It is the day after midsummer, sweet and balmy at nine o’clock, the sun still up, and Alexandra Park, Manchester, is fizzing with life. A group of energetic twentysomethings slam a volleyball over the nets as a flock of parakeets settle in the trees.
On the many paths, people wander around and about: a man walks three nippy chihuahuas, a little girl in a flowery dress wobbles past on her bike with stabilisers, her parents running behind shouting encouragement, while a group of young women in headscarves sit on the swings in the children’s playground and chat. On a picnic bench by the lake, a man is charging people to play chess. Not far away, a young boy pulls crumbs out of his pockets to feed the ducks.
