On Friday that trip up to the parents’ place was fairly smooth and we made it for mid-afternoon. We were swiftly out at PC World though, choosing them a new computer and some broadband gadgetry. Early Friday evening was spent configuring it, but later on I ended up on the sofa like a beached whale – probably as a result of the enormous dinner the parents had cooked for us. (“You’re still growing lads.” “Yes, father, but no longer in an attractive direction!”) As a result we ended up watching a couple of documentaries on English Folk Music which mum and dad were recording from BBC Four; not my normal choice of viewing, but we did spot that the Chorus’ rehearsal venue, Cecil Sharpe House in Camden, featured several times as a centre for the art.
Poor Brett was suffering from the cold a little bit, as my parents’ house has never been warm and, now that they have got two cats, the policy I was brought up with of always keeping doors shut to keep in the heat seems to have lapsed… I’ve promised him we can visit them in the summer next time…
Saturday morning Brett spent with his comics while I spent with the computers and then after lunch, Brett drove us down to
On the whole, all was well with Phil & Sue, although Phil’s commitment was clearly failing with his current company; they have recently been taken over by an American conglomerate and have subsequently been through a succession of management changes which only seems to have achieved the virtual closure of a previously successful engineering company. Having fought for the survival of his branch and his team, Phil is now left wondering if it was worth it, as they don’t have the manpower to properly handle the contracts they have to fulfil and no clear corporate strategy to drive them forward.
Sue seemed to be in better shape, as the Deputy Head of her school, although it sounds like she has her own trials with a Headmaster waiting out the last twelve months to his retirement and a power-behind-the-throne school secretary jealous of her position…
Saturday evening we drove over to Leigh to hear the Haydock Male Voice Choir perform; this was a bit of a nostalgia trip for Brett as he had visited Haydock with his High School Choir back in 1980 and stayed with one of their members. (Kind of spooky to think that he visited so close to me twenty-five years before our paths actually crossed!) Anyway, the show was a good traditional Male Voice Choir performance and during the break Brett got chatting to some of the members who had sung with him all those years ago.
Sunday morning was brunch for friends; it seemed the best way of getting to see more of the people I wanted to see without having to visit them all individually, as we just didn’t have time in a weekend. Chris and Michelle called-off with food poisoning at the last minute, but that just meant there was more scoff for the rest of us (Chet, Pod & Jenny joined us.) It seems like not much has changed though; Pod has moved back to St. Helens and is now teaching at a RAF facility somewhere around
More mucking about with computers followed Brunch and then we were back on the road for the drive back to
On the upside, I found ten wallets of photographs of my Long Haul travels with Saga that I’d forgotten I ever had, so there was a big hit of nostalgia this morning as I was looking through them. I’ll have to get them scanned and put up on my website for you. (Don’t hold your breath for them any time soon, though!) Right now, though, time to go to bed; a non-stop weekend means a tired Liam. Zzzzzzz….
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