SleuthSleuth is a sideways glance at the city every week, it's the truth, but Sleuth's truth. He's several people all at once. We give £25 for every story/rumour and piece of absurdity you find for us to publish. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious. We ask for the money back if any legal action follows. Follow Sleuth on twitter @mcrsleuth
Is This Manchester's Most Expensive Drink?
Sleuth was in The Whisky Shop on Exchange Street (between Market Street and St Ann's Square) talking to Chris Pateman, the manager. Charming man. Very young, scarcely looks old enough to even drink whisky. He's got a lot of stock to care for though - up to 600 whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, USA, Japan and so on. "Can I have this one?" asked Sleuth. "That'll be £17,370, please," said Chris. "Oh," said Sleuth pausing for thought. Then grinning to himself he cunningly pulled the line no shop manager has ever seen through. "I'll just nip to the cash point and get the cash. Back in a mo."
Chris Pateman, amiable manager of The Whisky Shop, suspects Sleuth won't be coming back with the £17k
Got a spare case? The Dalmore, Constellation, at 42 years is your boy then.
Sniffing bottlesWhisky Shop For Noses And Hoops
Sleuth loves the look of The Whisky Shop, its bottles all beautifully-mouth-wateringly-lit. Sleuth also loves its range of sniffing bottles so you can work out which type of whiff you favour with a whisky.
The shop by the way - one of 22 across the country - is owned by the Celtic FC chairman Ian Bankier, so perhaps it was a good job it wasn't around on 14 May 2008 - click here. Then again those Rangers' folk did like a drink.
Lovely Whisky Shop
BBC Series Makes A Star Of A MCR Star
Louise JamesonSleuth was taking Italian students round his favourite room in the city recently. This is the Reading Room in Chetham's Library. The atmosphere is thick with historical significance. Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Defoe, Benjamin Disraeli, Karl Marx have all spent time here. This Christmas, the room and the library will play a key role in a spooky BBC2 drama by M.R. James. The show will be called The Tractate Middoth and star 'Sacha Dhawan (Last Tango In Halifax, Being Human; The History Boys), John Castle (I, Claudius), Louise Jameson (Doctor Who, Doc Martin) and Una Stubbs (Sherlock, Til Death Do Us Part).' Sleuth looks forward to Chetham's dramatic debut and consequent boost in visitor numbers.
Tourists in the Reading Room
The Writer's Words, The Plot And The Settee
Writer and Director of Tractate Middoth is Mark Gatiss. He's said: "I'm delighted to restore the tradition of a BBC 'Ghost Story for Christmas' and bring to life a personal favourite - The Tractate Middoth - one of James' most atmospheric, thrilling, and downright scary tales." The plot goes: 'In a quiet academic library, John Eldred seeks out the help of young Mr Garrett in his search for a seemingly obscure Hebrew text. Soon, Garrett's hunt for the Tractate Middoth provokes terrifying apparitions in the library and a vengeful menace from beyond the grave.' Sleuth is writing this while hiding behind his own settee.
Magnificent library - star of the screen
Ticket Catastrophe In The Arena
The Editor went to Roger Waters' gig The Wall on Monday in The Arena. Being a press ligger he had a free ticket.
David McHendry didn't. He'd paid £75. David is from Glasgow and had come down with his brother especially to watch the gig.
He'd got there in good time and sat waiting comfortably until the Editor turned up and sat on his knee. This didn't seem to work so the Editor went to sit on an empty seat nearby. Soon after another man came along and sat on the Editor's knee.
David McHendry foreground, his brother, and a lady from Venice presently living near Rhyl whose name Sleuth can't remember.
This didn't seem to work well either so then an usher appeared and shooed the Editor and David McHendry out of the auditorium.
And found they had identical tickets.
Legitimate identical tickets. Nothing bootleg.
Arena red faces all round as they let the Editor and David McHendry back in to watch from a better position with everybody utterly confused. And the staff sighing and saying: "This happens too often."
It all remains a mystery.
Weird how complex ticketing software systems can mess up.
That never happens does it...er...what...oh right.
Same place two people
Just In Case You Didn't Know
Just in case people didn't know the Manchester Arena, née MEN Arena, née Nynex Arena, is now the Phones4U Arena. No honestly.
You get two tickets with every seat.
Sleuth's Things Going On In The City Centre That Confuse Him
Sleuth walked past these women in Exchange Square during the day. It looked like they were flagrantly meditating in public. It was gratuitous meditation that old people and children might have seen. Some people eh?
Open meditation in a public place
Sleuth's Need For A New Signboard Of The Week
Th s is o e of Sleu h's fa ourite restau nts. He oves Chi es f od.
I 's goo fo d
Sleuth's Rainbow Of The Week
Rainbow shining out of Beetham Tower
Rainbow from the same height as the rainbow - thanks to Stacey Berry
Sleuth's Dawn Of The Week - Or Nuclear Attack On Yorkshire
Dawn from Beetham Tower - thanks to Stacey Berry
Sleuth's Beautiful Thing Of The Week
Every seven days or so Sleuth is stopped in the street and asked by policemen, concierges, whisky store managers, Humphrey Chetham, Mark Gatiss, Ghosts, M.R. James, Italian students, Roger Waters, Laughing Buddhas and all the meditating Mancunians: "We need to look down the oldest well in the city, maybe make a wish."
"Why then," says Sleuth, "you should visit Chetham's School of Music and Library and the buildings of the 1420s. There's the best courtyard in the NW and a well that probably predates the buildings and is more than a 1000 years old."
And to prove this he showed the policemen, concierges, whisky store managers, Humphrey Chetham, Mark Gatiss, Ghosts, M.R. James, Italian students, Roger Waters, Laughing Buddhas and all the meditating Mancunians, this picture.
Fox Courtyard with that old well - covered with a stone cap but you can see down holes in the top
Well in the foreground
