THING OF THE WEEK
LIVERPOOL PRIDE… A mural to Liverpool that includes a lion, the Liver Building, and the docks is being revamped and extended by artist Javier Espinal. New additions include England striker Nikita Paris who is a Toxteth local. The bold design is part of the Africa Diaspora Mural Project, an arts initiative by the Metropolitan Methodist Centre, on Beaconsfield Street. The project is set to take about three weeks to complete, and has involved local youth to help pick the famous symbols to be included in the final piece.
PAST TO PRESENT… Here’s something for the history buffs amongst us: the Manchester branch of the Victorian Society has published a free-to-view list of the city’s prominent architects between 1800 and 1940, detailing architects who are know to have been born, trained, lived, or worked in Greater Manchester. Gathered from contemporary newspaper reports and The Builder magazine, the database is a treasure trove of information for those wanting to find out who the big cheeses were before your Simpsons, Haughs, Hodders, and Stephensons, plus helping any heritage architects track down useful nuggets of information. A quick flick through shows there were no architects with a surname beginning with X or Z in 140 years, and people working in the city’s practices came from as far afield as Manhattan, South Arica, and Jodhpur in India. The database can be accessed here.
VICTORIANA… Goostrey Station, built in 1891 and one of the last remaining buildings of its type in the UK, has been refurbished back to its Victorian splendour as part of the Great North Rail project. The £170,000 refurb was completed by Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust, and will now become a community space. An excellent example of reusing a historic building, and still fitting given the pacer trains which still occasionally trundle past.
BOOZY BRUNCH… A possible lifeline here for those of us who’ve gone along to a boozy all-you-can-drink hungover brunch and to our dismay have found naught but prosecco and mimosas on offer. Manchester’s Albert Square Chop House is now offering a bottomless beer banquet, where you can drink unlimited draught and cask ale for two hours along with a main course for £30. A welcome change if you don’t fancy the usual, although, THING has clarified this brunch isn’t being pitched at just blokes. We can think of at least one female member of our staff who can knock back the lagers better than any man…
COUPLE… Love Island may have ended, but did you know there’s set to be a family version of the show? Only kidding, although based on this holiday snap from Manchester office agent Chris Cheap, you might be mistaken. C’mon Cheapy, given the unreasonable amount of rain we’re experiencing back in the North West, these jealousy-inducing photos are totally unnecessary…
Happy holidays @BarutHotelsTR pic.twitter.com/8VriPvyjID
— Chris Cheap (@Cheapy1) August 12, 2019
GRADE TWO-STARMAN-LISTED… A bandstand which has served as a significant spot in music history has been granted grade two-listed by the department for digital, culture, media and sport, advised by Historic England. In Beckenham, south London, the local bandstand is where legend David Bowie led the Summer Growth Festival, and supposedly penned the lyrics to Life On Mars while sitting on its steps. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the festival, which drew a few hundred audience-members, the listing seems like a nice touch, while the design of the bandstand itself has historic merits in its own right, being the last standing bandstand in Britain made by the McCallum & Hope Iron Foundry.
