250th anniversary: Bridgewater at Bollington

The Bridgewater Canal and towpath near Little Bollington in Cheshire.

The canal is 250 years old in 2011. See events and more at: http://www.visitsalford.info/bridgewater250.htm

Barton Arcade by night

The Barton Arcade was built in 1871. This is the entrance from St Ann's Square. I'll take some photos of the stunning interiors another time.

www.bartonarcade.com states: "Barton Arcade was built by Corbett, Raby & Sawyer and is hidden behind the facade of Barton's Buildings on Deansgate. There are two entrances from Deansgate and another reached from St Ann's Square, in a wonderful cast-iron and glass curtain wall. Inside everything is light and airy, with three tiers of balconies with ornamental balustrades curving around the U-shaped arcade, inside is a gorgeous glass and iron shopping arcade with two octagonal domes rising from glass pendentives, probably the best example of this type of cast-iron and glass-roofed arcade anywhere in the country.

The original ironwork came from Macfarlane's foundry in Glasgow, however the obvious influence was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. Barton Arcade is a Grade II listed historic building."

Is there honey still for tea?

The White Cottage tea rooms at Little Bollington, resplendent with buddleja.

"...And laughs the immortal river still
Under the mill, under the mill? 
Say, is there Beauty yet to find?
And Certainty? and Quiet kind?
  Deep meadows yet, for to forget
 The lies, and truths, and pain?… oh! yet
  Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
       And is there honey still for tea?"

- Rupert Brooke, The Vicarage at Grantchester, 1912

Norbreck nostalgia

We had many happy times in the mid-1990s here in Norbreck Avenue -

and our former Edwardian terraced house is up for sale at the moment. 

(The UK Edwardian era lasted a mere nine years, from 1901 to 1910,
during which Queen Victoria's son King Edward VII reigned).

Also featuring today on the Summer Stock Sunday blog: http://aroundtheisland.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-stock-sunday-studying-like-crazy.html

NUJ strike at BBC

A picket line at one of the many BBC buildings affected by strikes across Manchester and rest of the the UK yesterday. The National Union of Journalists were striking at 100 jobs being cut at the BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring Services. This is due to the Conservative-Liberal coalition government's cuts in funding to the BBC.

One placard I saw at the side entrance to this building read "Cut fat cats' pay, not our jobs". I must say I missed my early morning BBC World Service newshour programme, but express my solidarity.

More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14152795

Where art reflects opera

This photo is dominated by the reflection of the Opera House opposite. But look closely and you can see part of an exhibition of paintings by Ted Bates. This oil painting is of The New Boar's Head pub in Shude Hill, Manchester and is on sale for £850.
See: http://www.artinthecity.co.uk/view/artistprofile.php?id=123&members_username=Bates

For more Weekend Reflections blog posts see: http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Central library sacrilege

The Central Reference Library, completed in 1934, is undergoing renovation. It will retain its essential character, both inside and out, and reopen in 2013. I can cope with that and look forward to sharing photos of the interior with you when it reopens. But what I cannot cope with is the appearance a couple of weeks ago of a French car on the entrance roof and the accompanying advertising banners.

To do this to a library, in my book (pun intended), is sacrilege.  It seems that civic pride has been sold out here to the highest bidder. The City Council committee that allowed this, should, in my humble opinion, hang their heads in shame!

Gradually graduating

It's graduation fortnight in this ivy-walled enclosed courtyard at the University of Manchester. I think it is safe to say that, judging by what they are wearing, only two out of three of these young men have graduated today. Meanwhile behind them, two other (unseen) female students are tossing their mortar boards into the air in time honoured tradition.  

Tennis tramlines

Working on the tram extension to East Didsbury. The Northern Lawn Tennis club is the building on the right.

Many UK railway lines were closed in the 1960s as a result of the Beeching Reports.  Of those closed, the more fortunate were later reclaimed and used as cycle paths and walkways. Some of the latest extensions to the Manchester Metrolink tram network are reusing some of the old rail routes, such as these here.   

By the way, today is 50 years since cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin visited Manchester. See my post at: http://mancunianwave.blogspot.com/2011/04/yuri-gagarin-visit-to-manchester-july.html

Salad days

We have started to enjoy the first crops from our vegetable patch, which we created over Easter: spinach, which is the plentiful crop in the mid foreground here. We're also growing beetroots, courgettes, tomatoes, mint and broad beans.

By the way, I use the title "salad days" in its original sense, i.e referring to a youthful time, accompanied by inexperience, enthusiasm and idealism.