So what does it look like, a reflection on multiple trips within the North of England? Well apart from a recommendation of things to do at the end, it's supposed to be focused on the lessons from the trips. At first I thought that meant the post would end up jumping from place to place, which is essentially the opposite of what were meticulously-planned weekend getaways.
However, after reading through my notes from my trips to Manchester, Liverpool, Durham and Sheffield, it became clear to me that what I had to talk about was the power of people. That's probably not too much of a surprise, given Northerners are famously known for being a friendly bunch.
I'm going to start off this post with a bit of controversy. 'The North' is a broad concept and I'm not sure Sheffield is eligible to be a part of it. Hear me out. I lived in Newcastle for several years, which is a city 130 miles north of Sheffield and 60 miles south of the Scottish border. For me, the North begins above an imaginary line connecting the River Mersey (Liverpool) and the River Humber (Hull). That being said, because I’m considerate, I will include my trip to Sheffield within these digital pages.
Sadly though, I have to skip talking about Leeds because I didn’t take notes… But I do remember grabbing a handful of M&Ms and all five were blue. Incredible, really.
Local Pride
When I was visiting Durham, I travelled a bit further down the country to Barnard Castle (not to test my eyesight), which is an area with both a castle (quel surpris) and the Bowes Museum. In that museum, an artist called Martin Kinnear had several paintings.
The one that stood out to me the most was Industrial Sunset, not because of the painting itself, but because of the description on the side. “My work is about how places make people, so this industrial sunset with its spoil heaps, crucibles, gear, allotment fences, workshop halls and back-to-backs is a portrait of my adopted and beloved North East.”
I think when you know a place and a place knows you, the idea of perfection becomes irrelevant. It’s that unconditional love that recognises supposed flaws and welcomes them as unique characteristics, and that is absolutely how Kinnear sees the North East.
It was also intriguing to read this description at this moment in time. Just a short while earlier, I had read Matthew McConaughey’s view that places are like people and so in that sense makes the opposite point to Kinnear, but I suppose it’s a chicken and egg sort of situation.
McConaughey’s opinion was shared in relation to New Orleans, which he describes as a front porch kind of city. I guess the opposite of that would be to be a back garden kind of city, which I have to say describes a lot of the south of England, where land is for the pleasure of the owner instead of being an area that is for the benefit of the community.
I wonder if all of those back-to-backs did more than just bring people closer together physically. Maybe the local pride in the North comes from the belonging that is created when people stick together and support one another.
They invested in a place where people can make those tiny connections that can make such a positive impact on people’s lives.
Belonging
Speaking of belonging, I have to talk about this wonderful bookstore that I found whilst in Manchester. It’s called the House of Books and Friends, having one room with a café and a shop, plus a completely separate seating area for anyone to relax. The idea came during the pandemic when the owner recognised the impact of loneliness on people and the need for socialising.
It’s situated in this fancy old building with plenty of history. I love that this must be a really bloody expensive building and whilst all other rents in that immediate area are being paid for by big businesses looking to churn big profits, someone chose to use their money for kindness. They invested in a place where people can make those tiny connections that can make such a positive impact on people’s lives.
As a funny little story for you, I actually looked for more than just a tiny connection whilst I was there. Whilst buying a book, I asked a till assistant if she had any recommendations for places that I should visit as someone looking to potentially move to the city. We ended up having a great conversation and when I sat down to have a bit of food and read, I realised just how damn gorgeous and lovely she was. I wimped out on asking her out, but came in the next day to try, only to find out she wasn’t working that day.
Given I didn’t want to be creepy and ask when she was next working, I chose instead to write her a frankly adorable note asking to connect and get her colleague to pass it on. Those who know me will know that I am not currently head-over-heels in love and that’s because I never received a reply, but I’m proud of having gone for it.
Learning From Each Other
The lovely interactions didn’t stop in Manchester, though. A few miles West and I was on Liverpool’s Waterfront ordering a classic 99 with a flake, being asked if I wanted strawberry sauce on top. I paused to consider it for a moment before saying, “no, I’ll keep it simple,” to which he responded peacefully, “simple is good.” For whatever reason, I found that such a soothing and validating comment.
Shifting to Sheffield, I had the joy of watching Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World, a musical based on Kate Pankhurst's book by the same name. Whilst I don’t remember the specifics anymore, I do remember loving it, getting emotional and having fun learning about Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie and Emmeline Pankhurst (ancestor to the author of the book).
It was a musical aimed more at children and I think that’s wonderful. We have an upcoming generation of girls who will believe more in their worth in this world and boys that will respect and appreciate females a lot more. Either way, educational pieces like this musical will help prevent females being hidden behind husbands in the halls of history.
Moving back to Manchester now, I experienced one of those What Are The Chances? moments at Manchester Art Gallery. I had planned on being there nice and early, but ended up having to go after lunch because of transport issues on the way to Manchester. As I was strolling through, I heard music in a neighbouring room and wandered in. It turned out that I had just happened across a brilliant dance performance by some GCSE/A-Level students that I would have missed if I'd been able to stay true to my plan.
Once they were done, they sat in the middle of the room talking to and congratulating each other. This performance coincidentally was in a room with a bunch of Lowry paintings, which my grandad used to love, so I wandered around to take them in and try to see things through my grandad’s eyes.
As I looked at the paintings, I overheard the teacher having a word with the students. There had clearly been some issues in the group because she said that “You’re students now, but you want to be artists and artists respect each other.” I loved that she made them understand that it’s not just about skill, but attitude and coming together, too.
communities are capable of expanding their idea of who ‘us’ is[,] kindness doesn’t have to be limited to people who share the same birth or background.
Looking After Each Other
The North is one of those places in the world where people look out for one another. That is arguably best shown through its history of trade unionism, which was highlighted by the People’s History Museum in Manchester. I can’t describe the exhibition in any other way than it being the physical manifestation of the famous protest chant, “THE WORKERS - UNITED - WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!” Now I’m no revolutionary, but I do think that is a powerful statement about the power of the people.
But what I loved the most was the section in support of refugees. Not only did it highlight the injustices related to their mistreatment, it shared some of the wonderful impacts that refugees have had on this country in spite of the barriers that they have faced. Most of all, this section of the People’s History Museum proved that communities are capable of expanding their idea of who ‘us’ is, that kindness doesn’t have to be limited to people who share the same birth or background.
I love the ability of people to be kind to strangers and two instances of this came in one trip to Liverpool Cathedral. The first was a piece on mental health where origami boats floated atop a paper sea. People were invited to make their own boats and to either write something asking for help or offering support. I tried making a boat, but couldn’t make head or tail of the instructions until an Indian couple did it with me. I thanked the couple, wrote my message and then placed my boat down alongside maybe 100 others.
After I’d finished wandering around the Cathedral, I went to the shop to buy a ticket to go up the Tower, only to be given one for free. As it turned out, someone had overbooked for the day before and very kindly asked the staff to gift the two remaining tickets. The till assistant explained this and told me that she had given out one the day before and, because I seemed nice, gave me the other.
Oh the North is wonderful. If you haven't been, below are some places you have to check out!
T5TtDOoWID-INPO
Top 5 Things to Do Out of What I Did - In No Particular Order
Durham [and Barnard Castle]
The Botanical Garden
Walk down the river to get there
Durham Castle and Cathedral
Burnhall Woods
Barnard Castle
Bowes Museum
Liverpool
Royal Liver Building
Pier Head / Liverpool Waterfront / Royal Albert Dock
Tate Liverpool
Liverpool Cathedral
Sefton Park / Prince’s Park
Manchester
The People’s History Museum
Manchester Jewish Museum
House of Books and Friends
Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden
National Trust - Castlefield Viaduct
Sheffield
Botanical Garden
Kelham Island
The City Centre
Site Gallery
Hike! I can't remember where the picture on the right was taken, but Sheffield is connected to the Peak District and so there are some wonderful hiking options, even more so than other places in the North, which are great themselves.
Extra
Wherever you go, try to watch a play/musical at a theatre and spend a bit of time sitting in a lovely local bookshop!
Some Extras
I’m honoured that you’ve made it down here! This was one of those longer posts, but hopefully I was able to split it up enough that it didn’t feel like too much of a drag to read. Maybe you even enjoyed it!
In making this post, I had to cut out several experiences to stop myself from writing a novel. However, some of those didn’t feel right to leave out, even though they didn’t make the cut for the main blog. So as a reward for your commitment, here are those paragraphs that I couldn’t leave on the cutting room floor.
Careful What You Read And as a final disclaimer before I get stuck in: whilst I enjoyed these trips, not everything was perfect. Don’t let what you see/read online mislead you into thinking other people’s lives are perfect, even if it’s me who’s writing it!
Poverty and Inequality
I think that there is something to say for how the North has been too often neglected by Westminster governments and shared hardship can be an amazing catalyst for connection. That being said, it’s important not to fall into some sort of a romanticisation of poverty and inequality, and pretend that they are prerequisites for joining together as a community.
Disabilities in Britain
In Manchester’s People’s History Museum, I found out that the organisation monitoring the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) had more concerns about Britain than any other country in its 10-year history (you might remember the scandal of thousands of deaths of disabled people after being found ‘fit to work’. Raising awareness of these issues is an important part of supporting each other.
Gratitude
Towards the end of my time in Sheffield, I visited the Botanical Gardens and spotted a lone gardener doing his thing. As I passed him, I worked up a bit of courage and thanked him for his work, which I’m proud of doing and pleased that I did. I thought I may have been one of few to thank him, but apparently it happens quite often. For a moment, I believed that it took away from what I did, but actually it's really nice that others share their gratitude too. Anyhow, the gardener was a nice bloke who had worked there for 20 years and as far as he’s aware, Sheffield’s is the only free-to-enter Botanical Garden in England.
Racism
A note from my journal: “There was then of course [name] who worked at the museum and for some reason, unprompted, started talking about racism being shoved down our throats and spouting all the crap that ignorant people do that they don’t understand contributes towards racist outcomes. He was smart, but willfully ignorant; on literally the floor above him was a brilliant exhibition about Benin and Liverpool. I had no idea how amazing that place (in Southern Nigeria) was pre-British influence.”
This was in an exhibition about animals. I guess this must have just been on his mind and he saw a white guy and thought I must think the same.
On the flipside, Liverpool Cathedral (honestly, what a place!) had boards up that explained Liverpool’s history in the slave trade as a port city. You can’t change the past, but you can take ownership and make amends, and I thought that this was a wonderful contribution to that by the cathedral.
And that’s me [finally] done! I really recommend visiting the North, it’s a great place to be. If you want to find out any more about these places or get more advice on where to go, just shoot me a message 😊 Take care of yourself - and others!
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