bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2025-08-30 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2025-08-30 11:59 pm
Ireland and England Trip - Day 8 of 11
SATURDAY
I got up just after seven to use the bathroom, and turned off my alarm. Gary woke up and surfed the web until his alarm went off at 7:30. We got dressed quickly and went downstairs for breakfast. Gary arranged with Tim to meet at 10:15 in the lobby for Didsbury Pride. After breakfast we went shopping at Sainsbury's Local grocery store across the street, picking up a bottle of water for the machines, some Pepsi Max, a chocolate milk, and some dried pineapple snacks branded "Bear Fruit" (a double pun). We returned to the room, I had a shower since I hadn't taken the time before breakfast, and we chilled out for a few minutes before heading downstairs to meet Tim.
At first, Tim thought the tram to East Didsbury was terminating at St. Peter Square so we hoofed it the several blocks only to find trams continuing onward from there. We purchased weekend passes and boarded the next tram in that direction. On arrival at East Didsbury, we walked several blocks to the Botanical Gardens and spotted tables and chairs outside the Didsbury pub, which was the starting point of the Rainbow Walk. We went inside to order drinks; Gary had a Coke Zero, Tim had an Estrella Galicia 0.0 non-alcoholic beer, and I had a cider. Tim and I finished our drinks quickly, so I bought two more Estrellas for us. It was quite pleasant to drink for beer.
By the time we finished drinking, people were gathering for the walk. I spotted three Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and a cute cub photographer who was with them, and we ended up walking behind them. There were no barriers closing off the road, only hired security guards in hi-vis vests. The walk continued for two or three long blocks, with traffic continuing in the opposite direction on our right. A bus passed by with the destination of Reddish; I told Gary and Tim, "It's not pink, it's Reddish." At one point, Sister Juris Prudence (the one with the feathers around her shoulders) spun like a whirling dervish and had to grab on to my shoulder to steady herself.
Eventually we reached the Anglican church which was hosting the event in their gardens and car park. I bought a refrigerator magnet with the trans pride flag and a bottle of "TERF repellent" being sprayed. Tim pulled out sodas from his backpack, Pepsi Max for us and a black currant soda for him. Apparently black currant vines are invasive in the US, especially in timber country, so they aren't allowed to be grown commercially here. We listened to two different choruses' performances on stage; the director of the first chorus was a cute young bear who reminded me of Gerald Gurss from Twin Cities. In between performances, Tim and I had ice cream which I liked very much. After the second performance, we walked around and chatted briefly with a couple of Tim's friends and a younger dude of their acquaintance. Then Tim bought a plate of nachos and a Jarritos mandarin soda from a Mexican restaurant booth, and I bought a soda as well. I sat on the steps outside the parish center and we all split the nachos. After a bit more wandering around the festival, Tim suggested it was threatening rain and Gary was feeling tired, so we decided to make our way to the tram station at Didsbury Village just across the main street kitty-corner from the church. As we were leaving, we met up with the Sisters and had a brief chat.
When the tram for Manchester proper arrived at the station, it came horrifyingly close to hitting a petite older lady (from the distance she looked to me like a child) who was a beat or two too slow crossing the tracks. We changed trams at Cornbrook to get a bit closer to the hotel. At Piccadilly Gardens, Tim suggested we leave the tram for a shorter walk, but the rain had picked up again and we ducked back on the tram to the next station, which was underneath Piccadilly train station. We were going to use the lift to the concourse level of the station, but thought better of it after the lift turned out to be full of confused passengers. Instead, we took the escalator and walked out of the station entrance we'd used the previous day. We parted company with Tim outside the station and returned to the hotel.
While Gary got into bed for a nap about 16:00, I reviewed my photos and journaled till about 17:30, then joined him for a nap myself. I shut off my alarm at 19:00 and dressed for dinner while Gary rolled over on his alarm until 19:30. Gary caught up with Tim via WhatsApp and arranged to meet with him tomorrow.
With that settled, I looked for a place for dinner, and we agreed on Yum Cha, a dim sum place we'd passed on the way out last night which Tim mentioned favorably. There was a party of several dudes with tween-aged boys seated next to us. We got the noodle soup, mine with barbecue pork and his with chicken. I also ordered spring rolls and translucent dumplings (har gau) to split with Gary. When the drinks were delivered, Gary was confused when served Sprite instead of lemonade, forgetting that British lemonade is fizzy (still lemonade is called lemon squash). The food was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised to find bird's-eye pepper rings in the soup. I asked Gary if he wanted to come with me to the Rem Bar for a drink after dinner, but he declined. At the end of the meal, the cute Asian cub inadvertently mixed up our bill with one from the table next to us, but that was sorted quickly and with good humor.
The walk back to the hotel was very wet, with an otherwise light rain being whipped around to an alarming degree by the wind. We returned to the room to plan the next day and prepare for bed. I turned on the news about 10:30 and we got to sleep about midnight.
I got up just after seven to use the bathroom, and turned off my alarm. Gary woke up and surfed the web until his alarm went off at 7:30. We got dressed quickly and went downstairs for breakfast. Gary arranged with Tim to meet at 10:15 in the lobby for Didsbury Pride. After breakfast we went shopping at Sainsbury's Local grocery store across the street, picking up a bottle of water for the machines, some Pepsi Max, a chocolate milk, and some dried pineapple snacks branded "Bear Fruit" (a double pun). We returned to the room, I had a shower since I hadn't taken the time before breakfast, and we chilled out for a few minutes before heading downstairs to meet Tim.
At first, Tim thought the tram to East Didsbury was terminating at St. Peter Square so we hoofed it the several blocks only to find trams continuing onward from there. We purchased weekend passes and boarded the next tram in that direction. On arrival at East Didsbury, we walked several blocks to the Botanical Gardens and spotted tables and chairs outside the Didsbury pub, which was the starting point of the Rainbow Walk. We went inside to order drinks; Gary had a Coke Zero, Tim had an Estrella Galicia 0.0 non-alcoholic beer, and I had a cider. Tim and I finished our drinks quickly, so I bought two more Estrellas for us. It was quite pleasant to drink for beer.
By the time we finished drinking, people were gathering for the walk. I spotted three Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and a cute cub photographer who was with them, and we ended up walking behind them. There were no barriers closing off the road, only hired security guards in hi-vis vests. The walk continued for two or three long blocks, with traffic continuing in the opposite direction on our right. A bus passed by with the destination of Reddish; I told Gary and Tim, "It's not pink, it's Reddish." At one point, Sister Juris Prudence (the one with the feathers around her shoulders) spun like a whirling dervish and had to grab on to my shoulder to steady herself.
Eventually we reached the Anglican church which was hosting the event in their gardens and car park. I bought a refrigerator magnet with the trans pride flag and a bottle of "TERF repellent" being sprayed. Tim pulled out sodas from his backpack, Pepsi Max for us and a black currant soda for him. Apparently black currant vines are invasive in the US, especially in timber country, so they aren't allowed to be grown commercially here. We listened to two different choruses' performances on stage; the director of the first chorus was a cute young bear who reminded me of Gerald Gurss from Twin Cities. In between performances, Tim and I had ice cream which I liked very much. After the second performance, we walked around and chatted briefly with a couple of Tim's friends and a younger dude of their acquaintance. Then Tim bought a plate of nachos and a Jarritos mandarin soda from a Mexican restaurant booth, and I bought a soda as well. I sat on the steps outside the parish center and we all split the nachos. After a bit more wandering around the festival, Tim suggested it was threatening rain and Gary was feeling tired, so we decided to make our way to the tram station at Didsbury Village just across the main street kitty-corner from the church. As we were leaving, we met up with the Sisters and had a brief chat.
When the tram for Manchester proper arrived at the station, it came horrifyingly close to hitting a petite older lady (from the distance she looked to me like a child) who was a beat or two too slow crossing the tracks. We changed trams at Cornbrook to get a bit closer to the hotel. At Piccadilly Gardens, Tim suggested we leave the tram for a shorter walk, but the rain had picked up again and we ducked back on the tram to the next station, which was underneath Piccadilly train station. We were going to use the lift to the concourse level of the station, but thought better of it after the lift turned out to be full of confused passengers. Instead, we took the escalator and walked out of the station entrance we'd used the previous day. We parted company with Tim outside the station and returned to the hotel.
While Gary got into bed for a nap about 16:00, I reviewed my photos and journaled till about 17:30, then joined him for a nap myself. I shut off my alarm at 19:00 and dressed for dinner while Gary rolled over on his alarm until 19:30. Gary caught up with Tim via WhatsApp and arranged to meet with him tomorrow.
With that settled, I looked for a place for dinner, and we agreed on Yum Cha, a dim sum place we'd passed on the way out last night which Tim mentioned favorably. There was a party of several dudes with tween-aged boys seated next to us. We got the noodle soup, mine with barbecue pork and his with chicken. I also ordered spring rolls and translucent dumplings (har gau) to split with Gary. When the drinks were delivered, Gary was confused when served Sprite instead of lemonade, forgetting that British lemonade is fizzy (still lemonade is called lemon squash). The food was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised to find bird's-eye pepper rings in the soup. I asked Gary if he wanted to come with me to the Rem Bar for a drink after dinner, but he declined. At the end of the meal, the cute Asian cub inadvertently mixed up our bill with one from the table next to us, but that was sorted quickly and with good humor.
The walk back to the hotel was very wet, with an otherwise light rain being whipped around to an alarming degree by the wind. We returned to the room to plan the next day and prepare for bed. I turned on the news about 10:30 and we got to sleep about midnight.