Manchester II

Playlist
The Uglysuit – The Uglysuit
Kleerup – Kleerup
EG – Adventure man
Loney Dear – Dear John

Up around 6:30 and I left Anne sleeping and took a walk around Picadilly...









...listening to a couple of the new CDs on the trusty CD Walkman...

Back to the hotel and back to bed, more tired than I’d thought...

We were both up and out again around 9:30 and we walked down past the Town Hall...



...to the Deans Gate, where preparations were underway for today’s Manchester Pride Parade...

Breakfast at a branch of “Eat” – I am off full English and opted for yoghurt and granola with a tasty hot chocolate...



To the Manchester Gallery...



...where, amongst other things...







Brian Eno had an entry in the exhibition “What Are You Like” – based on the Victorian parlour game where you list some of your favourite items under various categories, along with your pet hate...



Then, down to Canal Street to swap our Pride Day Tickets for wristbands and back to Picadilly to wait for Macclesfield Craig and his girlfriend, Gail, during which time, an angry wasp stung Anne on the arm – but she staved off the pain and soldiered on...

Craig availed me of some further new music – some of his current favourites - including Bon Iver, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, The Panics and Band of Horses...



We set off for “The Village” with Craig and Gail around 1pm and, whilst enjoying some Strawberry cider...



...we browsed around the stalls – some of which were peddling elements of what might be termed “the perverse”...

But I found it all very entertaining...

On to the aptly named Princess Street for the parade, which took over an hour to pass by...








Then we found ourselves in a club dancing at 4 in the afternoon – as I bought some drinks in the adjoining bar, I noted Queen of the South had beaten Ayr Utd 1-0 to go joint top of the league...

More drinks out in the street followed before we left the village in search of food and found an excellent Chinese Buffet venue which satisfied our hunger...

On the way back to the Village, we stopped in at the Fab Club – a sci-fi/comic book themed bar with a full size Dalek on display...



Then, to The Circus Tavern which has the smallest bar in Europe...







By the time we re-entered The Village it was jam packed...



...so we made our way to the relatively peaceful Sackville Gardens with its statue to Alan Turing and enjoyed more of the tasty Strawberry Cider...



The stage was initially occupied by a DJ playing some tasty sounds, then a couple of hours of Stand Up ensued – one of the acts was one of those we’d seen last night in the upstairs room of a bar with an audience of fewer than 20 people – now she was playing to several hundred revellers in a park...

All too soon the time came for Craig and Gail to catch the train home and so we made our farewells just as the heavens opened yet again...

Another great day...

Highlight of the Day : Meeting up with Craig and Gail...