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
LET IT BEER
...Sleuth was more surprised there's a lap-dancing bar in Alty
Sleuth hears Manchester city centre’s new hopster (a hipster who leans towards hops) bolthole, Café Beermoth, should be ready to go before Christmas. Launching on Spring Gardens on the stretch between Market Street and King Street, the new (and surprisingly large) craft beer bar comes from the chaps behind Northern Quarter’s obscure beer purveyors, Beermoth, and will feature seven hand pumps, ten keg beer lines and a visible cellar behind the bar. Sleuth’s looking forward to it, though Sleuth hopes this new craft beer nirvana appeals to all punters and steers clear of that tiresome, self-satisfied ‘we know more than you’ conceit that seems endemic in places such as Brewdog or Port Street Beer House. Having met the Beermoth lot, Sleuth’s sure it will shine. @cafebeermoth
The new Cafe Beermoth
NEW DEANSGATE RESTAURANT?
Meanwhile, it looks to Sleuth like Living Ventures could be preparing to launch another restaurant on Deansgate, or perhaps extend a current one. Sleuth's spotted a new premises licence application by Living Ventures' subsidary The New World Trading Company (Oast House, Botanist), for the basement space at 78 Deansgate - tucked beneath the Botanist. This may become an overspill for the upstairs bar and restaurant, however, with a new licence application, plus a restaurant name yet to be confirmed, Sleuth suspects LV are either planning a new venue or planning to sub-let the basement to another restaurant operator. Sleuth will keep an eye on it...
By the way, if you're ever looking hallucinate on the cheap, or perhaps lose three weeks, then pay a visit to thenewworldtradingcompany.com
The Botanist, Deansgate
MANCHESTER: PIONEERING CITY
Confidential has compiled a list of many of the pioneering achievements of Greater Manchester here. Sleuth was thus pleased to see we can now add to that list. He read in the MEN this week of Piccadilly Gardens new 'high-tech' McDonald’s which will be the first in the country to 'have self-service screens, contactless payment and fixed Samsung tablets for customers to play games on.’ Apparently, ‘The M.E.N was given an exclusive sneak preview of the swanky city centre branch ahead of its grand opening on Wednesday morning.' Swanky. Wow. So there we have it: The French, Manchester House, Australasia, Tattu, Piccadilly McDonalds. The city’s swanky dining scene sorted.
SLEUTH AND THE SCARY TRUTH OF CITY CENTRE DEVELOPMENT
Apparently in the deserted coroner's court in London Road Fire Station are papers abandoned as the place closed several decades ago. On the sheets are names of the cases, of the deceased. It's like people just upped and left in mid-sentence during the sessions. One of the listed names is Roscoe. Just a minute, Sleuth was at a public meeting over the fate of London Road Fire Station a few months back. It couldn't be could it? Is Dave Roscoe, the main planning officer for the city centre, one of the undead. Would some architects and developers agree? Coming soon to a scheme near you: The Rise Of The Vampire Planners. Be afraid, be very afraid. Especially if you haven't filled in the right form. In triplicate.
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The spooky truth
FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
A most unexpected email popped into Sleuth's inbox this week. It came from the Lingerie Football League UK, a new organisation hoping to 'fight gender equality' - by playing football in lingerie. Sleuth's told the same practice has taken off in the United States, Canada and Australia, where viewing audiences can be almost 50% more than their fully clothed counterparts. "LFL UK plan to bring about a football revolution in the United Kingdom," reads the email, "we believe the beautiful game needs to face up to the ugly inequality of the huge gender wage gap... by watching us play in lingerie."
Sleuth thinks they've cracked it, why aren't female CEOs, earning an average 14% less than their male counterparts by the way, turning up to board meetings in stockings and suspenders, slowly pouring coffee, intentionally dropping pencils? Sleuth's sure their wage packets would soon be bumped up. Because, after all, we could never accept a woman's ability or athleticism unless it involves a bit of leg. Lunacy.
Lingerie Football is coming to Manchester... GroanIT’S ALL IN A NAME
Sleuth took the directors and sponsors of Racing Club Genk in Belgium to City’s Champion’s League game this week against Borussia Monchengladbach. They were here to see city player Kevin De Bruyne who began his career at Genk. The following day over fish and chips at Mr Thomas's Chop House one proud club sponsor regaled Sleuth with the history of the club. “We changed the name in 1988 when we merged with another team, previously we were called Racing Club Winterslag,” he said, then paused. “Someone once told me that Winterslag sounded strange in English and I can’t remember why.” Sleuth decided to make no comment.
So why does 'Winterslag' sound funny in English the man on the left is saying?
SOUTH MANCHESTER NOMENCLATURE FUN
Sleuth and the Editor at Large, Schofield, fell a little in love with the proprietors of The Grape Escape in Northenden just for the name of their bar. Less so the lap-dancing bar in Altrincham called Totties that Sleuth spotted this week. Although, in truth, Sleuth was more surprised there's a lap-dancing bar in Alty than he was by the name.
A summer Grape Escape with lamppost - from the bar's Facebook.jpg)
Totties: Altrincham's surprise tourist attraction
PROTECTIVE WALL OF INCONVENIENCE
Sleuth’s good friend Dympna Gould asked him if he had any pictures of the Christmas Blitz of 1940 for a Manchester Cathedral exhibition. The Cathedral was one of the most damaged British cathedrals from German bombing in WWII. Sleuth said he had pics of the bombed out Assize Courts and emailed them. A while later he got a call saying they hadn’t arrived. And shortly after another one to say the pictures had been found, the Cathedral’s firewall had blocked them. A firewall eh? That would have been pretty useful back in 1940.
The blitzed Assize Courts waiting for demolition
SLEUTH'S 'WELL DONE' OF THE WEEK
This goes to Marie Leenhardt, harpist, Alexander Technique teacher, bandoneon player and tango dancer. On Thursday Marie, who hails from the French Alps, gained her gold medal for twenty years service at the Hallé Orchestra. On certain occasions Sleuth likes to make a song and a dance about certain individuals, it's his forte, he likes to be vocal about it, even harp on about it... Sleuth will stop the puns now. Remarkable work Marie.
Marie Leenhardt clutches her large instrument
SLEUTH’S UNBREAKABLE TRUTH OF THE WEEK
Sleuth was attending an outside broadcast for BBC Radio Manchester on Wednesday. He was sharing space with the Northern Quarter Male Voice Choir. Sleuth has heard the tiresome cliché about Northern Quarter young fellas all sporting beards so he was pleased to see these lads were all clean shaven…er…wait a minute...
BBC Radio Manchester's Sam Walker surrounded by NQ singers living up to themselves
SLEUTH’S MOST BIZARRE SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT OF THE WEEK
