One Stop Shop Stop

Hi there! My name is Darren Cooper and when they let me out of my box, (which does happen occasionally!) I like nothing better than the freedom of the open road, the wind in my hair and the smell of pleather in my nostrils.

One Stop Shop Stop 


I am fully aware that I am playing up to homosexual stereotypes here (he says whilst typing away listening to Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall) - but to say that I just adore a spot of shopping would be something of an understatement. So when the chance to zoom up to discover the retail possibilities in Manchester came up, well, I shrieked with joy, grabbed my plastic and hailed a Hackney carriage straight to Euston station - and don't spare the horses!


I've of course been to Manchester before, and the shopping here has an excellent combination of choice and scope and all concentrated in an easily manageable area. I'm normally used to covering vast distances during my London shopping trips, migrations of epic proportions (that wouldn't be out of place on a BBC documentary about the Serengeti) to get from one side of town to the other. Thankfully Manchester's central shopping district covers an area that is easily manageable on foot and so negates the mandatory fights through crowded underground stations.


I've decided to hit the ground running so to speak, and dive straight into the Northern Quarter from Piccadilly Station. A five minute walk after disembarking from the train and I find myself immersed in the centre of Manchester's most bohemian and fashionable area.

Manchester Design Centre
Northern Quarter

It's an overused term, 'bohemian' isn't it - but I think that this area of Manchester can certainly do the adjective justice. The atmosphere here is definitely hip, yet it is still a little rough around the edges, which actually only adds to its charm. The shops here are all independent boutiques where local arty, trendy types browse for original clothing and other bits and pieces. 

If you are into vintage, retro classics, quirky furnishings, or a printed t-shirt that you wont see on the high street then this is the place to find them.

There's a whole raft of vintage shops here that are re-inventing past trends for those fashion forward enough to carry them off. Personally I'm more comfortable in contemporary brands that haven't made it mainstream, yet - and the Thomas Street Post Office, Oi Polloi and Afflecks definitely do not disappoint in this regard.



As a fashionista I also enjoy a quick spin through the Tib Street Fashion Market. This market was set up to support up and coming designers from Manchester and gives them a space to sell their wares in the city centre. The result is a dazzling display of quirky stalls selling clothes, lingerie, bags, purses, hats and jewellery.

If the Northern Quarter is the champion of the independent store, then the Arndale Centre, which is just around the corner, in the very centre of the city is a homage to the high street. This is Manchester's largest shopping centre, only to be outdone in size by the lavish Trafford Centre five miles outside the city. No time for the Trafford Centre on this trip though, so I guess I will just have to make do with the 240 shops at the Arndale.

Just outside the Arndale is Market Street, Manchester's busiest and most central shopping thoroughfare. Although this is the main shopping artery that runs through the city it's also pedestrianised which of course means no traffic. For a serial shopper like me this is fantastic, and could even be a lifesaver in my case. 

When something sparkly catches my eye in a shop window on the opposite side of the street my natural reaction is to run towards it - like a dog chasing a cat - an involuntary action, I just can't help myself. Thankfully I can indulge my shopping urges in Manchester without fear of being turned into road-kill, a gauntlet I run on a daily basis in London.



Selfridges

There are two more of my favourite shopping passions that I can indulge here far more easily than at home also, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. Three different tube lines and an eternity of nervous anticipation usually separate me from my two favourite shopping outlets, in Manchester they are right opposite each other on New Cathedral Street (thankfully also pedestrianised!)

These two stores are not the only concessions, substantial though they are to designer brands on Manchester's shopping scene.

A walk down New Cathedral Street reveals a host of other top name brands including Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Hugo Boss which all have flagship stores here. 

This route also sees me meander through St Anne's Square and takes me down to the equally refined shopping on King Street.

The gorgeous Georgian buildings along King Street used to house Manchester's professionals classes, now they house Vivienne Westwood, Jaeger and Tommy Hillfiger  for Manchester's eager shoppers.

It's getting a little late now and even a hard-core shopper like me is feeling a little exhausted. Not too tired though for one last stop, The Avenue which is just off Deansgate in the Spinningfields area of the city. This is Manchester's newest retail area and is set amongst the ultra modern buildings and landscaped courtyards in this area.

This brand spanking development has attracted some pretty big businesses to the office space in this area and the big brands weren't far behind. Emporio Armani, Mulberry, D&G and some very slick suits at Brooks Brothers soon perk me up again for some more serious browsing. 

At last though even I have to take a break and what better place than the Alchemist Bar with its extensive cocktail list. I eventually plump for the very exotic sounding passion fruit meringue martini to wet my whistle while I review all my new purchases!

Manchester is only 2 hours and 7 minutes from London. 

Fly to Manchester in 60 minutes from London with British Airways  and BMI

For even more information visit the official Visit Manchester LGBT website.

Where to stay:
The Place
Days Hotel
Radisson Edwardian Manchester 

Britannia Hotels

Abode Hotel
Become a fan of Manchester's Gay Village on Facebook.

Will the Real Manchester Please Stand Up

Hi there! My name is Darren Cooper and when they let me out of my box, (which does happen occasionally!) I like nothing better than the freedom of the open road, the wind in my hair and the smell of pleather in my nostrils.


Will the real Manchester please stand up.

Thanks to my guided walking history tour (read all about it here) I feel that I have got my bearings in Manchester, so today I have decided to strike forth on my own! There are already a few things that I have made a mental note to see here today, the first of which though is brunch at the Koffee Pot in the Northern Quarter.

It's just a short walk from my hotel to Manchester's most bohemian and artsy district and I have heard from a couple of friendly 'Pot Heads' (the name the local Koffee Potters give to themselves) that I won't be disappointed.

The café itself looks like a typical greasy spoon from the outside. Once inside though I find that it's been fully 'Quartered up' and now boasts funky graffiti covered walls, free wi-fi and a great Sunday brunch that costs me less than a Grande Latte back in London, fantastic!

The rest of the patrons are equally as cool and quirky as the establishment. They are tucking in to hearty breakfasts, busily surfing on Mac books or reading, the Guardian, a dog-eared paperback. It's all very bohemian and relaxed, so my scruffy just got out of bed look passes as cool rather than just, well, scruffy.

Fully fed, and coffee'd up to the gills I head out for some urban discovery. My route takes me through the centre of the city, which is already filled with earnest shoppers and a far cry from the relaxed streets of the Quarter. I'm headed for Manchester's medieval centre, not a period that the city is well known for but its there, if you know where to look.

Passing through Exchange Square, where there are some of the few surviving medieval buildings in the city. I carry on around the modern glass structure of Urbis, (which will be home to the National Football Museum later this year) and I have arrived back in medieval Manchester.

To my right is the Chetham’s School of music, home to the Chetham Library, which was first, opened in 1653 and was the first public library in the English-speaking world. The library, which is located in the school's beautiful quad, is still open to the public, unfortunately only on weekdays so I have to make do with Manchester's other medieval masterpiece, its stunning cathedral.

Royal Exchange Theatre

Although the cathedral has been extensively restored during Victorian times and also after bomb damage during the Second World War, a large part of the interior still retains the ornate stone and woodwork from the 15th century. There's obviously a concert taking place in the cathedral at some point too as a stage has been set up in the middle of the church complete with a large glitter ball - it's a first for any cathedral that I've ever been in.

Moving just around the corner to the Royal Exchange Theatre I can also see old and modern Manchester colliding. The former commodities trading hall was once where cotton, which gave Manchester its huge wealth, was traded. This great hall was once described as the most important room in the world, and it certainly looks the part. Huge pink marble columns soar up to an ornate glass domed roof, and this is just half of the original building.

Inside the centre of the hall is the Theatre itself, which was added more than 20 years after the trading stopped. It resembles some kind of space pod that has landed in the centre of the hall and the contrast is very striking. A room within a room, well a theatre in the round that can seat 700 people in a room to be more accurate, but you know what I mean, right?

 From the Royal Exchange it's a short walk through St Ann's Square to Deansgate and the next stop on my tour of the city. The John Rylands library looks more like a cathedral or a castle from the outside, an absolute riot of ornate Victorian Gothic architecture.

Image: John Ryland's Library

The wife of one of Manchester's most successful industrialists built the library in the 1890s, to which she also donated their impressive book collection. The resulting building is well worth a visit just for the stunning interiors, there's also an equally impressive medieval collection of manuscripts on show to the public too.

The next stop on my itinerary is the People's History Museum, which is located on the river Irwell that separates Manchester from neighbouring Salford. This is the area of Spinningfields and has some of the most impressive modern architecture in the city. Over the last few years over 2.5 million square feet of new commercial, residential and office space have made this Manchester's most futuristic and modern district.

Image: Leftbank, Spinningfields where the People's History Museum is located. Credit: Tony West

 

The Museum itself traces the fight for democracy which has taken place over the last 200 years in the UK. Manchester has played an important part in the rights of people over this period, the Suffragettes and Labour movements both having started in the city. The story is told excellently in between the museum's modern wing and the original Victorian pump house building.

Following the river away from the city centre and I come to the area of Castlefield, which is famously home to Granada Studios where Coronation Street is still filmed. The show is now the longest running soap on TV celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010. This isn't bad for a show that was expected to run for 6 weeks!

The Museum of Science and Industry covers 7½ acres of this area of the city, unfortunately though I don't have the time to take in the many exhibits of this living museum and push on back towards the centre of town.

Image: Castlefield

Castlefield is another area where layers of history are literally stacked up on top of each other. The original Roman fort sits right next to the canal, railway and modern tram system that passes by the cotton warehouses that are now des-res converted luxury apartments. The last part of my route takes me onto the Rochdale Canal, which I follow back in to town and also helpfully goes all the way to Canal Street in the Village.

The canal also passes the site of the famous Hacienda nightclub where plaques still announce the famous names that appeared here inn the 80s and 90s. Madonna played her first UK gig here in 1984 and the club was instrumental in producing some of the UK's most influential bands as well as the 'Madchester' music scene.

The Hacienda was demolished and turned into flats in 2002 but the story it tells is one that has been retold in Manchester for centuries. This is a city that has not only always moved forward, but also pioneered the way for others to follow. Industry, civil and workers rights, music, entertainment, Manchester not only tells these stories brilliantly, it can also lay claim to being the inspiration and at their very beginnings too. Whatever next!

Manchester is only 2 hours and 7 minutes from London. 

Fly to Manchester in 60 minutes from London with British Airways  and BMI

For even more information visit the official Visit Manchester LGBT website.

Where to stay:
The Place
Days Hotel
Radisson Edwardian Manchester 

Britannia Hotels

Abode Hotel
Become a fan of Manchester's Gay Village on Facebook.

2011 events in Manchester

Hi there! My name is Darren Cooper and when they let me out of my box, (which does happen occasionally!) I like nothing better than the freedom of the open road, the wind in my hair and the smell of pleather in my nostrils.

What’s on in Manchester for 2011

Manchester is well known for football, northern humour, Canal Street and of course the UK’s largest pride festival that culminates with a huge 3 day street party right in the heart of the city.

There’s no need to wait until the August bank holiday though to head for the north’s pulsating queer heart. As well as being a great city break destination, Manchester also hosts a whole series of festivals and events to brighten up a weekend away.

I decided to take a look at what was happening in Manchester in 2011 - and found some great events taking place all throughout the year!


National Winter Ales Festival 19-22 Jan 2011

Real Ales had a rather dower image during the nineties, especially when compared to the flashy premium lagers served in the glittering chrome and glass bars that sprang up everywhere during that decade. Thankfully now though, locally produced small manufacturers are in, and collectively offer much more variety and diversity for the palate than the large breweries own monotonous fizzy offerings.


I know what you’re thinking: The whole shebang will be like a piss up at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s house with rustic types in the ascendant. OK, so, perhaps leave the Gucci loafers out when you pack for this trip. Anyway, after a couple of pints of Old Harry’s Snodge-Croddler you won’t care what anyone is wearing.

www.alefestival.org.uk/winterales

Chinese New-Year celebrations 3 Feb 2011

The annual Chinese New Year celebrations that take place in and around Albert Square are definitely worth seeing. Manchester’s thriving China Town comes to life with spectacular dragon dances, martial arts demonstrations and of course fireworks. This is one spectacular party that is definitely worth putting into your calendar. It’s also handily just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Canal Street too!

¡Viva! Spanish Film Festival 6-17 March 5-27 March 2011

There’s no denying that Spanish cinema is hot right now, and I am not just talking about Javier Bardem either. Spain is churning out some exceptional cinematic treats and world class actors right now, and there is no better place to catch up on Iberian and Latin American cinema than at Viva! The whole festival takes place for 3 weeks and includes a packed program of contemporary visual arts and film. Once again Manchester's Cornerhouse cinema is home to the proceedings which include, the festival features premières and previews of recent features, plus a special spotlight event.

www.vivafilmfestival.com 


Great British Bear Bash 28 Apr - 2 May

Bears and their admirers unite for one long weekend of furry fun as the great British Bear Bash arrives in Manchester. The host hotel is the Portland Street Ibis which is the hub for all activities taking place over the long weekend. Expect a packed program of events for this annual event which is now celebrating its 14th anniversary.

www.manbears.co.uk

FutureEverything 11-14 May 2011

Digital arts and music are the focus for Manchester’s award-winning FutureEverything show which takes place over a long weekend in May. This urban showcase for the digital arts and music scenes will include experimental performances, exhibitions and concerts in a variety of venues all across the city. FutureEverything also includes debate and discussion on a range of environmental and global issues too.

www.futureeverything.org


Dot to Dot Festival 30 May 2011

The Dot to Dot Festival is taking in 3 UK cities this May with its unique selection of established and up and coming global music acts and artists. Acts can be seen at a variety of venues in Manchester where the Mystery Jets will headline the festival. Zane Lowe will be taking a break from Radio 1 to hit the decks and local Mancunian rockers Twisted Wheel will add a local flavour to the proceedings.

www.dottodotfestival.co.uk

Queer Up North May 2011 est 1992

Without doubt one of the blue-ribbon queer arts event in the country, Queer Up North once again return for 3 weeks of arts and glamour. Venues throughout the village and all over Manchester will throw open their doors to lesbian, gay and queer artists, performers and entertainers of all kinds. New and established acts will be showcasing their talents with shows, cabaret and performance-art to enjoy and there are also a variety of exhibitions, talks and other events to enjoy too.

www.queerupnorth.com

Pride Games: 4 - 12th June

Sports take centre stage in queer Manchester in June as Pride Games brings sport to the masses. Although the games culminate with international competition in various disciplines the focus of Pride Games is participation. A whole range of workshops and lessons are put on for those who would just like to have a go and see if they would like to continue.

www.pridegames.org

Manchester Skins Weekend: 24-26 June

If bleached denims, Doc Martens and shaved heads are your thing then you’ll be in good company at the annual Manchester Gay Skins Weekend. More information on events taking place over this weekend will be released closer to the date on the Manchester Gay Skins website.

www.oi-skinhead.com

Manchester International Festival - biennial 30 June 17 July

The Manchester International Festival returns in 2011 with another unique program of original, new work and special events. This is the world's first international festival of original, new work and special events and also includes work especially commissioned for the festival. Past festivals featured works by Damon Albarn, Carlos Acosta, William Orbit, Heston Blumenthal, PJ Harvey, Kanye West, Happy Mondays, Ojos de Brujo and Johnny Vegas.

www.mif.co.uk

Sparkle Manchester 8-10 July

For the seventh year in a row gender diversity is celebrated in style at Sparkles, the biggest transgender event in the UK. For the entire weekend the trans community comes together for a weekend of fun, workshops, interactions and parties in and around the village and Sackville Gardens.

www.sparkle.org.uk

Urbanathlon 31 July 2011

Urbanathlon is a multi-disciplinary test of stamina and endurance through the centre of Manchester. The emphasis of this event is firmly on having fun, although contestants are certainly put through their paces. The course is spread over 5-km and features 12 urban obstacles to overcome. Competitors can enter individually, or find two friends and run as a team and share the fun and raise money for charity.

www.urbanathlon.co.uk

24:7 Theatre festival 21-29 July

The best of the fringe is celebrated at the 24:7 Theatre Festival which returns to Manchester for a week in July. Up and coming writers, directors, actors and performers are all responsible for a varied program of new and experimental theatre which takes place in weird and wonderful venues all over the city. The festival is a great introduction for those who are new to theatre with performances typical lasting for an hour or less.

www.247theatrefestival.co.uk

Manchester Royal Exchange 2011 Season until 6 August 2011

Manchester's Royal Exchange is one of the most spectacular and original theatres in the country. With a capacity of 760 people this is the largest theatre-in-the-round in the country, a beautiful seven-sided glass and steel structure is suspended within the Victorian former Cotton Exchange. The 2011 season at the theatre includes works by a diverse range of playwrights including Harold Brig house, Vivienne Franz wood, Noel Coward, Brad Fraser, Arthur Miller, and Shakespeare.

www.royalexchange.co.uk

Manchester Pride 19-29 August 2011

For the last 4 years Manchester’s pride festival has been consistently voted the best pride event in the country. This year the event is turning 21, so expect even bigger and better celebrations than ever before! Kicking off with the Pride Fringe, from the 19 August Manchester welcome queer arts to the city with a varied program of events and performances. As ever the Big Weekend ends proceedings with one massive party taking place over one massive bank holiday weekend at the end of August.

www.manchesterpride.com

Manchester Food and Drink Festival 1-11 Oct 2011

Foodies have long been well catered for in Manchester with the renowned Rusholme Curry Mile, great real ale pubs, authentic world cuisine and excellent world-class restaurants. The 11-day Food & Drink Festival celebrates the city's culinary status in style with venues across the city hosting gastronomic events and showcasing the city’s culinary assets. Look out for celebrity chefs, cookery demos, charity cook-offs, parties, competitions and farmers' markets too.

www.foodanddrinkfestival.com

Manchester Comedy Festival 3-31 Oct 2011

The Manchester Comedy Festival literally is a laugh a minute and sees some of the most talented names in comedy coming and performing in Manchester. International and local talent share stages and venues across the city in what has become one of the most lively and fun festivals to take place during the year in the city.

www.manchestercomedyfestival.co.uk

Manchester is only 2 hours and 7 minutes from London. 

Fly to Manchester in 60 minutes from London with British Airways  and BMI

For even more information visit the official Visit Manchester LGBT website.

Where to stay:
The Place
Days Hotel
Radisson Edwardian Manchester 

Britannia Hotels

Abode Hotel
Become a fan of Manchester's Gay Village on Facebook.

Manchester's L-Word

Lotte Jeffs discovers Manchester's gay village.

Since I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch late night episodes of Queer as Folk as a rampant teenage homo, Manchester has been a kind of Hollywood to me. A magical place where the streets are paved with gay and awkward young queers can blossom into beautiful butterflies.

I wanted nothing more than to bag myself the lesbian equivalent of Vince and Stuart and scream “I’m doing it, I’m really doing it” from the back of a convertible as we cruised down Canal Street. But, as a born and bred Londoner, anywhere other than Soho may as well have been the Hollywood Hills for me – as there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d make it there.

This was partly because I thought I’d found everything I needed on Old Compton Street, partly because I couldn’t afford the train fare – and maybe a little because Northerners just seemed so ‘other’ with their friendly ways and funny accents, I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in.

Ten years later and after spending so much time in London’s only lesbian night spot Candy Bar they named a cocktail after me, I felt I’d finally exhausted the scene and it was time to see what the gay capital of the north had to offer. I was older, wiser, and had enough money in my pocket to enjoy a debauched weekend and still have change for the train fare home.

After polishing off a couple of mini bottles of Cava on the journey up, by the time I arrived in Manchester at 9pm on a November Friday I was in the mood to party. Quickly dropping my bag off at the superbly located The Place hotel I headed straight out for my first big gay night up north.

Standing at the top of Canal Street, I couldn’t help but feel a little like a poncy southern fish out of water – I knew the London scene like an old friend, but I’d not been somewhere new, where there was an entire sea full of other lesbian fishies I hadn’t met, or dated before, since, well, ever.

It was daunting to say the least, but before I had time to mentally massacre the ocean metaphor any further I was tapped on the shoulder by a cute little lesbian with an intriguing hairstyle. “You lost love?” She asked. Being from London, when the only time a stranger talks to you is to ask you for your wallet, I hesitated somewhat before realising this must be ‘friendliness’ and answering “Well, yes actually – where’s the best place to start the night round here?”

And that was basically that. Kim took me under her sweet Mancunian wing and showed me what ‘MAD FOR IT’ really meant.

We started off with a sophisticated dinner in Velvet where we were joined by Kim’s harem of gay boys. It all went rapidly downhill – in the most fabulous way possible – from then. The boys took us to Queer bar and after a couple of pints we headed on to VIA. This is one of the quirkiest gay bars I’ve ever been to and we had a great time irritating the drag queen DJ with relentless requests for obscure UK garage songs when all she wanted was to play her ABBA medley in peace.

By 12 it was apparently time to ditch the boys and go girl gay. We made a B-line to Vanilla where I played pool with a bunch of local lesbos who genuinely seemed to find it endearing that I couldn’t pot a single ball. The vodka shots were flowing (who knew drinks could be so cheap?!) and so was the banter. I’ll say this for Manchester gals – they really do have a great sense of humour – a welcome change from London lezzers who just take themselves soooo seriously.

After Vanilla we checked out the other exclusively lesbian bar in The Village, Coyotes where we danced the night away, making a few new friends and, in a surprising turn of events for me, no new enemies.

My big gay night in Manchester had involved a number of happy firsts. It was the first time I’d got pissed for under £40, the first time I’d been able to chat to gay girls without getting evil-eyed by their girlfriends and the first time I’d had not one but two proper lesbian bars to choose from.

It was also the first time I ate chips and gravy at 3am and the first time I ended up back in my hotel room with half the cast of Hollyoaks. All in all I think the teenage me would have been proud, and while I didn’t find a Sugar Daddy (or should that be mummy) like my Queer as Folk hero did, I’d had a pretty sweet time – so sweet in fact, I think I’ll be laying off Candy Bar for a while yet.


Manchester is only 2 hours and 7 minutes from London. 

Fly to Manchester in 60 minutes from London with British Airways  and BMI

For even more information visit the official Visit Manchester LGBT website.

Where to stay:
The Place
Days Hotel
Radisson Edwardian Manchester 

Britannia Hotels

Abode Hotel
Become a fan of Manchester's Gay Village on Facebook.