Postcard from Manchester

That title's misleading. I did spend two days in Manchester recently, but I mostly saw the Midland Hotel. After the restrained elegance of Hardwick Hall on my previous postcard, pulling up in front of this façade could only cause culture shock.

It's striking, no doubt about that. And the interiors have style and variety of which modern hotels can only dream. It has stories too - Mr Rolls met Mr Royce there and look how well that turned out.

You can hear the 'but', can't you? I like to explore any place I visit, get a feel for it, find something out, not just see a hotel. So Manchester: I'm sorry, I missed you - the difficulties of travelling for work. The conference I attended just wasn't postcard material.

However, autumn is coming and I am plotting a trip to see some colours. I also have a few events for Park Life coming up. You can see details of those here.