Year: 2023

Stockport Venue 1 – The Heatons

With the Manchester HS2 leg now officially aborted and as a result potential funds being freed up for other transport projects, there have been increasing rumours about extending the current metro terminus of East Didsbury all the way into Stockport. I believe this proposed route would cross over the River Mersey and traverse in via Cheadle.

The East Didsbury metro stop with its large car park is my nearest station and lies about 20 minutes’ walk away. From there you can begin to navigate up Didsbury Road past the Dog and Partridge pub and at that point you cross over into Stockport.  

The next touchpoint is the petrol station with an M&S attached where during the dark days of Covid, one of our treats was to visit there and purchase the frites and the fresh strawberries with meringues!  

You then reach the Griffin pub which is an archetypal old-fashioned boozer run by the local Holts brewery, which remains as one of the cheapest beers in Britain. It was built in 1831 and still contains two ornate shuttered bars and other original features.

As you continue up the hill you reach Heaton Mersey Bowl on the right which is a large green area containing a couple of football pitches. I recently discovered that a Moor Fest event was held there in 2005 were Mr Scruff, Tom Hingley, Mighty Wah! Clint Boon, A Certain Ratio and Howard Marks were on the bill. Viewing it now, it would be a natural amphitheatre for such a shindig, not dissimilar in layout to Avenham Park in Preston, but the records show that was a one-off singular event.

Moorfest Flyer. Image Credit mdmarchive.co.uk

If you continue down to the right, you arrive at Burnage Rugby Club where alongside the club they have a combined football/golf pitch and putt course. A couple of years ago they held an open-air movie night on the pitch with a screening of A Star is Born featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. When we visited Australia, we witnessed people queuing for a Rocky showing in an open-air cinema in glorious sunshine in Sydney Harbour. Our event was not in the same league, it was admittedly reasonably well organised, but the issue was the apocalyptic rain, and it was absolutely bloody freezing!

Back on Didsbury Road you then reach the Conservative Club where my political persuasion has ensured I have never crossed the threshold of any such establishment anywhere in the country. Back in Preston, there was once a family christening at the Con Club off Moor Park, and I was genuinely ill and could not attend but at least my ailment took a tricky decision off the table! The local club does have musical acts on, and my gig venue ‘addiction’ was briefly piqued, but the horrific calibre of acts, for example a Michael Buble tribute act at £20 per pop quickly quashed that thought!

Further up on the right is the Crown pub which has a raised beer garden which is a sun trap in the summer months, and it is a pleasure to sit there and while away a few hours with a Dizzy Blonde (the beer!). It is a proper old-fashioned establishment with wood beams, and I believe they used to do a fine Sunday lunch, but they have not had food on since pre-covid.

The Crown pub. Image Credit blogspot.com

There is an extremely steep cobbled incline by the side of the pub leading down to the river that bears an uncanny resemblance to the ‘Hovis Hill’ from the old 1970’s adverts, though the filming was actually undertaken on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury in Dorset. The hostelry was also used for a pub quiz scene in a recent episode of Cold Feet with the characters played by James Nesbitt and Robert Bathurst having a scrap on the aforementioned street.

A little further is St Winifred’s School where their choir had a moment of fame in 1980 with their number one Christmas single ‘There’s No Quite Like Grandma’, beating tracks by John Lennon and Jona Lewie to the top of the chart. The choir included the future Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay.     

Back up opposite the Heaton Mersey Bowl is the Stockport Heatons. When I first visited at the back end of 2017 hunting a pub to watch a PNE match it was an interesting establishment called the Frog and Railway. Shortly after it closed and reopened under its current name and was more in the gastropub mould. When sampling some food there in August 2021 there was a local act called Heatons Jazz Band providing a soundtrack.

Before I go this week I must add my homage to the genius songwriting talent of Shane MacGowan. I initially missed the Pogues playing at the Paradise Club in Preston in front of about thirty people in February 1985 despite being in town that night and my brother trying to persuade me to attend. Oh, young foolish 16-year-old Jimmy!

Shane MacGowan. Image Credit withradio.org

I saw them three times after that with the second at the long-gone Manchester International 2 in December 1986 remaining one of my Top 20 ever gigs. They were extraordinary and I never since seen an occasion where about 90% of the audience were dancing, creating a huge communal euphoric experience. If only there was a way to bottle or freeze those moments in time!

I am sitting here misty-eyed listening to the marauding intent of ‘Boys from the Country Hell’ and the warped beauty of ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ to name but two of his astounding canon of material. RIP Shane – ‘I Will Have a Pint With You Sir’!

Manchester Venues 103 to 106

When in attendance at the Sounds from the Other City (SFTOC) festival earlier this year I noted they had introduced a new venue to their ever-burgeoning roster which was Hot Bed Press which is located on Cow Lane in Salford.

The business was set up in 1994 by a small group of printmakers and they moved to their current site in Casket Works in 2006. They have grown since to 300 members and are the largest open-access print workshop in the region and as a result were able to buy their own building in 2017 and continue as a non-profit making organisation.  

Hot Bed Press. Image Credit britishletterpress.co.uk

The initial access was through the Manchester Hot Bed Press Courtyard where there was a small marquee set up, which was handy in the monsoon rain, and an act called Cal/Rob were playing.  You then entered the industrial zone and backdrop of the Manchester Hot Bed Press where there were cold beer cans on sale and a decent size stage set up where a band called Third Kulture was performing. They were a noisy rap/rock crossover trio from Manchester in the mould of Asian Dub Foundation.  

Nearby and further down Oldfield Road, past the Peking Duck Chinese restaurant is Manchester Five Four Studios Bar. On the day we arrived there was a delay to the opening time and there was a fair crowd building up outside the building. When the doors opened, we headed to the bar area for a drink and a much needed sit down. It is a communal space for people attending photo shoots or events and is based on a members club lounge layout with very comfy sofas. Whilst we were in residence, an act called Hold Tight were playing.  

Five Four Studios Bar. Image Credit www.fivefourstudios.com

There is a slow regeneration happening in this area of Salford and one such establishment is an Italian restaurant called Vero Moderno situated within Vimto Gardens on Chapel Street. Apparently, many premiership footballers visit here which does not itself ensure quality food, but it certainly garners attention.

We then headed over to Bexley Square where there was fortunately a one-hour sun break in the weather, and we grabbed the opportunity to perch at a table outside the Porta Tapas restaurant. Munchies struck at that point and the allure of the outside kitchen pulled us in to purchase a very tasty snack and a ‘calorie free’ Pastel de Nata for dessert washed down with a cold beer! The tapas restaurant did have some music performers on that evening, but we had left before then, but have since visited Porta for a very fine meal.

Bexley Square with the New Oxford pub in the background. Image Credit Manchester Evening News.

Across the square you would the Manchester New Oxford public house which is a three-storey building and dates back to 1850. It has had a variety of names over those two centuries including The Town hall Tavern. The Court Tavern, The Amateurs Arms and the Oxford Hotel. In the Amateur Arms days, it contained a music hall.

It has a plethora of beers to wave a stick at and it remains as one of the few hostelries still operating in the area. On the day of the festival, we saw Shannon from Admin play a set there.