Kilted in Manchester City Centre

[English Bloke]

Today was Polling day in UK. Most polling stations are situated in local churches and primary schools (elementary schools) and as Mrs Bloke works in a primary school she had the day off (wayyheyy!!). Little Madam was in Nursery so this left us free to enjoy a bit of quality time together.

We decided to go to Central Manchester as Mrs Bloke loves shopping and I like a bit of culture (not that she doesn't like culture, she just prefers shopping). We thought we'd go and have a shufftie at the URBIS exhibition centre which is right in the heart of the city, do a few shops, have a bite to eat and maybe a pint. (I hate shopping by the way!)

Thought you might like to join us...


Outside the URBIS Exhibition Centre (left of shot) looking towards "The Printworks" which among other things hosts a Music Venue, Odeon Cinema, a Hard Rock Cafe and various other eateries.




The URBIS is a striking and remarkable building. It looks like a ski-jump made out of lego windows.

Inside there were three exhibitions. One called "Reality Hack - Hidden Manchester" which was a collection of stunning photographs of aspects of the city not normally seen by Joe Average. Illustrations of derelict underground canal tunnels that stand silent beneath the bustling city centre and lofty views from the Cathedral parapits and other obscure high points. Brilliant pictures all beautifully presented.

Another one was called "Videogame Nation" which tracked the development of video gaming across all formats world-wide. Interesting, interactive exhibits and the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga 500 were a nice trip down an electronic memory lane.

Lastly an exhibition called "State of the Art" which is a continuous but changing exhibiton that follows modern art from major cities around the world. Currently all the works are from artists based in New York and cover paintings, drawings, sculpture, graffiti and multimedia with a contemporary slant (no Rembrants here).





Mrs Bloke next to a huge fabric sculpture of err... I'm not really sure but it was very ... erm... interesting.




Me next to a "Space Invaders" Machine. The first time I ever saw one of these was in a Greyhound bus station in the US in 1979 (I forget where). There were about 30 people gathered around it so I couldn't actually see what it was they were looking at and was puzzled why so many people would be looking at what appeared to be a blank wall. Being the inquisitive type I managed to ease my way through the crowd and remember thinking "Blimey... what a neat thing!" Couldn't get over the amazing graphics... We've come a long way since then.




Manchester City Centre is a real mish-mash of Architecture. In this picture you can see buildings ranging from original half-timbered Tudor (1600's), Georgian and Victorian (1700's and 1800's) and Modern Glass and Concrete finished off by stylish contempory street funiture. Much of this odd, gap-toothed effect is due to inner-city development following the massive destruction wrought on the city by the Luftwaffe during the second world war.




This picture is for Derek... Check these 'Converse All Stars' out!




This is a view down Market Street towards the Arndale Shopping Centre, Corporation Street and Deansgate. Market Street and Corporation Street were completely devastated by a massive IRA bomb that was planted on 15 June 1996 and detonated only 1hr and 20mins after a first coded warning was given. The device injured 200 people most of whom were wounded by flying glass and were gathered on the 'safe side' of a police safety cordon, such was the extent of the huge explosion. The iconic red pillar box on Market Street has since been removed and the whole area has been extensively renovated.




By this time we were a bit peckish so we went for a spot of tiffin. Mrs Bloke opted for sushi and I had some chickeny-thing on rice. Here we see Mrs bloke mastering the art of chopsticks (What was I saying about culture?).




"By George, she's got it!".