Erinma Bell

Soup and a cuppa at the People’s History Museum at lunchtime, where I also took the opportunity to have a look at the exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of (some) women getting the vote.

I liked the head sculpture of Mosside (Manchester) based Erinma Bell, peace and anti violence activist, sculpted by Karen Lyons. It is made from 50 recycled handguns, part of a guns to goods project, a modern take on swords to ploughshares I guess. Sobering.

The extra is of two buses sites outside Manchester Central. I asked an official person taking pics what they were doing there. He worked for the manufacturer Alexander Dennis. They are straight off the production line in Scarborough (there is another plant in Falkirk) with the chassis’s made in Guildford. Approx 1500 are produced a year. Good to hear manufacturing still exists in the UK - the reason they were sited here was that there was a big training event at Manchester Central, and Alexander Dennis need engineers.

Together, these were the most exotic things I tripped over today. Although exotic is not a word to describe anything in Manchester really.