Tuesday 21 January 2014

Salford Quays & The Masters Final

On Sunday after taking Brandon back home, Louize & I headed off to Salford Quays to have a stroll, get some fresh air & feed the birds. We like the outdoors & try to get a walk in as often as we can. Later we headed to The Lowry Outlet to have a browse where we bought some bits from The Cadbury Shop! Later we headed home and grabbed some tea before I settled down to watch the final of The Masters where I watched another masterclass performed by Ronnie O'Sullivan where he demolished Mark Selby 10-4 to win his fifth Masters crown. The guy is a genius.

Hyde United Football Club

After 41 years of living in Hyde and Gee Cross, I thought it was about time I made the effort to go to watch my home town football club Hyde United. When I collected Brandon I asked him if he would like to go and he said yes so at 230pm we headed off there. We bought a match program along with hot dogs & chips & we had a good time. Sadly, Hyde Utd. lost 6-2 but we still enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards we went to Romeros to grab a pizza each before heading off to my mums to eat them and catch up with the snooker, The Masters was currently ongoing, a competition for the top 16 in the world.

Louize's Birthday

On Wednesday it was Louize's birthday. I surprised her by taking her away on a surprise trip to Chester where I had booked a room for us at The Queen Hotel, a luxurious 4* accomodation. Before setting off on our adventure, we called in at The Kro Bar for our breakfast where it is always relaxed and bright there with a nice atmosphere. All fed and watered we set off down the M60 for Louize's surprise, i had an inclination that she had already guessed where we were going, shes clever like that... Upon our arrival, we were greeted by friendly staff and were given our room number which was on the top floor! The room had a Kingsize bed & the bathroom was really spacious and very modern with a huge shower. We had a nap for a while before heading off downstairs for a three coarse meal which was included in our stay. Louize had Seabass for her main I had Braised Steak which i have to say was one of the nicest pieces of Steak I have ever had, it was delicious. Louize also enjoyed her meal very much, then we headed off to finish our wine in the lounge. Happy Birthday Louize x On the Thursday, we headed off down to the restaurant for our breakfast which was buffet style which again was delicious with a wide variety on offer. After this we checked out of the hotel & headed off into Chester town centre to do a spot of shopping and have a cuppa before heading home.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Eventful Night

Had breaks of 48 & 36 during a practice frame tonight before winning my match giving 35 start!
What made it even better was watching Man.City stuff West Ham 6/0 in the first leg of the Carling Cup. If Utd.do scrape through to the final I predict we will hammer them 5/0.
My dearest Louize is considering putting in an application for the managers job which I'm sure will be vacated soon at Old Trafford.

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Another loss for Man.Utd

Yes with me being a massive Man.City fan, it is with great delight that tonight i report to you that Man.Utd have lost there third consecutive game in a row to bottom of the Premier League Sunderland 2/1 in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final. After all the years of heart ache us City fans have suffered, it is now time for the other half of Manchester to suffer the pain. Long may it continue. I predict Moyes to be sacked by mid March.

The Lion King

I asked a stranger to take this photo of Louize & I before we watched The Lion King at The Lyceum Theatre on our final night of our stay in London in November 2013.

Monday 6 January 2014

Long awaited return

This is my long-awaited return after after an absence of three years. Life has been so hectic since i last posted here. In 2013, I met the most amazing woman i have ever met in my life, my dear Louize. She is so special in everyway and we get along like we have known each other for years. In July 2013 we went on our first holiday together to Lisbon the capital city of Portugal. We had an amazing time and also managed to stay for three nights in a Yurt in Coimbra which is North of Lisbon. This was an amazing experience which you should try sometime, we had a wonderful time. Next we had a mini break in London for 3 days where we visited many of the cities museums and famous places and buildings including Buckingham Palace. We are going away for one night for Louize's birthday on the 15th of this month but its a surprise so i can't reveal any details here just yet so i will update about it when we come home. My snooker career is still active and i recently won The Moor Club Christmas Handicap 2013 with a first prize of £50 and a hamper which i have to say was filled with lots of good foods and drinks. The annual Inter-League competition is fast approaching which usually starts in January and is run by Mike Thorpe at The Moor Club where i am now a resident player there along with keeping my commitments ongoing at The No.71 Club in Stalybridge on a Wednesday evening. Also, The Manchester Open will be starting in January/February which is also an annual tournament a participate in. Two players i have known for over 20 years made a pleasant return into the league this season after all those years away and they are a breathe of fresh air and have given me a new appetite for the game. Brandon is 11 in February and is growing up very fast. He is doing very well with his schooling and also enjoying his sports which he is doing very well with also which pleases me endlessly. Our beloved Manchester City are doing very well and we are going watching them against Cardiff at The Etihad on the 18th. We are playing Barcelona in the K.O. stages of The Champions League in February, but after our amazing win against the reigning champions Bayern Munich in the final group games, we shouldn't fear anyone. I will be updating my blog on a more frequent basis from now on regarding what is going on in my life. Thank you for reading, Mark.

Pong - Well Done U competition winner (+playlist)