There was a time…..
Chris | July 20, 2008
When travel by rail was THE most popular form of public transport - and this
original mosaic at Manchester’s Victoria Station demonstrates the potential
routes available over 100 years ago when “Cottonopolis” was the wealthiest
city in the developed world.
Nowadays, of course, we choose to express our individuality with our choice
of motor vehicle - the modern-day horse.
I took my youngest daughter Ellie into Manchester on Saturday for some minor
(sic) retail therapy and also to see “Hancock” (don’t bother - its absolute
rubbish).
Three impressions from the day:
1. The sheer number of people who were in the city - maybe its because
I’m a Cornwall dweller, but I felt overwhelmed as we fought our way around
the Arndale Centre and the Apple store;
2. Surprise that some well-known retailers had stores that either were
closed, were closing down or had notices on the doors announcing
receivership. I’ve never noticed that in Manchester before, or anywhere else
for that matter. Credit crunch is here;
3. Massive building development of apartments all around the city -
although the “to let” and “for sale” signs were a forest.
The emptiest stores were clothes, white goods, home media and home
furnishing.
The busiest stores were books, DVD’s, music, games and electronics.
If that means something I don’t know what.
Maybe it’s the holiday season and folks want entertainment but at the lowest
price possible?
It’s a far cry from the Manchester that train-travellers would have arrived
into in 1908.
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