Two busy months, which offered little time for reflection.
One opportunity though, came with the excellent Sensationalists series on YBAs and particularly, the installation by Michael Landy, in which he destroyed everything he owned via a giant compressor within an empty department store on Oxford Street.
At this time of year, the irony is delicious, as I doubt shoppers are spending thousands of pounds they can’t afford on things the gift receivers don’t need, and we do it all again and again every year…
In the words of Dr Seuss:
Anyway, at the risk of contradicting myself, another excellent episode of Stanley Tucci – my new style icon as well as food & drink inspiration – impressed us so much that we booked a trip and it’s lovely to have something to look forward to, nearly four years after the milestone the holiday will celebrate. I’m now obsessed over all things (and recipes*) Venetian – *gluten free, of course.
This year’s birthday money was spent on three football matches: the first was the mightily enjoyable performance by the Blues v Crystal Palace, before which both Andy Burnham and Dixie Dean’s great granddaughter frequented my pre match venue of choice; the ever impressive Marine won 2-0 in the second, and the third was spent at Castle Greyskull as I excitedly observed the best team in Europe so far this season disappointed for once, although my little mate Kvaratskhelia was class, and it was so exciting to see Osimhen, Simeone, and Raspadori etc especially as the little guy finally got his last birthday gift.
Then, once upon a time, we took a couple of days out in Manchester and saw Gary Neville on Deansgate after a fantastically invigorating afternoon at the Science Museum. A couple of drinks in the lovely Albert’s Schloss, great meal at Rain! (where I last imbibed about twenty years ago) then an early night before a big day ahead!
We went to see the Vimto statue, viewed many a time from the train into the city but given how much the little man drinks it, it was a must see, then for personal reasons, especially the BBC4 documentary, I showed him where the Hacienda had once stood.
This was before a wonderful couple of hours at the National Football Museum celebrating football stickers and getting excited about the upcoming World Cup. We met up with old friends, too, and visited the coolest cafe in the city (FEDERAL) the coincidences therein linked nicely to the next few episodes of This is Us and celebrating Halloween then some great viewing such as the BBC’s star-studded Messi and Il Fenomino documentaries, Clifford the Big Red Dog, the wonderful Welsh Sporting Heroes: Neville Southall documentary plus a new favourite show, the incredible kitchen set adrenaline rush that is The Bear.
Back to school, it sadly came, along with it the highs and lows of being a parent, from a double hat trick to throwing up on the top deck of a bus home from training (weekly sessions involve getting changed in the car or the sports centre toilet and evoke the story of Ross Barkley attributing his successes to his mum getting two buses home with from his training) and then Comic Con – an incredible experience which I shared with an excited nine year old really starting to recognise films, TV series and toys just like those a younger me did.
This was therefore the perfect place, with a vast array of stalls and sets as well as artwork and incredible costumes people were only happy to have a selfie with us in. Sadly, the stars charge a lot more and, on a budget, we had to settle for seeing them from afar this time but that was more than enough for B seeing Gaten Materazzo close up, and me the young ‘uns from Cobra Kai cast, the butler from Fresh Prince, and most impressively the Fratelli brothers from The Goonies. For anyone still unenlightened, we went dressed as Papa and Eleven from Stranger Things: even got papped in the process, and the whole day was heavenly.
The next day, the World Cup.
It had a different build up this year. Aside from the politics and the debates, which I won’t discuss here, the architecture, especially with Bradley Moore growing nicely, caught my attention this time around, especially the unusual and brilliant Stadium 974, which brought back memories of a project on containerisation I did a few years ago, but still kits and star players took centre stage as I experienced the anticipation through the eyes of a six year old as I too was, back in Mexico 86, and the excitement I still feel getting all nostalgic about Francescoli, Altobelli, Butragueno, Sanchez and of course Maradona, came to the fore again. This time, I even have a replica shirt from the Hand of God game to wear when Argentina play, thanks to my work daughters’ kindness.
The week before the tournament, as entertaining and controversial as it has proven to be, my appetite for the upcoming feast of FIFA was whetted by various other programmes, especially Four Weeks That Shook The World (in which they interviewed Schillachi and his dad, heartbreakingly) I watched the excellent Gary Neville in Qatar, the C4 Italia 90 doc on hooliganism… and then came the football itself.
Advent, then, and more excitement coming…