August 16th 1819

I travelled to Manchester at lunchtime for a meeting at the Town Hall.

I came across a group of people on Windmill Street viewing a tapestry/banner, put together to commemorate the Peterloo massacre, which happened 197 years ago today. The cavalry charged a group of 60,000 plus who had gathered to hear the radical orator Henry Hunt talking about the need for more parliamentary representation. 15 people were killed and 600 wounded. Was the sun shining on that day too ?

The base for the tapestry was woven/spun at Styal. Only part of it is shown in the blip. The group were going to carry the banner to the Town Hall. I quite liked the activists wearing "sans culottes" type hats, with "liberty" inscribed on them. Those hats would have really enraged the authorities in 1819 !

Manchester is fantastic on a sunny day and I took a few phone photos of people enjoying sitting out in the sunshine before disappearing into the Town Hall. It's summer Day 2 here, Day 3 to follow tomorrow, and then the clouds swirl in. No wonder people feel so happy when the sun does shine in the north-west of England.