weather – Page 5 – Mick and Liesel's Antics

It snow joke

It took us an hour to wind our way along the queue to the check-in desk. Behind us were just as many more people. Going through Security was no problem, even if we were sent to Security A rather than Security B to start with. The Security A man maintained his patience as he sent us and every other misdirected passenger to Security B.

Before embarking on our first flight to Keflavik, Iceland, we dined on a sandwich from, er, Pret. Kevlavik provided us with a slice of pizza and we made use of the single toilet, which doesn’t seem enough for so many thousands of passengers passing through each day.

I read my book on the flight and I was delighted to see a place mentioned that I was familar with. My Dad’s Uncle Charlie, who I visited a few times, passed away in St Joseph’s Hospice on Mare Street in Hackney in 1978. The character in the book was in this hospice at about the same time. And, by the way, I can thoroughly recommend Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo. I look forward to watching the TV adaptation when we return to the UK.

The second, longer flight took us to Seattle. We were separated again and I had a window seat, boxed in by two inhabitants of Seattle. The guy next to me said that his mother had called to tell him that the Northern Lights would be visible tonight. Well, from the bowels of Seattle-Tacoma Airport, we saw nothing.

I don’t think we expected to find someone’s laundry drying in the airport, but it was very colourful.

And finally, Seattle to Anchorage. The three of us ended up in the exit row, with more leg room. So that’s a bonus. But glad we didn’t have to do anything in an emergency.

From the airport, we took a taxi home, to Leslie’s apartment. After being empty since April, of course it required a spot of airing. And boy, was it good to be horizontal for the first time in well over 24 hours.

I was expecting see the streets of Anchorage paved with snow, but no, they were clear. It was cold though, just above freezing, as we walked to the bank and to Fire Island for a sandwich and a coffee. Nor were the mountains completely covered in snow, as I expected.

Delaney Park was a bit soggy underfoot. but so far, no signs of frost or frozen puddles. Yes, I’ve been anticipating the most unpleasant of weather conditions here but after 18 hours in Anchorage, I can confirm, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. The forecast though, that’s a different kettle of salmon.

Aaron and his family came over in the evening. I was unable to stay awake, so I went to bed really early. I heard the visitors arrive but I was soon in the land of nod.

Leslie’s car hasn’t been used for 6 months, since she left to join us in Australia, so of course the battery was dead. After one failed attempt, we managed to charge the battery and we went for a drive to Leslie’s hairdresser.

More exciting though was a visit to Carrs supermarket. We nearly fell over the pile of pumpkins inside the door. Yes, Halloween’s not far away.

Our nephew Gideon has been playing American football recently, and tonight was the final of the Alaska High School Division 1 championship. None of us were that keen on driving out to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley to watch the game: instead we watched it from the comfort of the apartment. It took a while, but I downloaded the relevant app to the much larger than ours TV, subscribed, and tuned in at the right time for kick-off. Or whatever it’s called in this sport. A funny old staccato game is American football so that what starts off as four 12-minute quarters ends up taking nearly three hours to play. Gideon took three punts, kicks during the game, without which his team, West High, would have had a much worse defeat against Dimond High. This was the first American football game I’ve watched from start to finish. The commentary was good but what a shame there was only one camera. Also, we couldn’t hear the half-time entertainment, which was very disappointing. But what did come across was how windy it was there. The referee would place the ball on the ground and, before one of the players could kick it, it would be blown away.

At least on this TV channel, we weren’t bombarded with innumberable, shouty, negative election adverts.

One of my favourite DJs announced his retirement a few weeks ago. I was determined to listen to the final edition of Johnnie Walker’s Sound of the Seventies, which is broadcast at 3pm on a Sunday. Nine hours difference between Anchorage and home so that makes it, er… And this was the weekend that British Summer TIme ended, the clocks went back an hour, adding even more complexity to the calculation.

Anyway, at 7am on Sunday, I tuned in and enjoyed the very moving show. Johnnie’s final link was heartfelt and the last song was Judy Collins’ version of Amazing Grace. Lovely way to go. But then some crass jingle crashed in and ruined the moment.

We drove over to Point Woronzof Park where we’d arranged to meet Catherine and Hans. We’ve all walked on this path before. The car told us it was 27°F outside, below freezing. On this occasion, there were patches of ice in places.

The trail begins right near the airport and as the planes take off, you feel you could reach up and caress them.

Looking over the water, another picture postcard, snow-covered mountain range.

You can see how crisp and clear it was today, but, because I’d put on so many more layers of clothing than I’m used to, by the time we returned to our vehicles, I was sweating. But it was good to catch up with Catherine and Hans again after all this time.

After studying this picture with or without a magnifying glass, you may be wondering why Leslie’s chin is bruised. Well, f’narr, f’narr, you should see the other chap… But actually, a few days ago, after our very first walk, just before we arrived home, she face-planted on the sidewalk. Sandwich went one way, coffee the other and slam, straight down. It took a while to work out where the blood was coming from, nose and/or mouth, but mostly, she was just glad that no teeth were broken. Nor glasses. I can only imagine how much more lethal Anchorage becomes when the snow arrives.

Which it did the very next day. I looked out all of the windows, and there was no escaping it.

Knowing the snow was imminent, we’d been over to Amrit’s office the previous afternoon to pick up a pile of folders so that Liesel can work at home. So, there was no real need to venture out today, apart from a very short walk, over the road to the New Sagaya City Market. I like the crunch of new snow, but I feel I’ve had enough for now. It continued snowing most of the day and overnight and it was several inches deep the next morning.

Next day, I watched a guy over the road with his (by American standards) small truck and his DIY snow plough. He was clearing the snow from the road in front of his house. I say ‘clearing’, but what he was doing was pushing snow into piles in the middle of the road, and then parking his truck on the relatively clear space. I know, I know: who’s the real weirdo, him for doing that pointless task, or me for watching for so long?

Having avoided going out in the car for a couple of days, we’d waited for the main roads at least to be ploughed, oops, plowed, and we again drove to Carrs for the big shop of the week.

Already there are big piles of snow at the side of some roads. Gravel has been spread around the supermarket car park, so the ground isn’t as slippery as it looks. I still find it a bit disconcerting that from a fairly normal place like this, you can see the beauty of the mountains way over there in the distance.

But the most surprising thing is that we haven’t yet seen a single snowman. I thought there’d be a few around now, at the start of Winter. The novelty of all this snow might wear off eventually, I know, but how disappointing. If you’re wondering why I don’t go out and build one myself, I’ll just say: In these shoes? I need a new pair of boots that can protect my feet from snow that is too deep for my trainers.

And so to Halloween. We bought some treats in case we were visited by Trick or Treaters, but nobody came by. So we’ll just have to eat those peanut M&Ms ourselves. Oh well. It didn’t stop snowing all day, but in the afternoon, we did wander over the road and you should have seen the witch that served our coffee.

So what have we been up to while stuck indoors? Liesel’s been working hard. I’ve been reading a lot and doing (attempting) plenty of puzzles. I did complete the New York Times crossword one day and I was looking forward to the following day’s, but thanks to some administrative anomaly, Leslie’s subscription to the Anchorage Daily News was limited to Wednesday and Sunday. D’oh! Leslie’s been reading books and is as despairing about the weather as I am. She does have a Netflix account though, and I’ve been watching 3 Body Problem, a science fiction series released in March. I’d enjoyed reading the trilogy a few years ago and at that point, I think it was the best SF story I’d read for a long, long time. The TV series is pretty good too. So far. We also have Apple+ TV here, so I’ve managed to catch up with and finish watching Ted Lasso, as recommended by Liesel and many other folks.

It was good to see Aaron who came over, and Asa who visited twice, once bearing coffee and shortbread and once bearing chai which he brewed up for us.

And so to November. The snow finally stopped. We knew we were being treated to something special: this turned out to be the snowiest Halloween on record for Anchorage.

Not sure if this link will work outside the USA, apologies if not.

Of course, pristine, white snow doesn’t last long. Just the next day, I had to walk through slush to get to the shop over the road.

Meanwhile, back in relatively tropical England, Martha marked the day as a Times Table Rock Star.

Well done Martha!

Three Concerts and a Nokia

On a typical day, I drag myself out of bed much later than everyone else. I can get up early if I have to, if something exciting is occurring, but usually, I wake up, listen to a podcast or two and drift off again.

Liesel goes out for more walks than I manage, at the moment. Once, she joined a group as far away as Greenfield, the other side of Oldham. No, I’d not heard of it before, either.

The technical challenge of the week was to clear all my personal data from my old Nokia phone. Restore to factory settings. It wasn’t difficult, once the phone was charged up.

It says it’s deleting data. And it did indeed take a few minutes. A quick check however revealed that all my photos, all my music, all my contacts were still stored on the phone.

Later on, I showed Martha this old phone, claiming it was my new one. She laughed: somehow she recognised it as an old Victorian artefact. She and William were round at ours, making flowers from felt, amongst other activities.

After a pretty disappointing Summer, Autumn isn’t looking much better. The wind and the rain are definitely winning. So much wind, that many trees have been uprooted in this area. And so much rain, there are floods in some parts of the country.

We came across this branch on our walk near Kenworthy Lane Woods. Leslie was with me and a fairly large group, while Liesel was being treated by her physiotherapist. It was nice to see a little bit of colour too. Some leaves are turning red, yellow or brown, the shades of Autumn, but even that seems to be a slow process this year.

A few weeks ago, I played tracks from Tom Hingley’s new album The Grand Mal on my radio show, as Album of the Week. Imagine my surprise therefore when he announced a show in Manchester to officially launch the album. I went along to offer my support, at the small but perfectly formed venue that is The Castle Hotel.

Support was provided by Harrison Rimmer whose set was longer than most support acts.

Tom and his band played through the whole album, but nothing else, not his older songs and nothing from the Inspiral Carpets. It was good to see him again, it’s been a while. His wife Kelly was there too, but I didn’t speak to her this time.

Less than twenty-four hours later, we were all back in Manchester for another concert. This time, we went to the Bridgewater Hall to see the Hallé Orchestra playing Top of the Classics.

Before the show, we had to eat. Our first choice of eaterie could let us have a table, but we wouldn’t be able to order food for 45 minutes. So we went over the road to HOME, where for the second time ever, I had a margherita and a margarita together.

The show was brilliant, Leslie enjoyed it too, tapping her feet and clapping along to some well-known classics and a couple of lesser-known tunes. Apparently, my humming along was a little louder than I realised.

Zeb Soanes, Hallé Orchestra conducted by Simon Bell

The narrator was Zeb Soanes who I remember from reading the Shipping Forecast for many years on Radio 4. He now presents a show on Classic FM. And if we thought the conductor was exuberant, he had nothing on the first violinist. I think he must have had ants in his pants.

So, two late nights in a row in Manchester, something my old carcass isn’t really used to any more.

So of course, I went out again just a few days later. I bought tickets for Tom Robinson way back in February. And for a while, I thought we’d miss the show because we’d be in Alaska. Luckily (?!) I became ill and we had to postpone the trip. Tom and the band peformed songs from the very first two Tom Robinson Band albums, Power in the Darkness and TRB2. This was a return visit for me to Band on the Wall. Last time, there were seats. This time, they expected 450 of us mainly old blokes to stand for three hours. I went upstairs and found a seat. I was further away from the stage, so the photos aren’t that good, but at least I was sitting down!

Tonight’s support act was someone from Nottingham, Rob Green, who Tom got to know via his BBC Introducing show on 6 Music. He was very good, funny and entertaining.

Tom was genuinely delighted to see so many people here, some of us younger than his 74 years of age. He says there are three things he doesn’t like about getting old. He has to print out some of the lyrics. Then he has to wear glasses so he can read the lyrics. And, er…

I took a taxi home and arrived before I would have reached the bus station if I’d chosen to walk there. But I’m ahead of myself. Three gigs in six days is quite an achievement.

This week, we took the children to Let Loose, another soft play space over in Hazel Grove. Liesel and Leslie had another WI meeting to attend in the evening, so no family meal at home. Today was the first of October, but Let Loose was already decorated and set up for Halloween.

We had a snack here too before taking the children home.

I glanced at the never-ending To-Do list and picked something out at random. I remember a nice, warm day in May, 1968, when we at school were all escorted out on to the sports field. The professional photographer was here to take a picture of the whole school. The photo is over a metre long. Of course, it was never framed and instead, it’s been stored, rolled up, bashed and battered in a box, for over half a century. I decided it was time to pass it onto the school’s own archivist. But not before I took pictures of the aged old photo.

What I found sad was that I spent at least five years of my life with these foks and now, I can only name about five or six of them. I wonder whatever happened to my old scool buddies?

I think there must have been something in the air in Wythenshawe on the day we wandered around the pond in Painswick Park. Maybe there are now some tasty morsels in the water. Most of the geese, at some point, stuck their derrières in the air for that perfect photo opportunity.

Arguably the Craftwork of the Week award goes to Liesel for her beautiful and functional Mug Cosy.

After I submitted revised repeats for a few weeks, I managed to cobble together a brand new show this week for Wythenshawe Radio, WFM 97.2. Having been to so many concerts recently, the theme of the show was Concerts. Concerts and Gigs! You can listen to it right here, if you need something on in the background for a couple of hours.

Chan Chan

The drive to Quarry Bank Mill was exciting, in the rain, trying to reach that precise temperature in the car where humans aren’t too cold but the windows aren’t fogging up. Holding our collective breath worked for a while but wasn’t sustainable for the whole trip. Because of the precipitation, we walked the quick way down to the restaurant. Jenny, Martha and William joined us for coffee and cake. We were celebrating Liesel’s birthday. Imagine our disappointment when we saw that the choice of cakes was very limited today. Imagine my excitement when the staff brought out a whole, new lemon drizzle cake. Liam was elsewhere, hiking, possibly in the rain, maybe not.

The children always like to have a look in the gift shop and today was no exception. Martha was intrigued by the small weaving loom being demonstrated.

Normally, we’d have a bit of a longer walk around the grounds, but not today.

Another medical procedure for me but you don’t need to know about folks rummaging around in my junkyard. The medics did give me a nice cup of coffee afterwards and as many biscuits as I wanted.

And I visited the dental hygienist where I answered the same old questions with the same old details about my oral hygiene. Later in the day, we drove over to Bruntwood Park, parked up, and walked to the school to pick up the children. Snacks in the playground are no longer acceptable, but we did promise them an ice cream in the park. It was a lovely, sunny day, a bonus after some rubbish weather recently. William and I played hide and seek for a while: I felt bad about not being able to run after him, especially given how much energy he was burning off, fuelled by an ice cream.

Martha’s friend Eliza was in the park too, and they spent a lot of time together, swinging, and sliding and even climbing.

We took the children home a bit earlier than planned after William bashed a tooth in the slide. It was a loose tooth, and he felt that it had been pushed back into its socket. He was alright later after some parental TLC. No meal with the fam tonight, as Liesel and Leslie went off to a WI meeting, leaving me to enjoy a couple of episodes of Doctor Who.

This was the week of the full Harvest Supermoon. The Moon’s closer to the Earth than usual, so it looks bigger. There was also a partial lunar eclipse. Unusually, that night, the sky was clear, so I thought I’d get up in the night and see what all the fuss was about. I was awake at 2am , at which point, the eclipse was just beginning. It would be at its maximum at 3.44am. I’ll be awake again by then, I often am. Nope, not tonight. When I came to, it was after 5 o’clock. I’d missed the whole blimmin’ thing. I enjoyed seeing other people’s photos online, but I would prefer to have witnessed the sight of a rare blood-red half of the Moon myself.

Some really sad news this week. Greens Restaurant in Sale has announced its imminent closure. I’m so glad Helen, Brent and I had lunch there recently, and I feel bad that Liesel and I never quite got round to making a booking.

We had a few uninvited guests this week, all named Boris and all quickly evacuated through the window after posing for a photograph. The first was a small specimen having a kip on my computer keyboard. The others were two of the biggest spiders we’ve ever seen in this flat, or in fact, anywhere I’ve lived.

At least the cranefly was polite enough to stay outside. And I’m so glad I’m no longer a postman, having to walk face first through hundreds of newly constructed webs every morning. Did I ever mention, spiders’ webs taste of metal?

Another day, another walk, this time down by the river where at least a couple of people were messing about in their boats. We haven’t seen the resident heron for a long time, but if he’s disappeared, I’m surprised we haven’t seen a new one. The new sign by the children’s playground is quite intriguing.

I just wonder what prompted this. Who was daft enough to eat the berries, leaves and plants here? Part of me hoped it wasn’t the small children just having a good play, but the boys over there, significantly older than 9, playing football.

Liesel went on a walk with another group while Leslie and I joined the Thrive walk in Wythenshawe. For a while, we thought there’d only be a few of us but suddenly, many more people appeared out of nowhere. The paths in the woods are now, at the end of Summer, quite overgrown, and again, I said to myself, I should carry around some secateurs to cut back the worst of the nettles and brambles.

One busy evening, all three of us attended meetings, but not the same one. Thanks to the rubbish bus service in these parts, I arrived late for the meeting of Wythenshawe Radio volunteers. But I was rewarded afterwards by the sight of a wonderful Wythenshawe sunset, as seen from the bus station. So romantic.

Liesel and her Mom attended the WI Knitting group meeting. I’m not sure how much knitting, nor even crochet, takes place.

Magic moments

Congratulations again to Helen and Brent! Not quite married but we had a lovely day celebrating their impending union. They are having a series of parties all around the world to accommodate friends and family in several continents. Slight exaggeration there.

Dressed in white, Helen illuminated The Ivy in Manchester where thirteen of us met for a fantastic, long lunch. It was lovely to see our former hairdresser and Helen’s friend Tracey and her family after their six-hour drive from Somerset.

The food was great, the company was marvellous, the service fantastic, all the staff were very attentive and friendly. Oh hang on, this isn’t Trip Adviser is it?

Martha and William enjoyed building their own ice cream sundaes. Well, they enjoyed gorging on the various components.

Later on, we all met up at Jenny’s for a party with more friends and family. Magician Matt and Amy were there: we’d not met since Jenny and Liam’s wedding two years ago.

It was a gorgeous day to sit around in the garden, drinking, chatting and ‘plane spotting.

The more formal part of the day was Martha and William acting as joint celebrants, conducting their own marriage ceremony, and a very good job they did too.

Despite appearances, the certificate was not signed on the desk in a mobile phone and cuddly toy shop.

Even after a huge meal at The Ivy, we still found time and space to enjoy the various snacks, thanks to Jenny, Liesel and Una. Yes, for the first time in quite a while, I felt that I’d eaten too much.

Evening entertainment was provided by Matt whose warm-up act was Martha. She managed a conjuring trick perfectly.

Matt got Helen and Brent to choose numbers from an apparently random set on a board. When added up, the total was, as predicted by Matt, 111,124. Which, by coincidence, we believe to be the chosen date for the actual wedding, 11/11/24. Spooky.

Many of us suggested questions to ask Helen and Brent. They sat back to back, each holding one shoe of their own and of of their partner’s. The questions were answered by each raising the shoe belonging to whoever they each believed satisfied the question best. And yes, we were still sitting outside well after dark.

A good night’s sleep was had by all, I’m sure.

After breakfast, Martha and William came over. We looked after them for a few hours while Jenny, Liam, Helen and Brent spent some time together. We picked some litter… no… We picked a lot of litter while walking from our place to the playground in Riverside Park. In the end, we left two full bags to be collected by the contractors. Still, it was a nice day for litter-picking, and the children had fun in the playground too.

Fun, yes, but exhausting. Poor old William!

The walk home via a coffee shop was uneventful, until it very suddenly got dark, started to spit and then, whoosh, a torrential downpour soaked us. How we laughed!

It was lovely to meet up with Helen and Brent for lunch before they continued their tour of the UK and Ireland. I took a bus to Greens, Sale, the first time I’d been there. The food as always was great, but I did have to take some excess patatas bravas home for Liesel!

Martha and William returned to school and Helen and Brent drove off to Snowdonia for a few days to complete thir British adventure.

I’m still having all but daily medical appointments, consultations, examinations, check-ups, but you know, mustn’t grumble.

Liesel and I had a night out. Laughterama in Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. Outside. And I’m so glad I wore a long-sleeved shirt, a coat and long trousers, as it did get quite cold and windy towards the end of the evening. All five comedians were very funny. One in particular was very rude, and we learned the BSL sign for a word that we’ll never use in real life.

Jen Brister, Stephen Bailey, Janine Harouni, Rhys James and Dara Ó Briain

Dara commented that he likes Manchester because of all the theatres, especially the ones with roofs…

I went for a walk on what must have been one of the hottest days of this Summer, although I didn’t realise that when I set off. I visited a few shops. Liesel and her Mom have been out a few times with the WI ladies for coffee. And we’ve been watching far too much TV: la Vuelta, the Paralympics and the Tour of Britain (Men) started this week too. I checked, but my eyes haven’t gone square like my Mum said they would.

Allez allez allez

I don’t like spiders and snakes
And that ain’t what it takes to love me
Like I wanna be loved by you.

Well, that’s how the song goes and, actually, personally, I don’t mind spiders and snakes. And neither does William. He went away on Beaver camp and received a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of his amazing animal-handling skills. Yep: he wore a snake like a scarf.

We are very proud of our grandson!

The Tour de France continues to entertain and enthrall us, especially on the day when they had to ride on fourteen stretches of gravel. The megatonnes of dust reduced visibility, and at the end of the day, we had to give our TV set a really good wipe.

Who won that stage? I can’t remember, I’m just pleased that they all finished without feeling the need to cough their lungs up.

We were invited to babysit while Liam and Jenny socialised with friends much later than originally planned. Its still a fun challenge putting the children to bed at a reasonable time while letting them believe they’ve stayed up later than usual.

It’s that time of year again: my annual visit to the optician for a checkup. Everything’s OK, and I was able to see the wonderful mural round the corner. I don’t mean I could see round the corner, it was located round the corner from the optician’s in Didsbury and that’s where I saw it.

A family member who shall remain nameless asked if I was the ‘Man who slipped in puddle of Baileys on way to BA flight could get £4m.’ No, not this time. But I am planning such an ‘accident’ for my next visit to an airport since investing in the National Lottery seems to be a waste of time. And money.

We looked after the children again a couple of days later, picking them up from school and taking them to the nearby park. On the way, we crossed a bridge over a small stream, and William had to demonstrate just how waterproof his shoes are.

We had an ice cream and lots of fun in the playground before taking them home. William’s other achievement was running around the whole of the BMX course. If only that were an Olympic event in its own right.

The regular walks were back on this week, Wednesday’s attracting over twenty people. The drinks are now sponsored by a local firm of solicitors and I was interviewed by one of their reps, asking about the benefits of these walks. And then on Thursday, there were just the three of us. Still, nothing wrong with a bit of light exercise in what passes for fresh air around here!

Liesel joined a couple of organised walks without me, one to Alderley Edge which was much longer than anticipated and one for ‘ladies only’ to Fletcher Moss Gardens. Yes, ‘ladies only’ but they stull let Liesel in.

In local news, there is a big pothole in Gatley and a few nights ago, we managed to not avoid it. One tyre punctured so it was replaced as was a second because its tread was well worn. I don’t think we can claim back from the local council, but whenever I visit this garage, I always enjoy having a quick chat with the fishies.

Good News Week

Well, the big news this week was of course the UK General Election. No spoilers here, but I will say more about it later.

The other big event was Martha and William’s school Summer Fair. It was a typical Summer’s day, blue skies, scorching sunshine, the stench of sunblock fighting the stink of burnt offerings from the barbecue.

We met up with the other grandparents, Alan and Una, and we all enjoyed the perfomance of Matilda indoors, starring the one and only Martha. As she and the others sang, sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty.

I mentioned the barbecue, and the best thing on offer there were the homemade samosas: I think we all indulged. Plenty of fun at all the stalls, although I did forget to buy a raffle ticket before we left.

Liesel needs a new computer so on the way home, we visited John Lewis where we had a look at the current generation of laptops. Lots of info from a very helpful sales assistant but as usual, almost too much information to process. So, for now, Liesel continues to work on a laptop that is the same age as Martha, and that sounds like it’s about to take flight with its Rolls Royce aero engine.

This was also the weekend of the Glastonbury Festival. We didn’t go, but we watched some of the performances on TV, such as Coldplay and Idles, Shania Twain, Cyndi Lauper, Dua Lipa, Avril Lavigne and Paloma Faith. Guess whch two of these artistes Liesel and I have seen performing on stage? No prizes, just for fun. I was disappointed that Frankie Archer’s set on the Acoustic Stage wasn’t shown in full, not even online. I should demand a refund on my TV licence.

This was also the weekend that the Tour de France started, so we’ve been watching that on TV this week. We didn’t expect to see Sir Mark Cavendish at the Tour again, yet here he is, hoping to win a 35th TdF stage and beat the 34 stage wins of Eddie Merckx, a record held since 1977. And he did, at the end of a very exciting, fast day’s racing.

We joined the family for a meal at Gusto late in the afternoon: I think William wanted to be home in time to watch England’s football team play in their next game in the Euros.

Fletcher Moss was the destination for our only organised walk this week. It was a big group, nearly 30 people, and amongst all the Himalayan balsam was some delightful bindweed, with pink rather than white flowers. As rare as a four-leaf clover, apparently.

Afterwards I continued walking into Didsbury where I had some errands to run, while Liesel went to the pub with some of the others. A fair distribution of labour, I feel.

A visit to Quarry Bank resulted in another very enjoyable jaunt through the woods. We were blown away by the number of hydrangeas in bloom here.

In fact, there was a lot of colour, thanks to the poppies, dandelions, marigolds and there was plenty of produce in the kitchen garden. We took the volunteers up on their offer and took home some rhubarb.

The regular Thrive Manchester walks were cancelled this week due to illness (get well soon!) so Liesel, Leslie and I went for a walk along the river instead.

It wasn’t that warm, there was hardly any wind, so ideal conditions for insects to be flying about, but we encountered hardly any at all, which is very sad.

And so we come to July 4th, Election Day, the day we’ve been waiting for for over four years. For the first time, I had to take ID so that I’d be allowed to cast my vote. I took three forms of ID, just to be on the safe side. But the clerk hardly looked at mine. Probably because of my totally honest looking physiognomy.

I was accompanied by Liesel and her Mom, who I think appreciated the short stroll. I came back the long way, via Rose Hill Woods, where I’ve not been for a long time. I’d forgotten that when you emerge from these woods on the other side, there’s a golf course. I wasn’t wearing a hard hat, but I wasn’t bothered by low-flying golf balls.

Liesel and Leslie went to bed and I set myself up for a long night in front of the TV. I don’t think I’ve stayed up all night to watch election results since 1997. But I thought history might be made tonight.

The exit polls at 10pm looked good, and as the night progressed and the results came in, I cheered silently. Those of you who know me personally will know that I’m not the biggest drinker in the world. In fact, until tonight, I’d only consumed one beer since I returned home from Anchorage. But tonight, well, I marked the occasion in style.

By the time I retired to bed at 6.50am, I had collected plenty of glassware for the recycling bin. We have a Labour majority in the House of Commons, some prominent Tories have lost their seats, and things are looking up again. While watching so much politicking on TV, mostly Channel 4, but also dipping into BBC, ITV and Sky, I realised just how many dinosaurs there are still in positions of influence, and relatively few young, inspiring politicians there are. The best couple of minutes was watching Carol Vorderman not holding back her opinion on the last fourteen years of “corruption and lies and gaslighting.” And now, a couple of days later, our new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dared to appoint actual experts to his Cabinet, people who know about the ministries and departments that they’re now responsible for. What a novel idea! So, let’s hope to see some real changes soon.

Whinges of the week: (1) When you’re wasting time on Instagram watching loads of stoopid little videos, and then you click on the option that says ‘I’m not interested in this crap’, why does it then give you the option of watching it again? (2) When I have occasion to put a plaster on my fingertip, my phone can no longer recognise my fingerprint. The phone’s not that smart, after all.

Did you guess? Liesel and I saw Shania Twain perform one year in Hyde Park as part of Radio 2’s Festival in a Day. She’s just recovered from Lyme Disease. And we saw Paloma Faith in 2010, one of the guests in Rob Brydon’s TV chat show. It was the first show to be recorded, but not broadcast for a few weeks. Other guests on the show were Ronnie Corbett and Lucy Porter. It seems a long time ago now.

Gooses and Mooses

The family have been having a wonderful time at Disney World, enjoying the rides, the food and the exciting weather, thunder and lightning in between all the glorious sunshine. So here are a couple of final pictures from their trip.

Oh hang on, no, that’s not Disneyworld. That was Didsbury Festival. I’m sure there are no copyright issues here, and I am aware that Disney do have a team of very good, very expensive lawyers.

I should have walked over but in the end, I drove to Didsbury Festival and had a good look around. Apart from fairground rides, there were very many food and drink stalls. Several national organisations such as Greenpeace were represented, but I was more fascinated by the local groups. I said hello to Liesel’s WI mates. And I did think this group might have more calls on their time in Anchorage:

Liesel visited Talkeetna for a couple of days: it’s a long drive north of Anchorage. When we married, eighteen years ago, we had a party at Talkeetna Roadhouse. It’s tradition to leave a bottle top there on a door frame, and I’m pleased to say our Freixenet bottle top is still there, although our hand-written legend is faded.

Last year, there was no Women’s Tour of Britain Bicycle Race, but I’m glad to say it’s back, and I’ve been following it this week on ITV4 and via a podcast called On Yer Bike, hosted by my old friend Sanny Rudravajhala. The fourth and final stage took place in Manchester so I had to go along and support the riders.

I went by public transport, hoping to see the start and the end of the race, even if I didn’t witness the more challenging terrain along the 99 km route.

This picture shows how we dress for Summer in Manchester this year. Very few people in shorts and t-shirts, which would be my default dress code in June, which is supposed to be warm, after all.

Anyway, Manchester public transport. I left in very good time, but I still missed the start of the race at the National Cycle Centre. I heard the announcements from way over there, but I didn’t see anything. The bus got held up as a direct result of the roads being closed for the race, and the driver was reluctant to open the door and let us off. Jobsworth.

I did enjoy the musical entertainment though, provided by a group of drummers.

In fact, I recorded their rhythms and beats and I think this might become my new ringtone.

Oh well, I had plenty of time to get to Leigh to witness the end of today’s race. In fact, I had so much time, I thought I’d spend some of it in the Central Library. I wasn’t allowed in because it was closed, due to ‘an event’ which you had to book. What event? I have no idea. But, every cloud… I visited the café in the Art Gallery instead where I enjoyed one of their Cheese and Marmite scones.

As time went on, the rain worsened and I felt bad for the riders. The bus ride to Leigh was interesting. Part of the route takes the bus along a Guided Busway. What’s to stop cars driving along this former railway line? There are car traps, big holes, at road junctions.

I’ve never been to Leigh before, but I don’t suppose it’s always this cold and wet and miserable. Hooray, it was good to take shelter inside Spinning Gate shopping centre, but in a very British move, on a day when a big event is taking place in town, I noticed the public toilets were closed, as they always are, on a Sunday.

After the long, wet walk from the bus station to the sports centre, Leigh Sports Village, it was good to see so many spectators here. I found a spot 125 metres before the finishing line. I watched the race on the big TV screen but I was ready for the riders. Again, yes, I should have had a real camera.

The leading group were racing right up to the line, and in the end, it was quite a while before we discovered who’d won the stage. I think the announcer was building up excitement and expectations, but it worked, many of us, despite the downpour, stayed to watch the presentation ceremony. Ruby Roseman-Gannon won the stage and World Champion Lotte Kopecky won the overall Tour. Lizzie Deignan was Queen of the Mountains. I’m sure we’ll see all of them again at the Olympics.

Officials from British Cycling presented some of the awards, and they received a modicum of applause from the audience. Dame Sarah Storey takes the prize for the most support from the crowd, very loud cheers and lots of applause as she presented the prize to the Best Young Rider, Eline Jansen. Representatives from the sponsor, Lloyds Bank, well, they probably only expected half a dozen claps each from the crowd anyway.

Later on, I watched highlights of the race on TV and I was surprised and delighted to see my hat onscreen. Another small contribution to my fifteen minutes of fame.

News from abroad now. Jenny, Liam, Martha and William enjoyed their final day in Florida before returning home for work (boo) and for school (hmmm).

Meanwhile, in Alaska, Liesel was spotting some wildlife. By the lake in Talkeetna, a Mommy moose was looking after her twin calves.

I’ve known my friend Ruth for just about fifty years now, and it was lovely to meet up with her for the first time in at least a decade over at Quarry Bank. We had a good catch-up and a very pleasant walk. It was tempting, but neither of us were brave enough to pick the strawberry.

There were a few other visitors here today, but I think most of the other people we saw were gardeners, loads of them, all very busy. Lots of foxgloves too, but they weren’t doing much other than looking pretty.

Ruth went off to RHS Bridgewater and I returned home. I hope we can meet up again before another decade passes!

I scored a hattrick this week, attending all three of the regular Thrive Manchester walks. It was nice to see the old faces again, and some new ones.

Oops, I did it again. I left home in very good time with a view to catching a bus to one of the walks. A funeral procession held up traffic, including my bus. So I arrived late. But then so did Chantel, the leader, so I didn’t feel too bad!

In Painswick Park, it was hard to avoid all the goose guano on the path, and nobody can walk on tiptoes for that long. On the other side of the pond, we were approached by a herd, a swarm, a veritable gaggle of goslings.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, I set off on an adventure. I took a tram from Wythenshawe to the airport and then caught the bus back home. Why? Well, I’ve never done that before and I wanted to see how convenient the public transport option is at the airport. Will we travel by bus or tram with luggage? Very unlikely.

A schedule of Wythenshawe Radio shows is posted at the Forum. My show now goes out on Wednesday morning and I am described as ‘inimitable’.

I’ll take it as a compliment but… why the quotes? And no, I didn’t mention it at the volunteers’ meeting where it was nice to see some old faces and some new ones.

The theme of my show this week was Red Things. You can listen to over two hours of fabulous music right here on Mixcloud.

Arthur and Sheila

Flaming June, or as my Dad often referred to it, flamin’ ‘orrible June. The start of meteorological Summer but looking out of the window, walking the streets and taking on board all the weather forecasts, it’s not looking good. I don’t think this will be one of our best, warmest Summers. Maybe one of the coolest and wettest. Being British, I’m always going to whinge about the weather, I suppose.

While we were away, we missed seeing Count Arthur Strong at the Lowry. The tickets were passed on to some lucky listeners of Wythenshawe Radio. So you can imagine my delight when I found out that Count Arthur was appearing at the Plaza in Stockport. I bought myself a ticket and enjoyed a night out.

The venue is an old cinema, and rather than playing records before the start of the show, we enjoyed music played on the organ.

The show was very funny of course, and the second half educational too. If you ever get the chance to see the Count’s presentation on the history of The Beatles, grab it with both hands. I only remembered to take a picture right at the end of the performance, it was that engaging.

Afterwards, I walked back to the car park through the dark, brooding streets of Stockport. There were a few other people around, but it’s certainly not the hustling, bustling, vibrant town that Manchester is late on a Saturday evening.

Call me a sad old git, but I decided not to go to a gig that I’d been looking foward to. Local band Hann (who very nearly appeared on my show a while ago, but that’s another story) have a new record out. They were in concert quite locally. But then I saw that there were three or four other bands on beforehand, and that they, Hann, wouldn’t take to the stage until about ten o’clock. So, yes, I didn’t go: instead, I went to bed instead.

The car returned to the garage for some more work. Last week, it got a new battery, so it could start and go. This week, it received new brakes, so it can also stop, now. It’s a wonderful, ethically run garage, and reasonably priced too.

I paid a visit to Dunham Massey, and so did everyone else on the same day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the place so busy, but I had a nice walk, thanks for asking. My day was ruined though because they no longer allow me to ride the deer.

These birch trees always look magificent, and I waited a long time until there were no humans in sight. The rose garden was very colourful, and I’m sure some of the flowers were scented, but my schnozz didn’t seem to be working fully.

It was good to see some busy bees going about their buzziness too.

I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but to me, it seemed more like a drunkard’s walk than a carefully thought out, methodical route, as they flew from bloom to bloom.

Although the place was heaving with people, the deer were very accessible. You had to be careful where you walked, and I’m sure they had to careful where they ate too.

While we’re thinking about wild animals, here’s one that Liesel saw over there in Alaska.

I was quite impressed that Liesel had encountered a black bear while on on a hike somewhere in or near Anchorage. But no. She said it had been at a wildlife reserve visited a few weeks ago.

And if a bear isn’t scary enough, what do you think of this beastie?

What else might be a bit scary is being stranded on an island. That is the premise of the play Sheila’s Island. I saw a performance of this, just up the road at Northenden Players Theatre Company, the amateur theatre group. It was very entertaining, funny and the set was really well done for such a small space. I arrived in a bit of a state though. I thought the performance started at 8pm. But when I checked my phone to confirm I had the ticket, I saw that it was in fact 7.30. I had ten minutes to leg it up the road and I arrived, puffed yes, but in good time.

We have a General Election on July 4th so to mark the occasion, the theme of the show this week was Elections. You can listen to it right here on Mixcloud. Really looking forward to having a new government.

First World Problems

While it’s great to be home, it’s always an anticlimax after being away in exotic locations for a while. Being tired and/or jet-lagged doesn’t help of course, so I was very sensitive to anything slightly amiss. I was definitely discombobulated after watching the carousel go round and round, delivering luggage to fellow passengers, and then, suddenly, the conveyor belt stopped. About eight of us looked at each other in disbelief, wondering where our bags were. Nothing for it but to report the missing items. This we did on awkward, vertically mounted, touch screens. Yes, it’s great that we can report missing bags at all, but in the heat of the moment, when you’re feeling tired and a bit fed up, having to try two or three times to enter every single response was so dispiriting. Anyway, I’ll never know where my case spent three days before it was delivered to my home address. The good news is, there was nothing missing, the bottles of wine were in tact. The Jumpy’s and crackers, for William and for Jenny respectively were slightly crushed, that’s all. Still, first world problems, eh?

The flat seemed to be in good nick, I just opened the windows to let in some fresh air. The two shrivelled black things in the kitchen? Well, I think we just forgot to pack the last two bananas before we set off. Oh well. At least the place wasn’t full of fruit flies, I think we were quite lucky there.

The bad news is that one of our pictures fell off the wall. Command Tape by 3M isn’t as strong and reliable as we would like. The good news is that, this time, neither the frame nor the glass were damaged. How annoying, though. It’s bad enough pictures falling off the wall, but then you can see just how dusty the wall itself is. First world problems, eh?

My first few days at home I spent trying to stay awake and adapt to the new timezone. I nodded off several times in front of the TV or while listening to the radio or a podcast or even attempting a puzzle.

After two months away, Northenden is now much more green and lush, some say overgrown. Some folks were having fun, messing about in the river.

I think those two were trying to shift an object from the weir. Very brave, considering what United Utilities have been dumping in our natural waterways recently.

After a couple of days, I thought I’d drive to the shops. Car said ‘no’. The battery was totally dead. I called on Liam who has a gadget, a gizmo, a device that would jump start the car. It got going, but I never managed to drive far enough to charge the battery enough to start the car next time. It may be the case that the battery needs replacing, of course. After a couple of jump starts, thanks to Liam, I bought my own jump start box, which we’ll keep in the boot of the car, just in case. Still, first world problems, eh?

I’ve been watching the old, classic Doctor Who series on BBC iPlayer for a while. I’ve just reached the Tom Baker era. I enjoyed the show at the time, but binge-watching it now just highlights how repetitive the storylines are. And compared with today’s modern, glossy incarnation with Ncuti Gatwa, the special effects are just laughable. ‘It is of its time, of course.’ But while the iPlayer is a great resource, it’s not perfect. There is no option to tell it, for instance, that you are not and will never be interested in a certain show so please stop suggesting it. Plus, every two or three days it apologises because the ‘Continue to watch…’ option is not available. Well, that’s no good is it? Why? This is the cue for me to eat more biscuits while searching for what I want. Still, first world problems, eh?

During my first week back, I didn’t make it to any of the regular Thrive Manchester walks, I was either asleep or just waking up. And then it was half-term, so these walks were cancelled. I’ll catch up with them soon.

Because the car wasn’t cooperating, my plans to go for more interesting walks further afield at National Trust properties were shelved. I tried not to wear the pavements out in Northenden but I wandered round and round, never meeting anyone I know. While we were away, Boxx2Boxx café has moved along the road to bigger premises, and I paid my first visit. It’s now over the road from Tesco, so I went shopping there. I usually go to the Co-op which is a bit further away from home, but on this occasion, well, I couldn’t be bothered. I needed a nap. I was beginning to think I was suffering from narcolepsy, not just jet-lag. First world problems, eh?

In other local news, some of those empty shops on Palatine Road are now occupied, hooray! One is a barber (because there aren’t enough barbers and hairdressers in Northenden) and one is a charity shop (because there aren’t enough… you get the picture).

There I was one afternoon doing a puzzle when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. The flat has been invaded by a spider. He’s a lovely specimen and I hope he survives outside. Our very own Boris.

In another attempt to get the car started, I went over to Jenny and Liam’s. I was thrown in the deep end. Did I want to take the children swimming? Well, yes of course, as long as they can show me where to go. We walked to the pool where they both have lessons every week, and as always, I am amazed at their skills in the water, both so much more competent and confident than I am.

Yes, after swimming, William did dry and brush his own hair. He has style.

The car limped to Sainsbury’s in Cheadle Hulme and I really enjoyed walking up and down the aisles of the very large supermarket. Honest, yes, I increased my step count a lot that day. Here’s a conundrum. I probably should go for a really long drive to charge the battery. But if I do that, I’ll need to stop somewhere to re-fuel. But if I do that, the car might not start again and then I’ll be stuck in a service station, blocking the way for other customers. Yes, I did have Liam’s jump starting device on board, but I’d be worried about sparks if I try to jump start at a petrol station, I don’t want to blow the place up. First world problems, huh!

Anyway, I was pleased to see that this shop, Sainsbury’s, will accept my old, used batteries for recycling, as well as gold and silver (!), currency, electronics and stamps. Well, I have a bag of stamps to donate but I suspect if I had any spare precious metals, I’d probably be selling them.

So, as I write, the car is at the garage for its MOT and they’ll check the battery too. Fingers crossed, after today, I’ll be able to go out, start the car and be on my way.

Jenny and Liam invited me over for a barbecue, and we had a very pleasant, fun afternoon in the garden. Martha and William had helped skewer the kebabs, all veggies, no meat.

Liam brought out his juggling clubs, and yes, he’ll be running away to the circus any day now. You’ll see. I had a go myself, but my juggling skills are very rusty. Maybe I should have been practising more during the last twenty or thirty years!

A couple of days later, I celebrated Jenny’s birthday by going to the blood shop, as she called it when she was little, for another blood donation session. And not just for the tea and biscuits. Earlier in the day, I’d witnessed Martha roller-skating around the house. I found that a little scary.

And so far, I haven’t mentioned the weather since I got home. Well, we’ve had a bit of sunshine and a lot of rain. I can’t wait until proper Summer kicks in and I can go out without a raincoat. I don’t mind getting a bit wet, but I don’t need my shirt to be so waterlogged, I can wring it out. I know, first world problems, right?

I mentioned the circus a little earlier. Well, they might not be going there, but the family are all off to Disneyworld for a little holiday. Yes, of course I offered to carry their bags or something, but no. In order to facilitate uninterrupted packing, I took Martha and Wiliam to the nearby playground where I heard ‘Grandad, look at this’ and ‘Grandad, watch me’ about four and a half thousand times. Great fun! So much energy. William said, after a while, that we should go home because it felt like rain. It did indeed try, but there were only about six raindrops on this occasion.

I’m not saying my grandchildren are noisy or antisocial or anything, but soon after we arrived, the only other family there left. Maybe it was is something I said?!

Well, Spring has worked wonders for Northenden, bring out the good and the bad. Firstly, in some hedges, the bindweed really is taking over. I lost a thirty year battle with this indestructible weed in our garden in Chessington, and it still brings back nasty memories of time I’ll never get back. First world problems, yep.

Of course, not all weeds are nasty. They’re just things growing in the wrong place. I’m not a fan of footpaths that are overgrown, but I can’t really complain about these poppies.

This week, I prepared and recorded a radio show for Wythenshawe Radio, WFM 97.2, online and now on DAB! I marked the occasion of my return home, plus there’s a track from a newly released album. You don’t want to miss this one, it’s here on Mixcloud. My show is now broadcast at the exciting brand new time of 10 o’clock on Wednesday morning, with a repeat on Saturday at 6pm.

Meanwhile, Liesel and Mom are still in Anchorage, still going for walks, still watching the snow slowly disappear from the mountains.

Oh, just before I publish, news just in: Angie from the garage called: yes, the car battery is dead, D E D, dead, it’s not holding charge at all.

Soil and oil

It’s always a joy to be invited out for coffee almost as soon as you make an appearance early in the morning. Or even late in the morning. And so it was that Liesel, Leslie and I walked across the road to meet up with Jyoti and her youngest, Gita, in the New Sagaya branch of Kaladi Bros Coffee. Breakfast for me was a bagel, though sadly not a jalapeño bagel, something I’d been looking forward to. Maybe they don’t bake them any more.

Liesel took her Mom for a medical procedure so Jyoti and I went for a walk alongside the lagoon.

Gita sent a mesage from the garden centre, our cue to drive over and join her. As it was such a beautiful day, Gita gave us fifteen minutes to arrive, otherwise she’d leave and go sunbathing…

Jyoti and Gita bought some houseplants, while my job was to find some hooks and a chain with which to hang the hanging basket that Aaron had given Mom for Mothers’ Day. Mothers’ Day in America doesn’t coincide with Mothering Sunday at home.

Jyoti also purchased a bag of Alaska Organic Soil and I had nothing better to do for a minute, so I read the ingredients.

Yes, this soil contains bits of fish, thanks to bears who have enjoyed salmon from the rivers and dropped scraps in the woods.

Back at home, I made myself quite busy while Liesel and Mom were still out. I didn’t find a chain, but I managed to hang the basket on the balcony using a couple of hooks and some bendy wire.

In the living room, there is a large jar of M&Ms. We’ve all dipped into it from time to time. Liesel thought she might be over-indulging and asked me to hide the jar. Well, I thought that seemed a bit harsh on her Mom, so, instead, I put a note inside the jar saying ‘No, Liesel’ illustrated with an angry cartoon face. I hoped this would be deterrent enough.

Sod’s law: it was Mom who came across the note first and, sadly, it made her lose her appetite for M&Ms. For a while, anyway.

Leslie’s surgery had gone well, and I was surprised to see that she had much less dressing on her eye than I did after my own cataract surgery. But, she has to apply eye drops for several days, something I don’t remember having to do.

In the evening, Una took me out for dinner, thank you very much, and we had a lovely chat. We chose Mexican and the portion size on this occasion was only slightly too big for me.

Leslie’s other eye was operated on the following day, again, fully successfully. While she was out, I went for a solo walk. Westmark Anchorage Hotel and Conference Center is nothing special from an architectural point of view but it was nice to see the flags of many nations flying outside. Pedantic old me couldn’t help but notice the Union Flag was flying upside down, popularly thought to be a sign of distress.

I didn’t expect to bump into an old friend, but I did. Star the reindeer has been here for many years, but I don’t know whether or not he’s the original Star.

Rubbish picture, because of the thick layer of dirty glass between us. Still, always good to see some wildlife, sort of.

In Leslie’s apartment block, we all attended the May Spring Fling Happy Hour. This was an opportunity to meet some of the other people who live here. Wine and nibbles were supplied. At first, Leslie wasn’t that keen, so Liesel went by herself to the community area on the top floor of the other block. I must have nodded off, but when I came to, Leslie said whe would attend after all, so we wandered over, through the courtyard.

And it was an even later night than usual when we all went to the airport to welcome Leslie’s Aunt Buzz, who is visiting for a week from her home in Albuquerque. As Liesel remarked, Buzz could be Leslie’s twin, so easy to recognise as she emerged from the secure area. And here was another chance to see some wildlife, sort of.

In fact, there are very many stuffed animals at Anchorage Airport, but I am too intimidated by American Airport rules and officials to risk taking too many pictures.

The other night, we couldn’t see any sand hill cranes. But they are here, and of all places, I was surprised to see them on the front page of the daily newspaper.

That’s today’s Anchorage Daily News, the paper that also prints the challenging New York Times crossword every day. Point Woronzof, that’s where we enjoyed a stroll just a few days ago.

So, in an effort to see some actual, living animals, in the flesh, the now four of us went for a walk on the boardwalk at Potter Marsh. It was cloudy, but otherwise, another ideal day for a walk. The only disappointment here was seeing so much oil on the surface of the water.

But this doesn’t seem to deter plenty of migratory birds from enjoying everything on offer here. We saw many swallows, for example. Most exciting, maybe, was seeing an eagle on his nest, a long way over there. I tried to get a photo by holding up my phone to the binoculars.

I know it’s not a prize-winning photo, but he is a long way off and the binoculars’ lenses showed signs of having been outdoors in harsh conditions for a long time. This little chap was a lot closer.

The green-winged teals were playing chase in the stream: whether the male caught up with and ‘became friends with’ the female, I don’t know.

On a white board near the entrance to the boardwalk, there was a list of birds spotted by other visitors during today. Our list of sightings is very modest in comparison.

I’m particularly sorry that none of us saw a moose on the wing.

In the afternoon, we started packing.

In the evening, we attended Alexa’s graduation party at her home. We were happy to meet Asa’s girlfriend’s parents and grandmother, who prepared loads of food for us and many other guests.

It was time for me to come home. The original plan was for Liesel to come as well, with Mom, but after the latter’s surgery, she’s not allowed to fly for a month. They’ll both join me at the end of June.

Liesel took me to the airport early. In fact, an hour earlier than necessary due to us misremembering the flight schedule. So I had plenty of time to eat breakfast, have a coffee, admire the dead, stuffed animals again, and read my book. The flight to rainy Seattle was uneventful. No dead animals at Seattle Airport, but there were a couple of buskers entertaining us. I found the vegetarian restaurant that Liesel had told me about, Floret, and I enjoyed my salad and chips. The flight to Reykjavic was uneventful. Well, apart from the fuselage rattling, sounding like industrial strength tinnitus. Plus, the overhead locker was very difficult to open. I think that plane might be due some repairs. I finished one book and started another. And when I tried to, I just could not get to sleep. The flight to Manchester was uneventful, and still, no sleep. All three flights were full so I could not spread ouit, nor have a good, proper stretch.

Jenny was kind enough to pick me up and take me home where I was pleased, after being in transit for about 21 hours, to be able to lie down again.

My luggage arrived just three long, nap-filled, worried days later.

While I was airborne, Liesel managed to get out for a nice hike with Jyoti, Una and Phil.

I’m sorry I missed Asa’s graduation party but by all accounts, it was very enjoyable.

Now, to sleep, to unpack and to start addressing the ‘To do’ list that was compiled while I was away.