3 in the UK 2023

  Packing day and time to get out of Lytham. doesn't take long and the car is packed in no time. Swing around to the Elms to pick up the girls and we do the Tetris thing with baggage and eventually get it just right. The girls say goodbye to Michael and Brenda however we will be seeing them in a few hours. But they are very gracious to their hosts. Soon we're off across the Moors and then the Yorkshire Dales. I'm not much of a nature guy but the Dales look pretty amazing and not something I expected to see. I'm driving so I don't get any pictures but I might try to get some on the way to London. Find our way easily to Scotch Corner and the Holiday Inn we're staying in. We grab a Gregg's sausage roll for lunch then try and check in early.  The girl at the desk says they should be ready in 30. 90 minutes later we are still sitting in the lounge and eventually, we get rooms dead at 3pm which is the check-in time. Even then our rooms weren't ready so they ga...

  Another grey day with nothing really planned so I thought I might drive up to Preston and a record shop called Action Records. Preston is only 30 minutes away and I get there in no time. Great record shop and at last a great selection of records at reasonable prices. They even have deals on new albums. The trouble is all the used albums were on the floor and eventually I'm just sitting on the floor going through boxes until it all became too much. Chatted to the owner for a little bit. Great record shop.  Driving through Preston it looks completely new so I put the car in the local Bus station car park and go for a stroll. There is a food market and I pick up a Gyro (with chips inside) I tried to get a coffee at a place called Nero but the two people working there didn't even acknowledge my presence so after two minutes I walked out and grabbed a water instead. There was another market full of junk but they had a great record stall (although I didn't buy anything) full of...

  The weather looks quite miserable outside so what better day than to go grey Manchester. Sharon and Ellie are going there to pick up some things so I pile into the back seat of Ellie's car with Ruby and Mel who start bickering because none of them want to go in the middle. We park in the Selfridges Car park and as soon as we get to the first floor cosmetics I split from the girls and start heading to the North Quarter. Retro shops, record stores and pop culture. It's a 10-minute walk from where we are but the weather is horrible and I forgot my umbrella. I think Mel still has it. The record shops are full of new records starting with Vinyl Revival and then Piccadilly Records. Picadilly is the most well-known and has a great selection of records but sadly they all cost more than me buying them off Amazon and getting delivered to my door.  I'm after some used records which I found at the one shop I can't remember the name of. The only record that takes my fancy is the M...

 Off to Liverpool today for a walk around the city and to see some Beatles stuff. And boy is there a lot of Beatles stuff. 1 hour 20 minute drive. Plus a stop at Starbucks for a Flat White. Easily navigate the car into the centre of town and park the car. From there it is just a short walk to the Cavern Quarter. Pictures of the Beatles everywhere and every shop cafe and pub are related to a Beatles songs. The Rubber Soul bar. Penny Lane Cafe. A statue of Eleanor Rigby. You get the drift. The first stop ends up being a Beatles shop. Lots of memorabilia. Some tacky and some quite cool. Some cheap and some expensive but it's a bit grungy so it's not too bad. I'm tempted to buy something but I think I have all the Beatles memorabilia I need at home. Next door is the Beatles Museum. Packed with even more memorabilia but of course not for sale. There are some really cool bits and pieces in here over 3 floors. A lot of the early stuff comes from Pete Best and roadie Neil Aspinall....

  After that magic 9 hours of sleep yesterday last night I slept very little. Bugger. Oh well on with the show. I remembered I had to get my luggage fixed since the zip was broken on the plane journey. So I pop the bag into the back of the VW Polo and set off to Cobblers Den which sounds like something out of Harry Potter. Hard to get a park because there is a funeral next door so I go up the hill to St. Annes. Which turns out to be fortunate as I find a little shop called Antique Modern. Bunch of records at reasonable prices plus assorted memorabilia including Dinky toys and a lot more. Picked up a Who album which Liz will be excited about. Not. After dropping off the bag I wander around St. Annes. So many Op Shops but nothing is worth buying. But the sun is shining and it looks like a beautiful day. Drive over to pick up Ruby from the Elms because today we are off to Blackpool while Mel goes out for lunch with Ellie.  Blackpool starts off ominously when we park the car. Anot...

 Woke up at 9am after going to bed at midnight which is an amazing 9 hours. Haven't done that for a long while. Wake up really refreshed and here's hoping I have a few more of those while I am on holiday. Have a coffee downstairs with Dave and Brenda and then my niece Sarah turns up with her crazy cocker spaniel Charlie. The dog is relentlessly running around the house pouncing on my leg and showing all the boundless energy of a very large puppy. After getting myself together Dave and I walk around to Sharon's house where I left my car last night. Over the golf links and past the terrace houses that makeup Lytham St. Annes. A pleasant walk in the early morning sunshine. We pass Sharon driving to the hotel she owns and running to pick up a laptop to find the girls looking after the house. A quick catch up and we're back at Clifton Drive. The football is on the telly Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur which is a great match which results in a draw. There's not much to do bu...

 Time to get out of London but first we have to pick up a car. Mel and I catch an UBER to Brentford and the Volkswagen showrooms. Easy ride and the place where we are picking up the car is a bit of a VW museum with a bunch of class VWs, campers and Karmann Ghias. We were running a bit late so I didn't take my time nor took any pictures but I will do that when I return the car next week.  Jump in the VW Polo and over to the hotel to pick up Ruby and all the bags. When we get the bags down and outside the car we realise it's a little small. But with a bit of experimentation and Tetris-like skills we get the bags in. Ruby is a bit worried that the whole thing will collapse on her in the back seat.  The trip takes about 4 and a half hours and we hit a few roadworks but eventually we arrive at David and Brenda's house. Great to catch up and stretch our legs after the drive. Put my stuff upstairs and then we are off to take the girls to Sharon and Michael's where they will be...

 French toast for breakfast. I've tried most of the selection now but I have to say French toast is a bit too deserts. Too sweet. And not very filling as I will find outshone enough. Today we're going to Notting Hill and more importantly Portobello Road. The last time I was there was in 1979. Melody is taking the lead on this one and we get there smoothly. The sun is shining and at at times it even gets a little warm. Enough for me to take off my jacket. Which goes straight on when the clouds cover the sky. I miss my old sunglasses which broke the other day. They were light enough to keep on all the time. The new sunglasses are very dark so if I enter a shop or want to look at something I have to switch glasses. Oh, the pain of ageing. As we walk to the market we come across George Orwell's house. Small and neat. Considering he wrote the line "Suburbia is just a prison in rows" it looks pretty much as he described. Or maybe he was reflecting. Still, it's Georg...