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Monday, I decided I wanted to do some shopping and check out Chinatown a bit more. There was supposed to be a Chinese Arts Centre of some sort, so I thought
I'd look for that, and maybe poke around some more small shops along Oldham Street. I didn't have much time before to really give Affleck's Palace a good look, so I figured
I'd do some "regular" shopping in Arndale Center and that walking area, grab a quickie lunch again at Marks and Spencers, and then spend the afternoon partially
at Affleck's Palace, shopping, and then walk around the northwest corner of the city, where the cathedral, the Printworks (this is like the restaurant/shop area of
Union Station, for people from D.C.), and the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena are. On the right is a streetlamp that I saw in the Northern Quarter. Pretty interesting-looking, huh? It seemed pretty out of the place to me in a place as industrial as the Northern Quarter of Manchester. I will take this opportunity to say that I really enjoyed Manchester. It was not the kind of town I expected it to be - I really had thought I was going to be bored to tears in a day or two being there. But there really is quite a bit to see and do, especially if you are a Morrissey/Smiths fan, but also if you like shopping. There was the whole Lowry Outlet center by the Salford Lowry (where Moz performed in April) that I didn't even get to. Manchester itself reminds me a lot of Rockville, where I come from, in that people actually live and work in the city but they spend their free time there too. I was also expecting it to be this grungy old place that you wouldn't wear your best watch in, for fear of getting it nicked. I never felt unsafe, except for a brief moment at the Manchester Apollo, where I was told it was not safe to walk around at night (so I just took the lazy man's way out and took a taxi there instead of walking or taking the bus). And...nearly everyone - except the Chinese in Chinatown, ironically! - was so nice and cordial to me. I've never been to a town that's given me such a smile on my face just by them treating me like I was a local. I tried hard not to be a loud, obnoxious American; I'm not in real life, by the way, but I put myself on alert because I did not want to be pointed out as an annoying Yank. And I think they appreciated that :) Based on Phill Gatenby's recommendation that there wasn't much to see around Ancoats except abandoned buildings, I took the following photo of an Ancoats street sign instead. I figured it would be a good reminder to me about Ancoats, as I am using that as partial inspiration for a piece of fiction I'm working on Morrissey's life before the Smiths. I didn't get much of a chance to do any writing in Manchester because I was breathless about the concerts, but I did manage to write some preliminary stuff in London, while quietly contemplating in Hyde Park and on a bench overlooking the Thames, across the river from Battersea Park. |
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 | The next 4 pictures are the mosaics on one wall of Affleck's Palace. (By the way, despite me following the signs to the Chinese Arts Centre,
the door was locked, and even though the lights were on, I couldn't get in there. Oh well. Instead you can have a look at the mosaic of Buddha on the left.)
Below, first picture, is the "Morrissey mosaic." But you can see Oasis in the upper left hand corner - yes, they are Mancunians too. Can someone please identify everyone else in these two mosaics below? And please, would someone tell me who the guy with the penguins is? I thought that one was hilarious! So what did I do at Affleck's Palace? I was awed by all the little accessories at the Hello Kitty-themed store. I looked through the emo-ish clothing - it wasn't for me. A lot of the stuff was vintage but expensive! I hemmed and hawed forever at the poster store. I tried to find a really good one they had hanging on the ceiling, it was probably "Your Arsenal" era, with one big picture of Moz on the left and really nice insets of Boz, Gary, Alain, and Spencer on the right (really uncommon for a Morrissey poster, as the sidemen usually aren't even pictured). But I couldn't find it. I left instead with 2 badges - a "Kill Uncle" era one of Moz, and an orangey one of the Smiths. I haven't figured out if I'm going to stick them on my backpack or my denim jacket. (Right now, I have a badge that reads "WORK OF ART" from the Tate Britain on my backpack. It replaced the "Irish Blood, English Heart" badge I bought on the Quarry tour, which I lost :P) At Arndale Centre, I refrained from buying England (with St. George's cross) wristbands and a headband, deciding that my money would be better spent on a flag or a shirt or jacket I could wear during World Cup. I eventually found a really nice red football jacket when I was in Camden Town a couple days later. |
posted 06/07/06
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