Last post from the North

Hello again from the wonderful NW of England - where on Monday night I was able to experience the magic of an 'old time cinema' - personal and welcoming. The Regent Theatre in Marple has a history dating back to 'union rooms' for the mill workers in 1893 - in 1929 it was granted a license for cinema and music. After several 'lives' it is now completely refurbished in 1969 with Pullman seats and red velvet curtains the Regent and appears to run on popular choices. It was a treat to see Looking for Eric -a British film about the escape from the trials of modern life that football and its heroes can bring for its fans - in this case Man Utd and the wonderful Eric Cantona. It was directed by English director Ken Loach (not many can beat his films about the north) and especially great to see it in the North -apart from trying to decipher the accent at times ... . At 'halftime' a highlight of the evening was when the lights were turned on - movie halted and icecreams were sold by a woman with an old fashioned tray around her neck ....!!



Yesterday, the day started with a beautiful, long walk with Kathy and Bobby (the black Poodle) through the green, green forests down to the Goyt River and along the canal. As usual I marvelled at the old stately trees - especially the deep reds of the copper beeches and the gentleness of the soft grasses wafting in the breeze. The river was quite high - tumbling and frothing over rapids as it made its way down stream - the odd fisherman languished in hope on the banks, ducks and ducklings got about their business and many a dog - with owners in tow frolicked along the path. Finally when we came to the canal - I got my first experience of a locking system at work.
At Marple the canal descends a flight of sixteen locks, lowering the level by 210 feet before crossing 100 feet above the River Goyt on a magnificent three arched stone aqueduct. the canal was engineered in 1793 to improve the transportation of bulk manufactured goods and raw materials, particularly limestone from the quarries at Dove Holes, high up in the Peak Forest. It is an amazing piece of engineering and is obviously well used by holiday makers today.





From this piece of architectural amazement to another - the afternoon unfolded as another unravelling of dreams - firstly a visit to the Theatre of Dreams where Kathy and Anne indulged me a visit to the MU megastore ... and I loitered in the Fanzone under the shadows of the 'trinity' - Best, Law and Charlton. There's an aura about this place that get's to you - if you are an MUFC supporter ...and it certainly wove its magic on me.





We then went down to nearby Salford Quays - the entrance to what once was the busy Manchester-Liverpool shipping canal - now developed and developed and developed - Amidst this growth madness, and in the shadows of the old Hovis Mills building sits the stunning Daniel Liebskind Imperial War Museum. Some of you will remember my ravings about his architecture of the Jewish Museum in Berlin - this has all his hallmarks. The building concept is three interlocking shards, broken pieces of a world shattered by war and conflict - each with its own distinct shape - it is a brilliant building integrating architecture, exhibition design, engineering and a vision of history and the future. As I went up in the creaky steel lift to the viewing platform - I felt the link between this and the experience of standing at the bottom of the tower of silence in Berlin. Profoundly moving. War Shapes Lives is the motto.

We then meandered across the Millenium Bridge designed Carlos Fernandez Casado of Spain. It is constructed using tubular steel space truss towers with the counter weights inside and lifts to allow the passage of ships. The main arch resembles a "basket handle". Across on the other side we came to the Lowry Centre -another architectural masterpiece. Designed as a new arts centre in 1988, it was finally built under the architect Michael Wilford in 1997. The Lowry is triangular in shape, to fit with its site at the end of Pier 8. In area it is the size of 5 football pitches. From the outside, it has a ship-like appearance, especially when viewed from across the canal. This maritime feeling transmits through to the interior as well. Standing just outside the Lyric Theatre, you can see the porthole windows in the Tower and the stairways and landings that look like ships' gangways. The building is constructed in 'layers' like an onion - glass, steel, concrete ... and the inside is spectacular as it hits you with its bright purple and orange sequence of geometrical shapes - hexagon, circle, triangle and rectangle.

As an added treat we managed to get free entry into the Lowry Favourties exhibition. Laurence Lowry was born in 1887 and died in 1976 in Stretford now Trafford and part of Greater Manchester. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury where he lived and worked for over forty years. Lowry was famous for painting scenes of life of the industrial world during the early 20th century. He had a distinctive style of painting and is best known for urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". Another wonderful and unplanned experience.

To end the day - now exhausted - Anne was kind enough to negotite the peak traffic and find our way to my last item on the architectural agenda - the amazing work of Will Alsop Chips in the newly emerging gentrification of New Islington. Set between the Mersey and Ashton Canals, The eight-storey building, was designed for developer Urban Splash and was conceived as “three fat chips stacked on top of each other.”

The building is clad in a composite wall faced with a cladding covered in newspaper print with text that echoes the industrial heritage of the Ancoats area, and each “chip” is covered in text referring to the area’s history. This is an area I would love to return to and chart its progress - the slogan nearby said - Where there's Water there's Life - From what I can see - if it's not there already - it certainly is being developed!





A sumptious three course dinner at Pergua completed a memorable and very jam packed stay in the north ... Many thanks to Kathy and Anne for their hospitality.

Back to London today. Lxx