Wednesday 1 June 2011

Oh my...

I went from multiple posting in the same day to nothing for two weeks or more. If anybody actually reads my blog I'm sorry. That also depends on whether or not you are really that bothered.

I do this for fun. I have had some good times recently but they have been interspersed with a lot of hours at work. I am saving money whilst working as much as I can up until placement. In between these hours I have mostly been seeing Tom. Many people have been concentrating on finishing the last bits of their degrees and we are slowly regaining momentum towards the summer.

Last week, I went to see the Manchester United Youth Team with Dad and Alex. It was the second leg of the final against Sheffield United and they started the match on a 2-2 draw. It felt strange not really knowing who I was watching but I still got into the game. It looks as though Keane and Morrison are players to keep eyes peeled for in the near future of Manchester United. Both players scored two goals apiece. Sheffield managed to pull one back but we finished the game with a 6-3 victory.

On Wednesday last week I took a trip with Jessica and Dan to Chester Zoo. My uni friends had planned the 'Zooniverse' trip but we arrived separately from Liverpool and Manchester. When first investigating travel routes,  the train seemed to be quite expensive for just a one way ticket, thank National Express for £3.80 each way! Leather seats did us fine and we only arrived ten minutes later than everyone else.

Hayley handed me a bracelet on our first meeting for quite some time, I was touched =]. We wandered between elephants and baby meerkats, from Jaguars to bats. I really enjoyed the bat cave, it was chilling when one flew by inches from my ear. Hayley was in her element because she loves bats. Once your eyes got used to the darkness it was amazing how you could see them hanging almost within reach.

Butterflies fluttered in the daylight. We were careful not to tread on them and Chris took some brilliant pictures (available on Facebook) of them and many of the other creatures we encountered. I almost aided an escapee butterfly which clung to my jean leg. An American lady was quick to notice, stopped me from leaving and Abi was forced to encourage it away from me. She seemed to enjoy naming the variations as her dissertation equipped her with impressive knowledge.

Not to feel left out, Paul befriended an exotic bird of the feathered variety. He named 'her' Sandrine. 'She' was responsive to his movement and receptive of our speech as she mimicked us in her own language. When we moved round her cage to see her inmates, she followed. By the time we revisited her on the way out, we felt quite attached to her and even sad?

Returning to Manchester, Dan, Jess and I decided to go for tea at Frankie and Benny's. I ordered what I thought was going to be pasta but Jess informed me that it was actually a folded pizza... So long that it entailed chicken, I wasn't too fussed!

The last time we attempted to take part in the Fab Cafe quiz, there weren't enough participants and it never materialised. This week it immediately felt more lively. The word game could be described as a version of 'Say What You See'. e.g.  'Blu e'   was blue movie. I didn't get it. The first round was historically themed so it rendered me pretty useless really, the second was more science/science fiction so that didn't do much for me either. By the time it came to the music round it was nearly 10pm. I was working at 9am the next morning and knew that the ridiculous roadworks on Chapel St would still cause me grief. Though I was missing my music round, I managed to jump on a bus at Piccadilly which, even at that time of night, still took twice as long as usual and dropped me home at 11pm! I was knackered!

On Bank Holiday Monday I worked a 7am-1pm. It felt good to have gotten a decent shift in but I still had the majority of my day remaining. When we were wandering through the store, Tom found out that his parents were coming down part way through their camping holiday. We settled that we would go out with them the following day.

Mum had told me in the preceding days that Ellis Brigham was having a sale. Tom had assured me (because he's the outdoor expert and i'm certainly not) that a sale there would be well worth visiting! We set out on the bus and arrived at the shop for ten to four. From the outside, the shutters were down and it looked pretty deserted. Tom tried the only door we could find and it opened under his grasp. We were alerted upon entering that we only had ten minutes before closing time! Luckily the rails were organised into genders and sizes. Tom found a (medium) North Face waterproof. It was perfect and discovered in perfect time. The RRP  was £90 and I got it for £45, bargain!

Yesterday our route was decided. Tom had not seen his Nan in Darwen for some time and she was our first port of call. We also visited Oswaldtwistle Mills and Queen Street Mill in Burnley. Oswaldtwistle was a mixed bag of everything from a sweet to a book shop. A bit of a mooch and I enjoy browsing such places. In one of Mum's magazines, I had seen a kit where you can build your own 3D model of an owl. As a fan of the species I was keen to get one and discovered them in the Mill for £4.99 - something for a rainy day at Tom's =P.
Queen Street Mill is the last working textile mill (for display purposes only). We saw the engineer generate the steam required to drive the powered looms. It travels through shafting along the ceiling of every room and powers hundreds of machines.
When we got back to Cadishead, I helped Tom to pitch his parents tent which needed to dry out. We also had a little kick-about on the drive but I don't think I'm up to scratch to start playing in the park just yet!

I potentially have the weekend off but I have no idea exactly how it will pan out, if it is worth writing about, it shall be done. I hope so!

 

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