Edward

There was a January heatwave on Friday 28, when Edward Barton performed at the Cornerhouse, Manchester, at the launch of the current exhibition, The People You're Not, "a satirical trip through the private and public faces of fame". Norman Clayture, in wooden underpants, preceded him. The Cornerhouse has no effective aircon, hence the temperature rise. Edward put on a characteristically unpredictable show, at one point invading the audience when chatterboxes at the back failed to quieten down. Don't you understand, you have to Listen To Edward? Edward ended up throwing himself through the curtains and down a flight of stairs.. only to re-emerge some seconds later somehow unscathed. 

newbuild neverbuilt

one city to let

we all fall down

Every time I see this building, an old printer's shop on Princess St, Manchester, viewed here from the bridge over the River Medlock on Charles Street, another bit of it has fallen off. And the hole in the roof has become slightly bigger. Presumably the owners are waiting for the whole thing to collapse. Situated in between the revamped Factory Club and some new(ish) apartments this area will start changing rapidly with the departure of the nearby BBC in the summer.

baby

The newly opened Revolution Gallery at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) contains a partly-rebuilt early computer, the Baby, from 1948. It's lit like the altar in a church.  My mother told me she worked on machines like this in Manchester at around that time, having previously worked on the Bombe decoding machine at Bletchley Park during the War. During the 1970s there was still a place near UMIST on Stockport Road called Mazel Radio, an amazing shop which sold valves and parts and old records..I wonder if the Baby-makers bought their replacement fixtures and fittings there.

transports not of delight

 Lying on my left side to press down on my heart, hoping to slow it down and go back to sleep. It just beats louder. I hear the hoot of an owl. Then the long long whine of a moped. Someone heading for the early shift. Eventually, when just about to drop off, there's the distant bang of a collision on Kingsway. I creep to the window to see outside. Mist blurs white from the lights of the dual carriageway, where the traffic flow is slowing. 7.00am.

not much gentrification going on here

Had a walk this morning past the old Fire Brigade Headquarters on Whitworth Street, Manchester.
I like the way the light hits it in the morning (if the sun is actually shining). For several years there have been stories about this building, which is right opposite Piccadilly Rail Station, being turned into a huge hotel. But, like a lot of building stock in Manchester, the owners are sitting on it. Apparently the firemen used to clean the exterior once a year, scrubbing away at it, presumably, on their rescue ladders.