Manchester, Great Britain

My day off in Manchester was unexpectedly adventurous. We had a show the night before and we knew we had a day off the next day so we stayed up a little later expecting to be able to sleep in. What would normally happen in the States is:

Have a show
Stay up late
Wake up in the parking lot of some hotel
Drag your tired self into said hotel and checkin

Well not out here.

Apparently, in Great Britain, and a lot of Europe, it costs over £100 to park a bus…… so they dumped us at the curb. Fortunately we had rooms available so I grabbed my stuff and passed out for a few hours.

Previous to the start of this tour, we had 5 weeks of rehearsals in Redditch, England which was a short train ride away from Birmingham. In Birmingham Sophie and I , discovered an amazing Indian restaurant called, “Mowgli’s Street Food.” So naturally when I had awoken from my great slumber and searched for restaurants around Manchester, and happened to find that another Mowgli’s was around I had to go get some food.

No Mowgli’s….. holy Indian food Batman! The photo below is of the menu and I’m a big sucker for some Chicken Tiki Masala, but they don’t have it on the menu! So I was a bit bummed. Well, according to this menu, Chicken Tiki Masala isn’t an actual Indian dish. So Instead….. They call it Mother Butter Chicken and let me tell you, it is delicious.

While I was on my way to Mowgli’s, I passed a gorgeous cathedral, Manchester Cathedral.

As you can see there is history just emanating from this strong staple in the city of Manchester.

In 1086 the Domesday Book records that, within the Salford Hundred, Manchester had a church dedicated to St. Mary (St. Mary the Blessed Virgin)….By the 13th century there was a stone church on the present site, built by the Gresle family, Norman barons of Manchester, next door to their fortified manor house (which mow houses Chatham’s Library).
- Manchester Cathedral Pamphlet

When you walk in the doors these lovely people greet you. There were three to greet me, it appeared that two of them were priests and the other was a nice gentleman that had a lovely sash on. I asked them if I could take some photos and I was informed that a donation was asked for photos to be taken. Well I didn’t have any cash on me, and they said I could go ahead a take photos anyway. I felt quite bad about it so I wanted to put it in here that they were just the most genuinely nice people there. Below are some photos that I took inside.

The below are posted on the cathedral wall outside the building depicting men who meant a lot to the church because they were a great bishop, martyr, or another reason.

After I experienced the Cathedral I did some walking around and found a nice little barber shop and I got my ears lowered. The guy that cut my hair was from Manchester and his name was Thair. In case you didn’t catch it, Thair cuts hair….anywho. He was a really nice guy and even let me take his photo.

He even managed to cover my hair loss, which was great! After getting all shaped up I walked around the city and really got to see some amazing things. The architecture was something of great uniqueness. There was this great juxtaposition between buildings like Manchester Cathedral and The Football Museum. Buildings that seemed to be built hundreds of years ago, with gorgeous ornate stonework which had to have taken YEARS to carve, and the new montrosities towering above everything like a mirror to the giants in the clouds, stood side by side. This comparison between new and ancient was around every corner made for a unique look in a city. I got some snapshots on my walk that captured some of the city.

Click the little arrows to see more photos.

While I was walking around I decided I wanted to go see a movie. I had already seen “Alita: Battle Angel” which is a great movie. The CG in the film is quite unbelievable, most of the movie is live action, but more than one character is completely computer generated, and it had to be the best CG I have ever seen. I am in the professional video industry and it was even hard for me, at times, to determine what is computer generated and what is not. If you get a chance to go see the movie, I strongly suggest it.

The cinema is located in this place that feels like it is outside but is actually indoors. You first walk through this tunnel/opening that is lined with red neon.

After you walk through the entrance it feels as if you are still in the open, but there is actually a ceiling above. Inside this area there are places for children to place large versions of Jenga and Chutes and Ladders. Farther on down there is an area with virtual reality stations where you can walk up and be submersed into another world!

Something I have found really interesting is that everywhere over here that I have visited so far has a Hard Rock Cafe. It is the strangest thing, the Hard Rock seems to be a real novelty at least in the UK. My British friends love the restaurant chain and why not, but it’s not exactly what I would expect when I go looking for a place where “locals eat”.

I had some time before my movie started so I walked down the street and walked into a little cafe had some of the best coffee and banana nut bread I have had before. Two shots of espresso and two tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk makes for a strong pick-me-up with sweet undertones on the backside. The ceiling looks like an old chimney and has baskets hanging from the wall. I has a nice ambiance to it and served as nice place to wait until my movie started.

At the end of the day Manchester is a nice city that has a really nice feel to it. Between the ancient architecture dating back at least to the 13th century, and the glass towers of modern buildings, it makes you feel almost like a time traveler caught between present day and a city long lost to time.

A City of Stone and Glass

Manchester, Great Britain

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