I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited but I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it...
Look, I am once again updating on my iPhone from a train! Well done me for never finding any time in a normal evening. I do read my friends page every day, and was still irritated by the DDOS attack, and I think of things to write all the the time, I just... don't get around to opening up that entry screen.
Anyway, here I am after a great day in London with my mother. We got the train at 6.45am for reasons only she understands, and went straight to Tate Britain. I'd never been there before, I'm embarrassed to admit, but I recommend it to other similarly absent-minded art fans. Particularly enjoyed the exhibition on Romantic painters as there was lots of Turner and some of his later paintings which really just have lots of light and very little other substance. They are so peaceful.
From there we walked along the bank of the Thames and encountered hoards of tourists outside the Houses of Parliament (oh hai summer holidays, forgot about you!) so we dodged them until we found somewhere to eat lunch near Covent Garden. Once fortified by a jacket potato we browsed the market stalls, I popped into Monsoon to look at dresses for a hen party and a wedding, and then we carried on strolling until we reached the British Museum. I LOVE the British Museum, but my mother hadn't seen the really famous pieces, so we looked at the Rosetta Stone, the statue of Venus and the Parthenon Marbles, talked about restitution, and then left to avoid the crowds and had another tea break. Then before we knew it we had to make our way back to Euston to get the train back again! Feels like we did a lot today and it's such a thrill to be able to nip down from Manchester or Liverpool so easily. Tomorrow we are going out for an early dinner to celebrate my younger brother's birthday then I'm returning to Manchester for work on Monday.
This weekend is really the latest in a series of fantastic weekends that I've been having recently. When I last updated I was on my way to Windermere where I had a marvellous time hiking everywhere, eating lots and getting lots of sun at the same time. On my last day there I got up at 5am to walk/run up Loughrigg Fell and back again before breakfast. Later on I made up for it with afternoon tea at my favourite place in Grasmere, Baldry's tea shop.
I was off all that week so I then had two days at home volunteering with Not Part Of festival before going away for another walking weekend, this time with my mother to do the Sandstone Trail in Cheshire. The weather was more changeable and the walking less varied and dramatic, but we had plenty of time to talk about everything and we stayed in two delightful b&bs.
I then had a weekend at home watching films while it rained all day long, followed by a weekend walking again, on my own in the Peak District. I walked from Glossop to Edale on the first day, which was a challenging 15 mile hike, made difficult by my own tiredness, losing the Pennine Way at one point, and nearly leaving one of my walking boots in a bog hole. Oh and it was a mile from the village to the hostel where I was staying and I walked between them three times so I could eat dinner in the pub so believe me I slept like an exhausted baby that night. The following day I did a circular walk in Edale going up Win Hill (great name) and around Dovestones reservoir in the beautiful sunshine. I was shattered after that and went to bed at 8.30pm that evening and was still tired the next day.
But then last weekend was completely different. I went with some of the other line dancers to Oldham Pride and we danced a short set in front of an audience of bemused LGBT people from Oldham and their friends and family. Their Pride is nothing compared to Manchester's, but it was wonderfully sunny and everyone was in a good mood so it was a great experience. That evening I went to Chorlton to look after Alex's cats while she was away and used the opportunity to meet up with my friend Holly while I was there. We got horribly drunk, or at least I did, and talked about absolute nonsense for a few hours. I really needed it too. The next day I had a crippling hangover but still fed the cats properly and dragged myself back out for some more line dancing, in the Gay Village this time. I love the outdoor dancing because the audience is so appreciative, and I barely missed a dance throughout the whole afternoon. We were three dances away from the end when a girl came up to me and asked if her friend could have my number. Firstly, I didn't know people did that beyond school discos, and secondly I was trying to dance, and thirdly, how the hell do I respond to that? I didn't, basically, I stuttered incoherently and turned bright red until she went away. Her friend was perfectly nice looking of course, just a bit butch for my taste and of course a COMPLETE STRANGER. My colleagues have found it hilarious since then suggesting alternative responses for next time it happens, as it's clearly going to be an issue from now on. (Sarcasm.)
So that brings me to this weekend, hurrah. Hope that was entertaining. In between all these weekends I have been in work, which has been a bit of a struggle lately, and I've been extremely sociable in the evenings. I've not been to the gym in over a month because I've not had time- I'm lucky if I have one free evening a week really. I don't mean to brag though; it's actually very tiring and I'm starting to miss quiet evenings in with a good film. Hopefully it'll settle down soon and I can go back to being a hermit.
Right I wasn't able to finish this on the train so I'm now in bed adding the last touches to the entry while our cat Stripe sits on my knee and purrs contentedly. Maybe soon I'll have time to write an entry about other things that are going on and How I Feel about them but for now be glad you are spared long paragraphs about my feelings!
G'night lj.
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