Manchester Mosiacs

I visited Manchester recently.

While there, I followed a Royal Geographical Society audio tour on Victorian Manchester.

It started at the newly refurbished Manchester Victoria station, with its marvellous tiles, and brought me to see buildings relating to how newly industrial Manchester cared for its poor and destitute.

Outside one brick building, I felt a surge of emotion about that institution helping those who were being left behind in the Victorian industrial metropolis.

Each brick, to me, symbolised all the small kind acts taken place there.

My fanciful notion aside, Manchester is a place full of brickwork and tiles, a city made of mosaics, the many making the whole.

Antwerp Centraal

Definitely one of my favourite parts of Antwerp was its train station.

Antwerp Centraal is a cross between a cavern and cathedral for trains. The front of the station is built with a traditional-looking but eclectic, elegant style.

Coming out of a large initial waiting room / entrance space, stairs leading up to the main space of the station. Inside there, the station's real amazing quality shows.

The trains are on four levels, seeming like they are all stacked on top of one another. Escalators and stairs connect all the levels, giving the whole station a vast, futuristic quality. There seems to be lots of space, even though there are trains arriving every minute or so.

And just when you think you've got the measure of the station, you discover a whole lot more to it. My words can't really describe how astounding Antwerp Centraal is; hopefully these pictures will.

O'Spada at St Pancras Station

Last night, I saw newcomer Swedish band O'Spada play The Station Sessions at St Pancras Station. It is a giddy thrill to hear the St Pancras announcements in English and French - O'Spada continued the thrills with a short set of 80s funky-synthy tunes.

I liked O'Spada, despite their not-so-likeable name. The seven members of the band were in a true triangular schlager formation, with the 3 on the left wearing navy jackets and the 3 on the right wearing wine jackets. The lead singer, perfectly centred, wore gold.

I like these little touches.

O'Spada have played a series of gigs in London this week, so maybe they'll be taking off here. Check out O'Spada on myspace or O'Spada on twitter.

Food & Meat-related tube stations

It's a quiet day in our office, and a conversation about Swimbeldon turns turns meatily to Gambledon and a whole afternoon of foody pun fun.

Puns are good.

• Turnpike Loin
• Aldgate Yeast
• Banger Lane
• Parsnip Green
• Elephant & Custard
• Euston Squash
• Bacon Street
• Brent Cress
• Charring Cress
• Mill Hill Feast
• Arnos Grape
• Ladbrook Gravy
• Marrow-on-the-hill
• Bean Park
• Green Pork
• New Crisp Gate
• Turnip Green
• Kings Cross St Parsnip
• Snout Kensington
  
• Hamden Town
• Whitechipolata
  
• Mansion Grouse
• Offal
• Turnip Green
• Maida Veal
  
• Shepherds Pie Market
• Piccalilli Circus
• Marrowlebone.
• Brussel square
• Mint-Imperial Wharf
• Old meat
• Lan-pasta Gate
• Sprout Kensington
• High-berry & Ice-cream-ton
• Oxford Circus-cous
• West-Mince-ter
• Pimmslico
• Chutney bridge
• Seven shish-ters
  

Any more?