16 September - So this is Manchester

I awakened this morning with a sweet ginger kitty asleep by my feet so, in my world, a perfect start to the day. We had a quick coffee and then started out to explore on what is predicted to be the only day without rain during our visit. We made our way along the canal to a terrific little pot called Pollen, which overlooks the canal and serves homemade Viennoiserie, sourdough bread and sandwiches. We shared a bacon and egg sandwich with Skakshuka ketchup - gorgeous! - and a pain au chocolat. I can't remember eating a pain au chocolat as perfect as that in my life. The lamination was superb and it was baked to perfection. I could go back right now and get another! (Bad blogger, I didn't take a photo.)

After breakfast we made our way into town to the Northern district which is supposed to be very trendy and filled with small businesses. There are many small businesses, but most of them are bars or cafes. I did find an interesting spot called the Manchester Craft and Design Center. Many of the stores contained the usual suspects: jewelry, ceramics, scarves, but there were a couple of stores that really caught my eye.

Jane Blease featured lampshades, bookmarks, pins, etc. made from wafer-thin pieces of oak, ash and walnut veneer with piercings highlighted by colored threads. I'm not sure this photo does it justice; for better pix, check her website.

Another wonderful studio featured the work of Victoria Glover, who does cyanotypes. A cyanotype is a monochrome print or image made by placing objects on a pre-prepared light-sensitive surface.

The results are really striking. She was conducting a class when I visited and the students seemed to be having a great time. I'd love to try that someday.

The Craft and Design Center is in an old building that used to be a market. There are still a couple of stalls with their original storefronts. I found this one, and its explanatory plaque, amusing.

Walking around Manchester I was reminded a bit of Leicester and Birmingham, which I visited last year. They're industrial cities whose industries have either moved or become obsolete. As a result of that and hard economic times in general in the UK, they seem quite down at the heels. Parts of the cities are slowly gentrifying, but so much of their character is being lost. Occasionally one sees an old building repurposed as flats or stores, as in the case of the Crafts Center, but more often, they're torn down or sit derelict. It's kind of sad, as the modern architecture makes them all look alike.

Bruce enjoyed an afternoon of pub crawling. I came back to the flat and enjoyed a nice cuppa. On his way home Bruce tried to do some grocery shopping. There must be good stores on the outskirts of Manchester, but the inner city stores leave a great deal to be desired, so we decided to enjoy a take out from the chippy (fish and chip shop.) BTW, if you've never had haloumi and chips, you don't know what you're missing!

Enjoy some miscellaneous sights from around the Northern Quarter.

Mural in the Northern Quarter

Sign in the Northern Quarter

Bus shelter advert (Curlers in public is such a northern thing!)

Queen Victoria, a bit the worse for wear,

thanks to the pigeons

Somehow reminiscent of NYC

A mural on the approach to the Northern Quarter