New Year's Eve fireworks

Wishing all readers an enjoyable New Year's Eve.

Thanks for all the support everyone has given me in the first 8 months or so of this blog- People in 91 countries have viewed it so far, which makes Mancunian Wave unoffically global ;-)

Croma aroma

It always looks festive at Croma to me. Even on a summer's evening there are stylish lights and foliage that add to the drama of this wonderful 19th century building at 1-3 Clarence Street. Add some blue lights in December and there you have it- festive pizzas like the snow: deep pan crisp and even... 

Croma's restaurants were designed by Italian designer and restauranter Enzo Apicella. Croma write that Apicella is "citied by The Guardian as one of five people in the 1960s who altered Britain's visual culture and opened up a whole generation's cognisance of pleasure, legendary food critic Fay Maschler said that he 'was responsible for ridding Italian restaurants of raffia-clad Chianti bottles and plastic grapes hanging on fabric vines'.

Enzo's knowledge of food and design has helped to establish Croma's personality, giving our stylish restaurants a real edge, alongside a comfortable dining experience." 

(N)ice (d)rink

The pop up Moose bar by the ice rink at Spinningfields. 


There are signs aplenty at the Canadian based Signs, signs blog. This moose certainly has a Canadian feel... http://signs2.blogspot.com/

The Deansgate: visible from space...?

The Deansgate pub (formerly The Crown) single handedly tries to drain the entire electricity supply for the southern end of Deansgate and beyond...

Oh no it isn't- Opera House 99 years old yesterday!

The beautiful Manchester Opera House at this time of year hosts a theatrical genre that I dread - pantomime.

I have always disliked pantomimes, probably having felt embarassed and/or mystified by the slapstick, obvious jokes and enforced audience participation, ever since my childhood.  They are always popular with many but I know I am not alone in my dislike! Bah, humbug...

The Opera House has in its 99 year history been a home to Luciano Pavarotti and The Covent Garden Opera (surely amongst its high points) but at this time of year it retreats (IMHO) to the level of its darkest days (i.e. when it was a bingo hall) and hosts a pantomime.

This woeful comedy theatre style has its roots in ancient Greece but took on its own peculiarly British traditons from the Restoration era from around 1717.

From www.manchesteroperahouse.org.uk/ The New Theatre, as it was named, opened on Boxing Day 1912. Struggling to compete with other establishments, it was sold to United Theatre Ltd in 1915 and was renamed the New Queens [sic] Theatre. Between the years of 1916 and 1920, Sir Thomas Beecham chose to perform there on several occasions and it was in honour of this great man that, in August of that year, the theatre was renamed The Opera House.

"When the snow lay round about...

...deep and crisp and even." Happy Boxing Day everyone!

We had a white Christmas here in the north-west last year (2010). Here is a view of Dunham golf course, bereft of golfers but with plenty of noise from tobogganists - led by pink-hatted Holly and followed closely by Tim, on their new, blue toboggans. 

For non UK or British Commonwealth readers, Boxing Day (also St. Stephen's Day) is so called because it was the custom on that day for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good and reliable service throughout the year. 

Stephen was a saint stoned to death shortly after Christ's crucifiction, as in the carol "Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen". King Wenceslas himself was a 10th century Duke in Bohemia, part of the Czech Republic, hence King Wenceslas Square in Prague.

The traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and gifts to charitable institutions. The holiday may date from the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries). It could have started with the aristocracy of England giving Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on 26th December. Or it may have been through priests giving the contents of churches' alms boxes to the poor on the day after Christmas.

Merry Christmas at St. Ann's

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas. My Christmas Day photo is of a stained glass window at St. Ann's Church. The church is about 300 years old, with its consecration taking place way back in 1712. Its tower marks the centre of the city of Manchester.

It is named after three Anns: Ann, maternal grandmother of Jesus; Anne, Queen of England from 1702 until her death aged 49 in 1714; and Lady Ann Bland who founded the church.  

Angel of the north-west

An angel looks down upon the Manchester Wheel. The archangel Gabriel is believed to be the angel of communication and of guidance, helping us with our creativity in areas such as music, writing, and poetry. So the angel of bloggers perhaps? A Merry Christmas everyone!

Fair Exchange

The Royal Exchange Arcade. It's part of the Royal Exchange - a wonderful building and thriving theatre, which I shall post about another time. The Royal Exchange building and the theatre itself are reputed to be haunted. One of the ghosts is said to be that of the actor and founding artistic director, James Maxell. Another is that of a maternal Victorian lady, well dressed and with "a passion for drink".


Meanwhile, 10 minutes walk away is the Manchester Christmas Fair in Piccadilly Gardens, which I have not covered this month- this YouTube video does it justice, set to Silent Night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Zu21isnws

Town Hall treet

There are so many Christmas trees on public display. Those in the shop fronts are there purely to grab your attention and your money and seem to me to be both insincere and soulless. Other trees, in churches, in art galleries and this one amidst the grandeur of the Town Hall, seem more genuine and embody the spirit of the season. 

This photo shows how you can escape the bustle outside and step into the Town Hall, stepping back in time to the 19th century. Enjoy high tea from the refinement of these vintage armchairs, which make up a seating area for the Sculpture Hall Cafe: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/100004/the_council_and_democracy/4579/eating_at_the_town_hall/1

For  a speedy tour of some of the markets, and a run through the Town Hall and up its Clock Tower, check out this 2 minute fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2xhOFAJCIA and the mechanism of the clock at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4i38bJ_iKs&feature=channel_video_title