Terje Isungset Ice Quartet used a range of frozen spots on stage. Icy mist drifted from their unique instruments. Ice sheet music played out to haunting and near primaeval melodies. Nature shone through every crispy note. The leader of the pack, Terje Isungset, added more than the name to his group. With a background in jazz and drumming, Terje slid through arrangements on various nontraditional ice pieces.

Mum, Paul and I went to the Royal Northern College of Music, on Oxford Road, Manchester. Thanks to me Mam, experiencing music made from frozen water and the sound of nature has hit my radar. The idea of a winter festival inspired musician having ice and his quartet dropped in the warm autumn streets of Manchester is bizarre. From Lillehammer’s waterfall to a place sat atop the mud that probably drifted from the nearby Medlock river is a tad surreal.

Sat with family, I thought about how lucky we are in Manchester, to experience peace, multiculturalism, and music from around the globe. Chilling out to chill out music from Erling Haaland’s country on a Friday night is a good way to unwind. The music, surprisingly, lifted a headache and allowed for a chance to sit down and switch off the mind.

The following morning Jack Frost had visited Manchester. I sat on a train to Lancaster, opening a new book. Buried In The Sky tells a tale of Sherpa climbers on the K2 mountain’s deadliest day. Page one…