Euroculture: Street Art on New Wakefield Street, Manchester

These murals on New Wakefield Street under the railway viaduct near Oxford Road station were created as part of a Eurocutural Festival held in June 2012. Only these two and a bit seem to have survived. The planned 2013 festival was apparently cancelled.

A search for New Wakefield Street on Chrissy Brand's Mancunian Wave blog turns up several examples of lost art and information about the event.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

August evening

August evening
so many colours
so many swirls

words & image © Gerald England

This is one of two of my haiga that are included in International Master Festival, a project by SARM's Astropoetry Master Club coordinated by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe and Valentin Grigore in partnership with Astronomers Without Borders with the support of some members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association
and International Meteor Organization, the astronomical circle of Bucharest National Children Palace and SRCSTV ("Youth for Future" Romanian Society for Culture and Science)

The project celebrates 20 years of existence of the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM).

The pages contain a wealth of photography, poetry, haiga from all over the world.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Evening Energy

evening energy
reaches out across sand
and silent sea

words & image © Gerald England

This is one of two of my haiga that are included in International Master Festival, a project by SARM's Astropoetry Master Club coordinated by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe and Valentin Grigore in partnership with Astronomers Without Borders with the support of some members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association
and International Meteor Organization, the astronomical circle of Bucharest National Children Palace and SRCSTV ("Youth for Future" Romanian Society for Culture and Science)

The project celebrates 20 years of existence of the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM).

The pages contain a wealth of photography, poetry, haiga from all over the world.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Hatters' Hostel Mural

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After I'd photographed last week's featured mural Faunagraphic in Stevenson Square, I walked down the road to Newton Street where this splendid huge mural exists on the side of Hatters' Manchester Hostel on Newton Street. I'd photographed it before from the other side on Port Street and posted it here in July 2012. Three months before that it had been featured on Chrissy Brand's Mancunian Wave.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

Faunagraphic in Stevenson Square

I showed you one of the Stevenson Square murals in July 2012. The street art displayed on the outside of the closed underground toilets are part of the Out House project. The art is changed every three months and this latest effort is by Sheffield artist Faunagraphic.

Here is the view from the other side which features the work of Jay Sharples. Two men were busy adding what seemed to be a wooden roof to the top of the old toilet block. I've since learnt that they've created a roof-garden.

The square was busier than usual when I visited last week as due to a fatal fire on Oldham Street there were extra buses using the stops on Stevenson Square.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

Replacing Bridge #28 on the Ashton Canal

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This is bridge #28 on the Ashton Canal as it looked in May 2012 as I approached it from the direction of Portland Basin.

Here it is again a year later in May 2013 when it was being replaced by a new skew bridge in order to allow easier access from Margaret Street to the Riverside Industrial Estate to the south of the canal.

This is from underneath the bridge during reconstruction. On the right is a temporary girder bridge being used to transport materials across.

Looking back underneath the bridge towards Portland Basin. You can see it from further away in my post about the canal on May 10th.

Two months later in July I went back to see the completed bridge, having taken a photo looking towards it from bridge #29 by the Portland Basin.

This is the view over the new bridge from the Riverside Industrial Estate.

Here is how the new bridge looks from the west.

  © Copyright Christine Johnstone and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
And finally a reminder of how it looked in May 2010 from the stern of a narrowboat.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections,

Scenic Weekends,

Shadow Shot Sunday and

Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Weekend Reflections on the Ashton Canal

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This view is from bridge #29 of the Ashton Canal, a footbridge which links the towpath on the left to the Portland Basin Museum.

The canal basin is home to several families of Canada geese.

On the left is the packhorse bridge over the entrance to the Peak Forest Canal.

In the background is Junction Mill chimney. The octagonal chimney, 210 feet (64m) high with an unusual tulip-shaped top was built in 1867 to serve Samuel Heginbottom's cotton-spinning mill which operated from 1831 to 1930. The mill itself was eventually demolished and replaced in recent years with canalside apartments called "Boatmans Walk". In 2000 the chimney was bought by Tameside Council and restored.

In the right foreground is Lilith a restored wooden canal boat based at the Portland Basin.

I had just taken this photographer when I turned round to see what became an encounter with a squirrel which story I posted here last Sunday.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Scenic Weekends.

Encounter by the Ashton Canal

Last Monday I was taking photographs of the Ashton Canal from the footbridge by the Portland Basin. I noticed a woman climbing the steps up to the bridge. She stopped and I wondered for a brief moment if perhaps she thought I was blocking her path, but she was looking down and I saw there was a young squirrel crossing the bridge.

It stopped and looked at me, back at the woman and wondered which way to turn.

It climbed up on the bridge railings. I aimed my camera at the squirrel despite having my sunglasses on and having to shoot almost directly towards the sun. The camera focussed even if my eyes didn't. Another close-up shot is on my photoblog sithenah.

At one point a pigeon flew on the bridge to see what has happening. After a brief period I moved away and the squirrel crawled along the parapet and then jumped into some bushes.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.
Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo and
Camera Critters.

Ashton Canal

The Ashton Canal runs eastwards from Manchester to Ashton under Lyne. It links the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Peak Forest Canal with the Rochdale Canal and Bridgewater Canal and forms part of the "Cheshire Ring".

The original scheme was completed in 1796, running from a large basin behind what is now Piccadilly Station in Manchester, climbing gradually eastwards via 18 locks to Fairfield, Droylsden. From there one level section continued eastward to Whitelands Basin, Ashton under Lyne, while another arm headed north through what is now Daisy Nook, climbing another eight locks to Hollinwood, with a branch running east from Daisy Nook towards Park Bridge. A short arm from Portland Basin crossed the River Tame to Dukinfield. A year later an additional branch from Clayton to Stockport was opened.

The Peak Forest Canal, opened in 1800, joined the Ashton Canal by way of the Dukinfield spur across the aqueduct over the Tame at Portland Basin.

This stretch is just west of the Portland Basin. Behind the high black fence on the right is the Riverside Industrial Estate accessed by an old brick bridge which is being replaced by a wider skew bridge.

In the background is Junction Mill chimney. The octagonal chimney, 210 feet (64m) high with an unusual tulip-shaped top was built in 1867 to serve Samuel Heginbottom's cotton-spinning mill which operated from 1831 to 1930. The mill itself was eventually demolished and replaced in recent years with canalside apartments called "Boatmans Walk". In 2000 the chimney was bought by Tameside Council and restored.

For Skywatch Friday;
Friday Fences;
Weekend Reflections;
Scenic Weekends.

ABC Wednesday: Q is for Queen's Promenade

  © Copyright Dr Neil Clifton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Queen's Promenade stretches from Blackpool North Shore to Bispham. Dr Neil Clifton's photograph was taken Tuesday, 24 August, 1993 and shows trams near the Cabin. Two 'Balloon' cars are coming southwards, while in the distance, a 'Boat' car is on the northbound track.

At that time the tramlines shared the road with other traffic. Note the position of the bus stops.

My own photograph was taken Monday, 8 April, 2013. The road has been reclaimed and a #12 bus en route to the Pleasure Beach can be seen on the right. The tramlines have been moved to a dedicated track on the left and a new tramstop erected to serve the Cliffs Hotel.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday: N is for the New Mayfair Hotel

We've just come back from a week at the New Mayfair Hotel on New South Promenade in Blackpool. It is a hotel that caters specifically for anyone with disabilities.

The food was good and the company friendly.

This was the view from our bedroom. A small lawn area frequented by dog walkers seperates the hotel from the busy road and tramlines below the promenade above the seawall.

The hotel's proximity to a tram stop was it's trump card. The new fleet of trams at Blackpool are fully wheelchair accessible and the carriages have spaces into which even electric wheelchair users can navigate. This photograph was taken at the Central Pier stop and shows Madame Tussaud's waxworks in the background.

We went to Fleetwood, Cleveleys and Central Blackpool on the tram and to Windermere and Lancaster using the hotel bus which also transported us from home to the hotel and back. I took some 300 photographs.

This was the view Monday morning before we came home. We've booked to go back again in June.

For ABC Wednesday.

In Memoriam: John Elsberg (1945-2012)

JOHN ELSBERG: CAM

(for Connie)

Cycling by the river Cam,
through weeds as high as our thighs,
wheels pounding over
the narrow path,
we stopped,
and letting the cycles fall into the grass,
we sat beside the still water ...

Thus begins this poem by John Elsberg which I published in issue 3 of Headland.

I published another of his Cambridge poems in issue 6 - view it on Pickings

John was studying in Cambridge and I visited him, unannounced, in September 1970.


Connie had just given birth to Steve and I penned this haiku

the newly-born child
capturing his parents' love -
the frightened cat sulks

See my Collected Works for publication credits.

I stayed a couple of days and pitched in by doing the cooking while John and Connie fussed over the baby.

The following year they came up to my parents' house in Yorkshire for a holiday and one day I took them over to Filey to meet George Cairncross (the "East Coast Recluse") who edited the magazine "Bogg".

John became firm friends with George and after he returned to the States, he produced an American issue of the magazine and eventually took it over.

Read Pat Jourdan's review of Bogg ##73/74 [dble issue].

In 1999 I published his chapbook Sailor: sample poem Complexities

On the cover was an original design by Wayne Hogan.

John died in July 2012 but I only just heard this news earlier in the week via John F Haines' "Handshake".

There is a good account of his life with various reminiscences by Jim Kacian, Richard Peabody, David Geisman, Ron Androla, and others on Issa's Unity Hut, the poetry blog for Lilliput Review.

There is a tribute by Wilson Wyatt on first person plural.

There is a memorial book of condolence on the Dignity Memorial website.

You can read a review by Patricia Prime of his collaboration with David Check, "South Jersey Shore" on NHI Review and also a review by Martin Grampound of his "Haiku Fan" A Week in the Lake District.

I published a new version of John's poem "Cam" in Editor's Dilemma. Here is how the poem ends ...

I laid my head
upon her lap, against her breasts,
and she rocked
in a cadence
without words.
So simply . . .

And then, content, I knew
of the harmony
in small graces, of the rareness
that comes so suddenly
with complete moments.
of the trust in silences
that belie the world:

soft pillows laced
with plucked dreams
and lost time.

JOHN ELSBERG

CDPB Photo of the Year 2012

Several members of the City Daily Photo Bloggers community traditionaly post a Photo of the Year on January 1st.

Last year the old CDPB portal was hacked and eventually disappeared. Although a new portal has been created, it is not hosting the Photo of the Year theme day.

This page has been created to provide a linkytools list to enable participants to gather together.

Please only use it if you are a member of the community and are posting a "Photo of the Year". Please link directly to your PotY post. Please include a link back to this page on your post.

Ashton under Lyne Metrolink Terminus

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The electronic displays at the Ashton under Lyne terminus read "For timetable information contact Metrolink Customer Services" but you'll have a long wait as services are not expected to reach Ashton until 2014.

Curiously the time on the two displays differs by 18 seconds.

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Here is a wider view of the tram station as it will be approached from the bus station.

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This is the scene in the opposite direction from Oldham Road.

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Here is how it looked from the same spot in April 2010.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Merry Christmas

★˛˚˛*˛°.˛*.˛°˛.*★˚˛*˛°.˛*.˛°˛.*★Merry*★* 。*˛.
˛°_██_*.。*./ ♥ \ .˛* .˛。.˛.*.★* Christmas*★ 。*
˛. (´• ̮•)*.。*/♫.♫\*˛.* ˛_Π_____.♥Everyone ♥ ˛* ˛*
.°( . • . ) ˛°./• '♫ ' •\.˛*./______/~＼*. ˛*.。˛* ˛.*。
*(...'•'.. ) *˛╬╬╬╬╬˛°.｜田田 ｜門｜╬╬╬╬╬*˚ .˛ ...

Grey Moon over Garside Street

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One afternoon last week I saw the moon over Garside Street - see the scene on Hyde Daily Photo.

I zoomed in to get a closer look.

Coloured versions can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

For Skywatch Friday and The Weekend in Black and White.

A smoking reflection

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

The Weekend in Black and White:Sunset at St Anne's-on-the-Sea

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Taken in August after a day of heavy rain.

The structure in the centre is the remains of a jetty that use to be alongside the pier until 1982 when after a fire a third of the seaward end of the pier had to be demolished.

See a full colour version on sithenah.

For The Weekend in Black and White.

Higher Ardwick 1990/2012: From Union to Spicy Grill

In May 2010 I published some photographs of the Dukinfield Arms on Old Hyde. They were taken by Alan Young, a guitarist with the classic rock band, Par Avion from Charleston, WV, who came over in June 1990, together with Tim Thompson (manager & bass guitarist), Brian Young (drummer), Tena Hall (vocalist and now his wife) and Dennis Loudermilk (sound technician). They stayed at the Dukinfield Arms while doing a number of gigs in the area.

He sent me several photos which I matched with modern views. However I was unable at the time to place these photographs of The Union. Recently, though, I discovered an entry in the Pubs of Manchester blog, which places it in Higher Ardwick.

Alan's photograph, featuring Dennis, Brian and Tena, shows that is was then a Wilson's pub. It later changed to the Burtonwood brewery before closing down in 2009.

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A week ago I went to check it out for myself. I found it on the corner of Union Street and Higher Ardwick. It has been converted into the "Spicy Grill", a tandoori takeaway which still advertises a "A Warm & Friendly Welcome".

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On the opposite side of Higher Ardwick is the former Ardwick Conservative Club which was built in 1878. That is now occupied by the "Bead Shop" which offers a range of jewellery making classes.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

Monday Murals: Rochdale Canal Lock #85

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Following on from my post two weeks ago of Manchester Rose 2002, the mural in the Piccadilly Tunnel and my post last week of an unofficial mural near lock #85 of the Rochdale Canal that lies within the tunnel, this week I'm showing you another one I found there.

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Those of you familiar with British TV soaps will recognise the images of iconic Corrie women on the wall. How they got there and their connection with the dog-walker is something I'd quite like the answer to myself.

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The location of the street art can be seen on the wall looking back through the end of the lock.

See other murals on Monday Murals.