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
OYSTERS FOR SPINNINGFIELDS
What are those workmen up to outside The Dockyard on Leftbank thought Sleuth. He went to find out. "It's going to be part New England and part Mykonos," said the Allied London bigwig. “What this?” says Sleuth, staring through the metal fencing at the sand, astroturf and knackered old Jalopy plonked outside The Kitchens. Sleuth’s admits, the rolling green hills and rocky peaks of New England or the brilliant white and blue Greek fishing portiness of Mykonos are not the first thing that came to mind, but admires the vision nonetheless. Anyway, Sleuth been told Spinningfields' developers Allied London are knocking together a new ‘crab shack-cum-oyster bar’ for Leftbank. Sleuth prays this isn’t a wind-up. Sleuth loves the bivalve mollusc with all of his heart. There’s something so basic, filthy and primal about sliding those slippery little buggers down your gullet. Oh yes…
Is This The Crab shack and oyster bar?MIF BEGINS WITH A UNIVERSAL PARTY
Manchester International Festival 2015 began with star-studded party in Albert Square last night. Aside from Sleuth who everybody wanted to talk to, Janet Street Porter was having a dandy time, Stuart Maconie was in full flow and Damon Albarn was chatting merrily. The festival tents looked lovely bedecked with Chinese lanterns, outside more Chinese lanterns hung still on a windless warm night and the Town Hall smiled down on proceedings. Albarn surprised everybody by performing three songs on the acoustic stage, the last being popular Blur hit ‘The Universal’. After his first ‘experimental’ song of the mini-set David Gale, Manc chef and sardonic wit, said to Sleuth, “Let’s chant a request for ‘Wonderwall?”
In the big tent
The party is on
Albarn thinks it's really really going to happen
The Town Hall smiles downNEW NQ HOTEL
Sleuth hears planning permission has been granted for a new four-storey, 66-bed boutique hotel above Dry Bar at 28 Oldham Street. Dry – opened by Factory Records in 1989 – kick-started the regeneration of the Northern Quarter and the bar culture that now defines the area. “Dry is to bars what the Hacienda is to clubs,” said Factory founder Tony Wilson. Christian in sales told Sleuth: "They say after her gig at the Hacienda in 1984 (her first appearance in the UK, by the way) Madonna spray painted her name on the wall and it's still there to this day."
"Odd that," said Sleuth, "Dry opened five years after her gig."
"Oh yeah, probably not then," said sales Christian (never trust a salesman).
"Shame though," said Sleuth, "We could have made a 'Just Like A S-Prayer' pun.
Which Sleuth did anyway.
Dry's Madonna wall probably doesn't look like thisWITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS
Sleuth was at the Friends of London Road Meeting in the Mechanics Institute with various bigwigs including Head of Planning Development at Manchester City Council, Dave Roscoe, and architect, Ray Makin. Most of the people in the large audience were utterly in love with London Road Fire Station and Sleuth was worried it might be a non-debate with everybody agreeing with each other. But before the start Gary Sunbeam approached the speakers’ desk. Sleuth wondered if it was the gent’s real name especially given his rather fetching if eccentric John McEnroe sweatband on his fifty-something brow. When the debate got a bit too back-slappy Gary got his moment. He said: “The Fire Station is boastful, bogus, bombastic, brutal and coloured a sickly sallow yellow. It’s not worth looking at done, I always avert my gaze. It should be bulldozed.” The ensuing uproar was very amusing.
Gary Sunbeam on the extreme right of the picture about to drop bombsEXISTENTIAL CONFUSION STRIKES MEETING
Sleuth has to congratulate the Friends of London Road Fire Station for their tireless efforts to save the building and give it a valuable use. People such as Adam Prince and Emma Curtin have been indefatigable. There was much hoo-haw at the Wednesday public meeting in the Mechanics Institute about whether the building should become a hotel. It was a breath of fresh air when property developer Colin Shenton outlined his plans for the building which emphasised apartments and a 24 hour access landscaped and public courtyard. He got a round of applause. Sleuth couldn’t help smiling at the confusion of the many diehard socialists in the room though. They were lost; stuck in existential confusion about supporting a committed capitalist and his open access, public spirited ideas.
Colin Shenton causes existential problems for the left leaning audience members
SLEUTH’S WISHFUL THINKING OF THE WEEK ABOUT THE LIBRARY WALK BLOB
Sleuth was walking around the city on Saturday and in St Peter's Square he had a thought. He thought: 'That Friends of Library Walk Group are perhaps taking things too far.
SLEUTH AND THE MP
Sleuth was on the editor's Tour of Uninteresting Objects. The editor had announced to the weighty crowd at the beginning, "This is a tour highlighting the little regarded and often overlooked objects of Manchester life." The group moved around the city until walking down Bridge Street, the party met Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Broughton, and a Confidential columnist. The editor introduced the group to Mr Stringer. At which point a member of the tour shouted out, "Is he one of the little regarded and often overlooked objects of Manchester life." Sleuth has to say Mr Stringer laughed very politely.
MIF @ THE CORN EXCHANGE
Manchester International Festival gets it in the neck from certain quarters for not being, well, Manchester enough. So it was good to see MIF contributors, German artist Gerhard Richter and Estonian composer Arvo Part, as well as MIF director Alex Poots and Age of Starlight narrator Prof Brian Cox, supporting Manchester’s new £30m redeveloped Corn Exchange this week... well maybe.
THE MEN'S LIVEBLOG OF THE WEEK
This is the exciting story of the storm on Wednesday night which our fine local newspaper followed minute by minute. You can re-live those wet moments here. The updates included 'Storm approaches', 'Lightning', 'Rain coming down' and the slightly unnerving 'Looks like we might be nearing the end'. It's all gripping stuff and we shouldn't forget the stirring line 'Raining hard in Oldham'.
SLEUTH'S POLL OF THE WEEK
