Bee Network branded Northern Class 323 train at Cheadle Hulme railway station (August 2026)

A Bee Network branded Northern Class 323 train (323239) at Cheadle Hulme railway station in Greater Manchester on Thursday 6th August 2026.

Northern Class 323 (323239) at Cheadle Hulme railway station

This was the delayed 13:46 service from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly.

The train had arrived at Cheadle Hulme at 14:20 ready for a 14:21 departure, but was delayed until 14:55.

I've only seen the Bee Network livery on this train at a station once before, at Stockport in April this year.

YouTube Trains Playlist

Check out my trains playlist on YouTube.

Related blog posts:

• Trains
• Bee Network
• Cheadle Hulme
• Trainspotting

Links:

• Bee Network branded Northern Class 323 train at Cheadle Hulme railway station (August 2026)
• Bee Network branded Northern Class 323 train at Cheadle Hulme railway station (August 2026) - Short

Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport

Finding a 100% gluten free market stall in Cheadle Hulme.

We found Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport at a Worker Bee Market in Cheadle Hulme yesterday.

It was brilliant to find the totally gluten free stall. I bought a Black Forest Cake and Carrot Cake - both were delicious.

A rarity for me - two freshly prepared cakes!

It's been years since I've been able to buy something on the go from a market. I occasionally see 'gluten free' items, but served next to gluten containing items, or a warning to state they have been prepared in the same environment as gluten.

Black Forest gateau is one of my favourite cakes - I can't remember the last time I had one! This one from Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport was excellent

I had no trouble with that from the Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport stall. It was nice chatting to the bakers and hearing their own gluten free story. It gave peace of mind knowing the food would be safe for me to eat. That goes a very long way in making eating food enjoyable!

I took the cakes home so I could eat them with a cake fork, as I don't get to do that often

If we'd got there earlier I could've bought some savoury items too, including a Scotch Egg. However, they'd sold out by the time we got there. I can see why as the two cakes I bought were very good indeed.

Check out Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport on Instagram and Facebook for more information.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing Gluten Free Kitchen Stockport at another market in the area soon.

Dodgeballing again!

Back in action with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club.

It was brilliant to be back in action with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club last night.

Richard Gottfried - Dodgeballer

The session in Parrs Wood, Manchester was the first one for the club's adult members since March 2020.

The games were my first since the 10th March 2020 - that's 777 days!

I played 4, won 2, lost 2 in games. A fun mix of Prison Rules, Super Catch and Secret Spy.

I was also the third last player in the Last Person Standing game at the end of the night.

Check out the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club website for more info on the Tuesday night sessions.

See the British Dodgeball website for more info on the serious side of the game.

My 'all-time' Dodgeball Win-Loss Record (2005-2022) now stands at 991 games played, 453 wins, 494 losses and 44 tied games.

I've been playing the game since the eighties so this is my fifth decade!

My last pre-pandemic games of dodgeball

I played my last pre-coronavirus pandemic lockdown games of dodgeball a year ago today.

In my last Tuesday night session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club I played 5, won 4 and lost 1.

I'm really looking forward to returning to dodgeball action when it's once again safe to do so.

My 2020 record stood at 18 games played with 9 wins and 9 losses.

My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record (2005-2020) stands at 987 games played, 451 wins, 492 losses and 44 tied games.

Only Cars and Commercials

We spotted this amazing van on our daily walk in Cheadle on Saturday!

I'd literally just said to Emily that I hadn't seen anything fun to photograph recently as we've been locked down in the borough.

Only Fools and Horses is a pop culture icon that has been ripe for bootlegging and parodies over the years.

It's crazy how many Reliant Regal Supervans we've seen on our minigolf travels.

Elsewhere in Stockport you can see a hearse from a business called Shed's Household Independent Traders.

Shawfield Line Marking Specialists Ltd. is another business that operates in Stockport and some less exotic locations like London, Paris and New York.

If you're in Blackpool you can visit Lester's Independent Trading Co.

London, Paris, New York but mostly Stockport

Shawfield Line Marking Specialists Ltd. is a business that operates in Stockport and some less exotic locations like London, Paris and New York.

Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath

A look at the snowy Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath.

Unplayable

The Putting Green at the Park Square offices in Cheadle Heath was the first miniature golf course we visited this year.

A-Team Cleaning Services in Manchester

Spotting an 'A-Team van' in Stockport.

I always keep an eye out for fun and interesting stuff and managed to get a snap of this 'A-Team van' out on a mission somewhere in the Greater Manchester underground earlier today!

Check out the A-Team Cleaning Services Facebook Page for more information.

It's not the first A-Team van I've seen on my travels. Check out the Multi Kitchens Ltd van, The Waste Team and The Natural Tile Company in Belfast.

A funny old sign

NO TIPPING at the Stockport Pyramid.

While having a wander around the Stockport Pyramid I noticed a funny sign near the gates - it must've been up for years as it had the old Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council logo on it.

NO TIPPNG

The other NO TIPPING sign on the opposite side of the driveway was spelt correctly.

NO TIPPING

Both signs are likely to be almost 30 years old. That's a long time for a typo like that to be hidden in plain sight!

The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport was founded in 1974 and the Stockport Pyramid was completed in 1992 after five years work.

Sadly traces of the old Metropolitan Borough of Stockport logo are becoming few and far between. There was one on an old noticeboard on Adswood Road in Cheadle Hulme until it was destroyed in a road traffic accident last year!

  

Thanks to Natalie Ainscough for letting me know about this sign with the old logo on at Woodford Recreation Ground.

Remnants of Blockbuster Video

Finding some more traces of the lost brand.

We've always enjoyed exploring our surroundings, looking for and hunting out interesting things. We've seen quite a few ghost signs on our travels and many of these are hangovers from another time, some even dating back over a hundred years.

Since we found the remains of Blockbuster Video just up the road from us in Fallowfield, Manchester we had a look to see if there were any other former branches still showing signs of the brand.

We were in luck as on our walks around Cheadle Hulme and Marple we spotted the ghostly outline of a sign, as well as an old QuikDrop box.

The outline of the old big ticket logo of Blockbuster is still visible behind the Majestic Wine sign. A modern day ghost sign

The QuikDrop slot is the only part of the former Blockbuster Video Express in Marple that hasn't been painted over. It's now a Post Office

It'll be interesting to see if we spot any other traces of the brand once we're back out on the road on Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels.

You can actually play a Blockbuster Video crazy golf hole at Ghetto Golf in Digbeth, Birmingham!

The Blockbuster shop hole at Ghetto Golf Birmingham

South Park Miniature Railway in Cheadle Hulme

Revisiting the Miniature Railway at South Park in Cheadle Hulme.

We took part of our outdoor daily exercise at South Park in Cheadle Hulme and had a look at the excellent miniature railway there.

South Park is home to Stockport & District Society of Model Engineers

It's a real treat to ride the model railway and I highly recommend a visit in the future when it is once again safe to do so.

To the trains

Old arrows at the entrance - they look well spaced out in the times of social distancing

The turntable

A view of the loop

A pair of park benches with a fine view of the miniature railway

We first found out about it back in May 2017, a year after we moved up here! 

End of the line

The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is home to three miniature railways - the one at South Park, Brookside Miniature Railway at the Garden Centre in Poynton and the Dragon Miniature Railway at the Garden Centre in Marple.

Related blog posts:

• Miniature Railways
• Cheadle Hulme

Link:

• Stockport & District Society of Model Engineers

Pub quizzes during lockdown

Have you played a virtual pub quiz during lockdown?

Is anyone else missing that Friday feeling at their local as we all stay home?🍺🍻

Are any Stockport pubs hosting online pub quizzes? @TheVirtualPubQ1 are hosting an online pub quiz tomorrow evening: https://t.co/xA1JVtPqpy

📸@putting_gott pic.twitter.com/F762opT4rc

— Stockport Council (@StockportMBC) May 1, 2020

Our local The Micker Brook in Cheadle Hulme has been running a weekly online quiz with the excellent Mike Prince since lockdown began.

The Micker Brook in Cheadle Hulme

It's brilliant fun.

I've been taking snaps of the pubs of Stockport I pass while out on my daily exercise. You can see more on my Instagram.

Saw something on my daily walk. Made a meme about it

Saw something on my once a day outdoor exercise walk. Made a meme about it.

What do you read it as?

The Battle of Stockport Borough

There can be only one winner!

As there is a lack of sport going on anywhere at the moment The Stockport Show has organised The Battle of the Borough to find out which bit of Stockport is the best!

The Battle of #Stockport Borough UPDATE

After we launched this last night we have been amazed by your response so far Stockport 💙

Listening to your feedback, we've made some small tweaks to teams as Davenport becomes Davenport & Cale Green and Cheadle becomes "The Cheadles" pic.twitter.com/0A9TgtemlD

— The Stockport Show (@StockportShow) April 1, 2020

There are a number a mouthwatering clashes and the event has certainly got me and fellow Stopfordians excited.

Each day two areas of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport will go face-to-face in a live poll on Twitter and Facebook every day to decide the ultimate champions.

My area - Cheadle Hulme - is competing as The Cheadles alongside Cheadle Royal, Cheadle Village and Cheadle Heath. Our first round tie is with Reddish.

I've got a bit of a soft spot for reddish as it's home to Reddish South railway station. One of the UK's least used stations and one of the stops on the infamous once-a-week Parliamentary ghost train!

I'm really looking forward to following the action as it unfolds.

Which bit will be declared the best bit of the borough

The Stockport Show is a live stream for Stockport Borough promoting local businesses and helping isolated and lonely people to connect.

Check out The Stockport Show on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Dodgeball with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club in Stockport

In my last Tuesday night session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club I played 5, won 4 and lost 1 in games.

We also played a lot of fast-paced METEOR BALL games. That was superb FUN as you're constantly moving, dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging. If you're hit or get caught out you run to the back wall and then re-enter the game.

I'm looking forward to returning to dodgeball action once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

What retro wrestling t-shirt shall I wear for my next dodgeball outing?

My 2020 record stands at 18 games played, 9 wins, 9 losses.

------------------

My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record stands at:

• 2005-2020: Played 987, Won 451, Lost 492, Tied 44.

By year:

• 2005-2013: Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018: Inactive.
• 2019: Played 10, Won 5, Lost 5, Tied 0.
• 2020: Played 18, Won 9, Lost 9, Tied 0.

Related blog posts:

• Dodgeball
• Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Links:

• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club
• British Dodgeball

Putting Green at the Park Square offices in Cheadle Heath

The first unplayable course visit of the year.

On New Year's Day we walked past the Miniature Golf course at the Park Square offices in Cheadle Heath, Stockport.

It's our nearest course. We've never been allowed to play it as it's for tenants of the offices only.

Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Playing dodgeball in Cheadle.

Last night I played dodgeball for the first time in over six years as I attended a session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club.

One of the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club balls

My last matches were with the Harpenden Dodgeball Club back in April 2013 so it was superb to be back in action.

The Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club run sessions on Tuesday evenings and it was brilliant to see a mix of people, ages and abilities playing the fun game.

Dodgeball is a fantastic game to play. It's easy to get into and you can play for fun or take it more seriously if you like

I'm looking forward to playing more dodgeball over the coming months.

Back in dodgeball action. I also picked up a win in the Last Man Standing match!

Check out Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club website for more information.


My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record:

• 2005-2013 - Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018 - Inactive.
• 2019-present - Won the Last Person Standing match (10/12/19).

Associations / Rules played under:

• Dodgeball UK (2005-2007)
• Get Back Into/UKDBA (2010-2011)
• England Dodgeball (2011-2013)
• British Dodgeball (2019-)

Teams played for:

• New Lutonians (2005-2006)
• The Dodgeball Assassins (2005-2006)
• Abingdon Dodgeball Alliance (2005-2007)
• Luton Dodgeball Club (2010-2011)
• Harpenden Dodgeball Club (2011-2013)
• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club (2019-)

Related blog posts:

- Dodgeball

- Dodgeball - Then & Now (2010)

My lucky day

I popped out to buy some magic beans earlier and spotted this new place to buy lottery tickets.

Sketchy and Blair Witchy!

Luckily the Wallet Inspector stopped me before I ventured in.

Funny signs in Stockport

Spotting a number of legitimate businesses around Stockport.

On our travels we're always on the lookout for funny signs, bootlegs and parodies. Living in Stockport we don't often have to look that far.

Here are a few of the gangster-related signs and business names we've seen.

The king of takeaways

I recognise that font

The Wash Father in Edgeley. I wonder if they do laundry too

Somewhere for a Valentine's Day meal in Cheadle perhaps

Al Pacino takeaway in Stockport town centre

One of my all-time favourite bootleg takeaways is Instascran in Heaviley, Stockport.

Related blog posts:
- Funny sign
- Bootleg
- Stockport