Salford, Manchester and Altrincham

Self-portrait, 2023 and 1970

Lola II and I like to go away once a year - it used to be around her birthday, but now it's pretty much whenever we can both fit it in. Although we both used to live in South Manchester (me longer than her), neither of us knew Salford very well, so that's what we chose this time. And as it turned out, Greater Manchester has changed quite a bit in the 23 years since I lived there.

Before our trip I booked Lola II the acting prison guard to help me do a bit of admin. While I manage most of my everyday admin without help, there are some unattractive types of admin where I need someone who doesn't let me wander off at a tangent into something I'd prefer to do. Lola II came up a day early to supervise, and even put a couple of items out on Freegle for me (both of which have now been taken). My aim is to rid my house of every knick-knack and unwanted item while also avoiding contributing directly to landfill. There's still quite a long way to go, but I'm trying.

Then on Friday we headed north, arriving for brunch very close to the flat where I used to live. One reason for this was because there are lots of interesting cafes offering brunch in that area, but another reason was that somehow I had accumulated a box of documents relating to my flat and I wanted to hand it over to the current residents. Being a Friday lunchtime there was nobody home, but I left it in the hallway in the hope that somebody would investigate.

Then we headed off to our Salford hotel, which was in walking distance of the Lowry arts centre. Lola II was in dire need of caffeine and we found a supplier in the main entrance area which was painted the exact same colour of purple as my coat, with details in a burgundy very similar to my hair.

Spot the Lola

After coffee for one, we proceeded to wander round the galleries of Lowry paintings - he did a lot more than just matchstick men. We'd booked tickets for a theatre performance in the evening, so we tried to find some dinner in the vicinity, but the only decent option was within the Lowry centre itself, and it was fine. The play was 'The Beekeeper of Aleppo', which was moving and sad.

We had to plan the next day around the afternoon activity we'd booked, and ended up taking the tram around town. The tram network reaches much further than in my day and turned out to be an excellent way to get around. We started with another brunch, this time in the centre of Manchester, before returning to Salford to visit the Imperial War Museum North. I would have liked to spend more time there, but we had to get back to Manchester city centre for our Silent Adventure.

We were part of a large crowd of about a hundred women and three men, and we were all given wireless headphones by the three leaders of the pack. They started by showing us a few dance moves and then proceeded to lead us around the streets of the city centre, singing and dancing as we went. We were viewed with some surprise and (I like to think) admiration by the inhabitants trying to go about their business. It was great fun, especially the mass singing of 'Wonderwall' from a raised area above people sitting outside a pub, who soon joined in. It was also good exercise - Lola II was warm enough to actually unzip three out of five of her outer layers of clothing.

A cup of tea and a sit down was called for at this point. Then another tram to Greens, which is a vegetarian restaurant where we used to go on special occasions and is round the corner from my ex-flat. I enjoyed being able to choose from the whole menu, and there were even a couple of allium-free options for Lola II. And then, another tram back to Salford and the hotel.

Next day, after the obligatory brunch, we visited H+B in Altrincham. I delivered a gift from mum, we politely refused gifts of plants in return (we both have a dire success rate with plant gifts), accepted gifts of electrical trailing sockets, and through an agonising IT process managed to buy lunch for us all. H insisted that despite all evidence to the contrary he hasn't managed to clear his basement much (he definitely has).

It was a very fine weekend and we only scratched the surface of Salford and Manchester's offerings. I'd like to go back for more, and Lola II and perhaps Mr M might be able to come too, if we can find a time when we're all free...

Manchester, April 2023