Superheroes and Villains

On Saturday 27th May, Jamie and I attended Sarah's Superheroes and Villains fancy dress party in Manchester.

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Jamie chose to go dressed as a villainous pirate, whereas I opted for a hero - Blossom from the Powerpuff girls (well obviously!) I didn't quite save the world before bedtime; instead I stayed up late, got drunk and ate way too much dip - not the appropriate behaviour of a shining pre-schooler.

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Much fun was had with lots of random people, mostly falling into the categories of doing a PhD or attendees of a pub quiz. Sarah (the hostess) was dressed as She-Ra, Nicola as Catwoman, Jen as one of the Avengers and Matt as a Ninja (not wrinkly).

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Sarah in her new abode has two bathrooms, a park and some very posh patio doors. For most of the night I believed she also had deer- this turned out to be a joke.

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Despite much discussion surrounding the topic of bottom washing, I did not try out the bidet.

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I drank vodka for the first time from a water pistol, I felt apprehensive at first especially as the shooter was a cheeky faced Matt - but it turned out to be fun.

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The pistol liquid tasted like plastic, indicating that it was probably not a sensible way to consume vodka. Perhaps the manufacturer had issued an advice of use list with the water pistol, it would be very long if so

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I have begun to realise the numerous and exciting uses of water pistols many of which, at present, remain unrealised dreams.

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Catherine

Liverpool and other thoughts

It’s been an interesting week. Monday was a bank holiday, and Cat and I took the opportunity to explore the Merseyside coast. We went to Formby (via a garden centre cafe), where we saw two red squirrels, and we walked on the sand dunes. However the wind was too strong, blowing sand everywhere. The next day I was still finding sand in my ears!

We then drove to Crosby to see Anthony Gormley’s Another Place. It’s certainly an interesting use of the beach at Crosby – quite a sight. The installation is moving to New York in November, so I was keen to see it while we still had the chance. I don’t think I could quite justify the trip to New York to see some sculptures stuck in the sand.

My work currently involves a great deal of travel. However this week it has been limited to the North West, which is fine by me. So all my meetings this week were in Manchester and Liverpool – currently my two favourite cities. In particular I’m fascinated by Liverpool, and its architecture and the people. The architecture is the grandest I’ve seen in the UK outside London, and the latter are friendliest I’ve met in England.

The history of Liverpool, in particular the Victorian era, is evident throughout the city, particularly around the waterfront. My work also means that I’m lucky enough to visit a number of the most impressive buildings in Liverpool, including India Buildings, the Cunard Building (one of the Three Graces), and the former headquarters of Martins Bank (which merged with Barclays in the 1960s).

Some of the most impressive buildings can be found at the Albert Dock - apparently the largest set of Grade 1 listed buildings in the UK. In fact this is where Cat and myself stayed on Thursday night – at the Express by Holiday Inn at Albert Dock. The unique setting of the hotel meant that this was probably the most individual Holiday Inn that I’ve stayed in (and I’ve stayed in a fair few). Its certainly a creative and modern use of such an historic building. Far too often historic buildings in the UK have fallen into disrepair and have been knocked down to be replaced by soulless modern buildings.

So why were we staying in Liverpool? A combination of business and Bic Runga! Bic Runga, a singer/songwriter from New Zealand played the Liverpool Academy on Thursday night. I’d previously seen Bic Runga at the Scala (near Kings Cross in London) last month, but Catherine hadn’t had the chance to see her. So we went to see her in Liverpool, and she was fantastic! Plus she was also staying at the same hotel as us, as we discovered at breakfast time!

All in all, a good week. Next week I’ll be spending a good proportion of my time in Croydon, which is (grudgingly) my second home.