InThe Summertime Again

Welcome to South Manchester on a sunny summer’s day. The weather seems to be improving now – let’s hope it stays that way.

Shall we answer some silly Sunday Stealing questions? 

1. What are your plans for August

I have quite a busy August. First I will be doing a “Real Ale trail” with a couple of mates. This involves catching a fast train directly to Huddersfield, a town that is just over the Pennines in Yorkshire, before catching a slower return train that stops at a couple of the stations back to Manchester where we will stop off in a local pub and have a pint before catching the next one. Some of the places are scenic little villages surrounded by hills and lovely countryside. It will be fun.

We’re also going to Nice in France for four days around Mrs PM’s birthday to just take in the beauty of the French Riviera and relax by the sea. We are staying in the old town and will almost certainly venture out of the city, perhaps to Cannes or Monte Carlo on the small state of Monaco. 

I will be going to a cricket match too, a test match between England and Sri Lanka, as well as seeing the band New Order. 

Finally I am going to a tribute band festival in Prestwich, North Manchester, where I will see tributes to bands like Rush, Ghost, Metallica, AC/DC and Metallica.

2. Your mid-year resolutions or goals

They are pretty much the same as they were back in January and still on track. My goals are linked to my resolutions and the big one this year was retirement, which is happening in about a month and a half. I need to start considering what I will aim to achieve in 2025 soon; I might just wait until I actually retire before doing that. 

3. Are you good at taking care of plants

I would say I’m average. I have inadvertently killed a couple over the years but others have thrived. 

4. What makes you feel nourished

Food. How else can I answer that?

5. Which animals do you see most in your area

There are quite a few dogs and cats but there are also loads of different types of birds and I also see the occasional urban fox and lots of grey squirrels. 

6. Books on your summer reading list

I have a couple of Dean Koontz novels waiting to be read as well as a couple of sci-fi thrillers. I will get through a couple when I go to Nice that’s for sure. 

7. Projects you want to tackle this summer

Nothing in particular leaps to mind. I had a massive reorganisation earlier in the year and I think that’s enough. I like to relax in the summertime. 

8. Do you have weddings, graduations, summer celebrations

Nothing coming up this year, although I did go to a friend’s wedding last month. My eldest son is getting married in just over a year’s time.

9. Which summer snacks are you excited to enjoy again

I eat pretty much the same all year round, but in the summer perhaps I will have some ice cream as a treat. 

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

As much as life allows me. Sadly there are constraints that limit my time, like work (although that constraint will be lifted when I retire). Money is also an issue of course but I will be happy to spend as much as I can on such things. Mrs PM will be another constraint (and I mean that in a nice way) because she is younger than me and has no plans to retire for at least another five or six years. Cats are also a constraint because I can’t just leave them for ages. Such constraints are a good thing though really because if I didn’t have them I would bever be in the UK – and I love it here. England is my home and I always look forward to coming back. Moreover it makes holidays that much more special when you actually take them. 

11. Where are your favourite picnic locations

I don’t really do picnics but if I were to have one I would choose, a beach or a lakeside or riverside in the country.

12. Something that would be out of character for you

Being nasty. I don’t bear grudges and I don’t like people who are nasty generally. I have lost my temper once or twice but I try not to do so. Even if somebody is nasty to me, I find it hard to retaliate because such things can escalate and people end up saying and doing things they regret. I am more likely to walk away and avoid such people. 

13. Which summer movies are you excited to see

I am planning to see Deadpool and Wolverine next week. I enjoy the Deadpool movies because they are funny and violent and this one promises to be the best of all of them. 

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

Manchester is a great place to have free fun. I can easily get to the city centre if I want to see a museum or two and I am close enough to the countryside to be able to go for a lovely walk, if I choose. 

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

We have a Russian cat-sitter who doubles as a house sitter. We’ve known her for about three years and she loves the cats. When we are away, she comes in twice a day and feeds the cats but also stays with them for a while to keep them company, as well as making sure that the house is safe. She has lived in the UK for many years but she still has a Russian accent and to hear her talking to the cats is very funny, especially when she sometimes slips back into Russian. She films them on her phone and sends the videos via WhatsApp so that we can see them while we are away, which puts Mrs PM’s mind to rest. It works really well for us. She is a cat lover of course and she has a beautiful cat of her own. 

 

Dave Was Here

Welcome to a very sunny and warm South Manchester. Last week I was due to go to a T20 cricket match but the rainy weather ruined it completely resulting in the game being abandoned before a single ball was bowled. I am going to try again today and I hope that I will have more success because the weather is so lovely. Having said that, there is a global IT outage today which has resulted in various worldwide services being affected. It has caused some issues here in the UK but nothing, hopefully that will ruin the cricket. The tram network is moving, my bank appears unaffected and I have cash so keep your fingers crossed. 

Let’s answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1.  What would you put in a time capsule?

I have several large time capsules upstairs in my attic. Actually, it is several storage boxes that really should be labelled

“Dave was here (1978)” through to “Dave was here (2023)”

consisting of what a lot of people would call junk. To me, however, it is personal junk and I love it. 

Strictly speaking though, a time capsule is meant to hold present day objects that you bury for somebody in many years’ time to find and get a picture of what life was like way back in 2024, so I couldn’t really put old stuff in there should I create one now. For 2024, I would put in:

Today’s newspaper (sealed), a printout of the journal post I wrote today, a PS4 game I have literally just finished, my work notebook (which I won’t need for much longer), a recent bit of tech (like my old smartphone), a recent boarding pass, a cricket ticket, a photo of myself, Mrs PM and the cats, my old glasses from last year and a polo shirt with my company’s logo emblazoned on it. 

That should do I reckon. 

2.  What’s something you’re really good at?

I’m very good at moaning and ranting but I’ve been trying to mellow over the last year or so. The recent change in UK government will go a long way to helping me achieve this because the Tory party are now, hopefully, a spent force. 

I’m also very good at making certain computers do the right thing. 

3.  What part of society would you like to change?

I am constantly appalled at the unfairness of society. We live in a world where the less-well off are considered inferior to the so-called well off and the mindset of certain people seems to be “who cares?”. If I had any power at all I would like to equalise this a little. 

4.  What have you eaten in the past 24 hours?

Starting from yesterday lunchtime, I have had a salad, a chicken pasta, some flame raisins and almonds, a banana, an apple, a peach, a satsuma, a cheese and ham sandwich, several cups of tea, a mixture of apple and orange juice, a couple of glasses of water and two bottles of Peroni. 

5.  What is an unusual fact about you?

I am terrified of heights but I have visited and climbed some of the tallest structures in the world including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Empire State Building in New York, the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai and the CN Tower in Toronto. 

When I say “climbed” I don’t mean that literally; I have just been inside them and been to the top (or as near as possible). 

We are planning to visit Malaysia next year and Mrs PM wants us to climb the Petronas twin towers in Kuala Lumpur but I have already told her that I am not going anywhere near them. 

I’ve also mentioned that I actually did climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Never ever again!

6.  Do you collect anything?

I certainly used to but I don’t really collect anything anymore. I used to collect football programmes and beer mats. I am now using Spotify but before that I used to collect CDs. I certainly still have the football programmes and CDs but I threw away the beer mats many years ago. 

I guess electronically, I collect Kindle Books and I have a fair collection of hardback books and non-fiction books that Mrs PM has done her best to wipe out over the years. I have put my foot down though and (before she stamped on it) I managed to persuade her that having a book case with lots of books is actually aesthetically good for the lounge. 

7.  Have you played sports?

My only sport these days is walking.

In the past (and in my youth) I have played football, rugby union, badminton, squash, tennis, basketball, hockey, softball, rounders and cricket. I have jogged, run in cross country races and, as far as athletics is concerned, I was quite good at 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m as well as long jump and triple jump.

I’ve tried javelin throwing, shot putt and discus but I was hopeless at them as I was at high jump. 

My best was reserved for middle distance running, where I made the school team. 

I can also swim and have played water polo (but badly). 

8.  What is your favourite blog?

The Plastic Mancunian, of course. 

Only kidding. I haven’t got any real favourites because all the blogs I read are amazing, including all those I read on Sunday Stealing – mainly because it gives me an insight into other places and different lives. A special mention has to go out to my Australian blog buddies, such as Pandora at “Princess Pandora – Queen of Denial” , “Elephant’s Child” and River at “Drifting Through Life” because we have been reading each other’s blogs for a few years now. 

9.  Ketchup vs. mustard?

Ketchup wins hands down because I hate mustard, especially English mustard which is absolutely disgusting.

10.  Do you believe in ghosts or aliens?

I would love for both to exist and I dearly hope they do. 

I wouldn’t say I believe in either because I am one of those people who needs absolute proof. 

I live in a house that is over 120 years old and if ghosts do exist then there must be spectres hovering around the rooms watching me as I go about my business. They probably think I’m really weird but I don’t care. To be honest, if they did make their presence known in a scary way I would be terrified. I would hope that are more like the ghosts in the BBC (and now US) sitcom Ghosts.

As for aliens, I would like them to be like this guy:

rather than this guy.

11. The last movie you saw in a theatre.

I haven’t been to the cinema for a few months. The last movie I saw was this one:

I will probably pop out to see Deadpool and Wolverine when it comes out in a week or two. 

12.  The silliest thing you have done this week.

Sadly, I don’t think I’ve done anything silly apart from cracking the odd joke in a work meeting. I do that occasionally. 

13.  Have you ever done anything illegal?

Some people may say that publishing rubbish and inane posts on a blog is illegal (or at least should be). If so, then guilty as charged. 

14.  What would you wish for right now?

I would love enough money to be able to travel around the world for a year. 

15.  What shoes do you wear the most ?

I guess that would be my trainers (or sneakers in American English), though I do have a great sturdy pair of walking shoes for my daily walk. 

In The Summertime

In the summertime, when the weather is high

You can stretch right up and touch the sky

Welcome to South Manchester in what is supposed to be summertime – but isn’t really. It’s quite cloudy with a bit of sun but we haven’t really had what I would call a typical summer day in the UK apart from a week or two in June. 

We have been told that climate change will bring wetter summers to the UK and based on the washout that was July and August 2023 I think they are right. 

I live in hope though. I will get a taste of summer in mid-August despite the weather in the UK because we will be off to Nice on the south coast of France for Mrs PM’s birthday. And a week after I retire, we will be going to Greece for a week – so it will be hot there.

The theme of this week’s Sunday Stealing is summer so let’s dive in and imagine the weather is fitting of such a post.

1. What is the hottest temperature you've seen this summer so far? 

The highest temperature in Manchester this year was back in June and I think was about 25 degrees Centigrade. Such temperatures are pleasant without being uncomfortable. The highest temperatures we usually see are about 31 degrees Centigrade but the record was smashed two years ago when it reached 38 degrees Centigrade. Mrs PM and I both had Covid-19 which was good thing but I recall our cats being so hot they didn’t know what to do with themselves. The highest ever temperatures I have experienced were 45 degrees Centigrade in Las Vegas and 46 degrees Centigrade in Muscat, Oman. Those temperatures were unbearable and I feel for people who have to endure them.

2. What is your favourite summer beverage?

I usually drink a lot of water in the summer, sometimes flavoured with fruit juice but definitely accompanied by ice cubes.

When it comes to alcoholic drinks, I usually switch from ale to lager as it is more refreshing and usually a lot colder. 

3. Have you seen any fireflies/lightning bugs yet? Cicadas?

We don’t get lightning bugs or cicadas in the UK. However, I have seen both in the past and certainly heard cicadas. Lightning bugs surprised me and at first I didn’t know what they were. We were in Cleveland, Ohio, having an outdoor meal with the family we were staying with when I saw a group of them hovering around in the darkness. The kids were trying to catch them and that’s the first time I heard the term “lightning bug” – I had known them as fireflies but I had no idea why they were called that. 

4. What are the last 3 things you bought online?

The last three things I bought online were purchased about two hours ago. In October I am going to Budapest for a reunion with my old university pals. We’re going for four nights and the flights don’t really fit in with our planned dates, so I had to buy two separate flights with different companies for the outward and return flight. And of course, I booked a hotel room too. 

5. Where do locals go to cool off?

As I hinted above, we don’t really get very hot days in Manchester but when the temperature reaches about 20 degrees Centigrade and the sun comes out we all just go outside and sit in the sun, whether it be the park, countryside, seaside or simply in a pub garden – or in my case, a cricket match. When it gets too hot, people will just go home or back inside the pub. 

6. Where did you buy your last postcard and what was on the pc?

I haven’t bought a postcard for about 40 years. 

7. What's your favourite summertime scent?

I love the smell of the English countryside. When the weather is sunny and warm, there are few things better than going for a walk in and around a small village in the Lake District, Peak District or Cheshire and the country smells are lovely (if you aren’t too close to a farm of course). However, generally, just walking around, you can smell summer flowers and that is also lovely. 

8. What kind of a/c do you have - central, room, fans only, chillers, none and what temperature do you set it to?

We don’t have it because It doesn’t get hot enough to have air conditioning in the UK. 

9. Do you have a summer vacation planned and if so, where are you really going??

As I said above, we are planning to go to Nice in France for four days in August and  then to Greece in late September for a week. 

10. What are your favourite summer activities? 

We go out for walks in the countryside, I tend to watch a few cricket matches and, if we can, we go abroad for a while. But I am equally happy sitting in the garden with a cold drink. 

11.  What's your favourite summertime food?

I eat more salads in the summer but my eating habits don’t change too much. 

12. Did you ever go to summer school?

No. As a kid we used to live next to a park and back then parents used to just send kids out all day. Those days are long gone. 

13. What's your favourite summertime memory?

As a kid, we had a huge heatwave in the UK back in 1976 that lasted for weeks. It was really hot and sunny all the time and it didn’t rain, leading to a water shortage in the UK as a whole. Despite that, as young teenagers, we spent loads of time having fun outdoors, with water pistols etc, as well as eating loads of ice cream and ice lollies. 

As an adult, I tend to go abroad and the biggest holidays I had that have great memories are a four and a half week trip to the US, two interrail trips to Europe lasting about three weeks each, a visit to Japan and a “Planes, trains and automobiles” trip around China. 

Every holiday is brilliant though. 

14. Do you like fireworks?

I used to like them as a kid. Today I’m quite ambivalent about them. 

15. How do you feel about the longer days of summer?

I love the longer days of summer. It’s great when it is still light at 9:30pm and at 4am. I especially like going for my daily walks at 6:30 am with the sun shining and nobody else around apart from dog walkers and joggers. I feel like I’ve got the whole world to myself. 

Sadly we are in July so the days are getting shorter – but it’s still good for now. 

A Few More Favourites

 

Welcome to a sunny South Manchester. This time, politically, the sun is shining on the UK because after 14 years of incompetence and lies, the Conservatives have finally been turfed out and the Labour Party won. 

Our new PM is Sir Keir Starmer. Hopefully now, instead of Broken Britain we will have a government that cares about the people rather than self-interest and self-aggrandising bunch of grifters and arses. 

Several cabinet ministers lost their constituencies but the two that made me smile most are the haunted Victoria pencil, Jacob-Rees Mogg and Liz Truss, the shortest serving Prime Minister in history who lasted 45 days having crashed the economy in her first budget. 

A Haunted Victoria Pencil

I have to dig this video out again of Liz Truss being utterly useless.

Anyway – enough of that. Let’s have some silly questions from Sunday Stealing: 

1. What's your favourite animal? 

As far as pets are concerned, I am a dog and a cat person. I don’t have a dog but I do have two cats and that is mainly down to Mrs PM. However both of my next door neighbours have dogs as does my eldest son so they help fill the dog-shaped hole in my life. 

2. What's your favourite book? 

I don’t really have one in particular but I can list a couple that I really like:

The Necroscope Saga by Brian Lumley – I really should reread this vampiric horror novels again.

The Dark – James Herbert – a really scary horror story by an English master. 

The Stand by Stephen King – a post-apocalyptic masterpiece from Mr King.

The Bourne Ultimatum – Robert Ludlum – the final Bourne book that Robert Ludlum wrote. 

The Matarese Circle – Robert Ludlum – a one-off novel that is amazing.

Recursion – Blake Crouch – a mind-bending sci-fi novel.

The Night’s Dawn Trilogy – Peter F. Hamilton – a space opera spread over three huge novels.

Matter – Iain M. Banks – a wonderful sci-fi novel.

3. What's your favourite colour? 

That would be teal. We now have two teal sofas in our back room (the one I am currently typing in). They are gorgeous.

4. What's your favourite dessert? 

I am not really a dessert person. I usually opt for cheese and biscuits as a post-dinner treat. If forced to choose I would probably go for chocolate brownies, lemon sorbet or chocolate ice cream.

5. What's your favourite drink? 

My favourite day to day drink is tea. My alcoholic drink of choice is a decent ale like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. 

6. What's your favourite food? 

The list is too great. But I love Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Italian food – in fact most food apart from Thai.

7. What's your favourite hobby? 

I have three current favourite hobbies. I am currently learning Spanish and brushing up on French for a trip to Nice in August. I also write nonsense on a daily basis and am trying my best to learn the piano.

8. What's your favourite movie? 

There are too many movies to single out just one. I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and sci-fi epics like Inception as well as quirky films like Inglorious Basterds, The Warriors and the Matrix. 

9. What's your favourite restaurant? 

There are a few restaurants I go to quite often. These include the Yang Sing and Little Yand Sing in Manchester as well as our local Nepalese restaurant. But I’m not that fussy.

10. What's your favourite sandwich? 

Ham, cheese and salad with mayonnaise. 

11. What's your favourite season? 

Definitely summer. We are in summer at the moment and so far it’s been a little disappointing. I’m hoping that things improve in July and August. 

12. What's your favourite series? 

I have too many to mention. I would say that a recent favourite is The Boys and there is a new series currently on Amazon Prime. It’s violent, funny and contains one of my favourite villains called Homelander who is like an evil Superman.

13. What's your favourite snack? 

Cheese on toast.

14. What's your favourite sport to watch? 

Definitely football (or soccer in American). We are currently in between seasons but I am currently enjoying the European Championships which reaches its quarter final stage this weekend and, remarkably, England are somehow still in the competition. 

15. What's your favourite thing to have for breakfast?

I usually have fruit for breakfast but I treat myself to an omelette at the weekend.