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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Manchester City - United Kingdom
Manchester City thriving and cosmopolitan city! This is my home.
The CIS building in the background was Manchesters first skyscraper.
The above is the Lowry. It is houses a theatre, and art gallery.
The Bridgewater Hall a beautiful and modern concert hall.
The Ferris wheel that comes to the city once a year.
The Old Wellington Inn.
CLICK ON THE ABOVE PHOTO FOR THE HISTORY
OF THE INN.
On Saturday 15 June 1996, at a peak shopping time on Father's Day, a 3,000lb IRA bomb exploded in Manchester, injuring more than 200 people and ripping into the fabric of the city's main shopping centre. In a state of shocked disbelief, police had begun clearing people from the area some 40 minutes before the blast; fortunately, several telephoned warnings had been issued to newspapers, radio stations and to at least one hospital in Manchester an hour before the blast. Newspaper offices in Dublin and Belfast received similar warnings.
An army bomb squad employed a robotic anti-bomb device to check an illegally parked Ford van, which had been recorded by several closed circuit security cameras in the city, when the bomb exploded.
Manchester ambulance services counted 206 injured people. Most injuries were sustained from falling glass and building debris. In the immediately ensuing chaos, ambulances and private cars were used to shuttle victims to local and regional hospitals.
Local authorities had to close Victoria and Piccadilly railway stations for several hours and to seal off the city centre. The evacuation of shoppers immediately took place from the Marks & Spencer's department store, which was directly at the centre of the site, outside which the lorry-bomb was parked.
Initially, the evacuated staff and shoppers stood outside, right next to the bomb, but when the emergency services realised this they shunted them to the nearby Victoria Station. Why Manchester city centre was targeted by the IRA is uncertain, but it later became clear that the cause probably lay in the breakdown of the IRA "ceasefire" in the light of lack of progress with the British Government's ongoing talks about a permanent peace settlement in Northern Ireland.
It was estimated that up to 50,000 square metres of retail space and nearly 25,000 square metres of office space have subsequently needed to be reconstructed. Whilst much of the city centre has now reopened, the immediate area surrounding the blast site, including parts of the Arndale Centre, the Corn Exchange, the Royal Exchange, Royal Insurance's Longridge House and Marks and Spencer's remain cordoned off and a considerable amount of demolition has had to take place. Marks & Spencer's store, alas, was totally demolished, and the Royal Insurance Building is no more, as are several shops in the immediate vicinity.
This is my avenue where I live, just in the suburbs not to far from the city centre.
Manchester city is very lively in the evenings lots of things going on. From heavy rock concerts to Classical.
Night life ... lots of clubs, modern and contemporary wine bars.
The young lady on
the right is my daughter.
:o)
We have a fantastic mueseum, art gallery and stadiums.
We were very lucky to be able to host the Common Wealth Games here.
We have a famous Football Team ... Manchester United ... to which the Glazier Family bought not too long ago. Manchester United had and has many brilliant players to name a few.
George Best ... Nobby Stiles ... Ryan Gigs ... David Beckham. David Beckham has now been bought by the Americans. :o(
Manchester is famous for its Curry Mile. Delights of Indian Food on a mile run, restaurant after restaurant with an array of neon lights.
This is our China Town.
Anyone else like to share their photographs of their home towns.
ANYONE WANTING A GOOD LAUGH TODAY THEY MUST GO TO JAMES'S BLOG!
cat lovers----> http://under-the-ledge.blogspot.com/ <--- especially if you are cat lovers This is James's other blog http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/
Monday, February 05, 2007
Search
Search beneath the blanaket of snow
Where the wind does blow in the bleakness of the Highland snow
His spirit walks through the rolling of the heathers that nestle and grow
Her heart a shadowing glow beneath the face of the eloquent moon
to unite her with her true Love, this moment is not a moment too soon
She will follow His spirit wherever he may roam and go
Like the satin ebb of an ocean of love flowing to and fro
Let the surge of the tide bring her true love to her lonely side
Searching for Him here and there, no longer can He hide
How she longs to see
How she longs to be
Endlessly her heart is callling to to move beneath His bough
To be intoxicated by His Love in the realms of the here and now