Shambles Square, Manchester

Had a filling breakfast at the hotel before being collected by my colleague and taken to a local prison for the day to work on our plans for the learning environment we're developing for the prison service.

This was the first time I've been in an adult prison so it was an experience but not as daunting as I thought it might be. It was difficult to tell who was an inmate and who was not. The only way was to see who was carrying a huge bunch of keys. It all seemed very relaxed.

We had a good session in the morning reviewing the existing system then repaired to the staff restaurant for lunch. Good food there, cooked and served by prisoners. Excellent cake!

In the afternoon we worked on classifying resources and planning our actions for the next few weeks. After we'd finished for the day I had a few hours to kill so was dropped off at the Arndale Centre and had time to explore more parts of the city centre on my way back to Piccadilly Station.

My brief exploration of Manchester today and yesterday has given the impression of a city trying hard to be modern and vibrant while retaining the character given by its older buildings. But there is still a considerable volume of work to be done on some of the older buildings that nestle next to the modern stuff.

I've been into the city centre a few times now but find it difficult to get a mental map of the space in my mind despite my perambulations yesterday and today. I found today that I walked within yards of a Wetherspoons yesterday on my way to a Wetherspoons!

Now sitting in the air conditioned little space that is the Virgin Trains 1st Class Lounge at Piccadilly waiting for the 19.55 departure for London. I hope to be back in Bearsted by 00.12 tomorrow morning.