THING OF THE WEEK
BACK OF THE NET… Not that many of us needed any reason to stoke the Liverpool vs Manchester sporting rivalry, but ESPN and the University of Bath have chucked a bit of petrol on the fire with their latest Greatest Sporting City research. Last year’s champion Liverpool has been overhauled by Manchester, which took the crown from its Merseyside rival. Manchester ranked second in the UK by local talent, first by success, and fourth by history. Elsewhere, Edinburgh has replaced London in third place, with the capital dropping to fourth, and Leeds coming in a fifth place. But never fear – Liverpool is still the best place in the country to be a football fan, according to the research. City’s Premier League crown last season and United’s second-place finish have been the drivers behind this year’s triumph, but your author can’t help but feel that Altrincham’s successful promotion to the Conference North must have played a part in Manchester’s top ranking…
GREEN HOUSES… Manchester is apparently one of the most “vegetarian-friendly” places in the UK, according to online housing agent Fasthomes. Using data extracted from Spareroom, the agent found that Manchester had 31 homes to rent – typically with shared kitchens – which described themselves as “vegetarian-friendly”, the most outside London, and ahead of the likes of Birmingham, Bristol, and Glasgow, each with 20. Bottom of the list was Birkenhead, with just one property advertised as being accommodating to veggies. The same research, covering nearly 700 vegetarians and vegans in the UK, also suggested more than two-thirds had found it difficult to find a vegetarian or vegan-friendly property. Something to bear in mind next time you’re marketing your apartments?
This is the view on Market St in #Manchester where at 2am a 20 tonne cherry picker collapsed into a ‘sink hole’. Workers were on it at the time but it’s believed no one’s been injured. One entrance to Debenhams has been shut off. @BBCRadioManc @BBCNWT pic.twitter.com/r94IAORFQH
— Inzy Rashid (@inzyrashid) September 5, 2018
PICK THAT ONE OUT… Red faces all round outside Manchester’s Debenhams this week after a cherry picker took a tumble into the side of the building after the paving flags below buckled under its weight. The cherry picker was being used by a surveyor undertaking a structural assessment of the building for Debenhams, but the city council said the company involved “did not approach the council for the necessary license for the crane to operate”. Safety barriers have been put up around the cherry picker, which despite its seemingly precarious position, isn’t a threat to the public.
Heads up @PlaceNorthWest @placetech readers. Wanting to ‘coolify’ your buildings? Check out @WDstreetart Here are some of his works we found in #Naxos #Greece pic.twitter.com/p46Vz7UZtW
— Dino Moutsopoulos (@Dinoatwork) September 6, 2018
GREECE IS THE WORD… Never a man to stop working – even when on holiday – our commercial director Dino Moutsopoulos has tracked down some particularly good street art whilst in Naxos, Greece. The works are by WD Street Art, an Athens-based artist who has done all sorts of features across the globe, including Malta, Bali, and elsewhere in Greece. The artist’s efforts in Naxos – and Dino and his daughter – can be seen in the tweet above.