Easter Holidays

I'm not yet back to posting every weekend, but I am getting there!

Since my last post, Easter has been and gone. As has usually been the case since my move to Stockport, this sees my sister (Julie) and her two boys (Dominic and Alex) coming to visit. In the past I've kept them occupied by taking them to various attractions around Greater Manchester, but as I sold my car last year (and Julie doesn't like to drive on the motorway) we thought this may be a problem.

In the end it was agreed that after finishing work on Thursday, I would catch the train to Northampton and drive them back to Stockport. Then I would take the day off on the following Tuesday. Drive them home and then hop on another train heading to Stockport.

Unfortunately the train journey down to Northampton had problems. To begin with there were point failures and our train was moved onto a different line. Then there was something on the overhead wires, so our train was diverted again. Finally, as the train was no longer going anywhere near where I was trying to reach, I (along with about 20 other passengers) were dumped at a small platform in the middle of a field. Needless to say, I was quite a few hours late arriving in Northampton. But at least this meant that the motorways were fairly clear for the drive and we arrived back in Stockport before midnight.

The itinerary for the weekend was as follows:

Friday - Heaton Park (north of Manchester) and Ikea
I've never seen Heaton Park so busy, but the weather was fabulous and everyone had a great time.

I wanted to buy some new crockery, so we called into Ikea on the way home. In the end I think Julie spent almost as much as me, and even the boys had a good time as they treated Ikea as a big game. The day was rounded off with Ikea hot dogs before jumping back in the car and heading home.

Saturday - Manchester Museum and Shopping
Dominic had been wanting to buy his first mobile telephone, so he wanted to round the shops in Manchester, but I didn't want to drive into the city on a weekend.

Sunday - Chester Zoo
 
The zoo was very busy, but we had a great time (check the video)

Monday - Photos & Manchester Aquatics Centre

The weather was wet, so in the morning I took a few photographs of Julie and the boys. Expect them to be uploaded to the album soon.

In the afternoon we drove over to the Manchester Aquatics Centre. A large swimmings pool built for the Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday I borrowed the car to take some rubbish to the tip (and shop at B&Q) while Julie took the boys into Stockport. Alex has been quite keen on basketball recently and Julie took him to visit Hoopstuff (a specialist store near where I work).

We met up back at my house for lunch before all jumping into the car and driving to Northampton.