Back In Manchester

In the above photo is Roan waiting for his pint. I love this photo as it looks like he's in the pub on his own waiting for a drink.
Roan & JT never left D alone and this was a particularly sticky moment as D has a shocking hangover from one of the nights in Manchester. Of course kids don't understand what hangover is so they just keep on jumping on you and smashing something on your head.
Here is Roan on top of JT in the shirts I brought them from Australia. Incidentally JT is two years older than Roan but Roan beats JT up and makes him cry. He will be a problem child for sure but he is such a laugh.

Last Dance & Drinks Please

Above is D with the bride Maire. Actually got to dance with her for a while which was great.
Above is (left - right) Mum, Cheryl, Maire, Dad, Conal & B. I'm pretty sure this was near the end of the night and actually finished quite early for an Irish wedding. This was a good thing of course as their was another full Irish breakfast to negotiate first thing in the morning and then a swim in the pool.

Twisting (Nice Dress)

I've dedicated this entry to B and her wonderful dancing the night of the wedding. I think it was some kind of 1920's move but it was pretty impressive and kind of summed up both the age and style of music that the band were playing. B is twisting with my Dad in the above photo and I think by the way Kev is looking at B in the photo below he is wondering what on earth she is doing.

The Happy Couple

Here are the Happy Couple, Maire & Barry just after tying the knot.

Salmon not PInk

We had a couple of pre-wedding drinks before we went through for the meal, about 5 or 6 pints I think of the black stuff. Here, left - right is D, Conal & Charlie.
Can't figure out whether my Dad is smirking here because he has seen Charlie's shoes or because of something he said. These shoes actually started out as a joke for Conal and myself. Remember when we were back in Manchester and the girls went shopping whilst the boys went drinking. Well the boys actually went shopping as well and we bought a pair of shoes, these shoes. Charlie was actually looking for a pair of black shoes and the first shop we went in had these lovely things in the window. I picked them up for a joke and implied it would be great if he wore those to the wedding.

Conal took things a step further and told his Dad that he would buy the shoes on condition that Charlie wore them to the wedding and then gave them back to his son so he could wear them out and about in Perth. It was agreed and we walked out of the shop with the shoes and never told anyone until Charlie turned up to the church in Ireland with the said shoes on.

It actually back fired a little on Conal and myself. We were expecting him to look an idiot and get lots of laughs but he actually wore a rather nice pink tie which complemented the shoes excellently. Conal and myself were most upset as he was supposed to look foolish. Our dissapointment was comfounded by the barmaid who told him his shoes were fantastic and asked where he got them. I think that made his night.

Oh, and just for the record, they are not pink, they are Salmon.

Ireland (Naas)

Staying at Gillespie's B&B in Kilteel as per last trip. The breakfast in this place is awesome, full Irish with extras if your interested. Bacon, eggs, black-pudding, beans, sausages, toast & a full pot of tea. None of this wincey European croissant rubbish here. The photo above taken outside the B&B post fry-up before we left for the church. left - right is D, Dad, Roan, JT, Mum, Cheryl, B & Kev.
Time for a quick photo outside the church before we go in. The weather was actually pretty good on the day itself. It wasn't that warm but at least it wasn't raining.

Ireland (Kilmore Quay)

We have moved onto Ireland now (just Mum, B & myself) and after arriving at Dublin airport we hire a car and drive straight down to Co. Wexford to see my Mum's family. In this picture above are (left - right) James, Phil, Mum, Joan, Bess & D.

We were in Kilmore Quay for 2 days and it rained non-stop. I wasn't too concerned but I took this picture of B standing in the rain on the pier and although she looks pretty happy I think she was fed up after two days of this.

From here we drove North to Co. Kildare for my cousin's wedding and the weather cleared up thank God.

192

OK, OK it doesn't look much like a holiday shot or that anyone in the picture is enjoying themselves but this photo is pretty special and deserves a special mention all on its own.

Sat on the back seat (left - right) are Kev, Cheryl, B & Neil and we are all on our way home from Manchester at 3am. Little bit of history for you as this is no ordinary bus, this is the 192. This has been voted the worst bus journey in the UK and it travels all the way from Manchester city centre through its worst Southern suburbs and onto Stockport transporting all sorts of lovely characters back to the caves in which they live (that doesn't include us by the way). Having been a veteran of this journey over the years I warned B as we got on to sit there quietly, not look anyone in the eye and under no circumstances talk to anyone.

B is doing really well but 30 minutes into the journey she can't help herself and says to the girl sat opposite her "You remind me of my friend Vicky". Those of you who have seen Little Britain will understand Vicky was a reference to Vicky Pollard, the "Yeah but, No but" scally that resembles pretty much the whole contents of this bus we are on.

Thankfully the gag went right over Vicky's head, she replied some nonsense and I breathed a sigh of relief. A memorable journey but one I won't be taking B on again in a hurry.

Manchester (Northern Quarter)

Saturday night in Manchester and after watching Ireland get knocked out of the World Cup we leave Chorlton and head for the city. An area that is now getting a lot of attention is the Northern Quarter around Oldham Street. We eventually end up in a club and have a cracking time. In the photo above (left - right) are Kev, Cheryl, D & B.
Not sure what Higgins is up to here but whatever it was i'm sure it worked in turning B on. He is one sexy dancer.
Now Eddie really thinks he is sexy dancer and we let him think that as it's very funny. Canal street was closed tonight so Eddie came to meet us in the club. We were glad to see him of course but took more pleasure in trying to pull that tie out of his shirt that he'd tucked in. Apparently it's all the rage in 'The Blue Oyster'. Nice one Eddie.

Family

Highlight of the trip was seeing the family of course and here are some pics of them.
This picture above (B, Mum & Dad) was taken at Cheryl's house during a family meal.

This photo above (Roan, Dad, JT & Mum) was taken at my parents house after dinner one night. These boys are really attached to their Grand parents so good job they live on the same road.

Out in Didsbury

In this photo is (left - right) Bruce, Eddie & B

Friday night in Didsbury. Was saving a large night till Saturday so we neaded to the local for a few quiet ones.

In this photo is (left - right) Bruce, Cheryl, Ruth, Dave, Yatz, Vicky, B, Eddie, Dave, Cahrlie & D.

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Alton Towers

On Thursday we went to Alton Towers and had a top day despite the rain.

The first photo was taken underneath 'Rita' the brand new ride which I have to say is awesome. Over pretty quick but initial take off is amazing. In the picture are (left - right) Conal, Cheryl, Charlie, Dave & D.

The bottom picture was taken on some Pirate Ship thing, a weak ride really that I couldn't be bothered going on. This was next to 'Oblivion', by far the best ride in the park. B refused to go on so it was just Dave, Conal and myself who actually went on it twice as there was no queue, fantastic heart stopper. In this picture is (left - right) B, Cheryl, Dave & Conal.

All in all we had a great day. The queue's were pretty small as it was a week day and I introduced B to the Scally Scouser phenomenon that has swept the North of England. The place was bloody full of them, shell suits and all, great laugh.

Manchester

Made it up North and we are now in Manchester with the family.

The first photo is Charlie, B & Conal in The Station in Stockport. This is a cracking little boozer that's ok a little rough but they have over 12 guest beers on tap from around the North West and an old billiard table with the pegs. B was horrified to find we were drinking in this place but I made her smile for this photo.

The second photo is the next day in Manchester (outside Sinclair's Oyster Bar) and it's a barmy wednesday afternoon in September, don't get sun like this very often in Manchester at this time of year. I wanted to show B how good the shopping in Manchester was and she was pretty impressed. Thank God Cheryl & Mum were there to show her around as the boys were more interested in sitting in the sun and having a beer. In this photo are (left - right) Cheryl, B, Mum & Kev.