The Alfred Muggins' Diaries : June 2026 Part 2 : Journeys To and From Manchester!

26/6/26 
      As you may be able to tell Alfred has been listening to a lot of his old favourite Beatles records again this last week, which has brought a few nostalgic tears to his eyes. (They were not actually the 'records' but the digitalised performances and recordings, largely on You Tube etc.)
     The week really 'kicked off', about a week ago, with a Friday evening trip to Manchester with daughter in Law (currently known as the Sat Nav Lady (or The Navigator?) , as there was no other way of finding Manchester City's Etihad Stadium where Mrs Muggins' second son, and teenage/now adult teenage grandson had gone to see the great spectacle of Take That on Night 1 of a 4 night residency, performing much of their tuneful repertoire with a Circus of dancers and acrobats! (They needed picking up after the concert and bringing back home across the pennines.) This performance seemed to Alfred to have very Beatlesque overtones, in more ways than just musical, which had perhaps kicked off his renewed Beatles craze during the week, particularly after watching part of the Take That concert live the day after, with Teenage grandson and Mrs Muggins' first son. Following that he had been able to see sections of it again on You Tube later in the week (without paying the extortionate concert ticket prices - although he could accept there was a lot of great talent on the payroll who deserved payment.).
       This all juxtoposed (dovetailed!) nicely with the 'momentous journey' of the next Prime Minister in Waiting, Mancunian Mayor Andy Burnham's Monday morning 'journey' from Manchester to Westminster, London (wouldn't that have made a great 10CC song, Alfred wondered?), to be welcomed as the New MP for Makerfield, which byelection he had just won, to take him back into Parliament, just the day before the Take That concert. It was all coming together (Beatles Song?!), just a bit too neatly! Alfred was convinced something would go wrong, but he didn't know what.
      Makerfield (a constituency he had never really heard of before!) was apparently part of/ or areas next to Wigan, not far from Manchester, the second city of England (and maybe Britain?), the city which had once clothed a whole Empire, and beyond. (It was also jokingly known as Madchester by some local mopheads!)
(to be continued, hopefully!?)