In Praise of Manchester - Centre Of My Universe!

Do you "do the pools" in America, Frank (or anyone)? They are sadly on the decline, I believe. Many people who used to play them now play the National Lottery instead.

As for football allies, Man Utd have always been good to the Boro (my team). We've got their ex-assistant manager as our current manager, and several Man U players have come to Middlesbrough in their twilight years. And we have a habit of beating them at home as well!

I'm off to take some hate posts 'bout capital punishment on the 'lethal injection' thread. They're gonna go mad! :wink:

Don't hate me Brits, but everything I know about Manchester I learned from Coronation Street, even though it's set in this Weatherfield place.

Nope...it is all pure luck lottery here also. The thrill of picking winners is gone...unless you actually do sports betting. But no pools.

Can't tell ya how much I miss 'em!

Most fun betting I've ever had.

No problem, Cav. Everything I know about Canada I learned from err... err... Kids In The Hall and reading Arthur Haley's 1961 thriller "In High Places".

... err ... Radio Canadian Army Europe (CAE), broadcasting from Fort Victoria, Werl, Germany and from some "disco arguments" :wink:

I lived in Canada, first in Winnepeg, then Nanaimo (Vancouver Island), the Richmond (BC). My sister lives in Toronto, she phones my Mum every week for Coronation Street updates. I remember my Dad doing the pools (he still does), and the 'collector' still comes round one night a week for the money. He used to give the coupon to us to add a few X's. He's still never won anything substantial.

Mr S has just got his old premium bonds back from an aunty that sadly passed, £10.00 altogether, bought in 1960! I phoned a special line to see if he'd won anything - nope - we were so excited, I told Mr S that we were bound to have won something after 40 years! NOPE. I told the man on the phone "well, they were a waste of money then" he got really huffy!

I work just near Granada Studios (as Walter will vouch) where they make Coronation Street, so we see lots of the 'stars'. Ruth (daughter and heiress to the Morgan fortune) used to work in Kendalls on the Estee Lauder counter when she was a student......she met lots of them, she said Dierdre Barlow was the nicest, and the woman who plays Audrey Roberts was really rude. :wink:

I also used to work in Southern Cemetery!

Hey Sarah, is Manchester a beautiful city? On the uk tv shows that are based in manchester, it looks cold and grey with heaps of industrial factories and really depressing, but in reality what is it like?>

Morning Australia, Well some say 'it's grim up north'. It's my home town, so I'm biased. It is very industrial, built on King Cotton, and it does rain a lot. But parts of it are quite breathtaking (I think). Both Mr S and my daughter have degrees from Manchester University (it's considered a prestigious establishment). We have very historic buildings, I live in the south of Manchester and it's only a short distance to stunning countryside. I live in a cottage (not thatched) built in 1790, very small, with foot thick walls, we were told it was haunted when we moved in but I've never seen anything and only had 'good vibes'. Where do you live?

I'm off sick today, got a stinking cold and a fabulously croacky voise.

and it's raining! :wink:

I havent been to Manchester - actually the only glimpse I had was from the outskirts while driving up to Scotland.

But the people (atleast the two I have met) are absolutely amazing !!

Awh, Prince - what can I say..............some people just prefer human contact to a keyboard quote: not my media, but would love to meet unquote. Your welcome in Manchester anytime! I've a spare bedroom? I'll make you some chips and a nice cuppa T! I know you'd love it. London is so yesterday, it's all happening in the provinces you know!

XXX

Sorry, Walter.............same applies to you, goes without saying, salt and vinegar? What would we talk about though? I read your posts you know, just so I know what I should be thinking about! You know I'm all about smut and make up, with a very dirty laugh, my daughter describes it as 'Mutley with a vibrator'.

Why I'd have to ply you with alcohol and take you dancing!

Walter's mind full of: current affairs, politics, crosswords (cryptic), philosophy, classical music and almost certainly has a copy the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms on his bookshelf.

Sarah's mind full of: Mascaras, fags, diets, crappy pop music...........book shelves?........mags don't fit on 'em! :wink:

Bet we'd have a right laff though

:wink:

Hello, Sarah. Nice to meet you!

A punchy thread you have here. Refreshing.

Greetings from Melbourne, Oz.

Greetings and Hiya to you msolga :wink:

I wish you'd talk a bit more about your life in Manchester. It interests me, how people live, how they see things, what's important to them .... Manchester - I only know what I see on television, from time to time. But hey, Neighbours isn't exactly typical Australia, neither is the stuff we see about the "depressed industrial north" what your life's like ...

Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs, here's a thread about Manchester! Bookmark, and hope your cold gets better before Crimble, Sarah. I have lived in Stockport and worked in Manchester from 1973 until two years ago.
That's not very grammatical, but I know what I mean. Manchester City is my team, too, Kevin's blunders, er, wonders.

McT

Manchester's like any large city...you have poor areas, affluent areas and 'in betweenies' I 'spose I'm one of those. We live in a cottage (it's not that unusual here) well it was originally two workers cottages knocked into one, we really do have an oak beam running along our living room ceiling.....no horse brasses though! I consider myself to be a 'proper' working class Labour voter, but then we do have two cars, a mortgage and a daughter who's recently finished Higher Education. Mr S is a tree surgeon....he works for Manchester City Council on 'street trees'. I work for a Government department. We go to the pictures, but bemoan the passing of the small independats, so we now have to go to a 'multiplex'. We go to the theatre regularly, we are well served here with The Lowry, Library Theatre, and the Contact.....to name but a few. Highlight is going into Rusholme to visit the famous 'curry mile' and have a 'Ruby' with poppadums, Naan....the works, washed down with Cobra. We have a Chinatown and a Gay Village. We still have roast dinners on a Sunday and take my Mum's Border Collie (Bumble) for a walk in Style woods in the afternoon. Just writing this has made me feel very happy.....I'm a fortunate person, compared to many others in the world.....I should count my blessings more!

Tell me about you..........

Ah, that's more like it! Interesting! I get more of a sense of who you are now! And I'm pleased it gave you pleasure to write it, too!

I'm not going to write much about me because this is your thread .... besides, I don't want to bore people wanting to know about Manchester by writing at length about Olga in Melbourne .... :wink:

I, too live in a little Victorian workers' cottage in inner-suburban Melbourne. Just big enough for one person. But with a very promising sized yard, thank god. (I tend to live outside a lot in the warm weather.) I moved here after "the big break-up" a couple of years ago, after the division of the spoils. <sigh> Interesting time, it was!
An Oz Immigrant at a very early age, with Ukrainian ancestry. I love where I live ... Very "cosmopolitan" :wink: , with folk from just about every nationality you could name to be seen in the main shopping centre -Sydney Road. I'm passionate about Oz politics (Green/Labor), an obsessive reader, gardener of great optimism , frequenter of el cheapo ethnic cafes & fond of a wine or two with friends. (I really appreciate good friends. Very important to me.). I'm an art/media teacher in b/n jobs. (let's hope one materializes soon!)

Oh, & I absolutely love animals, particularly cats!(Hence the avatar)

OK, how's that, Sarah?