Sarah LOVES Christmas. I enjoy it too, however Sarah really LOVES Christmas! So a trip to the Manchester Christmas Markets 2013 was a surefire way of getting into the Christmas spirit (even if it is still only November). We have been to the Manchester Christmas Markets and tasted the gluhwein before of course. It’s becoming a tradition. We visited this year on the opening Saturday (as I found out later). Originally the plan had been that Sarah and I would meet…
Friday we were off work. Andy had his final assignment for his OU course to be in by 12 noon – he only just got it in on time. After lunch we set off for a long weekend in Norwich. To break up the journey we stopped at Hardwick Hall, which is maintained by the National Trust and the old hall by English Heritage. We arrived just in time for the last entry to the house, which only gave us…
The week of writing an Open University essay is an intense one for me. I therefore usually shut down my social calendar and minimise all distractions. Thankfully I had been cycling on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but all day studying on a Bank Holiday Monday. I knew I had to sacrifice the full day unofficial Stockport Community Cycling Club unofficial ride. Since Andy S wasn’t free all day either emailing him with an alternative temptation of ‘a few miles,…
For our final day in Oxford we planned to visit the Pitt Rivers and Ashmolean museums. The Pitt Rivers Museum holds some items of Benin artworks. Since I have been studying these recently as part of my Open University course it seemed appropriate to pop over for a viewing of them. Setting off from Oxford Peartree Travelodge, it was another cold morning. The Pitt Rivers Museum adjoins the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and you have to follow what seems like a mini…
