ABC Wednesday: "S" is for a slice of spring

"S" is for a slice of nature's varied and rich colours, layered on a mid-spring morning. A sky of grey, blue and white, a field of rape seed and the Trent and Mersey Canal near Preston Brook. Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday: No.15 red double decker

Next stop, All Saints' Park, last Friday. It's a shame but modern buses don't have that same appeal and attraction as the old ones. I am sure if one of the many Manchester bus companies invested in a fleet of retro style buses like this then they'd be popular. 

I am straying into dangerous territory as I know there are a lot of bus aficionados out there with plenty to say on the subject. This video on Manchester buses from the 1960s to 1981 is enough for me, lovely old footage though.

A post for Ruby Tuesday.

Monday Mural: National Vegetarian Week 20-27 May

The shutters of Unicorn Cooperative Grocery in Chorlton cum Hardy provides my entry to this week's Monday Mural. Helping make healthy and local food work in Manchester.

Hooray! National Vegetarian Week starts today and it's always so easy to go veggie. As well as events nationally there are also two competitions during National Vegetarian Week 2013. The Vegetarian Society Cordon Vert cookery school (based in Altrincham) is looking for budding amateur, or professional, chefs to enter the Chef of the Future contest and for parents and kids there's the Young Veggie recipe competition. 

The Manchester Vegetarian and Vegan Group (also on Facebook as Manchester Vegetarian and Vegan Group) are an informal, friendly social group with meetings on the first Saturday of a month at the Eighth Day Cafe, from 1pm till 4pm. Other events include potluck suppers/parties, meals out and walks.

Sunday Bridges: Bridge over the River Weaver

Bridge over the River Weaver near Northwich in Cheshire.

Linking to Sunday Bridges.

It's a good day to be outside. You can read about my walks at Llangollen to the wonderful Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, (over the border just an hour's drive from Manchester) at the 4 Manchester Women blog.

Weekend Reflections: Great Northern Square

The All Star Lanes Bowling Alley in the Great Northern Warehouse inadvertently provides a nice canvas for a stolen glimpse into the grandeur of other buildings across the square.

There have been changes aplenty here in recent times with the Scandinavian cider pop-up bar arriving, and before that Cuban bar across the way. Though Purity Bar didn't last long so I wonder what will come next there?

Taking part in Weekend Reflections.

Norwegian Constitution Day

City Daily Photo celebrates Norway's Constitution Day today, 17th May. This photo of the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music) always makes me think of the low slung, slick and modernistic Scandinavian School of architecture. The photo is also doubling up for Skywatch Friday.

I think of music when I  think of Norway- some of my favourite bands hail from that country, modern electronica and dream-pop via jazz.  

The country also has the classical music of Edvard Grieg. See here for a 2006 concert at the RNCM of Peer Gynt. Grieg visited Manchester in November 1897, read more at the RNCM Archives blog.

Röyksopp and Flunk are more modern Norwegian bands that I am a big fan of. The former have played Manchester regularly but I am still waiting to see Flunk tour here. Veteran jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek is another Norwegian I hold in high regard-he played in Manchester at the RNCM in 2004. 

A question for our Norwegian bloggers: What's new musically in Norway that I would like?

I also have happy memories of visits to Norway- this photo was from the first time I went, exploring the fjords of Flåm.

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Protest Music Festival, this Saturday

The People’s History Museum is holding an evening programme of contemporary protest music to celebrate Museums at Night on Saturday 18 May . The museum’s story charts the history of protest in Britain over the past two centuries, from the Peterloo Massacre and the suffragettes to more recent strikes and demonstrations. 

During this late night opening visitors will have the opportunity to explore the museum outside of regular opening times to find out more about the history of protest, including the protest music section in Main Gallery Two.

Following the success of his critically acclaimed 2012 protest album Greedy Magicians, described by Billy Bragg as ‘a powerful rallying call’, local singer-songwriter Quiet Loner is a partnering at the event. With ‘the making of a protest album (in five easy steps)’, Quiet Loner will play songs from the album produced by Little Red Rabbit Records. 

Hear the story of how it was made, from its recording over a single evening in a Salford church, to the creation of the artwork on the album sleeve. Quiet Loner will be joined by special guest and acclaimed performance poet Longfella, aka Tony Walsh, who took to the church pulpit during the album recording to deliver a powerful poem about cuts to public services.

Find out more about the Protest Music Festival and follow on Twitter @PHMMcr #ProtestFest for the latest updates.

ABC Wednesday: "R" is for Rhododendrons at Hare Hill

A visit to Hare Hill to see their 70 varieties of rhododendrons is an almost compulsory activity at this time of the year, although they may be blooming later than usual due to the long winter... ABC Wednesday reaches the letter "R".  

Keep the red flag flying here...

It hardly seems a year ago that I was out with 100,000 sky blue fans watching Manchester City parading the Premier League trophy. Yet here we are a year on and the football champions of England are still Mancunian but this time from the red corner of Manchester United. A different 100,000 crowd lined the streets.

As a West Ham United fan I am a neutral when it come to Man City-Man Utd rivalry- taking part in Ruby Tuesday.

I couldn't resist a couple of BBC live screen grabs too: 

Monday Mural: Up against the wall... @print_and_paste

The current mural up at Print and Paste is titled Self Portrait 1 and is by Jon Bland. I like the way it mirrors passers by, probably without their being aware, on a higher and more spiritual level- floating above the street life of Chester Street and seemingly able to pass through 19th century brick walls like a ghost of workers past.

Have a look at this week's other offerings to the Monday Mural meme.