Is it worth hanging your washing out to dry? If you live in the UK, then The Washing Line Index is a web site designed to help you make that decision. It was created by a guy in Sheffield, and gives a score from 1-5 for how likely it is that your wet laundry will dry if hung out.
I’ve written about how we dry laundry before, using a combination of a tumble dryer, heated drying rack and hanging clothes outside. Obviously, we hang out clothes more in the summer, when the weather is better, but an app like The Washing Line Index comes into its own at times like this, when the weather is more unpredictable. Indeed, we’ve had a rather warm end to September, and I’ve been able to hang washing out and get it dry twice this week, which has been nice.
A good drying day will be warm, with little to no chance of rain, quite windy and lower humidity, and so this will most likely score 5 on The Washing Line Index. Obviously, a day with a high chance of rain is going to be a poor drying day, but the other factors come into play as well. A day where there’s no rain forecast, but it remains cold, overcast and with no rain, is not going to be conducive to drying your clothes.
I’ve used it a few times this past week, and it’s been mostly right. However, on Tuesday, it only offered a score of 3, whereas I decided to risk it and actually got a full load of laundry dry within just three hours. It’s therefore only as good as the data being fed into it, which comes from OpenMeteo. As well as offering live data, you can get a three day forecast, as shown in the screenshot above.
I’m sure it’ll come in use over the next few weeks, as the occasional good drying day might still crop up as we get closer to winter. After that, we’ll be back to our heated drying rack, which works well but is slow and expensive to run all night.
Substack has been tolerating far-right content since back when Twitter was still called Twitter. Indeed, there are some people, like a certain well-known transphobic former sitcom writer, who was only able to retain a platform on Substack after every other social media platform banned him. Of course, when Twitter became X and various other platforms changed their tune, he was straight back on them, but maybe if Substack had been less tolerant of abusive voices, he would have lost his platform altogether.
So, this is part of the reason why I never have used Substack, and probably never will. Besides, I have my own perfectly good blog here, and if you want to receive new blog posts by email each week, sign up here.
Show badge – all posts containing a Substack link have a warning label attached to them
Hide – all posts containing a Substack link simply won’t show in your standard Following feed
I personally have this set to ‘show badge’ but it depends how much you despise the hate-tolerant people in charge at Substack. ‘Hide’ works pretty well, and it even picks up a number of sites which have their own domain but use Substack as their backend.
But wait, I use Substack! What about me?
If you’re reading this because you yourself post on Substack and are worried that people will stop clicking through, then I can only advise that you consider moving your content to another platform. As I’ve mentioned above, Substack have tolerated some really awful content on their platform for years, so this is not a new development. Every time I see someone start a new Substack newsletter, I find it heartbreaking – especially from those who have quit Twitter/X for the same reason.
There are many Substack alternatives out there; Ghost seems to be a popular option and there’s an official migration guide. Which, notably, will also move your subscribers over, including paid subscribers. Other options include Beehiiv and Medium, or you could do what I do and self-host using something like WordPress.
It’s taken us almost nine months, but we finally got to redeem Christine’s Christmas present, and go behind the scenes at the Vivarium at the Manchester Museum to meet their collection of frogs and toads at the weekend just gone.
The Vivarium is actually a little unusual for a museum to have. Whilst the Manchester Museum is full of animals, these are mostly stuffed, whereas the Vivarium includes live animal specimens. There are a variety of amphibians and lizards on show, but frogs and toads make up the majority of the exhibits. Some are on show, but a number of species are kept behind the scenes, and this was what our tour allowed us to see.
There are a couple of notable species of frog that the Manchester Museum cares for.
The Variable Harlequin Toad
This species was, at one point, declared extinct as none had been seen in the wild for some time. Thankfully, a small colony was found in Panama, and six live specimens – three males and three females – were brought to the Manchester Museum. Thankfully, they’re now ‘merely’ critically endangered, and the Manchester Museum has been successful at breeding them. Indeed, it’s the only place in the world where you can see this particular species in captivity.
With the numbers remaining being so small, breeding is tightly monitored to encourage better genetic diversity, and so the males and females are kept separate. The tanks face each other, so the males could still see the females and were, to be frank, rather frisky when we visited. It was one of these toads that we sponsored when we bought the package.
Sylvia’s Leaf Frog
Most of the frog species at the Manchester Museum are leaf frogs, and one, the Sylvia’s Tree Frog, was ‘discovered’ here as recently as 2018. They were thought to be the closely related Splendid Tree Frog, which the Vivarium also holds, but had different markings and, following genetic testing, were found to be a different species. They’re kept in adjacent tanks, so you can see how to two species differ. ‘Sylvia’, incidentally, is the name of the granddaughter of the zoologist, Andrew Gray, who first described the species.
We also got to handle a couple of different species of frogs – namely the black-eyed leaf frogs and the red-eyed leaf frogs, pictured at the top. These species tend not to be on show as they’re largely nocturnal, so this presented a good opportunity to see them.
The Vivarium isn’t very big, and so the tour is only scheduled for an hour. As it was, we spent way longer than that chatting with our guide, so we definitely got our money’s worth. It was a great visit, especially for Christine and our ten-year-old who loved handling the frogs.
Closing for refurbishment
If you want to see the frogs for yourself, you’ll need to go to the Manchester Museum pretty soon, as the Vivarium will be closing next month for a refit. It’s due to re-open in the spring, but it does mean that the behind the scenes tours are not available to book at present. In the meantime, here’s a video (also embedded below) when Maddie Moate went on a similar tour around 10 years ago, with Andrew Gray (who would go on to describe Sylvia’s Tree Frog). As well as her YouTube channel, Maddie also presents science shows for young kids on CBeebies. It was this video that inspired me to book the visit in the first place.
I’d originally set up the m5stack Atom Lite using the Ready-Made Projects tool on the ESPHome web site, and so all it could do was act as a Bluetooth Proxy. Essentially, all its other features were disabled. Back then, being a Bluetooth Proxy was quite taxing even for an ESP32-based device, and so it was recommended that you didn’t enable its other functions.
Nowadays, the code that powers the Bluetooth Proxy component is more efficient, and so it’s possible to open up some of the other features of the Atom Lite. I’m going to focus on the Infrared Proxy component, as this is relatively new to ESPHome and Home Assistant.
Enabling the Infrared pin
To enable the Infrared pin in ESPHome, we need to add the following YAML code:
You can also do this in the ESPHome Device Builder using the interface:
Add the Remote Transmitter component.
Enter the pin number as ‘GPIO12‘.
Set ‘Carrier Duty Percent’ to ‘50‘.
Set the ID to ‘ir_tx‘.
Adding the Infrared Proxy
Next, we need to enable the Infrared Proxy component. Again, here’s the YAML code:
infrared:
- platform: ir_rf_proxy
name: IR Transmitter
remote_transmitter_id: ir_tx
And here are the steps to add it in the user interface:
Add the ‘IR/RF Proxy’ component.
Name it ‘IR Transmitter’
Set the Remote Transmitter ID to ‘ir_tx‘, matching the name in step four above.
Save it, recompile your code and upload it to your Atom Lite. If this is already linked with Home Assistant, then you should see it added as an Infrared Remote under Settings, Connectivity, Infrared.
Note that whilst the Atom Lite can send Infrared commands, it doesn’t have the ability to receive them. That means it’s not possible for it to learn commands from other remotes; it can only send pre-defined commands.
Using it in practice to control a Sony Blu-Ray player
Whilst it’s rare that we watch physical media nowadays, we do still have a functioning Blu-Ray player. By parking the Atom Lite in front of it, and using this integration from HACS, it’s now possible to control it using Home Assistant. So far I’ve only tested opening and closing the disc tray but Home Assistant should be capable of controlling most features of the Blu-Ray player.
Enabling other Atom Lite features
The Atom Lite is designed to be a development board, and so features a number of pins that you can connect up to third party sensors or other devices. But it also has a couple of additional onboard features, besides its ESP32 chip and Infrared pin:
Back in 2024, when we went to Northumberland for our summer holiday, I posted a list of the places that we didn’t go to but had considered. I didn’t publish a list last year, as I knew we were going back to Wales this year. But we’ve decided we’ll be going to the Yorkshire Coast on holiday next year, which means I can share the list of places that we considered, but didn’t end up visiting.
The reasons why we didn’t visit these places varies, but mainly it was a lack of time. With me still recovering, and not able to drive, we took things a little more steady this year than last year.
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon to use its English name, is the tallest mountain in England and Wales. It’s also one of the most accessible, with several walking routes and a narrow gauge railway running up it. Whilst I have been up several mountains in my time, including Yr Wyddfa twice, our ten-year-old has never been up a ‘proper’ mountain and so this would have been a first for them.
Because we were holidaying with my parents, who are both getting on a bit, walking up wasn’t an option for us. And, in peak season, the train is very expensive. A return journey with a diesel train would have cost £230 for the five of us, or £300 for a steam train. And these are the prices when booked in advance, which is strongly recommended as availability of tickets on the day can’t be guaranteed. Weather conditions atop Snowdon can be very different than at lower levels, so there’s a risk of booking ahead and ending up with bad weather.
Welsh Highland Railway
By comparison, the Welsh Highland Railway offers much better value for money, being a longer journey all the way from Porthmadog to Caernarfon. However, heritage railways have a maximum speed limit of 25mph, so a journey there and back basically takes all day and doesn’t leave you much time in Caernarfon.
I went on the Welsh Highland Railway from Beddgelert to Caernarfon in 2009, but was part of a group who was able to pick us up in Caernarfon and take us back. It’s a lovely, scenic journey and I’d definitely recommend it, but you need a whole day for it and we ran out of time.
The lack of information on their web site about admissions prices suggests that it is free for everyone to visit, not just National Trust members. However, it’s one of their smaller properties and so we would have wanted to combine it with something else.
Llandudno Chocolate Experience
We did go to Llandudno last year, but didn’t visit this small chocolate museum. I get the impression that visits are quite short, lasting around an hour or so, and it’s only open weekdays and summer Saturdays. Maybe if we’re back in Llandudno for another reason we might pop in.
Plas Mawr
Plas Mawr was actually within walking distance of where we were staying. It’s a Cadw property, and is an Elizabethan townhouse inside the walls of Conwy. Whilst somewhat hidden away, the house is seemingly quite large, with 17 rooms on show. We just didn’t get around to visiting it.
Castell Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan is yet another castle in North Wales built by Edward I, but it’s not part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, presumably because it’s further east in Denbighshire. Like the other castles, it’s partly ruined and now in the care of Cadw.
Unlike the other castles, it’s not in a coastal location but several miles inland. As such, the nearby river was diverted around the castle, to give it a defensive advantage.
Castell Harlech
We could have visited Castell Harlech, to complete the set of four castles as part of the World Heritage Site, but it was just a little too far away. It’s also in the care of Cadw.
Plas Brondanw
Plas Brondanw was somewhere that I hadn’t previously heard of. It was the home of Clough Williams-Ellis, who designed the village of Portmeirion, which we visited last year. As such, the gardens are quite nice and are open to the public, with RHS members getting free entry as one of their partner gardens.
We didn’t go because it was just a little bit too far out of the way.
The Menai Suspension Bridge, the older of the two and built by Thomas Telford around 200 years ago as a road bridge.
The Britannia Bridge, built by Robert Stephenson. Originally opened as a railway bridge, it suffered a catastrophic fire in 1970 and was rebuilt as a combined rail and road bridge.
My parents did actually visit this last year, whilst Christine and I took our (then) nine-year-old to the Anglesey Sea Zoo. Christine drove us over the Menai Suspension Bridge this time, which was my first time crossing it having previously only used the Britannia Bridge.
Incidentally, there were plans for a third Menai crossing, to relieve the Britannia Bridge which is now essentially the only single-carriageway section of Euroroute 22 in the UK. A preferred route in between the two current bridges was chosen in 2018, but the scheme was permanently shelved in 2023.
Last week was Christine’s birthday, and so we both took the day off work to spend the day in Manchester. For lunch, we went to Mackie Mayor – an old market hall which is now a food court.
Mackie Mayor is so-called because that’s what’s written in stone on the outside. It was one of several buildings that formed Manchester’s Smithfield Market, and was opened by a Mr Mackie, the then Mayor of Manchester, hence the name. The market closed in the 1970s, and whilst it received a Grade II listing, it fell out of use. Later, the building spent some time as a skate park in the 1990s, but by 2017 it was derelict.
Thankfully, it has been restored and re-opened to the public, and is home to several independent food vendors serving a variety of different food and drink. It’s located on the edge of Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter.
How to order food at Mackie Mayor
Inside are rows of tables and chairs. Find yourself a seat, and then once you’ve taken note of the table number, you can order your food and drink. You can go up to each counter and order that way, should you wish to.
But, you can also use a web app on your phone called Me&U. Scan the QR code, enter your table number, and you can then order food from any of the stands inside Mackie Mayor. You can even set up a tab for your table, and it’ll generate a separate QR code to allow your friends to order food on their phones and have it billed to your tab. As this was Christine’s birthday treat, I set up a tab and let Christine order whatever she wanted on her phone, with me paying for it at the end. When you set the tab up, you can set a maximum amount, which is then pre-authorised to your card.
Food at Mackie Mayor
I went for a chicken burger from Mumma’s, which came with seasoned waffle fries and a strawberry iced tea. Christine, meanwhile, went for Chicken Katsu from Chilli B, with a side order of prawn crackers. The food is brought to your table, and everything we ate was nice. Price-wise, it’s good considering the quality – not the cheapest, but nor was it too expensive either.
For dessert, we both had Creme Brulée Cookie Butter doughnuts, and I had a can of Steep Cola. Indeed, you’ll struggle to encounter big brand products here and even the soft drinks are from independent producers.
I suppose the big selling point of Mackie Mayor is the variety – if you’re visiting as a big group, everyone can get pretty much what they want. There’s no requirement for everyone to order the same cuisine, so it’s great if you have fussy eaters amongst your friend group. Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free options are available from some of the stalls, and it’s okay to just visit for a drink and a snack, if that’s what you want. We went on a Tuesday lunchtime when it was relatively quiet, but I can see it being quite a loud place when it’s busy. And you’ll probably have to share your table with other people, since the tables are in long rows.
There is step free access across the building, with a lift up to the balcony area, and there are disabled toilets. There’s also a small children’s play area downstairs, well-behaved dogs are welcome, and free Wi-Fi is available. We certainly enjoyed our visit and I’m sure we’ll end up back there on a future visit to Manchester city centre.
Like Penrhyn Castle, Cliffe Castle was never a defensive castle, nor is it all that old as castles go – it’ll be celebrating its 200th birthday in the next few years. Instead, it was originally a smaller country house called Cliffe Hall which was then bought and expanded by the Butterfield family in 1848, adopting its current name in 1878. The expanded building gained a ballroom and conservatories, along with a tower over the main entrance.
In 1949, the castle and its grounds passed into public ownership, with financial assistance from a local benefactor, Sir Bracewell Smith. Smith also funded the building of an octagonal art gallery on the side, and it opened to the public as a museum in 1955. This replaced the previous Keighley Museum at Victoria Hall, which is now used as an events space.
Inside Cliffe Castle
Cliffe Castle is a typical ‘local authority museum’ (a bit like The World of Glass in St Helens) in that its exhibits are an eclectic mix of objects bequeathed to the local authority and its predecessor organisations. However, they are grouped together in themed galleries, so it’s not a complete hodgepodge, and most objects come with detailed descriptions.
On entering, there are several rooms set out from Cliffe Castle’s time as a stately home – namely the reception room and drawing room. These are full of period furniture and some musical instruments. You also get to see the lavish decorations on the walls and ceiling.
Whilst there’s no set route around the museum, we next went into the Working Landscapes gallery, which shows artefacts from local crafts and trades from the past such as weaving and clog-making. That led onto the Archaeology Gallery, which includes various hoards of coins and other artefacts excavated in the area. The most recent of which was the Riddlesden Hoard, found in 2014, consisting of over 100 Roman coins.
Next, we went into what was the Butterfield’s ballroom, but is now the Natural History Gallery. This is full of taxidermied animals, the vast majority of which are either native to the UK or are/were regular visitors. Some of these stuffed animals are quite old, and so are rather faded or just badly stuffed, presumably by someone not familiar with what the animal looked like when it was alive. But it’s a decent-sized collection.
The Airedale gallery tells the geological history of the area, including many fossils, and then there’s a mineral gallery with lots of gemstones and geodes – some of which are quite large.
Upstairs galleries
Upstairs, there’s a small gallery of stained glass windows that have been rescued from local churches and halls. The majority of these windows were designed by William Morris or people working for him.
Then there’s a gallery focussing on Keighley’s local history, with various objects on show, ending with a live beehive. The last bit that we went into was the octagonal art gallery that was added in the 1950s, which has two levels.
Exhibitions
When we visited, there were a couple of small exhibitions. One was about the Keighley Cougars, the local rugby league team which is approaching its 150th anniversary, and the other marks 80 years since the founding of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
Overall, we spent a little under two hours in the museum. This was mainly because we were going at the speed of our ten-year-old – I have no doubt that we could have spread it out to three hours or more if we’d had more time to engage with the exhibits. That’s not to say that there aren’t lots of things to keep kids entertained; there are various opportunities to dress up, or practice weaving, and there are trail guides that can be picked up in the entrance.
The gardens
Cliffe Castle’s gardens have undergone a relatively recent renovation. They are on a hillside, with some impressive water features at the bottom, a childrens’ playground in the middle and then a series of glasshouses and aviaries along the side. The aviaries are home to finches, budgies, cockatiels and, um, guinea pigs, with the glasshouses featuring more topical plants and succulents. There’s a wooded area at the very top, but we haven’t been into that.
Accessibility
The ground floor of the museum is all on one level with no steps, although wheelchair users will need to use a side entrance as the main entrance has a couple of steps. Sadly there’s no lift, although the majority of the exhibits are on the ground floor so those unable to use stairs can still see most of the museum. There is a disabled toilet; those needing a Changing Places toilet will need to go to Keighley Leisure Centre which isn’t too far away.
Entry is free, although a £3 per person donation is recommended. Normally the museum is closed on Mondays, but is open on some bank holidays.
There is a small car park on site, which is free. However, it has a maximum stay of three hours, probably because it’s so small. It was almost full when we got there, before the museum had opened. There is additional parking at the nearby Keighley Retail Park, but check the restrictions there too. The nearest electric car charger is at Keighley Leisure Centre, which is a rapid charger on the GeniePoint network.
Keighley railway station is a 20-25 minute walk from Cliffe Castle, with half-hourly trains to Leeds and Bradford and less frequent trains to Carlisle and Lancaster. Keighley bus station is a 15-20 minute walk; the 903 bus runs roughly hourly between 10am and 4pm Mondays-Saturdays and gets you much closer to Cliffe Castle.
So this month’s playlist is about, well, months. Basically there are a couple of good songs about September that I like, and I just went from there. It’s 10 songs, and not all months are represented, but it’s a theme, right?
Green Day – “Wake Me Up When September Ends”. This was the fourth single from Green Day’s seventh (and in my opinion best) studio album, American Idiot.
Earth, Wind and Fire – “September”. A classic disco track that seems to be in about every third Tiktok video that I’ve come across this month.
U2 – “October”. This is an older U2 single from 1981, and was the title track from their second album. Unlike most well-known U2 tracks, this is a piano track with limited vocals.
Wyclef Jean – “Gone Till November”. I’ve included the ‘pop’ version as this is the one I remember from watching MTV in the 1990s when this came out. A more downbeat song from Wyclef’s other contemporaneous singles like “It Doesn’t Matter” and “Perfect Gentleman”.
Neck Deep – “December”. Note some spicy language in this one. I first came across this in December 2019, when I was going through a bit of a rough time (some job insecurity, problems with this blog and a bad general election result) and this song was, as they say, a ‘mood’.
Foo Fighters – “February Stars”. Into the new year; I couldn’t find anything interesting for January so here’s an album track from the Foo Fighters second album. It’s another slower track, which seems to inadvertently be something of a theme with songs named after months.
Delain – “April Rain”. This is the fourth time Delain has popped up on one of these playlists of the month, which isn’t a coincidence. We’ve seen them live twice in their original line-up and they used to be one of my favourite bands. April Rain was the first of their singles that I encountered and remains one of my favourites of theirs; it’s the first single from their second album.
BT – “Flaming June”. A big change of genre here as this is some trance from American musician Brian Transeau, better known as BT. This was a collaboration with German producer Paul van Dyk, and was a big hit at the time – it used to be a regular on Dave Pearce’s Dance Anthems show on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday nights.
Take That – “Sweet July”. The newest song on this playlist, having come out in, you guessed it, this July as the second single from Take That’s tenth album. It’s a funky pop song.
Taylor Swift – “August”. With Taylor Swift having released 12 studio albums in her 20 year career, it’s not surprising that I would find one of her songs to fit a theme. This is from her 2020 downbeat album Folklore.
Last weekend, I took our ten-year-old to the Imperial War Museum North, in Salford Quays. I’m choosing to post about it today, for a reason that will become apparent if you read on.
The Imperial War Museum North is one of the five branches of the museum; the first was in London, opening in 1917 towards the end of the First World War. There’s also a branch in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, and the Imperial War Museum also cares for HMS Belfast and the Churchill War Rooms. I’ve been to the London museum once; I was very young and so my memories are vague, but the Queen Mother was also visiting on the same day, presumably to open something. And I’ve been on HMS Belfast, as a teenager, and the Churchill War Rooms in 2012 (which I apparently didn’t blog about).
Anyway, this was my first visit to the Imperial War Museum North. Which, considering it’ll be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, is perhaps odd. There are very few free museums in the north of England reachable by public transport that I haven’t been to yet.
Inside the museum
Our visit was just in the afternoon, and so we only had time to browse the main exhibition space. There’s a temporary exhibition upstairs on at present, called Outrageous Women: Marriage, Religion and Culture, but we ran out of time to see that.
The main space is one large, open space split off into five zones. Each zone represents a period of history:
The First World War
The Inter-war years
The Second World War
The Cold War
Into a new century (1990 to now)
You can follow them chronologically – this is what we did – but you don’t have to.
Whilst you will see tanks, planes and artillery in the museum, this isn’t a military museum per se. It’s more about the history of war and conflict, primarily in the UK and Europe, and its impact on people. You therefore learn about the events that led up to wars breaking out, how people lived through them (both on the front lines and at home), and what happened when the fighting stopped.
The Big Picture
On the hour, the lights in the main exhibition space dim, and a short 5-10 minute show is projected onto the walls. The shows vary depending on the time; there are six currently in rotation, and we got to see two of them:
Ukraine: Our Ordinary Lives. This follows several young Ukrainians who have remained in their country since the war with Russia broke out in 2022. It shows them trying to live as normal life as possible – attending school, celebrating birthdays, graduating from university – whilst bombings take place around them, friends and family are killed and there are regular interruptions to water and electricity supplies. It’s a reminder of the reality of living in a war zone in the 21st Century, and the bravery and stoicism of young people facing a horrendous situation.
The Roads We Walked. This video marks the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress, which took place at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall, Manchester, in October 1945. It’s delivered as a series of poems, but highlights the role that Manchester had in a number of African nations eventually achieving independence from the British Empire. I recognised some of the names mentioned: Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta, who both have universities named after them in their now-independent home countries.
September 11th
The final zone, which focusses on the present day, includes some exhibits from the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA, included the mangled and rusty remains of a window pane from the World Trade Centre in New York. Today is 25 years since those attacks took place, and there is a focus on the resultant wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed.
It’s a good museum, and one that I’m sure we’ll re-visit. Whilst our ten-year-old is mature enough to handle the more difficult themes (and liked seeing the old children’s toys on display), they haven’t quite covered enough history at school to be able to appreciate everything just yet.
Accessibility
Being a new museum, accessibility is good – there are lifts and step-free access everywhere. There are disabled toilets with both left and right hand transfer; whilst there isn’t a Changing Places toilet, there are two within easy walking (or wheeling) distance at the Lowry Arts Centre and at MediaCity:UK. Wheelchairs are also available to borrow whilst visiting, and you can also borrow sensory backpacks. If you have sensory issues, particularly regarding bright or dim lights and loud noises, then you may wish to read their accessibility guide before going.
Entry to the museum is free, although you’re welcome to donate or buy a detailed guidebook. There is a café, but we didn’t eat there on this occasion. Free Wi-Fi is available, including on Eduroam.
Parking is available on site, but has to be paid for. I saw what looked like electric car chargers in the car park, but they’re not listed on any apps and so may not be available for the public to use. Instead, there’s parking at the nearby Quayside shopping centre which includes six Standard-Plus AC chargers on the Evyve network.
There are good public transport options – this, and it being free entry, were key reasons why we went. There is a Metrolink tram stop right outside, conveniently called Imperial War Museum, and this is on the Trafford Park line with trams from Manchester city centre and the Trafford Centre. Trams are typically every 12 minutes. It’s also only a short walk to the MediaCity:UK tram stop. The number 30 bus also stops right outside – this runs from Piccadilly Gardens to the Trafford Centre and seems quite frequent, even on Sundays.
If you’re running Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi, then your device will have Bluetooth support out of the box. But the official Home Assistant hardware, including my Home Assistant Green, doesn’t natively support Bluetooth. If you want Home Assistant to work with Bluetooth devices, then you’ll need a Bluetooth Dongle, or a Bluetooth Proxy.
A Bluetooth Proxy has a couple of advantages over a dongle:
If you run Home Assistant Container, or Home Assistant in a virtualised environment such as Proxmox, then you don’t have to bridge the USB Bluetooth Dongle through to Home Assistant.
Not all Bluetooth dongles are supported by Home Assistant, so there’s less risk of buying one that doesn’t work.
However, the distinct disadvantage of a Bluetooth Proxy is that it’s difficult to buy such a device ‘off the shelf’ – and not everyone wants to have to flash custom firmware onto a device.
By comparison, a Bluetooth dongle just plugs directly into your Home Assistant hardware. I picked out the Krisnorey Bluetooth Dongle specifically for the following reasons:
It supports Bluetooth 6.0. While it isn’t the latest version (which is 6.3 at the time of writing), it’s still a relatively new version of the standard.
It has a very long aerial, and so should be able to communicate with Bluetooth devices over a long range.
Someone else had previously left an Amazon review stating it worked with Home Assistant.
And indeed it does – I plugged it in, and it worked straight-away. Currently it’s selling for £17, or £15.33 if you have Amazon Prime (we don’t at the moment). There’s an older version which supports Bluetooth 5.4 which is cheaper, but I can’t confirm whether this will work with Home Assistant or not.
