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. Sometimes Sleuth even gets serious @mcrsleuth
SLEUTH’S CLEVER LINGUISTICAL SLEIGHT OF HAND OF THE WEEK
Sleuth was delighted to see the food and drink magic dust of the city centre spreading up Chapel Street in Salford with chi-chi Italian restaurant and bar opening in the Vimto Gardens development. Sleuth is looking forward to sampling dishes such as grilled Italian pork sausage with fennel sauce for £13.95 with home made pasta very soon. Sleuth spoke about the restaurant to a friend this week. “And what’s it called?” asked the friend. “It’s called Vero,” said Sleuth. “Vero? Is that true?” said the friend. “It is,” said Sleuth laughing at his hugely amusing Italian language sleight of hand.
Vero on Chapel Street
SLEUTH’S LESS CLEVER LINGUISTICAL SLEIGHT OF HAND OF THE WEEK
The Editor-at-Large, Schofield, was hosting the fine Manchester Architect’s Awards at Stubbs Mill on Thursday, when up to the front strode Mike Banton to present the winner of the Manchester Future Architect of the Year 2016. “I’m from Bolton,” said our hero on the mic, “so I won’t be able to pronounce this scheme in Italy.” He pointed at the entry, a concept proposed for the Museo Galleggiante di Cose Milano. “If that one wins, just say ‘spaghetti’, very Italian you know,” whispered Schofield, joshing. “The winner is Kristian James,” announced our Lancastrian chap opening the golden envelope in front of 400 guests, “with his scheme, Spaghetti.” “Spaghetti?” said the puzzled winner when he got to the stage. “Spaghetti?” said Schofield and 400 other people. People under pressure do strange things.
MORE MANCHESTER ARCHITECTS FUN AND GAMES
It was a fabulous event the Manchester Architect’s Awards – full article to follow. The Building of the Year went to Castlefield-based Hodder+Partners’, St Clare’s College, Oxford. This is a lovely light-filled, delicate structure and a deserved winner. Lifetime achievement went to Phil O’Dwyer of OMI architects, a lovely man and justified winner, who became emotional and had to calm himself down with lots of beer. OMI are single-handedly rebuilding inner Salford with schemes such as One Deansgate. The building Sleuth most wants to see built though is this leap of imagination from Rebecca Hall called Growspace. If we can’t have new parks in the city centre, let’s push one into the sky.
Just a dream, but a good one
Can we have this please?
SLEUTH’S BEST DESIGNED AWARDS OF THE YEAR
Winners at the Manchester Architect’s Awards were presented with a fierce lump of alloy that was both the heaviest and most subtle award Sleuth has yet come across at such events. You can’t move in Manchester for representations of the famous Manchester Bee, people are even tattooing themselves with the creature. But as Paul Iddon said to Sleuth about these awards, “We didn’t want to be so obvious so end-on the awards resemble the cell of a honeycomb. Since architects also work collectively and collaboratively the hive idea works that way too.” Clever.
Heaviest and most subtle awards
SLEUTH’S CONFESSION
Sleuth tried to drink all the beer in the Manchester Architect’s Awards. Then he went to Brink bar where he did drink all the beer. When he got home he looked in the mirror and found he bore a striking resemblance to the carved heads on the doomed Black Horse pub just up the road from new Italian restaurant Vero mentioned above.
Sleuth's night out face
SLEUTH & THE POKEMON NO-GO
Last week Sleuth learnt of Pokemon Go - a new smartphone phenomenon which encourages gamers, many of whom seldom do any exercise, to get off their backsides and go in search of land mines in Bosnia. Something like that. So imagine Sleuth's surprise when walking through Piccadilly Gardens he found a large gathering of Pokemon Go players doing absolutely sod all. "What's going on?" asked Sleuth of one gamer. "The servers are down," he said. "So what happens now?" asked Sleuth. "Er, nothing," he said. "Well at least you can enjoy Piccadilly Gardens," said Sleuth, with a wry smile.
SLEUTH’S NAME OF THE WEEK
The above photo came via Adam Pester of PR firm, Echo. 'Pester in PR?' though Sleuth, 'a man and a job made in nomenclature paradise.'
SLEUTH & THE WORLD'S HAPPIEST HAM MAN
Sleuth was in one of his favourite pit-stops in town this week, Lupo Caffe Italiano; a fantastic, proper, diddy coffee shop by Salford Central, which does better Italian nosh - all cooked by la signora Veronica in the back - than nearly all other Italians in the city. The Roman-born owner, Nico Pasquali, was telling Sleuth all about his new series of 'Lupo Lates' events, in which he keeps the shop open later with food, wine, music and allegrai (£10 a pop). "Just wait there a sec," said Nico, raising a finger and scurrying into the back in an almost comedic Italian fashion. How Nico beamed on his return, carrying a tray of some of the loveliest, juicest, most flavoursome porchetta Sleuth had ever tried. "We're making proper Italian butties," said Nico, the world's happiest ham man. (The next Lupo Late is tonight at 18:30 - 42 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 6AF.)
Look at my pork
SLEUTH'S CLEVER VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Sleuth was speaking with local artist and photographer Tom '0161' Quaye this week, when he showed Sleuth a new video he'd made, his so-called 'love letter to Manchester'. Sleuth was charmed, and then impressed. Tom uses something called a 'time lapse/hyper lapse' technique, which Sleuth doesn't really understand, but thinks means pointing your camera at something, standing around picking your nose for a week or so, moving it 0.00001mm, then pointing it back at the same thing. Laborious stuff, but with fantastic results. Well done Tom.
Manc Union from 0161 on Vimeo.
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