It's different up North, y'know...
Living in the metrop, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle (and I've grown to love that h&b) you occasionally have to watch your mind, make sure you still have all your mental facilities intact. Questions like: am I still sane? Do I realise how much money I'm spending? And who am I again? are queries that I put to myself on a daily basis, just to be sure!
Every once in a while, when my answers to the above questions become confused (I once told myself I was the person that lived next door to me and nearly got done for breaking and entering) I export myself up to Nottingham for a little r&r (for the uninitiated that's rest and recuperation, as opposed to rock & roll).
Ma and Pa are pictured below, looking inquistive, as they always do..!
Moving from Chipping Norton was not without it's regrets - Mum and Dad miss the fact that a drive outside the town led to gorgeous Cotswold countryside, picturesque villages and rustic pubs - but then the move did have other major benefits.
We're now just down the road from my Mum's sister Bridget, her husband Simon (below) and their pesky kids - and only a few miles drive from Bridget's twin Beverley & family, and my Grandparents. This means that whenever I trip home, I seem to get a family package with 300% extra free! And I ain't complaining.
There's always laughs. Belly-laughs. Especially when the kids do Karaoke. Or try on silly red fake fur accessories (see James above). Hysterical laughs. Even if they're sometimes followed by tears, accusations, and recriminations. And that's just me...
We've got a tradition of playing Risk on the Saturday night. Simon always wins somehow. James always gets Australia. My Dad always takes 10 minutes to finally decide his attempts at world domination are done (at least for another round) and Lucy brings us the drinks, cakes, sweets. Is it any wonder that I love coming back?
Last time I was home, Grandma and Grandad (pictured below) popped over to join the regular debates. I think the topics this time included baking cakes, sign-song renditions, and even whether or not Grandad could come out with us for the afternoon to watch Liverpool vs Chelea in the pub (we smuggled him out before Grandma had a chance to respond!)
Since Mum and Dad have got the bathroom done, it becomes more and more tempting to hang around that bit longer in the lap of luxury - and having a kitten in the house doesn't speed up my return to the big smoke either.
Before long though, I board the 19.43 Sunday service from Beeston, listening to my iPod on the way back to the adrenalin rush of the metropolis, and the hustle & bustle, faces and words, the art and the movies, traffic and the papers, the coffee and ale, as well as that fantastic Italian café I’ve found which illegally shows the 3pm football on Saturday afternoons.
It’s a grand life.
posted by The Scribbler at 9:42 AM
5 Comments:
What a disgrace and insult to northern folk to even think nottingham has any of the charm and good fun that the true north has. Even worse is that the author thinks his family are northerns, well the truth is they are just midland folk, stuck in the middle of no where, but all of them are desperate to be linked with the north. Oh hec, Charles in a flat cap and black pudding, now that would be a sight
Hmmm. Wouldn't know you by any chance would I?
Anyways, thanks for the comment. Much appreciated. Of course, most places are north compared to London, an irony I was fully aware of when I wrote the blog!
If you're ever down south, I could always buy you a pint to talk it over. Newcastle Brown Ale perhaps?
Or another 'northern' drink. Cider and black, perhaps?
thanks for the offer of a pint, if i'm ever in the smoke, i'll call you up and you can certainly buy me a pint, but not Newcastle Brown, now thats not the true North, maybe a pint of the Cream of Manchester!
Cream of Manchester? Or cream of Bolton perhaps?
Nottingham and Leicester have a certain charm, although admittedly, they fall a bit short in the football stakes these days.
Still, you always go where your family is, and mine just happen to be there. Shame about the footy I guess. Saw Forest play a few weeks ago and thought maybe I should become a true northerner after all, the game was so shoddy.
European football, the envy of you all now. Well worked out, see you soon j
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