Having a fab time at the South Mcr Food Festival in Wythenshawe Park with expert pasta tutor Stev @pastaferrazza . It might be persisting it down but that won’t stop the fun 😄
RIP Astley Grandad, Rip Rap, Dangerous Dave, Withington Golf Club Legend. Different things, to different people. To me, just dad. Decades of comical memories, frustrating moments and intertwined lives. He could be a joy and he could be a pain, and he bloody enjoyed being both of them. It was a rollercoaster ride and I loved him, and I think he loved me, though he never said it. He found emotions, shall we say, unnecessary. I feel very sad that he won’t have more years striding purposefully through South Manchester heading for the bus to his beloved club, Daily Mail under his arm and pot of tea in his sights. I rather imagine he’s already on that Great Golf Course in the sky with a handicap under 10 and unlimited sunshine, happy as Larry without a care in the world.
Strong as an ox despite his frame, wily & tenacious, he beat off prostrate cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, kidney disease, lung cancer and almost beat E.Coli, but when the kind NHS gave him covid, novovirus, MRSA, mouth thrush, a lung infection and a diet of zero calories, well that was a step too far even for him. He did his damndest though, smiling and joking to the end raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips, bravo Dad 👊🏻 I will miss you xxx
An Easter hunt today but not for chocolate eggs, for wild garlic 😋 Wythenshawe Park was busy with families enjoying the sun but we scooted off to a quieter part to forage around for wild garlic leaves and flower buds. I’ll make garlic butter and freeze it in small rounds tomorrow. The glass houses were warmed by the Spring sunshine, I enjoyed wandering amongst the incredible cactuses and some very healthy arum lilys - far more advanced than my outside ones which have barely started growing yet after the winter frost. What a wonderful place the horticultural centre is and how rubbish that it’s barely supported by our city council. They never spent our money on the right stuff!
Doorstep No 876. I’ve knocked on over 1000 doors now, in the ward I’m standing to be a Cllr. 5000 to go. Gardens come in all shapes and sizes but my very favourites are the ones currently filled with daffodils, tulips, muscari and hyacinths. I love the gardens where residents have taken advantage of the early Spring nice days and had a tidy up, turning the soil, trimming the grass, planting some bulbs. It’s been a revelation, talking to people on their steps or through their Ring doorbells. Very little abuse, only 3 people out of 1000, 2 of them little men making themselves bigger with swear words and bluster. So many people saying they’ve had enough, they won’t vote, they hate politicians. I try to change their mind, and have succeeded on a few occasions. Lots of people telling me they are considering a vote for Reform, a vote for change, a vote for me. It’s a very odd time for me, and my time is filled with things I’ve never done before. Which is all good exercise for this old brain right?? 😬😆
Two weeks of trauma as Missy Moo stopped eating, with assessments made as to the whys and what to do’s. Today, after having one infected fang and a dodgy molar out, she lived up to her diva status by fighting to escape the recovery room cage as soon as she came round, getting labelled ‘spicy’ by the veterinary nurse for falling in a hissy fit into the operation room water bowl drenching herself and her cage, and then post-operatively staggering around the kitchen like she’d had ten gins. That’s ma girl 🤣
Well well well. So Andy Burnham’s personal ambition has outweighed his promise to see out his Manchester mayoral term. If he gets selected at NEC level (is allowed to be selected?!) then it’ll kick in a multi-million pound mid-term mayoral election. More public money spent at the whim of ambitious politicians, they’re so good at that aren’t they? Andrew Gwynne of WhatsApp Shiver Me Timbers fame (wishing his constituents would die) has finally negotiated his massive salary & pension settlement (more taxpayers money) so he can resign to a life of leisure and leave what was previously thought of as a safe Labour seat in Gorton & Denton to Andy. Only it’s not is it. It’s not a safe seat. We were out in the constituency yesterday, straight outta the gates, and the news on the doors was that many people are pretty pissed off with Labour and the status quo. This will not be an easy win for Labour, whoever stands for them. No, the candidate for Reform UK isn’t decided yet, before you ask. But whoever it is - I hope they get in and I’ll be campaigning for them!
Meant to post this last week but kinda hectic with my new ‘stuff’ going on. By-election anyone? Gawd, it’s all happening eh. Anyhoo, last Sunday we found ourselves in a place called Warmingham as our dear friend lost his best boy Mr Tom and we all went to Sleepy Meadow. Long time followers will remember that both my Mia and Rocky Rooster went there before heading to Rainbow Bridge. Whilst waiting for Mr Tom’s ashes, we called into the most wonderful and quintessentially English inn called @thebearspaw for a roast dinner. We hadn’t booked, big mistake in this apparently ever popular village eaterie, but hostess Kayleigh couldn’t have been more helpful, friendly or accommodating. She managed to squeeze us onto a 3 table in between bookings, and after a loooong Supper Club event the night before, this pub lunch was just what the doctor ordered 😋 A superb beef & pork roast, heaps of perfectly cooked & hot veg including my fav mashed carrot, crunchy roasties, no extra cost for cheesy cauli, lashings of gravy and a Yorkshire pud which was dry on top yet still had a beautiful batter texture on the bottom - 100% brilliant. Mr M’s fish & chips were a clean, crispy & huge hit, and Ricardo’s Bear Paw Beef Pie utterly demolished. All three meals 5 star. A gorgeous atmosphere with a roaring fire, lovely staff and well priced. Wouldn’t hesitate to go back. Pubs need our support right now with this lunatic Government and all its legislative madness, make sure this one is on your list to visit! Sian x
This weekend we had the privilege of hosting a fabulous birthday party for one of our supper club guests who has become a friend. Thank you Paul & Chris for trusting us with your evening full of food , friends and fun ❤️ props to amazing chefs @clairemarketchef and @kitchen_mavericks 🙌🏻
My new political profile pic 😬 Good choice? It was the first time using Chat GBT, an orange sweatshirt became turquoise and my garden Tweetin Corner frame turned into a Manchester skyline of sorts. Unbelievably tempting to ask it to knock ten years off 🤣 Shit’s getting real as we did a full days canvassing and campaigning training yesterday up in Lancashire with our team, and today I’m working on walk routes. All these things that the existing parties have been doing for years are new to our members and candidates. Need doing for the first time. It’s at the same time exciting and quite the challenge. Which I, obviously, feel is worth it.
ADULTING ALERT : Please please please tenants, don’t stuff so much stuff under your kitchen sink that you compromise, affect or damage the pipework under there 😩 That’s two in the last week: one stuffed with so much recycling it had actually damaged the underside of the sink waste causing it to leak, and then today a sink cabinet full of electrical items and buckets and kitchen crockery that the pile was pressing on the pressure release valve causing a steady drip which the tenant didn’t see cause…. the cupboard was so full!! All fixable, cause we’re shit hot landlords, but there’s still damage, still a cost, still time wasted. So, pretty pretty please, for me and all landlords, and for the health of your home - check under your sinks regularly for water and don’t over fill the cupboard itself 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hey gang, I just wanted to share some photos that I got today and I just know they’ll make your hearts sing. Look at the girl 😍 She is, in the words of her new family, like a whole new dog, walking every day and loving life. Mollie, as she was then, will always hold a special place in my heart and I’m so glad she got a second chance. The way the RSPCA and Manchester City Council failed her was unforgivable. It’s on my radar, this pathetic system we have when animals are neglected. But things turned out well for her, despite it. I’d have loved to take her in but fate played a different card, and that’s ok, I’m just glad some sensible people bent the rules to ensure we knew where she went and what happened, or I’d always have wondered & been frustrated/sad not to know. One day I’ll go and have a walk with her 😁
Went to the rentals to bleach a rental sofa base, ended up luckily spotting a leak under the sink and having to take the whole trap & waste apart to clean and reseal. Another hour gel cleaning a washing machine rubber seal, two hours refreshing two Airbnbs (I so wish people didn’t moult), and a final hour gritting garden paths and steps in minus 5 so our tenants and guests don’t go arse over tit. A very productive day, wiped out and hitting the single figure bedtime hay.
