Contact Theatre

I can tell you when and why I first visited Manchester: it was my first year at Liverpool University and one of my new friends, Ash, had a bandmate called John over in Manchester. We took a train across to see him. I think that must have been 1986.

Now, thirty-five years later, John is visiting Manchester with his son, Joe, who is also thinking about going to university in Manchester. Well, I wasn't going to miss out on the chance to see them, so this evening I had a post-work beer with the Minx at The New Oxford and then walked across to Rusholme.

It's about a two and half mile walk and, actually, just one road. Along the way I took a picture of myself in my kilt (extra 1), a nostalgic photo of an EU sign (extra 2), and also a shot of the Contact Theatre (main picture), which, in all my time in Manchester, I have never noticed before. It's stunning.

Even allowing for #pearsonwalkingpace, I managed to arrive twenty minutes early but it was nice to cool down before John and Joe arrived, and once they did, we had a lovely time. (Well, John and I did, it probably wasn't Joe's ideal evening out.)

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Reading: 'Touching The Void' by Joe Simpson.