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We visited the Runway Park at Manchester Airport, so that we could tour the Concorde that is on display there. I was really excited about this trip as I haven’t been on a Concorde since I worked for British Airways at London Heathrow.
This is a tour that has to be booked in advance and we had a 6 week wait from booking our slot, as we were restricted as to when we could visit. There are steps up to the aircraft and you need to duck your head as you go through the door, so this is a tour that is unsuitable for those with really restricted mobility. We got to sit on the aircraft and were told various facts about the aircraft, and regaled with stories of famous people who have travelled on Concorde.
We also sat in the cockpit area and were given more information about the aircraft. I discovered that our guide in the cockpit worked at Heathrow at around the same time as I did, so we had a chat about the time that we worked there too.
After the tour was over, we went and had lunch in the cafe. We thought that it was reasonably priced, considering it was at an airport, and we enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the day and my nostalgia trip!
We are a family of three. George has ASD, EDS and dyspraxia. John is totally blind and partially deaf. Sue is our driver and trip organiser. These are the tales of our adventures. All opinions are our own.
Friday, 27 December 2019
Friday, 20 December 2019
Ford Green Hall 17th Century Yuletide
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We visited Ford Green Hall to find out how Christmas was celebrated in Tudor/Stuart times. There were a lot of fir tree branches and holly used as decorations. Whereas people may have a wreath on their front door nowadays; back then they simply had a fir tree branch hanging down, with some holly interspersed among the leaves, and the berries adding some red among all the green. My first impression was that they had half a tree hanging from the front door!
Moving inside, the decorations were the same inside the house. There were fir tree branches hanging down, with sprigs of holly, and some of them had candles in the decoration. The candles used weren’t real ones, but I can imagine that back in the 17th century, when they would have used real candles, that it was a bit of a fire hazard.
Every Christmas time, I have always wondered why mince pies are called ‘mince pies’ when they don’t have any meat in them. After going into the kitchen area, we found out! I think, on balance, I prefer the mince pies we have today! We also discovered how wealthy people showed off their wealth at Christmas time and discovered just how expensive sugar was back then!
Heading upstairs, we found an area where you could make pomanders. Essentially, they had an orange and stuck cloves in it. This area was really busy and there was a queue of people waiting for a go. As George doesn’t cope well with crowds and waiting around, we decided the best option was to leave.
We decided to stop at a supermarket on the way home and get some oranges and cloves, so we could make our own pomanders at home. Fortunately, at the supermarket, I grabbed a basket rather than a trolley as we ended up getting mince pies, cake, Quality Street, Pringles and trifle mix, as well as the oranges and cloves that we’d originally gone in for! I dread to think what else we may have bought if I’d have grabbed a trolley! We made our own pomanders at home and have placed them around the house, so every so often we get a waft of orange and cloves.
We enjoyed this visit to Ford Green Hall and found it really interesting finding how Christmas was celebrated in the 17th century.
We visited Ford Green Hall to find out how Christmas was celebrated in Tudor/Stuart times. There were a lot of fir tree branches and holly used as decorations. Whereas people may have a wreath on their front door nowadays; back then they simply had a fir tree branch hanging down, with some holly interspersed among the leaves, and the berries adding some red among all the green. My first impression was that they had half a tree hanging from the front door!
Moving inside, the decorations were the same inside the house. There were fir tree branches hanging down, with sprigs of holly, and some of them had candles in the decoration. The candles used weren’t real ones, but I can imagine that back in the 17th century, when they would have used real candles, that it was a bit of a fire hazard.
Every Christmas time, I have always wondered why mince pies are called ‘mince pies’ when they don’t have any meat in them. After going into the kitchen area, we found out! I think, on balance, I prefer the mince pies we have today! We also discovered how wealthy people showed off their wealth at Christmas time and discovered just how expensive sugar was back then!
Heading upstairs, we found an area where you could make pomanders. Essentially, they had an orange and stuck cloves in it. This area was really busy and there was a queue of people waiting for a go. As George doesn’t cope well with crowds and waiting around, we decided the best option was to leave.
We decided to stop at a supermarket on the way home and get some oranges and cloves, so we could make our own pomanders at home. Fortunately, at the supermarket, I grabbed a basket rather than a trolley as we ended up getting mince pies, cake, Quality Street, Pringles and trifle mix, as well as the oranges and cloves that we’d originally gone in for! I dread to think what else we may have bought if I’d have grabbed a trolley! We made our own pomanders at home and have placed them around the house, so every so often we get a waft of orange and cloves.
We enjoyed this visit to Ford Green Hall and found it really interesting finding how Christmas was celebrated in the 17th century.
Saturday, 14 December 2019
Gladstone Pottery Museum Christmas Fun Day
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We visited Gladstone Pottery museum for their Christmas Fun Day, where John had the opportunity to throw a pot on a potters wheel. This is a small extra cost of £3 in addition to the admission fee and is available year round. John found it to be a really enjoyable experience, which was helped by the staff member there who took the time to help John and guide his hands.
When we went outside, we met a very tall fairy, from the top of a Christmas tree, and some naughty elves. The fairy was very friendly but the elves were trying to give children lumps of coal as Christmas presents! They did stop and pose with George for a Christmas ‘elfie’ though.
After this, we went back inside and had a go at painting some Christmas pottery. Again, this was a small extra cost in addition to the admission fee. How much extra depended on the size of the pot you chose to decorate. John and I chose to decorate some pottery tree decorations that cost £1 each. John had help from a staff member in there and really enjoyed his painting experience.
We looked at some other parts of the museum, and John was allowed to touch some of the items, so he had an idea of what it was we were looking at.
Our final stop was in the Doctor’s House, where we met Santa and Mrs Clause. John had a nice chat with Santa, and he gave both John and George some chocolate.
We had a really enjoyable time and, as we have found on previous occasions, found the staff to be really helpful in trying to make everything as accessible as possible. It is definitely worth a visit.
We visited Gladstone Pottery museum for their Christmas Fun Day, where John had the opportunity to throw a pot on a potters wheel. This is a small extra cost of £3 in addition to the admission fee and is available year round. John found it to be a really enjoyable experience, which was helped by the staff member there who took the time to help John and guide his hands.
When we went outside, we met a very tall fairy, from the top of a Christmas tree, and some naughty elves. The fairy was very friendly but the elves were trying to give children lumps of coal as Christmas presents! They did stop and pose with George for a Christmas ‘elfie’ though.
After this, we went back inside and had a go at painting some Christmas pottery. Again, this was a small extra cost in addition to the admission fee. How much extra depended on the size of the pot you chose to decorate. John and I chose to decorate some pottery tree decorations that cost £1 each. John had help from a staff member in there and really enjoyed his painting experience.
We looked at some other parts of the museum, and John was allowed to touch some of the items, so he had an idea of what it was we were looking at.
Our final stop was in the Doctor’s House, where we met Santa and Mrs Clause. John had a nice chat with Santa, and he gave both John and George some chocolate.
We had a really enjoyable time and, as we have found on previous occasions, found the staff to be really helpful in trying to make everything as accessible as possible. It is definitely worth a visit.
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Middleport Pottery Christmas Lights Switch On
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We went to Middleport Pottery for their Christmas lights switch on. We hadn’t been there since we visited the Weeping Window exhibition, with the poppies, so we were looking forward to visiting this Victorian Pottery again.
When we arrived there were two queues of people - one for those who had bought advance tickets (as we had) and those who were paying on the gate. Both queues of people were being allowed in together, so it was very crowded.
One of the first things we did was to stop by a stall that was selling mulled wine, hot spicy apple juice and mince pies. We had the apple juice, which was delicious. Unfortunately it seems that Middleport Pottery had completely underestimated the number of people who turned up and they very quickly ran out of the mulled wine and apple juice.
There were several mini events scheduled before the main light switch on, however due to the sheer number of people there, it was virtually impossible to access them - especially for wheelchair users.
We missed the actual light switch on as we couldn’t get anywhere near it, again due to the sheer number of people there. We did see the lights after they’d been switched on and thought they looked very good, as they fitted in well with the Victorian style.
We think that the evening would have been much better if Middleport Pottery hadn’t allowed so many people in. Maybe it would have worked better if they’d allowed advance ticket holders in first, and then people who were paying on the gate afterwards, if there was enough capacity for them.
I don’t think it’s an event that we would want to go to next year as it seemed quite chaotic and disorganised. However, the pottery itself is an interesting place to visit.
We went to Middleport Pottery for their Christmas lights switch on. We hadn’t been there since we visited the Weeping Window exhibition, with the poppies, so we were looking forward to visiting this Victorian Pottery again.
When we arrived there were two queues of people - one for those who had bought advance tickets (as we had) and those who were paying on the gate. Both queues of people were being allowed in together, so it was very crowded.
One of the first things we did was to stop by a stall that was selling mulled wine, hot spicy apple juice and mince pies. We had the apple juice, which was delicious. Unfortunately it seems that Middleport Pottery had completely underestimated the number of people who turned up and they very quickly ran out of the mulled wine and apple juice.
There were several mini events scheduled before the main light switch on, however due to the sheer number of people there, it was virtually impossible to access them - especially for wheelchair users.
We missed the actual light switch on as we couldn’t get anywhere near it, again due to the sheer number of people there. We did see the lights after they’d been switched on and thought they looked very good, as they fitted in well with the Victorian style.
We think that the evening would have been much better if Middleport Pottery hadn’t allowed so many people in. Maybe it would have worked better if they’d allowed advance ticket holders in first, and then people who were paying on the gate afterwards, if there was enough capacity for them.
I don’t think it’s an event that we would want to go to next year as it seemed quite chaotic and disorganised. However, the pottery itself is an interesting place to visit.
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