ANOTHER LATE 'UN BLAME GRIMETHORPE

Another late blog but we've been out for most of the day. We had a reasonable lay in bed and then I did the RSPB bird watch for an hour, about 14 species seen although nothing other than the more mundane sorts and the largest contender were the Goldfinches of which there was a flock of 9 hanging around. Our regular fox showed up again last night, it must have been this that started the holes in the lawn, he is getting very regular. I saw a Kestral hovering opposite from the editing room it was seen off by two mobbing Jackdaws. Anyway then Sue arrive and after a cuppa it was time to head into Manchester. We had lunch at the RNCM restaurant, not my favourite thing eating and drinking at lunch time. It was the Cory band first then the rather strange sensation as we watched the band of the Kings Division which is a new band from the army but goes back all the way to my father George's band in the 1930s in the Kings Liverpool Regt. So that was a bit weird in a nice way. Then after a drink it was time for Grimethorpe Colliery band which rounded off the festival of brass weekend and took us to about 8.30 and when we got home we were far too stuffed to think about supper which can carry forward to tomorrow nights tea.

The Monday newspapers in Bangladesh published whilst in the midst of a countrywide Hartal or enforced strike shows that the country is getting really cheesed off and most trains were running and not just buses in the city but even inter urban services. A couple of petrol bombings in Dhaka but it really does seem as if the blockade is losing steam and Zia who's son died in Malaysia seems to have lost political capital which has gone to the pm as she tried to visit Zia but was snubbed with a story that she had been sedated which may not be true. I'm starting to get a little more optimistic that we'll be getting stuff done and if life is starting to get back to normal in the midst of the turmoil it might throw up some interesting stories, just so long as we come out of in in one piece. Chatting through with Martin in the morning, it won't hurt to have a plan b up our sleeves with the rudiments of a strategy for Indian narrow gauge in the mountains if we are forced to leave Bangldesh early.

I've finished the pictures on the second Austrian tram archive, I'll start on the sound tomorrow evening. I've a few bits of paperwoprk to get sorted so Mandy knows where we are on the trip and business cards to put in in case we need to explain our presence in B'desh.  Meanwhile a couple of clips from Hull yesterday.