Ubiquitous Christmas market

It's that time of year again, and you always know it when the Christmas market appears in town. This is fast becoming an annual tradition in Manchester, and in the last few years the market appears to be growing. It started in St. Anne's square, migrated to St. Albert's square, then even to the little walkway down the side of Marks & Spencer and Selfridges. It used to be known to a lot of us as the German Christmas Market, but now it can't really be referred to as singular as there's so many of them, plus it can't even be called German as it now seems to have a variety of fairy light-adorned stalls selling all kinds of European food and wares. When I visited at the weekend I tried some Swiss pasta with potatoes, known as Alpine... something. It was very good, and even better washed down with a cup of spiced apple cider. There are also stalls selling spiced mulled wine, German bratwurst, pork buns, Belgian chocolates and all manner of handmade gifts. And with all this there's plenty of entertainment, and on this occasion we were treated to a one-man band singing his own particular versions of well-known classics (i.e he didn't always know the words!) What better way to spend a sunday afternoon...

Wonderful:

Mysterious dustpan

Every city has some kind of bizarre street art lurking around corners, but this particular piece of art my cameraphone spied on the corner of Hilton Street and John Street in the Northern Quarter really was in a league of its own. There's no sign, no plaque, no visible explanation of what this 10ft stainless-steel structure actually represents - apart from a dustpan and brush of course. But does it have any deeper meaning, any metaphorical reference? It's a pretty good example of the sort of things that can be found in this part of the city. The Northern Quarter is the hub of all things artistic, avant garde and bohemian, with numerous independent bars, shops, galleries and cafes. So, while not surprising, it still seems a little odd because it's not connected with the artistic world. Upon my research of this matter I found very few explanations of the structure, except a short article on the Baby Bugle's website. The artwork was unveiled on 7th June 1999 to commemorate the work of ordinary people during the regeneration of the Nortern Quarter and coincided with a public 'sweep in' to mark the event. A noble gesture then, but nothing is displayed about the reason for this remarkable structure at the site. So it seems that to the majority, the dustpan and brush remains simply an amusing point of interest.
Weird:

Tales from Ye Olde York

This week my cameraphone went to York, a mere 2-hour drive from Manchester. When you're young and poor an interesting expedition has to suffice over sun, sea and sand. York is a beautiful place, and there were plenty of weird and wonderful things for my cameraphone to capture. My favourite wonderful thing has to be the city's spooky reputation.
We went on a ghost tour on our first night, to acquaint ourselves with the grisly history of the place. According to our guide, York has over 500 ghosts in residence. The beared man decked out in cape, suit and top-hat dramatically recounted the most famous of the supernatural tales, and really it was a nice alternative to simply touring the old (and often supposedly haunted) pubs dotted around the city centre, which is of course what we did for the rest of our nights in York!

Talking of haunted pubs, this particular pub, The Golden Fleece was said to have a few ghosts of its own. Unfortunately, apart from a few miserable bartenders and bouncers, we didn't see any unfortunate souls wandering around.

My second favourite thing about York is definitely the architecture. York Minster is spectacular - it took over 200 years to complete and work started in the 13th century. I took loads of pictures but if you want to see them you'll have to click here.
There were Roman columns (or a seating area according to one American couple, who plonked themselves on the ancient relic to have a bite to eat, so I couldn't take a decent picture! grrrr), mediaeval houses and numerous old churches, including a Norman one they found under the Minster.

And on to the weird. The weirdest thing about York simply has to be the place names, including Whip-ma-whop-ma gate and the inexplicably named Bitchdaugther Tower! My poor tootsies were too tired to walk all the way over to Bitchdaughter to take a picture, but if you don't believe me, check it out here(http://www.hometown.aol.co.uk/_ht_a/crusader747/yorkfour.html)



Weird:



Wonderful:

A woman scorned

This picture was taken earlier this year in Didsbury by a colleague, which she promptly emailed around the office. However, I (and many other people) saw the offending vehicle a couple of times, driving around Didsbury and neighbouring Burnage. Obviously the driver couldn't quite afford to get it re-sprayed right away! The sheer venom with which the words were etched into the bodywork implies the wronged other half wanted to hit him where it hurt most, and I'm sure she took great satisfaction from the fact that the poor guy had to drive around with his indiscretions scrawled across his bonnet.
What you probably need to know about Didsbury is that it's home to a lot of 20 or 30-something graduates who have chosen to stay in Manchester. They have good jobs, nice flats and flashy cars, and because of their lifestyles I imagine it's not the first time something like this has happened! It's all a bit Footballer's Wives if you ask me...

Weird:

Drinker on the roof

One of the (only) things I like about the recently introduced smoking ban in England is the abundance of new beer gardens and rooftop terraces that have been springing up in and around Manchester. Pubs and bars have been busily installing outside-heaters and canopies, as well as building these fantastic seating areas atop their premises when previously they may never have considered it.

I took this picture on friday night from the balcony of Glass in Fallowfield. While it always had this balcony, I have only recently noticed it being used regularly. The result is a brilliant view over the heart of the pubs in Fallowfield. Overlooking the 42/43 route (the busiest bus route in Europe) and student haunt Queen of Hearts, the picture really gives you a feel of a typical busy friday night during Fresher's week.

Similarly, this picture was taken in the rooftop terrace of the Old Nag's Head in Jackson's Row, Deansgate (http://www.old-nags-head.co.uk/). This pub was built in 1880 and is safely tucked behind large buildings and office blocks. The result is that people can enjoy their drinks surrounded by old chimneys, backdropped against modern glass highrises. The photo was taken from my seat in a cozy corner of the terrace. I love being able to socialise in surroundings like this compared to a smoky old pub and I hope more of these seating areas continue to spring up! I'll post more pictures of the best rooftop pubs at a later date. However, by the time it gets to winter who knows if I'll feel the same!

Wonderful:

Festival site

Manchester has been host to quite a few festivals, the most notable of recent years being Dpercussion at Castlefield. However, the one I attended out of curiosity on 1st September 2007 was a little different to say the least! Labelled The New Islington Festival, the event was hosted in Ancoats, soon to be New Islington, presumably to make the rich young Londonites moving to the newly regenerated area feel more at home. The problem is, the area isn't quite regenerated fully and work is still ongoing on some of the sites. This would probably explain why the festival itself was held on an actual building site, complete with cranes, half-built structures and fresh plant tyre marks. The festival was quite out of the way, and as we trudged through a run-down neighbourhood, picking our way through the broken glass, I was relieved I'd picked trainers to wear that day! And while it was well organised and staffed, with toilet facilities and an array of tents offering all kinds of different music from rock to 'rap-offs', it still felt pretty peculiar.

This picture is my favourite from the day. There's nothing quite like a dilapidated building looming over children's carnival rides to really emphasise the strangeness of the site. But this festival offered more than just music tents, temporary toilets and overpriced burger vans. It also boasted pedalos! Now that does make it a little bit different ;-)

Weird:

Hello world!!

We're all drowning in a sea of blogs, so what's the harm in adding another one to the mix? Who'll really care anyway?

This one won't be a 'me me me' creation however. It's merely a collection of the weird and wonderful things that I see and hear in my hometown of Manchester. There must be a reason why they cheesily call it 'Madchester' after all...