I love weekends

On Friday I had a meeting on Back Bark Street in Bolton. I recalled that my grandfather, John Edmondson, had his office on Bark Steet. I found out more, and the house was actually his family home, and he was born there. When he became ill he sold it, and it was turned into very expensive offices. I went to find it after my meeting, and it is now empty. It was good to get some photos though.

12 Bark Street, Bolton. Oct 2010.

12 Bark Street, Bolton. Early 1920s.





 

Dead pigeons in the craft centre.



We had a great day yesterday. H was at cub camp from yesterday morning until this afternoon, so we went into our wonderful city, Manchester, for the day. It always amazes me how much there is to do and see, and it needn't cost much at all. We got an all day bus and tram ticket and off we set. We had a walk around the Northern Quarter, and then went to the Manchester Craft and Design Centre on Oak Street. Most of the units are let now so there was loads to see. We also met Ms. A for lunch in the cafe. The centre is tucked away, and you wouldn't stumble across it if you didn't know it was there, but it well worth a look. We liked the clay dead pigeons in the stairway!



Mirrored building on Booth Street



  

From the Northern Quarter we walked towards Deansgate, going the quiet way to avoid all the crowds and see the new buildings inbetween all the old ones. We went to the John Rylands Library - a fabulous architectural delight that I can't believe I've never been in before. We went specifically to see the Elizabeth Gaskell exhibition, which didn't disappoint. I couldn't get over the gothic building. It was founded by Enriqueta Rylands in memory of her husband John Rylands who died in 1888. The Reading Room is amazing, and we ended up staying there for ages.

John Rylands Library

Flower display outside the library



Main staircase leading to the historic reading room at John Rylands.



We came out of the library around 4pm and I had a brainwave. Cloud 23 opens at 4.30pm, and we were so close.... To kill time we had a wander around Spinningfields, and came across a building site full of interesting silhouette statues. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished result. Paul had never been to The Hilton before, and although he likes real ale, as cheap as possible, he loved the cocktails and I had trouble getting him to leave! We had Thundercloud (vodka), Bloody Mary, Bramble (gin), Singapore Sling and Long Island Tea. We got a seat, and it was clear so we could see for miles. Cloud 23 is always enjoyed!

Statues opposite the crown court in Manchester, Byrom Street.

Manchester and the wheel, from Cloud 23

Coronation Street (see the Rovers Return) from Cloud 23.

Sunset from Cloud 23

Singapore Sling and Bramble

After all this we caught a tram to Victoria as we didn't think our legs could carry us. From there we walked to The Marble Arch on Rochdale Road. I love this pub, with its micro brewery and great food. We stuck to chocolate beer and ginger beer and got food. I had scallops and black pudding, and it was delightful! I also saw a sign for a limited edition beer called Vuur and Vlam (fire and flame) made for the Amsterdam Beer Festival. Only 518 bottles were made. Paul went to get that and a pint, and my bottle was £9.50, oops. We kept the bottle and will save it! Paul, who doesn't like to pay much, was fine, saying it was only like a cocktail. He must have had too much to drink. We stayed there far longer than we expected, caught the tram to Bury, and even managed to get the last bus to Tottington. We tried the local, which was still serving, so a quick half was had in The Robin Hood, then we found our way home.

Today, Paul looked dreadful, but coped. We went to clean out the cub camp this afternoon and haven't done much else. The weekend has gone too quickly though!

The Marble Arch