Bobby's name is Bobby!!!! I saw him again today on King Street and asked him his name, somehow I'd got it in my head that he was called Lee, so we had a laugh about that. Maybe he looks like a Lee. I don't know!

I worked another 30mins over again tonight, that's as well as the hour I did yesterday. Didn't mean to though!! But it was useful, I got all the bits done that I needed to, and Steve's train from Salford was late anyway. So we got the 18:02 back to Gatley together, Steve had bought a burger and chips from Burger King so we ate that on the train. I hate people who eat burgers and chips on the train, I think it stinks and it makes everyone else hungry which isn't fair. But how can I hate myself for it? So I will have to amend my attitude towards the other people who eat fast food on the train. Maybe they aren't going home, and have to eat on the go. Maybe they are like me and are diabetic and are running really low on carbohydrates and need something to wolf down 'cos they're really hungry. Whatever. Who am I to judge.

We were going to go out later for somebody's birthday, but I needed a bath and then Steve got a phone call from Anthony who had been out drinking with people from work and was in a bad state and needed picking up and taking home. (This is at 8pm, by the way. 8pm.) Poor lad. Steve had to keep pulling over to let him throw up out of the car. Got him home and had to peel him off the ground 'cos he fell over and couldn't get up, got to the front door and couldn't open it so Steve had to let him in, got half way up the stairs and collapsed so Ste decided he'd go. Shut the front door, locked it and puched the keys through the letterbox. I hope he's ok.

But after that it was too late to go out, so we had another earlyish night. I slept really well last night, the earplug (and the praying) must have worked. I will try it again tonight. goodnight!

Singing with the Halle is amazing. Even the altos on their own sound amazing. Even the alto part on its own of Brahm's Song of Destiny is amazing. I can't wait to hear us with the orchestra.

I have got home sooo late. The rehearsal finished at 9.15pm, the next train home which stopped at Gatley left at 9.30 from Piccadilly. I was never going to make that so I went to Oxford Rd station and there was a train waiting there that went through to Heald Green, so I decided to get that one. It was supposed to get into Heald Green at 9.50, and there was a train at 9.53 which I could get back to Gatley. Then I supposed I was going to walk, I don't think I had really thought that part through properly.

But my train was a minute or two late leaving Piccadilly, probably because the one that left on the same jounrney except stopping at every station 3 minutes earlier was a minute or two late also. Which meant that when I got to Heald Green, the 9.53 which would take me back to Gatley was just pulling in. Heald Green station has a footbridge: which was closed. So I ran all the way up to the road at the top of the ramp, and all the way back down to the other side, and got to the gate at the bottom just as the train started pulling out.

How depressing.

So I ended up at the Heald Green pub waiting for a taxi who said they'd be 10 minutes but took 20 minutes to arrive... I could have phoned Steve to collect me.

I could have phoned Steve!! It was 10 o'clock, and I thought, they'll still be at Cell group, they'll probably be praying around about now, I can't phone now. So when I saw him, and found out that they'd chatted all the way through Anthony doing the Word bit, and were kicked out at 9.30 anyway because everyone was shattered, I was a bit miffed to say the least.

Oh well. Time for bed. Hope I sleep well, I'm shattered too. I might put an earplug in to shut out Steve's snoring. G'night.

I met Steve for lunch today, we sat in Albert Square and ate our soup and sandwiches in the sunshine. By the time Steve had to go to catch his train it was raining...

Said hello to the vendor who stands on King Street, I'm sure I know his name (I'm sure he's told me before) but I can't remember it. He's always smiling. He's amazing, always smiling.

Have bought my copy of Handels' Messiah (Watkins Shaw edition... had to get it right) - it's huge!!! I'm glad we can have the music in front of us when we sing, I wouldn't like to have to memorise that.

I've asked Cell to pray for the Big Issue guys that I know, I'm not going to be able to get to Cell tonight as it's the alto sectional rehearsal at the Cosmo building of Manchester University. Don't know where that is, but I'm sure I'll find it eventually.

I have done so much filing today it is untrue. I think somebody has tidied their desk. (Tidied their desk = give everything to Jeni to sort out.)

Tonight was my first rehearsal with the Halle choir. Hurrah!! How exciting. Missed last week's rehearsals because I was poorly, so tonight I thought I'd make up for it. I only turned up for the Annual General Meeting. So after an hour's singing of Brahm's Song of Destiny, I say through an hour of what seemed like pointlessness and petty disagreements and really I can hardly believe the stuff that gets discussed at meetings like this. But I suppose that might be a bit harsh, maybe I've just had a sheltered upbringing and have never got around to debating points such as this.

Not to knock it though.

It's sooooooo nice singing with a choir that can actually sing.


Another note to self: plums on an empty stomach are also bad.

Saw one of the Big Issue vendors on King Street again today. Said hello, stayed to chat for a bit. He was waiting for some new magazines to arrive as he'd just sold out. I'd seen him a few weeks ago, and during conversation I found out he'd only just started selling the Big Issue, and was absolutely determined not to be selling for any longer than necessary.

So I asked him why he was still selling!! I guess I can't really print his story here 'cos he's up in court in a few weeks, and I'm praying for him 'cos I believe him when he says he's innocent of the charges. I pray that he has the courage to be able to tell the authorities the actual person responsible, as he knows who it is. So as a result of this arrest etc he's lost his job and his house, which was in his girlfriend's name, who also got arrested. Hence he's on the street, having to sell the Big Issue.

But I suppose for the time being that's his lot, guilty until proven innocent.

But when he's cleared, (if he's cleared,) he's got to get back on his feet again. Which seems so hard! He's in sheltered accommodation, which costs more than my mortage payments per month, and as he's in sheltered he can't get any work as he doesn't have an official address. And selling the Big Issue doesn't actually make very much.

Seems so easy to end up on the streets, and so very very hard to get back off them.


Saw Stuart later, on Piccadilly Approach. I had an Alpha leaflet in my bag which I'd been keeping for him, I've told him about the Alpha course before. He had a look at it and decided he could easily get to one of the venues - and even if he goes just because he can get a free meal, and gets God as a result, that's a good result. I remembered to buy him a bag of crisps and an apple today, which made him smile.

Tonight it's takeaway for tea, at my parents' house in Sale. Mum made a curry which was gorgeous, and after dropping really heavy hints that I really wanted the piano for my birthday (they have a piano in the front room which I learnt to play on, which doesn't get played much now that all the birds have flown the nest) they said that they'd phoned the piano tuner, who'd recommended a particular piano-mover, and that as soon as I'd cleared a space in my house I can have it!!! It needs to settle for a fortnight after arriving, and then it can be tuned. What an amazing birthday present I'm getting from my parents this year!! I can't wait.... I can sit and play music again..... :o) happy

Tonight was the weekly music practice at church. Church is in town, so I decided that maybe I should just stay in town until 7.30pm, rather than go home and come back which seemed a bit pointless.

However, at the last minute (ie at 5.30pm, which is around about the time of the train home, and half an hour after I should have left work,) I decided I wanted to go home because I had nowhere else to go.

So a very nice friend picked me up from Gatley train station at quarter-past-six, took me home where I made sandwiches for the both of us, and took us both back into Manchester for the music practice (because he was going there too).

Note to self: stomach does not agree with lettuce and tomatoes.

Visit to see Steve's parents

We visited Steve's parents this evening, we've not seen them in a long time due to various reasons on both sides. Was good to see them again!



grandma and mum


mum entwistle


dad entwistle


grandma lena


steve

stephen and the cat

ste&cat1


ste&cat2


ste&cat3


ste&cat4

Photos from after the funeral

janet turnbull (my mum)


alan turnbull (my dad)


steve entwistle (my husband)


matthew turnbull (my brother)


mike martindell (my uncle: my dad's sister's husband)


maureen martindell (my aunt: my dad's sister)



owen martindell (my cousin)


thomas martindell (my cousin)



jeni entwistle (me)



MissingPeople

chris turnbull (my brother) - he had to go back to his house, which is also in stafford

and grandma, in whose honour we were together.

Halle!

Yay I got into the choir!!! So this is where I'll be sitting, one day........


Inside the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

As you might have noticed, I had my audition last night. How scary was that. Yesterday morning my body decided it was going to get a cold, and by the evening I was feeling a bit flushed. But I managed my audition piece, and managed the vocal exercises, but then it was on to the sightreading. I am soooo out of practice. I couldn't remember how to get from one note to the next, I used to know how much I needed to go to get from for example a C to an F, it's not that hard. Maybe it was the cold, affecting my thinking. Whatever. It was hard.

But I just got a call from Jamie Burton, the Choral Director, saying I've been accepted into the choir!! oh, not, it was, would you like to accept a position in the Halle Choir, in Alto 2 section! Hurrah!!!!

Photos from D's visit

D' came to visit us this weekend!

Life goes on

My grandma died last Monday. I was angry, as well as upset, when Grandad died a few years ago everyone thought she'd be the one to go on and on and on and bounce back from everything. Then this summer we discovered she had cancer of the bladder, and it was only picked up cos she went to the docs cos she was weeing blood. And obviously by then it was too late to do anything cos it was so advanced.

But it's sad how quickly she went. She was in a nursing home, eating, happy, comfortable, then she wasn't eating cos it was painful, then she was in hospital on a drip, then she was barely conscious, then she was dead.

So I have one grandparent left, and it's hard to love her because despite the fact that she's not really who she was - it's almost like she's a different person. Her personality has been robbed off her by age and senility, and she gets irritated and grumpy because she knows that she's not who she was, and takes it out on us, without meaning to. It's so hard to love her.

I think my parents are amazing, coping with their parents. My mum's mum has being slowly getting old, and senile, and difficult to cope with, she'd been living with mum and dad for about a year and a half before mum finally realised she couldn't cope and now gran's in a home, and we hope that finally there's a permanent place for her in mum's home of choice. My dad's mum had been widowed for about 4 years, and seemed to be coping and bouncing back, and now all of a sudden she is no more and my dad's seen both his parents die within 5 years. In fact, I think it was around about this time 4 years ago that grandad died.

But life goes on.

Whirligig lights from my front room