Up in Liverpool

A day of travelling today.  Woke quite early and packed.  I drove up to the village shop to buy rolls to make bacon butties before Tom and I left for the 220-mile drive up to Liverpool.  The journey started well but we heavy traffic around Birdlip and an accident on the M5 and further traffic alerts meant that we cam off the M5 and drove through Worcester, Kidderminster and Wolverhampton before joining the  M6 at Stafford.  The traffic was then stop-start all the way up to the M56 junction in Cheshire.  We eventually arrived in Liverpool at 3.15 p.m.  Malcolm was up in Preston visiting his sick elderly mother and so Tom and I took the train into Liverpool city centre and spent three hours wandering around the city and Albert Dock where we stopped off and had a drink in the Old Pump House.  Tonight we visited Steve's for the usual prawn chow mein and, in Tom's case,  quarterpounder and chips.  We were entertained this evening by an amazing thunderstorm show with accompanying torrential downpour - on a tropical scale.  The thunder and lightning were very close indeed.  After Tom and Sam had left for bed (Tom to sleep and Sam to watch TV in Malcolm's room) Malcolm and I chewed the cud until 2 a.m.  Tomorrow we are going up to Preston to watch Preston North End take on Notts County in League One.  Saints are away to Leicester in the Championship.  Tom has been great company today.  Very pleased with him and his behaviour..