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
SLEUTH'S BEST INDIE AWARDS...
The nominations for the inaugural 'Northern Independent Retail Awards 2015' landed on Sleuth's desk this week. The awards - hosted next week at the Mercure Piccadilly - 'aim to celebrate and commend the independent retailers in Northern England who offer a plethora of unique products', just like Spar, Nisa, Londis and Costcutter, who have all been nominated for 'Convenience Store of the Year'. Sleuth has oft popped into a Spar or Nisa on the look for a really 'unique product', last week he found some custard creams. Congratulations too to Heathcotes Brasserie (which has closed) and Lunya who have been nominated for 'Eatery of the Year', alongside Northern Quarter kebab shop Hunters BBQ... what?
Spar: great for unique products - even in ChinaSLEUTH’S EFFORTLESS A-LISTER STATUS
Last week Sleuth was invited to the opening of Manchester International Festival (MIF) which included an impromptu live acoustic gig from Damon Albarn. This week he’s had another ‘VIP invitation’. ‘Hi Sleuth, Clayton Green Brewers Fayre are hosting "PLAY" this Saturday 11th July: a VIP day of fun and games, celebrating the launch of their new Beano-themed play area. The whole day is complementary (sic) and includes face-painting, Beano arts and crafts, and a two course meal for all parents and children.’ Sleuth loves being an A-lister.
SLEUTH'S SOFTIES OF THE WEEK
Sleuth hears that people at Bjork's MIF gig on Saturday were complaining that only alcohol and soft drinks were available at the the bars and there were no bottles of water. Sleuth sighs and takes a slug of his morning whisky and wonders what has happened to the steely nature of our martial race when grown-up people at a celebration prefer water to beer.
SLEUTH GETS LOST AND SO DO ALL THE OTHERS
Sleuth found himself at MIF's Interdependence event in the ex-Granada TV building. Director of MIF, Alex Poots, kindly invited him for lunch along with developer Tom Bloxham, arty-type Hans Ulrich Obrist and city Chief Executive, Sir Howard Bernstein, plus about twenty other cultural big wigs. They all charged through the labyrinthine corridors until after five minutes twisting and turning Alex Poots shouted out "Does anyone know where we're going?" It's the sort of existential question Sleuth feels is right for Manchester International Festival.
Old Granada StudiosKEEP IT DOWN WUD'YA
Sleuth hears Northern Quarter's Millstone, that unruly karaoke boozer on Thomas Street owned by brewery JW Lees, has requested of the council that their 'rear exit' is brought back into use after a condition in their licence forbade them from opening it after midnight. Sleuth can't imagine why, if Sleuth lived round the back he'd love to hear Proud Mary seventeen times a day from 8am to 2am. But what Sleuth loves most is this description of the pub on the JW Lees website: 'The Millstone pub sits quietly just on the outside of the popular Northern Quarter bars.' Quietly? Outside? Hmm.
The Millstone sits 'quietly'SLEUTH'S SILLY RESPONSE OF THE WEEK...
Sleuth loves the folks on Skyscrapercity.com, they're Sleuth's type of boffins; diligent, dissident and utterly obsessed with buildings. Still, one user blew Sleuth away this week with their nescience. In a forum titled 'What Does Manchester Need', this user wrote: 'At least one iconic building that symbolizes the city'. Erm...
SLEUTH'S CARRY ON GAG OF THE WEEK
Sleuth attended the press preview of Ed Atkin's Perfomance Capture exhibition for Manchester International Festival last week. Addressing the haughty arts crowd, Ed explained his artistic process. "I do enjoy working on my own," said Ed. "It allows me to do things to myself." Sleuth tittered. He was the only one.
Ed doing things to other peopleSLEUTH’S TOURIST ADVICE
Every year Sleuth is asked where might tourists camp close to the city centre. Sleuth says, try Castlefield...
Or St John’s Gardens...
Or St Ann’s Square...
Or St Peter’s Square...
Or Albert Square...
Or Cross Street...although under this tent you have to share space with about 400 corpses who have been camping there for about three hundred years and are about to dig in at Southern Cemetery.
