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. We give £25 for every story/rumour and piece of absurdity you find for us to publish. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious. We ask for the money back if any legal action follows. Follow Sleuth on twitter @mcrsleuth
Sleuth’s New Favourite Place For Pies. And Ale.
This is called Pie and Ale and is between Back Spear Street and Lever Street in The Hive building. It should give prizes out for people who can find it. The bar/restaurant sells pies, ale and a very good selection of whiskies. Tea and coffee too. It’s part of the adjacent empire of Bakerie wine store and - round the corner - Bakerie restaurant. All very distinctive venues. Pie and ale has had a lovely fit out that looks like an avant-garde Scandinavian bar from 1962.
Nice whiskies
And here’s a first.
The booths have plug sockets as standard over the tables, so guests can keep powered up with phones, notebooks, laptops, hair dryers, toasters, short-wave radios, nightlights, electric guitars, electric heaters, lawnmowers...and much to Sleuth’s delight, his portable lava lamp, that he takes everywhere. By the way, there's a full review coming, but the pies such as the veggie one shown above covered in rich gravy with ace mushy peas, make Pieminster Pies look like the mass-produced sorry pies they are.
Handy plug sockets for your mobile phones, notebooks and lawnmowers
Venue from first floor booths showing Old Father Wine, Mr N Sowerby, eyeing the ales
New Japanese Restaurant/Take-away Arrives
Sleuth was wandering along Hulme Street over the weekend and came across an interesting looking venue. This is called Oishi Q with a frontage livened up with big red signs. It serves yakitori style food - in other words grilled skewered chicken that comes all different ways, shapes and flavours. Confidential is trying some over the weekend, but the arrival confirms the area, between the Mancunian Way and Whitworth Street, is a burgeoning foodie paradise what with Zouk and the like.
What's the story - Yakitori
Spinningfields To Hold Sheepdog Trials
Sleuth has been trying to get the Spinningfields people to tell him what is happening in Hardman Square - underneath his office window. Sleuth's come up with his own theory as this picture exclusively reveals. The management are planning the first Urban Sheepdog Trials. Here’s Farmer Seth ‘The Whistler’ Williams with his border collie, Jayzee, at work in front of The Alchemist. Seth loves popular music from across the Atlantic, hence the name of his beloved dog. He likes nothing better than to listen to urban music on his iPod while out on the hills with his beasts. "I'm looking forward to working in Spinningfields," said Seth. "Although I'm worried about complaints from The Left Bank apartments about the sheep baaing."
Kim Kardashian, Kanye West And Eric Morecambe
Sleuth learns from Lynda Moyo, health and beauty editor and his chronicler of modern life, that Kim Kardashian is pregnant with Kanye West’s child. Apparently, there’s a rumour going round that should the child be a boy they might call it ‘North’ as in ‘North West’. If the Beckham principle is to be pursued, as with Brooklyn Beckham, Sleuth wonders if Kardashian is thinking about calling the baby North West because of the couple's rumoured surprise visit to a Morecambe B&B last year. Apparently they went there "to get away from it all, and find a bit of glamour amongst people who understand our lifestyle". Anyway 'North' would certainly be a preferable name to 'Fred'. Or 'Nat'.
Kim Kardashian and Mr West strolling along the Morecambe prom
Sir Alex Ferguson To Have Musical Dedicated To Him
Sleuth loved the part in David Blake’s profile of chef Harry Yeung from Yang Sing (click here) about Sir Alex Ferguson having dinner with Andrew Lloyd Webber. What Harry didn’t explain was why they were having dinner together. Could there be two more different people than a football manager and musical composer? Even in politics they're miles apart. Ferguson is a Labour Party supporter, Webber is a Tory. Then Sleuth realised what it must have been about: ‘Fergie: The Musical’. Obviously. Tunes such as ‘Don’t cry for me Carlos Tevez’, ‘Jesus Christ, Eric Cantona’ and ‘The Flick-on At The Emirates’.
Sleuth’s Massive Game Of Tennis Of The Week
Sleuth reckons this man will not only be the most recognised man on the court but with that racquet he’s bound to win.
Serious rival to Murray
Sleuth's Most Appropriate Bus Riders
Sleuth was in town on Saturday and loved the colour coding of the Hari Krishnas. Of course they couldn't just take any bus. They had to take Bus One of the free city centre service. Right colour you see.
Hurry Krishnas
Sleuth On The Dangers Of Extreme Sports
Sleuth was walking through Turn Moss playing fields to look at the graves at Stretford Cemetery on Thursday. It was a lovely evening and he wanted something pleasant to occupy his time before his son's footy game kicked off. But oh dear, look here, one of those 'extreme ironing' bods seems to have had a terrible accident up a tree.
Don't try this at home
Bye Bye Chester Road - And Memories Of Sir James Anderton
Every seven days or so Sleuth is stopped in the street by policemen, firemen, concierges, Kim Kardashian, piemen, lava lamp salesman, Hari Krishnas and the complete cast of Cannibals currently playing at The Royal Exchange, and asked "Where can we find a demolition site in Manchester of a terribly drab building with an association with the strangest Chief Constable in British history?"
"Why," says Sleuth, "that would be the Chester Road building that was formerly the HQ of Greater Manchester Police. It was a terrible piece of seventies pap-architecture, but also the work place from 1976 to 1991 of Sir James Anderton, who thought he received messages direct from God, seriously wanted the police to have tanks and employed a boat to go up and down the Rochdale Canal looking for gay men up to no good."
And to prove this he showed this picture to the policemen, firemen, concierges, Kim Kardashian, piemen, lava lamp salesman, shepherds, Hari Krishnas and the complete cast of Cannibals currently playing at The Royal Exchange.
Bye bye building
