In recline

We were up and out this morning and munching our extended breakfast of pain au raisins as we headed down the M61 into Manchester.

We hadn’t been to see The Eldest for a while and the wee ones were hankering for some time with her, but they would have to wait a little longer as she didn’t finish work at her ridiculously busy coffee shop until 3pm.

So, what to do in between times? Well, we had a little wander around the Arndale first before heading to Vue to view Sonic 3 (awful), which they really enjoyed. It was heightened by the presence of reclining seats, which to country rubes like us was a real treat and enabled me to doze off during some of it.

We then hightailed it across town for a brew and two hot chocs courtesy of The Eldest’s own fair hands “she gave us extra chocolate sprinkles” - it really was very busy, I respect her hustle. Outside the coffee shop there was a gathering in support of the war in Ukraine (extra). Opposite this on the other side of the square was a gathering in support of the “forgotten war” (their words) in the Sudan. 

We had a little time to kill waiting for her to finish, so we popped around the corner to the art museum, which had some interesting pieces (the one in extras caught my eye) and then reconvened at the coffee shop where The Eldest was mobbed by her younger siblings.

Wandering back across town to The Printworks, we all agreed that a game of crazy golf was overdue, so headed into Treetop Golf which, The Youngest was devastated to find, wasn’t played in treetops. It was busy, but gave us all a chance to catch up as we picked our way around the course. She’s got a lot on at present, but seems just about in control of the various plates that are spinning around her.

Then it was time for tea, so we opted for a Greek place, which was delicious and good fun as we compared our flatbread wraps and brought each other up on all the gossip. All too soon it was time to say goodbye again (extra). The Youngest in particular was very reluctant to let her big sister go, and there were a few understandable tears.

Fortunately, Big Blue is loaded with snacks, so as we navigated our way out of the busy Manchester traffic, we raided the sweet stash while listening to a couple of episodes of Cabin Pressure and pretty soon everything was right in the world once more as we chuckled and chewed our way back up the M61.

Fantastic day spent in the company of my amazing offspring, I am so ridiculously lucky.