Home Sweet Home

The Rocky Horror Show will be playing at this very theatre in four weeks time... and guess who will be there? That's right... me and some friends from work! YAY!

Everybody gave me their money for their tickets yesterday and the plan was to go to the bank early this morning and then book via Ticketmaster online or over the phone. Well I called Ticketmaster this morning before I went to the bank and they said they were sold out for the Friday and Saturday night show. We didn't mind going on the Monday night but Christian (who we also work with) had tickets to go with a bunch of his friends on Friday night so we thought it would be cool to all be there for the same show. When I mentioned we really wanted Friday the guy on the phone said that if I went to the box office at the theatre itself they would probably have more seats available because Ticketmaster only gets a percentage of them.

So off I went... alone... I know I have been in England for 1 year and 44 days but today was the first time I have taken the train alone. Andy was much more interested in playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare than going into Manchester with me to get tickets for a show he hates. In fact when we were at Beauty and the Beast and I grabbed the leaflet and pointed out it was on his birthday week he asked that his birthday present be me not dragging him to go see this... So cool that is his birthday done and dusted this year.

Anyway... I got there and after having to explain to two different groups of people that there was in fact a line behind me that they needed to stand in I finally made my way up to the window. I explained that I was looking for 4 tickets for Friday December 11th and to my surprise he not only had 4 tickets available but they were in the second row of the circle and looked like excellent seats! I bought them right there and then and walked out very happy.

We are going to have a blast!!

High: 49°
Low: 44°
Forecast: Cloudy
Sunrise: 7:34 AM
Sunset: 4:14 PM

Tonight Andy and I went to see a production of A Christmas Carol in Darwen which is about a 25 minute train ride north from Bolton.

The night started with us walking down to the train station in Westhoughton to find quite a few people waiting for the train. After about 10 minutes we hear this man yelling at the top of the walkway "Bolton... Anybody going to Bolton?" Turns out the trains were not running due to failed signal lights so a bus was going around to the stops taking people into Bolton. So we loaded onto the bus and off to Bolton we went.

I had made a reservation at The Olive Press earlier that morning so we mad our way to the restaurant. The food was quite yummy and I'm sure we will make our way there again.

We then caught the train to Darwen and made our way to the theatre. The show was fun and I am glad we went. It was quite funny because I had mentioned to Andy that this will be the first production of A Christmas Carol that I have been to see where everybody will have a real English accent instead of them having to try to put one on. Then it turned out that the man playing Scrooge was Scottish. What are the chances in that...

The play got over at exactly 9:10 which was terrible because there is one train an hour back to Bolton and it just so happens to come at :10 past. So we hurried over hoping that the train was late but nope... no luck. We had to wait for an hour for the next train then once we got into Bolton it was about another 20 minute wait for the train into Westhoughton. We finally got home at around 11:30.

I love Fairy Lights (aka Christmas Lights)! Andy and I went into Bolton tonight so I snapped up a few photos of their display in Victoria Square.

Andy and I were going to eat at an Italian restaurant called 'The Olive Press' that I had noticed a couple of weeks back but when we went in tonight she told us that a reservation was required and that they had no free tables. I think we are going to be going back into Bolton on Saturday so I'm going to look for their website and see how to go about booking a table.

We had noticed as we were walking thru the streets that quite a few ambulances were speeding past with their sirens and lights on. When we went back to the train station we found that all of the trains going west toward Westhoughton had been cancelled. *ugh* It wasn't until later that we found out that a train had derailed in Cheshire. It appears that a 4x4 had been parked and because of a faulty hand brake when the guy got out to deliver something nearby the 4x4 rolled down a hill and onto the train tracks. The train hit the 4x4 and the front carriage derailed. Luckily nobody was badly hurt and there were only minor injuries. This must have been why all the ambulances were being called away.

We ended up walking to the bus station and just getting the bus back home. This turned out to be quite an eventful bus ride. At one of the stops between Bolton and Westhoughton this staggering man got on the bus and at about the same time he walked on a woman that was sitting in the front stood up and started yelling at the man that just got on.

It appears that the staggering man was this woman's husband and he was supposed to be home with their two children while she was grocery shopping in Bolton (she was a tiny little woman and was trying to carry around 10-15 grocery bags by herself). The husband obviously had other plans as he was staggering drunk and proceeded to open another can of beer while he was being yelled at by his wife. They made their way to the back of the bus where they continued to argue about the kids being left with her grandfather.

It was then that a man in a business suit stood up and started yelling that he has been at work all day and the last thing he needs to is sit on the bus listening to their domestic and that they needed to give it a rest. The drunk man decides to stand up and tell the business suit guy that if he doesn't shut up he is going to smash his beer can on the man's face. The little woman stands up and tries to get between the two men and finally the suit guy sits down and apologizes about getting involved and says that he has just had a rough day and didn't want to hear any more of the fighting.

Pansy.

My theory is if you are going to go out of your way to get involved in somebody else's domestic you might as well see it thru. It should not end with you apologizing to the guilty party. The little woman started saying that it was her fault (how she worked that one out I am not sure) and that she was the one arguing and that the drunk man has had to put up with it for seven years...

After we got off the bus Andy agreed that if he had to put up with the little woman for seven years he would also be a drunk.

This morning at around 11:00am we walked down to the shore and found that unlike yesterday when we arrived into Blackpool at around 10:30am the tide was most definitely in now. The water was crashing against the sea wall. Andy made a comment that the Irish Sea always looks like dirty dish water... I have to agree from looking at it today.

We caught the train at the Blackpool Station and unfortunately it was the train that was going all the way into Manchester Airport so it was full of people with huge suitcases and of course after we were in line for 45 minutes waiting for the train to arrive there were people that just walked up and tried to form their own queue instead of getting to the back of the line. The nerve of some people.

We did end up actually getting seats which is good as I did not want to stand for the full hour.. However some were not so lucky. But again it drove me crazy because right in front of where we were sitting were four seats with a table in between them. There was a lady at one of them who was all by herself but she sat on the seat nearest the aisle leaving the seat at the window free. Then she took her suitcase and put it on the table instead of above her in the hold. There were people standing up around the doors and they never asked her to move over or if the other two empty seats on the other side of the table were free. She also had a look on her face as if she was daring somebody to ask. She better be glad that we had seats because I would have had no problem making her move her bag and sitting on the other side of the table.

I do love public transportation and I would much rather be using that option instead of having to drive myself but I think I am just understanding the worst part of using it... the 'public' part! : )

This is looking down on our train stop in Westhoughton. It wasn't a 'white out' but it defiantly snowed some last night.

We again went into Bolton and watched two movies, this time they were Burn After Reading and The House Bunny. Both were pretty funny and made for good day! Brad Pitt was SO funny in Burn After Reading, I suggest this movie to anybody just because of how funny he was.

After the movies were over we went and walked around Bolton and ended up getting something to eat at Weatherspoons. I had fish and chips and Andy had cottage pie and chips, yummy!

After that Andy went on his way by train to the Reebok Stadium and I made my way back to Westhoughton. No there was no fight this time on the train but there was a very rude man next to me. It was a crowded train so I had to stand but this man next to me was using the arm bar to rest up against. This meant that me and the others around him had no where to hold on to. So when the train jumped I made a good effort to fall into him pretty hard. He was like 'It's okay no harm done'. Ha.

Andy and I are going to Blackpool tomorrow, it's only about an hour by train. We made a reservation in a cute little hotel just off the Promenade. We have a lot planned and so far it looks like there is only about a 20% chance of rain but honestly that means nothing... It could mean no rain it could mean rain all day but we'll have fun either way. Blackpool is right on the coast so I know the cold wind is going to be brutal. I plan on wearing plenty of layers, my lesson has been learned (read about my previous lesson here). We plan on going up in the Blackpool Tower, watching the Blackpool Circus, visiting the Louis Tussaud's Waxworks and of course a tour of the Illuminations which is the main reason for our visit. They get turned off this Sunday Nov 02 so we wanted to go before it was too late this year.

Our little hotel has Wi-Fi in the lobby so if we get in at a reasonable hour tomorrow night I will post day 30 but if not then I will catch up when we are back home on Friday night.

Andy and I went to the cinema today and we decided to go see two movies back to back!

We took the train into Bolton and right outside the train station is a small bus station. I had previously planned out our trip online and knew the bus we needed and that it should be at that interchange about 10 minutes after we get off the train... we waited... and waited... and waited... but it never came. So we decided to just grab a taxi. The cinema is right at 2.3 miles away from the train station. We got in the taxi and it automatically started out at £2.00 and by the time we got to the theatre it was £6.00! Wow that was expensive, we will not be doing that again.

The first movie was Eagle Eye and it started at 12:15pm, well it actually started at around 12:35 after the commercials and previews. I hate that they show commericals before movies now but I have to say I love previews and I hate when I miss them. To be honest I did feel a little 'twinge' like I had to use the bathroom when the previews started, Andy told me to go and I told him no I can hold it I don't want to miss the previews. Boy did that pay off.... They not only showed a short preview for the new Star Trek movie that will be coming out in 2009 I also got to see the Twilight preview!!! When I saw Twilight come on I litterly gasped and threw my hands out in front of me. I am SO glad I did not go to the bathroom. I thought Eagle Eye was very good and when it was over we had about 10 minutes to use the bathroom and stretch our legs.

The second movie was The Rocker and it started at 2:45pm. This movie was on Screen #15 and at first we could not find it so we had to ask the little ticket guy. He pointed us in the right direction and after some weaving in and out of hallways we opened the doors to the Holy Land! Yes folks you read that right... Screen #15 was the best movie experience I have ever had... We walked in and the seats were fancy recliners. You had a full row in front of you clear to put your legs and there was a foot rest in front of every seat to put your legs up on. This was being in the First Class section of movie watching. After every two seats there was a little side table for you to put your purse or drink. I would have taken a picture of this room but was afraid they would try to take my camera if I was caught with it since it can also be used as a video camera. But the next time I see a movie in this wonderful room I will find a way to sneak a photo!

The Rocker was very funny! It ended at around 4:40pm and instead of taking the bus back to the train station we decided to walk. There is a large craft store that I had found out about the other day and it is just about 1/2 way between the cinema and the station. So off we walked..

We found the craft store no problem but it appears I am going to need to find a cheaper place to buy my craft items, probably online! When I need some DMC Floss for cross stitch it is nice to know where I can go over and buy some but for my large purchase items like cross stitch charts and even yarn will need to be purchased somewhere else. The prices were outrageous! So needless to say nothing was purchased and we continued our walk to the train station. It didn't even feel like we walked 2.3 miles once we arrived, although it was pretty cold out.

While we were on the train back to Westhoughton I heard a woman's voice getting louder and I could hear her saying something about money being stolen and I thought she was on her mobile phone because I never heard anyone talking back to her. Well... just before our stop I saw up ahead of us this woman sitting up in her seat. Then all of a sudden she started hitting at this older man behind her. The older man was trying to hold her off and kept saying 'I never took your 70 pounds you never gave it to me'! Then a man sitting on the other side of the train got up and was pulling them off of each other saying 'break it up you two' and then the train came to our stop. The older man kept saying he never took anything and got off at our stop. He ran up to the street before I could see which way he went but the girl stayed on the train. It happened all too fast but trust me if I could have gotten a picture of this event it would have been the photo for the day! Andy just laughed and said that wouldn't have made the situation any better but I think it would have been worth it to get a picture. : )

Andy and I went back into Bolton today. I took this picture while we were on the train. Since Westhoughton and Bolton are stops next to each other it is not a long journey but it is a rather pretty one. There is also a very nice spot that you pass which opens up to far out hills and sky. I was going to try to get that shot but I was a bit too late. So you have this picture of the horses. : )

We went into Bolton for two reasons.. we wanted to start a new Current Account (Checking Account for those in the States) and we were scouting out the different mobile phone options.

Pretty sure we are going to go with O2 because that is what Andy's mum and sister have so we can use the free mobile to mobile minutes. We are also going to do a Pay as you Go for now, not sure how much we'll be using them so figured if we needed a contract we can get one later.

The phone at his mum's house is not working at the moment so really this is so that we can be contacted as we are about to really start sending out our CV's (resumes). This way at least they will have a way to contact us.

Oh and while we were in Bolton we ate at the Cafe that has the HP sauce on the table.. for FREE! However, Andy ended up ordering a steak pie w/ gravy and he did not even use any! lol I got a BLT on toast with no tomato.. just the bacon & lettuce. The first time I got a sandwich like this Andy went to a shop near our house and when he came back he said the lady had to ask him several times.. "So just bacon and lettuce?" Well today when I told him what I wanted he said he wasn't going to order that for me because they will not understand. So when the lady came around I ordered it and she did the same thing as the girl that Andy dealt with the other day. I had to say a few times.. "Yes a BLT with no tomato, just the bacon and lettuce please". I mean is this weird or something? I just don't like raw tomato people! : )