Weekend winds down

Coldplay were typically excellent in Manchester last night although, to be a little harsh, neither Vanessa nor I enjoyed it quite as much as when we saw them back in December at the Sheffield Arena.

But this wasn't so surprising. The first gig was at the start of their "Viva La Vida" world tour and, after 150-odd dates since, they could be excused for being a little less vibrant. Also, last night was an outdoor gig in front of 55,000 people as opposed to I think 12,500 nine months ago, so clearly it wasn't as intimate.

Plus:

1. We were standing up and are quite middle-aged now
   
2. We were stone cold sober (did I mention Friday night?)
   
3. They didn't play Speed of Sound
4. U2 were unbelievable a few weeks ago

Still, we were very lucky to be there at all and remain huge fans.

The kindness of Wee John and Karen, in coming up from Cardiff to babysit, was the only reason we were able to go at all and we're obviously extremely grateful to them for that.

Jamie was, according to them, as good as gold last night which was a relief (not to mention a surprise). We all had lunch together today before John and Karen departed (late, thanks to some very well thought out roadworks in Leeds).

White Junior particularly enjoyed his kiddie meal - his second lunch of the day - having had his "normal" lunch before leaving the house. And he had lots of fussy women around him too.

Almost the perfect experience for our boy, although also very tiring.

Most importantly of all, neither Karen nor Wee John mentioned "the toilet incident" at any point today. I reckon they've already forgotten about what happened and I'll never hear of it again. And if you believe that, you'll believe absolutely anything. Anything at all.