam and the newly-pampered girls for a meal at Gusto. We don’t yet know whether this branch in Cheadle Hulme is one of those due to be closed, but it served its purpose this evening.

A couple of medical interventions this week. I had my first ever shingles jab and I’m due to have a booster in 6 months time. The jab was no bother but my upper arm was hot and tender for a couple of days afterwards, nothing that a couple of paracetamol couldn’t fix. Next, I went for a haircut. Again, no problem, nothing that a couple of paracetamol couldn’t fix.

In the evening, I attended a meeting for the Wythenshawe Radio volunteers. After the organised walk in Wythenshawe next day, I turned the radio on in the car and was surprised to hear myself with a very old show. I don’t know, but I suspect that someone from the meeting just didn’t fancy doing his show and they found one of my old tapes lying around.

On Friday, I met up with everyone over at Bramhall Park for lunch. Too late for a cheese and onion pie, grrr, but the cheese sandwich and chips filled the void.

Afterwards, Martha and William fed the ducks and geese, zillions of them, with officially sanctioned duck food. They both commented on the family throwing bread at the birds, knowing that that wasn’t supposed to happen.

We went for a short walk, and William particularly enjoyed playing down by the stream, under the bridge, jumping from rock to rock. Against all odds, he didn’t fall in the water. They expended more energy in the playground while we watched and, half-heartedly, I played hide and seek with William.

Other then the birds, this was the only wildlife we saw here, a distant cousin of my recent nocturnal visitor, perhaps.

On the way out, we passed this tree which Martha and William climbed and then slid down.

Later in the evening, round at Jenny’s, we had pizza and salad. William demonstrated his twerking skills. Again. And we all played a couple of rounds of Colourbrain, the Disney edition. We played in teams, the idea being to identify the colour of objects or characters in Disney films. I realised two things. There are a lot of Disney films that I have never seen. And of those I am familiar with, I am not that good at remembering the colours of things. Thank goodness Helen and the children, Disney fans all, were playing. Great fun!

All good things come to an end, including Helen’s short visit. We had a farewell meal at Ela, a Greek Taverna in Handforth. Too much food, man. And I didn’t have a chance to use my limited knowledge of the Greek language.