Welcome to a sunny afternoon in Manchester where the weather is now very pleasant. We have now hit our fourth heatwave of the summer and while things are not as bad as they are on the continent, there have been fires in the UK generally. Half of England and the whole of Wales have declared a drought but here in Manchester we have had a little welcome rain. However, there doesn’t seem to be any more on the horizon.
Let’s dive into a slightly longer set of questions from Sunday Stealing.
Have you ever …
1. Slept under the stars
Yes, but only once. Back in 1984, I was interrailing in Europe with two university buddies and we found ourselves in a little town in Portugal called Vila Real de Santo Antonio and we were heading to Spain, which meant catching a ferry to Ayamonte just across the border in the south. Sadly, it was 2am and the first ferry wasn’t for another few hours. We found ourselves in a park and decided to try to get some sleep on a park bench. We did so but at about 7am I was woken up just as the sun was rising and I spent the next hour watching the sunrise. It was fine but I wouldn’t want to do something so careless again.
2. Played in a band
Yes. I was in the school brass band between the ages of 11 and 15. I played the trombone and we gave a couple of concerts, the most beautiful being in Walsall Town Hall.
3. Visited Hawaii
No, I haven’t. Mrs PM has and we have talked about perhaps going there. It is far too far at the moment but if we decide to take a round the world trip when Mrs PM retires, we will definitely go there.
4. Visited Easter Island
No, sadly I haven’t. I have a friend who has though.
5. Watched a meteor shower
No. I would love to see a meteor shower.
6. Seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
Yes, when I was a kid. At the time I found it a little tedious but now I have grown up (have I?) it would be more interesting.
7. Been to Disneyland or Disney World
I’ve been to both. I’ve also been to Disneyland Paris.
8. Climbed a mountain
Yes and no. We cheated really. On a work trip we were taken to Mount Rigi near to Lucerne in Switzerland and there is a cogwheel railway that takes you up the mountain and provides some sumptuous views of Lake Lucerne as it climbs. We wandered around a little at the top but that was it.
9. Held a praying mantis
No. I don’t really like insects.
10. Been to the Louvre
Bizarrely no I haven’t. I’ve been to Paris three times and the closest I’ve been is to the glass pyramid at the entrance. I will make an effort to go there if we ever get to Paris again.
11. Had food poisoning
Oh yes, several times and usually abroad. The worst episode was in Moscow in the middle of winter and I was on my own working in a remote hotel. Thankfully it was just an overnight thing and I had recovered enough in the morning to actually get some sleep. When I called my Russian work colleague he was quite concerned but I reassured him later in the day after I had had some sleep that I was back to something like 90%.
12. Eaten vegetables you grew yourself
Yes. My dad was a keen gardener and turned out back garden into a huge vegetable patch. He always used to rope me in to help him by digging and planting and I hated it. That said, we never ran short of vegetables but the consequence of that is that I now absolutely detest gardening.
13. Slept overnight on a train
Yes, several times. As a student, in 1983 and 1984 I went on two interrail trips to Europe, and because money was scarce, we used to catch overnight trains to save on hotel bills (because we had already paid for the train pass). Sometimes we were lucky and could sleep on the train but other times it was too busy and we drifted in and out of sleep while sitting in a crowded carriage.
Later, Mrs PM did a trains, planes and automobiles trip around China (back in 1999) and we caught two overnight trains. The first one was “hard sleeper” where you got a bed of sorts but it was in a crowded carriage. I did sleep – but not very well. The second was much better. It was a “soft sleeper” and we got a comfortable bed on an overnight trip from Beijing to Shanghai. I slept really well.
14. Built a snow fort
No, I can’t say that I have.
15. Held a lamb
No. I’ve held a koala though.
16. Gone skinny dipping
No. I don’t want to scare the fish.
17. Been on a cruise (day cruises and dinner cruises count)
Yes, I have been on two cruises. The first was some years ago when we cruised to Alaska from Seattle, stopping off at a couple of places there and Victoria in Canada on the way back.
The second cruise was last year, where we cruised around Greece, stopping off at a few places, including Athens (for my first time) and a day trip in Turkey.
We are going on a river cruise in September to Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
18. Seen Niagara Falls
Yes – twice. I was working in Atlanta, Georgia, when I was asked to fly up to Toronto to give a demonstration the following Monday (basically to save somebody else flying all the way across the pond for a one day demo). I arrived on Friday night and spent Saturday exploring Toronto before travelling to Niagara on Sunday. The second time was about a year later with a couple of work colleagues who hadn’t been there.
19. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
I think a lot of my ancestors are from Walsall so I would say yes. This has to be confirmed of course and I think in a year or two I might try to trace my family tree to find out whether we truly are all from the West Midlands.
20. Sung karaoke
Yes – but only once. I was cajoled into it by a friend who happened, at the time, to be guitarist and singer in a pub band. He agreed to do it with me and we sang Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple with me singing the verse and him singing the chorus. He was brilliant; I was in tune but awful. I have no plans to do it again.
21. Sat for a portrait
I’ve only sat for a portrait photo. Does that count?
22. Walked on a beach by moonlight
Oh yes, several times and in several countries. It’s a very soothing and relaxing thing to do.
23. Been transported in an ambulance
No, thank goodness.
24. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
I’ve been snorkelling a couple of times in Barbados, the Bahamas and a couple of times in Europe.
25. Kissed in the rain
Yes, a couple of times. I would rather go inside though.
26. Played in the mud
Yes, as a kid.
27. Gone to a drive-in theatre
We don’t have drive-in movie theatres in the UK (or Europe for that matter) but on my very first trip to America in 1989, it was on my list of things I wanted to do. It was somewhere in the vast metropolitan sprawl that is Los Angeles and the movie we saw was K-9 starring James Belushi.
28. Changed your vehicle's oil yourself
No, I have a mechanic/car expert/enthusiast who does things like that for me.
29. Taken a martial arts class
No. I wish that I had though. I considered taking up karate at university.
30. Visited the Vatican
Yes, once. As a lapsed Catholic, I spent the entire time feeling very guilty.
31. Volunteered at a soup kitchen or food pantry
No, sadly. It is something I would consider doing though.
32. Sold Girl Scout cookies
No.
33. Bought a used car
All of the cars I have bought are used cars. Brand new cars are far too expensive and lose their value as soon as you leave the showroom.
34. Sat on a jury
Yes. I did jury service for the first time in 2023. It was interesting.
35. Ridden an elephant
No and the only reason I haven’t is because I got food poisoning. We were in Chiang Mai in Thailand and had booked a day trip which included a ride on an elephant. Sadly, the night before, I was eating my meal and suddenly started feeling a bit weird. When I got back to the hotel I had a sleepless night (I won’t go into the details) but the following morning I had to be within a foot of a toilet so I missed the trip. Mrs PM went, of course, and by lunchtime I had recovered.
That’s a nice way to end a post – I apologise for that.
