Intro to Manchester for conference or an event? Lewis Chisnall, Head of Widex UK & Ireland just sent this generous comment about a recent event: “We invited Jonathan to be a guest speaker at our latest product launch event in Manchester, and he proved to be a hit with our guests.…
So left the phone on the tram that's receding here and as I was getting off this sixteen year old came running up and said 'Your phone mate.' Faith restored.
Let’s keep an eye on this one. It’s one of those handsome older not listed buildings that adds greatly to the street scene. It’s the Deansgate pub, formerly called the Crown. It’s in a prime development spot but that’s no excuse to lose it.
@OurCastlefield
@mcrconfidential
A real hardware shop in Mcr city centre would kill it. Lots of flats nowhere to buy a screwdriver. We have shocking retail gaps & so many shops closed. No toy shop, no 2nd hand/antiquarian bookshop, no antique shop, no deli at scale. Other gaps anyone?
@mcrconfidential
@CityCo
St Ann's Square is full of empty units. Why? It should be full of food and drink, tables and chairs and joie de vivre. Why it's not is pure gold...and diamonds and rubies...
Public culture has returned. Here’s the queue to get back into Central Library in the city centre. Heart-warming. So how come other cultural institutions, art galleries and museums, which could far more easily maintain social distance than a shop or a pub, are still closed?
Dear
@ObserverUK
this is a terrible piece of journalism: doctrinaire politics, nothing more.
@OfficialTfGM
points out the report from
@cities_clean
doesn’t take into account the incredibly popular Metrolink - that means the report is useless. Maybe a bit of balance?
Architects, developers & planners, why do you use or allow the use of white render on UK buildings? These are a couple of Mcr examples. Of course they now look awful, with seemingly no money to sort them. Can anybody think of a single decent example of white render as it ages?
Lend me a hand. Doing a piece on Manchester's most unusual structures. Want ten of them. Got a good idea of what I think, such as the Godlee Observatory hanging over Whitworth Street, but what do you think?
@mcrconfidential
Manchester tours are back. And you don’t even have to leave the house. I’m perking up Zoom with a series of tours packed with fascinating content & entertainment. Join me for unique & interactive excursions into this extraordinary city.
@visit_mcr
Sad news. Peter O’Grady died suddenly last week. Peter and team were the NQ vanguard with the lovely Market Restaurant. In 2009 Peter became a fine Mcr tour guide. He was witty, charming, a friend, a colleague, a gentleman. He will be sorely missed.
@mcrconfidential
World’s worst title for a bus in Mcr right now. Yes there’s a Spice Girls exhibition in the Great Northern but a little lateral thinking was needed here perhaps.
@mcrconfidential
@GNWManchester
A new city centre bookshop and café in the most splendid surroundings. Not sure about the name but I like the intention and the delivery from
@gunnercooke
@mcrconfidential
Definitions of rudeness: folk wearing rucksacks on public transport, particularly packed
@MCRMetrolink
trams. They take up space for 2 & bang into others. Not a fan of hectoring public service announcements yet asking people to put them on the floor at busy times would help.
Probably Mcr’s oldest plug & possibly its biggest. This in the presently drained Rochdale Canal (1804) close to Rain Bar. Here’s the plug allowing overflow water to drain into the channel of the long vanished stream of the Tib. The arrow marks the spot.
That is total nonsense. Central Mcr is not a dangerous. Use it & walk it & you will find that is not the case. Just saying so doesn’t make it so. I won’t even say be brave. Because nobody needs to be brave. Use it, walk it, own it or move to a village
Oh stop it with the whinging about Blue Monday, the Hacienda and 'trading on the past'? Let's play the tourist card and accept the international reputation. Chanel were ok to invoke eighties Manc music.
Sir R Leese says more people died from smoking than from Covid last week in Mcr: in total 14 people died from Covid in GM which has 2.8m pop. Respectfully, is 0.0005% even a measurable stat? Yet, 500 STA jobs lost in UK today, 7K M&S jobs etc. Why are we still pursuing lockdowns?
Please please PR people never ever send me a message ever again with the desperate and sinister intro of ‘Reach out’. It makes me cry for the death of the English language. Anyway here’s a picture of Mayfield depot.
Moles in Manchester’s Roman Gardens? No, the mottling of idiots using cheap barbecues. It is careless vandalism. Are these the same people who complain about the lack of good green space in the city centre?
@OurCastlefield
My new, massively expanded, Complete Guide to Manchester, is out in a couple of weeks. 336 pages, previous book 244. Loads more info, two more walks and trails, lots more history, people profiles & pics. £11.99. Pre-order from
I said to them: “I always like that last photograph of my groups. Social media after all whispers in our ears, it is our modern affliction. Eh? What do you mean you’re cold?”
@chethamslibrary
Have had someone call for a free guidebook & a free tour because they said they were an ‘influencer’. ‘I’m a professional tour guide & writer so no,’ I said. They seemed affronted. I find it delicious an old infection ‘influenza’ sounds so much like a new one ‘influencer’.
My lovely Ridgeback bike has just been stolen from opp M&S on Market Street. It was a tool of my trade. And those misery-making thieves went straight through a
@kyptonitelock
If you see my bike let me know where please. Build a picture of what’s happening to it.
Oh and a further point. I will never give up cycling into the city centre. This is my city and the ugly indviduals who attempt to spoil my enjoyment of its glorious architecture and splendid street scene have no bloody chance of winning.
So some Swedish guests on a tour, looked from
@20StoriesMCR
& asked if Manchester was the greenest city in the UK, as there seemed to be a forest in the city. ‘Ah,’ I said, ‘they are mature trees in suburbs developed in the 19th century. The trees are taller than the houses now.’
I'm very fond of the fact that in the second Olympic Games in Paris in 1900 the Osborne Swimming Club from Collyhurst won the first Olympic water polo gold ever for the UK. Who’s going to write the script?
Could people just be gracious on Twitter? I dislike playground bullies on the medium. Internet ogres shouting online, cowards to the face. You can choose not to watch TV for a couple of days & read a book, you know, deep learning beyond a narrow mind? It's a death, show respect.
So pleased to announce exclusive regular tours to Mcr's 'boldest building': the Edgar Wood Centre, the former First Church Christ Scientist, Victoria Park. Limited availability. Like Charles Rennie Mackintosh? You'll love this beautiful building.
Lot of whinging about the towers going up around the city centre. Reminds me of the last time we had a proper skyline. People hated that too. I find it all exciting
The new lighting in Manchester Cathedral is absolutely magical, go and view it. It defines ethereal. My two new friends told me about it.
@ManCathedral
A while ago I had an idea for a book about river confluences & how they have affected history. Some result in genesis of cities, other waters meet in isolation.
@NotQuiteLight
took these superb pics of Mersey/Irwell Mcr Ship Canal confluence. Anybody got any faves - globally?
You should reopen. You are a free resource for people. Most other places require entrance fees. If shops are open it is illogical that you aren’t - far more ability to distance within galleries. There is beauty and inspiration inside those walls and it should be returned to us.
We're genuinely interested in what people think about this. We're in the process of preparing for reopening (no date yet) but should we, as Bendor Grosvenor recommends, concentrate on online activity instead?
This is still my favourite enigmatic Manchester graffiti, junction of Henrietta Street and Blackburn Street in Old Trafford. Might do a tour of crazy graffiti - there’s some good stuff out there.
The Secrets of Chorlton: a guided tour. This Sunday.
11am Sunday 18 February 2024, 11am Sunday 16 June 2024
From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to a desirable suburb the story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a fascinating tale of people, places and events. This tour will explore…
It’s disgusting what the digital age has done to children. Gaming with excellent graphics and all that interactivity nonsense. Pah. What the hell happened with being out in the real world smashing up each other’s conkers. Look at the waste of opportunity and fun here.
Researching about pubs on the Mayfield site I have found a lost Mcr gem with an important political history too, Corporation Inn. Thing is, trendy brewers are talking about Amber Ales now as though they are a new thing. Look on the sign on the right.
@MayfieldMCR
Loved a tour of
@ForsythMusic
, Deansgate. Mcr's oldest retailer, from 1857. Guided by Emma, fifth gen of the family, full of anecdotes. Loads of stuff going on here too, incl free Friday recitals, one this week too.
@rncmlive
@Chethams
#manchestermusic
4/4 Finally, if Mcr’s policy to encourage cycling is to work then the scale of bike theft is a real barrier. If riding in for work/leisure from 4-8 miles away then a good bike’s needed. Presently as soon as it’s locked up it’s under threat. This is about more than cycle lanes.
I’m slightly upset that Manchester’s Mr Music Man who roves around the city on his bicycle, boom boxing all manner of tunes has modernised. Now he literally scoots around on an electric scooter.
The shops are open but it’s really quiet. When I went into Jones on King Street around 1.30 I was the first customer. Over the road the Cath Kidston shop has permanently closed, because of the rent. We need the bars & restaurants open so the city can start to feel whole again.