816 by 10 am

Manchester seems to have continuous roadworks and 'improvements' which cause havoc if you drive into the city centre. Just last week it took me over 2 hours to get home from the food bank, a 9 mile journey.

Oxford Road is now closed to cars, apart from a few crossing points. It's certainly eased congestion - as you can see from this photo which I took at 10 am. They also introduced Dutch cycle lanes where the path goes behind the bus stops to keep the cyclists away from the traffic. They are obviously popular as 816 people had used the cycle lane towards the city centre by 10 am with a total of 470,000 this year. 

At lunch, the food bank was invited to watch the Nativity at the local girl's grammar school. They are huge supporters and always send out invitations to their events. The 3/4 year old's were so sweet and certainly gave it their all.  

It made me think of how different childhoods can be with some parents being able to pay £8k plus school fee per annum whilst some parents are having to rely on others for food - and all within the same postcode. 

Quote for today:
There's no traffic jam on the extra mile.
- Zig Ziglar