Dawn and duck...

Playlist
Emerson Lake & Palmer – Live in Switzerland 1970
Asia – Omega
Transatlantic – The Whirlwind
Various Composers – Virtuoso Italian Vocal Music
Ian Hunter – Shrunken Heads
The Flower Kings – Adam & Eve
65daysofstatic – We Were Exploding Anyway

Up at 5 and packing for a couple of days away in Manchester...

We left Meg the Black Cat in the capable hands of sister-in-law Jane and chum Lynn – despite this, the wee monkey tried to disguise herself as one of our bags so she could come with us...



We left around seven and walked down for the airport bus into Edinburgh, where we caught the 8am London train, travelling through the countryside...



...via Newcastle, changing at York and on through Leeds, Huddersfield and Stalybridge...





...and we soon arrived just after midday in sunny (despite forecasts of heavy rain) Manchester...



...and checked into the hotel, before heading out to the Northern Quarter and lunching at Night and Day...

The afternoon was spent mainly shopping, your correspondent finding nothing in the bargain section at the Record Exchange (unlike my last two visits which yielded around 20 discs each) but came away with CDs by The Flower Kings and Ian Hunter...

A visit to FOPP resulted in the acquiring of a 3CD box of reggae from Virgin’s Front Line series and a disc by Sheffield post-rockers 65daysofstatic, which was playing over the sound system, enquired of and duly purchased...

A goodly supply of reading glasses was also partaken of at Clas Ohlson, before I met up again with Annie...

Drinks were had near the Arndale centre before we walked down passed the Town hall...



...and came across a bar called The Old Grapes...



...which turned out to be co-owned by the actress Liz Dawn who played “Vera Duckworth” in “Coronation Street” and seems to be a popular haunt of footballers and “celebrities”, going by the large number of photos on the walls of “Vera” with same...

A wee dog entertained as we enjoyed a relaxing drink...



Back to the hotel to drop off the shopping then out in search of an Indian restaurant, finding one right next door to the hotel, Swadesh...



An excellent meal was enjoyed – my dish, Sawadi Chicken, was one of the best curries I think I’ve ever had – and I’ve had a few over the years...

We finished the day with a walk down to Canal Street...



...taking in the atmos, before heading back to the hotel...

Highlight of the Day : On holiday...