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Author Archives: admin

12 Mar 2015

CREAMLINE DAIRIES, REDBANK, MANCHESTER 5.55AM

CREAMLINE DAIRIES, REDBANK, MANCHESTER 5.55AM I awoke at 4.55AM to a single bird chirruping, sensing dawn’s approach, and my first thought of the day was whether the other birds had murderous feelings towards this lone piper as it roused them from their slumber. As I was readying myself, for some reason I kept wondering as to why I never felt threatened when I went out, why I just assumed I would be safe from being mugged or assaulted. The morning, […]

10 Mar 2015

ENGLAND’S NEW YORK – DALE STREET, MANCHESTER 5.52AM & TARIFF STREET 6.18AM

ENGLAND’S NEW YORK – DALE STREET, MANCHESTER 5.52AM & TARIFF STREET 6.18AM A friend once said to me that Manchester was England’s New York, that it shared more in common with that city than London. Often film makers seem to think this too, and the Northern Quarter has often doubled for Gotham. It’s common to see the old warehouses on Dale Street surrounded by trucks and wires, with huge lights poking through the empty window frames like curious Triffids. As […]

08 Mar 2015

ROCHDALE CANAL, MANCHESTER 6.14AM

ROCHDALE CANAL, MANCHESTER 6.14AM The dawn breaks earlier now, and I have to be out by 5.30am, and no-one knows where I am at this time of day. Those close to me are still asleep and will assume that I’m safe, and probably at home. The streets are mostly free of people, and so I often make my way without witness. The clearing sky drew me south on this morning. Around Ancoats and the Piccadilly Basin the emptied land allows […]

05 Mar 2015

GOULDEN STREET CAR PARK, MANCHESTER, 7.28AM

GOULDEN STREET CAR PARK, MANCHESTER, 7.28AM I’ve sometimes parked my car in Goulden Street, and have had to step in a puddle a foot deep just to get into the driver’s seat. The only selling point is that it’s the cheapest car park for a 24 hour stay. There are plenty to choose from around here, with SIP and Euro Car Parks the names that have now replaced Arkwright and Fairburn. It’s still land that’s creating wealth though. Parked cars […]

04 Mar 2015

FROM GREAT ANCOATS STREET, MANCHESTER, 6.11AM

The weather forecast from the previous evening had promised clear skies, but I awoke at 5.25am to the sound of rain tapping against my window and distant police sirens. Out on the street the first person I saw was a thick set man, in ill-fitting tracksuit trousers and a luminous cagoule. He was maybe in his late fifties and had an unhappy, flat face, like a cartoon burglar. He was jogging like someone who knew he had to run from […]

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