EYEWITNESS IN
MANCHESTER UPDATE 10am GMT THURSDAY 19 NOV 1998
MANCHESTER IS GEARING UP FOR CHRISTMAS - Father Christmas
is preparing to make his appearance on the roof of the Town Hall, and
the Christmas decorations and lights are fully up and running. This
update is to present two new additions to the Manchester People series.
Both these people, in different ways, help to define Manchester today.
If you have any suggestions for future Manchester People, please contact.
EYEWITNESS IN
MANCHESTER UPDATE 10pm GMT MONDAY 16 NOV 1998
MANCHESTER'S CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WERE SWITCHED ON in style last night by
Mick Hucknall in front of a huge crowd of people, including lots of kids.
Before the switch on, there was a pantomime on a portable stage set up
in front of the Town Hall. When Turn-On time arrived, the crowd counted
down in unison and on the stroke of zero, a magnificent firework display
exploded in the sky over Manchester. A medley of classics accompanied
the display, including Holst's Planet Suite. It was an impressive event,
but in my opinion, last year's switch-on was more memorable, with giant
projections on the Town Hall facade, and a giant Father Christmas in attendance
(climbing up the clock tower). Yesterday there was no sign of Santa -
he's supposed to be appearing over the roof of the Town Hall - maybe he
was delayed on his way from Lapland. The Alpine Village will be set up
in Albert Square in a few days.ÊStill, it was a fun and exuberant start
to Manchester's Christmas season, even though I didn't get anywhere near
the stage to see Mick Hucknall - there were too many people.
"THANKS FOR THE SPONSORSHIP FROM THE TRAFFORD CENTRE" - Well, that was
Councillor Pat Karney's typically flippant jibe at the City Centre's arch
rival out in Dumplington. In fact, the sponsors of Manchester's Christmas
lights are Renault UK. But the Trafford Centre is geared up for the festive
season, as you'd expect - the opening in September was timed to tie in
with the Christmas shopping season. I made my second visit there on Saturday,
and had mixed feelings. It's big, it's dazzling, it's sumptuously appointed,
but in essence, it's no more than a shopping centre - just bigger than
all the other ones. One of the features is the Orient, a complex of shops,
cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other entertainments that stays open after
the shops have closed. It has a cruise-liner theme with a huge white superstructure
similar to the Queen Elizabeth. But I couldn't help thinking that not
so long ago, we had real ships entering the Manchester Docks. If I can't
have a real ship, I'd rather have no ship at all. Similar thoughts occurred
to me at the sight of the Orient's "New Orleans" theme bars - Disneyworld
sprang immediately to mind - And meanwhile, in Manchester City Centre,
Sam's Chop House, a genuine piece of 19th century England, is being closed
down. Just imagine if all of Manchester were like the Trafford Centre
- perish the thought! But there's good news for the city centre - In a
survey carried out by the Experion group, it's been voted top in the north
and number 5 in the UK for shopping.
AVOID THE JAMS EN ROUTE TO DUMPLINGTON BY PHONING THIS NUMBER:
0906 8230100 The traffic hotline has been set up by ITIS (Integrated Transport
Information Services) and the MEN, and is updated every 15 minutes. I
phoned on Saturday, and got the lowdown on traffic congestion - in fact,
there wasn't any, as I discovered when I drove there - it was around 2pm.
Later, there were jams around 5pm on the way out, but we stayed to see
"The Exorcist" at the excellent UCI cinema complex, and left
later.
LAST SATURDAY NIGHT A GROUP OF YOUTHS from an inner city area of Salford
were messing about on the street, and decided to have some fun by going
down to the M602 motorway bridge. They looked around to find suitable
projectiles and started throwing them off the bridge, attempting to hit
the cars passing below. It's a bit like a computer game, only more exciting.
Then they saw a car approaching very fast - they threw the brick, the
driver swerved, but it fell directly on the windscreen and smashed it.
At this point, under cover of darkness, the youths ran off. Meanwhile,
down below, the car screeched to a halt. The driver and passengers were
horrified to see that the front seat passenger had been hit directly in
the face, and had sustained horrific injuries. The emergency services
were called, and were shocked at what they found. The woman was taken
in an ambulance to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where she underwent surgery
to rebuild her face. The victim is Cathy Hall, aged 29 of Liverpool. She
was just returning home with friends after a night out in Manchester when
this happened.
I wasn't there, I've just pieced together the events as I imagine they
must have happened. What I can't imagine is the mentality of the youths
who threw that brick. A senior police officer said recently that some
families in the Salford inner city area were "out of control". Right now
the police are hunting the youth responsible for the attack - let's hope
they find him soon, and let justice be severe.
TRANSPLANT COUPLE IAN AND TERESA FLEMING are recovering in a hospital
in Philadelphia. "I'm scared to death" said Ian, from Newton Heath
before the operation to donate one of his kidneys to his wife, whom he
met via the Internet. After the operation, his first words were "Is Teresa
OK?". Ian's mother flew over later in the week, joining her son, daughter-in-law
and MEN reporter Sophie Tweedale, who has been reporting from Philadelphia
all week. It really is an amazing double co-incidence - first meeting
by chance through Internet chat, then finding they are transplant-compatible,
enabling Ian to give Teresa a life-saving kidney. Doctors say the operation
was successful, and they should be out of hospital in another couple of
days.
YOU CAN WITHDRAW MONEY AND GET TOURIST INFORMATION from various holes
in the wall in Manchester - or should I call them "Automated Interactive
On-Street Customer Service Machines" - but soon you'll be able to report
a car theft, contact Crimestoppers or ask for directions from a hole in
the wall. The push-button machines we've become so used to for withdrawing
cash are going to replace police stations, under a new plan being tried
out in Salford. Eight stations around Salford are to be closed, and a
24 hour divisional HQ will be set up in Swinton. Needless to say, there
are complaints: Critics say face-to-face contact is still valuable, especially
for old people. But senior police officers stress that the public are
already using a sophisticated electronic device to communicate with the
police - the telephone. On Thursday, MEN readers voted overwhelmingly
against replacing walk-in police facilities with holes in the wall. But
like decimal currency, one-man buses and self-service petrol stations,
what at first seems new-fangled soon becomes the norm.
POP MUSIC FANS ARE GETTING OLDER AND OLDER THESE DAYS, but teenage rock
band ALIVE from Rochdale and Bury got the surprise of their lives when
they discovered they had won over someone very distinguished indeed: The
Queen. They sent a letter to Buckingham Palace enclosing their CD and
generally introducing themselves. Weeks later, a letter of invitation
arrived, asking them to come and play at the Queen's celebration to mark
Prince Charles' 50th birthday. The performance took place last Friday.
Another local outfit playing at the party are tuba foursome Tubilate,
founded by Altrincham-based Ian Anstey.
WEDNESDAY WAS THE ELEVENTH DAY OF THE ELEVENTH MONTH eighty years after
the Armistice which ended the First World War. And on the eleventh hour
of that day, the whole country observed a two minute silence. Previously,
the silence was only held on Remembrance Sunday. this year, even the House
of Commons paused in respect for the war dead. In Manchester, officers
and soldiers of the Kings Regiment marched from the Cathedral to Albert
Square - the city centre was full of military vehicles and police. A gun
was fired from the Town Hall to mark the start of the silence and at the
end, bells were rung.
ANOTHER YOUNG PERSON HAS BEEN KILLED by a train near Humphrey Park station.
Rebecca Traverse, aged seventeen, was hit by a Liverpool to Manchester
Airport train. The circumstances seem unclear - reports say she left a
note, and the police have said the death was "not suspicious". Children
trespassing onto railway lines is a continuing problem. I saw some walking
along the line near Kearsley last week. The MEN's "Stay Away-Stay Alive"
campaign has undoubtedly helped to save lives, but unfortunately, not
in this case.
A MIDDLETON MAN IS BEING HELD IN THE GULF EMIRATE OF DUBAI and the United
Nation has declared the over-long detention a violation of his human rights.
George Atkinson, 47, has been held for 20 months now - there were claims
he had made illegal payments to golf officials - He designed the Emirates
Golf Club, south of Dubai, and founded the Desert Classic tournament.
The UN communique states he was detained on 26 Feburary 1997, but wasn't
charged until 5 April 1998. Also he wasn't given bail, despite a judge's
bail order. His wife says judgement is expected on December 13th. I know
Dubai very well, and am surprised - such cases seemed to emerge generally
from other UAE emirates or other Gulf states. There are many stories I
could tell, but not here!
£325
WORTH OF WORMS FAILED TO PEP UP MUFC'S TURF and it is being dug up, to
be replaced by a new grass covering to be ready by a week on Saturday,
when United play Blackburn. The worms had been employed to allow oxygen
to enter the soil and so they would consume dead plant life, but after
complaints following last Wednedsay's match against Nottingham Forest
on Wednesday, United's management decided to replace it. And worms have
also been wriggling on the second Runway site. Environmental officers
have been monitoring the number of worms in the soil by using electric
probes that pass a current into the ground - this forces the worms to
wriggle up to the surface and be counted. Perhaps the MUFC worms could
be found a new home near the second runway.
SHOWS THIS WEEK HAVE INCLUDED BLONDIE, who played at the Apollo, Ardwick
on Thurdsay, and Barney the Dinosaur, whose tv-advertised extravaganza
delighted children and adults at the Manchester Evening News Arena until
yesterday.
ON WEDNESDAY I WENT ON A GUIDED TOUR OF THE CIS BUILDING, Manchester's
first skysraper, built in 1962 and inspired by the Inland Steel Building
in Chicago. It's a truly remarkable structure, unlike later examples of
post-war architecture in Manchester. 2500 people work in the CIS Building,
mostly employees of the Co-Operative Insurance Society. They can eat for
free in the giant basement restaurant, where they also have their own
branch of the Co-Op Bank. Management grades dine on the 24th floor, with
a fabulous view over Manchester. The board rooms, with their attractive
stained wood panelling, are on the top floor too. The building was refurbished
10 years ago, and now has listed status - this means it can't be altered
or knocked down. In 1962, it was a trend-setter, and still looks good
today. But it'll be a while yet before the CIS goes paperless - the law
still requires hard copies of insurance documents and other legal records
- they're transported from the store in the basement to the upper office
floors via an ingenious box-on-rails system controlled by an ancient (7
year old) computer system.
TALKING OF COMPUTERS, THIS WEEK'S EYEWITNESS IN MANCHESTER is being put
together on my new Macintosh G3 computer, and for the first time I'm using
an HTML authoring program, Macromedia Dreamweaver. Scanning of photos
is still done on the vintage (3 year old) Macintosh 6100 as I write, using
Adobe Photoshop. The new hardware and software will bring new features
over the coming months.
TODAY WAS A GLORIOUS DAY with blue skies and sunshine all day long. I
went to Daisy Nook Country park and a few other locations to take some
of the photos you see on this week's page. Last week was cold, and there
was heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon - you can see it in the photo above
right. It's cold right now in Manchester, with the temperature hovering
around freezing point.
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