Manchester’s cussed champion
David Cameron’s South East Asia tour this week touched down in Singapore and Malaysia, where the prime minster joined a delegation to promote the virtues of the northern powerhouse to prospective investors. Manchester city council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein (pictured) was a late withdrawal, leaving the task of extolling the city region’s virtues to its new mayor, Tony Lloyd. Bernstein had been in forthright mood prior to the trip. Interviewed in the Guardian, he insisted the city’s new Factory theatre would be ready in time for the Manchester International Festival’s 2019 edition. Asked how he could be so confident of delivering such a big project on time, he said: “By kicking arses.” Asked if Manchester was at risk of becoming like London, where only the very rich could afford to live in the centre, Bernstein had a one-word answer: “Bollocks.”
Going for a song?
Talking of bums… after speeding through the inaugural Property Triathlon North and gaining a new personal best, EG special projects editor Rebecca Kent couldn’t resist testing out one of the famed chairs featured in The Voice at The Dock studios at MediaCityUK, Salford, the event’s host location. As organiser of EG’s Question Time events, Diary wonders if Kent will soon be invoicing for some swivelling chairs of our own.
A little bit of foresight
Still at the triathlon, an eye-opening story unfolded when catching up with BBC presenter Louise Minchin, who dashed from the studio to compete. Post-race, Diary couldn’t help but notice the addition of something a little out of place on her very flash bike. Attaching gels to your bike is common among triathletes, but a contact lens? After losing a contact during the swim element of one race and being forced to cycle and run with just one eye open, Minchin says she has always taped the lens to her bike “just in case”. Not sure how speedy the transition would be if you were trying to take off a wetsuit and put in a contact lens. We’ll have to wait and see…
Who’s drawing the crowds?
And one last tale from the big race. Arriving early at MediaCityUK, Diary was astonished to see a large crowd of less than athletic-looking punters waiting in the main square. With the first race not starting until 10am, we marvelled at the dedication of the husbands, wives, colleagues and children braving the early morning drizzle to cheer on the competitors. We were soon brought down to earth – it was the queue for on-the-day tickets to The Jeremy Kyle Show at ITV’s headquarters. Well, priorities….
Singed in Shoreditch
There is plenty of heat in the pop-up market, but not even the blaze which broke out at Street Feast’s Dinerama in Shoreditch, E1, last week, can put a stop to the street food phenomenon. Repair works have begun and the hottest market in the East End is aiming to reopen in four weeks. In the meantime, foodie fans can head to Street Feast’s uncharred destinations in Dalston, E8, and Lewisham, SE13.
Spooked in Soho House
When Soho House opened in Istanbul in March it cemented the power of the city’s growing creative district. Members were treated to the biggest venue yet, occupying the old US consulate building. But for a few weeks the team behind the trendy members’ club thought it had got more than it bargained for – a ghost. For weeks no one could work out why all the artwork in the basement bar was moved every weekend. Each painting had to be straightened every Sunday evening, with staff at a loss as to who was behind the bizarre act of rebellion. No one, it turns out. Eventually someone worked out that the mixture of banging tunes and powerful air conditioning blasts was to blame. Now the artwork is left on an angle and passed off as a design choice. Sometimes you have to accept the rhythm is going to get you…
