As my train approached Manchester station, seeing Angel Square lit up against the night sky emphasised how far we had come, seasonally. This occasional commute of mine has mostly been made in daylight, but now night had descended as another train hurtled past in the opposite direction.
Attracted by the flashing streaks of this brief neighbour, (and maybe me capturing it on my phone), a man peered out of the window. He continued to look out long after the train had vanished.
“I’ve slept under those arches,” he said.
Resisting the most obvious question, which was none of my business, I instead asked “What was it like?”
“Bloody cold,” he replied. “But at least it was dry.”
That’s what it was like this night: cold and dry. I wondered if anybody was under those arches now, settling down for the night.
Angel Square, that beautiful glass modern building, is built on the site of Angel Meadow, that 19th Century slum that Friedrich Engels called “Hell upon Earth.”
Despite appearances to the contrary, maybe nothing changes. For some people anyway. Two hundred years on there are those who lie cold on the city’s underbelly, no matter how we dress it up.
That’s a cool photo! How cold is it Manchester now?
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This journey was taken last week. It’s warmed up a little now-3 degrees, with the return of the much maligned Manchester rain!
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Ooo..winter 😊
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Oh man, Andy. That was profound.
“I’ve slept under those arches,” he said.
So glad you asked that follow-up question. What a connection!
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Traveling by train is all about connections 😉
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I say a little prayer every evening that I have food and roof over my head and family and friends that cares. Today in many parts of the world that’s not a given thing.
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That is true. Even in my part of the world.
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My part too.
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I still have this link ou sent to me on my ribbon ( https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/my-forefathers-life-in-manchesters-slums-discovering-family-roots-in-the-hell-on-earth-of-angel-a6896021.html ) AS it is relevant to your post, I’m placing it here for others to investigate if interested.
You know how much this piece speaks to my (he)art…keep on ‘giving voice’ as you do in your own unique way.
peace
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Thanks for posting that link, Laura.
It is like two sides of the same coin-‘Laura’s Place’, those beautiful structures at the front of the building, these arches to the rear. I think that’s quite appropriate-the light that catches the eye, the shadow that needs to be sought out.
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