Daddy and Oliver time

Mmmmm... chocolate.

Last month Lucy and I had a little Friday afternoon trip to our local Polish deli. So this afternoon when I picked up Oliver from nursery I evened things up by taking him there for a snack.

He chose chocolate cake (no surprise there) and some water while I had carrot cake and a cup of tea. He was in a great mood after seemingly having had a fun time at nursery, playing with his friend, pretending to be Power Rangers. In an uncharacteristic bout of giving out information he also mentioned soft play (in the soft play room), singing and dancing. He didn't tell me exactly what he had for lunch but judging from the front of his jumper tomato sauce was involved. (He mentioned "bacon sauce"!)

The staff were friendly and we all chatted away as Oliver and I devoured our snacks. Afterwards I carried him off on my shoulders, something he always loves.

It was a tiny trip, but it's always nice to seize the opportunity of a little special one-to-one time with my boy.



Oliver decides to show me his knee which apparently had got a bit wet. (It was raining outside.)

Heaton Moor watch

The restaurant replacing Room 311 now has an ad in the front window looking for staff and a link to its website. Not sure we'll be able to just pop in for coffee.

So the only place on our doorstep to go out for an alcoholic beverage in the evening is The Moor Top pub, which is OK at best. It also means it's the only handy place to go for the kids to eat more than a snack. This wouldn't be a big issue, but as we are having some of the house redecorated at the moment to repair the damage caused by the Christmas flood, we haven't been eating at home in the evening as the place is full of dust, smelling strongly of paint and anyway most of the kitchen utensils are packed away.

Daddy and Lucy time

This afternoon as I cycled home from work I got a call from Hayley. She was trying to load her car with equipment for her playgroup with Lucy in tow. There was a lot to shift and after carrying a few small parcels Lucy had lost interest and wasn't helping. At all. In fact she was trying to join the 6 year olds in the playground at the school where this was all taking place.

Once home I jumped into the car and collected the little lady. So we had some unexpected Daddy and Lucy time. As it was perhaps the nicest day of the year so far, I decided to take her for a ride on my bike as I often used to do with Oliver.

Already she is really too big for WeeRide carrier, so I put her in the Hamax seat behind me on my On-One. We had only gone about 10 feet down our drive and then stopped to get round the car when I heard her chuckle. I wasn't at all surprised to find that Lucy really enjoyed riding on my bike.

So we headed off to Pokusevski's, a local deli often visted by me and Oliver. Despite the nice weather they hadn't sorted out the seating in the rear garden. Nonetheless we stayed, as they had seating in the shop part. I had a cup of tea and we each had some cake. I had a piece of carrot cake while Lucy had a piece of rich chocolate cake.

We sat with a gentleman in his eighties, Lucy being charming as ever. All three of us chatted away. I told him we were going to collect Oliver shortly from his nursery and discovered that his own children went to the same nursery 50 years ago when it first opened. He said that from the start it was a charitable trust and was inclusive of children of all backgrounds and welcoming to children of all abilities and disabilities, just as it is today.

A little later we pedalled our way home, the little lady staying awake all the way, despite being tired. With a little persuasion I got her into my car and we went to collect Oliver.

I really enjoyed having a bit of quality one-on-one time with my daughter (even if she spent the first couple of minutes telling me "want Mummy"!). It is something I look forward to repeating. Hayley and I have been trying to make sure that in addition to time spent as a family, we each have a bit of time with the kids one-to-one like that. It's at least as important with Oliver as the little lady doesn't have his restraint and so can be disruptive to the sort of things he likes to do.

The rest of the day was equally lovely. We went to the park. Hayley took the kids down there while I showered. She said that they walked into the park hand in hand, producing suitable cooing from the other Mums.

After I joined them, Oliver and I went to get the fish and chips on my bike. Back at the house, eating our dinner, Oliver's manners were immaculate, he even corrected Lucy ("don't forget to say Thank You, Lucy"). Perhaps good manners were the subject at nursery today. Whatever the reason, he was about as perfect a little boy as I could imagine, laughing and chatting away with us and playing nicely with Lucy.

Tonight I'm feeling quite tired, but perhaps my most tired muscles are the ones I've been using all afternoon to smile.

Unexpected pleasures

Yesterday lunchtime I suddenly decided to pop home from work. I needed a couple of things and thought I'd take the chance to have a nice break from the office. Often Hayley doesn't go home on Monday lunchtimes, but driving home I got a text from her to say that she, Oliver, Lucy and her minded child were all having lunch outside Blue Corn (our local organic store). So I texted back to say I'd be there in 5 mins. I arrived to find cheese on toast had been ordered for me and the rest of my family were tucking onto theirs.

Oliver had ridden there from nursery on his Rothan bike and decided to ride around on the very wide pavement area while I ate. So I grabbed this bit of footage of him. I was so excited to see how confident he is on his bike now. I am growing more confident myself that he will transition to a bike with pedals without needing stabilisers (which is the whole point of the Rothan).

The whole experience was a little oasis of bliss in the middle of an otherwise unremarkable day at the office. I'm so glad I work so close to home and can do this sort of thing.

Heaton Moor watch

In the second of my very occasional entries about my locale, I can tell you that our much-mentioned and oft-visited local cafe bar, Room 311, has closed.

Rumours are that it wasn't profitable. I put it that way because speculating about bankruptcy might be premature (not to mention unfair) given that its sister cafe at the other end of Heaton Moor, The Orangerie, appears to be doing OK. We'll see. In these times of credit crunch and belt-tightening, no small business is invulnerable. I certainly hope it withstands the pressures.

A reliable source tells me that the location formerly housing Room 311 will re-open under new owners as a restaurant in a couple of weeks. We await its unveiling with eager anticipation.

It's a shame that 311 has gone, not least because it was nice to have somewhere local to pop into for a meal out with the kids every now and then, not to mention for a beer with friends from time to time (and even, on rare occasions, a drink for just the two of us). But I'm not entirely surprised or sorry when I think of some of the service we had there. In particular, the last manager there, in contrast to the previous manager Chris, made it very plain that those of us with young children were not welcome. She spent most of her time with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp. When Hayley and I went in there at Christmas, Hayley could not resist saying to her, "Look, we've got no kids tonight, I bet that will put a smile on your face." It didn't though. And shortly thereafter we moved to the much friendlier - including family friendly - Town Bar Cafe just up the road, vowing to go there more often in place of 311.

A week later 311 was closed for good.

The family-unfriendly attitude was a bonkers policy, as the place was forever populated with new Mums and their new babies, often in groups, clearly ante-natal groups gathering together to share their first experiences. Clearly they failed to realise that such groups can often last for years. When I look around now at our friends in the area there are at least four couples from our ante-natal group with whom we still meet very regularly. (In one case they are God-parents to Lucy.) Hopefully the new place will open for lunch and be a bit more open minded!

Meanwhile the long-vacant Victoria Wine shop did indeed turn out to be another hairdresser. We now have 4 hairdressers within a stone's throw of each other. Not that I'm tempted to throw things at them. Well, not most days. I still go to the barber a hundred yards up the road. Much cheaper, and depending who's cutting my hair I get to discuss the finer points of MySpace or the possibilities for Manchester City ("richest football club in the world", as the City fans are forever pointing out.)

Finally, our local Brittania Fish n Chips Bar has relaunched as Theo's. I've heard that he's the nephew of the previous owners. I have to say that it was rare that I went there for my fish and chips, mostly because Heaton Mersey's Golden Gate chippy serves fish n chips of a consistently high standard, but perhaps I'll have to give the new kid on the block a chance. Anything to keep our little community thriving.

A cautionary tale

It was a Friday evening in winter. I shall be no more specific than that. Hayley went out for a few drinks with some friends, many of them fellow Mums from our area. All went well during the evening, though she noticed that one of their party, we'll call her Alex, seemed a bit tipsy even at the start of the evening.

Some time after the bars closed they went back to another friend's house. We'll call her Jan. By this point Alex is out of it, sitting on the floor, slumped over the sofa. Worried about her, Hayley says she will take her home in the taxi she has just ordered for herself and Sara. Jan tells her Alex's address. Hayley and Sara bundle Alex into the cab and off they go.

On arriving at Alex's house there is no answer. Hayley knocks loudly. Then, feeling sure Alex's husband is home, shouts through the letter box. After a few further shouts, the taxi driver suggests that perhaps enough is enough and that if she doesn't desist the police are more likely to appear than Alex's husband.

And so it was that at approximately 2.15am I was woken by strange noises coming from downstairs. These turned out to be Hayley, Sara and the taxi driver carrying Alex into the house and onto our sofa. I tried to go back to sleep but Alex's snoring was so loud, even through the floor, that I gave up and came downstairs to see the spectacle. Some time later Sara left and Hayley and I to headed off to bed leaving Alex snoring.

In the morning I got up with the kids and loitered a while upstairs in the hope our visitor might be gone by the time the kids came downstairs. But it wasn't to be. So Alex was woken by two inquisitive little faces at about 8am. She handled it all remarkably well and was up and playing with them in no time. I got her a cup of tea and some toast, by which time Hayley had joined us.

We recounted the previous evening's events to her, enjoying the unique and sinful pleasure of telling someone what they did when too drunk to recall anything the next day. We got to the bit about shouting through her letter box.

Alex: "What number house did you go to?"
Hayley: "Number 6. Jan told us which it was."
Pause.
Alex: "We live at number 3."
Me (laughing): "Did you get on with the people at number 6 before last night?!"
Pause.
Alex: "Number 6 is the home of your Member of Parliament."

Oh dear.

I'm sure she couldn't have been in. She's a busy MP. She'll have got the train back on Saturday morning.... Except that in reality she is normally back on Friday.

Oops.

I'm sure you aren't reading this Ann, but if you are, we all apologise humbly for any additional stress we may have caused. (Oh and thanks for the reply about Gaza.)

Yes! (Or rather, No!)

I'd been meaning to post about the referendum on a Congestion Charge for Manchester. (Or more accurately, a congestion charge for Greater Manchester as the proposed zone includes 13 metropolitan boroughs.)

This morning as I lay in bed, knowing the result was decided as yesterdays ballot return deadline passed, I reprimanded myself for not posting about it before. Heck, I could have even set up a whole new site about it! What if the result was the wrong one when if it weren't for my laziness I could have swung the few vital votes?

I needn't have worried. The result was a resounding "No".

When I first heard of the proposed congestion charge I was entirely open to the idea. But as time went on and I saw what improvements were on offer as a result of the charge, it became clear to me that it wasn't a good deal.

Let me give you some illustrations.

The charge is designed to ease congestion caused by commuter traffic heading in and out of Manchester. To do this, an outer and inner zone were defined. Traffic passing into those zones in the morning "rush hour" would be charged, as would traffic passing out in the evening "rush hour".

So if, like our family, you live half a mile inside the outer boundary (mostly defined by the M60 motorway), you would be charged for taking your child to nursery half a mile outside the boundary as you return from dropping him off. It's only a short local journey but it is charged the same as if we've commuted 40 miles in a company car. Thankfully Oliver's nursery is now on this side of the boundary, but his old one wasn't so it's a real example.

Many years ago I moved to Stockport so that I wasn't commuting 80 miles a day to and from work. Ever since I have used my bike quite often to commute the much reduced 6 mile round trip to/from the office. (I did today as it happens.) I kept a record for a while and found that in recent years my best efforts saw me commuting by bike between 30% and 50% of the time over the year.

But we still have two cars as the demands of combining work and family life make it feel almost a necessity. We've discussed before the possibility of getting rid of one of the cars. It would need me to increase the number of times I commute by bike and let Hayley give me a lift much of the rest of the time. It's far from ideal but perhaps just about feasible.

But the congestions charge would have made that an impossibility. I work half a mile outside the outer boundary so on returning from dropping me at work Hayley would be charged.

"What about public transport", I hear you ask? Well, the cost of the journey to work is about 11 times the cost in petrol. Having to use two buses, it would also take at least 3 times as long. Quicker to walk in fact.

"What about the promised improvements in exchange for the charge?" Well, the Metrolink (tram) system wouldn't be extended to Stockport. (it was promised and then cut several years ago.) There would be no new bus routes, only more frequent services on some routes. Oh and they would refurbish the bus station. Whoop-ee-doo!

The final nail in the charge's coffin for me was the totally one-sided reporting of it - pulled up by the regulator at least once - and the patronising premise that the proposal was the only option and the only chance of getting some money to improve public transport. Poppycock!

The sad truth is that the two-ring scheme is far too clumsy an instrument with which to fairly levy a travel tax on those doing the most damage. Having made a green decision nearly two decades ago to reduce my carbon footprint, to live and work in the same community, to think global and act local, I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to pay the same as someone who drives 100 miles a day from their country pile.

It's an opportunity missed, without doubt. I hope that in years to come a fairer system can be devised. I mean we already live in a world where every other car has Sat Nav, its driver almost certainly has a mobile phone and the roads are watched by an army of cameras. Can it really be that hard to figure something out?

You can read about the congestion charge voting here (where there are also links to other relevant sites).

Shooting update - BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Man quizzed over shooting bailed

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Man quizzed over shooting bailed

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Man injured in shooting incident

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Man injured in shooting incident

One of Oliver's friends lives on this road. He went to a birthday party there just a couple of weeks ago. In fact we all went to another birthday party just round the corner from there on Sunday.

I'm always shocked when something violent happens in our area. It doesn't feel a threatening place to live at all. I wouldn't have thought twice about walking down that road at 9.30pm. Without wishing to sound pessimistic, I suppose the lesson - like the lesson of yesterday's headline news - is that nowhere is a bubble. Nowhere is entirely safe.

Heaton Moor watch

Ever since mountainear commented that she visits this blog as a link with her old life in the Heatons, I have been meaning to start a regular post on what's going on in the area. After all, there's only so much of me blabbing on and on and on about how wonderful my kids are that most people can stand. (You bear it well folks. Really.)

So let's start with where we are: Heaton Moor.

Heaton Moor is basically split into two halves, each with groups of shops and separated by no more than about half a mile. The northern half saw much regeneration in the 90s, especially on and around Shaw Road. Our favourite Indian restaurant, the Heatons Tandoori, still prospers there. There is also a Polish deli, Pokusevskis, where I buy local honey produced in Heaton Moor and have occasionally taken Oliver on the bike for an afternoon snack in their little paved garden at the rear. There are also several other pubs, bars and cafes within about a minutes walk.

The southern half, where we live, hasn't yet prospered so much, but the northern end is pretty much saturated, so I expect our area will start to flourish similarly in the next year or two. The Orangerie cafe up in the northern half now has a sister establishment, Room 311, which we mention often here and frequent even more. The arrival of a Tesco Express saw the demise of the little Late Shop, which has stood empty ever since. There were rumours of Marks and Spencer moving in, but nothing has happened yet.

One of the hairdressers moved across the road a couple of years ago and in his place on the corner next to the Post Office is now an Italian restaurant, Avanti. Valentinos has flourished for many years just a few paces away and I heard a rumour that Avanti arose from a rift in the team owning/running Valentinos. Sibling rivalry I heard, though I have absolutely no hard evidence for this, so it's probably best to ignore me.

Somerfield survived the arrival of Tesco, in fact it retaliated by going upmarket with a new deli counter. But after a few months they ditched it. So apparently we aren't up-market enough to warrant one! And also on the down side, the Victoria Wine shop that shut down several years ago is still empty, which baffles me as it is a prime location.

However, the lovely Blue Corn organic shop is doing well and we drop in from time to time to have a cup of tea and a snack with the kids. The owners are friendly and Oliver has charmed them as well as some of the regulars.

The biggest talking point around here was whether the much-loved (but not so well visted) Savoy cinema would be bought and redeveloped as a 300-seater Wetherspoons pub. To the relief of most, this application was rejected by the local council.

We seem to have a wealth of hairdressers around here. Not sure why. The little women's clothing outlet on the corner of Grosvenor Road has closed down and been replaced by another very swish looking salon. Maybe I should be pleased. "Heaton Moor: hairdressing centre of the universe". Then again...

So there it is. I'm pretty sure I've painted a bizarre picture of our little area, but that's what springs to mind. Regardless of how it may sound, it is a great little place to live for a whole bunch of reasons I haven't mentioned, mostly to do with the parks, playgroups, churches, etc. that we visit with the kids. A year after moving here, we are very happy with our decision.

There is more about Heaton Moor at HeatonMoor.com.