In April 2014 Commando was running his second marathon, in Manchester. We’d travelled up on the train the day before and checked into the Premier Inn at Deansgate Lock, an area bursting with bars and nightlife on the surface with the Rochdale Canal hidden away below street level. After a little rest we went out to stretch our legs and have a look around. Continue reading The Manchester Marathon – first published 6 April 2014
After a light lunch and a rest Commando declared he felt up to a little more gentle walking and suggested we have a look at the canals. This sounded a lot more like it as far as I was concerned, although I knew he wouldn’t be anywhere near up to the walk I had originally planned, so off we went. Continue reading Avoiding the marathon
10 April 2016
Marathon morning dawned and it wasn’t quite the day either of us had expected. We were both awake early but Commando didn’t want to go down to breakfast until he was sure all the other marathon runners had left the hotel so we sat in our room watching rubbish on TV. Still it was better than watching excited runners getting ready. That would have been more than Commando could bear. Continue reading Not running a marathon
9 April 2016
As I stood at the side of the canal watching a barge slowly make its way under the railway bridge I smiled. What a relief. Commando’s ankle was feeling ok, if not perfect, and the marathon was back on. All those months of training hadn’t been wasted, even if he was unlikely to get a PB. All my walk planning hadn’t been wasted either and I was looking forward to exploring the canals further. Suddenly the day felt better and I began to really enjoy the walk, although it was half over. Continue reading Canals and bad news
9 April 2016
Despite my misgivings about flying on small planes it wasn’t too bad once we were in the air. In fact we had seats right next to the engine nascelle on the port side of the plane so Commando was able to admire his handwork throughout the flight. Thankfully the little door that opens to let the landing gear out, also built by Commando, did open and we landead safely. By the time we’d walked to the train station, caught a train and got to our hotel it was late afternoon. A bit of unpacking, some freshening up and a refamiliaristional walk around Deansgate was about as much as we had time for before we had to find somewhere to eat. At least it wasn’t raining and Commando’s ankle was feeling pretty good. It looked as if the marathon might be on after all, even if a PB was a bit of a stretch. Continue reading Castle hunting in Manchester
8 April 2016
With phase one of the building work complete I thought I’d have a quick look around the garden before we set off for the airport on Friday morning. Beside the new wall there is currently a large yellow rubble filled skip sitting on the drive. Hopefully it will be gone soon because it detracts a little from the lovely orange quince flowers. Not that I’m complaining of course. A temporary eyesore is a small price to pay for a potting shed after all. Continue reading concrete, skips and an airport visit