Manchester or Madrid?
Saturday, June 13, 2009 I was in Manchester yesterday looking at venues for events at the Conservative party conference in October. My sat nav took me on what I imagine was the shortest route - an A-road across the Pennines. Stuck behind a line of slow-moving lorries it added at least an hour to the journey.
On the way home I turned the sat nav off and immediately got lost. Ignoring signs for the M6 and M62 I eventually found myself in leafy Alderley Edge from where I decided to head south via Buxton - not the quickest route, certainly, but very scenic.
As for Manchester, I have never warmed to the city. People who have lived here tell me there's a great buzz about the place and lots of things to do. I'm sure there are. Visually, however, large parts of the city centre remind me of one of those drab, grey Eastern European cities - Warsaw, perhaps.
Trams, great big concrete office blocks, utilitarian-looking hotels ... I've tried, I really have, to like Manchester. I've come here many times for conferences and other events. Years ago I produced a concert at the city's Library Theatre. I've stayed at the 5-star Lowry Hotel (courtesy of the BBC) - and even that was a peculiarly soulless experience.
I'm no fan of Christiano Ronaldo, but if I had a choice between Manchester and Madrid I know where I'd live.
Simon Clark
Forest is joining forces with The Freedom Association to host a party in Manchester on Tuesday 6 October. There are also plans for a "beer and sandwiches" event to promote the Save Our Pubs & Clubs: Amend The Smoking Ban campaign. Details to follow.
Events
Reader Comments (6)
It's common knowledge that the IRA's effforts caused about £7 of damage, and millions of pounds-worth of improvements to Manchester.
Let's face it, Britain is woefully short of beautiful cities. Can you honestly attest to any great beauty in Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Hull, Carlisle, Birmingham, Southampton, Bradford, Leicester, Nottingham or Reading?
The old cities of Canterbury, Bath, Winchester, Colchester, Chester and York are the only decent ones I can bring to mind... I haven't been to Bristol for many years, but that used to be quite acceptable too.
Once stunning cities of London and Edinburgh are being eroded by the tide of 'good-enough' utilitarianism and a brashness that can only have come from countries such as USA and Australia, sublimely comfortable in their philistinism.
But what price for change? Do we want to be like the soma-sedated folk of Vienna, Zurich or Copenhagen in order to acheve aesthetic satisfaction?
It's not for me.
AJ
Although I live close to it, I'm not a fan of Manchester either. Stockport is a far nicer place.
It sounds as if you fell victim to the notorious A616/A628 Sheffield-Manchester trunk road. Only in the UK could the road link between two of the biggest cities be a steep, winding single carriageway road, that cannot be improved because it passes through a National Park.
Manchester United fans like this don't help endear us to the place either.
Wow! A Forest event outside London!
I live 12 miles from the centre of Manchester. I really, really want to attend.
Make it happen, and I will be there! Please keep me informed.
By the way, it is unrealistic to expect the City of Manchester to be pretty. The buildings erected in the city were intended to be imposing but 'utilitarian', intimately connected with the cotton trade, via the Manchester Ship Canal.
The City has since developed to become a centre of excellence for the North West, in terms of Legal Matters, Education, Music, the Airport. Etc. Oh, and by the way, the surrounding countryside is really, really lovely!
The buildings are not very important. It is the PEOPLE that matter.
GO FOR IT!
I hail from Manchester, well, Salford to be exact, and I admit it ain't the prettiest place on the planet. We should remember that it is the largest conurbation in Europe.
Tomorrow night I will be resting my head in Lagos. Cities like that, or Maputo, or Libreville, or Luanda, or even Geneva, do not fare well in comparison with Manchester.
Sometimes we just need some perspective....
Its all down to the EU guys, getting all the cities of europe to look utilitarian and the same, paving the way for the federal states.