Pencil Pals

Welcome to a beautiful sunny day in South Manchester. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. Today is the F A Cup final which sees Manchester City and Manchester United play each other at Wembley in London – the first time the two Manchester teams have met in a final. And there is a train strike so who knows how the fans will get down to London. 

I support neither team but I shall be watching it on TV in just under three hours’ time with my next door neighbour before we have a barbecue with them after the game. 

In the meantime shall we answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing? 

1. What are your plans for June

It’s my eldest son’s thirtieth birthday in a couple of days, which makes me feel really old. We will be having a big family birthday meal later in the month. Also, we are going across the country to visit the small Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby for a weekend. Towards the end of the month I am going to see one of my favourite bands in an open air gig in the centre of Manchester. The band is Porcupine Tree:

And right at the end of the month (well on July 1st) we are going away to Croatia for a week. 

Not that busy a month really but busy enough. 

2. Your mid-year resolutions or goals

They are the same as they were at the start of 2023. So far I am maintaining my habits; learning Spanish, writing every day, learning the piano etc. Nothing new will be added until the end of the year when I decide what I am going to do in 2024.

3. Are you good at taking care of plants

I hate gardening. When I was a kid, my dad was a very keen gardener and he roped my sisters and I into helping him tend to all the plants and vegetables in the garden. It turned me against looking after plants. I leave that to Mrs PM and she is quite happy to do it. However, I do help her when something heavy needs to be done. 

4. What makes you feel nourished

Food generally. 

5. Which animals do you see most in your area

Apart from cats and dogs, there is a variety of wildlife in the area. In the early morning I sometimes see urban foxes trotting around the streets. There are thousands of squirrels in the local parks and we sometimes see things like hedgehogs. There are thousands of birds around, magpies, crows, sparrows, robins etc. And of course this time of year loads of insects.

6. Books on your summer reading list

I’ve just bought “Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal” (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Spanish) in an attempt to try to improve my Spanish that little bit more. I’ve read the English version of course so it will help knowing the story. 

I’ve just read a Stephen King book called “The Institute” and next on the list is a Dean Koontz novel called “The Big Dark Sky”. I also have a couple of space operas on the list but I haven’t bought them yet. 

7. Projects you want to tackle this summer

We are redecorating the back room downstairs (the room from which I am typing this). We have been gradually rearranging the house to accommodate this and make the room more modern. I was going to turn the back room upstairs into a man-cave but I have decided to use the back room downstairs for this purpose. We are also sorting out our weather-proof outhouse in order to make the most of  the space available and we are going to board up the loft to make it more usable (we hardly use it at the moment). 

So a lot of work on the house to do.

8. Do you have weddings, graduations, summer celebrations.

There are no weddings or graduations planned at all. For summer celebrations, I mentioned the stuff in June, we have a holiday to Dubrovnik, Croatia in July, as well as a couple of cricket matches. In August there is more cricket and we are going to London in August for Mrs PM’s birthday to see the Abba avatar concert and also spend a day as tourists. That’s about it – but we are travelling to Sicily in September too – I just hope that Mount Etna doesn’t erupt when we are there. 

9. Which summer snacks are you excited to enjoy again

We will have a couple of barbecues I reckon – I associate those with summer. Not sure what else there is, though I do like the odd ice cream and ice lolly. 

10. How much time do you like to take for vacations

I like to take as much as possible. If I could I would spend far more time travelling around and maybe I will when I retire. A couple of weeks away and a couple of weekends will suffice for now. This year I have been abroad three times already with another two definitely planned and hopefully a cheeky city break in the Autumn. 

11. How much has changed since last summer?

Not a lot really. I’m a year older. 

12. Something that would be out of character for you.

Doing anything crazily adventurous. I am quite a risk averse person. I have done some adventurous things like climbing Australian bridges and trying to conquer my fear of heights by going to the top of huge skyscrapers – but that is all over now. I have vowed never to do anything that stupid again. 

Please- if I ever consider it, just slap me and tell me not to be so idiotic!

13. What do you miss about winter?

Nothing. I hate winter. Actually, I quite like the build up to Christmas and New Year but the rest of it is bloody awful.

14. Your favourite free / cost effective ways to have fun

A good long walk is a great way to have a little fun and enjoy some scenery. 

15. Who do you trust most to house & pet sit

We have a cat/house sitter who is amazing. She is a Russian lady who has lived in the UK for over 20 years and adores cats. When we are away, she sends us videos of the cats and she plays with them, feeds them and keeps them company, as well as turning on lights, closing curtains etc. to make sure that people think there is somebody home. Occasionally she speaks to the cats in Russian which sounds hilarious.