My next rail journey from Whaley Bridge to Manchester should have been a short direct train ride. Instead it involved catching a bus to, and then a train from, neighbouring Stockport after numerous trains were cancelled due to ‘trespassing’ on the line.

This blog isn’t intended to be a forum for my complaints, but this was the latest in a series of delays or cancellations I’d experienced using the English rail system and I was fed up. In a nutshell it’s a mess and I’m glad I’m not one of the millions of residents that have come to accept the current operation of the system as the status quo.

I eventually arrived in Manchester around 7:00pm on a Monday evening and the streets were very quiet. I was staying near some of the University of Manchester campus buildings and it was summer break, which explained the lack of activity. My Air BnB was located in the imposing Lancaster House and the spacious studio apartment was very comfortable.

I could almost overlook how dirty Manchester was given the cultivated arts and cultural institutions on offer, except it hadn’t rained in quite a while and it was evident the City didn’t care for cleaning footpaths with hoses. It made me appreciate the streets of Perth!

On the Tuesday I visited the Manchester Art Gallery and enjoyed the paintings in the permanent collection and several exhibitions, including one on Nordic craft and design. Then I walked past the impressive Town Hall, which is currently under restoration until 2024, and around the shopping district.

On Wednesday I took the train to Liverpool for a day trip. The seaside city, known for being the birth place of The Beatles, is only about an hour away by train. I visited the Albert Dock and spent quite a bit of time in the Maritime Museum. The International Slavery Museum was confronting, very thought provoking and educational.

One of my trains back to Manchester was a no show (no explanation why was offered) and I was left waiting on the Liverpool South Parkway platform for almost an hour for the next one. This just happened to be when England’s World Cup semi final against Croatia commenced. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

I managed to get back to Manchester just before the end of full time. It was hard to see any of the big screens in the pub once extra time commenced, even harder when you’re short! When Mandzukic found the back of the net I genuinely felt sad for the Manx around me and the pain and disappointment was clear on their faces. I offered my comiserations, made for the exit and got back to my accommodation. I wasn’t sure what result a lost plus copious amounts of alcohol could bring! Even though ‘it’ wasn’t ‘coming home’, the Manx spirit wasn’t going to be dashed that easily and I went to sleep listening to various soccer chants rising up from the streets, intermingled with occassional sirens.

I made the most of my last day in Manchester and did as much as I could. I started at the John Rylands library. It’s architecture gives it the appearance of a converted cathedral, however, it has only ever been a library. The library’s website states:

The John Rylands Library has been acclaimed as the best example of neo-Gothic architecture in Europe and is indisputably one of the finest libraries in the world.

It is definitely the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!

A short bus ride across town and I arrived at the Whitworth Gallery. It’s spacious and innovative gallery spaces were temporarily displaying etchings by Hogarth and Goya, a short film Ten Thousand Waves, an exhibition of the Gallery volunteers’ favorite pieces, sculpture and an exhibition examining wall paper and racial stereotypes throughout history.

My last stop of the day was at HOME and thankfully it was open until 8:00pm! Here I experienced three large scale installations by artist Phil Collins (not the singer/drummer) in his exhibition called Can’t Do Right for Doing Wrong. The website gives a more concise summary than I can:

Bringing together works from the last five years, the exhibition is an expansive spatial and poetic statement which invites engagement with the voices and perspectives of the homeless, the future of resistance in a world without fossil fuels, and the life and revolutionary work of Friedrich Engels whose insights into the 19th century injustices continue to reverberate in today’s society.

I left HOME with a new perspective on historic and present day Manchester; a city where homelessness is very evident.

It was raining as I walked home and the car headlights lit up the wet streets. Streets that were more appreciated by me, regardless of how much they glistened.