Days of Gratitude - Liquorice, Love and a Loris, Six Days in Manchester

Six more days from my gratitude posts in the Sunday Assembly gratitude group.  I'm glad that for nearly every day of the past five months I have a diary entry to look back on with something good from the day.  Some of the days have been awful but I've found the good anyway.  And others contain rubbish things but I have been able to focus on the good.  I think it's been beneficial to my mental health to keep the diary.

Today, for instance, I felt like staying home and watching more episodes of a TV series.  Instead I thought, "But then I won't have anything to post and won't have a photo for the day."  So I've been out to somewhere I haven't been before.  Not for long but it was nice to be out.   And I have photos for the gratitude diary for today.  But that's for the next post.

These six days cover my latest trip to Manchester and some of what I and we did while I was there.  There is a lot to be thankful for.  And a moan too on one of the days.  I could focus on that moan.  But what's the point when there was a vast amount of good that day?  And when the people who really matter to me treat me well?  In effect, there was only one person in that pub who matters in my life and she would never dream of considering the slightest possibility of throwing any transphobic abuse my way.  But that day I let the crap get to me.  Usually I can throw it off and ignore it but that day for some reasons I let it hurt me.  At least for a while.  By the time we were half way back on the train I was fine again.

Six days.  Much to be very thankful for.

24^th May

Grateful for photos. That I could spend some of the morning looking back on a good walk and sorting pictures for a blog.

Grateful for an easy journey to Manchester. Grateful that I know the centre well enough now that I don't get confused and panic about getting lost.

Grateful that I will be with Amanda for the next few days. Grateful for unexpected love and shared mugs of tea.

The one photo of the day - taken at almost random angle while waiting for Amanda at Piccadilly.

25^th May

Apart from an unfortunate problem with transphobic scumbags in Southport it has been a great day.  Seriously, just how many transphobic idiots can you fit in and around one single Wetherspoon pub.   Is The Willow Grove in Southport the place in the whole of Lancashire where all the ignoramuses and bigots gather?  Because that's what it felt like.  The food was okay but the experience wasn't.

Anyway.  Gratitude.  Not moaning about little shits who give the human race a bad name.  Because other people in Southport are nice.

This is not Southport.  Before catching the train with Amanda I spent 25 minutes wandering near Salford Central.  Enough photos for its own post maybe!

This bit of art can be seen from a footbridge near The People's Museum.  It's rather stunning.

Grateful to have shared so many good things with Amanda.

Our favourite ice cream.

Lots of liquorice - anyone fancy a salty toad?  If you like continental liquorice, JUST is recommended.

Eating out.

Seeing the sea.

Charity shop purchases.

And just being together, sharing the day.

That Blob Thing is getting everywhere.

 

26^th May

For many things. But here, for our little trip out to Farnsworth:

For terrible looking rip off toys we didn't buy.

For the slow loris we did buy.

And for finding a cafe with massive portions of cheap, decent food and no music playing.  This was Q's Cafe on Market Street.  They were really friendly.

Lovely.

27^th May

Amanda was working today so I had to amuse myself - something that will be a regular thing when I am staying with her because she is so busy now doing awesome things. Proud of her.

Grateful for dry weather today and for deciding a ten mile walk might be nice. It was! Lots of pictures taken on the phone.

 Grateful too to be back at the house with access to a comfy chair and mugs of tea.

And that one day there will be a blog post(s) for today. Loving the blog this year for my own sake - the ease of looking back at the good things. And a few not so good things too.

28^th May

Grateful for mutual love and trust.

Grateful to wander in Chorlton.

And grateful for this theatre trip in the evening. Tickets on offer. Plus half price because we can do that. And second row seats. Except we moved to the end of our row which didn't have seats in front of it. We did well.

29^th May

Grateful for the days spent away. For an easy journey home. For the knowledge that I will be going back.

Grateful that I have life to live and discover here.

Grateful for photographs and the smiles they can bring.

See: Lots of liquorice at JUST

 And for the colours of the kaleidoscope I bought myself.