Monday, March 23, 2009

Day 8: Our Day Out

Today's soundtrack: Various Artists - Music inspired by 'Oh! Brother, Where Art Thou?'

Off we go again, to the strum of a banjo and a sprightly 'Yee-hah!' Can't beat a bit of bluegrass. Currently listening to Leadbelly covering that old acoustic Nirvana song, 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night?', with The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and Gene Autry all comin' up in the next half hour. Don't touch that dial now....

Anyway, the day out didn't quite go as planned - blustery winds and the promise of heavy rain put paid to any thoughts of a day out in Conwy, or even to a trip out to Southport. We were determined not to stay in all day, so where else but the Mecca of the Modern Shopping Experience, the Trafford Centre?

Off we set, blown backwards and forwards (but mostly sideways) down the M56 to a relatively quiet Trafford Centre. One of the small pleasures to come from my current situation is the ability to get out to places like this when they are 'off-peak', ie not lunchtimes or weekends. So a nice gentle browse round the shops on my own (we split up, of course, Mrs W doing the lady shops and me doing the boy shops) with no real intention of buying anything - just having a stroll away from the wind and rain.

Met up with Mrs W an hour later, wallet no lighter than it was when we'd started despite spending plenty of time in the den of temptation that is the Apple store - my, those iMacs are sooo beautiful - one day, one day - and we wandered into the food court for a quick spot of lunch, which my good lady wife treated me to. Shared plate of nachos and a Jalapeno burger, since you ask.

By this time, the weather had brightened up considerably, although the wind was as strong (and cutting) as it had been previously. We toyed with the idea of a run out to Southport, but decided against it in the end.

Back home, found a cd of Franz Ferdinand's live gig at the Manchester Academy waiting for me on the doormat - made by one of these companies that specialises in recording gigs (legally, and under license) and selling cds immediately after the event. Picked this one up because Matt had gone along to the gig - no doubt I'll be able to hear him roaring along to 'This Fire' or some such in the background if I listen hard enough. I think it's a nice idea, and certainly better than trying to hunt down an dodgy snide recording on t'interweb. Waiting for a cd of a Richard Hawley concert to turn up as well - really looking forward to that one!

Twittering along in the background while writing this - still to fully understand the point of Twittering, but it's probably its very pointlessness that makes it fun. Currently eavesdropping on the saga of the animal infestation of the Word office...

You will have gathered from the tone of today's blog that the job hunting has gone a little bit quiet of late. And you'd be right. The daily trawl of the usual websites has turned up a blank, as did the weekend papers. Still, one or two things are progressing slowly through the pipeline, and one of my mates (and ex-colleagues) has tipped me the wink about something that might come up for grabs in the not too distant. But not a lot to tell them at the Job Centre tomorrow, when I go to sign on. That'll be fun, won't it?

1 comment:

Beany said...

You will soon be ready for the ultimate pleasure of daytime shopping - Boundry Mill in Colne! Whilst in the area don't forget Oswaldtwistle Mill too. A grand day out.