Sleuth 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 @Sleuth
Image Control Goes Awry
Bruntwood is an admirable Manchester property company, philanthropic and utterly committed to the city (they celebrate it with love, click here). The marketing department got it wrong this week though. They sent out a story with an up-to-date photo of boss Chris Oglesby, saying 'the attached image is the newly approved image for circulation - please avoid using any previously supplied imagery'. The charming Mr O probably had no idea the Soviet arm of Bruntwood was doing this. Still it cheered Sleuth to spot Spanish restaurant Grado in the background. That changed its name to Grill on New York Street a year ago, so not really an up-to-date image at all then.
The official Chris Oglesby
Lovely Pictures Here Thinks Sleuth
Still the Soviet marketing department of Bruntwood mentioned above did at least provide these lovely pictures of City Tower. So we'll sort of forgive them their Big Brotherly-ness.
City Tower
City Tower - Top Floor View
Bar Raised On New York Street
The planning permission signs are out for a new bar with food opening down the road from Grill on New York Street. This will be called Number One New York Street (apparently it'll be a bit like the Alchemist in Spinningfields) and guess what? It’s going to be run and managed by the ever expanding Living Ventures. They also own the aforementioned Grill on New York Street and six operations around Spinningfields and Deansgate. That Tim Bacon of Living Ventures is an expansion fiend.
Planning permissions posted
Unfortunate Phrasing Of The Week
Sleuth was troubled by the human waste water running free into flats story last week – click here. So passing by he snapped a picture of the Castlefield Locks development where the problem lies, and there on the side of the building the developer was advertising a ‘Comfort Cooling System’. Sleuth thinks they probably mean a ‘Comfort Break Cooling System’.
Unfortunate phrasing
Childish Giggle Part One: French Eroto-Auto Parts Dealer Shock
Sleuth was shocked by this on Chester Road. It shows the crazy lengths to which our Gallic chums are taking customisation of their vehicles.
Exciting news in customisation
Childish Giggle Part Two: Sleuth’s Favourite Apple Promo Of The Week
Apparently the latest iPad comes complete with a ‘backside illumination sensor’. This is the technological leap the world’s been waiting for. At last we have arse vision.
Oven-ready Lennox
Sleuth was at the Annie Lennox launch of her exhibition at The Lowry a couple of weeks ago – the Confidential interview with her goes up this weekend. This included a live performance in the Compass Room at the top of the Lowry. The temperature was beyond tropical. A person close by Sleuth said: “God, it’s like an oven here, isn’t it?” Sleuth looked at Annie Lennox in her silver dress. It looked like tin foil. “She's certainly dressed appropriately," he said, "wonder who warned her.”
Annie Lennox is heat resistant
Sleuth And The Brompton Problem
Sleuth rang Metrolink to see whether the bikes in the excellent new Brompton Bike scheme at Piccadilly Station would be allowed on their trams given this was a city council supported scheme. The answer was no, not unless they're covered. Unfortunately Brompton tell us the cover doesn't come with the bike in the new scheme. It appears we are witnessing another example of unintegrated transport in Greater Manchester. Fortunately a quick chat across the office solved the problem. Put the bike in one those endless bags-for-life supermarkets guilt us into buying. Metrolink with all its much avowed statements of being 'green' surely would allow that?
Sleuth’s Most Intelligent Graffiti Of The Week
In the Northern Quarter on Back Turner Street Sleuth found this. It reads Res Ipsa Loquitur and is Latin for ‘the thing speaks for itself’. This could refer to the curry cafe opposite the graffiti, the Northern Quarter itself, or perhaps it's the ghosts of the Romans who founded Manchester.
Latin graffiti - Romans return
Flower Dalliance In The City Centre
All the volunteers who turned out to help green the city centre last Saturday were lovely sorts. Well done to them all. Paul Peacock of Radio Four’s Gardeners Question Time is here shown with photographer Nathan Cox. Castlefield forum member Carol Standfield, continued the good work in her area with some impromptu litter picking and found a bike that had been stolen from Castlegate a couple of weeks earlier. It was damaged, but here it is being reunited with its understandably vexed owner.
Gardeners all
Thomas Street Gardeners
St John's Gardeners
Bike returned
Sleuth’s Inane Tweet Of The Week
This comes from Monday and a man called Graham who tweeted: ‘I don’t like not being well’. Brilliant Graham. Sleuth likes not being well so he can stay at home and watch you tweeting crap for hours on end.
