After watching the funny version of The 39 Steps at the theatre, Blob had a bit of time to relax in the relative tranquility of Salford Quays as the night drew in and as the time grew ever closer to the departure time of a bus. He almost didn't start writing this post today. The 1935 Hitchcock movie version of The 39 Steps is on the television right at this moment and he was tempted to sit and watch that. But he knows if stayed and watch his blog might not get written and he's not got a lot of time to write it today anyway.
Today Blob Thing and his person are going to Beamish Open Air Museum. They might not be able to look at much because they're going there to do some singing. It's been a long time since either of them managed to sing. It usually takes place in the evenings and Blob's person hasn't been good at evenings recently. Today there is during the day singing and Blob has arranged a lift to the museum so that makes things a lot easier. Blob Thing has never been to Beamish. He wants to see it. His person hasn't been to Beamish since she was a little person. She wants to see it too and is glad of this day because she will be able to see some of it and not pay for a ticket. Then Blob can decide whether they should go back and spend money. He could probably have lots and lots of adventures there.
Blob hopes that the singing will be fun. He enjoyed it last time. He enjoyed it so much that he blogged about it immediately. The second and third posts on his blog are both about Shape Note Singing. He's looking forward to it and hopes that his person will cope with the day. He would prefer to sing than to spend the day looking after his person. Blob says that he's going to be very strict with her. If she's not coping she must leave. There's a bus back to Newcastle. He hopes that won't happen though and they'll have a wonderful time.
Back to Salford. Briefly. There's no time for more than brief. [Unless you only write some now and then write some more later Blob, we could do that.]
Blob thought it was ever so pretty. The buildings weren't ugly. At least some of them weren't. They weren't all straight lines or bare cuboids of concrete rising half a mile into the sky. Some of them had very interesting shapes and they made lovely patterns in the water as the light faded. Some of these pictures don't show the light well - Blob's person's camera isn't perfect with light levels and sometimes does funny things. Blob looked at the reflections and wished he could play in them. Splash about on the walls of the buildings spread out across the water.
The buildings were all different shapes and sizes as if a different child had built each building out of Lego or Stickle Bricks or cardboard boxes and just plonked them down wherever they could find a space. Blob's person told him that just over there was where a lot of television programmes were made. Blob Thing has never been on television. One day he might. He would like to write a book one day and maybe his books would sell millions of copies and be made into blockbuster movies like The 39 Steps and he would be famous enough to return to Salford Quays and actually go into one of the buildings, climb to the top and look at the view before abseiling back to the ground. From the way he's talking it's almost as if Blob is more excited by the thought of looking at a view than he is about fame and the blockbuster movie. Blob has sensible priorities.
Here's a picture Blob thing loves. It's of his creator.
Blob Thing stood be the water and marvelled at the place. He marvelled at the day too. How could a day that had started so badly, with tears and grief and worry, have finished so well?
Blob Thing is writing this at the end of a day. He talked about the singing at Beamish. Well that didn't happen. Well it did happen. It just didn't happen for Blob or for his person. Something went wrong with the sending and receiving of a simple message and that meant that Blob's person couldn't get to sing to day. Blob was very disappointed for a while. But his person said not to worry about it too much and that there would be other chances to sing again. She said that they could go anyway and she would still take Blob and Winefride somewhere. She just didn't know where.
She thought hard about it and decided that they could all go to Alnmouth and walk on the beach again. Blob and Winefride had enjoyed that so much a few weeks before and their only disappointment was that they couldn't stay longer. Blob's person said that together they could enjoy the beach and watch and listen to the sea and the waves. And then if they had the time and energy they could walk along the coast to Boulmer or Craster. Blob watched his person find the map and the bus timetables and put them all in the bag, already packed for singing. He was glad to see that she was sensible enough to take out the heavy singing book. Carrying that along the beach would have been hard work.
The three companions left the house on this alternative adventure. The day was still a day. And although the original plans had gone completely wrong that didn't mean the day was spoiled. They would find new adventures, make new plans, and live the day.
They got on the Metro to take them to where they would catch the bus to Alnmouth. And then, to Blob's surprise and horror they didn't get off the train. What could his person be up to now? Had she forgotten about the beach? Had she forgotten about promised adventures? Maybe. Or maybe she had suddenly decided to go to Sunderland and join the people standing up against racism and the nasty, bigoted racists of the English Infidels and the English Defence League - people whose grasp of what the word "English" means seemed to be totally incorrect and whose driving force seemed to be a hatred of anything and anyone telling them they might be wrong. But no. Blob's person wasn't doing that. Today it would have been far too much for her to cope with.
Instead they got off the Metro in the city centre and walked to a bus station to get a random bus. They were very lucky because there was a bus there already and it was due to leave in less than two minutes. Blob will tell you about the adventures he had with Winefride today. But not today. Today's adventures will have to wait.
[Oh, alright Blob, just one photo, just one.] Here is a surprise picture. It's as much a surprise to Blob's person as it is the Blob and his sister. She hadn't planned to visit this place until the bus had nearly passed the bus stop in the nearby village. This is a picture of Blob and Winefride. They're standing on Hadrian's Wall. A terribly exciting surprise for them. They hadn't dreamed that they would be doing anything like that today. True, it's not the wildest part of the wall but it is the wall and they were happy there. One day Blob's person promises to take them to explore the whole wall.
No singing today. But Hadrian's Wall. The day worked out okay after all.
Just as that day in the past worked out that began with Blob's tears and total worry in Newcastle and ended under the skies of Salford.
One last picture of that day. There was a swimming event going on that evening. People were jumping or climbing into the water and swimming in it. Nobody could quite work out whether this was a competitive event or whether everyone was just doing it for fun. Blob Thing wanted to join in too. So he borrowed a swimming cap from one of the swimmers and gingerly slid into the water. It was ever so cold and ever so wet and Blob didn't particularly like how it felt. Nevertheless, he was determined. So he swam all the way to the far end of the water, stopped for a rest and then swam all the way back. That's quite a feat. It's a long swim. It's an even longer swim when your general anatomical form is that of a blob, with no arms and no legs and no limbs of any variety. For a Blob to swim is amazing. [Blob's person it under the impression that he didn't swim at all but is using his imagination at this point.]
Blob Thing was ever so proud of himself and if he hadn't stopped for the rest he would probably have got the fastest time and come home with a bit cup proclaiming him to be the Salford Quays swimming champion of 2016 and he would get on television and get a sponsorship deal and have enough spare money to go on a world cruise or fly a rocket to another star or do something more useful like solve world hunger and put an end to the prejudice that some people showed in Sunderland today - much to the horror Blob is sure of most of the people who actually live in the city.
Here is Blob Thing relaxing after his swim. It was an experience. But it's not one he wants to repeat in a hurry. He doesn't want to train for the 2020 Olympics and enter as part of the Independent Soft Toy Nation team. Swimming isn't his thing. The water leaves him far too soggy. [Blob's person thinks that this photo wasn't taken after Blob's swim. It was just taken when Blob borrowed a swimming cap. But you can decide for yourself whether this story is just the product of his active and creative mind or whether he swam for glory that night.]
[1728 words]
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