The rain falling steadily on Manchester's Christmas Market should really have put a dampener on things but we found the opposite to be true! The reflections from the brightly lit Market stalls reflected off the wet pavements doubling up the Festive lights lighting up the whole scene of colourful stalls laden with produce, seasonal gifts, silks and satin's, glittering costume jewellery, herbs and spices, hand carved ornaments in apple wood, Scented Candles and incense, silk scarves and wraps, watercolors and pet portraits, a profuseness of fruit, confectionery, dark chocolates, humbugs in jars, liquorice sticks and Gobstoppers. We had arrived there with our daughter Victoria who was immigrating to Tasmania who we were saying "Bon Voyage" to and who was taking her first step in her journey to the other side of the world. It was both a sad and a happy occasion. Happy that she was joining her much loved Tasmanian fiancé waiting anxiously for her in Tasmania, sad that she would be so far away from us but never mind, she has introduced us Dinosaurs to SKYPE ! So! All's not lost and we will still be able to chat, laugh and joke with her and in the meantime we still had a couple of hours to spend with her and her umbrella. Her lovely red hair a bit damp but still shining illustriously under the City street light, an image we will keep in our memories for quite some time! We lunched frugally on a Hot Dog stand sheltering under their canopy. Neither of us inclined to spend much, us with our limited pensions, Victoria hoarding her pennies for THE BIG TRIP! After our snack we sauntered along dodging the umbrellas and admiring the City trees festooned with lights which from a distance appeared magical as if suspended in the dusky late afternoon air. The whole scene seemed to buzz with excitement with Christmas just round the corner and shoppers catching up with last minute presents. There was a lot to choose from, so many stalls, and such variety of gifts. Along the shiny pavements Mancunians rushed about like a scene from a Lowry oil painting, dark figures, pale faces and the odd splash of colour from some crimson scarf or a colourful umbrella. We have spent time in many Cities but Manchester always seems to be different, a certain appeal, a unique atmosphere that is found no where else. But now it was time to leave the lights, the sounds, the crowds and the rain, and kiss our daughter Farewell. She had a bus to catch and so did we.
