THING OF THE WEEK
FREE BEER ALERT… On 4 October, Brewdog Manchester is to host an event from 6pm until midnight featuring free beer from Scofflaw. Apparently, Scofflaw is “widely known in the United States as Southern American hooligans” which probably conjures up different images here, but never mind. Co-founders Matt Shirah and Travis Heman are coming over loaded with craft beer including Basement IPA and POG, which as you’ll no doubt be aware stands for passionfruit, orange and guava. All a far cry from the days when Boddies seemed exotic with their fancy new cans, isn’t it?
MAYOR JOE PICTURE OPPORTUNITY… Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has rocked up at Liverpool Retail Park to run his eye over the metal façades, designed by Aliva UK. Aliva, which has now opened a Northern office in Warrington, achieved a striking random-effect finish of 3,000 sq m of anodised aluminium in nine subtle shades of gold through bronze to silver tones. Everything’s very impressive at LRP, it should be said. And as THING mused only the other week while driving down Edge Lane, “Is that B&Q supercentre finished in 1,000 sqm of variegated shades of orange and silver anodised aluminium, matching the company’s famous livery? I believe it is.”
RELATIONSHIP COUNSELLING… Bit of intel for Greater Manchester cycling tsar Chris Boardman here. Car leasing company Cars on Demand has carried out a survey of 2,000 drivers and cyclists to see what their relationship is really like. Ranking the state of the relationship from 1 (awful) to 10 (hunky-dory), drivers were sunnier in their outlook, with an average report of 6.1, while cyclists came in at a grim-faced 4.8. The overall average in hectic London was a vein-popping 4.5, but even the best, the East Midlands, only averaged 6/10. The North West was pretty much average, at 6/10 from motorists and 4.6 from the bike-based. Let’s see how things look once Greater Manchester’s latest road closures programme has started to really grate. There’s a nice interactive map available here to check how the UK’s various parts measure up.
GETTING THE HUMP…Not that THING is turning into some sort of Top Gear scene, but here’s another motoring story – according to Confused.com, 39% of North West drivers think that speed humps cause too much damage to cars. Some might have a point, as between 2015 and 2017, £800 was paid out to drivers by councils in the region in compensation. One in six drivers claims to be confused as to why speed bumps are used over other measures such as permanent and police-enforced speed cameras or chicanes – presumably the remaining five-sixths are the people who never, ever stop moaning about speed cameras.
WASTE NOT WANT NOT… Waste food organisation Real Junk Food Manchester has formed a partnership with housing association Onward Homes, launching the city’s first waste food catering social enterprise – Open Kitchen MCR. Onward has offered to support the cost of repairs to commercial kitchen equipment and a year rent-free in its new Didsbury premises. The new venture will reduce food waste, help to lower the city’s carbon footprint, and work with community and charity partners to support access to nutritious food to a range of people suffering food poverty. Open Kitchen MCR will also run a waste food staff canteen for Onward Homes, which will open later this month.
ANIMAL ART… Dutch sculptor Theo Jansen has spent the last 28 years – not every minute of every day, presumably – designing and building a series of wind-powered creatures, called Strandbeests, or ‘beach animals’. And frankly, they’re incredible. If you happen to be in Singapore next week, you can catch the exhibition at Artscience Museum, otherwise you can watch a short video here.
