Cityscape

Another Saturday in Manchester, this one bookended by a house viewing at midday and meeting up with an old friend and her daughter for dinner, which left the Minx and I with plenty of mooch-time, which we commenced with lunch at the Soup Kitchen, which has undergone a bit of a refurb but still serves good food in a very laid back atmosphere.

One of our stops in the afternoon was at the Manchester Art Gallery, from the steps of which I took this photo. The steady appearance of new developments juxtaposed with its splendid brick buildings constantly throws up interesting cityscapes but I struggle to do them justice.

Inside the gallery, we found the room where our friend Josef and his co-conspirator, Lee, were carrying out a 'Public Consultation' for their Manchester Art Authority project, and spent a while there, chatting with them and looking at what people had written. 

At four-thirty we went over to Trof to meet up with my friend, Angela, whom I first met just after Hannah was born in 1993. Ange was in Manchester today with her eldest daughter, who's thinking of coming to university here. It's an odd but real pleasure to see my London friends here in Manchester: although it's by no means my hometown, I find I have an urge to show it off (which is quite Mancunian!).

We were joined by Hannah and, once he'd finished at RNCM, Dan, and after a couple of drinks we all went over to Bundobust for a bite to eat, where the food was great and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. My only sadness was that I left my new 'Manchester bee' umbrella there: it had never even been opened!

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Reading: 'In Aleppo Once' by Taqui Altounyan