Rainy days and open days

Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but any more of this rainy weather and I’ll be evolving webbed feet and a beak. Failing that, I’ll put in a request for a total immersion suit. Although knowing our supply system, we wouldn’t get the bloody things until next years heatwave (If at all).

Took youngest stepdaughter and friends up to Manchester University ‘Open Day’ yesterday on my last day off. One is going to study Maths, one is going to study English Literature, and youngest is going to study Law and Criminology. We’re going to have a Lawyer in the family! Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Youngest will require three straight ‘A’ grades to get on the course, which I know she is capable of.

Mrs Sticker and I let the girls off the leash and spent an agreeable few hours wandering around the campus. They went to several lectures, we looked over the Students Union building and tagged onto one of the many ‘walking tours’ around campus. We spent well over three hours in the Manchester Museum. They sell some really cool stuff in their gift shop – Roman and Medieval reproduction arms and armour (Wonder if I could get away with carrying a Roman Pugio or better still a Gladius or Spatha on duty – probably not); we lunched on huge burgers at the Phoenix Pub on the corner of Oxford Street and Booth Street West. If you’re ever there, the ‘Scream Deluxe’ burger is real stick to your ribs stuff, and they have no truck with all this namby pamby ‘salad garnish’ nonsense.

Conclusion; it was a fair hike to get there, but well worth the trip. I have a soft spot for Manchester as a city, having done quite a few jobs in the area during the late 1990’s. My only beef with travelling there was the Motorway congestion. The plague of speed cameras on the approaches is likewise a nuisance and tends to take your mind away from your driving. Nonetheless, despite the odd shower it wasn’t a bad run. All told, a nice day.