Tidings From Trafford
It was an early start for us today as Ross was starting work at the Manchester office. We did a hasty pack (read: “shove everything back into the bags and sit on them to get them closed”) and strolled across to Euston Station, just a stone’s throw from our hotel. Ours was a 10am train and it was still fairly dark when we got there. The top temperature today was a balmy 6°C so we made sure we packed on a few more layers!
Being our first weekday here, we were amazed at just how many people were around! They came out of the woodwork! Everyone all dressed to the nines, resplendent in thick coats, boots and scarves, heading off to their places of employment. As we were coming down the ramp into the heart of the station we were confronted with a virtual sea of people, all coming at us at pace. We literally would have been knocked right over had we not pulled over to the side. So many people in one place! We heard yesterday that the population of this big city is around eight million people. I reckon about 7 million of them were rushing around Euston Station this morning!
We grabbed our tickets for the Virgin fast train to Manchester and had a quick bite to eat at one of the station’s cafes. The food here is pretty good really – a lot healthier and much better options than we could find in America. Like America though, the coffee sizes are about 3 times bigger than ours! I thought I was being conservative ordering Medium coffees but they came in a cup that could seriously house your KFC family dinner pack! Luckily there were toilets on the train.
We were surprised but delighted to find that the tickets we had were for the First Class cabin on the train! Pretty posh. We were seated around a table in very comfy seats and were given an endless supply of tea and coffee (just in case the bucket hadn’t been enough) and hot sausages and bacon on rolls. The train had free Wi-Fi too so Ross could begin his work day while we hurtled down the tracks.
We were amused by the toilets on the train. After shutting the cubicle door, the toilet greets you with a pre-recorded message giving you explicit instructions about what to do. I forgot to lock the door and the toilet kindly reminded me to lock the door in case I had any unwanted visitors! Apart from a sign on the toilet seat outlining what not to flush, the toilet also declares: “Please don’t flush nappies, sanitary towels, paper towels, gum, old phones, unpaid bills, junk mail, your ex’s sweater, hopes, dreams or goldfish down this toilet.”
The scenery out the window of the train was absolutely beautiful. Rows of white painted houses with black shingled rooves and big rectangular chimney pots. They were the stuff of so many books we’d read as kids. It reminded me of the houses Peter Pan soars over on his way to Neverland. We’re sure we saw the Dursley’s neighbourhood too! After a while the houses became scarcer and they gave way to rolling green hills and countryside not unlike what I imagine the Hundred Acre Wood to look like. Farms were separated by hedgerows instead of fences and there were big thickets of trees still in their autumn regalia, sprinkled all over the hillside. Because I grew up on A.A Milne and Beatrix Potter books, I was imagining Peter Rabbit or Mrs Tiggywinkle would be quite at home there amongst the copses. There was a light mist over everything too, giving it a really wintery feel.
We arrived in Manchester mid-morning and checked into our hotel, which is actually a huge apartment and is so cool! The building was built as a warehouse in 1842 so it has amazing old bricks and a really high ceiling with steel girders running across its breadth. We look out over Manchester’s main business area and it’s a pretty industrial landscape with lots of chimneys and stacks dotting the skyline. It was raining when we arrived and if possible, was even colder than London had been!
Ross headed off to work and Toby and I made our way to the spiritual home of English football; the “Theatre of Dreams”: Old Trafford. Toby could hardly contain his excitement, being a massive Manchester United fan. We decided to go on the guided tour of the stadium and the museum and our very informative – if not overly enthusiastic –guide, Alan, gave us all the information we could ever have wanted to know about the field, the players, the Club and its history. If you closed your eyes you could have sworn you were listening to an episode of Thomas The Tank Engine; he had such a great accent! We got to sit in the stands, visit the players’ dressing room, hang out in the press rooms, run through the tunnel to the field (with a pre-recorded crowd roaring and cheering us on) and Toby even got to wear the actual jersey Ronaldo had played in. He was over the moon! We were interested to see the huge rows of remote controlled apparatuses that had ultra violet rays beaming down from them onto the pitch to simulate sunshine and help the grass to grow! The pitch was absolutely immaculate. I also found it interesting that the players’ lounge had a crèche with full-time nannies to mind the players’ children while the games were on. They’d thought of everything!
After a not so quick visit to the Manchester United Megastore and a lighter wallet than the one I’d entered with, we somehow managed to find our way to the bus stop and onto a bus bound for our hotel. Toby has unfortunately inherited my less than perfect (understatement) sense of direction and so it was a case of the blind leading the blind. We actually crossed the 6 lane highway twice because we weren’t entirely sure which direction it was we wanted to head in! We were grateful for the foresight of the Manchester Mayor in putting up multiple maps and “You Are Here” signs all over his city. We heavily relied on these, as well as constant prayer! It was only 4:30pm when we emerged from Old Trafford but it was already dark! By 5pm it was pitch black, like the middle of the night! It’s really bizarre!
