Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
One of our criteria is to be near Manchester, my home town. So we stayed at Salford Quays and, having arrived, enjoyed the Christmas feeling in the whole area, complete with tat at the so-called German market.... We wanted to experience life in 'the big city' so we had a good look around. Our first visit was to the John Rylands Library where I had studied sometimes in the 60's whilst writing my essays for MGS. We entered via the shop and modern lobby. Very impressive. What a juxtaposition there was when we went through to the original building, which is cathedral-like.......it was founded by the widow of John Rylands in his memory. He had built up the largest textile business in the country, perhaps the world, and was a philanthropist himself....bearing in mind that his profits came from the savage labours of his 15,000 workers. ...and it was lovely to feel that you had access to whatever was there, priceless though a lot of it is. and not only adults were catered for! This automaton is actually the widow Enriqueta having tea with a dragon. The toilets are worth a mention too! The original Victorian fixtures and fittings and the oldest in Manchester.... Outside the Manchester rain just added to the atmosphere... and some window-shopping was in order whilst on our way to our next stop..... The People's History Museum. The PHM is the national museum of democracy, and I was keen to see it and the Anniversary Peterloo Exhibition. In truth this proved very disappointing. Both exhibitions were very flat, being mainly a series of display boards and seemed to have been put together by a local librarian with little cash or imagination. A great opportunity lost in my opinion. The cafe was another matter...stylish, good service, great choices....... and Frances said the Lancashire lamb stew was as good as anything she had eaten.... Outside, the new Manchester style was in evidence wherever we walked whether in central Manchester...... or our base of Salford Quays....... We met Katherine in the evening at the Principal Hotel, one of the many conversions of old buildings brought to new use....an epic building showing everything good about modern Manchester......
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August 2023
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