Thoughts from the Bus Stop

Early Doors: Giro Jim

The regulars of The Grapes. Image via www.comedy.co.uk

I've been watching the box set of Early Doors again for the first time in ages. There are a gazillion beautiful one-liners I could quote you, but here's a gorgeous belly laugh courtesy of pub regulars Joan and Eddie:

Joan: "Did you hear about Giro Jim?"
Eddie: "Oooooooh, can I tell the story Joan?"
Joan: "No."
Eddie: "Oh."
Joan: "He was in here on Saturday night, and he was feeling peckish, so he called the Peking Palace and ordered his chicken and eggy fried rice to be delivered to his house. He then walked round and went in and said 'Have you get a delivery for Giro Jim? Yes they said - Well, I'm Giro Jim... will you give me a lift?"
Eddie: "And ate his eggy fried rice on the way!!"

* SONG OF THE DAY: Lily Allen - Chinese *

Vintage 'Venice' fabric... and the cream of Manchester

Found this fabric in the Martlets Hospice shop on Blatchington Road. I really shouldn't have - I have a whole bed drawer stuffed full of fabric waiting to 'come in useful' but this is the first time in ages I've fallen off the fabric wagon! It's a satin weave with motifs of Venice.

 

What sealed the deal was the shop's label (must have been a remnant), still affixed : 'Anderson & McAuley of Belfast - East Street and Old Steine, Brighton' - I love a bit of local history. If it had entrances on both Old Steine and East Street, there are only a few buildings it could have been in, but I can't find out anything about it, except some photos of the former flagship store in Belfast. I'll have to ask one of the older ladies at church if they remember it.

The 'pounds, shillings and pence' prices date it before 1971 but the Venetian motifs make me think it could be earlier - 1950s? There's nearly three yards of it so I might make myself something to wear - a pencil skirt maybe, or a cheongsam-style top - and still get a bag or two out of it to sell on Etsy/Folksy. Even the reverse looks good so that's something else to play with. Hmmm, thinking head on...

All images (c) Kristen Bailey, 2009

And now, for some Venetian-style refreshment, via YouTube...

Girls discover secret of saving up for wedding bells

Found in a box of old postcards in a charity shop. A priceless piece of social history! 1960s, do you think? The CIS tower is one of Manchester city centre's landmarks, and my auntie Diane used to work there.

* SONG OF THE DAY: The Proclaimers - Let's Get Married *

Images (c) Kristen Bailey 2009

 

Ode to a Manchester bus route

I met him on a Monday
And my heart stood still
Grey Man
Daisy Hill

Museum Seeks Clubbers For Haçienda Project

Poster for the Hacienda's Hallucienda Monday night slot. © MoSI

Via 24 Hour Museum:

"The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is hosting an event designed to capture the memories of clubbers from the Haçienda."

The Museum's exhibition Fac 51 The Haçienda runs from 3 April–30 June, on Tues and Thurs from 10.00am–4.00pm. Urbis will also be running a Haçienda exhibition from 19 July 2007.

* SONG OF THE DAY: A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray *

Every Cloud: Ten Years After The Manchester Bomb

The bomb goes off (from GMP video footage), Postbox outside wrecked Marks & Spencer store (Archive BBC footage)

It's ten years since an IRA bomb blew up in Manchester city centre. It causes widespread damage - but no fatalities. Every Cloud: Ten Years After The Manchester Bomb is on at Manchester's Urbis until December:

"Every Cloud is an installation of work recalling the huge dust cloud thrown up by the impact of the bomb, re-created by Manchester school children, constructed from 80,000 pieces of paper.

The exhibition also presents recorded testimonies and impressions of people who experienced the events of that day. "

The IRA bomb went off just at the end of my second year at uni. It was a Saturday morning and I was in my student house in the Higher Broughton area of Salford, about two miles away. Suddenly, *BOOM* - the whole house shuddered and the windows rattled. I raced to the window expecting to see a lorry crash at the crossroads at the top of our street.

We were gobsmacked when we heard what had happened. One of our friends worked at Marks & Spencers (the bomb was in a van just outside the store) and they'd all been evacuated to Victoria Station about an hour beforehand, when the warning call was made. I think even over there they had had casualties from flying glass.

The rebuilding of the bombed area went on throughout my final year at uni and continued long after I'd left. I've got vivid memories of the damaged buildings - M&S, the Royal Exchange and the massive hole in the side of the Arndale - twisted girders and cables, water dripping from broken pipes - being able to see right inside to shops and offices.

Going back for the first time in years a couple of months ago I hardly recognised that part of town - all tarted up with designer shops, bars, a big screen and an observation wheel - only the area around the cathedral felt familiar.

I was glad to see that the post box outside M&S, which survived almost unscathed while everything in the surrounded area was devastated is still there, and now wears a plaque commemorating its history.

Greater Manchester Police: Manchester bombing footage
Manchester Evening News: City museum marks bombing
BBC: On this day - 1996: Huge explosion rocks central Manchester
BBC: Manchester bomb: in pictures
BBC: Manchester bomb: where were you?

You Are What You Love

My auntie Diane died on 18 May. I've already mentioned this wonderful lady, who (with my uncle) kept homesickness and poor nutrition at bay while I studied and worked in Manchester, and lavished love and care on me when I needed it most - something I'll always remember with gratitude.

Her death was a shock. She was seriously ill but not supposed to be in any immediate danger - we know now that things were much further advanced than anyone had realised. I'm so thankful I got up to see her in March. I really didn't think it would be the last time I saw her.

Diane made a great impact on my life. It feels like part of me has gone. I'm weary with sadness.

The Mancunian Way

The poem 'Rain' by Lemm Sissay, painted on a wall on Dilworth Street, off Oxford Road, Manchester - click on the pic for a larger version.

When the rain falls
They talk of Manchester
But when the triumphant rain falls
We think of rainbows
That's the Mancunian Way

Lemm Sissay

I Think I'm Going Back

Closed-down cafe, 88 Oldham Street, Manchester

Tomorrow I'm heading up to Manchester, which I've not been back to in seven years. My dad's from Manchester and I was at uni there. I hadn't planned to spend much time with my dad's family - I didn't know them very well - but when I became desperately homesick, my auntie and uncle swung into action.

They'd come and pick me up any time I was feeling rotten, and take me to theirs and feed me, do my washing, let me use their phone, lend me stuff for my house - in short, they were surrogate parents to me while my own parents were 250 miles (and seven hours on a coach) away.

When I graduated, I went home, but after a year of mindnumbing tedium and bad jobs, I decided I'd take a chance on a life in Manchester... and ended up living with my aunt and uncle for nine months, until it became apparent (ie I found myself working in a callcentre) that things were not meant to be and I packed my bags and moved back down South to Brighton.

It's going to be so strange going back. A lot will have changed. The IRA bomb went off just at the end of my second year and the rebuilding of the bombed area went on long after I'd left.

I want to spend lots of time seeing my folks of course, but I hope I get the chance to take myself off on the bus so I can explore some of my old haunts. I'm quite a nostalgic sod anyway, and the time I spent in Salford / Manchester was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster... chronic homesickness, blossoming friendships, unrequited love, creative frustration (and occasionally creative abandon), and being toughened up and exhilarated by city life in equal measure.

I expect I'll well up as I walk through Salford Precinct, and I'll brush away a tear as I mourn the demise of Lewis's department store. I'll smile wistfully as I wander down Market Street, remembering my stint as the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk. My heart will race as I climb the stairs in Afflecks Palace, or descend into the basement of Fred Aldous.

And of course the one thing guaranteed to reduce me to a blubbing mess is the bear hug I expect to get from my uncle when he picks me up at Piccadilly Station. Sniff...

Like one of Lewis's

I can't remember how I came across these photos of Piccadilly in Manchester in 2001 (care of Eyewitness Manchester), but I was dead sad to hear that Lewis's department store is no more... and now a Primark - oh, the indignity! OK, it was never as chic as Kendals on Deansgate, but I used to be in and out of there all the time when I lived in Manchester and have affectionate memories of it.

And the place is part of my family's vocabulary too. Apparently the little arcade at the side of the store used be where ladies of the night would hang out after hours. If she found you standing around in a seemingly pointless fashion, my gran would say, 'What are you doing, hanging around like one of Lewis's?"...

Industrial Powerhouse: Fashion Manchester Trail
Manchester Evening News, 28th October 2005: Kendals name dropped forever

You're like Manchester cos I love you... I do!

Great 'day in the life' article about Manchester Cathedral on the BBC today: Doing the work of God in the city. Several parts of it made me want to cheer and a couple bits were quite moving. I was so impressed to hear about the Cathedral's drinking garden, where people who would normally drink in the street (illegal in the city centre) can go to drink. It's attached to the Cathedral's homelessness outreach centre:

"Some of the visitors will not venture past the door of the centre itself but will go into the garden to drink - and the staff can get to know them and see if any look as if they need help."

And this is the quote which really got me:

"Of nearly 3,000 pupils on school visits last year, half were Muslim, says Cathedral Education Officer Joanna Booth. "Some said they didn't know they were allowed in."

Manchester Cathedral John Shuttleworth John Shuttleworth's blog
You're Like Manchester lyrics (from Keris Stainton)

'But you know that I do love you - you're like Manchester...'

Belle Vue Zoo guide book, 1933

A lovely bit of reminiscence from Dad, prompted by the news that Manchester's Central Library is putting on an exhibition about the city's famous Belle Vue Zoological Gardens:

"Many happy hours spent at Belle Vue.. the fun fair, zoo and, later in life, the speedway ('Slant' Palin was the star of the track then) where you would come away covered in red dust from the shale track. Looking back, the animals were not kept as they would be now - but that's then and attitudes have changed, since. Easter was the time when you would get into your new clothes and Mum and Dad would take you to Belle Vue for the day - a great treat!"

Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!

I can barely contain my joy at Mark Radcliffe's return to the Graveyard Shift. The first night he was back on I listened to most of the hour-and-a-half on my feet, jigging about and giggling... high as a kite! I love this man, so much - his musical taste and sense of humour suit me down to the ground. While he was on daytime Radio 1 I couldn't listen to him, but now he's followed me to Radio 2 I can immerse myself in good music once again. I used to be so into music, to the point of anorakdom - heck, there was even a fanzine - but now I look at NME or Dotmusic and I haven't a clue who most of the bands are. So hopefully this means I can get into some new stuff - which hasn't happened for years. STOP PRESS: It's happened already! My colleague and I were 'listening again' to the Monday night show, and a second listen to Charlotte 'Ash' Hatherley's new single, Kim Wilde. And I'll go to the foot of our stairs: turns out it's a free download, complete with CD artwork! Get yours HERE.

Mark and Lard leave Radio 1

I'm quite emotional about Mark and Lard leaving Radio 1 - only because it means they're not doing a show together any more. Really it's my gain - I haven't been able to listen to them while they've been on in the afternoon, except on the odd day off. Mark will be back in June, with a night-time show on Radio 2. It'll be lovely having him back on nights. I will miss Lard though.

Lads, if you only knew how many nights you sustained me through coursework deadlines, how you comforted me as I worked till 4am, covered in glue, ink and bit of fabric. You got me into so many of my favourite bands - Divine Comedy, Tindersticks, Kenickie, Gorky's, Belle & Sebastian - you cost me a bluddy fortune!

You got me funny looks from strangers every time I waved at the Palace of Glittering Delights as I passed on the bus going down Oxford Road...

Best bang a tune on.

BBC: Bowie in tribute to Mark and Lard
BBC Manchester: Mark and Lard's Last Radio Show