Tassie Devils found in Manchester ...

"Straight up this road then take the turn off to Carlisle and that will take you all the way to Manchester", said John as we were leaving his house after a most enjoyable stay. He was right, no problems and we were on the M6 to Manchester. A great drive, easy 130kph, (just keeping up with traffic) on 6 and sometimes 8 lane motorway. Even had time to call Bill, Isabel and Andy along the way.

Mary's navigation skills came to the fore at the roundabouts around Manchester, some very complicated manoeuvres - but we made it to the Hotel without a miss - well done Mary.

One of the highlights of this trip was to catch up again with relatives - Carl whose grandfather was my grandfathers brother and to meet up with Mandy and Lorraine, Carl's daughters, and their families.

After settling into the hotel we met, Carl, Lorraine, Andy and Nathan who took us on a sightseeing tour of the local area. We went for a walk through the Tandle Hill Country Park in Royton. It consists of approximately 110 acres, a combination of beech woodland and open grassland. On top of the hill you have a brilliant view of Manchester - but just down at the bottom of the hill you can see the Tandem Hill Tavern ...

We had to drop in for a drink or two - I tried the "bumpy lane" - not bad. After that Carl invited us back to his house for coffee and to see his brilliant record collection. Very comforting to know that relatives enjoy their music as much as Mary and I do.

We finished the day with a family dinner [curry] at a local restaurant and then back to the hotel. Like our last stay here, there was a wedding party in full progress but Mary & I were so tired - the noise hardly mattered.

A quiet day is planned for tomorrow- Mary is keen to do some washing, me - I will re-pack my suitcase and find out which clothes I have with me that I haven't used as yet!!

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