Ahh Manchester. You split my heart in two every time I return.
For the uninitiated, Manchester is my not-really-hometown. German has the nice word Heimstatt to describe what Manchester is for me – Heimstatt is not necessarily the place you were born, but the place where you feel at home.
In 1994, I moved to Manchester as a naive, impressionable late-teenager, staying until 2015 when I finally upped sticks and moved to Berlin. A lot happened in between, not only to me but also to the city.
And in a surprising twist, things continued to happen after I left, dishearteningly proving that the world does not revolve around me.
Returning every year or two, I get to see the changes that Manchester locals maybe don’t notice: the point-in-time digital snapshots versus the analogue cinema.
Maybe five years ago, those digital snapshots were worrying: a wave of homelessness and drug dependency, litter everywhere, private car traffic clogging the city-centre streets, and a pervading sense that, perhaps, Manchester had run out of the steam that drove it in those preceding twenty-five years.
This time? It felt different. Visible homelessness seems way down – and yes, I am aware that out-of-sight is not out-of-mind, but I also know that a lot of work has been happening in this area. There were people everywhere, the city centre felt busy, traffic management is keeping private cars out of the centre. There’s much debate about the necessity of moar skyscrapuhhhs, and quite who they are serving, but the construction sector must be happy. There’s been a turnover in shops, many new independent places opening (and yeah, some closing), but the overall sense is one of activity. All those yellow buses, reminiscent of another city with yellow-painted public transport, only in Berlin, it’s a failing system.
“Yeah but Matt, you were only there for a few days, and only saw the city centre. You don’t see the day-to-day mess that is [the council | the Metrolink | the streets | the crime | the national government].”
Sure. You have to live in a place to understand the analogue. But believe me, I can compare it to Berlin and Berlin is today where Manchester was five years ago. It needs help.
Five years ago, when people asked if I would move back, my answer was a firm no. Now, if my personal circumstances were right (and they are not), I’d be seriously considering it.
And that’s why my heart splits. I want the best bits of both Manchester and Berlin.
I’m greedy.
Castlefield
Castlefield in the sun cannot but look great. I hope the urban garden along the viaduct gets extra funding to extend the full length, it’s a beautiful spot.
John Rylands Library
Ignoring those terf-sycophants who seem to think that the building was modelled on a book series about a wizard just for them to take selfies, there’s so much to enjoy here. The classic architecture, the merging of the extension to the old building, the endless cases of books, and slap-bang in the middle, an exhibition about queer pop music and culture of the 20th century. Always a pleasure to visit.
