Walkways and dreams
“He was blue and I was green,” says Pete Swift. The boss of landscape design company Planit is talking about his meeting with Tom Bloxham of developer Urban Splash and the inception of an idea that brought blue and green together. Cyan Lines, which I’ve mentioned in a previous newsletter, was launched at Aviva Studios on Wednesday with the intention of creating trails stretching 100 miles through Greater Manchester for ‘walkers and wheels’ (ones without engines of course) linking parks, country parks, canals and rivers.
The computer renders for paths along the River Irwell in the city centre look almost sci-fi. To prevent these ideas being future fodder for my Lost & Imagined books, the instigators have estimated they need £100m over ten years.
Some money has already been raised and the scheme is backed by some impressive muscle with both the Council Leader of Manchester, Bev Craig and GM Mayor, Andy Burnham, speaking in favour of the project on Wednesday. Other supporters include private sector big beasts such as Allied London, Bruntwood, Far East Consortium, Landsec, Renaker, Property Alliance Group and Urban Splash. Charity sector support has been given by the Nature Town and Cities Fund, National Trust and Factory International.
Pete Swift said to me: “I don’t imagine all of it will be realised but I do imagine it can be 100% better. There’s something in the universal desire to get reacquainted with the waterways from the simplicity of a water taxi to the complexity of a lido.”
“£100m for 100 miles?” said one wag at the event. “Easy. That’s about 40% of what this one building, Aviva, cost.”
I’ll be putting on a tour exploring the River Irwell shortly. It’s got a mighty story to tell.
“He was blue and I was green,” says Pete Swift. The boss of landscape design company Planit is talking about his meeting with Tom Bloxham of developer Urban Splash and the inception of an idea that brought blue and green together. Cyan Lines, which I’ve mentioned in a previous newsletter, was launched at Aviva Studios on Wednesday with the intention of creating trails stretching 100 miles through Greater Manchester for ‘walkers and wheels’ (ones without engines of course) linking parks, country parks, canals and rivers.
The computer renders for paths along the River Irwell in the city centre look almost sci-fi. To prevent these ideas being future fodder for my Lost & Imagined books, the instigators have estimated they need £100m over ten years.
Some money has already been raised and the scheme is backed by some impressive muscle with both the Council Leader of Manchester, Bev Craig and GM Mayor, Andy Burnham, speaking in favour of the project on Wednesday. Other supporters include private sector big beasts such as Allied London, Bruntwood, Far East Consortium, Landsec, Renaker, Property Alliance Group and Urban Splash. Charity sector support has been given by the Nature Town and Cities Fund, National Trust and Factory International.
Pete Swift said to me: “I don’t imagine all of it will be realised but I do imagine it can be 100% better. There’s something in the universal desire to get reacquainted with the waterways from the simplicity of a water taxi to the complexity of a lido.”
“£100m for 100 miles?” said one wag at the event. “Easy. That’s about 40% of what this one building, Aviva, cost.”
I’ll be putting on a tour exploring the River Irwell shortly. It’s got a mighty story to tell.
Cask Boddington’s is back
After the cream of Manchester was demeaned and devalued by moving from its home city to Wrexham where it was seemingly brewed using slurry from Clywd farms, cask Boddies is back. Manchester brewer J W Lees will be producing 25,000 barrels a year under licence. The rights owners are Budweiser but when they ran the brand perception through algorithms it turned out Boddingtons was still right at the top of British ale name recognition. So Lees have the original recipes and are launching the ale on 23 September back in its rightful home. The specially designed commemorative glass is particularly handsome, see the attachment, but ignore the chrysanthemums showing through the glass.
After the cream of Manchester was demeaned and devalued by moving from its home city to Wrexham where it was seemingly brewed using slurry from Clywd farms, cask Boddies is back. Manchester brewer J W Lees will be producing 25,000 barrels a year under licence. The rights owners are Budweiser but when they ran the brand perception through algorithms it turned out Boddingtons was still right at the top of British ale name recognition. So Lees have the original recipes and are launching the ale on 23 September back in its rightful home. The specially designed commemorative glass is particularly handsome, see the attachment, but ignore the chrysanthemums showing through the glass.
Food halls and food halls
A very attractive food hall with a rather cheesy name, House of Social, has opened underneath new student accommodation from Vita Group. The epithet ‘social’ has been completely overused in hospitality in the last five or so years, but, still, the handsome interior from Manchester-based Tim Groom architects is a treat. Food is good but predictable for a food hall, burgers, pizzas, Indian and Mexican. I spent an hour before the Cyan Lines event doing a bit of reading and research on my computer and very pleasant it was, an easy atmosphere. The location is just south of HOME arts centre at 10 Coleman Street, M15 4ND. News has come in about another food hall as well, this time at Ducie Street Warehouse from Edinburgh Street Food and due to open in 2026. Not sure the market can sustain so many.
A very attractive food hall with a rather cheesy name, House of Social, has opened underneath new student accommodation from Vita Group. The epithet ‘social’ has been completely overused in hospitality in the last five or so years, but, still, the handsome interior from Manchester-based Tim Groom architects is a treat. Food is good but predictable for a food hall, burgers, pizzas, Indian and Mexican. I spent an hour before the Cyan Lines event doing a bit of reading and research on my computer and very pleasant it was, an easy atmosphere. The location is just south of HOME arts centre at 10 Coleman Street, M15 4ND. News has come in about another food hall as well, this time at Ducie Street Warehouse from Edinburgh Street Food and due to open in 2026. Not sure the market can sustain so many.
Morrissey’s not cut out for this
I took Morrissey out for a tour in August. It was a birthday tour and unlikely as it may seem he didn't say much. He was life-size but made out of cardboard. A group of North Easterners with that charming lilt to their accent had booked me to do a Smiths’ tour around the city centre. It was a stag do and the main man was allowed to be wig-less whereas all his chums had to wear very black wigs so as to appear like Johnny Marr – as you can see in the attached picture. The groom had to dress like the cardboard Morrissey but on a hot day those wigs couldn't have been very comfortable so he got off lightly.
A complication was that it was Pride weekend in Manchester and to take in the best Smiths’ sites we had to cross Peter Street. Doing this during the Pride procession with a large cardboard cut-out of Morrissey was problematic. Morrissey has said various things in his deliberately controversialist style about trans issues. He’s not popular amongst many in the gay community. I was leading the group so I scurried ahead wondering if the lads would get through unscathed. They did using the fine tactic of turning Morrissey’s cardboard cut-out to face the ground otherwise they might have been lynched. We live in noisy times and
I took Morrissey out for a tour in August. It was a birthday tour and unlikely as it may seem he didn't say much. He was life-size but made out of cardboard. A group of North Easterners with that charming lilt to their accent had booked me to do a Smiths’ tour around the city centre. It was a stag do and the main man was allowed to be wig-less whereas all his chums had to wear very black wigs so as to appear like Johnny Marr – as you can see in the attached picture. The groom had to dress like the cardboard Morrissey but on a hot day those wigs couldn't have been very comfortable so he got off lightly.
A complication was that it was Pride weekend in Manchester and to take in the best Smiths’ sites we had to cross Peter Street. Doing this during the Pride procession with a large cardboard cut-out of Morrissey was problematic. Morrissey has said various things in his deliberately controversialist style about trans issues. He’s not popular amongst many in the gay community. I was leading the group so I scurried ahead wondering if the lads would get through unscathed. They did using the fine tactic of turning Morrissey’s cardboard cut-out to face the ground otherwise they might have been lynched. We live in noisy times and
Churchill in the Midland Hotel
Last Thursday I was asked to do an after dinner speech at the Midland Hotel for the St James’ Club which was celebrating 200 years. It was a black tie event. My job was to try and not drink too much and be articulate enough to deliver a few points about clubs of this nature (former gentlemen’s clubs but now open to all, of course, in the city of the suffragettes).
I included a couple of snippets spoken by Winston Churchill as a Liberal MP for Manchester. This is him taking aim at left and right, as a recent Liberal, in his inimitable style.
This is part of a speech at the Reform Club in 1906, now Grand Pacific, about Labour and Socialism.
“Liberalism is not Socialism, and never will be. There is a great gulf fixed. It is not a gulf of method, it is a gulf of principle. ... Socialism seeks to pull down wealth. Liberalism seeks to raise up poverty. Socialism would destroy private interests; Liberalism would preserve private interests in the only way in which they can be safely and justly preserved, namely by reconciling them with public right. Socialism would kill enterprise; Liberalism would rescue enterprise from the trammels of privilege and preference ... Socialism exalts the rule; Liberalism exalts the man. Socialism attacks capital, Liberalism attacks monopoly."
The Tories got it in the neck too in an earlier speech for the Cobden Club in the Midland Hotel.
"We know perfectly well what to expect. [The Tory Party] has become the party of great vested interest; corruption at home, aggression to cover it up abroad; trickery of tariff juggles, tyranny of party machine; sentiment by the bucketful, patronage by the pint; openhand at the public exchequer; open door at the public house; dear food for the millions ... and ... cheap labour by the millions...”
Last Thursday I was asked to do an after dinner speech at the Midland Hotel for the St James’ Club which was celebrating 200 years. It was a black tie event. My job was to try and not drink too much and be articulate enough to deliver a few points about clubs of this nature (former gentlemen’s clubs but now open to all, of course, in the city of the suffragettes).
I included a couple of snippets spoken by Winston Churchill as a Liberal MP for Manchester. This is him taking aim at left and right, as a recent Liberal, in his inimitable style.
This is part of a speech at the Reform Club in 1906, now Grand Pacific, about Labour and Socialism.
“Liberalism is not Socialism, and never will be. There is a great gulf fixed. It is not a gulf of method, it is a gulf of principle. ... Socialism seeks to pull down wealth. Liberalism seeks to raise up poverty. Socialism would destroy private interests; Liberalism would preserve private interests in the only way in which they can be safely and justly preserved, namely by reconciling them with public right. Socialism would kill enterprise; Liberalism would rescue enterprise from the trammels of privilege and preference ... Socialism exalts the rule; Liberalism exalts the man. Socialism attacks capital, Liberalism attacks monopoly."
The Tories got it in the neck too in an earlier speech for the Cobden Club in the Midland Hotel.
"We know perfectly well what to expect. [The Tory Party] has become the party of great vested interest; corruption at home, aggression to cover it up abroad; trickery of tariff juggles, tyranny of party machine; sentiment by the bucketful, patronage by the pint; openhand at the public exchequer; open door at the public house; dear food for the millions ... and ... cheap labour by the millions...”
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