another post based on our recent trip to Manchester, then, to be sure. we were only there a couple of days, look you see, but we certainly filled in the time with doing all that we could do.
in my earlier posts, or if you like updates, i showed off our going to a Manchester located HMV in order that i may fulfil a dream, and the visit we made to the ostensible theatre of dreams that is Old Trafford. this one, then, might be considered the biggie.
Heaton Park. i am not sure i need bore anyone with the links yet again, but anyway. that was the place just north of five years ago that i, my (considerably) better half, two very dear friends and thousands of others saw the then considered impossible to ever happen return of The Stone Roses. for more of all that, you can click here, here and indeed here.
but, the past was yours, the future's mine, etc etc etc. setting aside the why, let's go with it's not where you're from it's where you're at and look at our recent visit to Heaton Park.
oh goodness yes, that is a "selfie" featuring moi and my (considerably) better half. there are a few of them coming up, so be warned. although i would imagine you can all tolerate a few pictures of me being here for a change. yes, again, i know my hair and beard are going all sort of wild. no i very much doubt i will neaten them any time soon.
i don't believe this is the very same entrance we used when we came to Heaton Park to see The Stone Roses. and yes, there will be references as we go. as it happens, as per the earlier post, i am indeed listening to the Remixes album off of The Stone Roses, bought in Manchester, as i write. presently playing is a remix of I Am The Resurrection; one which pays particularly deep respect to the bass off of that magnificent song.
as much as this was our second trip to Heaton Park this was the first for the boys. and, for very different reasons, they love the place as much as we, as in me and my (considerably) better half, do.
it is a beautiful place, man. i remember being wary when i first heard of the place, which was when The Stone Roses announced they would play there. that was because people said "when Oasis played there it was full of lager louts". but, when you think about it, everywhere Oasis played was populated by lager louts, for that was the nature of the bulk of the fans they attracted. as good, no great, as the band was. The Stone Roses attracted a different vibe, the one which spoke of one generation under the same groove, man.
another selfie of my (considerably) better half and i walking through the grounds of Heaton Park? i should think so, yes. that's mostly what this blog post is for, really. so family and friends may see the pictures and, if they are of a mind to, read the stories.
the above picture reflects the mostly lovely clear blue sky that blessed us on our travels across Heaton Park, and indeed for the most part Manchester. tradition says that one always gets rain when in Manchester, but not really too much of it for us as we were there. nice one.
how big is Heaton Park? bloody massive, man. it felt like one long massive walk when we went to go and see that band, the name of which escapes me. at a steadier pace, and without 50,000 or so fellow excited acolytes walking with us, it felt just as big. and just as beautiful.
indeed it would, to be sure, have been boss or amazing to have just so happened to bump into one or more of The Stone Roses as we wandered Heaton Park. alas, no. we did find lots and lots of lovely trees that the boys tried to climb, though.
often those unposed, accidental, "in action" pictures are quite the best. i do so dearly love the one above of my family in this mode.
we headed upwards in a northerly direction within Heaton Park, then. up towards what was billed as the "northern play area". on the way we passed people strolling, jogging, running, walking their dogs, eating ice cream, and so on. basically all were splendidly mellow and chilled, and just digging it.
the northern play park area has a "space" theme on the go. pivotal, or if you like central, to this is an absolutely massive, magnificent slide. sadly the grey clouds formed as i tried to take a picture of it, so you can't really tell how wonderfully shiny it is from this picture.
boss, it was and indeed presumably still is, for i fancy it did not just come into existence briefly for the duration of our stay alone.
more of that magnificent slide in a moment, but first i know you want another selfie of my (considerably) better half and i, so here you go. and yes, that is me wearing my beloved, well travelled, bucket or if you like Reni hat. the same i wore on that first visit to Heaton Park.
we look perhaps contemplative or reflective in the above. i don't recall the specifics, but maybe we were considering a great moment from the concert. which would in fairness be "all of it".
and so back to the slide, then. whilst James had no interest in having a go on it one would find it all but impossible to prevent William from having a go. and that was no matter how much of a challenge they made it for him to get on it.
yes, that's some rope netting climbing frame one must mount and cross to get to the stairs for the slide. looks somewhat tricky and i doubt i would get across it without harming myself. then again, i do tend to be clumsy and quite ill in the ways of co-ordination, so many people are impressed when i manage to take just a few steps with no damage.
space is the theme of this northern play area within Heaton Park, so a map to the planets is particularly useful. in a very thoughtful move the planners and designers of Heaton Park have placed such a map in the play area.
yes, a map of the planets and Pluto, for all them pedantic types. so far as i know or care Pluto is a planet, but some say no it is not and get quite cross when you say so. all them clever types who derive their intelligence from their declaration of atheism say that science is always superior to religion as science is always "true" and "fact". how come, then, science can't seem to agree on what does and does not constitute as a planet?
that is a conversation for another time, perhaps. for now, though, the greyer day before we went to Heaton Park, and a display of my dedication to taking selfies in front of things what have Heaton Park written on them. in this instance, the hidden away entrance to a Beefeater establishment sort of branch thing.
staying in Manchester was not, as it happens, my idea. i suggested to my (considerably) better half that we might quite like to plan a stop off on the way to a different locale. she was having none of it, and was all over the chance to return to Manchester. my fondness for Heaton Park is matched by hers, and so she kindly booked us into a hotel very near Heaton Park. a blog on that to follow eventually; probably soon.
back to the slide, then. and a look at William's triumph as he absolutely bombed down it.
a lucky catch with the picture. William assures us that the slide is indeed as much fun as it looks. to prove this he went down it again. and once more, i think.
can i engage in some sentimental hygiene? more broader than just me and the bloody Stone Roses at Heaton Park. yes i can, as it is my blog. on our travels around Manchester we did indeed drive past the Manchester Arena, the scene of that terrible, cowardly attack earlier this year.
i know quoting Bono is about the most unfashionable thing in the world right now, but i recall a gig some 10, 15 or maybe 20 years ago. a U2 gig. there was some sort of war on, there always is. i think it was the "war on terror", so maybe 15 years. before the band played Miss Sarajevo, Bono said that we must, in chasing and defeating a monster, make sure that we don't become the monster.
there is absolutely no chance of Manchester becoming the monster. these cowards they hurt the city, but they didn't change it. Manchester is all about the love, man. the city wants and needs justice for the atrocity committed there, but it has no need of barbaric blood letting or outright vengeance. there's just too much of a good vibe in the city for that. never more are you aware of that when you sit in any part of Heaton Park and find yourself in the company of every single walk of life you can imagine, and then some. one generation under the same groove, man.
yes, that is one of the information maps for Heaton Park. no idea why, but i thought for some reason someone somewhere might have a use for an image of it, or the emergency telephone number for Heaton Park, which is 01612238985, so there you go.
one of the most peculiar aspects of the English way of doing things is them parks around the land where you can't do anything. across the country there are parks where walking on the grass of the park is prohibited, along with anything fun, such as ball games.
not so Heaton Park. the paths are splendid, but walking across the fields of grass is encouraged. and this is Manchester, so bloody well of course ball games are permitted. with particular passionate emphasis on football.
that there is William taking a run up to give a right good wellie at a football. he was on a bank, or if you like embankment, on one side of a path, with James on the other. what better place to play pass the ball to each other, i ask? none.
one more selfie of my (considerably) better half and i? sure. and yes, i am aware that by using the front facing camera things like my smart oversize Nevada t-shirt look backwards, but hey, the picture seems to make more sense this way around. it is what the camera wanted.
so no, we didn't bump into any of The Stone Roses, or any of the other many luminaries what form the band of Manchester musicians what have entertained the world for years. and years. even if sometimes they take massive gaps from entertaining.
would i have approached any of them if i saw them? doubtful, but maybe if Bez. should i, for example, have seen Mani, then i wouldn't really have been seeing Mani would i? my Mani, the one i worship, is the Mani on the stage and on record with The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. Mani walking around the park is a chap hanging around with his mates or family. it would be, i think, disrespectful to disturb that.
a picture of the boys showing off their pleasure at being at Heaton Park? most decidedly.
so, that's a gap of five years and roughly a couple of months between visits to Heaton Park. if i am lucky and we are fortunate, the next gap will not be quite so large. it is a magnificent place, and that's coming from someone who has the North Yorkshire Moors as a back garden and the Yorkshire Dales within a theoretical walking distance.
in conclusion, then, a picture that my (considerably) better half said was "the one i want to be taking", as the boys strolled off together, leaving Heaton Park.
another post or maybe two on our time in Manchester to follow. in the mean time, thank you, you bloody massive beautiful city, for once again giving us wonderful hospitality and an amazing time.
until the next time, then,
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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