Trips & Adventures – 24 May 2018

This week the blog is a bit of a catch-up: After the Wednesday meeting a few of us went to St Ann’s Church to view the “Spirit of Manchester” Flower Festival commemorating the 12 month anniversary since our city was rocked by the tragedy of the Manchester Arena bombing.

The Flower Festival sends a message to the victims’ families and those affected by the bombing, that we are thinking of them and we still care, and says ‘Thank You’ to all Mancunians for the way we came together in a defiant show of unity, solidarity, community and hope.

The floral displays in and outside the church look amazing. and form a great tribute.

On Thursday, 24 May we travelled to Media City and had lunch in the Food Hall at the Lowry Outlet – between us we sampled Deli-Fresh, Harry Ramsden’s and Tandoori Delights!

We then made our way to the Imperial War Museum, the first building in the UK designed by the internationally acclaimed architect, Daniel Libeskind. He was the second child of Polish Jewish parents who had survived the Holocaust.

Libeskind wanted the building to be a symbol of the effects of war, so he came up with the concept of a globe shattered into three pieces – and though it’s been put back together,  it will never be the same again. That’s why IWM North is made up of the Earth Shard, Water Shard and the Air Shard – a piece of the building representing conflict on land, sea and in the air. To be truthful, the exhibitions and the building itself make you feel the unsettling nature of war and can be a bit depressing.

Later that evening members of the group appeared on television, following the filming previously by Granada Reports, tying in with the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Local Government Act 1986 which featured the controversial clause Section 28 banning local authorities from promoting homosexuality or educating people about its acceptability.

There was also an event at the Radisson Blu Hotel – Temporary Monument, Permanent Protest – the opening of an exhibition in response to the 30th anniversary of the Section 28 protests in Manchester, together with poetry performances and guest speakers.

 

Trips & Adventures – 17 May 2018

We met at Piccadilly at noon and headed towards Ancoats, stopping off at the Tib Street Tavern for lunch. Tib Street is named after the River Tib, a minor tributary of the River Medlock, and runs entirely beneath Manchester City Centre. A notion is that the river was given its name by homesick Roman soldiers after the River Tiber but with the word shortened to reflect the size difference between the two rivers.

Tib Street used to be known for pet shops and sex shops but is now part of the trendy Northern Quarter. The sex shops remain but there are now trendy bars as well.

We made our way to Ancoats stopping at Anita Street (apparently the most photographed street in Manchester) where we took some photographs and then onto the canals at New Islington. The area was so calm and peaceful you would not know you were in a city centre.

The only noise was the swan claiming its territory by flapping at the Canadian geese.

We had a relaxing coffee / tea in the Royal Mill cafe. The Royal Mill was constructed in 1912. It was originally called New Old Mill but was renamed following a royal visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1942.

On heading home we spotted this image on the side of a building. It was created by a South African artist and shows two men kissing!

 

Trips & Adventures – 10 May 2018

This is the trip we had all been anticipating – to see the China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at the World Museum in Liverpool. An interesting fact is that the Terracotta Warriors are made out of terracotta.

Ten members of the group travelled to Liverpool but as our museum booking was not until 1.30pm we had refreshments in the cafe at St George’s Hall – a Grade I listed building in the Neoclassical style. In January 2008 when Liverpool started its tenure as European Capital of Culture, the Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr played on the roof of St George’s Hall.

This was followed by lunch in an alcove at the Lime Street branch of Wetherspoon’s, before making our way to the museum.

For more than 2,000 years, an underground army of life-size terracotta warriors guarded the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, until a chance discovery in 1974 unlocked the secrets of a vanished empire. This was a once in a life time experience.

This landmark exhibition told the story of the Han Dynasty’s golden age through exquisite objects from royal burial sites, and will remain in our memories as a really special event.

I wonder which one is the oldest exhibit?

Trips & Adventures –  3 May 2018

It was a short train journey to Knutsford (as a child, I thought Rupert Bear came from Knutsford – but in fact Rupert lives in a cottage in Nutwood village with his parents, Mr and Mrs Bear).

Knutsford is a pretty town in Cheshire, 14 miles south-west of Manchester and features a market hall where we had refreshments and watched home made sausage rolls being prepared. But there were no taxis in sight, and we had to call Altrincham to arrange for a taxi to take us to Tatton Hall. The entrance to Tatton Hall was quite close but the attractions were over two miles down a long drive through a deer park where over 900 red deer and fallow deer were present.

We dined in “The Stables” cafe (venison was on the menu!) after a short walk in the deer park and before visiting the Mansion House.

The Mansion House was a highlight and well worth the visit.

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Age UK Policy and Research Department have recently undertaken research on wellbeing.

They used a rich data source (the Understanding Society Survey), combined with state-of-the-art statistical techniques, to construct Age UK’s Index of Wellbeing in Later Life.

The full report can be read here: creative and cultural activities wellbeing

 

 

Trips & Adventures – 26 April 2018

We caught the Cityzap Bus from Chorlton Street Bus Station at 10.05am. The new Cityzap route between Manchester and Leeds has top spec buses fitted with zap-nav so the driver can pick the quickest route and dodge any congestion. There is wi-fi provided and leather seats – each seat has a USB point so phones can be charged up en route.

After a quick peek at the outdoor market we made our way to Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, a large Church of England foundation of major architectural and liturgical significance.

The next visit was the pub next door – the Lamb & Flag – highly recommended before we walked to the Corn Exchange and then the Henry Moore Institute and the Art Gallery.

Stuart and Tony had a sit down with a hot drink and a slice of millionaire shortbread (because we’re worth it) while the others looked round the art gallery, before joining us.

     

It was another great day out – we finally got back to Manchester about 6.00pm.