on not doing it all
or even half of it, really
This is coming to you a couple of days late because I managed to get my creaky old bones up to Manchester last weekend (under duress, and I don’t just mean Euston. King’s Cross 4eva!!) You see, I’ve not been very well recently — for most of the year, in fact (which is also why I’ve missed the past couple of this fortnightly subscriber-only dispatches, I’msorryiloveyoupleaseforgiveme — but my sister, who you may recall from previous newsletters, has moved to Manchester and is livin’ the dream, and me, she, and Mother Kime had a longstanding weekend together in the diary that I didn’t want to miss.
This isn’t a newsletter, Rachel and Ross style, of whether she got on the pltrain - if it was, it would be terribly told, considering I told you that in the first sentence. Instead, it’s about what we did when I got there.
Or, more accurately: what we didn’t do.
Because our phones are ‘listening to us’ stage of “We’re going to run the world some day”, my Tiktok is FULL of Manchester’s best eats. From delightfully sloppy sarnies to brothy Vietnamese and flaky, flaky pastry, you name a cuisine and I can probably recall a Manchester purveyor quicker than i can a London one (where I’ve lived for nearly a decade.)
Wanting to make the most of our trip, I started to save all of these videos to a collection on Tiktok; which then became a spreadsheet; which then became a personalised Google Map.
Did you know you can make personalised Google Maps?
If you did, I’m going to guess you’re a certain type of person (maybe the Type that rhymes with “hey”, and comes before B). I am a card-carrying type of this person, too, and I do this for any trip where I want to cram the most into my time there.
Against accusations of micromanagement — and to preserve the idea that I am very, very chill and super happy to go with the flow — I told my mum and sister that this wasn’t an itinerary, as such; but instead, something we could just check against if we “happened to be in an area” and “found ourselves to be peckish”.
(In all seriousness, though, I would recommend turning your Instagram saveds, Tiktok collection or compiled-notes-from-friends-who’ve-been-before into a bespoke Google Map if you’re planning a trip somewhere, because then you can see it in situ.)
So, I know what you’re thinking: how did we do? Out of a possible 14 spots to hit in <48 hours (none of which were drinking spots, either), how many did we achieve?
The answer is: not 15. We got a bonfire night croissant from Half Dozen Other; salt and pepper chicken, prawns, steak and hash browns from Salt & Pepper; a burrata-and-pesto topped dream pizza situation from Ciaooo; and an all-you-can-eat Sunday roast from Seconds. (I have put photos of all of these dreamy culinary delights below the ~ very important lesson of this newsletter ~, because you need to learn the fable before you can lick the screen, ok?)
The scientists and mathameticians amongst you will have noticed that that amounts to 4; a pretty poor return on 15; a measly 26%. But I’m actually calling that in and of itself a success, and here’s why.
Because I’m finally, finally learning to not push myself too far when it comes to what my body is trying to tell me.
Because, as mentioned at the top, I wasn’t — am not — particularly well currently, and I need to learn to live in accordance with that, rather than doing myself more damage.
Because some is better than none, and at times, some is all we can do. And that’s ok.
Originally, this particular post was to share my Google Maps hack with you, because every time I tell someone about it they go ohmygodididntknowyoucoulddothat and if there’s anything I know about you, my darling enthusiasts, it’s that this is probably your kind of thing. But I also wanted to be truthful about my own experiences, because, my darling enthusiasts, caring is also your kind of thing. And I’m very grateful for that.
Now, onto your reward for sitting through my very important lesson: the food!!!
…and now I’m looking at trains to Manchester again.
Any other Manchester foodie spots I need to add to my list/send to my sister so we can slowly trough our way through them?
Here’s a little window into what I’m enthusiastic about at the mo…
01 lusting after
A This Story ribbon choker, to match my This Story ribbon ring:
02 currently reading
After a lot of slumps this year I’ve absolutely HIT MY STRIDE with books atm: the last two I read were simply magical. Maame by Jessica George (affiliate link) and Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (affiliate link), which might be my fave book of the year?? (Perks of having an ex-librarian mother-in-law, thanks Sue!) I DEFY you to not gasp out loud every 10 or so pages. Brilliant brilliant brilliant!
03 wishing I wrote
this brilliant piece from Harriet Minter from We Can't Do It Alone - because I need to know more about those post-script points…
04 whipping up
I’ve shared a lot of delicious food this newsletter, but another wonderful thing I had recently was 2 perfect pieces of toast. Shitty white bread with pools of pale yellow butter on top — it doesn’t get better, does it?
05 listening to
We’ve been watching the most recent Taskmaster, which has brought with it the yin and yang of life: the downside, lots of Channel 4 ad breaks, but the upside, the resurfacing of this song on a current EE advert. Absolute 10/10 top quality CHOON.