Losing It

Hit the gym this afternoon after a break of a month, and, all too predictably, struggled. On the bright side, I came away uninjured and felt reasonably comfortable in terms of applying myself. I'd experienced one or two creaky moments early in our sojourn in the UK and it was good to know these were not signs of anything serious. And I managed an hour on the elliptical trainer, at full resistance, without thinking too seriously about giving up at any point.

But I had to pedal at a pace distinctly slower than what I was used to in October and November and just knew that it was impossible to go any faster. At the end of the hour I felt uncomfortably trembly, though I did go on to work on the weights following the usual routine.

So, somewhat mixed results, but a definite falling off in terms of general fitness. To be expected at my age, I know. Perhaps to be embraced as a reminder that fitness cannot be taken for granted and demands working on. Will be factoring this into tomorrow's resolution for the year ahead.

Reality Bites

A day of meetings. A good way to come down to earth.

And now aware of just how jet-lagged the journey back has left me.

But for the next couple of days I'm still on holiday. So I shouldn't complain, even though that's what I'm doing.

It's All Good

Now back in our usual far place and unpacking. Quite a number of flights were delayed out of Manchester on Saturday due to the fog, but ours was not amongst them. Yet another thing to be thankful for in the rambling course of a fun-filled, extra-busy December.

Highlight of the journey: I got to listen to Dylan's Shadow Kingdom all the way through. Some amazing versions of some very early songs with His Bobness in great voice, and sounding suspiciously like he's having fun. Two stand-outs for this listener: What Was It You Wanted? and Forever Young - the latter being by far the most sheerly moving performance of this classic.

Coming & Going

Our last full day in the UK for 2024 featured a fine panto, a delicious nosh-up at an Indian restaurant and a magic act by little Jacob assisted by even littler Isabelle as the announcer. A splendid time guaranteed for all, which left me quite sad to be saying good-byes.

We seem to be always leaving places. But, on the bright side, this means we are also frequently arriving.

Not So Enthusiastic

On this trip to the land of my birth I haven't felt quite the same enthusiasm as in previous visits for engaging in the newspapers and magazines on offer and getting acquainted with what's available in the bookshops and music stores (of which there are significantly fewer.) I bought three CDs yesterday but didn't exactly feel compelled to do so. Similarly with books - just two purchases.

I suppose the fact that I can easily buy stuff online if I wish to can be factored into this, taking the urgency out of making purchases. But I think there's something deeper going on. On the positive side this might be seen as me developing a greater sense of discipline in my reading and listening; on the negative, the waning of my enthusiasm for exploring pastures new might just be a product of growing old and tired.

I'm genuinely not sure which of these is true. Perhaps the two are somehow mixed? And perhaps the year ahead might provide further clues as to my state of mind.

Playing Around

Enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner at John & Jeanette’s yesterday afternoon. This was followed by a traditionally silly board game which evoked, for me at least, plentiful memories of pointless playfulness in Christmases past. Must say, the fact that Team Yati & Brian won the final round helped considerably in maintaining a festive atmosphere for those two participants. Can’t remember ever winning any game with Cousin John on the opposite side as a kid.

At Peace

We’re enjoying an unusually unhurried, peaceful Christmas morning here. Hope all who keep the season find themselves equally blessed.

Goodwill to all men strikes me as a deeply sane idea, even if it doesn’t quite fit the circumstances in which so many find themselves.

Mighty Crowded In Here

Elected to brave the pre-Christmas crowds at the Trafford Centre yesterday evening after settling into our new place in Manchester. Didn’t seem like a great idea as we arrived at an over-flowing carpark with nary a lot in sight. But Noi’s sharp eyes saved the day, or rather the evening, as she spotted someone leaving and we successfully hung around to claim the vacated space. After that life got easier, though there was no shortage of fellow-shoppers to share the centre with.

On The Sea Front

Spent a happy, but generally cold, few hours on the promenade at Llandudno yesterday. A cosy tea and scones, with jam & clotted cream, at the Imperial Hotel followed by a walk in shrieking winds by a ferocious sea. Quite a contrast.

Over the weekend a storm had swept much of the coast of the country. Not quite fierce enough to be given a name by the Met Office, but memorable for us. 

By today conditions returned to something like normal, a relief, I can tell you. We spent the morning rather more inland at the delightful town Betws-Y-Coed and were glad we did. And then it was a smooth drive back to Manchester. Where we are now just overlooking Old Trafford. More anon, as they used to say.

Bad News

Actually the news on the domestic front here in Cowyn is all good. It’s a lovely little town. Blustery winds at the moment, but bracing in a positive way.

I’m thinking more of the news that gets in the papers. So much of that of late has been on the dark side - but when is this not the case? The dreadful events at the Christmas market in Germany, for example. Difficult to grasp what motivates such madness from our happy, cosy retreat in North Wales.

Staying Cool

Still dealing with a cottage that’s only mildly warm when I would prefer something in the way of detectable heat. Noi isn’t so bothered though, so it’s fair to say we can live with this.

Can’t help but think of what the rough sleepers we encounter must endure. They’d most likely regard us as having access to a version of paradise. Which, in many if not most ways, is true.

There’s a deep wisdom in the notion of making the best of things.

Getting Around

11.30 

We're off to North Wales for the weekend and are now packing accordingly. Will miss nattering in the evening with Jeanette & John but are looking forward to pastures new. 

19.30

Easy journey to Cowyn and reasonably settled in, to a very nice cottage, but worrying issues with my laptop which keeps freezing. Since I’ve got a couple of jobs to complete and I can’t access email this isn’t optimal. But it doesn’t rise to the height of an actual crisis. Yet. So fingers crossed. 

Also we can’t figure out how to raise the temperature on the thermostat. But we’re not exactly freezing, so, again, not a crisis but the old brow is mildly furrowing.

Mood Music

Gave Dylan's Christmas in the Heart a spin yesterday evening, with John & Jeanette as a somewhat appreciative, somewhat bemused audience. It felt like a relief from the barrage of seasonal music we're sustaining in these parts. Something meant.

Running Down

Spent a sad hour or so in the Clarendon Square shopping centre in Hyde yesterday. Despite the attempts at Christmas cheer it felt drab and sad. The last time we were here, in December 2019, the indoor market was still a going concern - warm and welcoming, in its way. This is no longer the case. Can't be pleasant to be amongst the few stallholders when the heart has gone out of the place. Not to mention actual customers. Hope those in there are still earning a reasonable living.

Words And Music

The budget airline Ryanair gets a bit of a bad press over here, but we were well chuffed with our flights to and from Dublin. Easy and cheap. A most satisfactory combination.

We'll also look back on our time in Ireland as time spent in a highly satisfactory manner. To mention just two features: some of the best busking I've ever heard, and wonderful bookshops in which to browse. There's a huge one on Dawson Street called Hodges Figgis with three units of shelves, prominently positioned, dedicated solely to James Joyce. A fitting tribute to the great writer.

And on another musical note relating to words, it was a delight to hear so much of the Irish accent - though sometimes Noi found this impenetrable. Mind you, such is the nature of globalisation in relation to big cities everywhere that we probably heard more Spanish accents in the city centre than the Irish lilt.

History Is A Nightmare From Which I Am Trying To Awake - 6

Spent some time walking around Stephen's Green yesterday afternoon. It was pleasant to step out of the urban landscape for a short while, even though we were not exactly enjoying summer weather. 

There was plenty of information available on signboards as to the history of the space, especially relating to its role in the Easter Rising. So incongruous to think of gunfire raining down on the rebels from one of the large hotels adjoining. I don't think Noi has any real grasp of the idea that Ireland is a separate nation from the UK and suffered a sometimes brutal occupation, and I can understand why. It just doesn't chime with the peaceful present.

There are plenty of ghosts of that past, conjured especially in the bookshops, and rightly so. And I suppose the ghosts still walk. But only in dreams now, fading, I hope.

A Bit Special

Came up close to the Book of Kells yesterday at Trinity College in the well-designed and genuinely informative exhibition centred on the tome. Astonishing in its way that such a severely beautiful object could survive the centuries.

Will our benighted age leave anything as lovely behind to survive as long? (I suspect the happy answer is Yes. Hope it is.)

Untempted

There are so many bookstores here, said Noi, as we walked along O'Connell Street and passed the very large Eason's shop there; More than in Manchester. A fair judgment. Especially taking into account the second-hand bookshops that seem to pop up everywhere. There's one on the road we take into the city centre called The Last Bookshop which has books piled up in random fashion in every corner. I reckon I could spend an exploratory four hours in there quite easily. The city has a distinct sense of literariness about it, and a self-awareness of such.

Yet for some reason I haven't felt any great desire to buy anything. No temptation at all. I suppose that holding back on buying stuff for the last two to three years or so has built a certain discipline in me. The only purchase I've made on this trip has involved Simon Schama's Citizens, which I've been reading rather fitfully in spare moments here & there. Add to this my purchase of Antony's Beevor's Stalingrad at the back end of November and I suspect that will be all I'll have added to the shelves until this time next year. Neither of these were bought on impulse, by the way. I've been sure for quite some time they were necessary reading for me.

Back To Basics

It's surprising just how much difference it makes to be blessed with a ready supply of hot water. And warmth. And food. And tea.

Went shopping at Grafton Street yesterday where there much on offer. We didn't need to make too many purchases to feel satisfied though, having quite enough already.

A Question Of Manners

We've now in Dublin's fair city, struggling in our temporary accommodation from a lack of hot water - so no showers or shaving so far. But the place is warm enough and if we get the necessary water then all will be more than well. (Actually, the television isn't working either, but we can happily live with that lack.)

I was a bit worried as to how we would get to the place we're in from the airport, but in the event the taxi ride was a highlight of our December. The driver was incredibly helpful and awesomely loquacious. He gave us a kind of quirky guide to the city on the way in and didn't charge the full amount on his clock as he said he'd taken a slightly longer route through the centre to pass the two cathedrals and key monuments. Following that he was absolutely determined to track down the exact location at which we're staying which involved him getting on the phone to the people renting it out and cruising up and down Rathmines Lower Road until he was sure of the place. I told him as we alighted it had been the best taxi journey of my life, and I wasn't exaggerating.

Just as a matter of interest, the driver who took us from our car hire return to Terminal 3 at Manchester Airport was also very chatty and good-natured. I'm not sure that the idea that there's been a decline in people's manners over here has much foundation in reality. Nearly everyone we have met in shops & eating places has been pleasant and helpful. It makes life so much easier.

Gains & Losses

We'd been puzzled as to why David Hoddle hadn't replied to my email about coming over to see him in December and to why I hadn't been able to get through on the phone from John's. We feared the worst but decided it would be worthwhile driving across to Hoylandswaine to see if we could make contact. It turned out that our fears were not misplaced. He died last month, the helpful neighbour informed us.

Sad, but he'd lived a full and accomplished life to his late eighties, and had passed away peacefully. Which is something. And balanced against that is the relative good health of other friends and family we've met here. We had a fine old time catching up with Simon & Judy the other night, for example.

But nothing lasts forever and this time round we're seeing a lot of changes in the places we thought we'd grown accustomed to. The little Chicken Hut in Hyde is still there and we popped in last night when we got back from Barnsley. But the lady who owned it, and who we'd come to know quite well, has gone, we were informed. She sold up and left for Dubai in 2023. Hope she's got a good and fulfilling life out there.

Acceptance

It was a considerable relief to chat with Maureen and find her in good spirits. She seems baffled by her memory loss - not knowing where she lives, having to be reminded of just how old she is - but accepts this with a kind of amiable good grace, approaching wry humour at times: Well, I never had a good memory anyway. And I was never clever like you. 

And I don't get any sense of a rapid deterioration of her faculties. She can roughly cope with the demands of the world around her, with the support of her carers, and there's a hard-won peace in that. So our meeting was happy-sad, but a lot more happy than I expected, and a lot more happy than sad.

Family Affairs

Looking forward to seeing my sister Maureen later today. According to Cheryl & Caroline she's in a much better place than she was when we last talked, five years ago. Although her short-term memory is gone this hasn't left her angry. They reckon she feels content and seems to connect primarily to life when she owned the shop on Guide Lane and the kids were toddlers. It will be interesting to see if she has any awareness of who I am, though she does remember me as her little brother. The great, great thing is that she has stopped drinking completely and shows no awareness of her former addiction. This is both faintly astonishing and wonderfully heartening.

Yesterday we spent some time with my nieces and re-acquainted ourselves with my Great Niece Imogen. She's now nine years old and utterly delightful. But a doting Great Grand-Uncle would say that, I suppose.

At The Game

I made no efforts to secure tickets for any of United's games ahead of our visit here. That looks like a wise move in view of yesterday's result from Old Trafford. But I gladly accepted the offer of a ticket for the Stockport County game against Exeter City and duly went along for a Saturday afternoon at Edgeley Park with John and his mates Andy & Dave. I can't honestly say it was a great game, but County rightly emerged victorious after a dominant second half, dealing with cold, wet & windy conditions more than adequately. And the atmosphere at the ground was excellent. A bit rickety but a welcome respite from the corporate atmosphere at the so-called Theatre of Dreams.

It felt like footy used to feel when I was a kid. A genuine sense of the local. A lot more real.

The Real Thing

Enjoyed a cracking gig last night out at The Globe in Glossop. We were part of a small but highly appreciative crowd packing out the upstairs room where The Guilty Men were playing. The capaciously talented Clive Gregson (of Any Trouble fame, amongst other musical adventures) was a contemporary of John's at school more than five decades ago and played a wonderful set of beautifully crafted songs, mostly from a recently recorded album from the combo. Being up close to five master musicians cranking it out with love & enthusiasm felt like a rare privilege. Spot-on harmonies with no fewer than four great voices on stage and some gorgeous slide work from Mr Gregson were the stand-outs for me, but there was much else to wrap your ears around. Definitely a highlight of our December jaunt!

A Bit Damp

We've experienced a bit of rain here since arriving, but probably less than we were getting in Singapore in November. And we've been well wrapped up so the drizzle hasn't been a real problem - until last night, that is. Walking down to a near-by restaurant with John & Jeanette and Ray & Di we found ourselves in the middle of a major squall and, goodness me, it was unforgivingly cold. Fortunately the meal was excellent and the warmth of all the company helped us deal with sitting in damp jeans with wet feet. Indeed it added a kind of piquancy to the occasion making it that bit more memorable. But I'd be quite satisfied not to make too many more memories involving this degree of clammy, creeping wetness.

Not Making Progress

We went to Ashton town centre yesterday afternoon, checking out the The Arcades, a place we've enjoyed going jalan jalan in previous visits. It's still there, but not quite the same somehow. Over the years it's become that little bit more run-down with each visit, that little bit less happening, that tiny bit more drab. And the downwards trajectory seems to have continued. There was no sense at all of seasonal bustle. It felt as if the coffee places and shops were doing their best, but could only just manage to keep ticking over. It didn't make one feel optimistic in any sense.

Possibly it's just me, looking through jaundiced eyes, projecting my own mood about the country onto the place. But I suspect I'm looking at a real change. And not for the better.

Present Laughter

Watched an episode of Fawlty Towers along with John & Jeanette last night after consuming an impressively hot keema put together by The Missus with ingredients purchased from shops in Longsight. Excellent way to spend an evening. Laughed immoderately at John Cleese et al. None of the magic lost despite the passage of years.

Warming Up

Safely installed at John & Jeanette's and feeling the warmth of hot radiators and splendid company. Lots of happy catching up on-going.

Out And About

We took to the tram yesterday in order to get into the town centre, and back again. Bit odd never to have ridden the system before, but we've never had a reason to. All in all it was reasonably user friendly, and gave us the opportunity to gaze out at the suburbs round Wythenshawe. The houses All look old, according to Noi. To me they looked typical Manchester.

Lots going on at the Christmas markets in the centre. Very much happening, as they say - or used to say. In fact, a bit too much for us with big queues for food & drink at most stalls. We ate inside where it was a fair bit warmer.

Now clearing our rather chilly hotel room and hoping to be more warmly situated soon. I certainly need it.

Just Chilling

Just scoffed a jolly and plentiful breakfast at the hotel we are staying in. Getting our money's worth. And after that booked a car to enable us to get off to John & Jeanette's tomorrow and generally scoot around Manchester & environs.

We're intending to walk to a location called The Station near the airport in a little while and see where the transport available might be able to take us this afternoon. Must say, it's rather pleasant having nothing really to do over the weekend, but I would prefer things a bit warmer, thank you. Noi, not so much. She claims it's not so cold. No wonder she enjoyed her Norway jaunt.