Sunset and snow

We woke to snow (view of our front garden in first extra), the first snow this winter, and though it was very pretty it was a little worrying as MrM had booked tickets for a gig in Manchester this evening. On local social media pages this morning there were numerous reports of roads impassable due to weather conditions. However, when we set off this afternoon the main roads had been cleared and gritted. We went through Holmfirth and travelled on the Greenfield Road; by the time we were on the tops (at 3.45pm) the sun was setting, so MrM stopped in a lay-by for a while so I could take a couple of photos. The second extra was taken on the move, through the van window, a couple of minutes later.

It was an easy journey. Apart from the very heavy traffic in Manchester, and navigating to the venue, New Century Hall, though Apple maps took us to our destination without too much trouble. We ate next to the venue, at New Century Kitchen, an open plan food hall with a bar and several independent traders selling street food from around the world. I enjoyed a very good pizza, while MrM opted for lamb kofta wraps.

We were a little too early to go into the gig, so rather than queueing outside in the freezing cold for 45 minutes, we walked around the nearby Arndale Centre for a while. Then the gig, which was excellent. Julian Lage (3rd extra), a jazz guitarist, was absolutely amazing. MrM was right - I enjoyed his playing immensely. The support act, Ike Thomas, a young singer songwriter, was pretty good too. He has an incredibly wide vocal range - maybe someone to look out for in future.

Then the journey back home, which was remarkably quick and easy as there was very little traffic beyond Manchester .