Frosty winter, December 2007

Four days of perfect weather culminated on the winter solstice, giving the impression that Manchester is not so dark after all. Each day we were greeted with bright blue in the sky and bright white on all surfaces as plunging temperatures created a permanent frost. The ground in Stamford Park was frozen solid and even the canals in the city had frozen over. On the solstice the temperature fell to minus 6 degrees Celsius which frosted white all the roofs on the houses which sparkled in the moonlight of the early morning. Even the leaves on the trees were dusted in icicles, remaining all day until they melded with the silvery grey sky of the late afternoon sun. There was not one breath of wind, just wintery stillness.

Brussels, 13-15 December 2007

I arrive in Brussels on Thursday night and found it misty, as usual. I walked down Avenue Louise which was lit up by long, wide strands of Christmas lights, different from the pine three and Santa themes in Manchester. I had dinner in a Brasserie and thankfully ate some food with spices on it – Moroccan style lamb and capsicum. I didn’t stay out late, returning to the Fondation Université, where I was staying. It is a funny place, offering cheaper rates for guests of the various universities and EU officials. It was nice, unassuming and very old fashioned. There is a big lounge downstairs with armchairs, coffee tables and a fire, populated by elderly gentlemen in old suits, reading Le Monde and Le Soir.

In the morning the sky was bright and blue, but frosty at -2 degrees. I walked 40 minutes to the University, in Ixelles, and met Michel in his office. We spent a couple of hours preparing the chapter outlines for the book proposal for Manchester University Press. At 12 o’clock we went off to lunch, in a very nice brasserie nearby. He has been sponsoring my culinary tour of Brussels for a few years now, and every place we go to has fabulous food. We both ate the set menu, which included a small soup, duck, a fantastic scallop dish, venison and pheasant. What can I say? I worked a little more in his office in the afternoon, and then we went back to his house for dinner (tartin du saumon, French cheese and French red wine).

The next day I went to the Museum of Fine Arts and saw the Alechinsky exhibition, a Belgian artist I didn’t know about. I really enjoyed it, and had time to go see the Magritte paintings downstairs. Then I walked down through the Saubon area near the gallery, an old part of town on the easterly facing hillside, with cobbled streets, an antique market in the square, and lots of stores and restaurants. Michel’s wife, Corinne, told me to go to Marcolini’s chocolate store there, which was packed full of people and a selection of chocolate you have to see to believe. I bought two small blocks for €5 each to eat with Lucy, Alex and Megan – one is made from a selection of five different types of cacao bean, and the other is from only the equatorial region. For lunch, I ate an assiette du charcuterie (plate of salami, prosciutto, etc.) in a small bar and had a glass of wine. I walked around that part of town for a while longer, and at 3pm I climbed onto the final carriage of the Eurostar and we set off back to England. I fell asleep for a while. When I woke up I looked out the window through my hazy reflection at a broad, green France spread out before me. The sun is much higher in the sky in Europe than in the UK, so the countryside shone in the afternoon glow and I could see people walking up dirt roads towards the small villages, which still look like they are from another time.

After less than two hours, I arrived in London at the new St Pancras international station. I now have to walk 10 minutes to Euston Rd and get the next train back to Manchester. Tomorrow, it’s up and out early to enjoy the sun and see what should be a big frost.

Autumn 2007

Autumn this year has been really colourful. They say it's because it has been dry and cold but not windy, so the leaves stayed on the trees for a long time and changed through several colours. Hale is a leafy suburb - the more expensive, the more leafy...is this a universal law or something? Would planting trees in poor areas produce social mobility? - so it was really nice walking around.

The deer are in Dunham Massey estate, just outside of the city past Altrincham. Although when Denise went a few weeks ago part of the park was closed for 'culling'. When we went to the Axe and Cleaver pub nearby, I ordered venison and asked if it was from Dunham Massey. The waiter (young, big, hairy) looked a bit shocked, so I told him 'Yeah, they were shooting them there last week!' Instead of laughing, he looked visibly disturbed, put down our plates and politely excused himself. And that tells you one thing about the UK - you can't make any mention of harming animals. Teenagers, yes. The French and Germans, yes. Animals, never.

10 November, 2007 - FA Cup Match Report: Altrincham FC vs Millwal FC

FA Cup 1st Round Proper

Altrincham 1 Millwall 2

Valiant Altrincham FC went down to visiting Millwall at Moss Lane on Saturday, in front of 2,500 spectators. For much of the first half, Alty were equal and at times superior to Millwall. Which should let you know how awful Millwall were. They were so slow they made Altrincham look like a good team, which really takes some doing. Still, Alty went on the attack, and the best player, Chris Senior, ran at the defence down the right. In first half stoppage time, Altrincham won a free kick outside the penalty area on the right. Instead of going over the wall, the kick was chipped into the penalty area towards the by-line, wide on the right, where it was met on the full by Chris Senior who knocked it over the keeper's head and along a tight angle to strike the inside of the bar and bounce back just over the line. The whistle blew shortly after and Alty went into the break
1-0 ahead.

Millwall came out very late for the second half, and immediately started playing with more intent. They attacked repeatedly down the right and a goal looked only a matter of time. After some desperate goalkeeping to keep Alty ahead, Millwall passed through the defence and a goal-bound shot hit a defender on the hand, producing a red card and a penalty. Within 5 mins it was 2-1 to Millwall and the game was virtually over. There was some late excitement as the Alty keeper went up for two corners, but luck never favours the minnows and Alty are out. It was close until the end, and the goal looked even better on Match of the Day. At least some supporters will get satisfaction from Macclesfield's loss to Conference side Rushden and Diamonds.

Alty will still struggle to survive in the Conference this season, but it was the best performance I've seen them give for 6 months. Millwall were terrible and would have a hard time winning the Conference, let alone surviving in their division this season. Oddly, their new manager - with the unlikely name of Kenny Jackett - lives in Altrincham. As for the potential violence, unsurprisingly nothing happened. Only 270 Millwall supporters turned up, probably because the police had made such a big deal out of it, and they didn't want to spend their afternoon being harrassed. I suppose that's the police strategy. There were police on foot and on horseback at Altrincham tram stop, lining Moss Lane, and at the ground. Three mobile police vans were stationed at the ground, and about 40 police standing between the home fans and the away end. We heard some Man City supporters singing on the tram, and they might have been part of a group of supporters standing near the Millwall end during the first half. They were chanting something pretty offensive at the away supporters, because they looked very annoyed (at least from what I could make out through the gloom - the lights were on for the 3 o'clock kick off). But then the Alty fans moved there in the second half and the Millwall supporters were clapping their chants. I await the next edition of the Messenger for more details.

The police had warned local shopkeepers of possible trouble, with what sounded like exaggerated stories of supporters from all around the northwest arriving for the game to take revenge on Millwall. The chippy, Barney's, opened as usual, but Mr Yungs, the bakery and the bottle shop all shut down and lost an afternoon's business. A mistake, I think. Unfortunately, despite threats to close, Tesco opened as usual, perhaps in response to mid-week taunts from the manager of Sainsbury's.

After my 60 second walk home, I sat in inside on a drizzly evening, listening to the clip clop of police horses on Stamford Park Rd, with the smell of coal fires filling the air. 'Ay up, luv! Coal man's 'ere!'
Nick