Rather than settling into our usual slovenly Sunday morning ritual of cups of tea and Sunday papers in bed, yesterday we ventured out to get some fresh air.  Thanks to Sally’s suggestion we went for a walk in Urmston Meadows.  That’s one of the great things about Manchester, you have all the benefits of the city and yet you’re not a million miles away from the countryside.

 So, after a hearty walk we had worked up an appetite and went in search of an equally hearty lunch.  We decided on Chorlton and ended up in a café on Beech Road.  You know the type, they’re all much of a muchness with their abstract decor and posh cups.  So there we sat in amongst the 3-wheel-trolley brigade waiting half an hour for a glass of orange juice and a ‘glass’ of PG Tips, which we would later pay through the nose for.  But we were in no rush and when the food finally arrived it was actually quite nice.

When we got back to Levenshulme we settled back into our usual routine of telly and a nap before tea.   

After a bit of a break from blogging you might think that I’d start back refreshed and brimming with ideas, stories and anecdotes.  But no, instead I decided to treat you to the history of our wheelie bin.  Just to prove that I do actually have a life and that I’m not just a grumpy old woman obsessed with her bin, here’s what I’ve been up to.

I finished ‘Vanity Fair’.  It’s taken me a couple of months to read, partly because it’s a mammoth book but mainly because I’m a very slow reader.  And I have to say that I loved it, from the moment that Becky Sharpe flung her copy of Johnson’s Dictionary out of the carriage window, right up to the end, which of course I won’t give away. 

Thackeray gives a wonderfully humorous insight into Regency England and it’s funny how certain things don’t change.  In one part we see some of the main characters sailing to Belgium to fight Napoleon.  And with them come their wives and a whole entourage of servants.  There are parties, balls and soirees, where of course people behave badly.  And you wouldn’t think that they were actually going to fight a war.  It brought to mind last year’s World Cup where there was more media coverage of the partying WAGs than of the football itself.

I’ve also had a weekend away from Levenshulme.  A couple of weeks ago we left the city and went to stay with my sister and brother-in-law.  They live in a beautiful part of Scotland called Bladnoch.  Their house is a 15 minute walk away from the estuary and a quick drive away from a number of secluded beaches.  And what’s more, they live within walking distance of Wigtown, which is Scotland’s National Book Town.  Wigtown is a real haven for book lovers.  It’s full of second hand book shops and small cafes.  If you’re ever in the area make sure you stop for lunch at the Reading Lasses.  And go for the Ploughman’s Board which is served with homemade bread and chutneys and local cheeses.

Oh yes, I also went to see ‘Atonement‘ the other night.  Orange Wednesdays is a great idea.  We don’t bother with the crowded Manchester or Didsbury cinemas and instead opt for the quieter Showcase at Belle Vue.  The film was much better than I expected.  When I go to see a film adaptation I always assume that I’ll be disappointed but this film was pretty good.  Vanessa Redgrave’s short performance at the end of the film was particularly moving.

Apart from that it’s been work, work, work, which of course is where I am now.  Where else would I be on a Saturday afternoon?  But this evening we’re off to the Whitworth Art Gallery to see Maggie O’Farrell, as she’s taking part in the Manchester Literature Festival. 

Well, I suppose I’d better go and get on with some work. 

When I first started writing this blog I mentioned that our wheelie bin had been stolen three times.  Three times.  And by the same people.  This probably shouldn’t annoy me as much as it does but it’s such a hassle.  We have to phone the council and wait for them to deliver a new one (god only knows what they think we do with them all) and in the meantime our rubbish just piles up.  And what’s more the culprit lives next door and all the time I can see my wheelie bins over the garden wall.

So, the last time this happened I decided to do something about it.  Instead of enquiring politely as to whether our neighbour had ‘inadvertently’ taken our bin, I opted for painting our house number on the front of the replacement in big letters.  Unfortunately it didn’t stop there.  I painted it on each side and on the top using a mushroom paint sample I found in the cellar.  When Lord Levy got home he wasn’t best pleased and grumbled that it was now visible from space, never mind from over the garden wall.  However, it seems to have done the trick and for the past few months our bin has remained with its rightful owner.

I was therefore dismayed after last week’s collection when dragging the bin back into the garden, I noticed that someone had written ‘gangsta’ on the top.  I don’t know what annoyed me more, the fact that someone had vandalised it or that it was spelled incorrectly.

Back to School.  I used to hate those words when I was actually at school – both as a pupil and later as a teacher.  It signified the end of the summer holidays and the beginning of classes, homework and as a teacher, huge piles of marking. 

When I was at sixth form college and university I loved this time of year.  After a summer full of crap jobs it was a relief to be getting back to friends, daytime television and afternoon tutorials talking about books.  And of course you could go to WHSmiths and buy lots of brand spanking new stationery to start the term with. 

Even now I look forward to September.  I’m not a summer person.  I hate the heat and humidity, preferring brisk dark mornings and the house all lit with lamps as the nights draw in.  And of course Christmas is just around the corner and the markets will be returning to Albert Square and St Ann’s Square.  And this December we’re off to Frankfurt for the weekend to see the German Christmas Markets. 

 I don’t even mind it when the students return to Manchester.  So what if they clog up the buses?  They give the city a buzz – it always seems a bit forlorn when they go home for the summer vacation.

So roll on autumn.

Last year Julia from 3for365.blogspot.com read a study about the positive effects of writing down three good things everyday.  On New Year’s Eve she decided to go one step further and blog about it.

Taking inspiration from Julia, here are 3 good things that have happened to me over the last few days (okay, I cheated a little bit).

1.  My Moo cards arrived in the post – yay for Moo.
2.  We bought some beautiful white cotton sheets for the bed.  When we opened them they smelled like a new book.
3.  We will be finishing on time tonight.