Disappointments

A difficult day.

We set off for Manchester, hoping to travel by tram. The trams weren't working so we had to drive, encountering about six sets of temporary traffic lights and an enormous bill to park the car.

We visited the almost complete Aviva Studios development, formerly called The Factory on which £211 million has been spent. Although it might look better when it is finished in a couple of months, it is an ugly building seemingly crammed on to an unattractive site. I had hoped that this would be a flagship project in an exciting structure the City could be proud of. It doesn't seem to be that.

Then trouser-buying, which I am told was necessary. This involved the dreaded “trying-on” - a process I detest.