In Alexandra Park

can be found the Emmeline Pankhurst tree memorialising our celebrated suffragette who lived and was brought up just a stone's throw from the park. Sarah and I were thrilled to be married in Manchester's central registry office a little over 5 years ago in the Pankhurst Room, but to our discredit only discovering then that Emmeline was the City's chief registrar as well as spearheading the votes for women campaign. But she was only registrar for births and deaths. Women at that time were not allowed to conduct marriages. You'll notice that the word 'women' in the tree sculpture has been worn down maybe by weather or truculent males. It is perhaps symbolic of the fact that women are still far too often 'worn down' as Sarah pointed out out to me!