BATS AND BEDROOMS 2

By Peter Davies

                   BREAD ,BREAKFAST AND BRAZILIANS -OLD TRAFFORD CRICKET LODGE TRAVELOGUE.

PAIR OF PC.s

 Went to Euro news newsagent and Double Tree hotel last night. And from ther to BEM Brazilian resturant -my favorite eatery in city centre Manchester, just off Deansgate,An amzing place. Personal service with cuts of various meats brought to your table and the most gorgeous selection of salads . The PR says : " Located in the heart of Mnchesterv,our Deansgate resturant on King Street West is proud to bring the true taste of Brazalian food and culture to this vibrant city." Brazalian staff too.

RUMP AND RIBS

  Meats included;

-" Cap of Rump ( Picanha )-Brazil,s favorite cut of beef. It is very rich in flavour and an absolute treat for the taste buds "

-Chilli Beef (Picanha com pimenta ) - Tender pieces of Picanha marinated in a very special hot chilli saice.

-Beef Skirt  ( Fraidinha )- Prized for its flavour ,the beef skirt has a rich , buttery taste that offers a satisfying texture.

Chilli Beef ( Picanha com pimenta ) -Tender pieces of Picanha marinated in a very special hot chilli sauce.

GOING UP

    Ashley Giles , the new Lancashire cricket supremo, was very good last night, answering questions from the floor of the pavilion about the variety of on-field Lancashire CCC matters, including :

-The Simon Kerrigan issue.
-Promotion chances.
-2 nd X1 affairs.
- The differences and similarities between his ex-county Warwickshire and Lancashire as a county club.

POOR WICKET
 Giles was impressive and also very likeable. He said success at the club had to be "permanent "and Lancashire were a "natural Division 1 top -four club ". ( He also said he was late for the Q  @  A session he had to take a call from Mark Chilton ,2 nd X1 coach, at Hove . Lancashire ,s match had just been abandoned because the wicket had been deemed to be " dangerous " by the umpires after 17 or 18 wickets had fallen for about 200 runs .

ONLINE MATTERS

  The "suits " (three corporate guys ) then answered questions about  :

The website.
Spectator facalities.
The problems involved in signing overseas players for 2015 .
The sightscreens issue.

HOT STUFF.

  My hotel room is nice : good size ,ensuite ,big TV,tea-making facilities and lots of sachets of Yorkshire Tea and hot chocolate ( I am trying to get into hot chocolate after 49 years of not drinking it ) . And the hotel breakfast was good this morning:

Muesli
Fruit
Yoghurts
Bread and Cheese/ ham
Minicakes.

BIG BUY

   This morning walked acroos to Stretford town centre in search of a library, but it was only open at 10 am . So got a ( very slow ) bus into Manchester city centre with lots of folk ready to start work at  9am. Found the Euro news internet cafe again and went to Carphone Warehouse to buy  iphone.

NEW FRIEND

  Old Trafford Lodge has been good value . As a Lancashir member I get free to games anyway, but if I did not , the hotel gives you free tickets.This week,s must be my seventh or eighth visit to the hotel - and it is always good.Left the hotel at 11.20  am when the receptionist rang to say the cleaner wanted to clean the room.Went into the pavilion bar and alternated betwen tea and pints of backcurrent and lemonade. Got chatting with the bar manager and he actually brought one of my drinks over to me by the window.Very good of him. Preferential treatment ? No-one else gets that kind of  that kind of service.

BIRTHDAY TREAT.

 Last year I brought my Uncle Michael to the hotel for his 70 th birthday :  a special treat . We had a good time and he enjoyed it . Michael is a big football fan - Man City and Man Utd ,interestingly - but he also likes his cricket.The concept and reality of the hotel agrred with him quite nicely.

LIBRARY SALE

  Bought a copy of the Telegraph today and enjoyed reading about Bournemouth,s promotion to the Premiership.What a story. Also read the local paper , the Stretford @ Urmston Messenger, and La Gazetta dello Sport, the daily Italian sports  newspaper. I can not read Italian but as ex -journalist I like the layout and the photos and the concept of a daily sports newspaper ( Britain does not have one ). Also went down stairs to see the new library facilities in the pavilion. Very nice - and they had a little bookstall selling cricket books also .So , a few more purchases . When I left this afternoon, Kent were 70-1 following on . Still looks good for Lancashire.