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Hello,
As the restoration of Manchester Town Hall continues, the treasures within are being seen with fresh eyes. Among them are twelve extraordinary murals by Ford Madox Brown.
Art historian Dr Colin Trodd says they are the most important public art works of their day and reveal a remarkable Victorian vision of the city.
Brown spent 16 years creating the works - which depict the creation, development and success of Manchester from 1878-93.
Dr Trodd, a senior art historian at The University of Manchester, has been looking into the story behind the murals for his new book Ford Madox Brown: The Manchester Murals and the Matter of History.
He found that Brown was an outspoken critic of industrialists, factory owners, politicians and civil servants, and provided financial support for impoverished artists and unemployed workers - despite not being wealthy himself.
The artist also overcame personal tragedies while working on the project. He lost his son just before the commission, looked after his alcohol-dependent wife during the project and suffered a stroke when the work was almost completed.
Dr Trodd describes Brown as a ‘consummate cosmopolitan’ who believed in the unity of British and European culture. “His murals transcend traditional models of history painting by focusing on the idea of human vitality,” he says.
“As Brown saw it, history painting should be an exercise in understanding how ordinary people interact with broader social forces and powers. The displays of exuberance in the murals confirm Brown's concern with the idea of human freedom - and what people do when confronted by representatives of the political establishment.”
'We want to believe them'
Like the layers of an onion - that’s how Lee Hunter describes the revelations about the ‘systemic failure across the board’ from blue light services on the night of the Manchester Arena terror attack.
As the public inquiry into the atrocity unfolded, he says it was ‘one thing after another’.
Five years on, Lee - whose sister Lisa Lees died during the bombing - says he remains cynical and struggles to accept official apologies.
“We really want to believe them but it's difficult,” he told crime reporter John Scheerhout.
"If things do change like they have promised, we want it to be evidenced.”
He added: "I want to be positive and hope things really do change for the better. I don't want to be negative. The people who were culpable know what they have done and they let us down. Equally there are people who want to make things better. We want to be able to have faith in people.”
A devastating report published last week exposed the failures of the emergency services on the night of the attack - and highlighted how predictable that failure was.
John has been looking through those myriad failures in this in-depth piece and has also been looking at the six emergency services officers in charge on the night of the bombing and the mistakes they made.
Austerity cuts were among reasons given for Greater Manchester Police’s failure to keep up-to-date plans in place for major incidents. But when a key training exercise revealed a key command position would become overwhelmed in the event of a real attack, they failed to learn lessons, Sir John Saunders has said.
The force and other blue light services say they have updated their plans, enhanced training and improved communication since the attack.
Severe lack of confidence
As we all brace to hear the details of Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn budget, Greater Manchester’s night time economy adviser has made an impassioned plea for help.
Sacha Lord is warning the hospitality sector could collapse unless business support is provided. He has cited figures from the Insolvency Service which states there has been a ‘46 per cent increase in insolvencies in hospitality nationally’ in the quarter to September 2022.
Sacha claims the ‘worrying trend’ will only get worse and there is a ‘severe lack of confidence among operators’, particularly those running small independent businesses.
He says: "The stark truth is that hospitality businesses are paying more for ingredients, energy and day to day business needs than they were this time last year, and we are seeing venues shutting due to financial difficulties on a daily basis. The sector urgently needs support through a reduction in VAT and through business rates relief, both measures that will undoubtedly offer operators a lifeline."
A bargain at...£206k
The average price of a new one bed flat in Manchester city centre is now £206,000, according to the JLL Cities index.
City centre apartment prices have risen faster than anywhere else outside of London over the last five years, rising by 23 per cent and out pacing the likes of Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
JLL said that activity has been ‘spurred on’ by the Government's Help to Buy scheme, with more than 13,200 equity loans provided across the four English cities.
But the number of first-time buyers entering the market is forecast to fall now the scheme has ended and interest rates are rising.
The property firm predicts people will instead be pushed to rent - though rents are 15 per cent higher in Manchester compared to 2019 and demand continues to outstrip supply.
JLL's Louise Emmott told North West Business Editor, Jon Robinson : "Manchester has seen the highest population growth of the “big six” over the past ten years, and last year we saw more people moving to the centre than any other major city.
"Of course, this is fantastic news for economic growth in the region. But, the supply-demand gap continues to grow, and developers are facing a host of extra costs and regulation as renters fight tooth and nail for their dream home close to the office."
Co-op Live
There’s a brilliant time lapse video showing the construction of Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena if you click here.
The 23,000 seat arena, in East Manchester, is set to be the UK’s largest indoor venue, and will boast 32 bars and restaurants alongside a ‘big sweaty hall’.
Speaking of huge arena events, I'm sure you've all heard that Peter Kay has announced a vast comeback tour that will take in some of the UK’s biggest venues.
But it was a much tinier audience who enjoyed the comedian’s new material at a ‘secret’ gig in Salford last night.
Kay took to the stage for an audience of just 120, at the Lowry Theatre, for one of his hush-hush ‘warm-up’ gigs. Fans got to hear new material as well as nods to some of his classic comedy moments.
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Weather etc
- Wednesday: Partly cloudy changing to light showers by lunchtime. 12C.
- Trains: Amended services on Avanti West Coast, Northern and TransPennine due to planned strike action that was suspended yesterday.
- Trams: Revised service on Manchester Metrolink due to overrunning engineering works at Piccadilly Gardens. Some Metrolink services are operating with changes until the end of November when the works can be finished. Bury and Altrincham services are not operating into Piccadilly station. Ashton services are operating to Crumpsall via Victoria. Eccles services are only operating to Deansgate.
- Trivia question: Which culinary item is the subject of one of Peter Kay's best known jokes?
Manchester headlines
Inquest: The mother of a tragic toddler pleaded for help with their mouldy home the day before he died, an inquest has heard. Awaab Ishak's mum made another desperate plea for assistance with their flat to the doctor who treated her two-year-old son in hospital. A doctor yesterday told Rochdale Coroners' Court that mould was 'the most plausible, or only, explanation' for the child’s fatal breathing difficulties. Full story here.
Bee bikes: A suspected thief has been caught on camera appearing to try and steal a Manchester Bee Bike by using a hammer to knock off its tracking device. Video footage shared on Reddit shows two people with three bikes in the background. One appears to be using a hammer, or other implement like a mallet, on one of the bikes. The witness - who filmed the footage and said he alerted police - claimed the young man in the video was trying to remove the bike's tracking device and steal the bikes. Earlier this year, data showed a quarter of the city's Bee Bikes have gone missing and not been found since the launch of the scheme last November.
‘Bizzare’: Former BBC Newsnight presenter Paul Mason says an old clip of him describing Wigan as having ‘dead streets’ and ‘no vibrant retail’ in comments made at a conference in September 2021 was edited ‘out of context’. Mr Mason, who was born in Leigh, hopes to be Labour’s next candidate for Sheffield Central. He said Wigan MP Lisa Nandy 'tries to put a great face on it’ but it would be a place where students would not want to go because there are no black people or migrants in the town. “When you get off the train in Wigan the streets are dead and the only drinking places are standing places and the only people drinking are young men,” he said in the clip shared on Twitter by political writer Aaron Bastani. Ms Nandy described his speech as ‘bizarre’ and said Wigan has a ‘diverse community, thousands of students who come to study at three of the best colleges in the country, and I can personally vouch for the fact that there are women drinking in our pubs’. Mr Mason said the comments were made in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and he was discussing what ‘decades of neglect have done to the town I grew up in and love’.
Worth a read
When Alison Winterburn looked in the mirror one day, she says she was ‘genuinely shocked’ to see a middle-aged lady looking back at her.
She believed it was the 1970s and she was a teenager. In fact it was 2012 and Alison was 51, and a mum-of-two, suffering the devastating effects of a brain injury.
“For a long time I wouldn't allow my husband to buy the newspaper because I was horrified by the inflated prices,” she told reporter Paige Oldfield.
“I couldn't quite comprehend the time jump between the era I thought I was living in and my twenty-first century reality. My catchphrase became: 'It's how much?!'”
After suffering viral encephalitis, Alison suffered severe memory loss that changed her life. She has been speaking to Paige about the effects for this feature.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Garlic bread.
