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. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious @mcrsleuth
HAS MCR ACE'D IT?
Sleuth hears painfully hip Portland-based hotel chain Ace (main picture above) are close to signing for a site in Manchester. Where? There are a few possibilities: Kampus, Origin, someone even suggested London Road Fire Station (of course slippery Alex Langsam would have to return from holiday and complete the sale first). However, the location Sleuth hears banded about most is Allied London's new £1.5bn St John's neighbourhood. Allied London stated last year their intention to create a hotel 'modelled on the Ace Hotel' - well who better than the Ace Hotel? Sleuth knows where he's putting his money...
SLEUTH'S BACKWARDS CELEBRATION OF THE WEEK
Sleuth hears the Editor at Large, Jonathan Schofield, was asked to do a curious pub tour recently. A man called and was specific about the pubs he wanted to visit and learn about. "Briton's Protection, Peveril of the Peak, Circus and City Arms. We have to visit them in that order." "Ok," said Schofield, "may I ask why?" "Yes we're replaying my stag night from ten years ago," the man said. "That's nice," said Schofield doubtfully. "Well, it'll be satisfying," said the man. "We're doing the pubs in reverse from the stag night. I'm divorcing my vile wife and we're unravelling the wedding symbolically by visiting the pubs in reverse order." Sleuth wonders if they'll ceremonially pop the inflatable dolls many stag do's seem to favour. Literally let the wedding down.
Bye, bye, babySLEUTH'S TOURISM REALITY
Next week, or very soon Manchester will get a proper tourist information centre back. Since Spring information has been dispensed from the foyer of the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel, shortly it will be from a refurbished office in One Piccadilly shared with the Transport for Greater Manchester information folk. As for the old state-of-the-art centre which was heralded when it opened in 2010 as the most cutting edge tourist information centre in the world, but then closed through council cutbacks, a new use has been found. It's presently occupied by a retailer called Thrift Shop. How apt. George Osborne would be pleased. Austerity rules.
Information cutback MUSEUM'S MAIN LINE DIVORCE
Sleuth likes a good commemoration. The Museum of Science and Industry has sent him this. 'On September 15th, 1830, the way the world travelled changed forever. The new rail line between Liverpool and Manchester was opened. It heralded the age of the train as the transport system for the Industrial Revolution and beyond. The Manchester terminus, Liverpool Road Station, is now an iconic grade I listed building, part of the Museum of Science and Industry, which is proud to celebrate the 185th birthday on September 15th 2015.' Nice. But there's a huge elephant in the room.
The Museum has after all been complicit in castrating the original rail line by taking pieces of silver off Network Rail to not object to the construction of the Ordsall Chord, the new rail link between Piccadilly Station and Victoria Station. The full story is here. Andrew Davison of English Heritage has said: “The importance of the Liverpool Road station complex will be damaged to a wholly exceptional degree." He calls the complex, 'the Stonehenge of railway history.' Now in danger of disappearance. If the Museum is to have a 185th party it will be a bittersweet affair.
Cut to shredsSLEUTH'S STRANGE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Sleuth was stopped in the street by a woman. He often gets stopped like this. He has such a sympathetic face. "Do you know anywhere in Manchester where I can buy replica vintage medical instruments?" the woman asked. "No," said Sleuth.
SADLED WITH IT?
Following an open public invitation to put forward potential names for a new public square at the heart of Co-Op's £800m NOMA development - which included Cotton, Pioneers, Turing, Millers, Sadler's, Mayes and Makers - an executive panel decided Sadler's Yard was the way to go. Sleuth's unsure. James Sadler was an impressive bloke for sure; an uneducated Oxford pastry chef turned balloonist who designed and built his own hot air balloons, manufactured his own hydrogen (when hydrogen was so new it hadn't even been called hydrogen yet) and went on to become Britain's first aeronaut - making 50 ascents in 40 years two from Manchester from what would become Balloon Street. Still, were Sadler's efforts more important regionally than the Rochdale Pioneers or the fine philanthropist Edward Mayes? Is Sadler's contribution to the fabric of Manchester more that that of cotton or those who toiled in the mills? Hmmm. Anyway the name has landed and we're Sadlered with it. The rest is hot air.
Hot air and pastry chefsSLEUTH’S DAZZLING TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS OF THE WEEK
Sleuth would like to offer up mighty congratulations to Wahaca, the Corn Exchange’s shiny new Mexican, on its glittering, not at all suspicious, or in any way manipulated, 48 five star reviews on the ever reliable TripAdvisor. There's not a scintilla of criticism for the one week old restaurant. Marvellous, truly. ‘Superb food & service as always,' one cheery reviewer writes, 'It's only been open 2 days but I have already visited twice during the 'soft launch' for this restaurant…'
SLEUTH'S SUBTLE PHONE BOX AD OF THE WEEK
Sleuth spotted this on The Square With No Name this week. Don't ask... Sleuth's sure you can guess.
Naughty calls
SLEUTH'S OASIS PUN OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to Dusk til Pawn in the Northern Quarter for this effort...
A bar where with every soup you get a roll with it
