HERITAGE ISN’T JUST ABOUT BRICKS AND MORTAR, IT’S A STATE OF MIND TOO Irk Town remains in the area beneath the new CIS building, on the way up to Collyhurst. If you read The Manchester Man, the famous 19th Century novel that details the life and times of Jabez Clegg, you’ll learn that the River Irk used to flood, bringing chaos to the slums and businesses stuffed into the area around its banks. The book also brings a sense of […]
“MY LITTLE CHAIR IS AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD” The previous week, there had been an usual warmth. Washing again dried on suburban lines and people were seduced into thinking that maybe summer, like supermarket strawberries, was an all year thing. But now a mean chill had arrived, and snow was settled on the Pennines beyond Manchester. During those false flag balmy days I’d gone to see a man about buying a taxi. This flight of fancy took me […]
“ON SUCH BALMY DAYS ARE LIFE LONG MEMORIES FORGED” When I lived in Hulme, back in the mid-Eighties, the dead leaves in Alexandra Park formed a mulch with drugs and danger. Originally opened in 1868 to “deter the working men of Manchester from the alehouses during their day off” the park had lost sight of its original aim and had become a place of dereliction. Manchester has struggled with its green spaces for many years. I sometimes think, when listening […]
Not Quite Light captures, in the half light of dawn, the transition of Manchester City centre, and the area immediately surrounding it. VISIT THE ‘NOT QUITE LIGHT’ PROJECT On the northern edge of the city centre we can see Victorian glories collide with the unsentimental drive to modernise and reacquaint the city with economic triumph. Salford and Manchester jostle up against each other as they both seek to establish who can best capture the ambition of the Northern Powerhouse. Often, […]