How can you say you're lonely?

So how can you tell me you're lonely, and say for you that the sun don't shine? Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of any town or city in the UK, and I'll show you something to make you change your mind.

This morning I managed to stay in bed until 6.50am, the longest lie in I have had all week. My frozen shoulder has been really troublesome and is affecting the length of time I can sleep. Work have benefitted greatly, as I've been at my comfy desk chair by 6am most mornings, but I've been a bit down the last couple of days. This morning was the most painful it has been, so I was feeling very sorry for myself. Feeling down already I started to think about everyone who must have far worse pain than this on a daily basis, with no propsect of it getting any better.

The sun was out though, and it was time to put on a brave face. I found my iPod the other day so I could listen to feelgood music while getting on with some paperwork. I managed a first listen to Annie Lennox's 'A Christmas Cornucopia'. This was just what was needed. A loud cheery sing-a-long to Christmas carols with a twist while looking at the sunny May morning outside the window. After that I took pot luck and put the iPod on Shuffle. The first song on was Ralph McTell's 'Streets of London', and suddenly, although I was at risk of running out of tissues, I realised how good things really were for me.

Have you seen the old man
In the closed-down market
Kicking up the paper,
with his worn out shoes?
In his eyes you see no pride
Hand held loosely at his side
Yesterday's paper telling yesterday's news.

I have a wardrobe full of shoes that I hardly ever wear. I wear the same 2-3 pairs day in day out, and it takes years to wear them out because I spend as much time as possible being comfortable in my slippers at home. Just over two years ago I spent the most I'd ever spent on a pair of shoes. (They were about £80. Not a lot for a lot of people but for me it was a fortune). For about 8 months of each of the following two years I wore these shoes practically every day, whether I was climbing up hills or going to a wedding. This year I got them out again and apart from looking a bit battered the soles had started to wear through. I decided that based on a 'cost per wear' calculation they had probably been good value, but when I tentatively went to enquire about the cost of a new pair I found they had been discontinued. I was disappointed, but what a thing to be disappointed about! I'm lucky, I have plenty more pairs to choose from.

The "In his eyes you see no pride" was thought provoking. How long do people have to be down for to completely lose pride in themselves? You can visit any town and find someone passing time in this way, on their own and with nothing rewarding to do. I wonder if there has been a gradual change, or has there been a specific life event that has 'helped' them along to this stage in their lives? Do they have something they can look forward to? Is tomorrow going to be just the same as today? Vulnerable people that are on their own without support can expect less and less help due to the ongoing government cuts. Day centres and support groups are closing around us, and if these people didn't have mental health problems to start with I suspect they they would soon start to experience problems. Eighteen months ago I would have argued that keeping the support groups going would be the cheaper option for the government, to prevent people deteriorating and needing more assistance from the NHS or the benefits system. I must have been very naive. Recent cuts to the NHS and benefits system have shown that whatever help a lot of people need, they just aren't going to get it. I have often seen people sat with a polystyrene cup at their feet asking for money, and I have been reluctant to help, thinking it could be used for their next fix. More and more times now I see people and see their desperation for a hot meal.

Have you seen the old girl
Who walks the streets of London
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags?
She's no time for talking,
She just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home in two carrier bags.

I could fill two carrier bags with the possessions I have scattered on my bedroom floor at the moment. This 'old girl' must have at least as many aches and pains as I do, and I'd struggle walking up to the village shops with a couple of heavy bags just now. Where I lived as a child we had a village 'tramp'. I don't know how the system had failed him, or how much of it was a lifestyle choice (I know a strange one but in those days there were hostels open that people could get a bed at). Nowadays you hear stories of people who have had a job and a house, been married and had children, and their lives have changed beyond recognition, with them ending up sleeping on the streets. I haven't got the answers (although I'm confident a change in government wouldn't be a bad thing) but how can these people get themselves out of their situations, or how can we give them the support to be able to do this? In my 45 years I have only slept rough on one occasion. It was by choice - we either slept rough or missed the end of the Farewell GLC Jobs for a Change Concert in London in 1985 in order to catch the train home. We chose the night in Battersea Park, and although it was a glorious day in July it was incredibly cold, and everytime I found a decent bench to lie down on I couldn't sleep as I was convinced the rats would come and eat me. People have to cope with this every night, whatever the weather. Again, certainly in Bury, not too long ago there was no need for anyone to sleep rough. There were enough beds in short term hostel accommodation for anyone who needed one. I very much doubt that is the case now.

Ken Livingstone, 1985

In the all night cafe
At a quarter past eleven,
Same old man is sitting there on his own
Looking at the world
Over the rim of his tea-cup,
Each tea last an hour
Then he wanders home alone.

I've passed time sitting with a cup of tea in a coffee shop on many occasion. As I'm trying to cut back a bit, and it never fails to amaze me how much places can charge for a value teabag and some boiling water, I do think twice. However, these places have their uses when I'm killing time and want to sit down somewhere warm and dry. This man may have had no electricity to be able to make his own cuppa. I haven't had an electricity meter but my daughter tells me you can't just put a small amount of money on them. When living on benefits, especially the benefits that have recently been reduced so much, at the end of the week choices need to be made. Heating or food? And that is if there is money left for either of those. A cup of tea late at night in a cafe could provide a much needed hot drink somewhere warm, with some sort of company even if it is only the interaction when ordering a drink, before going back to a cold bleak bedsit.

And have you seen the old man
Outside the seaman's mission
Memory fading with
The medal ribbons that he wears.
In our winter city,
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn't care.

It isn't just our heros that this government is trying to forget; it is whole groups of our society. These are groups that need and deserve help, and you can take away their rights, their benefits, their healthcare and their self-respect but they are still going to be there. What are those with the power to make the required changes going to do about them? I recently thought I was helping someone living in supported housing that was being encouraged to 'bid' for a council flat. They really didn't want to live in the areas where flats for single people were available as they didn't know anyone and would have to travel to be near and have the support of their friends and family.They would also have to travel if they were lucky enough to find work. They needed one bedroomed accommodation for Housing Benefit to even contemplate covering the cost. I managed to find a tiny one bedded house in the right area, and the cost worked out at less than Housing Benefit would have paid for the council flat. I was fortunate enough to be able to help with the deposit and the rent in advance, and the letting agency agreed they would rent the house to a tenant out of work.

The next stop was to get a definitive answer about Housing Benefit. I found that in 2008 a Local Housing Allowance was brought in for tenants who privately rented their accommodation. This was sold as being beneficial to people, giving them the flexibility to choose what was right for them. In 2011 rates were vastly reduced, and from January 2012 in Bury a single person could only receive an allowance to live in one roomed shared accommodation, currently £46.15 a week in my area. All our hopes were dashed as there was no way this property could now be rented. We looked elsewhere, and the cheapest single room we found in Bury, in a house with a shared bathroom and kitchen was £65 a week. I'm thinking of block booking a room next time there is a Travelodge sale. For not much more than this, this person would get a double room with a bathroom, all heating an electricity, a TV and have tea and coffee provided. How can this be right, and how are they going to be able to better themselves?

I am well aware that some people don't help themselves, but I cannot believe that the majority have chosen to be in the situation they have found themselves in, and the way things are I can't think how they can escape. I work hard and I work full time, but like everyone else my bills are rising, I have had no pay rise for two years, my pay is frozen, and I have just had a big increase to the contributions I make to my pension. However, I am lucky that there are cuts I can make. If necessary I can cancel my gym membership, I don't need an iPhone contract, and I can stop drinking altogether, instead of my cut back to Asda 3 for £10 wine. Others aren't so lucky.

My GP has advised me to see an NHS physiotherapist and assured me the wait won't be long. If it was though I could make some cuts and see a private practitioner. If I'm in pain I can go to the pharmacist and buy a strong painkiller.

When I get down I can pick up the phone and speak to friends and family who I know are there for me. So many people haven't anyone they can call even if they had the phone. I can go out for a walk and will always have someone I can stop and speak to. That wouldn't be so easy if I hadn't been able to shower for weeks and was wearing all the clothes I owned. When I've done that I can come home, snuggle on the sofa and watch a feelgood DVD. That is such a little thing that we take for granted, but so many people would love to do that, and can't.

I can't do much for people, and my voluntary work tends to be with youngsters who are actually really privileged, getting them to appreciate the outdoors instead of getting too attached to their games consoles. A few minutes listening to my iPod this morning though has certainly given me food for thought. The fact that you are reading this now indicates that you have privileges that many don't.

Next time you see someone like those described in the song, spare a thought for how they may have found themselves in that situation, and how lucky you are. Have a think if there is any small way you can help. Just a few words of kindness can help, it doesn't have to cost anything.

I can't say I'm lonely, and the sun has been shining on me all my life which I am hugely grateful for and do not take for granted. I am very lucky.

Finally, one way to help is to have a say in how the country and your local Council is run. You can't have this if you don't vote. In Bury just one third of people had their say and voted last week. People need to lose this apathy, and if we can find a way of getting normal people to show their dissatisfaction in the ways things are going for this country, in 2015 we may get the chance to start the long process of putting things right again.

So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something to make you change your mind .

Link to Streets of London

Opening of the new Woolfold Viaduct

We have just got back from an 'historic event' in the Tottington area.

Train going over the old Woolfold viaduct

The Bury to Holcombe Brook Branch Railway was in use from 1882 to 1963. In 1972 the then Tottington Council considered changing the track of the railway into an off road path. Today, 40 years later, that path finally opened. It is now possible to walk or cycle from Greenmount, through Tottington, Woolfold and Brandlesholme, to Bury without having to negotiate roads.

In December 1974 the old Woolfold viaduct was demolished. The rest of the path could be opened fairly easily, but having no viaduct at Woolfold would mean a lot more planning, and more importantly money, would be required. However, in December 2007 Sustrans' Connect2 programme was awarded £50M of lottery fund money following a TV vote. Sustrans Homepage. This  meant that the project could begin.

The new viaduct, officially opened 7.5.12

There was a lot of planning, design and land acquisition to be done, but work started in February 2011.

Sustrans also has a Portrait Bench project, which is for public art. A Portrait Bench is a simple bench with three life sized figures close by. These figures are chosen by the community for their contribution to local life, culture or history (NB it is now my ambition to be next to a portrait bench....or be a mayor). The figures are cut from sheet steel. Next to the Woolfold viaduct we have David Swithenbank, Reginald Harris and Ralph Rooney.

Ralph Rooney, taken before the opening.

Ralph Rooney (1862 to 1949) was well known in the Tottington area as a councillor, long distance walker and naturalist. After working for 44 years in a mill he became under gardener at Croich Hey.

Reg Harris, taken before the opening.

Reg Harris OBE (1920 to 1992) grew up in Bury. He won two silver medals in the 1948 Olympic Games as well as several other professional titles. He was awarded an OBE (another of my ambitions) in 1958 and was named Sportsman of the Year by the BBC Sporting Record in 1949.

David Swithenbank is a lifelong resident of Holcombe. He is a walker and an artist, currently being the president of Bury Art Society. He campaigned for public rights of access on Holcombe Moor, and it was partly due to his campaigns that it was sold to the National Trust by the Ministry of Defence.



David Swithenbank today, 7.5.12

The start of the walk.

It is David Swithenbank who officially opened the viaduct today, piecing together the off road path. The whole event came together with planning from several organisations, in particular Greenmount Village Community. www.greenmountvillage.org.uk. Bury Ranger Service were there along with Sustrans, and South Lancs Bat Group came to give a talk on the bats around the Kirklees Trail (they bought a bat with them too). I was there representing Tottington Wildlife Watch Group (TWIGs), the children's branch of The Wildlife Trust. Our group is for 8 to 13 year olds, although we aren't strict about the ages. We meet every month and do 'something' outdoors. This can be pond dipping, vegetable planting, willow weaving, a bat walk and many other activities. Today, we ran the family quiz that people could complete as they walked along the trail.

Nearing the end of the walk.

After the official opening people were invited to walk the approximately two miles along the trail to Greenmount Old School where there were displays and exhibitions about the area, as well as pasties and peas for people to replenish their energy with. I was 'livetweeting' along the way, and I was amazed how many people turned up. It was fabulous seeing so many people walking and cycling along the Kirklees Trail and then joining us at the school afterwards. It was a real sense of community, and when I got home, over six hours after I had left this morning, I really felt like some good had been done.


The sun stayed out until most people were safely at the school having a cuppa, which was brilliant as the forecast had been awful. I think this will encourage people to get out in the open more as it is so safe for children to be on their bikes. It is now a lovely walk to the town centre for those feeling energetic, and there are so many entrances along the way that people from all the way from Bury to Greenmount can find somewhere to join it.

We are so lucky living here, and today everyone pulled together to make this event a huge success. Well done everyone.

Spring Shows and Festivals

The line-up for the 2012 Ramsbottom Festival (the North West's newest boutique festival no less) was announced this week. I got an early bird weekend family ticket for 'Im Indoors for Christmas (OK I suppose it was for me) which was a brilliant saving. Glastonbury is no good for me. I don't want to camp in a field of mud and have to queue for hours for horrible flooded toilets. Ramsbottom is great. We can all go if we want to, and it is so close we can just phone a taxi if we miss the last bus home. I can't wait.  I like to see live music, and on the Friday night I'll be there jumping about to The Inspiral Carpets. My 10 year old can have his first 'festival' experience too. http://www.skiddle.com/festivals/ramsbottom/lineup.html

I've been busy baking today. I 'don't do' baking, but my excuse is that my oven is so poor that it doesn't heat up to what I tell it to, is different temperatures in different places, and you can't predict how it will behave. This time next year will be a different story, when I have my new kitchen, but for now, I'm stuck with it. I decorated my 'Jubilee cake' for the Tottington Horticultural Society Spring Show last night. Harrison had suggested I did a street party and it sounded like a good idea. I must think a bit more before agreeing to these things in the future. I spent hours making miniature bunting then had to decide how to stick it up. I decided on cocktail sticks and my dad, @halegc, gave me some superglue. I don't think he'll do that again. Within minutes of starting glue was everywhere, and I was stuck fast to a cocktail stick. I had a job to complete though, so after setting @halegc the task of finding out a 'cure' I cut the stick so it was short and battled through. The 'cure' turned out to be nail varnish remover (I had none) or a quick trip to A&E as they keep something there for these occasions. Obviously I couldn't seek medical advice and would rather have walked round with a stick on my finger for weeks than tell a doctor in Bury what I'd done. Luckily, later on, after being soaked, it fell off.

I also have some home make sloe gin and rhubarb vodka. The vodka was particularly awful and takes the coating off your mouth, but I was persuaded to enter it (I think for comical value and to make other entrants feel good). I thought the sloe gin would be ready but when I went to decant some last night disaster struck. It had 'gone missing' a while ago, but I found it in a corner under the stairs. I had kept it hidden from before my holidays in February and was to finish it off when I returned. Unfortunately I forgot and the sloes were still in the jar. It was a lovely colour, but not a great taste! That's been entered too. I also made shortbread. Harrison is very impressed, 'Im Indoors isn't! The cherry and cheese (not together) scones were more of a disaster but one I'm blaming wholly on the oven. The middle didn't seem to cook, and one cherry scone is burnt on one side. They have all gone off for judging though. I couldn't enter a non burnt one as you have to show 3 of each, and I only made 3 plus a tiny one to taste! Finally I entered the photography competition that had to be on the theme of 'celebrations'. I don't think I'll need help carrying trophies home this time, but I won't give up.

A while ago my shoulder started hurting. I thought it was the arthritis that was diagnosed 6-7 years ago and then mysteriously disappeared making a comeback. It got worse and worse, and getting dressed each morning was a terrible struggle. Swimming in the middle of the day was also a trauma as it would take me twice as long to get changed then dressed again than it did to have the swim! I gave in this week and went to the doctors. I don't like doctors, hospitals etc so I had put it off as long as I could. A frozen shoulder was diagnosed, which I wasn't happy about. I (wrongly) thought that the cure for this was a big injection into my shoulder bone, which was one reason I was avoiding the doctors. I was prescribed some anti-inflammatory tablets to try before a decision is made about physiotherapy etc.

The tablets I have are enormous (and so they should be, the price I paid for the prescription!). I like to know everything about what I'm taking before I have them, so I trawled though the information leaflet and the British National Formulary. I wasn't too happy about the list of possible side effects and even unhappier that I didn't see the usual 'side effects are very rare but we just need to mention them in case' bit. By the time I'd read everything I was convinced that within days I would have (among other things):
A swollen neck and face (how could I tell?);
Blisters on my hands and feet;
Pus filled spots;
Alopecia;
Jaundice;
Hepatitis;
Death of part of my kidneys;
Heart failure
Insomnia;
Tinnitus;
Visual Disturbances; and my favourite bit of the leaflet
"If you think you may be having a stroke contact your doctor immediately".

I have only had 3 days worth and I can see no benefit just yet, but I still have a full head of hair, am not yellow, and my heart seems OK. Unfortunately I have a rash and am spotty. That should help clear the swimming pool when I go later though. Every cloud etc...

It must be awful to have something like this for years. I couldn't even fasten my pinny this morning! If I'm not around for a while, it could be the side effects.

Dear Mr Cameron

I've been very quiet on here as there is so much going on elsewhere. I have other things I need to finish off before I get back into blogging again but hopefully it won't be too long off.

However, this week I had sight of a letter written by a 12 year old girl to David Cameron. This had been written without any prompting and help, and she presented her parents with copies to send off to anyone they could think of. This 12 year old had heard her parents worrying and decided to join in the fight. I'm hoping this gets emailed to anyone they can think of to make some kind of an impact. Read on (I did seek their permission first and took the name out).

Dear Mr Cameron,

I am writing this letter on behalf of my father who has a disability. He was put into the Work Related Activity Group of the Employment Support Allowance instead of the support group which he should have been put in in the first place. Because of this he is losing £400 a month! Because my father has multiple sclerosis he is unable to work, which means he isn’t earning a wage. Now, the government are stopping any money coming into my father’s account by 30^th April 2012, however, if my father had been put in the right group (the support group) he would still be getting the money which we rely on every month.

I understand that I am only 12 years old, but I understand what is happening to this country and I believe that I should have a say in the matter. I also understand that you only receive a certain amount of money over the year and that you have to spend it on things that matter, but there is one thing I do not understand. Lots of money has been spent on new things for the country like new community centres etc. but why isn’t the money being spent so you can help people in need like my father. Some families cannot work because they are too ill, but if you stop their money coming in to their bank accounts every month then they will not have any money to rely on when they need it.

I do respect you and the government Mr Cameron, and I respect what you are doing, but some families like mine are not happy with your choices and as you are the prime minister, I think you should respect them and help them like you would help any other person that matters to you. If this country did not care about the money we earn or about the buildings we have in this country and we just cared about each other and help everyone who does not have a great amount of money, then I am sure you would not be receiving any letters off people asking for money and benefits because you would already be helping everyone who is in need.

I do hope that you read this letter and that it changes your mind about stopping money coming into my father’s account. Once again, I do respect you and I hope that I do not sound like I am being disrespectful to you.

Yours sincerely,

Personally I think this 12 year old must have been brought up very well to be so polite, and after a few weeks of being without this money she might have lost her respect for Mr Cameron and the government. Good luck to them and Mr Cameron, shame on you.

Crikey, I must have blinked.

How did that happen? Another year over, and it seems like only a few weeks ago when we went in Formby having a Mr Whippy ice cream on New Year's Day. I haven't had many of those this year, since I found out who was responsible for 'inventing' them.

I don't think I have packed as much into a year as I have during the last 12 months, so here are some of the best bits:

January

I think this was one of the quieter months. I went to see We Will Rock You in Manchester, which was brilliant (thanks mum). Ash (my brother) came too and he'd never been to see anything like that before so it was a bit of a treat. We also went to Pacific for a Thai meal first, so another treat.

In late January I went to a presentation by The Rock Bursary Scheme. Our TWIGs group (Tottington Wildlife Watch Group) had been awarded £1000 so I went along to collect it. Although we meet every month we still haven't spent it, so we need to do that soon!

February

Lanzarote

In February we went to Lanzarote for the first time. We had 10 days of sunshine and relaxation in a lovely hotel. The food was pretty rubbish though, which in a way was OK as we didn't put any weight on! We liked Lanzarote enough to try it again this year.






March

I managed a sneaky few days in Basel for Fasnacht (the carnival). I only booked my flights about 3 days before I went as something at work got cancelled at the last minute which meant I could go. We stayed in the thick of the city and therefore got no sleep as there were drums playing outside my window all night every night, but it was great. Unfortunately I had to be back at work to give a presentation at 10am on the Wednesday morning. There was no direct flight on Tuesday (and it was too early to go home anyway) so I got up at about 2.30am UK time and walked to the train station (the city was closed to taxis etc) to catch the train to Zurich airport. I then got the first train to Manchester, and made it with time to spare.

April

At the end of April the country had lots of festivities for the Royal Wedding. We took advantage of the extra bank holiday and went to Paris. We had an amazing time. We did toast the royal couple by having a glass of wine while we were in the queue for the Eiffel Tower, but apart from that we stayed out of it. My highlight was our day in Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

May

I struggled remembering what we'd done in May, although we were in Paris at the beginning of it. We went to the Louvre on 1st May, as it is free on the first Sunday of every month. Unfortunately, most of Paris is closed on 1st May so we didn't get in! I took my dad to see Yes Prime Minister at the Lowry Theatre mid May. This had been his present for his birthday the previous December!

June

Remember The Dream

In June I was back at the Lowry to see Avenue Q, a sort of adult Muppet Show production. I laughed from start to finish. Later in the month we had a family trip to BBC Gardeners World Show at Birmingham NEC. It rained for most of the day but that didn't stop us enjoying it.



July

I had another first in July. I went to London for the weekend. Alfie Boe and Matt Lucas were in Les Miserables, but tickets had been sold out for ages. However, we found at that some tickets were available for £10 on the day of the performance. We got up early, made our way to the theatre, and got our tickets. The only catch was that we had to stand up at the back for the whole performance. We had something to lean on though, and the view wasn't restricted!

August

Our summer holiday was in August, and we went back to Turkey. We were given a fabulous room with amazing views out to sea. However, I go to bed early when I'm on holiday and it was a bit noisy, so we got moved to, in my opinion, a better 'villa' out of the way.

September

We went to see The Sound of Music in Manchester. Before we went we got an email to break the news that Connie Fisher was pulling out, unable to play Maria. That didn't bother me as I was only going to see Jason Donovan playing Captain Von Trapp anyway. He was so good I even watched him in Strictly afterwards. On this day he kept all his clothes on, unlike the other year when we saw him in Priscilla Queen of the Desert in the West End.

We also got a weekend in Dublin while H was on a school trip. We had a brilliant hotel, and after a full day in the city we went to the seaside (Malahide) at night.

October

Keyserberg

Trip to Putney

All Lego

Alan Turing's desk

We packed so much into October. Early in the month we went to see Peter Kay again, and he was just as good as last time.

For half term at the end of the month we did loads in a week. We went to Bletchley Park to learn about Alan Turing and the Codebreakers. I could have stayed for a weekend, but we made do with an afternoon. We then stayed overnight at Gatwick and flew to Basel the following morning. We were going to a week of fairgrounds, but I found out the week before that I'd mistimed it and that particular festival didn't start until the day after we came home. While we were there we spent time in France, which I loved. We flew back early morning, so we had time to spend time in Putney and Wandsworth, where I lived while in London many years ago. The following day we were at Legoland Windsor. I was dreading it but it was really good.

November

As a treat for Kath's birthday we went to the BBC Good Food Show at Birmingham NEC. I got first class train tickets, and VIP tickets for the show, which made it much less stressful. We had a great day, and partied all the way home by drinking the Yellow Tail Bubbles we had bought.

December

Kirkconnel

We got our trip to Kirkconnel in Scotland that we'd been trying to have all year. It chose the day we were going to snow, but we made it.

For Kath's actual birthday we went to Cloud 23 at the Hilton for afternoon tea. I love it there.

Finally, we had the first Bah Humbug Society Jolly Days Out outing. 9 of us cleared off to to a hotel for Christmas, and on Christmas Day morning we were swimming outside. We had such a good time we may do it again next year.....

Bury Beer Festival 2011

I went to my very first beer festival last night. Bury Beer Festival 2011, with the slogan Real Ale, Real Music, Real Love, was held at The Met in the town centre. The festival beer glasses were £2 each, and then you bought 'beer vouchers' which I loved having. There were lots of local breweries represented, and at £1.20 for half a pint for most of the beers, I thought it was great. The Bury breweries were Brightside, Leyden and Outstanding, then we had Irwell from Ramsbottom, Greenmill from Rochdale, Robinsons from Stockport, Dunham Massey in Altrincham, Bowland in Clitheroe....the list goes on. There were some great names for the beers too: Headless Peg, Purple Moose, Clocking Off, Floral Dance and Blindfold among them.

It was held in 2 rooms that weren't too big. In one was a stage and we got treated to a couple of folk bands. Men outnumbered women by about 50:1, and they weren't all beards and bellies. We did see a couple of 'young people' who stood out being about 18!

We noted the beers we tried, but unfortunately I can't say much about them as things got a bit vague.

1. Chocolate Cherry Mild 3.8% (Dunham Massey, Altrincham). I loved this one and it was like a real ale version of Kriek Belgian beer.
2. White Chocolate Porter 4.5% (Bowland, Clitheroe). I had to try this as it was made with white chocolate from The Chocolate Cafe (@welovechocolate for Twitter users) in Ramsbottom.
3. Blond Witch 4.5% (Moorhouse's, Burnley).
4. Build a Rocket Boys! 4.0% (Robinson's, Stockport). Served at the Ramsbottom Festival Bar. Now this was the reason I wanted to come. I was very impressed at Elbow performing at The Royal Albert Hall but I was totally in awe of them when they made their own beer. This beer is also being sold in Morrisons in Harwood - it isn't widely available. We were planting trees with Mr Elbow this morning, and I told him he must be partly responsible for 'Im Indoors's bad head! http://www.elbowbeer.co.uk/#
5. Selling Out 3.8% (Outstanding, Bury). I tried this as it was quite weak. It was lovely, a bit spicy.
6. Pumpkin Ale 4.5% (Greenmill, Rochdale). See what a healthy evening I had. It was a very nice beer.
7. East India Pale Ale 6.0% (Oakham Ales, Peterborough).
8. Boarsland Gold 3.8% (Bowland, Clitheroe).
9. Rammy Rocket 4.2% (Leyden, Bury).
10. Ossett Treacle Stout 5.0% (Greenmill, Rochdale). This was really thick and treacly. You couldn't drink a lot of it but I managed half a pint.
11. World's Biggest Liar 4.3% (Jennings, Cockermouth). I made 'Im Indoors try this as I liked the name. I don't think he was disappointed.
12. Citra 4.2% (Oakham Ales, Peterborough). This was brilliant and was with grapefruit, lychee and gooseberry aromas. Obviously very healthy.
13. Blond 4.5% (Outstanding, Bury).
14. Black Pudding 4.2% (Leyden, Bury). This was a strangely very nice ale.
15. Lightweights and Gentlemen 3.2% (Irwell, Ramsbottom). We were told this was very popular with the ladies. 'Im Indoors had it.

I wasn't too worried after this as I knew that real ale didn't give you a hangover. We hadn't had time to eat earlier as we'd been called in to help FB move house. What we should have done is get in a taxi and call in the chippy on the way home. 'Im Indoors however had other ideas. The Trackside pub in Bury in a small station bar, funnily enough on the platform at Bolton Street Station. http://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/food-drink/the-trackside/ This is a real ale pub too, so off we went. We finished off with:

16. Pendle Witch 5.1% (Moorhouse's, Burnley).
17. Piston Broke 4.5% (Outstanding Bury).
18. Smart Arse 4.5% (Smart Brewing, Essex).
19. Hop 3.8% (Black Edge, Horwich).

'Im Indoors then had another of his bright ideas; we could finish the night off with a kebab.  haven't had a kebab since I went to see a band in whatever Jilly's Nightclub used to be called (Fagins?) on Oxford Road in Manchester, about 20 years ago. About 5 minutes after I agreed to it I realised we must have had far too much and should go home instead! We got a bag of crisps and a taxi.

I.I. has been up since 5.30am feeling very ill, but seems to have recovered now.

We spent the morning with our TWIGs group (Tottington Wildlife Watch Group) at Diggle Lane Allotments, planting some trees that had been donated by The Woodland Trust. This allotment society is excellent, and there is a hut that sells drinks and snacks too. We all got a cuppa, and then the sausages and bacon started to be made. I think the breakfast did I.I. good. http://www.digglelaneallotments.co.uk/index.html

I haven't planted a tree since I was at school, but by strange coincidence I am involved in the planting of another tomorrow. The ongoing work on the banking at the end of our cul-de-sac is continuing tomorrow. We are having a bit of a clear up, but are then burying a time capsule and our oldest residents are going to officially 'plant' our tree - a cherry blossom one. There should be a lot of the close out and I'm looking forward to it.

Trophies at last!

I had a busy week last week. I decided that, after winning the liqueur class in Tottington Horticultural Society Show in March for my sloe gin, I'd have another go in the September show. I decided on rhubarb vodka but after having some Tottington-picked raspberries left over a while ago, I thought I'd try raspberry vodka too. I strained them both before my holidays and had a little taste. The rhubarb vodka was terrible, like drinking paint stripper, but the raspberry vodka was delicious. I also thought it might be quite easy to make a Station Yard cake depicting the Incredible Edible Tottington vegetable plots and the TWIGs (the children's wildlife group) wild flower garden. I took my entry form along a couple of days before the show and found that there was a problem; the entry fee had gone up from 5p to 10p! It didn't bother me, but maybe the people who didn't like this were entering lots and lots (give them the benefit of the doubt).

During the week before the show I started collecting cake decorating things together. The cake was covered in green icing (for the grass) and work began. The wild flower garden was easy, and I got some butterflies to stick in it. The vegetable plots were more difficult and took a lot of fiddling with cardboard, paint and cocktail sticks to build them. Finally they were in place, along with chocolate blobs for the soil. A woman in the decoration shop told me that spaghetti made good green beans. I couldn't work this one out until someone mentioned fresh spaghetti, so I bought a bag of it and painted it with green food colouring. It didn't work and I ended up using green garden string and putting red icing blobs on it for the flowers. I managed OK using the icing tubes to make cauliflowers, cabbages, potatoes and carrots. Finally I piped on the writing and put a garden theme edging round the cake.

The cookery entries

I then had to decant some of the vodka, which had been maturing nicely under my stairs, into a clear bottle and label it. The rhubarb vodka had improved over a month and the raspberry wasn't quite as good as I remembered it. It wasn't quite ready. I decided to enter it anyway (the rhubarb will be going into the spring show in March).



The winning entries and trophies

 On the Saturday of the show I took along my goods then made a hasty exit as I had a date in Manchester with the very lovely Jason Donovan. (I've just got the box set of Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach so I can watch him again, but this date was a real life encounter). Later on in the afternoon I got a message that I had won the decorated cake and the liqueur class, so I was over the moon. I was even more pleased when the message came through that I had won best in show for cookery and best in show for wine. 'Im Indoors went up to collect the 2 trophies that I can keep for the year. I've never won a trophy before!

Alan Turing statue, with his apple

While I was in Manchester I went to see the Alan Turing statue in Sackville Park. This is between the University and the Gay Village. The statue shows Turing holding an apple, with a bite taken out of it. The apple is a symbol of forbidden love, but it is also thought that Turing died after biting an apple laced with cyanide (he died from cyadide poisoning but the apple found next to him was never tested). It is rumoured that the 'apple' symbol came from Turing's apple but the company have always denied this, saying the symbol is based on Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation. 2012 is the centenary of Alan Turing's birth and events are scheduled to take place in several countries around the world to commemorate this. I have just started a biography about Alan Turing which I need to read quite quickly as I have a queue for it before I go to Switzerland next (it will be wanted there too). I have wanted to go to Bletchley Park for ages so I'm interested in finding out about it, and Mr Turing, before I go to visit it. I'll be going on the way to Switzerland as the absolute bargain flights I got were from Gatwick, so I'll be more or less passing. Turing lived for a time in Wilmslow, and when he worked at Bletchley Park he was a key figure in breaking the Enigma codes during World War 2.

The day after this was the annual World Black Pudding Throwing Championships, held in Ramsbottom. For the first time I saw 'The Golden Grid' being brought to the competition. The grid is from the original championship site, in Stubbins, and contestants have to stand on the grid to throw. Each year on competition day it leaves its 'home' and travels to Ramsbottom by steam train. It is then carried up Bridge Street, this year accompanied by the mayor who had the first throw of a black pudding. It is a really fun event and we had contestants from all over the world taking part. The Hairy Bikers from the BBC were also filmed there having a go. All proceeds are for charity.

The Hairy Bikers having a go at throwing black puddings. Note the foot on the golden grid.

During the week I also found out that I had got enough votes to be on the new Township Forum advisory group. I have attended the first meeting of Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor township forum (the largest by a long way in Bury), where the subject of wheelie bins was heatedly discussed. I'm still not 100% sure what my role is as the forums are so new, but it can't do my CV any harm.

I'll be preparing another cake for Incredible Edible Tottington Harvest Party that will be held on Station Yard Field on 2 October 2011. Please come and find out more about the group between 1pm and 3pm.