Episode 3 – More of Manchester

Part of the University of Manchester

After the church, I stopped off at Caffe Nero for a sandwich (a low-far option – some kind of wrap with duck in it – but quite tasty actually) and a decent LARGE mug of tea. I’m not really the kind of person who enjoys tea in tiny cups. After I got back to my room, I decided to lie down for an hour – which turned into 2 ½ hours. After checking with reception to see if my suitcase had turned up (which it hadn’t) and waiting on hold with the British Airways Baggage Tracing Service (service? What service?!) for about 20 minutes with no result, I went out in search of food. I wandered up and down the main street (which I found out later is Manchester’s “Curry Mile”), but didn’t see anything that took my fancy. It’s a very Indian/Lebanese/Middle Eastern area – lots of kebab shops (and fried chicken shops, actually). I ended up buying a sandwich from Tesco’s, which was quite ok. I watched an episode of Heroes on my laptop (“5 Years Gone”) and went to bed early. In my clothes, unfortunately.

This morning, I had breakfast in the college dining room, pinched an extra croissant and some fruit from the buffet, and checked with reception. Still no suitcase. Called British Airways again. “We are experiencing a higher than usual volume of calls. Please call again later.” I convinced someone in reception to let me use a computer to try the online tracking service, but the lady at Manchester Airport didn’t give me a file reference number. Oops. Hung out in my room, doing some work, until a text message from my mum convinced me to go shopping. Caught a bus into the city centre (would have walked, but it was raining and I wasn’t sure my light-weight umbrella would survive the wind) and endured about four hours of humiliation, trying on every pair of jeans and casual pants (and some skirts) in Manchester to no avail. What’s the deal with UK sizes?! I seemed to be between a 16 and an 18, but even some 18s were too tight. Insanity! I bought two lovely tops from Oasis (my favourite UK store – bought a gorgeous dress from there two years ago) and the girls were extremely helpful suggesting places I could try for jeans. I finally found a pair in Debenham’s (no, I didn’t get my colours done!) that weren’t too hideous.

I walked back to my room (there’s something about trying on clothes that makes me want to exercise, and I thought I should walk off the apple and low-far sandwich I had for lunch!), had a shower and called BA again. After about 25 minutes of holding (on my mobile, mind you) I finally got through. When I was told that they weren’t sure where my bag was, but that it was probably still at London Heathrow, I flipped out. “How is that possible?! I’ve been here for over 24 hours! I was told my bag would be delivered yesterday afternoon! How can it still be at Heathrow??” Poor guy. He probably has to deal with so many angry customers, and it’s not his fault. Apparently Heathrow is having lots of problems with baggage at the moment, although the ladies at Hulme Hall told me it happens all the time. Not good. He did give me a file reference number so I could check on my bag’s journey online.

Anyway, I was pretty upset. While I was desperately trying to find clothes, I kept calling the reception desk at Hulme Hall to check if my bag had turned up, which would mean I could stop shopping. And I had only bought a few things that day, because I fully expected to get back to the college and find my bag waiting for me, which would have meant that the shopping trip was a waste of time. And if the bag might not arrive for several days yet, I would have to go out shopping for an outfit to wear for my presentation. Jeans just don’t seem appropriate for presenting a paper to the British Society for the History of Science!

I snuggled under the doona and did some Su Doku, and when I felt calmer I got dressed in my new clothes. The jeans were actually not quite as bad as I’d though, and with one of my new tops and my corduroy jacket, it looked kind of trendy.

This is the Great Northern Railway Company's Goods Warehouse, with the Hilton in the background. It's now a swanky (but not very busy) shopping/entertainment/restaurant centre. I saw Mika just around the corner from here!

I got the bus into the city centre again, and started looking for one of the restaurants I’d thought about trying. As I was walking along, I could hear loud music and realised it was Mika’s “Love Today”. It didn’t sound like recorded music, but I couldn’t hear a crowd. I kept walking, and soon came upon a whole bunch of people in a square, and Mika performing LIVE!! I was so excited! Of course, I stopped to listen (and watch!) I don’t know how long he’d been performing before I got there, but I head “Love Today,” “Grace Kelly,” and “Lollipop.” I couldn’t get much of a view, but I was only a couple of metres away when he left the stage and walked into a nearby hotel. Ah, that made my day! But why had I left my camera back in my room?!?!

Since I forgot my camera, here's a picture I pinched from Mika's website!

At the moment, I’m sitting in a pub called Mr Thomas’s Chop House. I had fish and chips with tartare sauce and mushy peas (fantastic!) and a Bulmer’s cider. I think I’ll walk back to my room to work it off. It’s been quite nice and relaxing sitting here; at least, it was until some loud Americans turned up. This pub was established in 1867 by Mr Thomas Studd, and continued until 1900 by his wife and daughter. There’s a board listing all the owners – only 8 from 1867-1953, but 23 from 1956 to the present.