Every six months, the Horse and Jockey pub in Chorlton puts on a huge knees-up for the solstice.
The summer solstice party allows Mancunians to celebrate reaching the longest day of the year, while the winter solstice is where we all drown our sorrows at hitting the shortest.
Horse and Jockey winter solstice
The 2011 Horse and Jockey winter solstice party took place last night (which, as it happens, wasn’t actually the solstice at all). I went down armed with a camera to document this momentous event (aka drink some mulled cider). What struck me most was that these solstice parties really do seem to be going from strength to strength:
More people on Chorlton Green and in the Horse and Jockey than last year
More theme park attractions for the kids than last year
More shelter for Santa, who had his very own grotto for the first time
More reindeer (2 to be precise, which was 2 more than last year)
It was also great to hear some Christmas tunes played by a real brass brand, Bucephalus Brass. Nothing says Christmas quite like a beer-fuelled singalong on the terrace.
We’re always complaining that Manchester City Council wastes our money, aren’t we? If only there was some way we could actually choose how our taxes are spent.
Well that’s the idea behind U Decide, which returns to Chorlton this week. And while I love a bit of council bashing as much as the next person, even I have to admit it’s a great scheme. So good, in fact, that Chorlton U Decide is about to celebrate its 4th year in a row, and the concept is now catching on in neighbouring Manchester suburbs – Whalley Range, Northenden and Fallowfield.
How Chorlton U Decide works
We can all vote at U Decide, as long as we’re high school age or over and living in Chorlton ward (NB not Chorlton Park, as I discovered last year)
We listen to short 2-minute grant pitches by around 15 local community projects
We pick which projects could make the biggest difference to Chorlton, ranking each one in order of preference
We get told at the end which projects have received the most votes, and will therefore receive grants from Manchester City Council
U Decide a bit less
It’s a ridiculously simple idea, but then all the best ones are. One thing that’s pretty disappointing though is that Chorlton U Decide 2011 looks to have been hit quite badly by the cuts.
This year, community projects can bid for up to £750 and Manchester City Council has set aside a total kitty of just £7,500, whereas last year I believe the equivalent figures were £1,000 and £12,500. Having said that, £7,500 is still better than nothing and I know from experience that a few hundred pounds goes a hell of a long way on a well-run community project.
Chorlton U Decide 2011
Speaking of which, I can heartily recommend the following projects, which are all pitching for grants at Chorlton U Decide 2011:
Transition Chorlton – “We aim to tackle the issues of climate change and peak oil through direct community participation”
Cracking Good Food – “Cracking Good Food is a cooking network based in Chorlton, South Manchester”
Green Chorlton – “Green Chorlton is a not-for-profit community group that aims to promote environmental issues and sustainable living in a fun and friendly way”
Disclaimer: Ok, ok, I may have written that last one myself. Shameless self-promotion? I prefer to think of it as recycling 🙂
Chorlton U Decide takes place at Chorlton Leisure Centre, Manchester Road, Chorlton from 6pm on Thursday, 17 November 2011.
Update: Well done to all the community projects that received funding at Chorlton U Decide 2011, which happily included Green Chorlton. For the full list, check out Victor Chamberlain’s blog. (23 November 2011)
Best Food and Drink Retail Outlet – WH Frosts the Butchers (@FrostyButcher on Twitter)
Best Family Friendly Venue – Croma (@CromaPizza)
Bar of the Year – Electrik (@ElectrikBar)
Pub of the Year – Parlour (@ParlourChorlton)
All worthy winners. But I can’t help feeling there are plenty more Chorlton venues that deserve recognition. Here are my suggestions:
Best Supermarket for Hummus – Unicorn Grocery (@UnicornGrocery) – An organic vegan workers’ cooperative with its own solar panel (pictured). You just know their hummus will be sensational.
Best Bakery for Hedgehog-Shaped Bread – Barbakan Delicatessen (@BarbakanDeli)
Best Pub for Watching Liverpool FC in (Relative) Safety – Bowling Green (@TheBowlingGreen). As long as it doesn’t clash with Gaelic football.
Best Fishmonger for Scary Seafood – Out of the Blue (@OOTBFish)
Best Church for Beer – St Clement’s Church. More than just a church with an alcohol licence, St Clement’s Church has its very own beer festival. Heavenly.
The larger-than-life exploits of the top journalists have always fascinated me. It’s nerdy, I know. While many people love nothing more than reading gossip about the latest reality TV stars, I can’t get enough about what it’s like to work on Fleet Street (technically, almost no journalists work on Fleet Street anymore, but you know what I’m getting at). In fact, this obsession with journalism is what first got me into PR.
Now I’ve read far too much about journalism already. Stick It Up Your Punter by Peter Chippindale and Chris Horrie showed me the reality of working under firebrand editor Kelvin MacKenzie in the 1980s. My Trade by Andrew Marr was great at explaining how political journalists operate. And News From No Man’s Land by John Simpson provided a window into what goes on in the messed up world of war correspondents.
War Correspondent star exhibits
As it happens, John Simpson also provides what for me was the star exhibit in the Imperial War Museum North’s latest exhibition War Correspondent: reporting under fire since 1914. John Simpson’s burqa, which he wore when sneaking into Taliban-occupied Afghanistan in 2001, has come to symbolise just how far journalists will go to get a story. It’s joined by other items that have deservedly taken their place in journalism folklore, including the bullet that almost killed Kate Adie in Lebanon and Martin Bell’s white suit.
Plenty of museums have impressive exhibits, though, but what separates the good from the great is how much care has gone into drawing visitors in. Modern museums need to do so much more than show a row of glass cases, and this is where Imperial War Museum North excels.
Rich media, rich legacy
Specially commissioned videos and audio from the likes of John Simpson and Jeremy Bowen show how they juggle drop-of-a-hat assignments with family commitments, how they pack for the next trip and even how they cope with the loss of a colleague. These bring home the reality of life as a war correspondent better than any book.
Imperial War Museum North calls this “the UK’s first major exhibition about British war correspondents”. Some of the featured journalists also suggest that it may be the last, as the rise of citizen journalism and social media transforms the role of war correspondent from news-gather to news-editor.
I really hope we aren’t witnessing the death of the war correspondent. This exhibition reminds us all that they’ve done a remarkable job of keeping Britain informed over the last hundred years. And, in my case at least, their larger-than-life exploits have provided more than their share of entertaining stories.
Still on the fence? Here’s the official Imperial War Museum North video promoting War Correspondent: reporting under fire since 1914:
War Correspondent: reporting under fire since 1914 runs at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester from now until Sunday, 2 January 2012. Entry is free.
On Thursday, 7 July 2011, the Chorlton Metrolink extension was finally opened to the public. I tried it out a couple of days later. And it was amazing!
Advantages of the Chorlton tram
Price – A return to Manchester city centre costs £2.80. That’s almost £1 less than the #85 & #86 bus – the only other public transport in Chorlton.
Speed – The journey from Chorlton to St Peter’s Square takes just 15 minutes, compared to 45 minutes on the bus.
Accessibility – The Chorlton tram opens up access to whole new areas of Manchester. Not only can you now get to Bury, Altrincham, Eccles & MediaCityUK, you’ll soon be able to reach East Didsbury (2013) & Manchester Airport (2016).
My point is, let’s stop dwelling on the delays & start celebrating the fact that at long last we now have good public transport in Chorlton.
Chorlton Metrolink on camera
Anyway, I’ll leave you with a few photos I took of the Chorlton Metrolink:
I remember when the idea of a Manchester Social Media Surgery was first floated at Social Media Cafe. I remember thinking, ‘that sounds like a good idea’. I also remember making a mental note and – not for the first time – doing absolutely nothing about it. Time to change all that.
What is the Manchester Social Media Surgery?
The Manchester Social Media Surgery is a networking event that looks at ways to use social media marketing for business. It takes place on the second Tuesday of every month and is organised by the tireless Chi-Chi Ekweozor, founder of social media consultancy Real Fresh TV (@realfreshtv on Twitter). Each month, she puts together a panel of social media types to talk about different social media issues raised by members of the audience.
Manchester Social Media Surgery – June 2011
This month’s theme is ‘creating social media content and analysing engagement stats’. I’ll have to work out what that means and fast because I’m going to be sitting on the panel, alongside Ian Pettigrew (@KingfisherCoach), Carol Maughan (@DLA_Piper_News) & Chi-Chi herself.
Doubtless, I’ll be waffling on about the need for weekly reporting, the value of free tracking tools like TweetStats, bit.ly, Google Analytics and so on. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to say yet either.
Free biscuits
It should be a good experience though and I’m looking forward to finally checking out the Manchester Social Media Surgery after all this time. Having been to similar networking events in the past, I know they can be a great way to learn new skills, discover the latest Twitter apps and meet interesting people. And even if it’s a complete disaster, you can always take advantage of the free biscuits.
The next Manchester Social Media Surgery will be held at the offices of Real Fresh TV at Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5AN. It takes place on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 from 530pm-730pm and is free to attend. For more info, go to the Manchester Social Media Surgery – June 2011 event page or check out #mansms on Twitter.
Update: In spite of the lack of biscuits, I had a great time at the Manchester Social Media Surgery, picking up loads of pointers along the way. If you missed the evening but are interested in social media content and engagement stats, check out the Manchester Social Media Surgery June 2011 live blog for some useful tips.
My name’s Richard Frost and I’m a Manchester SEO copywriter, press officer and social media marketing consultant based in Chorlton.
The website
The idea behind this website is simple – to create a central place for everything that I do. You can find out who I am on the About page, what I’ve done on the Work page, which media freelancing services I offer on the Services page and get in touch on the Contact page.
The blog
I’ll also be writing a blog sharing (with any luck) useful info about a few of my interests, namely Chorlton, Manchester, journalism, PR, SEO and social media marketing. If you’ve got any suggestions for things I should write about – or feedback on the site in general – I’d love to hear from you.
Ok, that’s it for now but by all means have a poke round the site. I hope you like it!
richardfrosty - Richard Frost - Manchester 