It was early September 2022...
My Wife's birthday was a few days away, and we had been looking forward to a mini-break for months. It had finally arrived.
We made our way to the local train station, Burnley Manchester Road via shank's pony (that's walking to the uninitiated).
This took us to Manchester Victoria Station.
I have always been a sucker for war memorials and this day was no exception.
As my long-suffering Wife rolled her eyes and continued walking hastily away, muttering under her breath. I snapped a couple of pictures.
Shortly after, we flagged down a taxi to take us to Manchester Piccadilly Station to continue our journey to London Euston.
We knew it wasn't going to be a carefree journey, after all, rail strikes had been the mainstream media's spectre of doom for weeks.
Our first booking to London Euston Station had already been cancelled along with our reserved seating. Now it was a free for all on the next available train.
Having said that it was a Friday, so we still got seats and watched the lush green countryside of England flying by with the time. Time flies by when you're the driver of a train, or passenger I suppose.
{It was my fault we took the train; if I'm on holiday the last thing I want to do is drive. Keep It Simple, Stupid is my holiday mantra.}
Upon alighting at London Euston we embarked on an epic journey trying to find the Travelodge, but hey! Getting lost on holiday is all part of the fun.
My Wife was getting a little stressed as we had booked to see a show and time was fleeting. No, not the Rocky Horror Picture Show, we had booked to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast - The Musical. Equally as weird, but in a different way.
I'm sure the word Musical was omitted when my Wife was selling it to me. She insists I was given full disclosure, but we both know my memory is so poor that I wouldn't know either way.
After what seemed hours of waiting for the right bus, we gave up the ghost and flagged down a Taxi.
I'm sure we were overcharged, but it felt good to get to the room and freshen up.
It wasn't long before my Wife was cracking the whip. (It's a figure of speech, we aren't that kinky) I peeled myself from the comfy double bed and, we were off again. At least this time it was minus the luggage.
We took the bus back to Brent Cross, to get to the local tube station.
Then off into the centre of London, can you believe the place was full of bloody tourists? Oh, the irony!
The last time we visited in 2020 we tried out an Angus Stake House, and it was tasty enough to go back, this time we sampled the Oxford Circus flavour of the eating establishment. My Wife had the steak with peppercorn sauce and thick-cut chips. I opted for the buttermilk chicken burger. Yummy!
I don't know about you, but ever since I joined hive and started blogging, I've been constantly looking for items of interest, this object d'art caught my eye through the restaurant window. A quick search on Google for 'graffiti +pstar' even got a hit, although I am not convinced they are the same artist.
Each time I look at it, it reminds me of Wybie, the little boy from the Coraline movie.
With our bellies full, and our legs rested, we moved on to the main event at the Palladium.
As this picture shows, the London Palladium also hosts the Royal Variety Performance.
The Theatre staff had placards stating no photography in the theatre itself, sorry peeps, I'm definitely a rule-taker and not a rule-breaker.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast - The Musical, despite my initial response, turned out to be quite enjoyable. I stood and clapped with my fellow audience members. We all agreed the show warranted a standing ovation.
After alighting the theatre, we made our way back to the hotel.
A quiet little area called Soho. Apparently, it has a photography quarter, this wasn't the usual photography I would have associated with Soho to be fair.
The one with the pearls draped over their face reminds me of Futurama's Zoidberg. Still, it piqued my interest enough for me to stop and take the photos.
Again, I would have envisaged something a little more raunchy, you can just about see the hands of these models. It's not my cup of tea, but then, each to their own.
We returned via the Tube at Oxford Street Station.
Changing at Baker Street.
With, this cracking picture of Sherlock Holmes's - The Hound of the Baskervilles, proudly displayed on the station's wall.
Well, I hope you enjoyed our first little soiree through 'owd' London town. That's all I have for today.
All pictures were taken by myself.