Central Manchester Games

On Saturday July 13 we left the house early and took the scenic route through the Peak district (by way of Leek and Macclesfield) to Manchester.  Unfortunately, for the first time, we're not going to the airport.  Fortunately, we were off to cheer on some of our friends competing in the CrossFit Central Manchester Games.  The morning started off in the Salford Quay for a swim event, with a nice view of nearby Old Trafford - home of Manchester United.  When I read the word "quay" I always want to say "Kwhey", but it's pronounced "Key", but you might know it better as a wharf.  Fortunately, no boats were docking during the event.

We were blessed with another sunny weekend, I think that's 3 in a row by this point?  Actually by now it's considered full-out HOT by the locals.  And I'm right there with them, having acclimated and because there's no A/C.  It's been hitting 28 C (over 80 F) in the house in the afternoon.  But, I did get through 3 days of a Phoenix summer without A/C when it was getting fixed and the temperature inside the house reached 88 F at night (31-32 C), so there's been nothing I haven't dealt with before.

We knew quite a few of the competitors from our friends at CrossFit Nottingham, Worksop, and Deviant (the new gym that opened in Derby).  Cordillia (Masters), Kristen, Laura, Llara (who placed well at Regionals in Copenhagen!), and Rob all qualified to compete on the day.

The first swim event was well-attended by the time we showed up at 9 am, and the first heats were already underway.  The Masters (age 40+) were up first.

Kristen and Laura were in the same heat, and they're off!

The strong swimmers were quick to create some distance

Here comes Kristen!

You have to pull yourself up to the dock unassisted after the swim 

After completing the 200m swim it was 75 burpees to finish!  Ouch, especially wearing the wetsuit (but the water was pretty cold)

We cheered for her to keep moving

I didn't get photos of all the competitors, so I do apologize.  After all the heats were done, there was a big move out to the rugby stadium well away from city center, near the M60, for the rest of the events.  We had some time to kill so we got some lunch, where we were able to get our parking validated at the Quay outlet stores - free garage parking near city center, nice!  And, parking at the stadium was free too, so this was one for the record books, ladies and gentlemen.

Here's the stadium, pretty much in the middle of a field

The actual events took place in a nearby outdoor arena with very high quality fake grass and soil made from rubber bits.  It was quite comfortable to walk on barefoot

The Titans!  Manchester's only American football team trains here too.

They had a nice Rogue rig set up for the events

As shade was a premium, some smart folks brought canopies.  It took a really long time for the event organizers to get going with the 2nd event - we were hanging out for a few hours

OK events getting started!

Cordillia did really well tying for 2nd overall in the Women's Masters division,  She totally SMASHED it!

Our crew with a make-shift lean-to using a goal and blankets.  That sun was starting to get hot!  With all the event delays and organization mishaps, it was almost more fun to just sit, hang out, and catch up with everyone!  There was access to free water, so that was a nice perk.

Holly and Max made an ice-cream run.  Being somewhat wise to UK ice cream (or so I thought), I was expecting them to find a van and come back with arm loads of Mr. Whippys with flake melting faster than they could pass them out.  But was I wrong.  They took individual orders, and came back with all sorts of named bars and "ice lollies" I'd never heard of before.  It went something like this:

"Ok who had the Magnum?"  "White or almond?"  "Oh no I had the Infinity"  "Ok here's your coronetto"  "I had a Solero" "Sorry, they were out, but here's a Calypso". 

Turns out all of the above have equivalents back in the US but we call them different things, that are no less odd sounding, like Dilly bars, Dreamsicles, and Otter pops.  Fun times.

I was having fun just goofing around in the spectator area, working on my tan, and chatting with everyone that I didn't take too many photos.  It was a really relaxing and fun day, in the end, with good memories made.  This post is pretty unspectacular, but the weekend felt really "normal" and made me sad that we have to leave soon.

What's this crazy flying car doing?  Oh it's just a nano-light glider, a popular recreational flying machine you can make in your backyard.  They were buzzing around all day by the nearby airfield.  I suppose it was a good day for it.  This picture, however, makes it look like a UFO.

Most of our friends were staying the night in Manchester, as there was a-whole-nother  day of competing on Sunday.  But we were on a tighter budget.  When the days events were closing, we decided to take off to grab dinner and head home.  There was a Nando's chicken place nearby, and we hadn't had that in like 4 or 5 months, so it was worth a revisit.  My main problem with Nando's is that I can make it myself for 1/3rd the cost:  butterfly a small chicken (cut the spine out and split the breast bone so it lays flat), rub with seasoning and salt, roast at 200 C for 45 minutes, then remove and let it rest for 10 minutes before enjoying.  Done and dusted.  But, when you're out traveling, then it is a nice option to have it done for you.

Oh, but you want the Piri-Piri sauce?  Well fortunately it's for sale in the grocery store, but it's not rocket surgery to figure out a clone recipe.

Anyway, the crazy part about this story is that the Nando's ended up being located inside an indoor skiing park.

Indoor skiing and snowboarding at the Chill Factore.

The Chill Factore is undeniably "cool".  Pun intended.  But there were lots of fun kid activities to be had, and even more things to do in the whole oasis of a shopping center.  It made Chuckee Cheese look pretty lame, I got to admit, but I imagine they strip parents of their quid in a very rapid fashion.

Anyway, let's wrap it up with pictures of cats lying in beds.

Fourth of July Weekend

Thursday, July 4 we kicked off our expat Fourth of July Weekend in the UK.  We met up with some friends (both American and otherwise) and had a BBQ.

I found a recipe for Johnsonville brats and made them, starting from a pork shoulder, using my meat grinder and some collagen casing.

Tara made a patriotic cake

Kerry made patriotic Oreo balls

Grillmaster

Huge thanks to host Vivek!

We were all enjoying the sun, beer, conversation, and good food

Kerry discovered Kopparberg pear cider and hasn't looked back

New expat Kristy and a patriotic Xavier

I hadn't seen this in the UK before, we're on a good weather streak!

We all reverted back to University mode when the red Solo cups and ping-pong balls came out.  I think the Spaniards were most excited.

The next day we went to a cricket 20/20 match after work with a big group (many of which were in attendance on Thursday).  I learned all about cricket from some patient friends.  Most importantly I now understand why the the dartboard game cricket is named such.  Kerry and I play dartboard cricket all the time, and understanding that game is what made real cricket click.   Also, check out Doug and Tara's recap, since we hung out with them the whole weekend anyway, their experience was very similar.

We watched the Derby Falcons take on the Notts Outlaws.  To put it in baseball terms, they 20/20, it means they are each capped at 20 "innings" to run as many laps as possible, unless they get 10 "outs".  In normal cricket you continue to score until the "fielding" team gets all the runners out.  Then they switch.  Falcons only scored 115 runs in their 20 rounds, so all Notts had to do was get 116 before they got out or hit the cap.  Can the do it?

Cricket field layout to a sold-out crowd

For some reason they put the walkway in front of the seating, so when you walk by during play, everyone yells at you.  Also, they sold the place out, when there was still a lot of space.  People tended to spread out.

Here's what the scoreboard looks like

Between the fielding/batting switch, they brought the cricket zamboni out to smooth down the infield.

Beer queues got quite long, indeed.  Yes, quite.  So you'd see a lot of this.  I call it a trifecta:  One man, 3 beers.  Thumb and forefingers clasp the main two, and the auxiliary 3rd pint is secured by joining middle fingers and applying a light amount of pressure of the pint against the backs of the forefingers.  Don't squeeze to hard or you'll slosh, and keep the shoulders loose.  

Father teaching son the ways of the cricket bat

A streaker on the pitch!  Wowzers, this was just supposed to be a family-friendly evening

Near the end of the match these guys had 7 pints lined up.  They may have had a cup-carrier.

Anyway, despite the distraction, the Outlaws managed to best the Falcons using only 17 of their 20 innings.  And the nice thing is that it only took about 2 and a half hours.  Real cricket takes 25 days, like the current Ashes tournament of England vs. Australia.  

The last bit of new experience was our partaking of a "pick & mix".  For 99p per 100 grams I could fill my bag with a wide selection of sweet offerings from gummy bears, chocolates, licorice, and other sugary concoctions.  Not sure about the hygenic nature of the selection, what with kids running around, but it was something I've never done before at a sporting event.  And lord have mercy on those chocolates should the vendor attempt to sell chocolate like that on a hot sunny day.

Saturday, we joined up with Doug and Tara (as they already shared on their blog) to drive down to the Cotswolds known officially as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ONB).  We chose a circular walk along Cleeve Hill near Gloucester, about 90 minutes away.  It was just a small section of the Cotswolds way, a trail from Chipping Campden to Bath.  Should you ever find yourself needing to walk to Bath from Chipping Campden, the trail is well marked.

After Tara declared "we were failing" when we misleading signs directed us to park in a tall grass field which scraped the bottom of the car, we were rerouted to the general (free) car park by a friendly competitive orienteering club member.

We started off at a golf club with very friendly members.  No worries to use their toilets.

We wasted no time in viewing some serious ONB.

It was another nice warm day.

ONB poppies

Young cows on a farm near our path enjoy the ONB too

After the steep climb snaking up the wooded hillside, a well-placed kissing gate was placed for me to lean upon and catch my breath.

The old abandoned farm

ONB to the extreme!

The views from the top of Cleeve hill were also outstanding

Rules of conduct posted on the hill

Sheep oasis in the cool shade

Doug enjoying his tuna salad snack

Back at the pro shop at the end of our hike we stopped for a pint and made a friend.

Outstanding beer on an outstanding day

At the end of our walk we drove up to Stratford-upon-Avon to see what there was to see.  The free parking streak continued!  No failing here!

The Old Tramway, buy a lunch and park free

We enjoyed the outdoor seating, but I felt bad asking the staff to go back and bring condiments

However, the waitress did tell us about the River festival which was in full swing, so off we went to check it out.

Crowds in the park for a very happening River fest!

Fun band was a hit with the children

I got us a pitcher of Pimms, or English sangria as I call it.  It's a tea-based drink with some citrus and cucumber.  Refreshing.

We enjoyed our Pimms on the river Avon.

A nice monument to Shakespeare.  He was born here in Stratford-upon-Avon.

I had to buy a bandana for my skull, the sun was too intense.  I did not buy the complete works of Shakespeare.

This is the house where Shakespeare was born.  I've now visited two birthplace homes, if you include this one.  The other being George Harrison's in Liverpool.

Back in Tudor times people build homes without right angles or plumb lines.  But the thatch roofing is always fun to see. 

A very modern theater that's all Shakespeare all the time.

The canal boats were out in full regalia

Good deal for a chain ferry ride!  Wait, what's a chain ferry ride?

Pay the man and get on the ferry

He cranks away on a winch and pulls himself along an underwater chain to cross the canal.  Nice deal if you're missing a bridge.

Well I must say that was a very successful weekend, and the good weather continues.  Great Britain in the summer is outstanding.