Week 44: Sleuth wonders if Andy Burnham is getting above himself
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. Sometimes Sleuth even gets serious @mcrsleuth
Sleuth and The Man
Sleuth’s colleague got an official request to talk to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham this week. Burnham has impressed Sleuth with his energy and determination to get at the region’s social ills. But Sleuth wonders if Burnham is getting above himself. The email to Sleuth’s colleague came in bold type from 'The Mayor'. Just 'The Mayor'. For some reasons the words ‘Andy Burnham is Judge Dredd’ flashed through Sleuth’s Manchester mind. “You got a problem? Then call The Mayor.”
Sleuth and Metrolink Qs
Sleuth had to laugh when getting on the tram this morning. Metrolink have come up with this new marketing poster, removing the Qs from various stations. The implication of course being that there's no queues on the service. Sleuth would love to have seen someone from Metrolink's marketing team explain that to this lot earlier this week... (watch the video here or below)
Sleuth's pointless redesign of the week
Sleuth had to look twice at these images from an article by Confidential's Jonathan Schofield this week. Following controversy over the height of a new tower on Shudehill, the architects, 5Plus, had gone back to the drawing board... and done sod all really. Below you see the original design from May 2017, and the reworked design from October 2017. Now, Sleuth says, spot the difference...
BigPapa vanquished
Dirty food restaurant Solita experienced their own marketing misfire this week. They'd offered one (not sure 'lucky' is the word) Twitter follower the chance to take part in the #30daysofSolita, winning 30 three course meals at the restaurant over the course of a month. The winner was the aptly named @BigPapaSully, who began the challenge with cheeseburger spring rolls, buttermilk chicken and Oreo cheesecake, and continued in much the same way until day thirteen, when, following a low key cheesy garlic ciabatta, double-up burger and another Oreo cheesecake, a (by now much bigger) BigPapa could take no more. 'Unfortunately I'm still not well', BigPapaSully wrote on Twitter, 'I'm going to have to finish the challenge here, don't think my body has reacted well to it...'
Now, when your food overwhelms a man calling himself BigPapaSully, Sleuth thinks it might be time to take up with those #CleanEating bores.
Day 11...
Day 13...
Sleuth's worst NHS tactic
Sleuth is angry. Sleuth clearly didn't want to be in A&E at Manchester Royal Infirmary but his son had had an accident. After being seen, Sleuth's son was given an appointment card for the next time. On the back a bunch of vultures had vomited on it. The NHS is always bleating about how people often visit A&E and GPs without real reason. So the idiots who run the hospital trust have allowed ambulance chasing solicitors, Ward & Rider, to urge patients to sue over accidents, so the filthy sods can cream in costs. Presumably claimants will need to see a doctor to have their claim verified. Thus more pressure will be put on NHS services. Bloody mad. Bloody disgusting.
Sleuth and the unfortunate 'Kunst"
Albert's Schloss sent Confidential a press release explaining 'What "Kunts" really means'. Bless 'em. The email set out to promote new live act, Kunst Kabaret. 'Kunst' in German means 'art', but in English sounds like a very rude English word. The problem is that in the email subject line, while trying to be risqué, the PR had misspelt 'Kunst' as 'Kunts'. Oh dear, oh dear. They must have felt like proper...er...well, you get the message.
Sleuth and the mystery of nicknames
Sleuth was in Electrik bar in Chorlton this week, enjoying fine kebabs from the new 'Yadda Yadda' menu. Sleuth spotted this very nattily dressed chap on the decks. "What's the score with the DJ?" asked Sleuth of bar owner Luke Cowdrey. "Oh that's Lord Chester; no mixing, no scratching, he just plays vinyl records on one deck and that's why we love him." "Why's he called Lord Chester?" asked Sleuth. "Not sure," said Cowdrey, "He's not a Lord... he's not even from Chester." "Funny thing nicknames..." said Sleuth. "They are you know," said Cowdrey. "in parts of Sarajevo they call me the Kebab Man."
Sleuth’s A-Boards of the week
It seems one downside to being vegan is lacking enough energy to use grammar properly. Meanwhile, bars in the Northern Quarter may have just gone too cutesy.
Sleuth and the answer he wanted
Sleuth was in the Confidential office this week, on his way to ask publisher/owner Mark 'Gordo' Garner a number of questions.
1. Are you really the greatest food writer the world has ever known?
2. Have you ever actually trained as a butcher?
3. Did you invent the internet?
Sleuth got an unusually straightforward answer to all three...
