Kora Player @digthecity....

I was back in Manchester city centre this afternoon doing a stint of volunteering at the Dig The City Urban Garden Festival. I was on meet and greet on New Cathedral Street. And while most people are wonderful and very appreciative, I've found that some people are downright strange. One guy wanted my 'dig the city' bag I had to hold my maps and leaflets and became quite difficult when I said I needed it more than he did. Then there was the woman who complained long and loud about the council spending money on the city centre again (I don't think they have any financial input to the festival) and not in the suburbs. When I inquired which suburb she was from she said DIDSBURY! People from outside the city need to know that Didsbury is hardly lacking in green spaces as Manchester residents can verify.

I couldn't decide which picture to blip today. I was tempted by Peppa Pig doing a meet and greet with the under fives in St. Ann's Square. She's a bit of a diva these days and comes with her own security who looked rather worried about how they might cope with a riot of 3 year olds.

In the end I decided on this Kora player in the bandstand in New Cathedral Street. A Kora, I learned, is a cross between a harp and a banjo. And, in fact, they believe it made its way to America with the slaves and eventually did become a banjo.

This guy, from Kora Collective, played beautiful, hypnotic, African rhythms and went completely into the 'zone' while he played...