China Town

Today has been warm and sultry and perfect for wandering around. We did a bit of winter clothes shopping this morning and everywhere we went there were small bands of protesters. Outside Manchester Town Hall there was a make-shift ‘camp’ of scruffy people with tatty tents and home-made banners.

One of them had climbed up the Albert Memorial and was shouting obscenities down at the police. You could tell he wasn’t a political protester as the main thing he was interested in was who had stolen his cider from the steps of the memorial while he was looking the other way.  It’s pathetic really. They’re protesting at government cuts and funding shortages but are costing all us rates and tax payers millions in police and security costs.

There are several Chinese and Thai supermarkets in China Town and we called into one for a few basics. Apart from all the weird and wonderful tinned and dried ingredients, they had a couple of fridges full of live crabs and lobsters, razor clams, pigs trotters, chicken feet etc. etc. I’d love to try ‘real’ Chinese food; the sort of thing they eat at home rather than the Westernised meals they serve in the restaurants. Having said that, we had a lovely meal in the Great Wall of China restaurant.

The Chinese Arch

On the way back, we passed The Book Barge with it's Astro-turf roof. It just needs a couple of golf tees or flower pots to complete the effect.

If the weather is still nice tomorrow I’m hoping to take more photos of the architecture and ‘sights’ of Manchester to share with you. Keep your fingers crossed.