Salford Quays (October 2006)

On a wet Thursday in October we began our journey to Salford Quays to what promised to be a good day out! A trip to the Imperial War Museum, lunch at Pizza Express and a show at the Lowry theatre were all on the agenda.

Most people made their own way to the Imperial War Museum with only a handful leaving from the Cheadle Hulme office. On arrival in Piccadilly we bumped into Tamsin, Alison and Karen who reliably informed us that there were no trams running from Piccadilly due to a points failure. We trudged on with umbrellas in hand to the tram stop at Mosley Street acquiring Charlotte and Suzanne on the way. Greater Manchester Transport were definitely conspiring against us that day when an inordinate number of trams destined to Altrincham came and went but with no sign of an Eccles tram! Claire began to fret when our 10.30 meeting time ticked by but Peter was okay as it gave him plenty of time to get his breakfast from nearby Costa Coffee.

After a jam-packed tram ride we arrived at the museum about an hour late. We located the rest of the team who had arrived on time at 10.30 and who were by now well versed with all things war. Some of the late arrivals headed for the ‘life in the trench’ simulation after Angharad’s stories of scary rats!

After an interesting tour of the museum everyone had more pressing thoughts of lunch in mind as we headed over the bridge to Pizza Express. By now the weather had picked up considerably and with the sun beaming through the window we all tucked in. The wine was flowing, for some more than others and everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time when Carla’s pizza finally arrived that is! Joan took over from Claire when it came to sorting the bill, which proved not to be one of Claire’s strong points.

With food in our tummies we walked the short distance across the boulevard to the Lowry theatre for the 2.30 matinee of Slava’s Snowshow. The show has been seen by audiences in more than 80 cities around the world. Created by Russian clown Slava Polunin, household objects became a boat attacked by sharks and the whole theatre was covered in a giant spider’s web. The show reached a climax with a heart-stopping snowstorm that engulfed the audience. With thoughts of peculiar clowns but with a smile on our face we headed home picking stray cobwebs from our hair and ticker tape from our ears.

A good day was had by all!