It feels like it’s been raining forever. Day after day of me peering hopefully out of the window or packing away the rain cover for the pushchair, only to be disappointed. There have been weeks where I’ve battled through high winds, being battered by great globs of Mancunian rain. And there has been me, propping open my weary eyes, wishing Milo would just, you know, get better at this whole sleeping lark.
And then we went to Liverpool and the rain stopped. The sun came out – it actually shone. And, what’s more, all of a sudden Milo realised that he could put himself to sleep. I doubt whether it’ll last (both sun and sleeping babes), but for now I am the happiest mother in all of Mancunia.
But I digress. We went to Liverpool. Milo, as ever, loved every aspect of our trip, from the people on the train (whom he smiled at) to the ladies queuing for the Ladies (whom he giggled at). He loved the newly scrubbed-up Bluecoat Gallery, particularly one room whose entire back wall was covered in a graphic, black and white painting (Milo didn’t smile at this; instead he gave it a bug-eyed stare and a pursed-lip gurn, which is the face he assumes when concentrating).
We met an old friend for lunch and I marvelled at how lovely the Bluecoat looks. This, the oldest building in the city centre, is a place I once worked, first as a student and then as a marketing bod. It was always a beautiful old pile but it was also crumbling into dust: my office had wires that trailed across the floor ready to trip the unwary, heating that never quite worked and one WC to be shared by around 20 girls and boys. But now, after a lengthy period of rebuilding, a new Bluecoat has emerged and it’s fabulous. Just like the old one, only without the Health & Safety issues. Oh, and a new garden, new restaurant, whole new gallery wing, new café, new shops, new offices, obligatory Yoko Ono artwork…
The only downside to our day was that the batteries I bought from a hole-in-the-wall newsagent off the main drag were duff and I couldn’t take any pictures – so you’ll have to make do with a snap of Milo asleep in front of St. George’s Hall instead. As you can see, he was distinctly unimpressed by all that monumental neo-classical grandeur. You can take a horse to water…
Travels with my baby 