The Streets of Your Town II.

View Larger Map
I originally thought this idea, to walk along streets in town that I’d never walked along before, would be pretty straightforward, but in reality it’s been difficult to find appropriate thoroughfares. This morning, however, I was off pounding the streets, looking into something else, when I saw Oswald Street across Miller Street from me, running between The Ducie Bridge Pub and The United Yeast Company Limited building. I dodged between the cars across Miller Street and set off down it. Somebody else was coming the other way and looked surprised to see me. We avoided one another’s gaze. It seemed to be the right thing to do.

On the right there were the backs of the offices of the Community Foundation for Greater Manchester. On the left a low wall, covered in crap graffiti art (I suppose everybody needs somewhere to practice), bordering a car park. On the floor, the usual random bunch of shite. Nothing interesting. Not like the time I stumbled upon a bunch of kids and a bloke burning the plastic off bundles of wire in the middle of a street in Liverpool.

At the end was Munster Street. Hooray, another street I’d never previously walked down. In front, further up Corporation Street away from town was The Crown and Cushion, a hidden gem (albeit a refurbished one). Left onto Munster Street was Corporation Street with Parkers’ Hotel opposite, which I noticed for the first time, had been built by the Co-Operative Society. At one point it seems the whole area was populated by the Co-Op; a more benign, aspirational, nineteenth century predecessor of Media City.