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Published: August 6th 2018
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Feeling much better this morning I was determined to record some meaningful activity today! After breakfast we walked down into Stalybridge via Cheetham Park to pick up a chicken and some tomatoes from Tesco for dinner tonight. It was a beautiful sunny morning to be out walking. We were very worried that the weather would break the minute we arrived and we would be blamed for bringing England’s fabulous summer to and end! Thanks to the walk back up the hill to Kath and Albert’s I achieved my 30 minutes of exercise target before lunchtime.
After lunch we drove up to Uppermill on Saddleworth Moor to watch Kath and Albert’s granddaughters, India and Amelia, play in the St John Mossley Brass Band. As we drove over the moor we could see where the wildfires burned between the 24th of June and the 18th of July. The heather won’t be turning the moor purple this year as it has been burnt to a crisp. The so called Black Hill is, in fact, black at the moment.
When we arrived in Uppermill it was heaving. Not only was the St John Mossley Brass Band performing today, the town was hosting the
American Car Club. This meant that parking was at a premium. Albert guided Bernie away from the main street looking for a car park, but there were none to be had in the first spot we tried. Then Albert and Bernie spotted one on the other side of a drystone wall. Bernie floored the Golf to whizz around to the entrance of the carpark. As he headed down the street another motorist was approaching from the opposite direction. Bernie was not going to be done out of the spot though and he swung into the car park just seconds ahead of the other driver. I’m pretty sure the older lady driver was very unimpressed because she sat outside the entrance to the car park giving us the evil eye before conceding defeat and moving on.
Phew, it was a hot day’s work for the band today playing in full sun on a 26°C day. It was quite hot sitting in the sun watching them too. Fortunately for everyone, performers and audience alike, there was an interval about half and hour after we arrived. While the band members stretched their legs and had a drink and/or smoke, we stretched our
legs and headed down to the park by the river/canal that was hosting the American Car Club today. There was quite a range of American vehicles on display from vintage to modern, sports cars to pick-ups.
After their half hour break the band played its second set before concluding at about four in the afternoon. They certainly had a lovely day for an outdoor performance. I have no idea if they had a contingency plan for bad weather, but I think it would be worse playing on a wet and/or cold day if there’s no shelter to be had. It was certainly pleasant for the audience and I’m sure the pub was doing very well selling beverages to slake everyone’s thirst!
Albert daren’t complain about his luck these holidays because he is absolutely fleecing us at the moment. He won at both Jo AND Blobs again tonight. I have declared that we shan’t play Blobs the next time that we play because it’s Albert’s favourite and he’s cashing in. I have put forward that we should play Crash (which Albert hates) to add a bit of variety to our card playing.
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