Sunday 30 November 2014

Manchester Christmas Markets





One of the delights of our visit to Manchester was wandering around the Christmas markets which are the biggest I have ever seen. They spread across the city centre, starting from Albert Square, to Brazennose Street, King Street, St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cathedral Street, Cathedral Gardens, Corporation Street, and Exchange Square. There are over 300 stalls.





The main market is situated in Albert Square, overseen by a gigantic glittering Santa
 
 

 
 
which dominates the whole square. 
 
 
 
 


There are over 300 stalls selling jewellery, clothes, crafts, food






which includes tons of garlic,






mountains of sausages,




 
brandy snaps, cakes, waffles and pancakes
 
  


hot meals, particularly in the German stalls




 
lots of Santas
 
 
 
 
 
a beer hall. All glasses and mugs are returnable as part of an environmentally-friendly deposit scheme
which is brilliant.





We visited on the 14th of November, the first day the market opened, and even so found it very busy. The stalls on the rest of the venues were easier to access





St Anne's Square was a pleasant venue

 
 
 

 
  

Friday 28 November 2014

The John Rylands Library in Manchester

 


John Rylands Library in Manchester.

A late Victorian building, the library is situated on Deansgate and was opened to the public in 1900.
The style of the building is primarily neo-Gothic with elements of Arts and Crafts movement in the ornate gatehouse facing Deansgate. It's been granted Grande I listed status.

The library was founded by Enriqueta Rylands in memory of her husband. She purchased a site on Deansgate and commissioned a design from Basil Champneys. The building is constructed of Cumbrian sandstone and of dark red Barbary stone from Penrith.




 
We started from the first floor and worked our way down. This is the ante-room to the
 
 
 
 


magnificent main reading room on the first floor. It is lit by orienl windows in the reading alcoves supplemented by high windows along both sides. There are also two large stained glass windows with portraits of religious and secular figures, designed by C.E. Kempe and bronze work in the art nouveau style by Singer of Frome.
 
 

 
 
one of the reading alcoves.
 
 

 
 
 
The library's special collections are believed to be among the largest in the UK and include medieval illuminated manuscripts; examples of early European printing including a Gutenberg Bible; the second largest collection of printing by William Caxton; the most extensive collection of the editions of the Aldine Press of Venice; the earliest extant New Testament text; and personal papers and letters of Elizabeth Gaskell and John Dalton, amongst others.



 
 
The portrait statue of Enriqueta Rylands in white marble was sculpted by John Cassidy and was given the moustache treatment when we were there.
 
 

 
 
 
The whole place, including the stairwell, is utterly magnificent, intricately sculpted with 'Shawk' stone from Dalston.





Looking up as we were going down the stairs

 
 


looking up as we reached the mezzanine
 





more stairs to reach the next level
 



 
looking up
 
 

 
 

an old printing press






and printer's trays, tools and blocks





We then walked along this corridor, as grand as the rest of the building
 
 

 
 
 
and reached this intriguing notice which was part of the Harmonious Society exhibition which was running in six venues across Manchester - it looked very interesting, but our time in Manchester was very limited so unfortunately we did not have the chance to explore
 

 
 
 


Samson Young, Muted Situations, 2014

From the explanatory notice next to the video installation: 'In this video installation Samson Young directs and stages a muted music performance, requesting that performers play with no less energy or seriousness but try to suppress and silence the 'sound-producing' part of the act. By removing the sound, audience expectations are thwarted. Do we imagine harmonies or discordant sound?'


And: 'Suppress the consciously sound-producing constituent of the performance. As a result other sounds will be revealed, including but not limited to the breathing sound of the musicians, the sound of their moving bodies, the sounds that their left hands produce when pressing on and sliding up and down the string, and the natural resonance of the instruments' bodies that is triggered by the tapping action of the left hand fingers'.
 
And: 'Mute is not silence. Muting is not the same as doing nothing. Rather, the act of muting is an intensely focused re-imagination and re-construction of the auditory. It involves the conscious suppression of dominant voices, as a way to uncover the unheard and the marginalised, to make apparent certain assumptions about hearing and sounding'.
 
 

 
 

I went down some more stairs while Ken looked down 

 



walked along this gallery
 
 



where Annie Lai Kuen Wan's Lost in Billiterate and Trilingual, 2014, exhibition of 18 ceramic books was displayed. They are moulded from 'various dictionaries that form an essential part of life surrounded by the unique linguistic dynamic that exists in Hong Kong; where Cantonese, English and Mandarin are all regularly used. By recreating the books in ceramics they become fragile, cannot be opened and lose their text and meaning'.




 
On the floor of another passageway we found Zhao Yao's Wonderlands, 2014, who has created 'coloured carpets featuring aerial views of Chinese airports undergoing development and expansion, reflective of the country's rapid urbanisation. Visitors are invited to walk across the carpets, like the travellers who pass through these airports, and when the exhibition is finished, they will bear the traces of those who have passed by'.
 
 
 


Through another door and gasp! the modern extension of the building: white, minimal, and a 'suspension' of coloured glass tiles right in front of us




 
the stairs were very impressive
 




so beautifully done




 
sensitively acknowledging the old part of the building - the stained glass windows boxed-in the radiantly white walls.
 
 
 


Thursday 27 November 2014

Manchester Central Library

 
 
 
Manchester Central Library, facing St Peter's square, was designed by E. Vincent Harris and was constructed between 1930 and 1934.
 
 


 
 
The library is a round building fronted by a large two-storey portico which forms the main entrance on St Peter's square, and is surrounded by five bays of Corinthian columns.
 
 
 
 
 
A bench lit from below outside the library - what a great idea

 
 
 
 
 
The main entrance as seen from the first floor
 

 
 
 

A comfortable, informal seating area on the first floor which leads to
 
 
 
 

 
the stunning Wolfson Reading Room, which is topped by a spectacular dome. Much of the original furniture designed by the architect can be seen in this room. The library has an extensive collection of the works of Elizabeth Gaskell.
 
 
 

 
 
The clock in the middle of the room is very impressive
 
 
 
 
 
as are the columns all around the circular room.
 
 


  
 
 
Having visited the Wolfson Reading Room we walked along this corridor






and ended up in the music library and were surprised to hear music






there are instruments in quite a few of these alcoves and people were making use of them - how civilised is that?




 
We then took the very modern, glass lift downstairs where
 



 
in the main desk area a group of dancers were performing as part of the Everything, Everything Presents Chaos to Order event.